Look at where the Lord has brought us from!! We started at Unit 1--God's Will and Your Life. We went on to Unit 2--Looking to God. We kept going to Unit 3--God Pursues a Love Relationship. Then on to Unit 4--Love and God's Invitation, which made us double up on the topic of "Love." :) And, now we are in Unit 5!!! Our Unit Title for this week is "God Speaks, Part I." The lesson topics are as follows:
Day 1- God Speaks in Different Ways
Day 2-God Speaks by the Holy Spirit
Day 3-God Reveals
Day 4-God Speaks Through the Bible
Day 5-God Speaks Through Prayer
Beloved, I'm going to go ahead and be honest with you--the season is changing, there is a lot going on in our personal and family lives-- so these next few weeks is going to require more of a push than the previous ones. But you cannot get this far into the study and give up! This is where we begin to learn about how God speaks and the need for us to identify when He speaks and to respond, immediately. This is where we learn about how God reveals Himself, His Purposes and His ways. This is critical--do you agree? Have you been longing to hear from God? Have you been unsure about how God speaks and how you can discern the difference? Well, if the answer to any of those questions are yes then "you gone have to" push through. In other words, honor the time you've designated to study. Make up the times you miss because of unplanned interruptions. Be intentional about using the on-line support ie blog, post, and audio excerpts. Carry your book with you to read when you have down time. And, make time for reflection, prayer and meditation. You will be glad that you did.
Does this sound familiar?--"If a Christian does not know when God is speaking, he/she is in trouble at the heart of their Christian life." Here's one that got to me-That God spoke is the most important factor, not how He spoke. Whew! Here's another one--If you want to know the will and voice of God, you must devote time and effort to cultivate a love relationship with Him. There's more!!
Day 1 the author begins with sharing about how God spoke in the Old Testament. Then when it gets down to the part of the lesson "A Wrong Pattern" you need to read this slowly and carefully--then read it again. (I'm going to leave that right there).
Day 2 talks about how God speaks by the Holy Spirit. Here's a summary statement--When I understand spiritual truth, it is because the Holy Spirit is working in my life. Here's another one--An encounter with the Holy Spirit is an encounter with God. Here's one, truth is never discovered; truth is revealed. When you get to the part of the lesson "Respond Immediately" you need to read this slowly and carefully-then read it again. (I'm going to leave that right there).
God's revelations are designed to bring you into a love relationship with Him. God reveals Himself to increase faith that leads to action. God reveals His purposes so that you will know what He plans to do. All of these summary statements are found in Day 3. And, these are one of those days where you'll need to carve out enough time to complete the assignments and digest the lesson. In this lesson you will see 11 circles-the part that really ministered to me was the 3rd circle (which is on page 99 in my book).
Day 4 says that God speaks through the Bible to include other ways such as: prayer, circumstances, and the church. These four ways are difficult to separate. God uses prayer and the Bible together. Then there is the part of the lesson that talks about the Spirit of Truth and Responding to Truth. Here's a summary statement--Understanding spiritual truth does not lead you to an encounter with God; it is the encounter with God. Here's another one--God is more interested in what I become than in what I do.
The last day in this Unit--Day 5 talks about prayer. And, this summary statement made me shout: What God says in prayer is far more important than what you say. It goes on to say that prayer is a relationship to a person--its not just a religious activity. Its purpose is to adjust you to God, not to align God with your thinking. God doesn't need your prayers, but He wants you to pray because of what God wants to do in and through your life as you pray. Beloved, this is one of those days that you need to carve out some extra time to engage. Let me end with this statement from Day 5--When the God of the universe tells me something in my quiet time, I should write it down before I forget it.
You know if there is a Part I then there is a Part II. I pray that we will get everything out of these lessons that God wants us to have. And, I'll meet you again in Part II.
Blessings,
Reverend Tajuan Kyles
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