I hope everyone has managed to see Carls story and hear his words that I've used in the title. Words he spoke when he first came to know Jesus.
The verses that really spoke to Carl soon after were Heb 13:5 "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" and Rom 8:15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Knowing God will never leave us can bring amazing confidence. He is there in all of our situations (it was also pointed out in our group that it can be awkward sometimes when we know we're not doing Gods will!). For some knowing God as our Father isn't always straight forward as we have many different experiences of fatherhood. Some people reflected more on their experience of God the Father helping in their role as a parent.
Thinking about the importance of the Chritian faith not becoming a set of rules and with Easter fast approaching I was reminded of Jesus's promise before he was crucified.
Luke 22:20
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Jeremiah 31:33
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Food for thought.....?
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A really good comment on this study Matt. The thing which challenged me regarding this study was the 2nd question about living in fear. Whilst it may seem strange to say it might be said that fear is a huge hinderance to us. It is difficult to grasp the reality of the scripture "perfect love drives out fear". In the west we are fearful about our security (job/employment, etc) and our status. it is perhaps fear which prevents us from letting God have "all of our lives". In addition (and this was from a study on stress in a recent professional magazine) fear is a contributory factor to stress related illness in the workplace. Same things - living under threat of redundancy, fear of technology and the fact that we "don't understand stuff anymore", fear of the unknown (our job, company, etc) is in the hand of others.
ReplyDeleteMuch of this has a resonance for me - perhaps it has for others as well. Something to try and do with our fear is to bring it to God of course .... and this is where the fatherhood of God comes into play ... HE KNOWS and wants to help. Just as a decent earthly dad is always good for knowing how to wire a plug, pay an unexpected bill or be a taxi driver from time to time .... God (in a rather more awesome and magnificent way) can provide the support/help we crave. Sorry for the waffle about this but your blog just made me think! All the best
Regarding Code 2 Study III ... been thinking about the questions and especially what can come in and "rob us" of God's abundance. Reading some Philip Yancey he stated the following: "St Augustine observed that evil has no power to create, can only bend and twist the good that God has created". It made me think that the things that "rob us" are not necessarily bad in themselves but that the Evil one can corrupt them and make them have wrong emphasis in our lives - I am sure we all know how the good things in life - alcohol, sex, work - can all be "bent" by Satan that in our world we see addition to drink, porn and even ambition/getting ahead - so for me this week it has led me to pray to be mindful that the good things God gives do not become what they should not and thus rob me of the joy God intended in them.
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