Friday, October 19, 2007

Trust.

I entitled this blog Trust. The period end mark is there for emphasis.

Trust.

Trust is such a simple, little word. With it, a child walks through life confidently and unscathed. Without it, the strongest man will be crippled and withered emotionally.

Webster defines trust as

1 a: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of
someone or something.

My favorite scripture in God's Word is Psalm 25:1,2. "To you O, Lord, do I lift up my soul. In you I trust, O, my God. Let me not be ashamed. Let not my enemies triumph over me." David was in a situation where he proclaimed through music his trust in God.

If you go to studylight.org and study this verse out, you will see what the "soul" of man is all about.

soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man ,living being, living being (with life in the blood), the man himself, self, person or individual, seat of the appetites, seat of emotions and passions
activity of mind, activity of the will, activity of the character.

In Sunday school classes I have taught that the soul is man's awareness of himself as opposed to the spirit being God conscience and the body being world conscience. It is in the soul - our emotions, our will, and our intellect - that we battle the flesh as mentioned in Romans 6, 7, and 8.

So, with all of the above in mind, the psalmist says, "To you O Lord, I lift up my soul." He, David, gave up everything that was about David. His thoughts, his desires, his feelings, his emotions, even his will, he surrendered to God. When he did that, he was able to pen the next phrase, "in you I trust, O, my God. And there is that simple little word, trust.

Trust.

When we really trust someone, we trust their nature, their character, their words,and even their intentions. Hmmmmm. That is profound isn't it? I trust my husband. I am safe with him. He loves me more than he loves himself. But more than even that, I trust God. It doesn't always come easy, just like I mentioned in my last blog about Taylor. But when we daily lift up our soul to God - our thoughts, our feelings, and our wills,- then we can trust God's nature, His character, His Words and even His intentions and plans for our life.

I could go on, but I am going to stop there and ask you to do a word search on the word "trust". You can do it in any translation you like and then find the original Greek and Hebrew word used. Just take about 10 of the verses you found and look at them. What was the writer referring to when the word trust was used? What was the situation that required trust in God? Was there anything else that stands out to you about the word trust in these scriptures?

Simply trust. Sometimes we have to learn it. Sometimes we have to just do it. Sometimes we must die to our self in order to trust.

What about you?

Trust Him.

dorinda

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Even if God Chooses Not to Heal - Will You Serve Him?

In Loveing We Die, In Dying We Live

Hey Girls!

I pray each of you are enjoying the blessings of God today!

As we get ready for another Bible study, I challenge you to pick up your shovels and get ready to dig in to find the treasure in God's Word.

We have been studying about our fleshly nature or our carnal selves. I haven't heard back from many of you, so I hope you have completed that assignment. The whole point of our previous lesson was for each of us to understand that the Word of God says to "die to our self" and our desires.

The power of salvation comes through death. Jesus died so that we might have life. When we die to ourselves, we then can accept the life Jesus offers us and live an abundant life eternally.

I am not so sure if today is going to come out as a Bible study or a devotion, but I have things on my heart that I want to share.

I read a series of books by Ted Dekker (who by the way is my most favorite author of all times) called the Martyr series. The theme throughout the three books is- "In loving we die and in dying we live." The characters learn that when you truly love someone, you are willing to die for them, and it is at that moment -when you are willing to die for someone else, that you really begin to live."

It is very simple, yet very profound - and at the same time, hard to live out in every day life. Our affluent and self-centered culture can consume our lives. If we are not careful, we will buy into the philosophy that preaches material gain and daily comfort. But, what does God's Word say about trials and persecutions?
  • Read 2 Corinthians 8:2; Hebrews 11; 1 Peter 1:7; 1 Peter 4:12; and 2 Timothy 3:12.

I don't know how to say what is on my heart without sharing this personal story, so please bear with me. Most of you know the story of Taylor's birth, but for the sake of those who do not know, please allow me to briefly summarize.

I was 29 weeks into my pregnancy. Because Mackenzie had been premature and because I was over 35, I was in the weekly office visit stage. I weighed in and had gained 14 pounds in 6 days! They immediately scheduled an ultra sound to investigate. Literally 5 seconds into the ultra sound, they sent me to the hospital because of the mass amount of fluid in my womb and in Taylor's abdomen.

To make a long story short, Taylor was not expected to live. We had to make the decision to allow them to treat her in the womb or to induce labor and let them try to treat her out of the womb. After prayer we felt God wanted to her out of my womb so they could work on her. The doctor's words echoed in our head, "Your baby will die whether we treat her in the womb or induce labor. The was no chance of a live birth."

My unborn child was going to die??? I would never see her smile. Never hear her laugh. I would never know what her voice would sound like. I would never take her to her first day of school? Never buy her a pretty dress for a special day? The room begin to spin and I reached for Rusty's hand. It was trembling. I looked in his eyes and saw the heartbreaking pain. The doctor left the room for us to have a few minutes. We clung to each other as if we were about to fall off of a cliff, both trying hard to be brave for the other one. We prayed a simple prayer and felt God's peace in allowing them to induce labor the next day.


The night before she was born, I had to make a decision. I had to decide where I stood with God regardless of the outcome. My heart was broken. I was scared. Rusty was scared. We were leaning with our whole hearts on our Mighty God. But before I sound like a "super spiritual saint", please know I battled that night.

I struggled with all of the normal questions. "Why?" "What have I done wrong?" "Why are you doing this to me?" "How could this be happening?" "I thought You would always take care of us?"

As tears streamed down my face and my heart breaking in two, feeling as if a giant elephant was sitting on my back, I heard God's gentle whisper, "Will you still love me passionately and worship me if Taylor dies?" "Will you trust me no matter what?" "Will you still serve me with your whole heart?"

I couldn't answer right away. I lay on the side of the bed. My heart was beating so hard I thought it would wake up Rusty next to me. My pillow and my hair was wet with the tears that had fallen continuously for over an hour. I heard the question and I didn't know if I could take another breath. This was it! This was a climatic moment in my walk with God. I had served Him almost my whole life. I had "surrendered all" so many times in altar calls I couldn't even count them. I had promised to follow Him all of my days. BUT - what if the all powerful God I served chose not to intervene and not to heal my unborn child? Could I still passionately pursue that God? Would I?

The clock beside ticked seconds that seemed like eternity. I knew this was not a question that I could just raise my hand in the emotion of the moment and say, "Yes, Jesus!" This question my Creator posed before me was one that placed my faith at the ultimate crossroad.

I was afraid to breathe. My hand traced my swollen abdomen. This little heartbeat had been inside of me for seven months. How would I handle not bringing home a baby from the hospital? - not seeing her take her first steps. - not having to change the diapers I had already bought. - taking the infant car seat out of my car not having a need for it?

Would I still serve God passionately? I knew I would still serve Him, but would I always have a resentment in my heart?

I wish I could say I knew immediately that I would love God no matter what. But it didn't happen that way. I had to choose. I had to make a choice to love Him and worship and adore Him regardless of the outcome the next day. I had to choose to let go of what I thought was a happy, normal life in order to let God be in ultimate control.

With a coarse, breaking voice, I whispered, "Help me, Jesus!" At that moment the floodgates of heaven released a torrent of peace that swept through my very soul. In that moment I knew I would passionately adore my Jesus no matter what the outcome. I knew He would strengthen me and help me. I literally lay my wishes, hopes, desires, and my very soul in His arms. When I "died" to what I wanted to happen, I felt more alive than I ever had before.

You may be at a crossroad in your life. You may have financial struggles that are weighing so heavy you feel as if you can't move. You may have teenagers that are wringing the very joy from every part of your life.

The frustration and bitterness is beginning to build. "Why isn't God showing up?" "Why can't He just do one small miracle for me this time?" "Why is He not answering my prayers?"

Can you let go completely, and say truthfully in your heart -

"Even if I have to declare bankruptcy, I will gladly worship and adore my Savior!"

"Even if my child continues the path he has chosen, I will gladly worship and adore my Savior!"

"If I never get another answer to prayer again, I will passionately pursue and love my Jesus!"

And that my friends is when you really begin to live. John 10:10 says "....but I have come that they might have life and have if more abundantly."

Okay, so I have shared with you one of the darkest moments of my life. What will you do with your situation? I challenge you to go back and read our scriptures from the last Bible study. Will you die to self on a daily basis? - even in the small stuff?

I leave you with my favorite scripture of all.

Psalm 25:1

With a heart of worship,

Dorinda



Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Women's Conference

I just wanted to remind you all that the annual Women's Ministries Conference is coming up on October 19 and 20 in Jacksonville, Arkansas.

There is a $35 Registration fee and if you want to spend the night, the hotel is $23/person for the night. Please see Sis. Ruby as soon as possible if you would like to go. I am working hard on figuring out a way to go myself. I will be there for the Friday evening service. I would love to see our group represented well!

Also, in case you don't know, you are a part of our WM group by being a member of this Bible Study! Any time you see a WM meeting announced, that is an invitation to YOU! WMs is a vital ministry of our church and supports great missionary endeavors. I encourage each of you to give to WMs even if you are like me and can't make all the meetings. You can mark your envelope WMs on Sundays.

One last thing, I want us all to get together for an in person time of fellowship before this year is up. If you have any ideas or suggestions, let me know!

Have a great day!
Dorinda

Monday, October 1, 2007

Thoughts on our Humanity

This week we turn a different direction in our study of our humanity. Before I post scriptures and Bible study questions, I want you to ponder a few thoughts I have about who we are and the struggles we face.


Have you ever awakened and just plain felt cruddy? You didn't feel like being nice to anyone let alone praying and talking to God. Have you ever been having a great day, and then someone says something to you that really aggravates you, and you know you shouldn't respond a certain way, but you do it anyway? Sometimes we blame our feelings or reactions on pms, hormones, or lack of chocolate, but I think sometimes we give way too much credit to these things. They are not in control of us, we are. We choose our own actions and reactions.

We are human beings. We are created in God's image to serve and worship Him. We, who are saved and follow Christ are new creations, but we still struggle with what we call our "carnal" or "sinful" nature. It is that aspect of who we are that we are going to be looking at this week, and let me warn you, it isn't a pretty sight.

So, before I post a Bible text, let me ask you to think about a few things. If you want, I would love for you to post your thoughts on these.

When you think of the following phrases, what do you think they mean?

  • sinful nature
  • carnal nature
  • flesh
  • crucified with Christ

Post your thoughts on those phrases and then our Bible study text will be in the next blog.

With a heart of worship,

Dorinda


Bible Study - Our Sinful Nature

This week's study is going to be pretty basic. I don't want to put a lot of stuff in here, because I want to build a firm understanding of who we are without Christ.

1) Please read Romans 6:6 and Romans 7:15-25. Then please read Romans chapters 6, 7 and 8. We will be focusing more on chapters 6 and 7, but I did want you to read about the positive side also. :) The results of the following will vary for each person due to the different translation you each use in your study.

2)Re-read the chapters, this time underline or highlight in your Bible, or write on a piece of paper, the different phrases used for sinful, flesh, carnal, etc.

3) Now, lets see what these phrases mean in the original Greek.
www.studylight.org/lex/grk/search.cgi?word=carnal
www.studylight.org/lex/grk/search.cgi?word=flesh
www.studylight.org/lex/grk/search.cgi?word=sinful
www.studylight.org/lex/grk/search.cgi?word=nature

4) Do you see any repeats? If on each of the above you will click on the underlined number to the left. Then scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will see scripture references where that word is used. Look at the words in the chapters we are looking at.

My goal in having you go on this particular "treasure hunt" is for you to understand exactly what Paul is saying when he is talking about our struggle with our flesh - our carnal and sinful nature.

There are basically a couple of different words he uses in the Greek and then they are translated differently once we get into different versions of the Bible. It is important for us to understand our human nature. It is more important to understand the power we have through the Holy Spirit- but that is another Bible study lesson coming soon.

You don't have to post the actual answers to your questions, but I would love to hear any comments you have regarding the scripture passages. Has there ever been a time when you were a Romans 7:15-25 Queen candidate? Did ya just know you shouldn't do something, but ya did it anyway? If it is not too damaging or scary, please feel free to "share"... :)

I love you all!
Have fun digging for treasure this week!
Dorinda