Lasting Effects…..
29 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
I recently finished a Bible Study at the Cove in Asheville with Kendra Graham. I truly enjoyed it and will miss the teaching through which she blessed us. Even my husband was impressed as he sat under her teaching on Valentine’s Day. We were allowed to bring someone with us that night. (It was the most special Valentine’s Day we’ve enjoyed together in a long time!)
I just wanted to share a few thoughts from Joshua, Chapter 7. It is a hard chapter because it’s dealing with sin. Kendra titled her message for that chapter: “Sin’s Risky Investment”. It was sobering to see how lightly we consider sins in our lives. I’m amazed that God hasn’t given up on me, yet He continues to teach me new things each day. I’m also learning that the more I get in God’s Word the more I learn about him and just how little I really do know about His character.
Using the 3 question method for my own thoughts, here’s what I noted. In bold print are the facts from the verses. (I used the NKJV). My thoughts on the verses are in plain print and the italic print is the questions I came up with to apply the verses as life lessons. Although I know you probably have your own method of studying the Bible, I’ve found this to be a remarkable way for God to speak to me personally.
What Does It Say? What Does It Mean? What Does It Mean to Me?
V .2 Joshua sent men saying, “Go and view the country.” Maybe Joshua sent others to do what he should have done himself. Joshua didn’t consult the Lord first. Do I consult the Lord before I take action? Do I allow others to do what I should be doing?
v. 3 They returned and said, “Let not all go, only 2 or 3 thousand.” They underestimated the force they were up against. Do I underestimate the enemy? Do I make excuses?
v. 4 – 5 Three thousand went and fled before Ai. Ai smote 36 in the going down. The hearts of the people melted and became as water. The enemy is fierce. We can’t fight without God’s help. Your enemies will stab you in the back. It will affect the way you and others feel. Do I ask for the Lord’s help in everything I do or just when I need it? How do I seek God? What are specific ways I should be seeking God that pleases him? Am I going about without my “armor” on? Are my actions affecting others toward God or causing them to be distressed?
v. 7 Joshua said, “O LORD God, why have you brought us over Jordan, to destroy us?” It’s OK to question God but be prepared for the answer. What Joshua is doing is human nature. Sometimes we can get prideful and forget how good God has been to us. Am I prepared to hear from God? Has my pride clouded my view of how good God is to me?
v. 10 The LORD God said, “Get up! Why are you on your face?” You have to go on. Get off the negative thoughts. Don’t compare yourself to others. God wants to deal with sin. What am I doing to magnify the great name of God? What bothers me most, reputation or consequences?
v. 11 Israel sinned and transgressed my covenant. They took, stole, and dissembled the accursed thing even among their own stuff. Clean yourself up. If you’re not clean, you can’t go before the throne with boldness. God is dealing with the heart. In what ways or areas do I need to clean myself up so I can approach God with boldness?
v. 13 Up, sanctify the people. You can not stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing. Set yourself apart from the world. Repent, recommit, and return. Then you can accept God’s call, advance in the plan, and achieve what God has placed before you. Can the world recognize me as a sanctified child of God? Am I willing to repent, recommit, and return to where God wants me to be so that I can claim true victory?
v. 15 He and all he has shall be burnt that has taken the accursed thing because he transgressed the covenant of the LORD and worked folly in Israel. Your sin affects everything around you and can destroy it. Sin leaves a mark. Sins’ effects continue from generation to generation. Christ paid the ultimate price for our sin. Am I willing to take the risk of how sin affects others around me? Do I recognize how much Christ paid to take my sins upon Himself so that I could be where I am today? Am I willing to share what Christ has done with others? Does the wrath that Christ took upon Himself for our sin motivate me to share the gospel? Why am I not sharing the gospel more and more each day?
Kendra made some important points that just stuck with me. Here’s a few of her thoughts:
- Achan coveted, stole, & hid treasures that were to go to God. All Israel reaped the consequences.
- Sin takes courage out of you.
- The investment of sin is always death. (Romans 6:23, Romans 3:23)
- Sin will not ever, ever be overlooked.
- What if we allowed God to reveal our sin?
- We think about grace but not the price it took to give us grace.
- Conviction from God is clear. Condemnation is from the enemy.
- It’s a choice – failure or victory. We’re not hopeless. God gave His Son.
- What is God asking me to remove from my life so that we can have a restored fellowship?
- Sin leaves us in a whole lot of debt.
- Jesus comes to our defense. Repent, turn, come!
- God wants His people to know their God!
- His love is personal.
Well, February is over and I’ve about let my goal of posting at least one blog entry each month slip by. My desire is to inspire you to reach out to others and allow this women’s blog to be a place for sharing, equipping, teaching, learning, and encouragement. I would love to hear your comments.
Blessings to you,
Kay
No Time?
18 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
It’s already January 18th. Over half of January is gone. All my life I’ve heard that time flies. Have you ever really thought about that? Maybe you don’t have time to think about it. Ha! So ironic! We think we have time, we think we don’t have time…..Which is it? You can’t have it both ways. Can you?
I keep thinking about this year. Just yesterday at the dentist the subject came up about how some people are glad to be through with another year. I commented how I think that 2012 will be a great year! It’s true. I’m really looking forward to this year. I love that each day is another opportunity. I’m so thankful for each new day because I’ve already made lots of mistakes this year and it’s only 18 days into a new year! Not thankful that I’ve made lots of mistakes, mind you, but that God is so merciful to give me another chance. New mercies every day, that’s what God gives us.
Then tonight at Bible Study (The book of Joshua, led by Kendra Graham, at the Billy Graham Training Center) we were reviewing what we’d learned from Chapter 1. If you haven’t ever read Joshua let me just give you a brief introduction. Chapter 1 begins with the death of Moses. Then the Lord speaks to Joshua. He reminds him that Moses is dead, and then God tells Joshua to “arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them….” Can you make the connection here? I really just got it myself. Think hard.
Kendra has been teaching a three question method for studying the verses that are really revolutionizing the way I read Scripture. With the three question method, Kendra asks us to write down facts, lessons, and life applications just using God’s Word. For the first question, “What Does It Say?” you write down the facts from the Scripture verses you read. For the second question, “What Does It Mean?” you’re writing lessons, commands, promises, or examples to follow that correspond to the verses you’ve read. Then you take the lessons, etc, and turn them into a personal question to ask yourself or others to go with the third question “What Does It Mean to Me?” God just answered a prayer for me when I signed up for this Bible Study.
But back to Joshua, Chapter 1….You see, Kendra kept mentioning that God taught her that Moses was dead. She told how it applied to her life. Well, now, the fact that Moses is dead seems to apply to how I feel about this time right now. Moses is dead! Last year is gone! It won’t come back anymore than Moses could come back (unless God ordains it to be so)! When God tells Joshua to “arise” and “go” it makes me think that it’s time to go forward. It’s time to move! Move forward in what you’re doing for the kingdom of God! Don’t wait!
In Joshua 1:3, the Lord tells Joshua “every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you.” You do see that? Every place the sole of your foot treads! That’s a lot of ground to cover! I’m excited that when God gives, He gives BIG!!! That’s a promise.
I sat beside a lady at Bible Study and as we were discussing what we learned I mentioned that I think God is telling me (us) it’s time to go, don’t wait, tell others, move forward. Her reply was, “But I don’t feel equipped.” Before I knew it I blurted out, “But we have to! We can’t use excuses anymore! We don’t have time to waste! There’s too much to be done!” I could tell by the look on her face that I reacted without thinking. I apologized and explained that I’m not good at being tactful. I’m very blunt when I have strong feelings about something. I felt quite sure that this lady will make it a point not to sit close to me at next week’s Bible Study.
OK, so maybe I haven’t stuck to my topic about time but here’s my point. Ready? God is merciful and good and kind and loving so much so that He gives us time. Time to make decisions, to take action, to move on, to make things right, to ______ (You fill in the blank).
So my question is: Are we stepping out to do what God wants or are we content to stay in our own little area?
Are you ready to cross over? No time to waste is what I think. How about you?
Believing…..
21 Dec 2011 2 Comments
in God's love
“Mrs. Sims, do you believe in Santa?”
Each year teaching school, at least one student would ask that question. Usually my response was something like, “Well, if I don’t believe in Santa, he might not bring me anything for Christmas.”
Recently, it struck me at how often we apply that thinking toward God. Do we believe in God so that He will do good things for us? Do we think that if we don’t believe in Him, He might not do what He said? Is that really true faith?
Believing is faith.
I was with a coworker the other day who was wearing a shirt that said, “Just Believe” and on her shirt was a picture of Santa Claus. We struck up a conversation about how children show true faith all the time. In her words, she stated, “If you truly have faith, you’re not going to question.” It’s true. Children don’t question certain things. Children have faith in a lot of things, like when they will be getting their next meal, having a place to sleep, parents who come and pick them up, teachers who believe in them, a mysterious figure that brings them presents on Christmas morning…..Ultimately we must have a child-like faith and teach our children to put their faith in God.
Abram had to believe that God would fulfill His promise to Him. Abram left everything and followed God. Even when things didn’t seem to be working like Abram had thought, he still believed. Genesis 15:6 says, And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
If you’ll bear with my paraphrasing of Genesis 15:1-5, I picture the conversation Abram and God had preceding verse 6 going something like this….
“Abram, don’t be afraid. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” (I like that! Don’t you?)
“But Adoni, what about my offspring that you promised?”
Taking Abram outside, the LORD said, “You’ll have offspring, Abram. Look up into the night sky and count the stars if you can. That’s a picture of what your offspring will become….too numerous to count.”
Later in Romans 4, the Bible says that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Abraham’s child-like faith is explained in detail as you look through the verses, 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Believing is something emphasized throughout the Old and New Testament. Think about the shepherds. They had to believe they were visited by angels. The Wise Men had to believe that a star would guide them to the Christ Child. Mary and Joseph had to believe Christ, the Messiah, was going to be born to them.
So what is it that we need to believe?
Romans 4 explains further the power of faith, 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
Jesus came. He lived among men even though He was God. He died and then rose again. All because of His great love!
I’m so glad that God did that for me and did it freely! He doesn’t ask us to do anything except believe. (John 3:16)
The world says seeing is believing, but God “brings us outside” (like Abram) and says, “Look up! I am there for you when you get disappointed. I am there when you get discouraged by your circumstances. I am there for you when you’re tired and hungry. I am there for you in your sickness. I am there even in death! I am there. For you. I love you. I will protect, shield, comfort, and hold you. I will be your reward for your belief.”
What if the shirt my coworker was wearing had the words “Just Believe” with a picture of Jesus? Would it make a difference?
Let this Christmas give you a child-like faith in the God of the heavens and earth, the giver of life, and the exceedingly great reward for us now and forever!
Accept it! Receive it!
Just Believe!
Merry Christmas!
Just Answer
03 Dec 2011 1 Comment
There are often times when I don’t answer the phone. I’m admitting that in hope that you won’t take it personally if you ever call and I don’t answer. Maybe you’re someone who always answers every call you get so it might be hard for you to understand why a person wouldn’t want to pick up a ringing telephone. There are many reasons for my behavior but probably the most surprising is that I’m just unwilling to talk to the person on the other end.
Sometimes I treat God that way. I know, it sounds horrible and, it is, when you consider how good God is and the grace and mercy He shows us every day. That’s why it’s important to understand God’s “ringtone”. It’s the basis for what we’re trying to accomplish in our Ladies Ministry.
We are endeavoring to carry out the ministry of the gospel at Ebenezer Baptist Church and we are inviting you to join us. Embrace…..embrace the call and the calling that God has given to you.
Embrace is also a women’s ministry supported through the NC Baptist State Convention. The vision of Embrace comes from Titus 2:3-5. “Embrace God’s call to pray for and minister to women, their families and future generations for the building up of Christ’s Kingdom.” The mission simply asks for women to follow a commandment – to carry out the Great Commission. “Embrace responds to God’s call and design to live in intimacy with Christ as they serve Him through the local church to prayerfully care for and develop a lifestyle of evangelism, discipleship and missions in women, leaving a legacy for future generations.” It is all-encompassing by asking women to engage in evangelism, discipleship, and missions. It is a ministry that can be done by any lady that’s willing. The key is willingness.
Our Ladies Council at Ebenezer has been discussing this often when we meet. Laura Hall (our fearless leader, as I like to call her) has given us great insight on the vision and direction she sees in the Ladies Ministry. As we work together, our own vision statement has developed. It states, “Each lady is divinely called to reach other women in bringing them into the fellowship of the church that Christ gave His life for in order to spread the love of Christ to others.” As with the Embrace ministry, we want to empower the older women to teach the younger women in how to act as God desires in their thoughts, actions, and words. Think of it as an investment in future generations. It is far-reaching as we endeavor to touch lives through all the other ministries in the church from the children and youth to the young and older adults. How can we make it work at Ebenezer? Answer the ringtone.
Ephesians 4:1-2 expresses our mission, “1I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love….” Paul is calling, inviting, Christians to “walk worthy”, in other words, make use of opportunities in a manner worthy of the calling that Christ gave His life for on the cross. How can anyone “walk worthy”? Only by God’s grace! It starts by giving your life to His Son, Jesus Christ. Accept His gift of salvation through faith. If you’ve never truly and totally committed your life to Jesus, stop and do it now…even before you finish reading this message! As children of God, we can lift up our heads, raise our shoulders and walk the walk that Christ has already paved for us. For He is worthy so that we can be also! Hallelujah! As opportunities arise in the ministries of the church we’ll be where we should be and where God wants us if we answer the call.
So what if Jesus called you today to ask you to go with Him to minister to others? Could you, would you answer?
Let’s start by listening for the “ringtone”. Then, just answer.
In Christ’s Love,
Kay Sims
Discussion Questions for Sessions 5 & 6 of the Ruth Study
15 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Bible Study, Discussion, Questions
Here’s the last of the Bible Study questions from Beth Moore’s 2010 Summer Siesta Bible Study on her blog posts. I wanted to put these up for any ladies who may not get to come to our last meeting tonight or who may be following online. Although we are going to do things different tonight at our Ladies Night Out, you may want to come back to these questions again as you continue to ponder how God has worked in your life during this study. I hope you will consider leaving your final thoughts on this study so that others may be encouraged by God’s working in your life. My prayer is that those of you who have gone through this study will someday be able to share the message that God has given you to others by doing this study again with a new group of ladies. I have personally enjoyed doing this study and am grateful to God for chosing me to be a facilitator. No one person had to be the “teacher” or “leader” of the group. God took control of that. He worked through me in and out! I’m more in love with Him, not only because of what He redeemed me from, but because He is my Redeemer!! How great is He!! Jesus Christ, Forever and Forever! I hope you worship Him today because He is Worthy!
A sister to you in Christ,
Kay
As you meet in your final gathering, you’ll discuss Weeks (or Sessions) Five and Six:
The first two interactives are in response to Week (or Session) Five:
- Turn to p.122 and review the paragraph in the middle of the page beginning with the words, “I wonder if your life can be easily explained.” Follow your review by sharing what you wrote in reference to the “Personal Response” portion just below it, if you feel led.
- Turn to p.136. Kelly wraps up Week Five by asking us to have a closing prayer time over the one thing that touched us most in that five-day unit. If you feel comfortable doing so, please share that one thing with your small group or, if you’re going solo, share it with me and the rest of your participating sisters.
The last two interactives are in response to Week (or Session) Six:
- Turn to p.144 and look at the wonderful bold print at the bottom of the page. Review the answer to the question, “Who suddenly takes center stage and does this surprise you?” Then, glance up to the top of the next page (p.145) and share your answers to the “Personal Take.” Have fun looking over those next couple of paragraphs Kelly wrote about “you know, the women!”
(By the way, don’t you love the way Kelly had us go back to all those references that contained descriptions of Naomi? I thought it was so insightful.)
- Day’s Four and Five are so powerful that I cannot choose just one portion for you to review. Please glance over the entire ending to the Bible study, stretching over both lessons, and share what you have gleaned from God concerning LEGACY. God is just better than He has to be, isn’t He?
Thank you, Siestas, for a great summer in God’s Word! I respect your relationships with Christ so much. I pray that He enjoys lurking here. He is everything to us.
Be thinking about how you’re going to stay in the Word this Fall! We’ll provide some accountability by asking you around the first of September about your plan for victory!
You are so loved and highly esteemed around here. Press on, Darling Things! (Beth Moore, 2010)
Summer Bible Study Questions for Sessions 3 & 4
01 Aug 2011 1 Comment
in Bible Study, Discussion, Questions
Welcome to our next Summer Bible Study discussion meeting. If you’ve found your way here, please consider leaving your comments for others to read. Our Ladies group will be meeting tonight to discuss these questions and others that are found in the back of Kelly Minter’s study on Ruth. It’s our hope that you will be blessed and encouraged by what you read here. The questions come from Beth Moore’s 2010 Summer Siesta Bible Study and can be found on her website at www.lproof.org. You may also want to watch Kelly’s video clips about her Ruth study. You can find them by visiting our church website: www.ebcnc.org and clicking on the Lifeway link for the Ruth book. There you will find support materials with all the links to the video clips and more.
Discussion Questions – Sessions 3 & 4
Based on Week (or Session) Three:
1. Turn to p.68 and review the first segment “For Discussion”: Describe a time when you were overcome by a man’s kindness. In keeping with the example of Ruth and Boaz, try to think in terms of an unexpected kindness.
2. Read Ruth 2:19-20 and review the climactic revelation in this Book of the Bible. After you read those two Scriptures, turn to p.85 and review the first couple of sentences of the paragraph in the middle of the page as follows: “It’s interesting that up to this point Naomi knew she had a kinsman-redeemer named Boaz but had no idea Ruth knew him; Ruth knew Boaz but didn’t know he was a kinsman redeemer. Suddenly these two pieces of information collided to potentially change the course of history.” Our divinely ordained collisions may not change the course of human history but they certainly change the course of our own personal history. Can any of you think of a time when God orchestrated an encounter or experience where you (or perhaps both/all parties involved) could say, “Only God could have known”? If so, share it. These would be really cool to hear in your blog comments so consider sharing one of the most meaningful examples.
Based on Week (or Session) Four:
3. Turn to p.95 and, if willing, share your answers to the “Personal Response” section at the very bottom of the page: “Describe a time when you’d done everything you could do and then had to wait for someone else’s response.”
4. Turn to p.108 and review the answer to the question in the middle of the page: “What did Boaz promise to do if the nearer relative chose not to redeem Ruth?” Then, share your responses to the discussion portion just below it where we were challenged to put ourselves in Ruth’s place. What kinds of feelings and thought processes would you have had in her exact situation?
Don’t conclude this portion of the Bible study without one of you reading the final paragraph on p.108 aloud to the rest of the group. (“If Ruth slept at all that night…).
5. Ask if one person wants to share a brand new insight she’s gained from this study regarding Christ as her Redeemer.
Please consider leaving your thoughts for others to read. Share something that was especially meaningful to you. These questions are only suggestions and you may find another topic from the study that will give insight that we all may need to hear.
Let’s continue on as we finish the study of Ruth. We’ll be gathering again in two weeks for the last two sessions, 5 & 6. Let’s do it, Ladies! God will richly reward you for your work.
Nevertheless…….
14 Jul 2011 3 Comments
in Bible Study, God's love, Rest
I woke up in the middle of the night. Nothing unusual as I do so most nights (usually to stumble my way to the bathroom). But after Monday’s discussion meeting on Ruth, something kept rolling around in my head, along with some knee and back pain that has recently begun to plague my body again. Maybe it was from the comments that were made about feeling “cursed”. (If you’re not familiar with what I’m talking about then look back on pg. 12 in Kelly Minter’s book Ruth: Loss, Love, & Legacy. If you’re not reading the study of Ruth then look up Deuternonomy 23:3-6 and compare it to Judges 3:12-14. These verses gave us insight into the relationship between the Israelites and the Moabites.) One verse kept coming back into my mind as I was trying to fall back asleep, but having no success. Having pain in my body wasn’t helping either. I was feeling cursed lying in bed with pain stabbing me in one area then another. Deuternonomy 23:5 says, “Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.”
Nevertheless…..I kept thinking of that word over and over and finally it was as if God just whispered to me in the darkness of the night, “Kay, I said ‘Nevertheless’ not ‘I don’t care less’!” Praise God! The verse says, “Nevertheless………because the LORD your God loves you” That one word, nevertheless, made all the difference in how I understood what God was trying to tell me. I’m glad He doesn’t just say, I could care less, or, I couldn’t care less, like we are so quick to do when someone hurts us or our situation is not going the way we think it should go. Pastor Tony mentioned how hard it is to understand God’s grace, and it is! But will we ever grasp how much God loves us?
God Loves Us! So rest in that thought today. I did Monday night as soon as God whispered to me, and I returned to a very peaceful sleep.
Kay Sims
