"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" ~ John 6:63
I know that we are all struggling to finish - even I had to breeze through 8 and 9 in order to catch up. Thanks to those who have stuck it through. You are true troopers!
1. What BLESSED you most this lesson?
I loved reading the verse in Isaiah about the Spirit of the Lord resting on our Lord Jesus, "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." I see that our Lord was also led by the Holy Spirit - once again demonstrating a perfect example to His disciples (us) that our calling and ministry can only be fruitful if we are led by the Spirit.
2. What CHALLENGED you most and how do you intend to apply it (with prayer and the help of the Holy Spirit)?
"Expressing in tangible ways our conviction that the spiritual is greater than the material." How does my daily life and decisions reflect this belief? I am being very convicted about material things and how my checkbook reflects my true heart - "the goodness of the material is at its best when it serves spiritual purposes." This is overflowing into other areas - the use of my time, what I put before my eyes, how much time I spend on the phone, the foolishness of my conversation, the motivations that drive me day to day. Valuing the spiritual over the material (or temporal) needs to stand before me reminding me to make the choice that most impacts eternity!
3. Prayer requests and other comments.
Let's pray for those who we haven't heard from lately as well as for each other. We only have 2 more weeks to go. Surely we can finish this now! :-) Looking forward to reading your responses. Love, Jules
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2 comments:
1. What BLESSED you most this lesson?
Reading about Jesus' purpose of His life was a true blessing. As I read through, it was obvious and blatant that His sole purpose for living was to serve His Father and serve others in the Father's interests. In everything He did, He did for His father's purposes, and He did everything perfectly and humbly, fulfilling the greatest commandment by loving God with all of His heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving those around Him as one would love himself. I pray that we can all have the same kind of devotion and single-mindedness to serve God and honor Him in everything we do, just as Jesus did!
2. What CHALLENGED you most and how do you intend to apply it (with prayer and the help of the Holy Spirit)?
Like Julie, I was also challenged by the fact that the spiritual has control over the material. I kind of took the lesson in a different light; I meditated on that, and came to realize that the spiritual cannot be overpowered or superseded by the material, which is why the spiritual has control over the material. However, I falter and think the exact opposite many times. I find myself thinking quite often that the spiritual purposes in my life are hindered by physical, material voids. Not only am I wrong in thinking that the spiritual is subject to the material, but I am also guilty of not having faith in the power of the spirit. If I even have faith the size of a mustard seed, then I would be able to move mountains! I need to pray for a heart that trusts less in the things of the world or the things I can see, and pray for a heart that has more faith in the things which we cannot see; to be assured of things hoped for, and convicted of things not seen (Heb 11:1).
3. Prayer requests and other comments.
It turns out that I won't be going to missions this summer in Taiwan. My parents are still not going to give me my passport: BUT I do sense that God is (slowly) changing their hearts. They asked me to hold off on these plans for now, and let them think and dwell more on the fact that I really desire to do these things. Basically, they asked for time to let the realization soak in. This is far more gracious and humble than I was ever expecting to hear coming from them! Praise God! I won't exerting any more efforts to go this summer, as I have exhausted all my options. I am at peace and thank God that He allowed me to run this segment of the race on sure, solid footing, steadying myself on Him who is the Rock. I thank Him that He was the one that gave me strength to endure and persevere through everything by fixing my hope on Him who was before me. Please pray with me for my parents & family, that God would continue to work in their hearts to consider allowing me to go and do His work. Please pray for me also, that I would walk in a manner worthy of the gospel that saved me, and that God would grant me the will to demonstrate my observable life and speech in front of my family in such a way that I would not hinder or damage any work that God is doing in their lives. Thank you for your prayers!
Wow, Arthur!! I am amazed how you are handling this!! I would say that the Lord is strengthening you at this time and really giving you the opportunity to heavily depend on Him. Praise the Lord!! I will keep you and your family in my prayers. I know that it must be hard - I also have experienced similar disapproval because of where our convictions were leading me and my family. As long as we stand on the solid Rock, we are guaranteed His perfect plan to come to fruition.
Jules
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