Day: April 6, 2016

On Monday nights at my church we are doing a women’s Bible study called “Stuck”. This study is about the places we get stuck in our lives and how God sets us free. The author of this video guided Bible study is Jennie Allen. 

• Romans 6:6-7, ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

One of many things that I have and still am learning from this study is that if I am honest about myself, there is a war that is going on inside each of us. God will win this war and I must allow Him to do my battling instead of me doing it all. Which of course I can’t.

One of the comments in this study is about admitting that we are “stuck” in different places in my life, sin directs us out of shame and toward our need for Christ. When I become rebellious, which has always been one of those areas that I need to work on, it is my incapable attempt to not face reality. Basically the human race is imperfect and a mess and so am I. 

• Romans 7:23, but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 

In Romans 7:23 Paul was writing to the believers in Rome that his sinful nature, which is his physical body, wages war against his mind and makes him its prisoner. Paul knew that he couldn’t save himself. He  was thankful to God for his salvation that was revealed through Jesus Christ, which promised him, in the end, deliverance from his sins and lusts of the flesh ( Flesh is a term for our humanness) and mind. As with Paul  we are unable to free ourselves from our sins, even if we do our very best, we can’t do it alone. We need  Jesus Christ and we don’t have to be a slave to sin. 

While I was doing part of this study, the thing that stood out to me is that it isn’t necessarily about my personal struggles which are many. It is about God and how He has a plan for my life and that He loves me so much that He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for me. His love is full of grace and I am certain that  mankind will be battling sin until we are with God. In my  life I know I need God. If anyone doesn’t think they don’t need God, they are deceiving themselves. I do have some friends who doesn’t believe they need God or that there is even a God.  As believers in Christ we know from experience that even though man is a new creature in Christ, sin is still a problem.

• Romans 11:6, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”

What is Grace? 

Grace is the unmerited favor of God. It is where God shows us mercy, kindness, and patience instead of the judgment that we deserve for sinning against Him. God’s grace cannot be earned by our actions or sincerity. It cannot be lost by our rebellion or sin. Grace is based on the character of God and not on our sincerity, performance, or ability to keep the law of God. Otherwise, grace would not be grace.

• Romans 8:8, ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

One of many of the battles that I face is that I am argumentative and I want things my way. Those who know me probably will all be nodding their heads up and down on that one lol. It’s also difficult to admit that there are parts of my life and it’s human nature to not want to admit that we are an imperfect and flawed creation. God knows we are flawed and He knows when we sin, but for some reason if it isn’t said out loud, those areas of sin doesn’t exist. We aren’t fooling anyone and we for sure aren’t fooling God.

 

When we stop focusing on our sin, we must focus on God or we will continue on this path of being stuck and a slave to sin. God’s grace is why we can go to God and confess our sins. When we confess our sins, we find freedom. God saved us and loves us despite our sin. God is full of grace and mercy. God has the ability to change everything and to make us right with Him. 

• 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 , ⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

There was a couple of questions that was asked about the above Bible verse; 

1. Who are you,  Lord? _________________________________________________
2. What do you want from me? _________________________________________________

A.1. My answers to these questions was that God wanted to keep Paul humble. Which in turn means that I needed to be humble as well. God doesn’t want us to be full of pride. being full of pride is something that Satan wants, not God. 

A.2. As I think about the second question, I  would have to say that God wants me to be prayerful in faith. When my struggles are to much for me, I know that god has it under control and I can depend on Him. 

You are more than welcome to share your answers to these questions. 

A few more questions to ask  yourself: 

1. Do you believe that Jesus Christ took your place by dying on the cross for your sins? 
2. Do you believe that He was risen from the grave and now sits at the right hand of God the Father? 
3. Have you placed your life in the hands of God for your salvation and hope? 

It sounds pretty simple. We should be 100 percent sure that our faith and hope is in Jesus Christ alone. I am undeserving of being saved because of my sinful nature, but since He has adopted me as His child, He has saved me from my sins. 

I will be posting week 2 from this study. We covered about how being “mad” gets in the way when it comes to our relationship with God and our relationship with others in our lives. My grandson JJ was here at my house when I was doing the section on “mad”. He was a bit “mad” and hot under the collar as I was reading out loud. I guess his little 8 year old mind wasn’t understanding why everyone says he has anger issues, which he is undergoing counseling for. Maybe God is telling him something also.