Indemnity is scheduled to release April 15th in paperback and audiobook.
Study Tip: Progress
Ezra 7:10 presents a progression we can follow in our Bible study. It reads, "Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel." Did you catch the steps?
1. Prepare your heart- Sins dealt with. Prayers offered. Distractions removed.
2. Seek the Law- Energy and effort applied to understanding God's word.
3. Do it- Precepts practiced/ obeyed with diligence.
4. Teach it- Truth modeled and/ or proclaimed.
In most of the tips, I admit, I focus on step 2, but if we skip the preparation, we treat God's message to us as just another book. If we go no further than studying, we might as well be learning Spanish or algebra or biology. And, while God intends for us to obey His Word, if we do that as loners, without sharing what we learn, we fail to fulfill our commission.
Bible study isn't an end unto itself. It's a key component in helping us grow in our relationship with God and with others.
How do you view Bible study? A chore. An obligation. A time-waster. A privilege. A duty. A necessity. A habit.
Do you follow these steps? (They were pretty convicting to me, too.)
A Prayer for You, My Friends
My friends, you bless me in so many ways, ways you'll never know.
A prayer for you-
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
Amen.
Numbers 6:24-26
What Job Taught My Characters
(I'm working on the edits for Indemnity, so I really appreciate your patience and understanding as I offer a repost. Thank you!)
Over the course of my books, I put my characters in some difficult spots. That's good for them and good for the readers. However, then I have to come along and put some wise resolution for that character to discover, drawn on or hear from someone else. I strive for a fresh insight, for practical wisdom, something useful, not just holy-sounding. This is always when the writing gets very humbling because this is where God takes over.
In one situation, I had a character go back to Job. (I had just finished reading Job myself, so it was fresh in my mind.) The character said although the Lord restored all that Job had, God never took the pain of the loss away. Yesterday, it also occurred to me that the restoration took years. Job didn't wake up the next morning *poof* with his seven new sons and three new daughters.
So here are two things I learned-
Pain fades to the point where it doesn't consume our lives, but it doesn't necessarily ever go away. At least not in this life. Sometimes we put unrealistic expectations on ourselves or others about how and when we should be 'over' something. Each situation is unique and intensely personal. Grant yourself (or someone else) the grace to walk through it rather than adding the pressure of 'should'. Truth is, God may doing things through the loss that we are completely unaware of, as was Job's case. Job never knew the full story behind all his suffering.
Second, restoration takes time and it may mean traveling over some ground we've already covered. Job had already done diapers and toddlers and loose teeth and adolescence but he had to go through it all again. It's worth it. The last chapter of Job says, "The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than the beginning."
What have you learned from Job?
Study Tip: Divine Conversation
I've heard it said that prayer and Bible study are two sides of a conversation. In prayer, we pour our hearts out to God, and then He speaks through His word. If we're trying to get by with just one of those, communication breaks down.
I know you've heard, and maybe even said, "I prayed, but I don't know what God's telling me to do." Or, "I never get anything out of it when I read the Bible." Those are sure signs that only half of a conversation is taking place.
How does this conversation thing work?
Looking for an example in my notebooks, I ran across a 'conversation' I had a few years ago. I had made some strides in writing and was entering a dangerous area of success. I asked God, is it wrong to want to be successful? I want to write what He gives me, and I want that to reach as many people as possible, but when does it cross over into ego? So after asking God these questions in prayer, a few days later, He started answering them as I read:
Psalm 110:1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
Success depends a lot on timing. Christ has to wait for God's timing, for the fulfillment of His purposes. So it is making me more Christ-like to learn to wait for His timing. Christ waits patiently, confidently because He is that assured of God.
Psalm 110:4 The Lord has sworn and will not relent,
God's purposes WILL be accomplished. I need to submit to whatever those may be and to wait patiently and confidently for them to unfold.
Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
My definition of success may not be how God defines it.
God desires to have a divine conversation with us, a two-sided conversation.
What conversations have you had in your study time?
(This is a re-post.)
Just Being Still
Some days I need to
Listen rather than talk
Worship rather than whine
Glory rather than gripe
Today.
"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10
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