If God is in Control, then why do I have a headache?

 

I just started going to a woman’s Bible study a few weeks ago and this is the Bible Study we just started this past week.  It’s a pretty good one so far. 
Here’s a little bit about it.

Product Description

A woman's spiritual struggles can have a profound impact on her health. It is through our bodies that we are tempted. It is also through our bodies that we serve God. Does God care about our physical struggles?

This six-week interactive study examines the stories of biblical women to reveal that God cares deeply about our bodies and our health. Each week's five day lesson will combine a Bible story with a health issue. The topics covered are: fasting, stewardship of our bodies, depression, chronic illness, attitudes that lead to illness and freedom from toxins. Each day's lesson will offer you the following sections: Inductive Bible Study, Apply God's Word, Up Close and Personal, and A Prayer Opportunity. A Thinking It Over section is at the end of Day 5.

This study is not intended to diagnose or treat any health condition the reader may have. Rather, its purpose is to motivate the believer to realize how much God cares about our physical condition, and its relation to our spiritual lives.

 

So this is part of why I haven’t been blogging that much, I have just been trying to focus on it and stay off the computer.  I hope everyone has been doing well!!

Oh, and I could use some prayers too… I start teaching 1st & 2nd grade Sunday School classes on Sunday.  I am only doing it for a month but I have never taught before.. prayers on that are more than welcome!  Thanks! 

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My expectation is from Him

5 My soul, wait thou in silence for God only;6 He only is my rock and my salvation:7 With God is my salvation and my glory:8 Trust in him at all times, ye people;Psalm 62:5-8

"My expectation is from him."

It is the believer's privilege to use this language. If he is looking for aught from the world, it is a poor "expectation" indeed. But if he looks to God for the supply of his wants, whether in temporal or spiritual blessings, his "expectation" will not be a vain one. Constantly he may draw from the bank of faith, and get his need supplied out of the riches of God's lovingkindness. This I know, I had rather have God for my banker than all the Rothschilds. My Lord never fails to honour his promises; and when we bring them to his throne, he never sends them back unanswered. Therefore I will wait only at his door, for he ever opens it with the hand of munificent grace. At this hour I will try him anew. But we have "expectations" beyond this life. We shall die soon; and then our "expectation is from him." Do we not expect that when we lie upon the bed of sickness he will send angels to carry us to his bosom? We believe that when the pulse is faint, and the heart heaves heavily, some angelic messenger shall stand and look with loving eyes upon us, and whisper, "Sister spirit, come away!" As we approach the heavenly gate, we expect to hear the welcome invitation, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." We are expecting harps of gold and crowns of glory; we are hoping soon to be amongst the multitude of shining ones before the throne; we are looking forward and longing for the time when we shall be like our glorious Lord--for "We shall see him as he is." Then if these be thine "expectations," O my soul, live for God; live with the desire and resolve to glorify him from whom cometh all thy supplies, and of whose grace in thy election, redemption, and calling, it is that thou hast any "expectation" of coming glory.*From my Reading plan at YouVersion
"Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." 2 Thessalonians 3:16
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The Power of a Whisper

Our church is doing a new Bible Study this month about The Power of a Whisper by Bill Hybels.  It’s pretty exciting and very powerful.  We just started it this past Sunday but what I have read so far it is so inspiring!!  We had to read 3 chapters before last Sunday and then we have to read 2 chapters before next Sunday.  They are very easy to read and, like I said before, very inspiring!

Here’s what they had on Amazon about it.

From Publishers Weekly

Hybels, founding pastor of the globally influential Willow Creek Community Church, writes about learning to hear the "communicating God." Describing his life as a 50-year whisper-fueled odyssey, he says he waited nearly four decades to write this book because of controversy surrounding claims of hearing divine messages. In contrast to those who are certain they have heard God speak, Hybels points readers to the Holy Spirit's subtle "Wind Words," saying the problem is not God's silence but whether Christians have ears to hear. Hybels weaves personal stories, biblical principles, and global stories of others, saying no goal is more critical than keeping a "pliable heart before God." He writes that his suburban Chicago megachurch and its worldwide associated network of churches exist today because at low points in Hybels's life, God "graciously whispered to me."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

I really encourage anyone that wants to hear His whispers to check it out!!

Here’s a link to Zondervan’s site about the book too.

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The Word was WITH God!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ~John 1:1

We were going over this in Sunday school a few weeks back.  You know I have read this verse many times but for some reason I just never really got that ‘The Word’ was WITH God!  Jesus was with God from the beginning!!  I just loved that and it proves to me that Jesus has always been with God our Father!

Here is the paper they gave us that Sunday.  It was part of the “New Believers” class they had that I didn’t get a chance to go to.  Bro. Tom was nice enough to print them all up for me too! 

GOD

There is only one true and living God.  He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe.  God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections.  To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.  The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.

 

It is impossible to define God, but not impossible to describe Him!

Let’s take a look at God’s natural attributes, or different descriptions of God. 

He is:

Self-Existing & Eternal- He has always been here, and always will. 

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God…” 

Genesis 21:33 “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.”

Jeremiah 10:10 “But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King.”

Immutable- meaning the God does not change.

James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”

Psalm 110:4 “The LORD has sworn
   and will not change his mind:
You are a priest forever,
   in the order of Melchizedek.”

Omnipresent- God is present at all times in every part and time of His universe.  He is not limited by time or space, and is a free personal Spirit.

Psalm 139:7-12 Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from Your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, You are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there Your hand will guide me,
   Your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to You;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to You.

God’s Immensity- He is superior to space.  He is the God of the universe.  No human concept can contain Him.

Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
   How unsearchable his judgments,
   and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
   Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
   that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things.
   To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

Omniscient- God has all knowledge.  He knows all things simultaneously.  His knowledge is immediate, without the process of thought reason or inference.  His knowledge of events does not necessarily mean He predetermined them.  God knows the workings of all laws, natural, moral, spiritual, and physical.  We have the right to choose and are responsible for these choices.  God knows these choices before hand, but does not predetermine them.

Colossians 2:3- “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Deutoronomy 30:19- “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”

Omnipotent- God possess all power.  He can do anything in keeping with His nature and purpose.  The only limits to His power are self imposed.  He cannot lie or act contrary to His own laws, character, and purpose.  These limitations are evidence of God’s power, not of His weakness.

The Four moral attributes of God are:

Holy- God’s supreme moral excellence.  More than perfect.  A complete absence of evil.

Isaiah 6:3- “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

Righteous- Because God is Holy, He cannot ignore or condone evil.  What is good in God, He demands in man.  He makes us right, or righteousness through Christ. 

Romans 10:1-13 “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.  For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.  Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down)  “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Truth- God is the source and ground for all truth.  He is the criteria through which all thoughts and acts shall be judged.  All truth is of God!
John 17:17 “Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.”

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”

Love- “This is the attribute that permeates, or brings about, all other of God’s attributes.”

1 John 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

1 John 4:16 “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”

1 Corinthians 13 tells us all about “Love” therefore tells us about God!

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part,  but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.  For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
 

So I know this was long but I really loved all the information it gives and how it clears up so much!  I just hope that this might help someone else.  Hope everyone has a blessed day!

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Something to think about & work on…

This was another additional reading from my morning and evening reading plan… Something I really need to work on a little more.

Not sure who actually wrote the devotional though but it’s from YouVersion.

 

"Your heavenly Father."

God's people are doubly His children, they are His offspring by creation, and they are His sons by adoption in Christ. Hence they are privileged to call Him, "Our Father which art in heaven." Father! Oh, what precious word is that. Here is authority: "If I be a Father, where is Mine honor?" If ye be sons, where is your obedience? Here is affection mingled with authority; an authority which does not provoke rebellion; an obedience demanded which is most cheerfully rendered--which would not be withheld even if it might. The obedience which God's children yield to Him must be loving obedience. Do not go about the service of God as slaves to their taskmaster's toil, but run in the way of His commands because it is your Father's way. Yield your bodies as instruments of righteousness, because righteousness is your Father's will, and His will should be the will of His child. Father!--Here is a kingly attribute so sweetly veiled in love, that the King's crown is forgotten in the King's face, and his sceptre becomes, not a rod of iron, but a silver sceptre of mercy--the sceptre indeed seems to be forgotten in the tender hand of him who wields it. Father!--Here is honor and love. How great is a Father's love to his children! That which friendship cannot do, and mere benevolence will not attempt, a father's heart and hand must do for his sons. They are his offspring, he must bless them; they are his children, he must show himself strong in their defense. If an earthly father watches over his children with unceasing love and care, how much more does our heavenly Father? Abba, Father! He who can say this, hath uttered better music than cherubim or seraphim can reach. There is heaven in the depth of that word--Father! There is all I can ask; all my necessities can demand; all my wishes can desire. I have all in all to all eternity when I can say, "Father."

 

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26

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Convenient Temptation

this was my Bible study for Tuesday and just wanted to share it….

Satan’s smart enough to make temptation convenient.  We don’t have to get off the freeway, make a U-turn and drive back three exits in order to enjoy the pleasures it promises. 

Jesus was met by satan after forty days of fasting.  Jesus had already been through forty days of withstanding the temptation to eat, to drink, to take courage for Himself from food.  After that forty days of successfully handling temptation, satan came to push the issue further.  Stones, conveniently  placed, could easily be turned to bread. 

Satan knows our schedules, our needs and our predicaments.  He knows when we’ve been up too many nights in a row and our tempers are on edge.  He knows when we’re lonely.  He knows the details of our marriages.  he wars with us over our desires and even when we make a decision to leave him behind, he stays right with us.  Surprised, we practically trip over him in the process of getting to God.

We need to be prepared to face temptation.  We can expect it to be convenient.  When we see it up ahead, we need to keep on driving. 

Passage:

Luke 4:1-13

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered.

And the devil said unto Him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

And the devil said unto Him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.

And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence:

For it is written, He shall give His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee:

And in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season.

 

Additional Scripture Readings:

1 Corinthians 10:13

2 Peter 2:9

 

 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

 

if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.

2 Peter 2:9

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