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A WOMAN’S JOURNEY WITH GOD

Focus Verse: “My Father, You are the Lord my God. I desire to love You, to listen to Your voice, and hold fast to You, for You, Lord, are my life”. Deuteronomy 30:20

“God With Us”

Bible Study #1

Study Text: “So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.” John 1:14 NLT

Introduction: Little girls demand an intimacy in their friendships most boys prefer living without. Nine year old Jonathan told his mother, “our school bus is so empty we each have a whole seat to ourselves. But the girls are so dumb – they squeeze together on one seat!” As women, our need for relationships rarely changes. Sociological studies repeatedly show women’s relationships to be deeper and more plentiful than men’s. Reuben Welch, in his book We Really Do Need Each Other , reminds us that we are created for relationships; it is God’s design that we should be in relationship with Him and with others. He never intended for us to be loners. Researchers have recently studied the age old mystery of what makes people happy. Their answer is not what might be expected. What comes up consistently at the top of the charts is not success, good looks, or any of these enviable assets. The clear winner is relationships – close relationships. We want to feel like we belong to someone.

“God with us” is a central truth of the Christian faith. It is the message of hope that kept theHebrew people through the twists and turns of history. The God who dwelt in the Old Testament tabernacle now came as a human being. It is about God being here for us. He made room in His life for us. “He became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood” (The Message). He asks us to make room in our life for Him. It is the most important relationship decision we can make for it has “eternal value”. Jesus said, “Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends” (Revelation 3:20 NLT). How incredible that God Almighty, in Jesus Christ, desires to dwell with and in us! He wants to be the one in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28NIV) . What a journey He offers!

God With Us - Receive His Pardon
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” Isaiah 55:6-7 NIV

To pardon is to release from disfavor or punishment; to excuse or forgive. Mercy is defined as the giving of a second chance. “How kind the Lord is! How good He is! So merciful, this God of ours”! (Psalm 116:5 NLT) .

In the Bible, the word “salvation” refers to deliverance from sin and its final consequences – death and eternity in hell. Everyone needs to be saved because of our sinful nature and sinful actions. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NIV). We all need God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness to pardon sins and provide the gift of eternal life. Jesus demonstrated God’s love for us when He died for our sins on the cross. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18 NKJV) . The pardoning death of Jesus Christ for our sins is the heart of the Gospel (see 1 Corinthians 15:1, 3, 4) . What a gift! We don’t deserve it and we can’t earn it, but it’s ours for the asking.

Ponder: Nine year old Laura, like all little girls, loves to receive gifts. From the time she learned to speak, upon opening a gift she would exclaim, “just what I always wanted”! Naturally, her family loves giving to her. She has such a grateful heart. Jesus says, “Reach out, accept My gift of pardon. Your name is on it. Let’s take a journey together”. Accepting, you will exclaim, “just what I always wanted…just what I always needed’! This is the truth of the Gospel. Do you believe God!

God With Us – Rely on His Power
 “As we know Jesus better, His divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive His own glory and goodness” 2 Peter 1:3 NLT.

God’s help is always sufficient no matter what circumstances we face. Our weakness and inability to handle circumstances becomes the occasion for Him to more fully demonstrate His strength. We can rejoice in the midst of the “stuff of life” because they force us to turn to Christ and experience His power in all situations. Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV.

Testimony: While in Europe researching her book Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy, Marie Chapian traveled through Yugoslavia from Slovenia to Macedonia. She interviewed factory workers, peasants, gypsies, doctors and laborers, as well as former Communist party officials. She wanted to know how Christians sustained their faith through the devastation of two world wars. She heard story after story of courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. She talked to those who had been imprisoned and whose future seemed hopeless; people who had been sick and wasted physically; people who were starving, who ate scraps out of garbage cans. These were brave people – weak, defenseless people – but those for whom the grace of the Lord was sufficient. In their weakness, his power was made perfect. (Women’s Devotional Bible – page 1284)

Ponder: Are your weaknesses an opportunity for God’s power to be made perfect in you? Do you believe His grace is sufficient in every situation?

It’s so easy for us to try to go it alone. We plow ahead, motivated by emotion or will. We plunge headlong into a situation thinking we can handle it all on our own. Why bother God with this “little” problem. Or, we don’t go it alone; we just run away and hide; perhaps thinking it will go away. God doesn’t really care about this. When we develop an out of focus view of Almighty God, we miss out on the blessings of His strength to help us. When we set aside His promises to be with us through everything we face, we miss out on experiencing His mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him” Psalm 28:7 NKJV.

Joni Eareckson Tada broke her neck (fractured the fifth cervical) at the age of 17 in a diving accident in the murky waters of Chesapeake Bay, which left her a quadriplegic. She became a believer and prayed to be healed. But God had other plans for this marvelous young woman. He began to use her – wheelchair and all – in a worldwide ministry.

Nothing is too hard for God. He is supreme in His authority and absolute in His ability. His Word declares…”How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! The Lord supports the humble, but he brings the wicked down into the dust” Psalm 147:5-6 NLT. No matter your circumstance, rely on His power. Nothing is too difficult for Him!

Prayer: Father God, I’m asking for Your power to fill me when I am tired and worn out. I’m asking for Your strength when I am weak. I believe you are walking with me on this journey, finding daily strength from Your presence and power. I believe You when You assure me I can walk and not faint. I praise You for Your power in my life.

God With Us – Remember His Promises
“Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day” 1 Kings 8:56, 61.

To remember is to “recall to mind”; to “keep in one’s thoughts”. To understand these verses from 1 Kings, we must remember the prosperity of Solomon’s reign was a result of God’s promises to faithful servants like Moses and David. But each generation has its own covenant responsibility, which led Solomon to the exhortation in verse 61.

It has been said, “the church is never more than one generation from extinction”. It is imperative that we remember to remember God’s promises. There is much in our present day to cloud the remembering of those promises. Don’t succumb to such uncertainty or doubt.

Testimony: Orphaned when I was 13, I carried for many years God’s promise given to me as my mother spoke her last words here on earth. “The Lord takes care of His own”, she said with confidence and peace. Sometime later, I read Psalm 27:10 and remembered this was the promise she shared with me. “Even if my mother and father abandon me (through death), the Lord will hold me close” (NLT). He has never failed in that promise.

Promises for your walk with God:

• “If we walk in the light as He (God) is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” 1John 1:7 NKJV.
• “And this is what He (God) promised us – even eternal life” 1John 2:25 NIV.
• “The Lord who created you says: Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” Isaiah 43:1-3a NLT.
• “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28 NIV.
• Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” John 14:27 NKJV.
• Jesus said, “I am come that you may have life and have it to the full” John 10:10 NIV.

Praise: I praise You, Heavenly Father, for I know that the Son of God has come, and he has given me understanding so that I can know the true God. And now I am in God because I am in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and He is eternal life” 1 John 5:20 NLT.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own;

And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.

“He has shown us what is good; and what does the Lord require of you

But to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8

February Study

A Woman’s Journey With God

An Amazing Walk in Love

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