We will be working through “Biblical Foundations” in the month of February. This is a Bible study for groups or one-on-one discipleship. If you would like to follow along, you may join our women’s only Roots & Fruits group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/rootsfruits
Download the study here: https://indd.adobe.com/view/38fa9813-7702-4b44-b0d7-c0e283371c62
Every year at this time we set out to change things for next year. What goals have you set in place? How long do you think you can keep them going?
In order to make a true shift in your ability to make something actually happen, you must commit by changing or updating your identity. The number one goal we should all have this year is to get a few steps closer to Jesus. Our whole world becomes clearer and calmer when we abide in Jesus and His Word abides in us!
Who are you? What is your identity? If your identity is found in Jesus, then let the following five commitments be our battle cry this year:
With these five commitments in mind, our one, over-arching commitment should be to read the Bible often and thoroughly. Be blessed through God’s love letter to you!
We go about our lives mostly on autopilot. Life consumes us. Life beats us down. We often become tired, annoyed, restless, anxious, and even depressed when we do not view life through the lens that God has desired for us. Somehow our lens has gotten foggy and distorted with images of self, desire, pride, people-pleasing, control, and any other world-view that eagerly fights for a spot on that lens. How do we wipe away that lens so we can see clearly? The gospel.
Why is the gospel message so important?
It is our hope, our redemption, our purpose, our lens cleaner.
Get to know the gospel. Memorize it. Preach it to yourself. Share it with others… often!
THE GOSPEL BASICS
God created the world – He created you and me too! As Creator, He is in charge of everything and everyone. He made us to be holy, as He is holy. Sin entered the world through Adam and Even with the deception of Satan. The sin is now in every human and is our nature. Sin separates us from God and deserves ultimate punishment – death. Jesus, God in the flesh, came to earth and lived a perfect life that we should have, a holy life, died the death that we deserved due to our sin, and rose again to eternal life. We may have reconciliation to God and eternal life with Him through hearing the Father’s call and giving our life to Jesus by putting our entire trust, faith, and hope in Him as our Lord and Savior. This means being obedient to His commands as seen in His Word, the Bible, and trusting His will and plan for our life over our own.
TEN POINTS OF MEMORIZATION
TEN POINTS WITH SCRIPTURE
God is the Creator
See Genesis 1:1, John 1:3, Colossians 1:16, and Revelation 4:11.
He created everything, the world and people, to be perfect and without sin.
God is Holy
See 1 Peter 1:16, 1 Samuel 2:2, and Revelation 4:8.
God is holy, which means set apart or without sin. He created us to be holy, too.
We can only be with God if we are holy like He is.
Sin Separated Us
See Romans 5:12-14, Isaiah 59:2, and Romans 3:23.
Sin entered the world through Adam and was passed down to us. Apart from Christ, sin is now our nature and manifests in our selfish desires and motives. This makes us unholy and separates us from God.
God is a Just God
See Romans 6:23, Romans 5:12, and James 1:15.
The consequence of our unholy sin nature is death.
God is a Loving God
See John 3:16, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, and 1 John 4:8.
God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to pay the price for us by dying on the cross.
Jesus is the Way
See 1 Peter 2:22, Matthew 14:33, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, and John 14:6.
Jesus, fully God and fully man, is God’s only Son who lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again. He is the only way to salvation.
We must Repent
See 1 John 1:9, Acts 3:19, and Ephesians 1:7.
We are to ask for forgiveness and turn away from sin and toward Jesus.
God Gave us Mercy and Grace
See Ephesians 2:4-9, 1 Peter 1:3, 2 Chronicles 30:9b, and Daniel 9:9
God gives us mercy and grace. Mercy is not getting what we deserve, punishment in hell. Grace is getting something we don’t deserve, treasures in heaven.
We must have Faith
See Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:9-10, and Romans 10:17.
We are to give our lives fully to Jesus and trust only in Him for our salvation.
Christians Gain Eternal Life with Jesus
See Revelations 21:4, Luke 23:43, Matthew 6:19-21, John 14:2, and Ephesians 2:6-7.
We will live forever in Heaven with Jesus in our resurrected, perfect bodies where there is no more pain and there is only perfect harmony with Jesus.
How do you live your life? What do you think about most? What do you think about when you think about God?
A.W. Tozer said that what you think about God is the most important thing about you. While that statement is true, a better thought, in my opinion, was said by C.S. Lewis and says what God thinks about you is infinitely more important.
There are two responses to how we live our lives.
Our vertical response and our horizontal response.
Our vertical response is how we were created in light of our relationship vertically, up to God. Our horizontal response is how we were created in light of our relationships horizontally, out to others. The simple answer is usually the most easy to understand, is often the most practical, and usually the hardest to follow.
VERTICAL – You are intended to WORSHIP God.
HORIZONTAL – You are intended to HELP other humans.
As a woman, you are intended to help. Not everyone all the time, but specific people for specific seasons. As an individual, your job is to bring glory to God. As a wife, your roll is to be a helper to your husband. As a mother, your job is to help raise your children to glorify God. As an adult daughter, your job is to help and honor your aging parents. As a friend, your job is to help carry your friends burdens.
Are you overwhelmed yet by that long list? Being a helper is a lot of work. My goal is to try to help you become the best at giving glory and worship to God first and knowing exactly how to be the best helper to others in your life without completely overwhelming yourself. I want you to know when it’s time to say yes and time to say no. I want you to know that every need that people present to you is not always a calling from God. I want you to know that it is OK and necessary to keep a lot of white space on your calendar rather than filling it up with things that may not matter 100 years from now.
Are you ready to find out God’s foundational plan for you? Are you ready to be full of purpose, passion, and peace? Are you ready to stop caring about what the world thinks your purpose should be and focus on God’s perfect plan? Are you ready to rest in that gorgeous plan that is already spelled out for you in the Bible?
I pray that this blog will help you to lean more fully on the Holy Spirit, follow more fervently Jesus’ example, and rest more abundantly in God’s plan.
Holy. Just. Love. 