IBS 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (9-23-14)

Inductive Bible Study for 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (9-23-14)

“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Today during my devotions, I was meditating on the Word and praying. I also looked back on previous months in my journal to reflect on the change that God has done in me. For example, last month on the 23^rd was my birthday, and I prayed fervently for my family instead of making a wish as I blew out my candles. I kept going further back - July 23^rd, June 23^rd, and so on. I finally got to January 23^rd and found that I had written about my parents and my conflicted heart about my ex-boyfriend. I looked at the next day (24^th) and saw that it was on this day that I surrendered to the Holy Spirit for the first time. All these pressures in my life had driven me to see my incredible need to relinquish control to my Savior.

That was the night that Pastor Mike had given the invitation to surrender to the Spirit. I wrote “I was fighting so hard for the first couple minutes during the invitation - I did NOT want God to have His Way in me. I was content to just be saved, and I didn’t want Him to have my whole heart. I broke down and went forward - I was bawling. I needed the Holy Spirit to have my life, I had been making a mess of my life. I have so much peace inside now.” I can’t even describe the peace and joy that flooded over me in those precious moments of brokenness. I’m not sure when I got saved, but that night was the first time I experienced true freedom from fear, depression and the need for control. I saw my neediness, my distresses and all my imperfections.

These verses talk about when Paul was asking God to take away a thorn in his flesh, and God tells him that His grace is sufficient. I begged God to make my life perfect and take away the pain I was feeling, but I see now that these things were vital to me seeing my need for Jesus. God’s strength is made perfect in my weakness. If I had never gone through pain and heartache, I never would have been broken. If I had kept struggling (in vain) to stay strong on my own, I never would have had to admit that I needed anyone else to help me. I am not strong because of anything I’ve done - I am strong because Christ is having His perfect Way in my heart and life. I am so weak, broken and empty by myself, but Jesus loves that! He wants me to be fully reliant on Him so that He can strengthen, shape and fill me.

I never want to forget how much I need Jesus. I never want to walk in my own strength. I never want to leave my Savior for something or someone that will let me down. The problem is that I’m human - I’m going to be prideful and fail. This is why it’s so important to have a constant relationship with God - He knows we can’t do it on our own, and all we have to do is ask Him!!! It’s ridiculous how simple it is, yet how difficult we make it. This is my application - I’m going to keep it with me wherever I go to remind me of what Jesus is doing in and through me. 

IBS Proverbs 23:17-18 (9-21-14)

Inductive Bible Study for Proverbs 23:17-18 (9-21-14)

“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day;for surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off.”

I came across this passage during one of my morning devotions recently. It immediately reminded me of all the times I’ve been jealous of people in the world - wishing I could go to parties, be a flirt and wear less clothing. Looking back, I am so thankful that my parents didn’t allow me to do those things. I’ve been humbled by the fact that if I had the choice before, I would definitely have done those things (and more). The only reason I didn’t get into more trouble growing up was that my parents were relatively strict in the world’s eyes. In my early-mid teen years, I imagined all the things I would do when I didn’t have to obey my parents anymore. I may have no been that rebellious on the outside, but I planned and plotted a lot in my heart.

So instead of envying sinners and the supposed “freedom” they have, as believers we should be zealous for the fear of the Lord. This means to be passionate, eager, devoted and intensely enthusiastic. The reason for this insane diligence? This verse says that is surely a hereafter. There is more to this world than the plans I have for my life? Not only is God’s plan for my life better than I could ever imagine, that’s also Heaven to look forward to - a place of glory, splendor and bliss. Our hope will not be cut off. God promises us that if we follow Him, He will never leave us nor forsake us. God is faithful, He keeps His promises and He don’t dash our hopes!

These verses are a really good reminder that my devotion to Jesus is not in vain. There will be a reward for living my life for Christ- in the now and in the hereafter. When it seems like the whole world is against me, I can know for certain that God is on my side. I’m going to write “Your love is better than life” on my hand.

IBS Ephesians 2:8-10 (9-20-14)

Inductive Bible Study for Ephesians 2:8-10 (9-20-14)

“For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

I am so in awe of how much it took for God to save me. I have so much sin and wickedness in my heart that if I was the only one Jesus died for, there would have been no change in how much suffering He went through. God loved this world so much that it pleased Him to crush His only begotten Son in order to save us. That’s why it’s ONLY by grace through faith that I’m forgiven. There is nothing I could ever do to earn God’s gift and I have no right to boast in Christ’s sacrifice. In a previous IBS, I talked about how I thought the only way God was close to me was if I did good things - that’s completely opposite of what this verse says. 

The truth is that there’s nothing I could do on my own to be close to God. It must be by grace through faith that I see my need to surrender to Him, and see that salvation is a gift I could never earn. That’s really difficult for me to swallow. My pride wants to think that my skills, talents and amazingness are what drew God to want to save me. In reality though, I am disgusting and wicked, and it’s incredible that God loves me - but He does, and that’s why I love Him. When we strive to please God by our accomplishments before we are surrendered to Him, He sees them as filthy rags. Ouch. That’s why it’s so important to see our desperate need for Him. After we repent and accept His free gift of grace, our works might still be in vain! I also talked about this in a previous IBS. The point here is that our works are only accepted by God after salvation and if our heart’s only desire is to glorify Him.

We are God’s workmanship - that means that we are the product of Christ’s skill and labor. Jeremiah 1:5 says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you”. We were made by God, for God. We were created in Christ for good works - remember, not the works which are filthy rags, and not the works that will be burned up because our hearts weren’t in the right place - prepared before we were made, that we should walk in them. How incredible is it that God made our good works before He even made us! Does this mean that God didn’t make good works for those who won’t choose Him? I don’t know. What I do know is that we are all given a choice (usually many) to either follow Christ or live how we want to. I also know that God sees the beginning and end, so He knows who will choose Him.

What I’ve been learning while in Kenya is that I can’t do anything or take credit for anything - all glory to God. Also, I need to be surrendered to Christ so that I can be walking in the Spirit and seeing the works God has prepared for me to do. I am going to memorize these verses.

IBS Proverbs 3:5-6 (9-16-14)

Inductive Bible Study for Proverbs 3:5-6 (9-16-14)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

God has been asking me lately if I trust Him. He’s been tugging at my hear every time I start questioning His plan. Yesterday, when I was crying out to Him, He brought to my mind when Job questioned Him and He said “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (38:4) and “Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?” (38:16). God also asked me Who was the only One Who: can change hearts (Acts 2:36-37), can give peace (Philippians 4:7) and has a plan for my life (Jeremiah 29:11). The answer is always Him! Even though I’m uncertain and scared about the future, I am confident that the Lord will work everything out for my good and for His glory (Romans 8:28).

I love Starfield’s song called Speak Now Jesus - “Speak now Jesus, speak into my heart. I’m desperate to hear Your still small voice, I need to hear Your voice! Lead me Jesus, I need direction. I am so lost without You guiding me, I need to know Your peace.” It is so awesome to see the change that God is doing in my life. He has brough me low and shown me how weak I truly am, so now I see my great need for Him. I really am lost when I don’t seek the Lord’s direction. When I lean on my own understanding I screw everything up. I’m not feeling bad about myself - I am realizing how small I am and how incredible my Savior is.

These verses in Proverbs promise us that if we live our lives in surrender to God, then He will guide us. I have seen that this is true. I thought I had it all together until my world fell apart. I saw that I loved my sin too much to give it up, I saw that the control I had was a facade and I saw that I couldn’t trust myself or any other human being to make my life better. I broke down, gave in to the Holy Spirit’s loving call and gave my entire life to Jesus. Since then, I have very clearly experienced the Spirit’s guiding and direction in my life. My paths have been chosen by God and my heart is in the continual process of being changed to be more like Christ. I am going to draw a simple illustration of “the world behind me, the Cross before me” on my hand to remember that I need to be following Christ in order for Him to lead me. 

IBS Galatians 2:20 (9-11-14)

Inductive Bible Study for Galatians 2:20  (9-11-14)

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is not longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me."

I absolutely love this verse. It reminds me of Romans 6, which Pastor Gitu had me read before I was baptized. Summarized, it says that we should no longer walk in sin because we were crucified with Christ and can now walk in newness of life. In order to live in Christ, our flesh needs to die and be buried. I tried to skip this part! I thought I could live for Christ while still holding onto my flesh and sin. The whole point of becoming a believer is to follow Matthew 16:24 - "The Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."". Denying ourselves is to be crucified with Christ - I just recently started grasping this vital concept. 

Mike, Sara and I just taught a study on John 14 and I was really moved by something Mike said. He was talking about verse 30 and how the ruler of this world (Satan) has nothing on Christ. Satan didn't make Jesus die - He did it of His own free will. God came down from His throne and traded everything perfect for everything sinful. He became a servant to humans, suffered through horrific torture and died the most painful death. Why? Because He loved me and gave Himself for me that I might choose His salvation. We still live in the flesh because we can't do otherwise until we get to heaven, but we can choose to act in the spirit.

How am I to act in the spirit instead of in the flesh? It is decided on which one I feed more. Am I putting my pride, selfishness and desires above humility, selflessness and what God wants for me? I hate having to put others before myself. I hate sharing. I hate that I shouldn't say everything that comes to my mind. I feel His Spirit tugging at my heart every time I have the choice to either do what I want to do or do what I know He wants me to do. My application of this verse is to literally apply these truths to my life. There will always be rough spots in life, and I'm going through one right now. I need to remember that it's not me who is alive - it's Christ. 

IBS 1 Corinthians 15:58 (9-9-14)

Inductive Bible Study for 1 Corinthians 15:58 (9-9-14)

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of The Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in The Lord."

This is Paul speaking to and encouraging the church of Corinth. These brothers and sisters are very dear to him and he loves them. So what is the "therefore" there for? Earlier in the chapter, Paul talks about about who can and cannot inherit the kingdom of God, what will happen when we are raised with Christ and how death and hell will have no sting or victory. He also says that God gives us the victory through His Son, Jesus Christ. We will be changed in the twinkling of an eye and become immortal. We won't be dead, but asleep and then when the trumpet sounds we will be raised in new bodies.

This verse I'm doing the study on is basically an encouragement to press on - even when life sucks and is hard, Paul is encouraging believers to look forward to the time when we will be raised and have changed bodies. We are to be steadfast - which means to be fixed in direction, firm in purpose and unwavering in faith. It's to be focused on what The Lord has for me instead of distracted by the cares of this world. We are to be immovable - which means to be incapable of being influenced and unyielding in ones opinion. Tyrant can also be  used here, but this is only for when someone is emotionless and stubborn. We should never be emotionless or stubborn - that completely defeats the purpose of letting God change our hearts.

We are to always be abounding in the work of The Lord. We are to be continually being filled by the Spirit and allowing Him to use us to complete the work He has prepared beforehand. We are also to know that our labor is not in vain in The Lord. I think it's really important to notice that Paul doesn't just leave the thought at "knowing that your labor is not in vain" - he adds at the end "in The Lord". Our labor can absolutely be in vain if our hearts are not in the right place! Earlier in this book (3:14-15), Paul talks about the different works done. Some works are built on a foundation which lasts (works done for the sole purpose of glorifying God) - and though some works are burned up (works done for praise, to be noticed, etc.) and the person suffers loss, they are still saved as through fire.

I'm going to write "all for the glory of God" on my hand to remember how important it is to rely on God for strength, ask the Spirit to fill me and do all for the sole purpose of pointing to Christ. 

IBS Philippians 4:6-7 (9-2-14)

Inductive Bible Study for Philippians 4:6-7 (9-2-14)

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ."

I have directly disobeyed this verse my entire life up until about 8 months ago. I thought that if I surrendered to God and let Him have control, then I would no longer have a say in things and He would take away all my fun. I didn't believe that He could actually give me peace. I thought God lied when He said He does things for our good. I ignored Him when He said He thinks more thoughts about me than there are sands in the sea. When I prayed, I felt like my words were bouncing off the ceiling. When I did bad things, I felt like He was disgusted with me and went far away. The only time I felt like He was close was when I did good things. 

There is a HUGE difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. I knew all the things above were unbiblical, but that's how I felt and I couldn't change that. My feelings and guilt overrode what God said. So what changed? My family was falling apart at home and not only could I not do anything about it, I also couldn't even be there to comfort my sisters. I was overwhelmed with anxiety, fear, anger and confusion. I couldn't handle it anymore - I needed someone besides myself. It was on a night during training in Guatemala that Pastor Mike was inviting people to surrender to the Spirit and allow Him to fill them. I wasn't planning on going up and I fought the tug in my heart. After several minutes of fighting - I broke down, started bawling and went forward. 

That was the very first time I ever fully gave control to God. I gave Him everything. I can't describe the peace that filled me - that's why it passes our understanding I guess! I was free of the responsibility to fix my family. I knew that somehow, in some way, God would take care of everything. I didn't have to be afraid because it was all in His hands. It's funny to see that even if I hadn't surrendered to God, He would still be in control. It was just a matter of Him asking me if I trusted Him. He was asking me - "Do you have faith that I AM Who I say I AM?". God gives us a choice - we can trust Him or try to be independent. 

God knows our needs, so my question was "Why do I need to ask Him for things then?". I'm learning now that it's because He desires for us to rest in Him, receive His peace and allow Him to guard our hearts and minds. When I'm not trusting in God, I'm questioning His sovereignty and my mind starts to blaspheme Him Name. I'm also learning that I need to trust The Lord for EVERYTHING. Not just with the bit stuff, but also with the little things that I sometimes think don't matter. One of my favorite songs is Whole World in His Hands - it goes "I fear no evil, for You are with me, strong to deliver, mighty to saved, He's got the whole world in His hands". I am going to memorize these verses to remember these lessons I'm learning.