Man makes his plans, Solomon tells us, but the Lord directs his steps. I was planning to finish differently before Lent (two weeks away), but the Lord has been telling me you need a pause, a “selah,” a psalm to help you care for your soul. So this where we will be for the next two weeks. So many of you are going through stress, and life seems out of control. That’s frightening. Elizabeth remembers a time of illness, when she felt “crippled with fear because she didn’t have control.” The truth is, we never have control. There is no guarantee that Julie’s son Kyle will overcome the emotional distress of the war he was in. There is no promise … [Read More]
WORD PICTURES FROM YOU TO HELP YOU CHANGE
LAST WEEK WE BEGAN TO STUDY HOW TO USE WORD PICTURES TO SPEAK TO OUR SOULS DRAWING UPON THE PICTURES WE SEE “PAINTED” IN SCRIPTURE AND IN GREAT HYMNS WHEN THE WEEK HAD JUST DAWNED YOU WERE THERE WITH YOUR PICTURES I CANNOT MENTION THEM ALL — BUT HERE ARE SOME ANNE HAD BEEN IN PSALM 18, WHEN “GOD HEARS OUR CRY FROM HIS TEMPLE AND COMES THUNDERING DOWN TO OUR RESCUE” AND DIDN’T WE SEE THAT LIVED OUT BEFORE US WHEN OUR OWN TAMMI WAS MISSING AND THEN FOUND? OUR CRIES WENT OUT TO GOD — AND THEN OUR REJOICING! Elizabeth remembered this picture of Jesus from Revelation 19, when He returns. She wrote, once, on this … [Read More]
HOW TO TALK TO YOUR SOUL WITH WORD PICTURES
A WORD PICTURE CAN SLIP PAST THE NATURAL DEFENSES AND CHANGE THE HEART WHEN DAVID’S HEART COULD NOT SEE, COULD NOT CHANGE NATHAN USED A WORD PICTURE He told David a story of a rich man who took a poor man’s little ewe lamb. David was incensed at the selfishness, the lack of compassion. And then Nathan told him, “Thou art the man.” And David repented. Word pictures have power. THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE IS A BOOK THAT HELPED ME BECOME A MORE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATOR THE AUTHORS GAVE MANY CONVINCING CASE STUDIES OF HOW PEOPLE HAD FAILED TO CONVINCE A LOVED ONE TO CHANGE HIS WAYS BUT THEN, USED A WORD PICTURE – AND THEIR HEARTS WERE CHANGED The … [Read More]
FRESH INSIGHTS TO OVERCOME IDOLATRY!
OUR IDOLS ARE NOT OUR FRIENDS THEY ONLY PRETEND TO BE AT FIRST BUT THEY SWALLOW UP OUR JOY, OUR PEACE OUR INTIMACY WITH GOD OUR VERY LIVES Last week I reviewed my story of my near sin of manipulation and my deep idol of control — and my pattern of losing administrative assistants. One of those assistants is dear Christy, who has forgiven me for my manipulative ways. We are good friends now, and though we live an hour apart, we’ll sometimes meet in the middle at a quiet restaurant. In fact, just this weekend I stayed with Christy while I did a retreat in her area, and she ran my powerpoint presentation. I’ve told Christy’s story before, and … [Read More]
WE BEGIN 2012! HOW WOMEN GET FREE!
MANY OF YOU ARE JUST BEGINNING WITH US ENCOURAGED BY THE STORIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN SET FREE YOU LONG TO BE SET FREE AS WELL FREE FROM ANXIETY FREE FROM BEING OVERWEIGHT FREE FROM BESETTING SINS I realized as I read your longings that we need to begin with a few weeks of review, which is good for all of us. I am so thankful for the women who have journeyed with us and are willing to continue on as mentors. I know both they and their stories will encourage you. THE NEAR SIN VERSUS THE DEEP IDOL Let me begin by giving you a glimpse into my own dark murky soul: Wasn’t I a warm and caring … [Read More]
HIGHER GROUND IN 2012
ONLY CHRISTIANITY GIVES US THE POWER TO TRULY CHANGE SO IN 2012, WE ARE HEADED TO HIGHER GROUND! Many of us have made New Year’s Resolutions in the past: to lose weight, to read through the Bible, to read good books and watch less television, to be the kind of woman who is never unkind or sharp, but has a gentle spirit that is precious in the sight of God. Many of you reading this may think: Yes, I have made resolutions — but I’ve always failed to keep them, so what’s the point? Those of you who have traveled here on this Bible study blog are likely to have more hope — for you have seen change happen right … [Read More]
MARY PONDERED ALL THESE THINGS IN HER HEART
HOW DOES A PERSON CHANGE? ONE IMPORTANT LINK BETWEEN PUTTING OFF THE OLD SELF AND PUTTING ON THE NEW IS “BEING RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF OUR MINDS” MARY SERVES AS AN EXAMPLE REPEATEDLY WE ARE TOLD SHE PONDERED ALL THESE THINGS IN HER HEART LET’S NOT SAY GOOD-BYE TO CHRISTMAS WITHOUT PONDERING Many of you have a favorite Christmas movie. I love especially the scenes from Luke 1 and Luke 2 in Jesus of Nazareth, as pictured below. Olivia Hussey is a believer and has a radiance that seems befitting Mary. She shows awe, wonder, and amazement. We see her pondering, truly. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed … [Read More]
INFINITY WALLED IN A WOMB
I MEMORIZE LUCI SHAW’S POEMS OF THE INCARNATION BECAUSE THEY FEED MY SOUL EACH ADVENT WHEN MY SOUL IS HUNGRY FOR MORE THAN SENTIMENTALITY, SWEETS, SANTA, AND SAPPY CHRISTMAS MOVIES (NOT THAT I DO NOT ENJOY ALL OF THE ABOVE!) BUT I WANT MORE SO MUCH MORE LAST YEAR I MEMORIZED “MADE FLESH” TURNING OVER PHRASES THAT MADE ME WORSHIP THE GOD WHO WAS MADE FLESH THE GOD WHO WAS WILLING TO BE “INFINITY WALLED IN A WOMB” If you are not familiar with Luci Shaw, you are in for a grand adventure. She is my favorite contemporary poet, a woman of great talent, wisdom, and integrity. I can hardly believe how merciful God was to me to … [Read More]
GOD WITH US
IMAGINE THE TERROR OF THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS WHEN GOD CAME NEAR THE SHEKINAH GLORY WHENEVER HE CAME THEY WERE FILLED WITH FEAR MOSES TOOK OFF HIS SHOES AT THE BURNING BUSH ISAIAH CRIED WOE IS ME JOB WAS FLATTENED WHEN GOD CAME IN A WHIRLWIND AND AFTER FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF SILENCE ON THAT HOLY NIGHT THE PRESENCE OF GOD AGAIN STRUCK FEAR When I was young, long before most of you were born, I loved watching television Christmas specials: Perry Como, Andy Williams…and though there were plenty of songs about chestnuts and winter wonderlands, they always had sacred songs as well, often closing with the spine-tingling O Holy … [Read More]
NO LONGER AT EASE IN THE OLD DISPENSATION
LIKE THE MAGI WE HAVE JOURNEYED THIS YEAR AND WE, LIKE THEM, ARE NOT THE SAME THIS 2ND WEEK OF ADVENT WE WILL CONSIDER TWO PIECES OF ART FIRST, T.S. ELIOT’S THE JOURNEY OF THE MAGI SECOND, TIM KELLER’S FREE SERMON: THE COSMIC KING At the close of each year, I consider what books impacted me the most. One of my top four this year was Surprised By Oxford. This is Carolyn Weber’s memoir of her first year at Oxford as a young agnostic who was thunderstruck by both the intellectual Christians she met and their enormous joy. In the world of C. S. Lewis, J. R. Tolkein, and Dorothy Sayers, the stimulating conversations seized her. It’s a … [Read More]
