Week One Introduction
We are sooo excited to start this study this week. Everyone take a moment and comment about yourself. List the basics and maybe one fun fact so we can all get to know each other better. Wednesday of each week Wednesday by 6:00pm if you could have all your week work done and also have watched the video, the discussions can begin. Imogene and I will be listing our favorite suitcase question, comment, or lion question for the week. We would love for everyone to comment on one of these or even something else that meant alot to you that week. At the end of each week we will have a worship video that you can watch anytime. This will be a great Christian song that we felt followed the topic. We are so excited to see the Lord reaching all of us right in our homes and we know that we are all in for some blessings!
Video 1
Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy - Video Session 1 is one of twelve individual and downloadable sessions from the women's Bible study by Beth Moore. In session 1: Choices to Make, Beth discusses how surrounded by our own Babylon, modern believers face a choice. Will we influence or be influenced by it? Nothing is more dangerous than friendly captivity; it never remains friendly but turns on us every time. As Daniel drew the line and resolved not to partake of the king's rich foods, we must resolve to set our hearts on heavenly things lest we lose both integrity and identity. Be sure to watch the video before you begin your daily study.
Click Here to Purchase
Week One Suitcase Question from Imogene ~
I loved this week. I felt that is served as a great introduction to this book in the bible. Page 23 in the workbook is where this question can be found.
"Beloved, has the world ever tried to give you a bad name or a bad identity?"
My answer to this was yes. I come from a divorced family and I feel that the world viewed me as a "left one". Where is God identity was "one who needs me". After research and reading I found that any child who comes from a divorce has a moment of isolation at a very young age. Mine was twelve. I felt different. I have found that this feeling never went away until I was saved. It was a moment that I realized that this world is not going to make me happy, but God is. It took me a long journey to come to this moment, almost eight years.
"Are you still falling for it? If so how?" I feel that even though I know that people are going to disappoint me I still look for acceptance from others instead of my Savior. At these moments God whispers, "Do you see me?" That is why I ask myself who am I serving in this relationship? Myself or My Savior?
pg 25 "Life becomes so much simpler when there aren't so many costume changes."
Wow ~ This really hit home for me. There are so many friends and situations that I find my self conforming to instead of transforming from. I pray daily that I will look for God in this world and every situation that he has me in daily. I see my sinful nature and I pray that every day he will show me how to transform in his power to his will.
Worship Video~
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Introduction to Online Study- Daniel by Beth Moore
Getting Started is Easy!!!!!
Step 1- Purchase the Book
Step 2- Between Feb. 7-13th, stop by this page and introduce yourself to the group
Step 3- Stop in once a week for the link to the session video
Step 4 - Join the discussion, get involved, answer questions and share what God is speaking to you as you study the word.
If you would like daily encouragement and accountability, email charrysej@ymail.com
Books may be purchased through Women's Ministry @ Central Church ($16) or Amazon.com($21)
If your schedule and/or circumstances prevent you from being able to physically attend a group Bible study, this Beth Moore Online Bible Study IS JUST FOR YOU.
We live in a day and age where technology is every where we turn and right at our fingertips. I can't think of a better way to put it to good use then as a tool to guide us through the word of God. I believe that God brought each one of us to this study purposely. It is no accident that you are here, that I am here. I know that personally, as a working mother, I have longed for a way to get connected to other moms on a deeper level. Meeting for coffee here and there is awesome, but I want to continue to grow into the image of Christ I am called to be both in and out of my home. There's so much yet to learn!
Studying the Bible in an online setting will be no easy feat. However, everything I really value has come with some kind of cost and this is definitely worth the price. For the same $4-5 I would take to by myself a drink from Starbucks or purchase something silly because it's on sale, I can now purchase material that will feed my spirit. We have our work cut out for us (smile). We cannot see each other face to face, so we lose some sense of accountability. We also lose the ability to encourage one another verbally. There is something about the spoken voice of a friend that is , at times, lost through the written word. But each of these things can be overcome! It is my prayer that God would use even these drawbacks for our good (Romans 8:28). For instance, maybe we will allow ourselves to be more vulnerable to a group that cannot see our eyes fill with tears as we share our hearts. Perhaps we will feel more secure typing our thoughts instead of speaking them out in a large group. I believe God can do AMAZING things in all circumstances, including this one.
The Lord is going to meet us through this computer and through each other!
Welcome to the journey!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Introduction to Radical Book Review
When God sat me down on the beach and had a leader from Campus Crusade for Christ tell me how much he loved me and that he wanted to take the burdens of my life, was my first RADICAL moment in this journey of my salvation. I was on fire! I went back to school did the best I could to separate myself from my sinful activities and could not stop talking about the Lord. I went on missions trips, witnessed everywhere I went, and sat at the feet of the Lord. I ask myself, "What happened over the past 14 years?" The answer is MYSELF.
Blogging these online studies has been such a blessing to my life. I have highlighted certain passages from the book and they will be in quotations. I have paired each chapter with a worship song that I felt applied to this book. At the end of each chapter blog post you will find a comment question or verse that I have pulled from the books website. All of these resources can be found on the internet. There is a community of over 8,000 members on the facebook page that are taking this journey. We are looking for you all to comment on each chapter and let us all know how the Lord is speaking to you. This is the only way that this online community of believers can encourage each other through this site and help us all apply to our daily lives. I pray that you enjoy this book as much as I have!
www.radicalthebook.com
Make sure to click on the chapter you are doing on this blog so you can see all the comments!
Serving Him,
Imogene
Radical Chapter One
"I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with comfortable. We were settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves."
As a mom of two small boys this really hits home. I find myself looking to God to help me with little daily issues that arise. I need to take him at his word and know that he has all this in his plan. That his plan for me is far greater than what I am living now in my faith. It is time for me to take the next step right where he has me.
"We are giving into a dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are comfortable with."
I have found that I am very comfortable where he has me. I have a wonderful family and family of faith. I now see that he has this for me as a backbone for support and it is time to take the next step. Those who receive much, much is expected.
"And the danger now is that when we gather in our church buildings to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves."
When we are filled with the spirit through worship, what are we doing next. We are filled with the Holy Spirit and totally focused on him in worship. I love going to church and when the doors are open I am there. But what should I be doing outside the doors is my next question to myself.
From Resource Link on Website ~
“In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” With these words, Jesus turned away large crowds who were following Him. With grace and authority, He beckoned potential followers to consider the demands of discipleship. For most, the price was too high and the cost was too great. In the 2000 years since Jesus spoke these words, it begs the question: Do we in contemporary Christianity realize the high price of following Jesus? Do we understand the great cost for all who call themselves followers of Christ? Take a closer look at the words of Jesus that require us to consider the implications of the Gospel for every facet of our lives."
Radical Chapter Two
"God has to open our eyes, set us free, overcome our evil, and appease his wrath. He has to come to us. Now we are getting to the beauty of the gospel."
Message from resource link on website ~
What is the Gospel? Answering this one question is indispensible to knowing what it means to be a follower of Christ. The Gospel has ramifications for each of our lives for all eternity, yet many professing Christians have less and less of a grasp on what the Gospel really is. Based on the words of Christ, could it be possible that scores of people involved in church are not actually followers of Christ? How do we know when we have truly trusted in the Gospel for salvation, and how do we avoid deceiving ourselves when it comes to life’s most important
question?"
I feel that I am very comfortable in the body right where he has me. I trust that he will show me the way of where he wants me to go next in this journey. My real question to myself is if I am going to trust him in his plan for me. It is hard being in this world to see that there is a much bigger picture than my daily activities. I need to trust him in these small things so my focus can be on his bigger mission for me.
Jeremiah 12:5 NIV "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses"
I love this verse with this chapter personally because he is telling me that he designed me to race with horses and trust him with the details and he will help up reach a higher ground that he has designed for us all.
Radical Chapter Three
"So the challenge for us is to live in such a way that we are radically dependent on and desperate for the power that only God can provide."
"While the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God."
"This is how God works. He puts his people in the positions where they are desperate for his power, and then he shows his provision in the ways that display his greatness."
I have to stop and look for him in all that I am doing and realize that he has the divine purpose. It is in times of weakness that I see him the most in my life. My struggles have come because he draws me closer to him. When I am comfortable, why am I not looking for him in every step I am taking and pushing myself to serve him and not myself and my family.
"We can so easily deceive ourselves, mistaking the presence of physical bodies in a crowd for the existence of spiritual life in a community."
Comment Question from resource section on website ~
Christ did not command us to “do” a list of things for Him or for God. Rather, He told us simply to “abide in Him,” which means to remain in Christ. What does that look like in the life of a Christ-follower?
Radical Chapter Four
"Meanwhile, Jesus commands us to go. He has created each of us to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, and I propose that anything less than radical devotion to this purpose is unbiblical Christianity."
While I am a stay at home mom of two, I have to look at this plan as a long term one. I know that I will go on a mission trip away from home when my boys are older. But this is where we have to stop and trust. We need to see that the ends of the earth could be right across the street or at the grocery store I go to weekly. There is no excuse not to share his love with others. Is there something small I can do that he can use greatly? Can I get to know the check out ladies at the grocery store and get to know them all by name? Can I get to know the ladies that work at the gym? Can I start a conversation on the treadmill? If I worked could I start sharing his love in the workplace? He wants to use us RIGHT NOW!
"When I consider the house that I will live in, the car that I will drive, the clothes according to what is best for me. This is the version of Christianity that largely prevails in our culture."
"We are not the end of the gospel, God is."
"Were we created for something much greater than this?"
"..only to realize that success in the kingdom of God involves moving down, not up"
"What are you going to do with what I have given you? How are you going to use your influence, your leadership, and your resources in the world around you."
Resource Comment Question~
"A personal commitment to the local body of believers, the church, is consistently revealed throughout the New Testament. Defining the Church as the people for whom Christ died and the people that are created by the salvation which Christ brings"
Radical Chapter Five
"Jesus reminds me that disciples are not mass-produced. Disciples of Jesus-genuine, committed, self-sacrificing followers of Christ-are not made overnight."
"This is foundational in making disciples, and we will multiply the gospel only when we allow others to get close enough to us to see Christ in action."
Last fall when I was with my mentor group, I confessed that I did tend to build up walls in my life. I did this through activities in my life. I was so busy really doing nothing. So I prayed for God to take these things away and prayed for ways to glorify him in all I do. The result was allowing others to get closer to me one on one and help me grow to see what the Lord is doing compared to what I was doing!
Resource Comment
Learn what "disciple-making" means as Matthew 4:13 becomes the launching point. Jesus taught the disciples to share the Word, show the Word, teach the Word and serve the World. Two simple words, but a lifetime of modeling the Person of Christ.
Radical Chapter Six
"Do not be afraid little flock for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom" 24
"But then I realize that there is never going to come a day when I stand before God and he looks at me and says, "I wish you would have kept more for yourself." I'm confident that God will take care of me."
"He is saying that wealth can be a dangerous obstacle."
"to do good, to be rich in deeds, and to be generous and willing to share."
God knows our heart and he will provide for his plan in our lives.
"I don't want to be the rich young man. And I do not want to ignore the fact that the lure toward becoming him is always stronger than I would like to admit."
When growing up I had nothing, so once I graduated from college it was my goal to never have this financial burden again. I put everything I had into a career and now look at me as a stay at home mom! Making nothing. It was a hard transition from looking to money for my praise to looking to him. This journey was one that brought me to my knees in the middle of the night. Brought me closer to him and my husband than I ever thought possible. I look at pictures of me and my sister when we had nothing and I see more happiness there than in all my years of financially having everything.
"I do not want to miss eternal treasure because I settle for earthly trinkets. "Where your treasure is," Jesus says, "there your heart will be also."
I struggle with this everyday for I yearn for acceptance from my friends and family. I want to change this to make Christ the focus of my acceptance and not this world and other people.
Comment Verse
John 14
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Radical Chapter Seven
"they live their Christianity in silence, as if people around them in the world will indeed be okay in the end without Christ."
This is probably how I would view myself at this stage of my life. I am ready to jump back in and remember how on fire I was when I was a new believer. When I was on trips with Campus Crusade we would have witness days and I would love to commit one day a month to get together with some friends and do this here right in Charlotte. I will look into ministries at my church as well to see if there is somewhere I can go with my family of faith.
Truth 1: All People Have Knowledge of God
Truth 2: All People Reject God
Truth 3: All People Are Guilty Before God
Truth 4: All People Are Condemned For Rejecting God
Truth 5: God Has Made A Way of Salvation For The Lost
Truth 6: People Cannot Come To God Apart From Faith In Christ
Truth 7: Christ Commands The Church To Make The Gospel Known To All Peoples
Comment Question
"Will we risk everything- our comfort, our possessions, our safety, our security, our very lives-to make the gospel known among unreached peoples? Such rising up and risk taking are unaviodable, urgent results of a life that is radically abandoned to Jesus."
Radical Chapter Eight
"But in the end, Jesus said, following him leads to radical reward that this world can never offer. This begs a question from each of us: do we believe the reward is found in Jesus is worth the risk of following him?"
"The language of Matthew 10 envisions Jesus as a military commander sending soldiers out on a mission. He summoned his disciples, and then he sent them out. In light of the needs before them and the danger around them, the disciples knew they were entering into a battle."
"Three times he told them, "Do not be afraid." 11
"Too long we have been waiting for one another to begin!"
"And when we come to this position the battle is already won, and the end of the glorious campaign is in sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts: we will have a Masculine Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ."
I want to push myself to do things that I would not normally do so I can step out in faith and see what God has for me. I have a girlfriend that I call each time the Lord gives me an idea of how to increase the kingdom. This way there is someone there to hold me accountable to not allow the business of my life to dim this light that I am looking at.
Comment Question~
"..do we believe the reward is found in Jesus is worth the risk of following him?"
Radical Chapter Nine
The Experiment
Step One ~ Pray for the world
"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." 1
"Instead his concern was that his followers would not get lost."
This is why it is so important to reach out to another sister or brother in Christ to make sure that you stay strong for this journey that you are going to soon begin.
Step Two ~ Read the entire Word
Find a resource to help you get through this. It always helps to do this with someone else to you can have community with another believer when you see the light in His Word.
Step Three ~ Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose
Find an organization that the Lord has led you too. I am a stay at home mom on one income and I have had two events in my home for organizations that were a success.
1 - Reached out to other moms that had crafts to sell and did a silent auction. They donated the items and got free advertisement while all proceeds went to the cause. You can do this online or at a venue.
2 - I babysat during the week for one whole week at my house. I did this during the day for other moms to run errands or have lunch dates with husbands. They donated the money online after I sat. Any amount was fine. I almost raised $300 from just staying in my house serving others and getting to know my kids friends. I was rewarded way more than anyone after this step of faith!
Step Four ~ Spend your time in another context
Reach out! Step out! No matter how small this is you will see God work in your life more than you will know. If you currently are a member of a church, see if they have any outreach programs. Of course start praying today for what trip he has for you!
Step Five ~ Commit your life to multiplying community
"So how will you go?"
Are there people in your life that you have close to you that do not believe. Even if you have shared the gospel with them a million times, it does not hurt to do it once more. When things happen in people's lives such as births, deaths, health issues, etc, make sure to take the time to go and visit them! This is a hard one with the business of life, but I promise that you will see God reach out to others by just making the commitment to share his word with them!
"You will know the incomparable thrill of being a part of what God is up to where you live and around the world."
"when God chose to bring salvation to you and me, he did not send gold or silver, cash of check. He sent himself - The Son."
"You have a choice. You can cling to short-term treasures that you cannot keep, or you can live for long term treasures that you can not loose."
You can now visit the Radical Facebook Page.
There is a community there that will help you through these steps. There is also a list of all the resources that can help you with each step under the resource tab on this facebook page~
There is a community of over 8,000 people just like you and me that are ready to see where God will take us deeper in our walk with him.
I have really enjoyed taking this journey through this book with you. I hope and pray that you will apply this message to your life. We have other resources available to you as you decide you are willing to take another journey through an online study with us!
Serving Him,
Imogene
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