Thursday, September 29, 2011

My Estate Package

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a beautiful inheritance.
(Psalm 16:5,6)

What an interesting concept...I have inherited an estate?!  Not only have I inherited an estate, but it has been assigned specifically to me!  This week I've been challenged by the idea that it was not by chance that I was born into my family, live on Pasadena Avenue in Milford, or work at Children's Hospital ER.  These are my boundary lines that have been drawn specifically for me.  My field (estate) may look different from yours (and on some days I may want to sell/give/trade my estate), but God has a specific purpose and plan for where he has placed me... and YOU!  I love that I can look at my estate from this perspective: 

However, there should be no poor among you,  for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you. (Deuteronomy 15:4)

(SIGH) The thought of having an estate to manage seems overwhelming to me, but I am not alone!  Not only did God give this to me to possess (take ownership of, manage), but he has richly blessed it.  In addition, I have also inherited the very presence of God (Joshua 1:9), and help in managing my estate through people (the body of christ (1 Cor. 12)).  That's right this princess did not inherit some old shack...I have a beautiful inheritance! Now it is time for me to take ownership of it.

Questions to ponder for the week:

Can you identify where your boundary lines have been drawn? 
Who are the people God has placed in your life to help you manage your estate?
Have you embraced your land and taken possession (ownership) of it?  Or are you trying to sell/trade/give it away?
Are you overly possessive of your land or people? 

Princess' unite: I would love for you to post some of your answers on the blog, if you feel comfortable.  Let's be praying for eachother this week! 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

No doubt about it, God is a Giver!

So this week, in the DVD, Beth posed some questions that keep haunting me...

In your heart of hearts, in the darkest of darks, do you believe that God is a giver or a taker?
Do you think of Him as a giver in Heaven but a taker here on earth?
Is fear of what He might take from us holding us back from giving Him complete control in our lives ?
Are you scared of the Lord?
What do our actions and our prayer life convey?

I know in my head that God is a giver but I am realizing this week that often I don't act like it! At times I respond to God in fear. I dig my heels in on the edge where He asks me to jump in faith. I feel the strong urge to "protect" myself and grip tightly to the wheel.

I hate the thought that I would believe something untrue about my Father! As a parent, I have had to take things away from my children that were potentially harmful to them or sometimes as a form of discipline for a time, but it would be heartbreaking to me if my children were to think of me as a "taker" in their life. If they were afraid to trust me, I would be crushed! I LOVE to give to my kids! My Father is way more giving and worthy of trust than me!

This week pray that God's Spirit will reveal any lie that we are believing about our Father. Ask Him to bring healing to hurts that may have caused you to believe the lie.
Look for Scriptures that show the Truth about God as a giver! For example...

John 3:16 Rom 6:23
Acts 2:38 James 1:17
Eph 2:8 Rev. 22:17

Girls, 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has NOT given us a spirit of fear but He has given us power, love and self-control. He has given us all we need to overcome our feelings and act on what we know is the TRUTH!

I'm praying for you! Hope to hear what God is saying in your life this week!









Thursday, September 15, 2011

Who knew, I'm an Heiress!! (and you are too!)

Hello Ladies!

We are so glad that you have chosen to be a part of our group of women studying God's Word together through Beth Moore's "The Inheritance". This week Beth set the stage for our nine week session by letting us know that technically, each one of us is an heiress! How exciting is that?? If we believe in Christ as the Son of God, that He died for the forgiveness of our sins in order that we might live eternally with Him, we are children of THE KING! (John 1:12)

As a child of God, we are co-heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:15-17). We are to receive the full inheritance that Jesus is entitled to as God's Son.

So what exactly does that mean to me? What kind of inheritance is God passing down?

Here are just a few verses about the riches of our Father that Beth mentioned in the DVD that you might want to look up, meditate on or even memorize!

Ephesians 1:18 Romans 9:23
Ephesians 2:4 Romans 11:33
Ephesians 2:7 I Chronicles 29:11-12
Ephesians 3:8

As a child of God, an Heiress, we need to know what kind of "riches" we have access to while we are here on earth. It would be a shame to go through life an Heiress, with access to your Father's power, and riches, and never use them. That's what we will be learning about these 9 weeks. We want to take full advantage of our rights as an Heir with Christ!

Questions to think about:

1. Am I truly a child of God?
2. Do I represent my Father and His Kingdom well? Do I understand the riches and responsibility that are mine?
3. How do you feel about Beth's statement, "If you are bored, you are flat out, out of God's will!"?
4. Do you have a hard time "riding" with God as the driver in some areas of your life? Which areas are the hardest to give up control?

We have no clue how much God wants to give us! If we could grasp a portion of what our inheritance consists of, we would make pursuing the ONE who gives it, our only priority in life! (I Corinthians 2:9)

Our prayer this week is that this 9 week study will change each of our lives! That God would open our eyes to see what puny dreams we are holding on to in place of the reality that is our inheritance through HIM!

We invite you to share your thoughts about what God is showing you through this study with the rest of us! You are also welcome to post a prayer request and we will commit to praying alongside of you.

Can't wait to hear what God is doing in your lives!



Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Welcome

We are so excited for you to be a part of the upcoming women's Bible study series.  We are praying that you would experience God in a whole new way as we discover our inheritance through Him.  Here are the times you can get involved:

Bible Studies begin the week of Sept 12th, this series is nine weeks.   

Wednesday Afternoons @12:45pm (childcare available)
Wednesday Evenings @7pm
Thursday Mornings @9:30am

All Bible studies are being held at SonRise Church
Cost: $10
Childcare: $5 per week/family.