Wednesday, March 26, 2008

James 3:13-18

What a privilege it is when a person we have been praying for comes to town. Today our friend, Stacey, came and actually taught our lesson. It was a precious time and she was able to adapt to the sweet sound of children in the background. Thank you Stacey, I love you!
Here are the notes I took from Stacey's lesson.
Read James 3:13-18
Wisdom is mentioned three times.
Mark 12:30 tells us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind. Naturally, when we think of wisdom we think of wisdom that comes from our mind.
How do you love the Lord with all your mind?
Trials are opportunities to be taught and love the Lord with all our minds. The best way to start is to ABIDE IN JESUS.
John 8:31 Abide in His Word for it is where you will find the TRUTH.
John 15:4 Abide in Him and He will Abide in You
John 15:9 Abide in His love.
Abide means to spend time with the Lord. This was the biggest lesson Stacey had learned in China. You can go to every meeting and function of the church and not have any time to just sit in the presence of Jesus. It is in His presence that you learn what His voice sounds like.
Being in His presence and being filled with His Spirit helps us deal with trials when they come and they will. All trials are not from Satan but are a platform for witness.
Abiding is being in step with Him, not being busy doing our own thing. People are watching and if we do not have God's direction we will often give a confusing picture to a non believer. Unbelievers can see the power of God in how we respond to things that come in our path. When we spend time with the Lord we are able to recognize and hear His voice. It is one on one time with him, as a mother spends time to get to know each child. The state of confusion that is often in our lives subsides when we spend time in God's presence.
In China, Stacey had no church and only her Bible for four months. We can not depend on any man to accomplish what only God can.
There is a cost to walking with the Lord. But when we are in the middle of a trial which may be part of that cost we often get so caught up in the cost or circumstance that we can not see God.
Two things have been especially important when trials come.
1 - Prayer - Read Psalm 73:16,17
2 - Knowing truth or abiding in His Word.
God wants to build us daily as a Temple to display His glory and His love.
James 3:18 says the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace. We are to be planting seeds of peace and love.
Read II Samuel 9:1 it is powerful!
We learned so much from Stacey and I am sure you will too. Thank you Stacey. I love you all.

2 Comments:

Blogger Dolly said...

Loved seeing the pictures with Stacey! I would loved to have been there to hear her stories and what God's taught her in China. Great recap Glenda. Thanks for posting! It's so neat to see how Stacey is allowing God to use her and her life for Him. She's such a good girl!

March 27, 2008 at 1:52 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

We have a notetaker on our hands! Good job, Glender! This was a timely message from Stacey and you had some great additional insights! Love the pics, too! Way to be a faithful blogger of the Word. ILY!

March 27, 2008 at 4:30 PM  

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