Week Six: Believing God's Word is Alive and Active in You

God really spoke to me during Week Six -- what about you?

I loved how Beth encouraged us to think of loved ones and their needs and to pray specific Scriptures. For example, one couple that I prayed for needs God to answer prayers about the sale of their house, schooling for kids, etc. A couple of the verses that I am now praying for them are Psalm 119:133a ("Direct my footsteps according to your Word" and Isaiah 8:17, "I will wait for the Lord ... I will put my trust in Him.")

And I was reminded of the many times when I've prayed for things and later have been so grateful that God did not answer my prayers. For me this included houses that we did not buy, jobs that I didn't get, places that we didn't move to. God just knows so much better than we do! He has the big picture of our lives. Too often I'm caught in the "nows" of life.

I thought what Beth said about Jabez was really interesting--How "his mother had named him Jabez saying, 'I gave birth to him in pain'" (1 Chronicles 4:9).

What did you think about this paragraph that Beth wrote: "In the story of Jabez a blatant association occurs to me. In my opinion his mother made an idol of the pain associated with his birth. I wonder how many of us have also made an idol of our past pain. Not only did she bow down to it, she also inflicted the same sentence on Jabez--until one day when he decided maybe his God was bigger than his name. Bigger than his pain."

I've sure known people who have made idols of pain. And there have been times when I've done that myself--not good. Have you ever done that?

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

Week Five: Believing You Can Do All Things Through Christ

Wasn't this another great week of Bible Study! Beth looked at the lives of Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and Rahab.

"As we continue our walk through the Hall of Faith museum," Beth said, "the stories of flesh-and-blood mortals who believed God over what they saw and felt will convince us that we can do the same."

If you're like me, you may want to read that last sentence again. Faith is believing God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do. Faith acts on that belief—not on feelings.

Rahab, a prostitute, believed that the two spies were from God and she hid them. God rewarded her faith. We are told in Joshua 6:22-25, "Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, 'Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.' So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.

"Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day."

And who is an heir of Rahab—Jesus Christ himself! Just read Matthew 1:1-16. Rahab is right there in verse 5, "Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab."

Beth said that she likes how God made sure that Rahab was in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. "He painted her picture among the greatest heroes in the Hall of Faith," she says. "I like His style."

So do I.

Beth asks: "Who was Rahab's son according to Matthew 1:5?" The answer: Boaz, the kinsman redeemer of Ruth. Somehow, until this lesson, I had overlooked this important fact. What about you?

I love what Beth said: "I wonder where he got such a redemptive heart and a faith to believe that what seems plan B might just have been plan A all along. From his mother, perchance? At one time Rahab must have felt destined to leave a legacy of shame. The day she first believed that the God of Israel was the true God of heaven and earth all that began to change."

I don't know about you, but I want to say, "Wow! We serve an awesome God!"

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/

Weeks Four: Believing You Are Who God Says You Are

This week we have studied about believing we are who God says we are. By faith, we are His, and He can do so much through us when we rely on Him.

Beth says: "I don't want God to simply treat me justly. I've made many mistakes and committed countless sins. I need mercy! How about you? The blood sprinkled from Christ's torn body speaks grace to all who accept the perfect offering by faith.

The payment for all sin--past, present, and future--has already been made. God, however, still calls His own to obedience. ... Faith means believing that blessing never fails to follow obedience, no matter the sacrifice."

We also looked at the faith of Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Isaac. There were not superhuman people. They were struggling people--just like you and me. They had a choice to believe God in their personal lives or not--just like you and me. And they chose to believe Him.

Beth says that our personal testimonies are our own stories of God's faithfulness in our personal lives.

And then, at the end of this week's study, Beth said something that I think is profound: "Thus far in our study we've viewed faith primarily from the standpoint of action. In other words, we believe; therefore, we act. Today we see a different and oftentimes harder dimension of faith: when faith requires us to do nothing at all, while our human nature screams to interfere. In these cases we believe; therefore, we do not act. Wisdom is knowing the difference between the two."

Week Three: Believing God Can Do What He Says He Can Do

This week Beth shared so many wonderful points. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Faith fills the gap between our theology and reality.
• God is offended when our desire for signs and wonders eclipses our desire for Him or becomes a request for God to prove Himself. God reads every petition we make on the tablets of our hearts.
• Ours is a God of wonders who is still very capable of performing miracles.
• You can't lose when you earnestly seek God. Even if you don't find the answer, you'll find the Author.
• A seamstress cannot mend a fabric she does not hold in her hands. Likewise, God cradles us in His careful hands as He stitches our broken pieces back together again, forming a new and far more beautiful garment. 
• Our teacher gives no accidental exams. 

As we go about our day, may we remember that God nothing is impossible with God!

                                                 Lord, I have heard of your fame;
                                            I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord.
                                                      Renew them in our day,
                                              in our time make them known.
                                                                                   (Hab. 3:2)

Week Two: Believing God is Who He Says He Is

I just love what Beth Moore said this week about our view of God: "We're trying to make God behave and fit in our comprehensive textbooks. In doing this we make Him common. But we can't tame The Lion of Judah!"

She's so right. We try to understand God, and often we simply can't. After all, He is Almighty God who always was and always will be.

Beth also said that God's holiness is His otherness and that our lives will reflect the God we perceive. Her words make me examine my life--I have some work to do, what about you?

How did God speak to you during Week Two of our study?

Week One: Believing God for Your Promised Land

We are off on a great journey with Beth Moore, aren't we! How did God speak to your heart during Beth's video this week?

I was struck by the fact that God has a promised land for us not only in heaven but also here on earth. The visual picture of the Israelites dying in the wildness, never reaching their promised land on earth because of their unbelief, really struck me.

I also liked the visual picture of the ducks swimming in a mud puddle when a beautiful pond was nearby. I confess that too often I'm that duck splashing in that mud puddle oblivious to what God has placed right before me. What about you?

Without faith it is impossible to please God,

because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists

and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

(Hebrews 11:6)

Believing God ... He is able!
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/

Beth Moore Believing God Bible Study

As you look at the world today, and circumstances in your family and neighborhood, do you ever ask God, "Help me believe You for what seems impossible?"

Beth Moore has written a wonderful 10-week Bible study called Believing God. It's available as an online study from Lifeway: http://www.lifeway.com/believingGod.

I've begun the online Believing God study and it's so encouraging! Would you like to join me on this amazing journey? We serve a big God who is able to do anything!

Once a week I'll post something on this blog. I'd love to interact with you in the comments.

Believing God ... He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

Photo © Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

Beth Moore's Believing God Bible Study

As you look at the world today, and circumstances in your family and neighborhood, do you ever ask God, "Help me believe You for what seems impossible?"

Beth Moore has written a wonderful Bible study called Believing God. On February 1, 2011, I'll start going through this timely study with a small group of ladies. You can join us by enrolling in the online version of Believing God from Lifeway ($23.95). You can watch the same videos online that we'll watch in person. And then we can all share what we are learning on this blog Want to Study the Bible (you can also join in the Lifeway online discussion).

If you are interested in knowing more about this Bible study, please e-mail me: mary@marymaywrites.com.

I'm looking so forward to learning more about believing God!

He is able,
Mary
www.marymaywrites.com
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