Discussion on Assignment #13

We are quickly coming to the end of our study.  We have finished all the chapters that deal with lies women believe.  Our final two chapters are a fitting closing for the book.  There are a few portions that stood out to me in our reading for this past week.

"True freedom is found in a vital, growing relationship with the Lord Jesus...If we want to know Him, if we want to know the Truth, we must devote ourselves to the reading, study, and meditation of His Word.  There is no substitute and there are no shortcuts.  The Enemy is constantly confronting us with his lies.  In order to combat his deception, our minds and hearts must be filled with the Lord Jesus and saturated with his Word.  But it is not enough to know the Truth.  We must also surrender to the Truth.  That means we must be willing to change our thinking or our lifestyle in any areas where they do not square with the Word of God."  (pgs. 250-251)

I am realizing just how important it is to saturate yourself with God's Word.  The enemy does not give up easily.  He will continue to try to keep chipping away at us with his lies in hopes that we will eventually believe his lies and give in to the deception.  Hiding God's Word in our hearts is so important.  It's one way of saturating yourself with Scripture.  And in doing so, we are putting the Truth in our hearts and minds so we will be better able to not only recognize the enemy's lies but also counter them with God's Truth.  Of course, another way is by reading the Scripture.  It's not always easy to spend a lot of time in God's Word, especially when you have young children.  I am realizing this.  Having an infant requires a lot of my time and energy.  Our little Sugarplum is indeed a blessing from God.  I spend a lot of time with her.  And I find that it's not easy to find lengthy blocks of time to sit and read the Bible.  But I think God understands that.  Right now, when Sugarplum wakes up in the morning it's usually just her and I that are up and about in the house.  So during that early morning feeding, I usually sit with my index cards and work on my Bible memorizations while I feed her.  I am able to work on hiding God's Word in my heart at the beginning of my day.  Then sometime throughout the morning time, I try to do some Bible reading at one of Sugarplum's nap times.  While I may not get a lot in during the course of the day, I am getting some.  There are different seasons in our lives and I think God understands that in some seasons we're able to spend much more time in His Word and in other seasons we may not be able to spend a lot. 

"We cannot assume a particular viewpoint is true just because everyone else thinks that way - or because it is what we have always believed, or because a well-known Christian author promotes that position, or because a well-meaning friend or counselor says it is right.  Everything we believe and everything we do must be evaluated in the light of God's Word.  That is our only absolute authority."  (pg. 251)

There are people who simply believe something because the minister preached it or a Bible teacher taught it.  They don't go back and check it themselves in God's Word.  Scripture tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil."   It is our own responsibility to take what we hear and test it to God's Word.  We can't always just assume something is right just because a well-known Bible teacher or preacher says it's right.  Humans are fallible.  We are not right all the time.  We have to read and study God's Word ourselves.

"As deception has inundated our culture, many believers have become hesitant to stand for the Truth, for fear of being labeled as intolerant or narrow-minded."  (pg. 252)

"We must learn the Truth, believe it, surrender to it, and live it out - even when it flies in the face of our culture.  Then we must proclaim the Truth with boldness, conviction, and compassion, seeking to turn sinners from the error of their way and to restore those who have wandered from the Truth."  (pg. 252)

Our Memory Work

"'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"
                           - John 8:32 (NIV)

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..."
                           - Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

Assignment

Reading
Read chapter eleven - pages 253-265.

Monday, July 14, 2008 - Untitled Comment