I've just finished day two of our homework. I'll admit, I've learned more about Uzziah and Jotham than I ever knew.
What was Uzziah's primary sin? Pride! How many of us let our pride get in the way of what we know we should do? My guess is that most of us think of pride in a worldly sense. We can all think of people who are too proud to do something. Teachers, how many times have you had a student that you knew needed assistance but their parents were too proud to ask for it? I'll admit, this is what I think of when I think of pride. I've never really associated it with my relationship with God. I loved her quote, "God hates pride because it dethrones Him and puts ourselves at the center of our universe. ... Pride slights Him, but it destroys us."
What word did you use to describe Isaiah's vision of God? My first thought was kingly, but then I thought of regal and royal. What about you?
How did you respond to the loss of a hero? For me, I can't think of anyone that I would consider to be a hero that I have lost. Sure, I have lost MANY people in my life that were extremely important but I don't know that any of them were heroes. What about you?
Another phrase I was drawn to was, "It must be God first, God second, and God third, until the life is faced steadily with God and no one else is of any account whatever." The quote is a little strange, but I think it tells us that we have to make God so important in our lives that nothing else really matters. What is your take on this quote?
Alabama just won a national championship and in a week we'll be watching the Super Bowl. She talks about the players becoming heroes and how they thank God for their victories. Then she says, "God doesn't get the ring. The team doesn't retire God's number. ..." Do we do this in our own lives? I loved her statement, "A wide gulf lies between thanking God for our wonderful victories and pointing people to God as the One and only Sovereign victorious. People crave a human worth worshipping. We are wise not to try to deliver."
Lastly, I found the statement, "Like the rest of us, Isaiah probably tended to act like whomever he spent his time with." How truthful is that statement?!?! We see this happening around us all the time. We do this all the time!!!! Don't try to deny it because I know we ALL do it. You act different around different groups. Why do we do this? Why can't we just be the same with everyone? We can, we just choose not to.
I'm anxiously awaiting your responses.
Love,
Lori
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I am doing my homework and am excited about it, much to my own dismay! When I told my mom about doing the study, she who as already done it, reminded me of all the bondage I have already been freed from. What an encouragement to be reminded of the freedom I am already living in. It only makes me hunger for more!!! I love how Beth continually references the same story in several different places told from different points of view. It really helps us to see the whole picture, and reiterates to me the inherent infallible qualities of the Word of God. I have to admit that I have acted differently in various arenas of my life. What i have recently realized is that those whom I should not have emulated have been slowly removed from my life and replaced with friends who encourage me to walk as I should. While some are meant to be lifelong friends, others are only for a season. Recently I have learned to accept the seasonal friends as such, thank God for our time together, and not mourn or what if their absence in my life. This study even in our first week is growing me! I can't wait to see what else God has in store!
ReplyDeleteI am doing my homework and am stil in awe of how God never gives up on us. Pride is a nasty enemy. I know it has long been a stronghold of mine. It takes hold in many forms and before you realize it, it has you down for the count in many other areas.
ReplyDeleteAs for GOD first, second, third, etc., that is something I know we all struggle with but it is something that is part of the race that Paul talks about in Phillipians. I want that! I want to be completely engulfed in GOD, I have falled so many times!! When I fall it's because I have taken my eyes off of Him and sometimes even comepletly turned my back to him, and what happened? I SANK! Like Peter, I sank like a rock! The glorious thing is that Jesus was He was there to pick up the pieces of me and start me to mold me back together again in love, but never without consequences.
As for friends, as my ma ma used to say, if you lay down with dogs you get up with fleas, and boy have I come home with a bad case of fleas before. That was my fault. I chose to behave in a manner which was not Christ like. That was MY fault. Like Joy said, some friends are there for only a season. Thank the Lord I also have lifelong friends who have been there to pull me out of the muck and the mire, wipe my tears, with the love of Christ, told me how wrong I had been, and helped me find my way home. Jesus had faithful friends and he had some who loved him in His darkest our.
I am blessed to be in this Bible Study for such a time as this. I have already been working on getting rid of some strongholds through counseling and prayer. God just knew Beth Moore has a way of getting through to me in a way noone else can. Thank you all for being on this journey with me. I love you all.