Some references from the chapter that are worth re-reading (I think!).
Page # 50 "Nothing is harder than a burden we're not called to carry."
Page # 54 " This is who God is," he declared to the world. "Look and see! He loves you. He sent me so you could have life and fellowship with him. It isn't outward appearance that concerns the Father. It's your inner person."
*It's not about ALL the "things" we can do to make ourselves look better, or seem to be better people. It's truly about growing our spirits on the inside first and the things that we do outside are just the icing.
Page # 55 "It's hard to ignore the love of Jesus. The sweet wooing of the Holy Spirit calms our fears and shatters our defenses."
Questions for Discussion/Reflection:
-Read the wagon and the rocks story on pages 48-51. Take a look in your wagon. Which rocks has God asked you to carry? Which rocks have you uwisely and sometimes unconsciously volunteered to carry for someone else?
- Do you ever feel the driven, perfectionistic, spiritual Martha Stewart coming out in you? What does she look like at home? What does she look like at church?
*Remember to jot your thoughts and feelings down in your journal and POST some comments on the blog!
Going Deeper:
-What do you think Jesus meant in LUKE 10:38-42 when he told Martha that only one thing was needed?
-Turn a few pages to LUKE 18:18-25, to another exchange Jesus had. What qualification did the rich young ruler give for entering the kingdom of God? What was one thing Jesus said he lacked? Why do you think Christ focused on his wealth?
-Why may the one thing God asks us to do be different from what he requires of someone else? (Consider 1 Corinthians 13:3 and Philippians 3:4-7)
-Perhaps like the rich young ruler you find yourself trying to perform for God, carrying more rocks in hopes of earning God's love and favor.
-What do the following verses say about works-based Christianity?
Galatians 3:3
"Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"
Titus 3:5
"he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,"
- What did Paul say in Philippians 3:13-14 was his "one thing? Why was forgetting what was behind him so important for Paul?
-What things is your past hold you back from experiencing ALL that God has for you?
-Use the guidline on page 55 and sit down this week and begin "dumping rocks". But before you start, ask the Lord for wisdom. He loves to give it (JAMES 1:5), and He wants to set us free!
*Remember to jot your thoughts and feelings down in your journal and POST some comments on the blog!
Matthew 11:28 (New American Standard Bible)
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."
Dear Heavenly Father- I pray for this study and for all of us leaders to be able to soak in all the wisdom and knowledge that you are offering us. Allow us to be open to what you are trying to show us. I pray that through this study that we are changed and are each closer to you in a way that we never imagined we could be! I pray that through these first four chapeters that something in each of us has already begun to take shape and stir inside our spirits and begin changing Lord. I pray for each of us that may be hurting still that we allow you to come in and take that from us and leave it in the past and move forward so that you can enable us to live freely and be the beauties that we were detined to be through you Lord! I pray that through this study we can learn so much more about your plans for our lives Lord. -Amen
-Sometimes it can seem hard to figure out which rocks God has placed in our hands to carry and which ones we have incorrectly taken on ourselves. I have prayed about this alot. I have recently taken some out of my wagon though and given those issues to God, who is the only one sometimes who can carry some of the rocks for us.
ReplyDelete- I am definitely a driven person. Not a perfectionist though. Just driven. I have to be active, doing something, involved in things is a MUST for me. If I am not busy I mope around and even begin to feel depressed.
- Jesus simply meant that getting closer to Him and spending time with Him was the only thing that mattered most. All the "things" in life that we constantly feel we have to do and be apart of and accomplish simply aren't true. All Jesus wants us to do is spend QUALITY time with Him!
-Paul's "one thing" of letting go of the past is so important because if we don't it holds us back from where God is trying to lead us and holds us back from becoming the people we were truly destined to become. We all shouldn't dwell on the past but instead concentrate on the relationship with Jesus that we have now.
- I feel that there are things in life that are definitely not something I would ever want to give up doing. But I do feel like I can NOT do some other things in order to make certain that my quality time that I spend with Jesus getting to know Him better is NEVER sacrificed in anyway. Being diligent in making that time sacred is so important!