Week #16 of our Psalm 119 study. Psalm 119:121-128 “The Eye of the Tiger”

Are you studying with us through Psalm 119?  Great!  This is Week #16, Psalm 119:121-128  “The Eye of the Tiger”  .   Click on the picture to the left to view or download this study.

I have learned there are two parts of me, when it comes to actually accomplishing the things I want to do:

My desires

My will

The problem I run up against is:  Just because I desire something doesn’t mean I have the will to make it happen.

Every once in awhile, though, my desires and my will come together, and then I have what I like to call:

The Eye of the Tiger.

Intentional.  Focused. Deliberate.  Tenacious.

 When I have the eye of the tiger, I don’t give up, for any reason.

But when I come to the end of my abilities, when I am totally out of options, when I have no way to make anything happens, when my desires are crumbled at my feet, when my will is unable to function …then I wait for God to have “the eye of the tiger”.  I wait for Him to decide it’s time to act.  Nothing will stand in His way – and there will be no giving up before the thing is done.

If you ask me, there is no better place to be in the world than in that helpless, hopeless place of waiting for God to have “the eye of the tiger”.

Right now in history we are all waiting for our God to have “the eye of the tiger” one last time.  He will focus in on His world.  The one He created.  His desire for this world and His will to accomplish it will come together in time.  There will be a 7-year explosion, fueled by “the eye of the tiger”, and our future will begin.

Week #15 of our Psalm 119 study Psalm 119:113-120 “Stinkin’ Thinkin'”

Are you studying with us through Psalm 119?  Great!  This is Week #15, Psalm 119:113-120  “Stinkin’  Thinkin'”.   Click on the picture to the left to view or download this study.

Our world is full of stinkin’ thinkin’.   We don’t have any idea how many of the world’s crazy ideas we have totally bought into until we compare our thinking with the clear, honest statements of the Word of God.

Here’s some “stinkin’ thinkin’” talked about in this passage:

Half-Heartedness

Hiding in the Wrong Hiding Place

Hanging on to Bad Friendships

Taking Tolerance Too Far

Forgetting Who Keeps Me Safe

Lies are Sometimes OK

God is Love.  He Could Never Actually Send Anyone to Eternal Punishment

I’m Not Afraid of God

Micah “Embedded Jewels”

Micah is like a snapshot of the picture-perfect, 2-child, 2-car, 2-income family – just before the divorce. 

 Everything seems so great….but tumult is about to overtake everyone’s life.

Click on the image to the left to view or download this Bible Study.

 

Week #14 of our Psalm 119 study. Psalm 119:105-112 “Inheritance”

Are you studying with us through Psalm 119?  Great!  This is Week #14, Psalm 119:105-112  “Inheritance”.   Click on the picture to the left to view or download this study.

What heritage are you passing on to your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren?

Proverbs 31 “An Uncommon Woman”

Are you becoming  “An Uncommon Woman” ?   A woman so unique that some day people will look at you with shock in their eyes and ask: “What is so different about her?”

I think there are two ways to become this woman…I am recommending the 2nd.

The first way would be to look around you and decide that you don’t want to be like what you see.  To see apathy and decide to be caring and intense.  Or to see pettiness and decide to be live on a larger plane.  Or to see immorality and decide to be pure.  Or to see self-centeredness and decide to focus on others.  All of those sound good at first….but I don’t think this is a powerful-enough way to approach this challenge.  If you do this, you are always trying to not be somebody …but never knowing who you are trying to be.

The 2nd way is to look directly into the face of Jesus, and then ask Him to change you into the woman you see reflected in His eyes.  Because He already sees the uncommon woman you could be.

Ruth “Beauty for Ashes”

Ruth  “Beauty for Ashes”  

We are not told how long this little family lived in Moab before life got harder, but at some point Elimilech, the father,  died, and Naomi, the mother,  was left with two sons to raise by herself.

The life of a single mom was, of course, much harder then than it is now, but at least she did have her boys.  They would be her ticket to the future.  They would turn around and take care of her some day.  They would move her back to her home in Bethlehem.  They would bring sons into the world who would also be a hope and a future for her.

But ten years later the family is still in Moab.  The sons have married two Moabite women…no children yet.  And then the unthinkable happens – the two sons die.  And three widows are left to stare across an empty table at each other every morning, wondering…what will become of us?

Week #13 of our Psalm 119 study. Psalm 119:97-104 “Sweet!”

Are you studying with us through Psalm 119?  Great!  This is Week #13, Psalm 119:97-104  “Sweet!”.   Click on the picture to the left to view or download this study.

The point of this passage is not that you should feel this passionate about your Bible….but that you will feel that passionate when you are daily soaking it up.  The more you read, the sweeter it gets.  It just kind of grows on you.

2nd Peter How To Grow

2nd Peter   “How to Grow”

If anyone knew about growing as a Christian it was Peter.  He wins the award for mistakes in his Christian walk, and yet, he grew.   He was loud, brash, and overly confident.  He denied the Lord at the time when the Lord needed him the most.  He slept while his Lord wept.  He ran away from the cross.  And yet, he grew.  He grew closer to Jesus with each passing year.

If you are having trouble growing as a Christian, listen to Peter.  He knows.

A Good Bible Study Method

I recently had someone ask me to recommend a Bible Study method.  She was wanting to get back to being in the Word herself, and also wanted to introduce a Bible Study method to the high school youth group she was working with.

Her question got me to thinking that there might be a few more people who have that same question – so I’m passing on my answer to you – in hopes you will find it helpful for yourself, or pass it on to someone else who might be wondering this, too:

“One really great method is called “inductive Bible Study”.  It’s an awesome discipline for digging in and applying God’s Word to your every-day life.

Kay Arthur has written a great book on it:  “How to Study Your Bible”, published by Harvest House.

 

Also, on this website, there’s an article there you might find helpful , called “Understanding the Bible”.  Click on the picture to the left, or on the link below to read or download it.

https://kathleendalton.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/total-booklet-understanding-the-bible1.pdf

Psalm 119:89-96 “Forever” Week 12 of our Study of Psalm 119

Are you studying with us through Psalm 119?  Great!    This is Week #12.  Psalm 119:89-96   “Forever”

I actually did think I was going to die.  We were in a small, private plane above Indianapolis, getting ready to land at night.  The light for the landing gear – which would normally come on, telling the pilot all was ready to head toward the runway – didn’t come on.  The pilot tried to manually lower the landing gear…flew by the runway tower, giving them a chance to shine a light on the belly of the plane to visually determine whether or not the landing gear was down…but it was inconclusive, and we finally made the descent anyway, not sure whether or not we would need those many emergency vehicles which were now lining our path of entry.

My thoughts?  Very, very afraid.  I knew I would go to heaven if I died.  But I truly, truly did not want to die in a plane crash.

It turned out that the landing gear was fine.  It held as the pilot gently set us down and as we taxied to the hangar.  When we got off the plane, I wanted to fall to my knees and kiss the ground.

I remember every detail of that night because it is burned in my mind.  I almost died.  Nothing else seemed even remotely more important.

That memory helps me understand Psalm 119:93:  ” I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.”

The Psalmist is saying he will never forget the Words of God – because he was facing death, and those Words – those Words which are eternal, forever – saved him.  Nothing else could be even remotely more important.

The Words which brought you and I  life will always live.  The Word (Jesus) Who brought you and I life will always live.  Our next few minutes of life….and our eternity…rest on the Words and the Word….not on ourselves.