Week 1, Introduction

Okay, wow! This lady is amazing. Next time we meet, I'll ask her if it's okay to pass on her testimony. God is SO GOOD!!

Our 8 week study is entitled Living Life God's Way by Dennis Peacocke. Sandy says it's a great foundation of why their church believes the things they do and it will also give me a good understanding of spiritual gifts (since later, we will discover what mine is and have me use it). I will listen to 1 CD per week and then anwser questions in a work book. This week's title is Introduction: Inheriting God's Heart.

I have listened to the CD for this week already, and I wish SO bad that I could type out the ENTIRE thing. It was amazing, to say the least. Here are a few keys points that grabbed my heart:

1. Christ was free, unlike many 20th century Christians, to relate to the common person with conviction and authenticity. Our message must be relevant to the person on the street and in the office building, founded on truth. Religious unreality, that binds Christians into irrelevancy, must be broken.

2. Living life God's way is about giving you the ability to move through life with a plan and a vision that is on the offense. The Church is not a group of victims, but rather rulers set free by the Truth. Matthew 16:18 says, "And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it." Gates are defensive, and we are warriors for Christ!!!

3. Hebrews 5:11-14 says, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not aquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by patience have trained themselves to discern good from evil." The key here is that the mature have TRAINED themselves. Living a victorious life is about practicing the Word of God and having someone, who knows how to make it work, train you. Many people who KNOW God's heart and aren't practicing it are still infant Christians!! This passage and explanation was tough to swallow, but life-changing.

4. On that note,1 John 5:3 says, "This is love: to obey God's commands. And his commands are not grievous." Yet, God's Word is so hard to keep! However, the more you practice a skill, the more it becomes second-nature or like a reflex. Truth that becomes a reflex makes life easy.

5. The positive outlook on pain is that it's a stimulant for growth (it is the sand in the oyster that produces the pearl). These pains force us to grow up, so the Father allows pain to grow us up.

6. "The joy of the Lord is my strength" = what makes God happy makes me strong.

All of his points seem random, but that's because they are (as I wrote them). His message tied together beautifully, I promise!! Have a good week! I'll keep ya updated :)