Beauty From Ashes
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Unlikely Prospects
Failure is real!
My failure to love God and the people around me gets me so down sometimes. That is when I wonder: Does God still want to use someone like me -- a people pleaser, a glory hog?
Aaron, Moses' brother, must have felt the same way:
What use could God have for a man who, in his eagerness to please people, turned all of Israel away from God by fashioning an idol for them to worship?
What use could God have for a man whose own appearances were so important to him that he covered up his guilt with a blatant lie?
What use could God have for a man who sought his own glory, striving for a leadership position not meant for him?
To me, Aaron would be the most unlikely candidate to be chosen by God as high priest.
Why would God want him?
Why would God want me?
God's eyes of grace see differently. Aaron' life teaches me about a God who does not let go and who does not see any sin as unredeemable. God chooses us in spite of our failure.
What a gracious and compassionate God we have, who calls unlikely prospects into his service!
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Conclusion (The Father's Blessing)
What a
wonderful journey to the Father's blessing this has been! We have learned the
value God our Father bestows upon us and the acceptance we experience in Him.
We have been called out to deeper waters in learning to grant and accept forgiveness.
We have been blessed to realize the impact of God's presence in our lives and
His provision for us. Our heavenly Father is faithful; He will never abandon
us.
Our
questions of – "Am I loved? Am I good enough? Am I liked? Will I fulfill
the purpose for my life?" – have all been answered with a resounding
"YES!!!"
What should
our response be? We need look no further than our original Bible passage:
"Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according
to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he
has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he
lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us to us the
mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as
a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven
and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been
predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to
the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might
be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the
promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire
possession of it, to the praise of his glory." (Eph. 1:3-14)
· Circle any phrase in Ephesians 1:3-14
which shows why God the Father has blessed us.
The
blessings God has bestowed are "to the praise of His glory" and
"to the praise of His glorious grace.” In blessing us, God the Father is
true to His own nature as He acts "according to His purpose." Let us
act according to the purpose for which He has made us by praising our Father
for His good gifts and by walking in them.
· Look back over each week of this
study and summarize what you have learned.
Week 1:
Week 2:
Week 3:
Week 4:
Week 5:
Week 6:
· How do you want this to impact your
future? Write a prayer below, asking your heavenly Father to help you walk in
the truth you have learned.
"Blessed
be the God... who has blessed us." (Eph. 1:3)
Thursday, February 8, 2018
I will always be there for you! (Week 6, Day 5)
God the
Father's faithfulness towards us knows no limit. It transcends our time on
earth making us look forward to a time of unbroken communion with Him. He
proves this by giving us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee for what is yet to
come. Do you find it hard to imagine what heaven will be like? I do too – and
we are in good company.
· According to 1 Corinthians 2:9, who
can imagine what heaven is like?
One thing
that helps my limited mind is to think of a baby in its mother's womb. There is
so much that awaits her: the fragrance of flowers, the colors of the rainbow,
the embrace of her father and the feeling of freedom when running across an
open field. But the baby cannot imagine anything better than the warmth and
comfort of the dark womb. Compared to heaven, it is as if we were living in our
mother's womb right now. We cannot fathom what awaits us and we dread having to
go through death in order to see God, the light that never dims. Sometimes we
even worry that God will confront us with all our sins when we get to heaven.
· According to Hebrews 8:12 , how does God view our sins?
When we
arrive in heaven there will be rejoicing, not condemnation.
· Look up the following verses and
write a prayer of thankfulness for all that He has prepared for you: Revelation
21:3-7, Revelation 22:1-5.
He is
faithful - He will do it!
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
I will never send you away! (Week 6, Day 4)
When living
in Uzbekistan, I occasionally saw women dressed in their traditional garb. I
could not understand why they would wear so many layers of clothing and so much
fine jewelry in the desert heat. It was explained to me that, according to
Uzbek custom, a husband was free to send his wife away without notice. This
insecurity led wives to carry around their greatest possessions on their bodies
at all times. In the same way, I used to burden myself with the fear that
others around me or God Himself would send me away. How could I be sure? After
all, my father had sent me away at age 16. It is normal to project our
experiences with our fathers onto our expectations of other people or of God.
We must unlearn that fear by holding on to the truth.
· Read God's promises in John 6:37 and Isaiah 49:16a and write a
prayer in response.
I will never abandon you! (Week 6, Day 3)
I was three
when my dad moved out. He took "Ringelnatz" the cat, but often left
me waiting in vain when visitation weekend rolled around. I wondered what was
wrong with me. "Deep down inside me there is something hideous," I
concluded, "that makes my father not want to be around me." I really
started believing the cat was more valuable than I and started keeping people
at arm’s length, fearing that they could get to know me well – well enough to
realize that deep down inside me I had a secret hidden flaw that would appall
them. I had translated my father's abandonment as "Something must be wrong
with me". Only when I learned that God the Father, who knows my innermost
being, is not appalled by what He sees and will never leave, was I set free
from this false thinking.
· Read the following promises and write
your response to God your Father:
Deuteronomy 31:6, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:6.
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
My plans never change (Week 6, Day 2)
"Kerstin,
you would not pass for a blind person in a million years!" said my friend,
Christopher. In spite of his blindness, he was determined to live a normal
life. He attended regular high school, went swimming with us in the lakes around
Berlin, and played the piano in a jazz-band. Christopher adapted amazingly, but
his steps were uncertain because he always walked in complete darkness. The day
I borrowed his cane and confidently walked down the sidewalk with my eyes
tightly shut, he heard by the speed of my steps that I knew where I was going.
I had seen the path only seconds earlier – an advantage my blind friend didn’t
have.
As believers, we sometimes feel as if we are walking in darkness. We don't understand what God is doing and he feels far from us. I am not talking about a separation caused by sin, but a feeling of distance from God, sometimes resulting from a traumatic experience, exhaustion, or even without an obvious cause. God wants to use this time to mature us in our faith. We are given the choice to either grope around uncertainly in the darkness, believing the lie that there is no hope and that God does not care, or we can cling to God by standing on His unchanging truth.
As believers, we sometimes feel as if we are walking in darkness. We don't understand what God is doing and he feels far from us. I am not talking about a separation caused by sin, but a feeling of distance from God, sometimes resulting from a traumatic experience, exhaustion, or even without an obvious cause. God wants to use this time to mature us in our faith. We are given the choice to either grope around uncertainly in the darkness, believing the lie that there is no hope and that God does not care, or we can cling to God by standing on His unchanging truth.
· Below are some verses, which are
helpful to remember in this situation. Look them up and write the one that is
most meaningful to you in the space below :
Nahum 1:7, Malachi 3:6, Isaiah 58:11a, Jeremiah 29:11, Job 42:2.
Nahum 1:7, Malachi 3:6, Isaiah 58:11a, Jeremiah 29:11, Job 42:2.
_
This is where our walk can be different from that of someone who does not know the Lord because, in spite of the darkness, we have a clear picture of who God is and what His plans are for us. Our feelings may change, but our God does not. Let us not be mistaken for a blind person in a million years!
"Let
the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on their God." (Is. 50:10b)
· Which specific truths do you want to
remember in times of darkness?
_________________________________________________________
Monday, February 5, 2018
I will keep my promise! (Week 6, Day 1)
The Father
sealed us with the Holy Spirit, which is proof that we are believers. By
putting the Holy Spirit in us, God our Father has given us a guarantee that He
will keep His promises. The Holy Spirit demonstrates He is at work in us
through the spiritual gifts He gives us (1 Cor. 12:1-11), and through seeing
Him grow the fruit of the Spirit in us (Gal 5:22). This is a tangible way for
us to recognize the seal God has placed upon us.
· What are two names that the Holy
Spirit goes by according to Romans 8:15 and John 16:13?
The Holy
Spirit’s role is to reveal the truth of God's Father-heart towards us. He wants
us to enter into the tenderness of God's heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach
you about God the Father, to teach you the truth that God loves you as much as
He loves Jesus and that you are His favorite. Write your prayer below.
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