Week 4 - Day 2
I love a good word study and there was a great one right there in today's workbook!
pg 93 Jesus doesn't remove Paul's struggles, but He does give Paul a promise:
2Corinthians 12:9 ..."My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Grace: divine love, favor, or assistance; mercy; loving-kindness
Sufficient: enough to meet the needs of a situation; adequate; plenty
Power: great or marked ability to do or act; authority; control; strength; influence; supremacy
Perfect: being entirely without fault or defect; lacking no essential detail; ideal; complete; just right
Weakness: lacking strength; feebleness; frailty; failing; limitation; disadvantage
pg 94 the word he uses for "rest" refers to a structure such as a tent, a tabernacle, or a dwelling...a dwelling place in which divine strength doesn't merely come and go but actually takes up residence.
That power is always there right within your grasp, all you need to do is reach for it and ask for it to overcome your weakness. Overwhelming isn't it! I personally experienced this concept when I overcame the temptation for a bag of chips. As soon as I asked for God to help me, the temptation was gone!
Truly it was - I went from being so distracted by the temptation that I could barely concentrate on working, to sending a desperate text message to bible study group asking for prayer, to being reminded to stand firm on God's Word. When I started reciting some of my memory verses, the temptation was gone!!!! All I can do is praise God and His perfect Word.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Made to Crave: Week 4 - Day 1
Week 4- Day 1
Chapter 10 - This Isn't Fair!
I read this chapter just one day after having to beg my bible study sisters to pray for me (thanks ladies!). As I have already written, one of the things I have cut out is chips- my favorite being salt & vinegar. Well, I have been doing fine with that and have not really missed them too much - until yesterday.
The case I am currently grading is about a snack foods company and one of the alternatives is to analyze whether or not to produce store brand chips. Yep, just fantastic! All I can think about is how yummy Food Lion brand salt & vinegar chips are and how badly I wanted a bag. It got to the point that it was incredibly distracting and I could hardly work because all I could think about was those chips! How ridiculous!!! But in the moment it was a serious battle - between my desire to stay on track and my incredible craving for a bag chips. Clearly Satan latched onto a big opportunity and threw a big ole temptation right into my face!
Thank God for friends who are willing to pray you out of any situation!!!! It was not long after I sent my frantic text message asking for prayer that I was able to put aside the temptation and get back to work. It also helped immensely (thanks Helen) to be reminded that Eve gave into to the desires of her flesh and that I should stand firm on the Word and His promises, just like Jesus did in the desert!
So after all that, I come to this chapter of the book and read the following that hits so close today...
pg101 But in that moment of temptation, I realized having a pity party was a clue I was relying on my own strength, a strength that has failed me before and would fail me again. I had to grab hold of God's strength and the only way to do that was to invite His power into this situation.
pg 103 Weakness is hard, but it doesn't have to mean defeat. It is my opportunity to experience God's power firsthand.
2Corinthinans 7b-10 there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Chapter 10 - This Isn't Fair!
I read this chapter just one day after having to beg my bible study sisters to pray for me (thanks ladies!). As I have already written, one of the things I have cut out is chips- my favorite being salt & vinegar. Well, I have been doing fine with that and have not really missed them too much - until yesterday.
The case I am currently grading is about a snack foods company and one of the alternatives is to analyze whether or not to produce store brand chips. Yep, just fantastic! All I can think about is how yummy Food Lion brand salt & vinegar chips are and how badly I wanted a bag. It got to the point that it was incredibly distracting and I could hardly work because all I could think about was those chips! How ridiculous!!! But in the moment it was a serious battle - between my desire to stay on track and my incredible craving for a bag chips. Clearly Satan latched onto a big opportunity and threw a big ole temptation right into my face!
Thank God for friends who are willing to pray you out of any situation!!!! It was not long after I sent my frantic text message asking for prayer that I was able to put aside the temptation and get back to work. It also helped immensely (thanks Helen) to be reminded that Eve gave into to the desires of her flesh and that I should stand firm on the Word and His promises, just like Jesus did in the desert!
So after all that, I come to this chapter of the book and read the following that hits so close today...
pg101 But in that moment of temptation, I realized having a pity party was a clue I was relying on my own strength, a strength that has failed me before and would fail me again. I had to grab hold of God's strength and the only way to do that was to invite His power into this situation.
pg 103 Weakness is hard, but it doesn't have to mean defeat. It is my opportunity to experience God's power firsthand.
2Corinthinans 7b-10 there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Memory Monday
First a check to see how I am doing on the last couple weeks of verses. This first one is my Nov 1 verse for SSMT verse #21.
1Corinthians 10:23
Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.
Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive.
Psalm 5: 3,8
Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
Lead meoin the right path,O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me.
Tell me clearly what to do, and show me which way to turn.
Proverbs 16:3
Commit your actions to the Lord
and your plans will succeed.
Galatians 5:16
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives,
so then you don't do won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There is no law against these things.
Have I mentioned that it is getting easier to memorize verses and that I am still reciting all of the ones since the beginning of the year! Yep, amazing to me as well. But the even more amazing thing is that I am often finding myself pulling verses I have memorized and being able to apply them to a situation or even a conversation. God puts His Word into our hearts for when we need it most. In fact, just today I opened my Bible to search for just the right verse to apply to a friend's situation and found two that apply just as well to me. Three memory verses to work on this week...
1Corinthians 6:19-20
Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,
who lives in you and was given to you by God?
You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you at a high price.
So you should honor God with your body.
Proverbs 15:18
A hothead starts fights; a cool-tempered person tries to stop them.
Psalm 69:1-3
Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck.
Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire;
I can't find a foothold to stand on.
I am in deep water and the floods overwhelm me.
I am exhausted from crying for help;
my throat is parched and dry.
my eyes are swollen from weeping,
waiting for my God to help me.
About Memory Monday
I originally found Memory Monday with Joanne at The Simple Wife. The idea is to memorize a verse during the week and come back to her blog on Mondays to comment about it. That's it, nothing fancy, just simply an encouragement and reminder to memorize scripture for yourself. Please join in Memory Monday as a way to be blessed by hiding God's Word in your heart. And also join me in prayer for Joanne as she continues to recover from the stroke she had in January.
About Siesta Scripture Memory Team
This is another program to encourage us to memorize scripture and is hosted by Beth Moore over on her blog Living Proof Ministries Blog. This program is set up so that each person who wants to join the Siesta Scripture Memory Team will memorize two verses a month for all of 2011 and post a comment on the LPM blog on the 1st and the 15th of the month. If you do that all year you get to attend a Celebration with her and the SSMT next January! I so want to do that, don't you?
1Corinthians 10:23
Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.
Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive.
Psalm 5: 3,8
Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
Lead me
Tell me clearly what to do, and show me which way to turn.
Proverbs 16:3
Commit your actions to the Lord
and your plans will succeed.
Galatians 5:16
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives,
Galatians 5:22-23
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There is no law against these things.
Have I mentioned that it is getting easier to memorize verses and that I am still reciting all of the ones since the beginning of the year! Yep, amazing to me as well. But the even more amazing thing is that I am often finding myself pulling verses I have memorized and being able to apply them to a situation or even a conversation. God puts His Word into our hearts for when we need it most. In fact, just today I opened my Bible to search for just the right verse to apply to a friend's situation and found two that apply just as well to me. Three memory verses to work on this week...
1Corinthians 6:19-20
Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,
who lives in you and was given to you by God?
You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you at a high price.
So you should honor God with your body.
Proverbs 15:18
A hothead starts fights; a cool-tempered person tries to stop them.
Psalm 69:1-3
Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck.
Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire;
I can't find a foothold to stand on.
I am in deep water and the floods overwhelm me.
I am exhausted from crying for help;
my throat is parched and dry.
my eyes are swollen from weeping,
waiting for my God to help me.
About Memory Monday
I originally found Memory Monday with Joanne at The Simple Wife. The idea is to memorize a verse during the week and come back to her blog on Mondays to comment about it. That's it, nothing fancy, just simply an encouragement and reminder to memorize scripture for yourself. Please join in Memory Monday as a way to be blessed by hiding God's Word in your heart. And also join me in prayer for Joanne as she continues to recover from the stroke she had in January.
About Siesta Scripture Memory Team
This is another program to encourage us to memorize scripture and is hosted by Beth Moore over on her blog Living Proof Ministries Blog. This program is set up so that each person who wants to join the Siesta Scripture Memory Team will memorize two verses a month for all of 2011 and post a comment on the LPM blog on the 1st and the 15th of the month. If you do that all year you get to attend a Celebration with her and the SSMT next January! I so want to do that, don't you?
Monday, October 31, 2011
Made to Crave: Week 3 - Day 5
Week 3 - Day 5
Chapter 9 - But Exercise Makes Me Want to Cry
Yeah, I didn't want to read this chapter either...but I did and gained new insight into exercise, specifically making the discipline of exercise an act of being obedient to God.
pg. 89 Every day I asked God to give me strength to stick with it this time...The more I made running about spiritual growth and discipline, the less I focused on the weight. Each pound lost was not a quest to get skinny bu evidence of obedience to God.
pg 91 I can either be loyal to honoring the Lord with my body or loyal to my cravings, desires, and many excuses for not exercising.
1Corinthians 6:19-20 Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
This verse screams MEMORY VERSE!!!
Chapter 9 - But Exercise Makes Me Want to Cry
Yeah, I didn't want to read this chapter either...but I did and gained new insight into exercise, specifically making the discipline of exercise an act of being obedient to God.
pg. 89 Every day I asked God to give me strength to stick with it this time...The more I made running about spiritual growth and discipline, the less I focused on the weight. Each pound lost was not a quest to get skinny bu evidence of obedience to God.
pg 91 I can either be loyal to honoring the Lord with my body or loyal to my cravings, desires, and many excuses for not exercising.
1Corinthians 6:19-20 Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
This verse screams MEMORY VERSE!!!
Made to Crave: Week 3 - Day 4
Week 3 - Day 4
pg 81 Define your week by obedience, not by a number on the scale.
I think this is a very important concept to remember throughout a weightloss journey. The scale provides a number, it gives us a concrete result - how much our body weighs at that moment in time. If we are trying to lose weight, then obviously we want that number to go down. But defining our success only by that number is dangerous. Expecially if we are wieghing ourselves every week. There will be weeks that you do everything right and do not see the scale move in the direction you want it to. Therefore, do not define your ongoing success by the scale only. Use the scale only to track progress to your ideal weight.
Your weekly, and even daily successes -or victories should not be defined by the scale but instead by obedience. If you are on a weight loss journey then you have "a plan". Your plan is how you going to lose weight, what you will eat or not eat, when and how much you will exercise, identifying your stumbling blocks, etc.
If you have a plan and obediently follow it, you will lose weight. The key to the measurement of success for your plan is obedience. If you do not lose weight, but are following the plan obediently, then you have to reevaluate your plan.
pg 81 Define your week by obedience, not by a number on the scale.
I think this is a very important concept to remember throughout a weightloss journey. The scale provides a number, it gives us a concrete result - how much our body weighs at that moment in time. If we are trying to lose weight, then obviously we want that number to go down. But defining our success only by that number is dangerous. Expecially if we are wieghing ourselves every week. There will be weeks that you do everything right and do not see the scale move in the direction you want it to. Therefore, do not define your ongoing success by the scale only. Use the scale only to track progress to your ideal weight.
Your weekly, and even daily successes -or victories should not be defined by the scale but instead by obedience. If you are on a weight loss journey then you have "a plan". Your plan is how you going to lose weight, what you will eat or not eat, when and how much you will exercise, identifying your stumbling blocks, etc.
If you have a plan and obediently follow it, you will lose weight. The key to the measurement of success for your plan is obedience. If you do not lose weight, but are following the plan obediently, then you have to reevaluate your plan.
Made to Crave: Week 3 - Day 3
Week 3 - Day 3
Chapter 8 - Making Peace with the Realities of My Body
Here are some key points from the chapter that jumped off the page and whacked me upside the head!
pg 81 Define your week by obedience, not by a number of the scale.
pg 82 Yes, eating healthy and exercising get our bodies into better shape, but we are never supposed to get the satisfaction our souls desire from our looks...The only true satisfaction we can seek is the satisfaction of being obedient to the Lord.
pg 83 if I allowed my brain to park in a place of dissatisfaction about any part of my body, it would give Satan just enough room to move in with his lie that strips me of motivation.
Do you see the links to your success yet? Seeking the satisfaction of being obedient to the Lord will benefit you spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Focusing on yourself, in any way negatively, only allows Satan in. Your level of motivation and your success are possible only when you are focused on getting closer to God.
Chapter 8 - Making Peace with the Realities of My Body
Here are some key points from the chapter that jumped off the page and whacked me upside the head!
pg 81 Define your week by obedience, not by a number of the scale.
pg 82 Yes, eating healthy and exercising get our bodies into better shape, but we are never supposed to get the satisfaction our souls desire from our looks...The only true satisfaction we can seek is the satisfaction of being obedient to the Lord.
pg 83 if I allowed my brain to park in a place of dissatisfaction about any part of my body, it would give Satan just enough room to move in with his lie that strips me of motivation.
Do you see the links to your success yet? Seeking the satisfaction of being obedient to the Lord will benefit you spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Focusing on yourself, in any way negatively, only allows Satan in. Your level of motivation and your success are possible only when you are focused on getting closer to God.
Made to Crave: Week 3 - Day 2
Week 3 - Day 2
Workbook - I'm Not Defined by the Numbers
2Peter1:3-8 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
pg 68 It is through biblical promises that we find the courage to deny unhealthy desires...Getting healthy is not just about faith, goodness, and knowledge. We have to add to that foundation by choosing to be self-controlled and choosing to persevere even when the journey gets really hard.
Look at the phrase "if you possess these qualities in increasing measure". These qualities are like stepping stones. For example, you can't get to perseverance without first having self-control. These stepping stones are a model for your Christian life. The first step is faith, which is your faith in salvation. The faith you have when you are saved. As you grow in your faith and as a Christian your faith leads to goodness - or in the NLT 'moral excellence". You begin to live a life that turns away from sin and turns to God.
As you live a godly life you are continuing to grow as a Christian and gaining knowledge, you are getting to know God better. This knowledge leads to self-control, you are increasingly able to have discipline over temptations and desires. Increased self-control gives you the ability to have greater perseverance - to keep going no matter how hard it gets.
Godliness is your godly character, you are seeing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Brotherly love is the love you feel for other Christians, you love them as your family.
And finally, love - the NLT says it this way "and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone."
If you are not at that final step, having genuine love for everyone (yes, that would be every single person in the world, even the worst of the worst), then you need to back down those steps and find out what step you are on in your Christian life and keep working on moving up. If you don't continue to grow as a Christian you will become consumed with yourself. A failure to grow means we have forgotten what God did for us. Instead, we want to grow further away from our old life and closer to God.
Workbook - I'm Not Defined by the Numbers
2Peter1:3-8 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
pg 68 It is through biblical promises that we find the courage to deny unhealthy desires...Getting healthy is not just about faith, goodness, and knowledge. We have to add to that foundation by choosing to be self-controlled and choosing to persevere even when the journey gets really hard.
Look at the phrase "if you possess these qualities in increasing measure". These qualities are like stepping stones. For example, you can't get to perseverance without first having self-control. These stepping stones are a model for your Christian life. The first step is faith, which is your faith in salvation. The faith you have when you are saved. As you grow in your faith and as a Christian your faith leads to goodness - or in the NLT 'moral excellence". You begin to live a life that turns away from sin and turns to God.
As you live a godly life you are continuing to grow as a Christian and gaining knowledge, you are getting to know God better. This knowledge leads to self-control, you are increasingly able to have discipline over temptations and desires. Increased self-control gives you the ability to have greater perseverance - to keep going no matter how hard it gets.
Godliness is your godly character, you are seeing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Brotherly love is the love you feel for other Christians, you love them as your family.
And finally, love - the NLT says it this way "and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone."
If you are not at that final step, having genuine love for everyone (yes, that would be every single person in the world, even the worst of the worst), then you need to back down those steps and find out what step you are on in your Christian life and keep working on moving up. If you don't continue to grow as a Christian you will become consumed with yourself. A failure to grow means we have forgotten what God did for us. Instead, we want to grow further away from our old life and closer to God.
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