Memoirs of Abiding: Recent Episodes

Chris Bryant

This podcast focuses on the Biblical term abiding and what God's word says about how we can live. We walk through God's word and Jesus' example in abiding in God's Word and in God himself.

What is self-forgiveness?

Do we have the power to forgive ourselves?

How then do we move past the shame we have for the things we previously did without self-forgiveness?

Romans 6:20-23

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Philippians 3:13

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

Forgiveness of other people in our lives.

Forgiveness is not about what WE GET from it.

How do we walk in forgiveness when it is aimed at others?

OR when we have wronged others?

Colossians 3:13 - Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

What does forgiveness look like when lived day to day from another’s offense?

Matthew 18:22-35

Forgiveness means taking what we think should be their penance or punishment, and turning that over for God’s judgment or control. This can be in each instance that the thought of their wrong comes up.

Forgiveness does not look like forgetting the trespass. Instead it looks like forgiving their sin against us, then if there is hope for reconciliation trust but be rebuild. Forgiveness does not mean no accountability. oooo

Forgive and get on with life attitude, how this can be toxic?

James 3

Titus

There is no reason in this world to forgive someone for these awful things, but there is a reason outside of this world.

What is sin that we need forgiveness?

It isn’t necessarily the ugly evil in the world. God sees us in our horrendous circumstances, and wants to desperately rescue us from this horror. Forgiveness covers everything that is mankind’s separation from God.

Old

2 Samuel 13

Psalm 103 - Bless the Lord, O my soul,And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,And forget none of His benefits;3 Who pardons all your iniquities,Who heals all your diseases;4 Who redeems your life from the pit,Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;5 Who satisfies your [a]years with good things,So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

6 The Lord performs [b]righteous deedsAnd judgments for all who are oppressed.

7 He made known His ways to Moses,His acts to the sons of Israel.

8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

9 He will not always strive with us,Nor will He keep His anger forever.

10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,So great is His lovingkindness toward those who [c]fear Him.12 As far as the east is from the west,So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

New Testament

Matthew 11:28-30

Romans 5/6

Questions or would like to engage with us, contact chris@memoirsofabiding.com

How should John 14 and 15 pave the way for our prayer life to look?

Similar to what was said in John 14. The Fruit of John 15 is looking more like Jesus and abiding closer to him.

The example of a healthy prayer life is if it is aligned in the will of God. Our prayers look like Jesus’ prayers. We want God’s will to be done.

How should a healthy prayer life look for an abiding believer in Christ?

Let’s look at some of the prayers of the saints in the New Testament:

Lord’s Prayer Matthew 6:9-13

Philippians 1:9-11

Paul’s Prayer Ephesians 3:17-19

2 Corinthians 12

Supplemental scripture to look at:

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

High Priestly Prayer John 17

How do Christians normally expect God to answer a prayer?

I asked this of one of my groups the other night. Answers: with exactly what I prayed, signs, an audible voice, opening/closing doors, in music, symbology, through others.

Wisdom previous illumination or word of God, standard mind of Christ

Evaluating prayer life in terms of what the Bible shows

What does John 14:13-14 truly mean?

Luke 22

Abiding in the Father, abiding in the son, our prayers

What does it mean to persevere through a trial? How do we know we have done it?

Luke 22 Jesus deeply troubled in garden of Gethsemane. Perseverance through a trial should look like Jesus did, translate my pain into your glory. That I grow more into the image of Jesus. That we trust him, and grow in our faith, that we can handle the next trial more comfortably.

2 Corinthians 12:

What does the outcome and end result look like after a trial?

Romans 8

What does this perseverance do for the life of an abiding believer in Christ?

James 1:

Reminiscing through the last 100 episodes: What’s been your favorite episode and why?

Part 2. The pain and trial:

Many times we experience tremendous pain and grief at the loss in our lives.

Why do we want to avoid the pain?

Avoid sorrow, experiencing discomfort, stuck point to stay away from hurt

Luke 22- discipleship sleeping in the garden to avoid the sorrow.

Why doesn’t He always remove the pain from the loss or trials?

The Exodus

1 Peter 1:5-9

Romans 7

How can we experience the pain, but give it to the Lord?

Jeremiah-Lamentations 3:19

Part 1. The initial outlook:

Looking at loss in life can be difficult. There are many types of loss we may experience:

Loss of significant other, friends, jobs, clout, ability, financial stability, control, or even loss of self identity.

All these cause a varying level of grief in the life of the individual who is going through this. We understand this grief and can see it manifest in many different ways. It may come out through isolation, emotional outbursts, or in how we conduct ourselves each day.

Any time we are in the thick of the situation it is hard to stop and see the potential for God’s work through it. He is there.

What are some ways to see God’s work in difficult situations?

Remembering who God is and what he has done; both in history and in our own lives.

What are some tools or activities we can do to make sure we don’t miss Him in it all?

What does this begin to look like in the life of an abiding believer?

Keeping the eyes and heart fixed on the things above and not on our situation or problems.

We fill our life with the Word of God and life of God. Our new method of thinking becomes the mind of Christ. We start to look, speak, and act more like Jesus.

Elisha and the servant (2 Kings 6:8-19)

King David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:4-37)

Genesis 1:26

Many different descriptions for made in Our likeness. Many aren’t correct in their interpretation. THere are rules to understanding the Word of God, it isn’t a ragtag series of verses. We need to understand the context of the writings of that book, what would have been understood by the original hearers and readers.

We don’t see God telling us what the image of God is. We do see Him give us a mission to do what he does. He Created, We procreate (creating in the world). We are his vice-regents. We are to rule in His Creation.

Romans 8:29

We have been called to be predestined to this likeness in Christ. In seeing the perfect representation of the Father, Jesus walked this world, as the express image of the Father. When we see this illustration through the life and works of Jesus, living in everything to glorify God, in works and words, and so we become the illustration of Jesus in this world. As we abide in Him and in His Word, we show Christ through our actions and words.

1 Corinthians 15:49

Earthly man is where we started, heavenly man is what we are becoming, since salvation.

John passages:

8:28-29- Jesus doesn’t do things on his own initiative.

12:49-50- I don’t speak on my own initiative

14:10- I don’t speak my words on my own initiative, but the Father in me.

2 Corinthians 3:18

We are truly being transformed into the image and likeness of Christ. Maybe your life doesn’t reflect that yet, just like the Corinthians weren’t. But stop and think about it. God’s glory is unveiling in us. The same truth applies to us as it did in Moses’ case, where he reflected the glory of God on his face. And as you understand this more, may your mouth drop at the illumination of it all. As Jesus abided in the Father’s Words and Works, we can in some aspect, see the same things in Him.

Supplemental Scripture 1 Thessalonians 1:6-8

The questions:

What does it mean likeness or image of God?

Why is this an important identity for the abiding brother or sister in Christ?

What do we need to do in order to look more like Jesus, become more and more the image bearers?

Go deeper and deeper into the Word of God. You don’t have to know everything, to display the wonders and beauty of the Lord. The Thessalonians didn’t have much knowledge due to Paul being pushed out of Thessalonika after just about 3 weeks. But it was enough to shine and unveil the glory of God in their lives, and spread throughout the lands.

As a citizen of heaven we have been left here by God to represent the kingdom of heaven. As people then see us, then they see Jesus.

Hebrews 11:13

If our hope is in our nation or government, in our citizenship here on this place we have very little hope. The world is falling apart, cultures are being destroyed and governments are being corrupted. If that’s truly our hope, we won’t find any strength. If our citizenship in heaven is our primary focus, then we can take strength and know our future is bright.

When one closely identifies with the conservative movement or progressive movement you will find they are likely not identifying with Jesus.

Our attitude needs to be measured by how we are ambassadors for our savior. Are we tender hearted? Do we bash on the leaders?

Many of us just want to live comfortably and not in the pain and heartache. Our desire for comfort is oftentimes greater than our desire for abiding in the Lord and his sufferings.

2 Corinthians 5:1-20

Philippians 3:20

1 Peter 2:11

There is a lot in a name, identity. It can give us a purpose, and meaning in life. We see that in the Bible in Cephas (peter), Abraham (Abram). In pop culture we see it in Lord of the Rings characters Aragorn, and in the Gladiator movie for Maximus.

Everyone is in search for meaning and purpose. Identity is the struggle our culture is facing these days. What everyone is looking for is the ultimate purpose and meaning, which is found in Christ.

1 John 3:9-10

But wait, what if I do sin? Does that make me a child of God or am I not?

Romans 7:14-25

Romans 6:15-23

We are not just sinners, liars, or cheats. We are saints. We are holy through what Christ did

The more that we can stand on the identity that we have as a child of God, the less the hauntings of the past and old habits drive us.

Galatians 4:1-7

1 John 5:1-4

1 John 5:20

It doesn’t take much to become a child of God. Through Faith in Christ we are ushered in through adoption into the royal family, to become children of the Most High. Have you trusted in Him?

Why is knowing our identity so important?

How does actually knowing our identity affect our life on this planet?

I’m a lot of things, isn’t Christian just another label?

The Contrast, before and after:

Romans 3:10-20-> Romans 8:14-17

Are we really children of the Most High?

1 John 3:1-2

Romans 8:15-16

John 1:12-13

Galatians 3:26

God uses us to comfort others, we are the hands and feet, eyes and ears. This is seen in 1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Walking with Jesus will nearly always bring us to a point of suffering.

Many times we hear the idea that the best person to comfort you is someone who has gone through the same thing. That may not always be the wisest position. While this may not be wrong, but we know that person’s circumstances and surroundings were not our circumstances and surroundings. What we can be comforted in is any believer who has followed Christ and has gone through comfort through affliction. So those who have found rest in the Trinity through afflictions can now provide comfort. They’ve learned rest and can now help with comfort.

This happens when they share their testimony and the word of God through what they found comfort. So then through this they are sharing not just their own experiences, but sharing those things of above or the things of God.

When we share our testimony of God’s comfort in our time of need, the scriptures He brought to us, or the realization of God’s promises in it, it can help others to see God in the process.

How do we comfort others?

When you abide in Christ, you become more like him. The more we become like him, we talk like him, think life him, act like him. This then empowers us to reach out to others.

John 15 Jesus talks about fruit of the vine. The fruit Jesus is talking about is looking like him. The way he bears fruit for the Father. So this then applies to us as we abide and bear the fruit of becoming more like Jesus. And all of this is because of our love for him. We don’t just comfort others because it looks good in their eyes, they need it, or that’s the things we are supposed to do, but it is because we love Jesus. Those 3 things may be true, but the real point is our abiding with the Lord.

This is all a picture of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Even with this picture of comforting those with the comfort we are comforted with from others who have been comforted with the comfort of God through the middle of affliction and adversity.

What did Jesus do in the Garden of Gethsemane, he brought prayer and received comfort. What is Paul asking to the church in Corinth: to pray.

What will we do when we comfort others? We will pray. This is seen in the gospels with how Jesus performed his ministry.

People need rest, and God has the solution.

We see an example of this 2 Corinthians 7:5-7

Resting in God’s work

5 miracles of salvation bring us into a spiritual new life on earth.

Adoption

Justification

Redemption

Reconciliation

Regeneration

Conclusions we can come to based on the word of God

IF there is sin, we can know trouble will haunt us.
This is because of the consequences of sin.
This can either be due to ignorance or willful disobedience to God
Praying for relief of weakness, doesn’t always bring a healing.
There are physical weaknesses, injuries, sickness, or cancer that isn’t promised to be healed in the Word of God. This isn’t a promise. Yet God will sometimes answer this.
There are spiritual weaknesses, addictions, sin patterns, that CAN be healed. This is promised in the Word of God.

We can understand this when we are abiding in the Lord and in His Word.

We can begin to see why we are not getting the victory, because I am not depending on God in the right areas and I’m claiming promises of God that are never made.

Once we are able to think abstractly and reasonably about the things of our past, we can begin to take the steps to healing.

Looking at the right and wrong understanding of God’s works.

Many times we believe the removal of obstacles will help us to rest. But when we are looking at the situation it isn’t the obstacles bringing the conflict or lack of rest. We then find that our relationship with the Lord brings the peace, which allows us to find rest. The best representation is continuing to hide the Lord’s word in our hearts, then we would delight in Him, and as a result we see the child of God who looks like the image in Psalm 1.

-Barrier to resting

1 John 4:13-18 love can drive out fears

You can deal with your fears through abiding in His love.

-How Fear can prevent resting in the peace of the Lord

People Pleasing

Worried that others could be offended

People always vying for their attention and time. Eventually no time for devotion, relax, allowing the brain to settle.

perfectionism to find acceptance

Luke 22

-How can we stand on the promises of the Lord

1 Cor. 3:10-15

-Finding the promises of God

Through his word, by hiding it in our hearts.

-finding peace in the battles

Psalm 37:7

Psalm 23

Matthew 11:28-30

Sometimes we feel like we need to rest from our vacation. Rest with the Lord is about restoration. This doesn’t always require time away, but with our relationship with the Lord we can find rest in Him. This comes out with peace in our lives.

As we continually come to Jesus, he continually gives us rest. The Lord produces it in us.

-what does rest look like

Mountain top vs. Valley

Mountain tops are the spiritual highs of life. Valley living is the spiritual depression or conflicted times.

The abundant life in God is not just heaven, but is now.

When we go through difficulty or conflict, we can rest assured we have the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working in our lives.

John 16

We will go through conflict, because we live in a troubled world.

James 1

Pain does not have to be absent in our lives in order to experience rest and peace. We can experience both at the same time. Until we understand that then we can’t understand the premise that only then can we experience rest and contentment. Peace and pain walk hand in hand.

Take it easy, and restored

Sometimes the greatest moments of rest are just sitting with the Lord and talking about the day or current events in our lives. Just to feel listened to can be refreshing.

We want to make sure the word of God is resonant in our soul. Then God will take the Word stored up in our lives, illuminate his word in our lives.

Many think this is extra-biblical stuff.

We have to look at and start with the physiological or biological position first. An individual who is addicted needs to know there are different options to help them to get back to a position where they can think straight again. Rehabilitation, medical aversive therapy, or other similar organizations can be options, though rehabs usually have a very low efficacy. In other words, many people return multiple times throughout their lives.

Start with getting everyone together, those who are important in their lives and make sure everyone is on the same page. Ultimately, for those who are addicted, or those who want their loved ones to break free of addiction, when we look at how to set them up for success. If the person can’t think rationally, they can’t get clean. Locations that are similar to Honeylake.clinic or missionhouseministry.org.

We need to look at the social positions for a person; Mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, relational.

How does the addict begin to experience the love of God to such an extent it overcomes the desire for the addictive substance?

Start to see if there is an attachment to the addictive behaviors with a trauma or thought? Sharing these thoughts with a safe person who is a part of your accountability.

We need to have the body of Christ there for accountability, but walk in a loving manner towards them. They can help remind them of the darkness and bringing the light. You will want to be able to invite your family to partner with you. A good book that shares this idea is Get Your Loved One Sober: Alternatives to Nagging, Pleading, and Threatening by Brenda L. Wolfe and Robert J. Meyers

Having family and friend support for the loved one. Support can be in multiple ways, helping with chores, giving resources.
Finding the root of the addictive behaviors. Confessing to the Lord (meaning to agree with the Lord and truth about who you are)
The living with dependence on the Lord, to allow him to sustain through
Ask the Lord then to rewrite our triggers, horrid thoughts, allowing us to live as called for by the Lord. When we know we are identifying with the Lord and not with the trauma and the addiction, we can truly start to see a massive change.

Abiding in the Word of God can bring us through in a situation where we have interaction with an addict. We can see this through the reading of John 12-18.

Even through all of this we may find anxiety and angst each day when it comes to dealing with this person. And for the co-parent it can be worse because children are involved.

How then can we abide through this? What are some areas we can see this.

Pray to the Lord throughout the day. Don’t just hold it to morning devotions.
Pour the passages of scripture that are pertinent to abiding to God’s Word and God’s Love. (Psalm 119, John 14,15, )

Remember then that the scripture you find can even be memorized so you always have it available. This can lead to wisdom and knowledge coming to you in times of difficulty.

Many times we see platitudes used, but we as christians haven’t done a great job of teaching how. “Just depend on the Holy Spirit,” one leader might say. But when it comes down to the how, it isn’t described. This is where we can open the word of God and see this described by Jesus.

The more we pour the Word of God into our heart, the more we set ourselves to have the Father/Son/Spirit to recall to our memory. This isn’t just our mind recalling this information. This is in our spirit illuminated by God Himself. This builds a true relationship with God.

Now as we encounter someone with an addictive problem, we don’t come to it with our own strength, but with the strength of God in our life. With the joy of God in our life. It transforms us to become more like Jesus. Now we can be assured, calm, and know everything will be ok because we are walking side by side with God and the Holy Spirit.

Our emotions can sometimes also drive us to unhealthy habits in dealing with those addicted individuals. This can drive us to enable. This can also lead to letting down boundaries. A good example of this is forgiveness. Forgiveness is about forgiving the other person’s debt, not about how I feel. This has nothing to do with enabling. It doesn’t mean we act like they’ve never done anything. It isn’t forgive and forget. Forgetting leads to more harm and hurt. We need to draw boundaries around the behaviors. They no longer get to lay the roadmap of our lives.

Start with Genesis 3. Our search for meaning and purpose drives us to need something to identify with in this world. Outside of God it comes from what we experience or our family/friends. This comes from a combination of our personality or temperament, and the environment they grow up in.

James 1

No one wants to be an addict. They become a slave to whatever the addiction is. Their will is subordinated or lost, and given to someone or something else.

Examples of fear taking supremacy over faith:

Abrahm and Sarai with the pharoah and king was to create a lie to protect himself. His desire for safety drove his fear to lie. Instead of trusting in God’s words.

Jonah’s anger was so great his desire was to avoid preaching repentance to Ninevah. This desire was so great it overrode the obedience to the Lord.

In this episode we review the use of a concordance and a bible dictionary.

For this we use the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, keyed to the KJV.

For the dictionary we use Vine's Concise Dictionary of the Bible. These are just 2 of the resources available to a Christian nowadays to dive in and study the Word of God in Depth.

In this podcast we look at the grammatical context of main clause and subordinate clause. We dive into Matthew 28:19-20 and look at the main point.

We also look at the letter to the church in Philippi. We dive into looking at an epistle within the context of its original meaning. How to distinguish Main and sub points.

Making Observations, then bringing questions based on the observations can help us to look deeper at the Word of God.

John 3:1-8

As a good Bible Student looks at the questions, how does one start to understand what all these words mean, Born Again, Kingdom of God. We can find these explained within the scriptures throughout the new testament.

Noting the observations and getting the questions answered, is similar to a detective or a scientist, and is a great study technique for the christian.

By getting our observations and questions answered or starting to look at these questions we find we can develop an interest in the outcome or the final answer.

Not only does learning the Word of God bring excitement when we dive into our observations, but we want to use our brains and critical thinking when we build our faith on His promises. Our faith should be rooted in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. We shouldn’t just believe something without seeing where God says it, and how he says it.

Job 28:20 Wisdom comes through Fear of the Lord. To shun evil is understanding.

Proverbs 3 tells us wisdom and understanding and knowledge should go together.

Reading the word shows us how consistent the books of the Bible really are.

We see a parallel between John 3 and John 5, but vs. 5 gives more information.

Born again

Water- Ezekiel 36

John 4, 6, 7

Making Observations, then bringing questions based on the observations can help us to look deeper at the Word of God.

Sometimes when we don’t look at the deeper context or wider sections of scripture we miss the character of God. Or maybe we come up with different theological points not based on the Scriptures. Or it can lead to a life without the transformation, both in perspective and action. It might make us feel good, but it may not be leading to transformation and change.

Your belief in who you are, and seeing others, but also our perspective towards horrible situations and traumatic moments.

You can have incredibly strong faith and love for God, but still not know how to read the Bible. And when we truly learn to read the scriptures we can get the fullness of the promises in scripture.

John 3:1-8

In order to get a true context of a text within John 3 we would need to read the gospels. But this doesn’t mean we have to read everything first to understand. To really understand a passage in its depths we need to have read all the Gospels, and many other books of scripture. We should dive in and relish the Gospels as Christians.

When the whole of the bible is unraveled as we read it can change our heart. What if we start out with a lack of desire to read the word. That’s a problem with the heart. So the solution is actually found in the Word. The more we read it, and study it, and hide it away in our hearts, the more we want to open it.

As a good Bible Student looks at the questions, how does one start to understand what all these words mean, Born Again, Kingdom of God. We can find these explained within the scriptures throughout the new testament.

Noting the observations and getting the questions answered, is similar to a detective or a scientist, and is a great study technique for the Christian.

By getting our observations and questions answered or starting to look at these questions we find we can develop an interest in the outcome or the final answer.

How to Study God’s Word

Context;

Historical,

What did this mean to the times?

What was known by the people originally reading this?

From Creation to the Cross, Albert H. Baylis

Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible,

Grammatical,

What is the tense of the wording?

Is it literal or figurative?

within greater narrative

Looking at the larger text’s topic or theological position

Why is abiding important in the daily life of a person?

Have to be careful to describe abiding in a terminology people can understand, and not into phrases that many may not fully understand.

How can I have a relationship that is measurable as your (Peter’s) relationship was with Christ? 1 John 3

If what John said was true, it is everything for us.

How does this change my thought process, my emotions, my perceptions?

John 14, shows us this relationship with a comparison between him and the Father, and Him and us.

Through our relationship with the Lord, there is a hope for deliverance.

Psalm 147

Companionship with God, is what Abiding means during the hard times. He can be the hope we fall back on during times of trouble.

What makes a Biblical discipleship

Matthew 28:19

-One who learns and follows

Helping people to be fully devoted followers of Jesus

Looking out for false teachers

Bible vs books, what to watch out for in the group

Applicability

Openness and honesty, transparency with the mentor

Discipleship in Victory – Jehovah Nisi

Exodus 17: 8-15. The Lord is our Banner, meaning God is the one that brings our victory. Today we interview Alison, aka “uno”.

Additional Scripture discussed: Psalms, Romans 8:18, John 15: 9-10, Job, 2 Chronicles 35: 20-24, Judges 7, James 4:3

Alison has grown up in the church. She has attended countless sermons, Bible studies, youth groups, small groups. She shares her experience of surrendering the fight to God. She reflects on how she handled the battles prior to the discipleship, and now after walking 2.5 years with her group. She shares the consistent battles she experienced over the past year and half. In that time, her flesh wanted to fight. Her flesh wanted to run to old coping mechanisms to survive. She became exhausted, but God remained faithful. She shares that faithfulness, and the growth that has come from being in this time period.

Question asked: Why does God not always give us the positive outcome that we want?

Reflection: If He always rescued us, then we would miss out on a lot. The hardships are often what help us grow in our faith. Chris reviews Job who was very blessed but lost everything. It was a tough journey, and Job wanted God to end it. Eventually, God brought him out of the hardship and doubled his blessings. Alison saw this increase in richness of her faith throughout this time.

Biblical example of not trusting God, is the boy king Josiah in 2 Chronicles 35:20-24. He took a battle into his own hands instead of deferring to God. He had made some great reform in his time, and who knows what he would have done had he trusted God rather than fight on his own.

Alison shares when she asked God about His promise to deliver us in Psalm 91. She read it as a promise here on earth, and wrestled with this as she knew God is the promise keeper. When she took it to God, He showed her that He will deliver her. It may happen on this side of heaven or once in heaven, but God will deliver us.

We encourage you to find a mentor to dive in deep in your faith. You can also reach out to us at memoirs of abiding with any questions.

Discipleships in Healing

Guest: Ricki Brooks and Allison H.

Allison has been in one of the abiding discipleships for 2.5 years, and she shares her journey in

the abiding discipleship. When she began in the group, she was already a Christian. However,

she was at rock bottom emotionally and spiritually and knew something had to change. She

desired the fruit of the relationship with God that she saw in others around her.

Allison notes that abiding wasn’t an instantaneous process, rather it was and is a journey with

mile markers. Her commitment to showing up each week, discussing and learning with her

community, even in the hard times, have led to true transformation.

Background:

Allison grew up in the church, but didn’t become part of bodies that were more theologically

sound. She participated in Bible studies, was faithful to attend services, and she read the Bible

for information. However, she relied more on what others told her about God and His

character. When Allison turned 5 and two weeks later, her sister died of a terminal illness. The

tragedy that struck their family, left her to navigate the emotions internally. Her mechanisms

developed to turn her hatred, anger internally on herself. Not God, not her family, but herself.

She didn’t know the security of what love can really do as a result. She shares her discovery of

her sin patterns and the result of running to these mechanisms, which was despair and

depression. However, her time with God in the abiding discipleship has changed her viewpoint

in all these aspects. She finds grace and hope when she slips to a pattern briefly. She doesn’t

live in the pattern cycles, rather lives in her new identity in Christ.

The abiding discipleship allowed her to understand, process, walk, and uncover God’s word in

community. After two and half years in discipleship, her circumstances are still there (kids,

family, singlehood), but her perspective has changed drastically. How she handles the situations

are different, as well as she rests in His strength and assurance. God has shown her that she can

depend on Him repeatedly.

Allison shares that she has learned through that NOTHING can satisfy and fill the hole within

her apart from God. She has learned to give her wounds to God to heal, and He has done just

that. She reminds us that our relationships are not linear, we each have our own journey with

God. She has learned what it means to be a believer after being saved, to truly walk with God. 2

Peter 1:3: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life godliness, through

the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. “

Jesus is the Master that is leading and teaching Ricky, Chris, and Allison. Jesus is building their

faith. Jesus is upholding the promises in scripture, and her faith is building as a result. God can

change your heart.

What’s the end game with Jesus and the 12 disciples?

His time with them wrapped up with showing what it looks like to abide.

Christian growth, maturity in Christ is great. Yet the Motiff Jesus showed the disciples the night before the crucifixion shows the focus to be the relationship with the Father. His words and His actions.

John 15:5-10

Jesus’ joy in the father is complete. And he has invited us into this circle of abiding with him. This is bearing the fruit of abiding. This leads to us thinking and acting like Jesus. This gives us the dreams and purpose of Jesus.

This is important for us to overcome our stuck points and defense mechanisms.

The more I rely on God as my source, the more I look like God. Instead of working hard to be more like God. p

The fruit of abiding:

We develop a trust in God through abiding as we develop a dependence on another. In the same way a parent many times causes a child to grow independent of them when it is a positive thing to rely on another.

Other resources:

Howard Hendricks: Living by the Book (2007)

John Piper: Finally alive (2009)

Lewis Sperry Schaeffer: He that is spiritual (1918)

Needham, David: Birthright (1979)

The case of victory, what does it look like?

-Victory in Christ allows us to live in peace regardless of the events in our lives

-to live with Yes to self, is to say yes to my true self (The Spirit born identity that came at salvation)

We are called to many more Yes’s than No’s in this life with Christ.

In abiding we find we walk with him in agenda harmony and purpose, while making the members of our body slaves to righteousness.

Discipleship, is it important?

Discipleship is modeled by Christ Jesus himself as the method of walking with and teaching. IT allows us to see the product of what we are being taught. It is not meant to be a few weeks, but rather years in the making. Discipleship should comb through scripture, seeing what truth is in the Word of God, while focusing on how to apply it to our lives (for Transformation). By having a biblical mentor walk us through the Bible, and the practicality of God’s Word in everyday life we can grow unparalleled in our faith and walk with Christ.

Needham, David. 1979. Birthright: Christian, Do you Know Who You Are?. Portland: Multnomah Press

Why would we want intimacy with the Lord?

Feeling loved
Feeling supported
Belonging
Feeling of being accepted
Thinking of David’s Prayers and praises from the Psalms
18:1-3
27:4-5
26:8

Why is this so different from modern christianity?

We see there are counterfeits to biblical abiding christianity.

Legalism
Secular/Flesh-driven Christianity
Self-defeated Christian (the toxic shame version of works based)

We were once enslaved to everything outside of God. Romans 6 shows us this life. Paul uses the word slavec to represent that complete surrender of will because we know God has our best interest in mind, increase in Holiness and Righteous living.

Living in defeatest hole in the heart, the only answer to this is intimacy with Jesus. Good works, service, church, biblical scholar not the answer to this. Instead we can only fill that through intimacy in Christ.

What does this do for the level of devotion and faith of the Christian?

God becomes real in my everyday life
No longer just wanting the ticket to heaven, but awaiting daily bread
Makes the Christian excited to seek God, to learn about Him, to find him at work in the small things

Describe the typical prayer life of a church congregant?

Not a lot of corporate prayer over righteousness, holiness, the great commission.

Lots of prayers over supplications, for their needs, desires, etc.

People say: it is hard to pray, feel awkward when I pray, don’t know what to say. I don’t feel the presence of God, I don’t ever think of praying. I don’t pray regularly.

Fewer occasions where people are excited for prayer life.

Why is prayer not a deep desire for most Christians?

Luke 2

John 8:28-29

John 10

James 4

Many times we pray for things out of selfish ambition or desire.

The closer we get in our relationship with the Lord, the more we pray. This is what abiding is about. Many times this might even change our outlook and perspective, which may inevitably change what we focus our prayers on. Communication with God doesn’t have to feel burdensome, difficult, or awkward. It can be an enjoyable experience. But it takes a change in our hearts and minds to deepen our faith and hope in God, and then to live that out in how we communicate with him. Don’t feel condemned if it is awkward or confusing, difficult or short. Continue to dive into his word, pray his word, talk to him, and his Word will resonate in you

Desires of the Heart: Reading Scripture

What’s the normative view of scripture by the layman?

-Have to read to be better

-Wisdom for living right

-Rules for living righteous life

-Required each day

Struggle to understand the wording, without today’s language.

Scripture is seen as a vital role in discipleship, but individuals don’t follow up with it.

Bar has been set too low. A simple devotion page is good enough for the average Christian. Christian leadership has taken a well-intentioned idea, daily devotion, and failed to teach principles of good Bible reading.

These daily devotions can lead to a weak faith and knowledge of faith. We end up with this problem where people aren’t taught well how to read the Word of God. So then when they try to grow in their faith and they open the one day devotion, they find at the end they haven’t actually grown in their faith.

The Bible is a big book. 66 books with 40 authors, covering a big theme. But if you read a section over 365 days you won’t really remember genesis by the end. How much will you remember about John at the end.

Some people see reading God’s word as a way to earn God’s favor. Alison shares this was how she felt when she was younger.

What is the value of scripture in the life of a believer?

Gaining truth and grounding you in peace. Learning who God really is. Learning about your identity. Life was miserable for Alison with her self-worth when she just read it as a check off item.

Matthew 4 Jesus responds to Satan in the desert. Jesus showed us that he makes the claim that scripture is equal to sustenance like bread and water in the life of an individual.

The second and third temptation satan misinterprets and twists the intent of the scripture. Jesus corrects him using the proper context.

Psalm 119: We can make it through our afflictions by studying the word.

How should I read it?

In Psalm 119 we see the Psalmist use the action words and not passive words about reading God’s word, law, precepts. We have the soak in the word and meditate on it throughout the day. It can’t just be a reading and then move on.

Separate Beliefs

Theological beliefs differing between congregants

Separate Goals:

Music/Lights/Ministry focus/Bible study/Outreach/Tithe/Church Government

1 Corinthians 13

Strong personality types

Some pastors or lay people become very outspoken, and tend to lead things in the direction they want. These individuals can be very charismatic and can lead to a rift in the church. This can cause some to feel like they must choose a side.

Spiritual Abuse within the Church

What does spiritual abuse look like? 2 Corinthians 11
How is this different from reproach or correction?
With many stepping away from church because of this or feeling like this, what is the proper response within an abiding relationship with the Lord?

Separate Beliefs

Religious beliefs differ between parents, or siblings, or spouse, or children.
How do we overcome these by abiding in the Lord?
Who’s job is it to change their hearts? 1 corinthians 3 (Apollos vs Paul vs God)
What then is our purpose in this? (Matthew 28:19-20)
Political/ideological/philosophical beliefs between the same above
How to not get involved with the idolatry or elevation of one idea over another?
Sticking to the word of God as our source of doctrine, and not a political candidate or philosophical position. (Phil 4:2-7) (1 Cor 6?)
When between a child and parents, or parents and a child, how to stay respectful, but honor God in obeying the truth? (eph. 5-6)
When between siblings, how to witness the truth without condemnation?
When between spouses, how to stay committed to the marriage, even when the other refuses to believe politically, or theologically what the other believes.

Separate Goals:

Parents for child, what they should become in life; Doctor, Lawyer, Military, etc
How they should go about living their life; marriage vs not, out with people vs inside, traveling vs staying at home, moving out vs continuing to live at home.
When other’s expectations for me do not match my own position, and it is not a Gospel centered point, how can I proceed without hurting or alienating others, but still walking in my own life? Managing expectations, and communicating those to others.

Do you really believe that God can do all these things in your life? Do you believe you can do these things in the way Jesus did?

Conflicting ideologies

Conflicting theologies

Conflicting personalities

John 15:9-10

Let’s focus on these four areas.

As I abide in the Lord I may find my position to be at odds with those around me.

Ideologies:

Teachers within schools

Medical Professionals

Peace officers

Government employees

Judicial employees/Counsel

How do we continue at our jobs, when we find our current employer, or other employees, differ from us ideologically/politically?

Hebrews 10:25

James 4:17

Theology:

Pastors

Administrators

Schools

How do we reconcile our differing opinions of religious doctrine?

Major disagreement vs Minor disagreements in scripture or belief

Am I the weaker brother? Will working for these individuals affect my spiritual foundation in Christ? Will it lead me away? If it will then it isn’t tenable. If not, on the other hand, I will find it difficult to work there.

Personality

Conflicting with other personality types, introverts, extroverts, hard workers, slothful workers, workaholics. Some can come into conflict on company vision or mission statements. How do we reconcile this as we abide in the Lord?

Philippians 2:5

What does this look like on the micro level in a society that has a free vote?

Christians line up with the values of the society that they are living in. They don’t search the scriptures, but instead accept their political or philosophical position that lines up best with them in society.

If we are foreigners on this planet, then we should live as foreigners. We should do the best we can to obey the laws of the land, but our focus is representing our citizenship, Heaven.

As we get closer to Jesus, we become more like him, then we respond as he did.

When we find things that are clearly against God’s Moral will we should stand against it, but we should also be prepared to accept the consequences. The apostles showed this as they were told they could not speak about Jesus, they chose to continue that and ended up in prison.

Do we have the faith in God to carry us through the consequences, or is my faith not strong enough in the Lord that I need to depend on the Lord?

How could abiding affect the change vs mass protests, rioting, or revolution? Will the poles ever bisect?

Abiding will bring us to a place where our love shows the world we are God’s disciples. This can keep us from getting involved in the affairs around us.

What is our purpose or obligation as a christian on this earth?

Matthew 28:19-20

To glorify God through the great commission. Going throughout all the world and making disciples, introducing people to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

John 15 fruit of abiding in Him is fully in harmony of agenda in Him as He was fully in harmony of will with the Father.

We begin to look more like Him, and we will do more like what he did. p

What then is our obligation as a christian in America or in a nation where I have civic duties to vote or speak out against poor governance?

Regardles of time or location, the purpose remains the same. We are children of God, before being citizens of a nation.

According to God’s Word we are to be submissive to our ruling authorities. While there are times when this may not be the case, this should be normative.

When can we stand up against the government and revolt, like the American Revolution?

When we look at Acts, we see lack of rights and entitlement by them even during the reign of Nero and other tyrants who sought to destroy them all and scripture. When we look through Jesus’ teachings, Paul’s, Peter’s, John’s teachings, we see a drive towards faith in God’s Sovereign will and plan. Yet there are still times when Civil Disobedience is required. These are when we are told that we must follow policies or actions that violate God’s Word.

When we disobey the earthly leadership, we must be prepared for the consequences. The apostles showed that obedience to God in action being more important than following man’s law can result in imprisonment or other consequences.

The role of a Christian is not to fight for my “rights”.

Biblical Themes:
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

Luke 10: Martha and Mary

Jesus' words in John 14 and John 15

We compare and contrast what Joy looks like when Abiding with what Joy looked like in the temporary realm. We look at how it changes as we draw nearer to Christ.

Joy in the Discovery

Review joy vs. happiness:

Review the idols in our lives that are the joy stealers.

Joy in the discovery is learning who God is. He is not the deistic God who created and left. He is not the non-active God who did the salvation thing but left us on our own to fight out this planet.

Psalm 27:13-14 NASB

I certainly believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord

In the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

Be strong and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:13 NIV

I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

The joy of learning that God is not only loving and intentional, but active in our lives brings a hope that allows us to get through many of the difficulties we face.

Analogy paycheck to paycheck, Thursday is here waiting on Friday. You know Friday will bring provision so you can get through Thursday with the hope of what’s coming.

God is not the magic genie that gives us what we want, but he is a loving Father who knows what we need. His provision is based on his knowledge not our desires. But when that first struggle goes through, and we see him work, or the knowledge of him working in other’s lives, or reading in his word how he will continue to walk through the dark valley with us, through the proverbial (and even literal) flames with us gives us a hope unmatched. This hope builds the joy in our lives.

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What are idols?

Objects or ideals which we elevate to equality with our relationship to Christ. Something we put in front of God

How do Idols steal our joy?

John 15: Look at the language and imagery we see Jesus talking about with the vines. This is about surrendering. This is about us finding out source in him. A branch can bear no fruit apart from the vine. The vine is connected to the root and brings the nutrients to the branches. So everything that we need comes from Him. When we subvert that relationship, or try to find our source from someplace else we end up losing that connection.

Joy comes from source in God, Source somewhere else results in uneven moments of pleasure or happiness, but not complete joy as Jesus describes in John 15:11

Idols in the Word:

**Samson- Idol of relationship 3 different times Judges 15-16

Ananias and Saphira- Idol of status (Acts 5

Israel- Idol of golden calf Exodus 32

Israel- Idol of comfort (plague of serpents) Numbers 21

What does Happiness look like?

having a sense of confidence in or satisfaction with (a person, arrangement, or situation)

Situational based on the current events

What does Joy look like?

a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.

Continues even through the difficulties that happen. This isn’t based on circumstances, but is based on the presence of God in our lives. Is based off a positive experience.

In a walk with Christ all we need for joy in our life is to experience the love and presence of the Lord.

Sometimes when we as christians don’t feel joy it can be due to us not experiencing his presence. This can come easily when we don’t actually know what his presence feels and sounds like.

How do they differ?

What are the circumstances that brought about the emotion? In society they are synonymous because everything is about temporary circumstances. Man/Woman of dreams, lottery, dream house, dream job, raise at work.

How “change” can cause a loss of the earthly joy?

Looking at this idea, is there anything in this world that can’t/won’t change?

Looking at the circumstances that change we see many can change. Dream job laid off. Money dries up. Kids move away. Star athlete gets an injury.

Only thing that doesn’t change, The LORD.

EVen finding joy within self, loving yourself so you can love others, we have to understand we are temporary. We can fail ourselves. This is why the only thing we can depend on, including ourselves, is God.

How can we maintain joy, even through difficulties?

Good news that the reverse is true. The traumas are temporary in that they don’t have to control us forever. The sorrow that they bring can be overcome through something that is constant.

The triggers and the identity attached to these can be temporary. The trauma can never be erased, but the defense mechanism and the copy skills can be overcome.

How did the early church Christians walk in joy even in the midst of getting killed?

New Testament believers living out the true joy. They just understood what the Lord’s presence truly was.

Paul with his thorn was content because he knew the presence of God. He could walk through this life and know everything was in the Lord’s hand and he was communicating with us. p

Joy in the scripture

John 15:11

Philippians 4:1-3

2 Corinthians 12

Acts 6-8 Stephen

John 17:24

With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.

Psalms 119:10‭-‬16

Even though princes sit and talk against me, Your servant meditates on Your statutes. Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors.

Psalms 119:23‭-‬24 NASB1995

Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, And I shall observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law And keep it with all my heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. Incline my heart to Your testimonies And not to dishonest gain. Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways.

Psalms 119:33‭-‬37 NASB1995

Stress and Anxiety:

So I will keep Your law continually, Forever and ever. And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.

Psalms 119:44‭-‬45 NASB1995

Affliction and trial:

Teach me good discernment and knowledge, For I believe in Your commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.

Psalms 119:66‭-‬67 NASB1995

It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Psalms 119:71‭-‬72 NASB1995

How do we receive it? How do we respond to it? How do we take it to where it needs to go?

Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

Isaiah 50:10-11 Stay in the trouble time.

Psalms 119:98‭-‬104 NASB1995

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Psalms 119:105 NASB1995

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5‭-‬6 NASB1995

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 8:12 NASB1995

Opposing God’s will and our efforts to live it out

Ephesians 5:15–21

Samson and Delilah: Judges

Not abiding in the Lord, having clear and present sin in their lives presuming they know God’s Will. Even when living in sin, God will still bless me.

Why might we oppose God’s will and accomplish our own will?

Lack of faith for him to do it

Lack of faith in God’s timing

Lack of comprehension of the Bible

Believing I make better choices for my life than God

What will likely be the result of our efforts?

Luke warm faith

Not seeing God’s movement

Not feeling the presence of God

Falling out of unity with God and his church

Conflict and Strife

Brokenness and hurt

In this episode we dive into some of the counterfeits we might find in our lives to God’s true will. We address the freedom of the individual within the moral will of God to determine with wisdom and discernment where they are to walk. In this episode we dive into the following examples of scripture:

Genesis 3

Thorn in Paul’s side 2 Corinthians

Isaiah 54/55, my ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts

Philippians

Psalm 51

Have you ever wondered what God’s will was for you in your life? Was it to take this job, marry this person, move to this city? How can we know His will, or be certain we are in it? We talk about the Will of God broken into 3 parts: Sovereign Will, Moral Will, Personal/Individual Will. In this podcast we discuss the current thought about discerning God’s will prevalent in the Church today. We also discuss why this may not be biblical when we look at the context of the Word of God. Join us and see if it bring you back to God to reconcile His will.

We talk about how trauma can affect us and can define us. Is something that you had done earlier in life still haunting you? What about something someone did to you, driving your identity in what you believe in yourself? How big of a role in our walk with Christ does our identity truly play? Join us and see how we relate our identity or what's been done to us vs what Christ has done.

We dive into the perspective shift of looking for God each day in not just the large miracles, but the small things. We address what this would do to the believer, to their perspective, but also seeing God's work in each moment. What does this do to those who say God doesn't speak or work in their lives?

We talk about the Biblical context of how God answers us. Do you feel like you never "Hear" from God? In this episode we address the fact that you may be hearing him, but you just don't recognize it.

We dive in and talk about the what if question of "What if... we were as excited to Read God's Word as we were to attend a Worship Concert?" Join us in our discussion by visiting our instagram at memoirsofabiding.

We look at Matthew 3 and 4 seeing the Wilderness. We jump into the life and ministry of Christ to see the times God's word was used in his own life and how important having the words of the Father were compared to his own.

Continuing through illumination into the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul

This week we jump into looking at the illumination that came to Moses and Joshua. We continue the month talking about how God speaks to us through His written word.

Seeing Jeremiah give a great example of Illumination in his Lamentations

We discuss the idea of God communicating with us. Through this we discover what are commonly misunderstood methods of communication and how God’s word is the ultimate method to communicate with us, through the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit

Have you struggled with a complete despair, or doubted God would work in your life but would work in others' lives? Join us as we talk about the spiritual disease Hopelessness and how to overcome through abiding.

How deeply is this rooted or engrained in our thinking?

Rooted into the very fabric our our society

How does it affect us?

-Mindset- If I don’t do it, it won’t get done. If you want something done right, do it yourself. God helps those who help themselves, so I need to make sure everything is set right.

-Belief in self (Proud, Everything under control or everything is chaos)

“I have to do this or else” “No matter what I do, it is never enough.”

-Belief or treatment of others (Elitism), no one can do this as well or has as good an idea as me. Can’t trust others, including God, to have my best interest in mind.

-Relationship with God

“Don’t worry God, I have got this.” God’s my Savior, but I don’t need him to be my Lord/Master.

Discuss the destructive end for this in our personal relationships, in our relationship with Christ/God, and our own health.

-Disney world running around

-Abraham and sarah, with Isaac Genesis 15-16

-David and the census (2 Sam. 24)

-Moses and the banging of the rock

Perfectionism

Where does it come from and why is it so common around the world?

How does it affect us?

-Mindset- I have to do this or I won’t be ok. Perception of who I am will be tainted.

-Belief in self (Self-deprecation and shame and failure)

“I’m nothing unless I can perform”

-Belief or treatment of others (Judgment), Feeling like they should be better or do better.

-Relationship with God

“Never good enough” “Always having to perform”

Discuss the destructive end for this in our personal relationships, in our relationship with Christ/God, and our own health.

How do we walk through abiding and breakthrough this spiritual disease?

Today we will talk about overcoming legalism, not by our own power but through abiding.

Where does it come from and why is so common in church? It comes from the same place that we have been talking about with everything else, it fills a hole within us.

What is legalism? It is overriding need or desire that people do things the way you want them. Someone would say absolute passivism is the only way, no matter what the circumstance, even self-defense. That is a legalistic viewpoint.

How does it affect us?

Mindset?

If I choose this group of rules, this legalistic mindset. Why do I continue to fail? It is obvious because that is nature of mankind apart of God. We can only be healthier and healthier with by God in the lead. By letting go of these rules and stepping into abiding with Him, we can be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). We can only be transformed by walking in an abiding relationship with God.

Belief in self?

It is one of the biggest roadblocks in their faith in Jesus. They feel a sense of self-deprecation, shame, and failure by not fulfilling all these additional mandates. They miss what it means to be in a truly abiding and loving relationship with our wonderful God.

Belief or treatment of others (Judgement)

We can see this in the Biblical examples of the pharisees, as they held others in contempt when they did not follow all the rules.

Relationship with God

“Never good enough”, works based theology defines their very core. Works based theology, is “I always having to do stuff to either earn my righteousness or prove that what God did provide was valid.” They often feel “I’m so unworthy and filled with shame that I better earn some goodness and grace.”

What are the destructive ends to this thought process in our lives?

All of them are huge, because of the nature of legalism. If we don’t turn from legalism, it’s destructive in that it keeps us from receiving the wonder and beauty of God. We don’t hear the voice of God, we don’t know the presence of God, and we don’t see Him at work in our lives because we have put our hope and faith in legalism. So the most important is the relationship with God, as the rest are impacted by our relationship with God. It prevents John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” from occurring. It blocks this, and it affects everything else.

Why is there such a pull from this?

What is it about the relationships that brings us temporary “happiness”, masks sadness, or gives us something that we try to fill the hole in our soul?

Fears that might be associated with giving up the idol:

Fear of a Loneliness

Fear of being unlovable, not being accepted

Fear of not fitting in with others

Fear of lack of sexual intimacy

Fear of a lack of security

So how do we abide through this idol and bring it under God’s direction?

Contrast this to the individuals who need to stay busy with someone or many others compared to a healthy community of believers.

Communicate with the Lord about the fears

Bring them to him and search the scriptures for promises of Him providing. He was given the name Jehovah Jireh for a reason. Where has he provided before in the Word? Writing out in a journal each and every time something is paid for, but that you have no idea where the money came from is a great way to notice his provision.

Why is there such a pull from this?

Cultural

Societal

Church this is stressed

What is it about the Family and Marriage things that brings us temporary “happiness”, or gives us something that we try to fill the hole in our soul?

Not relationship

Status symbol

Goal feeling of accomplishment and meaning.

Fears that might be associated with giving up the idol:

Meaningless

No mark on the world

Failing in my marriage

Being seen as less than

Why is there such a pull from this?

What is it about the Performance or pleasurable things that brings us temporary “happiness”, masks sadness, or gives us something that we try to fill the hole in our soul?

Fears that might be associated with giving up the idol:

Fear of a lack of control

Fear of not being enough

Fear of missing out on good things

Fear of feeling pain

So how do we abide through this idol and bring it under God’s direction?

Communicate with the Lord about the fears

Bring them to him and search the scriptures for promises of Him providing. He was given the name Jehovah Jireh for a reason. Where has he provided before in the Word? Writing out in a journal each and every time something is paid for, but that you have no idea where the money came from is a great way to notice his provision.

We talk about the idol of materialism, what is supposedly offers us, what it looks like, and how we can counter it through abiding.

This week we dive into the socially accepted sins. How do we identify it, how do we abide through it.

On this podcast we discuss What it looks like, what it does, and how to overcome through abiding

Let's look at what Sin looks.

It is more than just the dirty evil sins. Perhaps it is more and perhaps it brings a beautiful reminder of what God truly did for us.

Going into the details of what sin is, or truly what it becomes in our lives.

What does self-care look like?

What did it look like for Jesus to do self-care?

Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46), mountain retreat then walking on water (Matthew 14:22), 40 days in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1, Luke 4,)

Solomon walked in what he believed was self-care. He did all the things that were “stress-relievers” and yet it brought him nothing positive. Ultimately he realized after looking at his life, that all the activity under the sun was “Meaningless… Vanity and vexation” (Ecclesiastes 1:14)

Self-care can be reading a favorite book series, or enjoying a certain movie. It can be playing a sport on weekends, or spending time with a favorite group of people. These can all be great, but we have to be careful that these don’t become an idol, something that we rely on more than God.

How do we make sure our hobbies or activities don’t become a little g in our lives?

Abiding through the busyness to include family time.

How does God's Word seem to fall to the wayside during the busy seasons? We talk about what role God's word plays in the life of a believer. And we introduce the Acronym RICH. Join us for more!

How do we maintain a healthy prayer life while Abiding in the Lord

Abiding Through Sadness

Sadness when left to our own flesh can cause a deeper level of identity crisis. One that leads to despair, hopelessness, and depression. It can be good too, it can bring about repentance and dependence upon the Lord as well.

The root of the sorrow, sadness, melancholy, comes from a desire, a want, a situation that we dislike. Maybe it’s from a relationship falling apart, maybe our kids are fighting and no longer want to walk together. We desire the best in their lives, and we know what they are living is not it. When they are separate, it’s not best. We know we cannot change their minds, so sadness creeps in. We can begin to internalize it, live in it, sit in it and say, “if only I had only parented better”. We reflect on what we did and bring the focus upon ourselves….OR we can direct our hearts and minds to God. We can go to God and say “it breaks my heart to see this, You Yourself prayed that we would be one, as You and the Father are one, and they are not one. It breaks my heart to see this, but I cannot change it, only you can. So I bring this situation to you.”

Scripture Reading: Lamentations 2: 11-13

Emotions can be linked to very powerful events. When we choose to live in those emotions, and let them rule us, it becomes who we are. So how do we surrender a hurt or sadness that is so deep? Well, we have to look at where it came from first. For example, a gardener goes to pull out the weed from their yard and they yank it from the top, just pulling off the leaves/flowers. Will this rid the weed from the yard? No, it will just continue to grow. However, if that gardener digs in the ground to find the root of the weed, they can detach it from the ground. They can pull it and prevent it from spreading into other areas of the garden. So we have to use introspect as we partner with the Holy Spirit, the Father, the Son living inside of us. We can ask them where that sadness is rooted, and once we find out what that root is, we can surrender that to God for healing, for restoration.

Each hurt sustained, God can heal it, God can redeem it, God can regenerate it. It is not about controlling the hurt ourselves, but it is about surrendering it to the One who can heal it. It is about pleading the case to the One who has it in His hands.

How is our Identity tied to sadness?

The Bible shows who I am, who God is, and God’s plan to redeem me. As I understand who I truly am I realize my place in this body. These feelings I have are not my identity. As I walk more in the Lord’s word, allowing it to renew my mind, I find my true identity. I am a partaker of the Divine nature. I am a child of God. I am adopted. I am renewed. I am a new creation. I am justified. I have been glorified in Him. I am loved. I have an inheritance in heaven that will never fade. All these remind us that we are more than what’s happened to us, what we’ve smelled.

How do we abide through each of these emotions?

(Romans 7:24). It is simple, yet complex. We surrender each emotion to the Lord, and we continue to have Him define us. We don’t have to sit in these emotions, we don’t have to live in them, we can respond in these situations by bringing it to the Lord and surrendering it all to God. We can surrender our sadness, our fear, our hurts. We can overcome by surrendering to God, by abiding in God. Take heart as you walk in this, for He has overcome the world. Greater is He that is in You than is in the world (1 John 4:4). We can find Hope in the Word, as we hide it in our hearts, as we read it each day. The more we learn to abide, the more that we learn to surrender these emotions to God, the smaller the impact these emotions will have.

Scripture Discussed: Genesis 12:10-20, Genesis 20, Exodus 3 and 4, 2 Peter:1, Romans 8, Psalm 37

Fear is something many Christians still struggle with in their everyday life. Now this is a different fear than that of a sudden circumstance. For example, when you hear a door creek that shouldn’t in your home. That would create a sudden response of fear that something isn’t right. That is different than the continual fear response we see of catastrophes or life-altering events; or the fear that can grip us in a relationship, in our parenting, in our jobs, and in our ministries.

So why do so many Christians live in fear, when the Bible repeatedly tells us to not live in fear? How do we put abiding to the test, walk in the Spirit, and drive out fear? Let’s look at some Biblical examples.

First, we have Abram in Genesis 12:10-20 and Genesis 20. In both passages, we see a sort of “go to” response where Abram steps into his fear of others and what they will do to both he and his wife. He keeps telling the leaders that Sarai is his sister, not his wife. We see Abram shift his eyes and his mind to what those in the world would do to them, rather than setting his eyes, mind, his very being on God alone. What is also interesting, is that prior to these passages, God had given Abram a promise of a son and to make him a father of nations. By continually telling these leaders that Sarai was his sister, and not his wife to preserve both their lives, it’s almost like he needed to protect God’s promise for God. He did not trust God to provide and fulfill His promise in these passages.

Our second example is Moses in Exodus 3 and 4. Moses was letting his fear of returning to Egypt overcome him, rather than Who he was speaking with and Who would be with him in the journey… our God who reigns supreme.

We discuss some common fears that we either see or experience ourselves such as loneliness, fear of parental mistakes, fear of security, fear of perception of others. Reality is most fears can be grouped into either performance or perception. The need to either perform to the standards of the world or look a specific way for the world cause fear responses in us. Both of which are taking our eyes off God, and searching the world for our identity, meaning, purpose, comfort, etc.

Where do these fears come from?

We discuss that these fears are often ones our flesh has been trained to respond with. We all have circumstances or events that can trigger these fears. Sometimes those triggers are from an internal trigger, such as the need to perform and achieve a specific standard. Or the need for others to approve of you. We can also have external triggers such as losing our keys, leaving our wallet at home, forgetting our computers, getting cut off in traffic. Those are all external triggers that can cause a response of fear in us.

So how do we overcome these trained responses, these triggers? By surrendering them to God for healing and running to His Word for transformation. By understanding who we are, and that we are sons and daughters of God. We are heirs to His Kingdom. That is our Identity. Once we understand who we are, we can then see the past triggers and trained response and know that those aren’t our identity. Instead, we can run to God and His Word for His Truth to guides us. We can grow in God, and read His word for transformation, depend on Him, and listen to Him speak life into us.

Sometimes our emotions can get the best of us. Our expectations for something drive our perception of it. When that isn’t met we get annoyed, or frustrated. When this continues to pile up over a day, a week, a month, a lifetime, without a healthy way of dealing with it, we may explode on those around us.

What can the anger lead to in our lives? Malice, bitterness, anger/rage

What did Jesus address when it came to anger?

We have to identify the expectations, and more importantly those expectations that aren't met and surrender those to the Lord. Only He can meet all of those.

James 1

Genesis 3:1-6

Ephesians 4

Matthew 5:21

John 17:20-26

Prayer for himself- John 17:1-5

Prayer for His immediate disciples- John 17:6-19

Abiding in Prayer

This week we look at the last years of Jesus’ ministry. During this time, we will see significant prayers occur as His time on earth is coming to an end.

Luke 10: 17

We see thanksgiving and praise. Notice that he didn’t go to a mountain top to pray at this one, he just began to pray and the substance of that was praising the Father because He is great. Jesus encourages them but continues to remind them that the praise rests in that their names are written in heaven, not that the spirits were subject to them.

Lord’s Prayer – Luke 11:

The disciples saw Jesus praying in their time together, and quite often. They obviously saw that this is important, and asked Jesus to teach them. The simple prayer directs to the absolute certainty in God.

Matthew 7:7: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you. There is a certainty when you are abiding, and you are praying out of abiding, and not in the flesh, then there is a certainty that He will answer. When I am mindful of my circumstances in a heavenly way…we see calmness, contentedness, peace, rest, tranquility comes, and God promises that. I am not going to ask to change circumstances and expect that change to take place. I can ask for the change, but Lord Jesus nevertheless not my will be done but yours. I can’t demand that He answer when I am asking Him to change the circumstances. I Can go to God, Son, and Holy Spirit, and ask to help me not to sin, to provide for me.

Lazarus – John 11

John 11:11: When Jesus first hears that Lazarus is dead, probability that Jesus had already spoken with God in regard to Lazarus. Why? Look at verse 41 and 41 where Jesus praises God for hearing Him. Jesus is sure of heaven, he is sure of His relationship with the Father, because of that, it gives Him opportunity to pray and enunciate the victory before it happens. How often am I truly presently mindful of what may/is happening in heaven when I am besieged about praying on a circumstance and am I seeing that alignment with Heaven? Jesus is continually saying to us that we can have this too, that what He had with the Father, we can have too.

Blessing of the Children – Mark 10: 13-16

In this prayer, we see that Jesus is upset with the adults in the crowd, not the kids. We have all been in so many parks, stores, churches and people get so frustrated with children being children. Jesus saw the kids scurrying around, and essentially said let them be kids, let them come to me. This is the beauty of abiding, you get to rush into the arms of God. He picks up the kids and blesses them.

Abiding in Prayer (Scripture – Matthew 14, 1 Kings 18: 44-46, Luke 9: 28-29)

Today we will look at Matthew 14 as we continue to see how to abide in prayer by looking at what Jesus did. Some of the things we can see by looking at Jesus through this passage is that it is natural for Jesus to pray in all circumstances, in any environment. Western schedules have a demand that everything needs to be planned out, so we must carve out all our time. However, we can release those times, and can take it to the Father.

Matthew 14: 13-21 We see Jesus, while in the middle of this event, begin to pray. Even though this specific passage doesn’t give much detail, we see how natural it was for Jesus to pray in all circumstances. Something we should strive for.

We also see in scripture, including Matthew 14, that Jesus often separated himself to go to the mountaintops to spend time in prayer. When he did this, it wasn’t 30 minutes or a couple hours. It was often hours on end. Matthew 14:22-23 after sending everyone home post feeding the 5,000 and sending the disciples on the boat. Jesus went alone to be in prayer with God, a deep conversational prayer. A prayer that lasted for hours as it says He joined the disciples at dawn. He often removed himself for hours and hours to be in deep conversational prayer with God.

The Abiding life of Jesus is a thriving spiritual life. It is amazing what our bodies can do with a thriving spiritual life. He would be out all-day teaching and preaching with disciples and people., then he would remove himself and pray all night. It wasn’t just to another room; it was often up on a mountain top. However, we see Him spend a lot of time in prayer with God.

In this world, anxiety, stress, emergencies, etc. All those things that zap our energy. The solution to these come in the vitality we have walking with God moment by moment. We are talking about the God of the universe, the God that created everything, including the human body. We see in the wilderness, Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights, and He was sustained the entire time. We see it with Elijah that the ‘Hand of the Lord’ was with him, and he outran King Ahab who was on a chariot. God sustained him to do something we don’t see as a possibility physically. 1 King 18: 44-46. God can sustain our bodies.

How do we abide in prayer?

It’s our ‘go to’. It is not about what you pray, it is that you pray. That it isn’t a halfhearted 5 second prayer once a day or twice a day, but a deep conversational time with God. Try carving out a time, maybe in the evening after the kids go to sleep, where you can go into a deep prayer time with God. It isn’t about suggesting a set time, or schedule, just that prayer is as natural as a heartbeat in your life. That we pray and enter conversation with the One who matters the most, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, just as natural as a heartbeat. Just as Jesus did.

Scripture: Galatians 2:20. Luke 3, Luke 5, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, Romans 8:26

Abiding is a two-way process…we share with God, but He also shares with us. He speaks to us as we hide His Word in our hearts. Jesus is our model on how to remain in the Father and the Father’s work. He prayed constantly, so it makes sense that we would also model our prayer after Him. Today, we will look at two of Jesus’ prayers from His early ministry and discuss common questions regarding prayer. We learn we can’t truly abide if we are not praying without ceasing.

Luke 3:

We see Jesus praying as He is being baptized. This was a very public place, not one that you would typically see people pray, but He did.

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-17 it calls us to pray without ceasing… morning, noon, and night. Not always on my knees praying. It can be that at times, but it can also be in the car as you drive or in a private setting. What does praying without ceasing mean? It is always communicating with the Lord. Anytime I have a thought about the Lord or what He has done, I begin that conversation prayer with Him.

Second Prayer: Luke 5: 12

After healing the leper, great crowds came to hear Him and be healed. His response? Verse 16: But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. As the ministry grew, Jesus slipped away more and more to seek the Father. Instead of staying in that crowd, gaining glory for himself, we see that ALL He did was to glorify God the Father only.

Could He stay in those crowds and gain glory for Himself if He wanted to? Yes. But he chooses to step away and get back into His time with the Father. Modern day: Instead of posting it on twitter or staying in the crowd to get the praise and admiration. Jesus demonstrates that we should do the exact opposite. We should run to our Father and time with Him alone.

Motivation/intent behind these two prayers:

He got alone to pray….

He got alone to pray as he transitioned into ministry.

He got alone to pray because crowds were growing bigger and bigger

He got alone to pray as He was anticipating all the needs of the future.

Common questions: How do I pray?

Don’t fixate on meeting a standard, rather it is a conversation. We don’t ask how I speak to my dad; how do I speak to my mom. You may ask what should I say on a first date with someone you don’t know. However, with those that we have a relationship with, this is not something we typically pray.

Another question is, when should I pray? When we get bad news, often our first response is to call a friend or parent to ask them to pray for us. Jesus in that same circumstance, would have gone to the Father. He wouldn’t have gone to Peter for prayer first. This demonstrates to us, in good news and bad news, God is the first person we go to.

Sometimes we can get to a moment when we have no words to pray. We know we need to pray, but no words come to us. Romans 8: 26 provides us direction here. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (NIV)” The Holy Spirit can and will pray on our behalf.

Book Discussed: Praying Jesus’ Way Curtis C. Mitchell

Abiding in our Marriage – The Love Triangle

Scripture discussed (Genesis 2 and 3, 2 Peter 1:3, Ephesians 5, Romans 8, John 14:23).

In this episode we discuss what a marriage of two believers that are each truly seeking to abide in God looks like. What does it look like in good and in conflict?

Intro: We are redefining marriage in so many aspects, what that framework looks like. These definitions bring a lot of heartache, a lot of strife. The institute of marriage, as defined by God, just can’t be redefined.

Genesis 2 we see a beautiful example of marriage. What abiding in marriage together can actually be. God provided EVERYTHING for Adam and Eve. The rain, the ground, the animals, the plants, there was no strife in the garden. Can you imagine in your own marriage, being content with where you are? Instead of living in the shame of past and present, instead of living in Genesis 3?

When abiding, the focus isn’t on the marriage. It is in each individual abiding and growing closer to God personally and sharing that journey with each other.

Visual Example:

Picture a triangle. In the bottom left corner is man, in the bottom right corner is woman, and the top of the triangle is God. In this image, man and woman could travel across the bottom line towards each other and meet closer together by their own means OR they could travel up towards God. In traveling up they will come close to God, taking on His characteristics, and if both grow towards Him being their home, they will also be close together as man and wife. Speakers discuss what this could look like in a marriage today.

Are you reading for transformation not just information?

Are you submitting to the Lord? Are you depending on God in all? Are you depending on Him to be your provider?

Are you listening for God’s illumination, praising Him for it and sharing that with your spouse?

Scripture to soak in, pray, and ask God to transform you with.

1 Corinthians 7:12

Romans 8:5-8

Nicodemus -John 3

John 15: 11

Maybe you are abiding in Christ, living in dependency. However your spouse is an unbeliever.

Challenges in these relationships: The time of sitting in the Word/devotion time will often look different than in a relationship that is equally yoked. Maybe they don’t want your kids to learn from about God. Maybe the unbeliever has idolized you and lifted you up to be their fulfillment of need. The result is not wanting to share that with anything/anyone. Doesn’t mean you don’t stay rooted in Him, or teach your children, it just might look different.

How do we abide in these relationships without jumping to our flesh, our hurt, as our needs are not being met?

Clothe yourself with compassion and kindness and cannot let them pull us from our abiding relationship in Christ. We have to surrender our views and expectations of our time, our family dynamic, our relationship dynamic to Him. Let God light the torch in the darkness and lead you (Isaiah 50:10), or you try and light your own torch results in strife and destruction (Isaiah 50:11).

Let God reveal His truth to him, Let God to grow the seed. 1 Corinthians 3:6-9

How do I abide in the Lord without Idolizing my spouse?

When expectation is not met in a relationship, conflict arises. One way or another, with expectations, we are asking the spouse to meet our needs.

3 Abiding Skills:

Reading God’s Word to transform myself, not my spouse.

Live in surrender and dependence on God to make me whole.

Listing to the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

Take these three areas, break it down, and it will reconcile the relationship. Good news is…we don’t have to fix all the brokenness. We don’t have to fix our spouse’s brokenness, and we don’t have to fix our brokenness. All we have to do is live a life in dependence, surrender, letting Him transform us and fix that brokenness.

The abiding relationship with the Lord impacts the abiding relationship with the spouse. Be dependent upon God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The closer I draw to the Jesus, the more I come like Jesus, the less the issue of/or desire to fix a spouse or ask to be fulfilled by a spouse will diminish.

Encouragement: Read the following passages slowly, pray these passages, ask God to speak these into your hearts. Read for transformation, let God transform you.

John 14 and John 15
Galatians 5
Ephesians 5: 17

If you want to know more about abiding, we encourage you to go back and listen to all the podcasts from the beginning. Conclusion verse John 14:23.

Abiding in our Singleness

With Valentine’s day coming up, it is a big focus and expectation of this world to be with someone. Today, we discuss three basic needs we have found true in our lives and our experiences fulfilling those in the world versus fulfilling it in God through abiding.

Three basic needs:

A need to depend on someone else:
- Definition of dependence in this reference: The desperate need for someone in your life.
- Scripture References: Genesis 2, Hosea (entire book), 1 Corinthians 7:8

A need to share thoughts and hearts

Really desiring someone to speak with, to sit down face to face and share your heart.
Scripture References: Psalm 119, Genesis 3:10

A need to have someone else fulfill the desires of our heart

Genesis 3:16 – Post eating of the tree of Knowledge of good and evil “…Yet your desire will be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” The desire in that reference is that Adam must fulfill Eve, it is a desire bordering on insanity. This translates to us searching the world to fulfill us, to be God for us. This desire can only be fulfilled in God as it was prior to the fall in Genesis 2.

We all come from various backgrounds, environments, and experiences. This podcast takes a generalized look at parenting defense mechanisms. These are the innate or natural responses that individuals develop in response to stimuli that is meant to help protect them.

This not a claim on how YOU heal their hearts, the work of the Holy Spirit is the primary factor in healing your kids’ heart. This podcast discusses scripture and tools to help walk with your kids in abiding, as you identify and surround the defense mechanisms with the Word of God. As you submit their development to God, and point them to the Word of God.

Scriptures Discussed/Review:

Genesis 2 and 3 - Original design and Fall of man.
Genesis 4 – Cain and Abel
Romans 3-8 - big in understanding yourself, God, and what He has Done
Romans 6: 19 – 21:
- “For just as you presented the parts of your body as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your body’s parts as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in relation to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you when deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those thigs is death.” (NASB).
Matthew 10 – Jesus sends the disciples out
Matthew 17: 19
- Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out? And He said to them, Because of your meager faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. (But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
Romans 12:2
Psalm 91

This week we cover the application of Model, Mode, Modus Operandi.

Model Psalm 78, Deuteronomy 6,

Are we implementing “do as I do” or “Do as I say, not as I do?” Are we modeling the consistency we are asking our child to display? Are we demonstrating reading the Bible, or just telling them to go read while we watch tv, get chores done, scroll through our phones? Are we instructing or actually training as Proverbs 22:6. If we want our children to be enthusiastic about God and his Word, we have to be enthusiastic ourselves. Our kids get a lot of their actions and behaviors based on what they see us do.

Mode

Scripture Review: John 17 : 21, Psalm 119: 97-101. Psalm 78: 1-8, 9-72

Have you ever told your kids wrong information, though you didn’t know it at the time?

When we apply that we are the knowledge center for our kids, that is a danger precedence for our kids. We are saying that mom and dad are the ultimate center for good and bad.

We have to be careful when training our kids to not spin our belief to them, but instead let God’s word answer their questions. This builds two important points that even Jesus modeled in his time with the disciples.

Teaches them how to find the answers in God’s word. For our children to not just know the stories and themes of the Bible, but to apply them in a manner that answers questions is true discipleship. This equips them to go out into the world without us and accomplish the Great Commission Matthew 28:19-20.
The second thing this accomplishes in their lives is that it always connects them to God’s answer. This is important if we want them to understand where we might come up with our answers. It can also prevent misunderstanding when we might say one thing and they understand it differently. By going to the source for identity and purpose, we can lead our children in the ways of Christ.

In order to share it we have to pour God Word into our hearts first, then we will be equipped to share with the next generation.

Modus Operandi

Scripture to Review: John 14-17, Matthew 10: 1-14, Matthew 28, Matthew 17:14-20, 2 Corinthians 10, Ephesians 5, Romans 12:2.

Jesus said as you see me do, you do. So we can expect our kids to do the same with us. When they made mistakes, he taught them through it. What went well, what didn’t, and always pointed them back to the Father. This is a 24/7 impact of training our kids to abide, sharing God and His Word. Not just on the way to and from Church on Sundays. When we tell them what they should do, especially in relation to God, but we are not modeling it. We are causing resistance not only with us, but between Child and God. Remember Romans 8:1 in this.

Jesus not only taught them, from a holistic or whole approach, but he enabled them to live out what he was teaching, to make the choices on their own, but to do as he has done. Many times as parents we want to prevent hurts or failures in our kids’ lives. Yet Jesus sent them out in 2’s. Matthew 10 records Jesus not only taught them but sent them out. Matthew 17 they fail to remove a demon, and Jesus came back with what they were missing. He allowed them to make mistakes and taught them what it took to change it next time.

Have you ever read a book on parenting? It’s probably safe to say most of us have. These can be helpful as a secondary source to abiding, but they should never be the primary source. Maybe it isn’t a self-help book, rather it is speaking to others and following their advice. When we search outside of the Word to fulfill the desire to be a better parent, we operate out of our own will. This may work for a little bit, but what happens when conflict or stress arises, like a screaming child? Do we hold to this new knowledge, or do we revert to our own defense/coping mechanisms?

If we don’t model abiding, talk to them about abiding, and teach dependence upon God alone... then the tactical part of parenting and training gets lost in the shuffle.

Jesus Model (reflecting God the Father).

Scripture Review: John 14:8, John 5:19

Jesus is clear it is not about Himself; it is reflecting His Father. Every word, every Action was reflected the Father. Likewise, we are the reflection of Jesus to our kids. So, when our kids wonder what God looks like, feels like, etc., they are looking to us to model it.

John 5:19 - What if we lived this out with our kids? What if we say “truly, truly, I tell you that I can do nothing of myself”, and point it back to God? Then our kids will grow up seeing Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit. They will see God as the head of the household. They may trust their parents, but the know that God is the head.

When Jesus’ disciples caused frustration, sadness, or any other emotion, Jesus modeled his relationship with the Father. This was done through surrendering and showing his dependence on God the Father.

The Jesus Mode (Pointing to God’s Word)

Scripture Reviewed: Matthew 5:18-21, 27, 33, 38, 43; Matthew 26 and 27; Matthew 13: 10-13; John 17.

What was His main method of teaching? God’s Word. He modeled a lifestyle of total dependence upon the Word and God the Father. Quoting and Alluding (defined in podcast) to Scripture. Jesus also used the parables to discuss the themes of the Old Testament. It allowed God to reveal to those He chooses the truths of what He was saying. The parables demonstrate Kingdom living.

The Word of God needs to fill our conversations with our children. We do this by storing God’s Word in our hearts. What predominates the mind of a believer whose learned the Word of God? They have God’s perspective, God’s truth leading their perspective instead of something else. When we understand God’s word through our reading of His word, and the Spirit bringing it out in the fullness of the Truth, we can speak to our kids and share in a way that they understand.

The Jesus’ Modus Operandi (discipleship, but allowing to walk it out)

Scripture Review (John 17; Deuteronomy 6:7-9; Matthew 28: 1-14 ).

Jesus taught and enabled the disciples from a holistic approach. He taught them in everything. He walked them through it, used everyday examples, used scriptural examples, and made His own examples through parables. He didn’t tell them to go read and on their own and become holy. Instead His life was an example of making teaching personal. He enabled them to live out what He was teaching, equipped them to make their own choices, but do as He did.

Do our children see us building our personal relationship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as the disciples saw Jesus live out His relationship?

Make teaching personal.

Abiding through our Children’s Hurts:

Today we will discuss how to abide through our children’s hurts, their storms, their traumas. Not

necessarily taking control of it or try to fix what they are going through but allowing God to be

ever present in the situation. We will discuss how this may apply throughout the various ages

and stages of a child’s life.

When a hurt occurs, depending on the age, the child may not know how to articulate what it is

they are feeling and experiencing. They may not be able to say if it is fear, sadness, anger, etc. So

as parents, we can listen and if we don’t get the right answer that we want to fix the hurt for

them, it can cause anger for both or even a deeper level of sadness. Truth is we cannot fix our

kid’s hurts.

Stuck Points, Causes, and Coping Skills

When kids go through traumas, or perceived traumas, with no reconciliation or healing for that

event, they develop poor coping skills, defense mechanisms, or stuck points. As they continue to

operate in these through the years, they become habits. Speakers discuss review stuck points,

causes, and behaviors that may manifest through unreconciled hurt.

Abiding and Teaching our Kids to Abide Through Traumas (Scripture: Romans 8:1 and 5,

Psalm 119:103, James 4:7, Psalm 91, Galatians 5:22-23, Deuteronomy 6 and 11)

One of the pillars of abiding is Living a life of Dependence, through Surrender and Submission.

This is never more important than when dealing with a hurting child who has gone through

trauma or extremely difficult trials. Instead of us fixing the trauma, we make it all about God

fixing their trauma. God healing and restoring them. If they are too young to understand, then we

are to be a model of Jesus.

“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who

are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5

We can teach our kids the difference between flesh and Spirit, but we can also model it for them.

We can look in scripture to see evidence of the lack of spirit walking in our parenting. Do we

find in their tantrums we respond outside of: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…” (Galatian 5:22-23)? If so, in that moment our flesh is

the one responding to our children’s flesh response. Flesh begets flesh. As parents helping our

kids through difficult times it will require our spirit surrendering our expectation of our children

and walking them through it. As we surrender, we walk in the spirit. As we walk in the spirit, “...

but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”

(Romans 8:5).

Challenge Question: What is your expectation of your child? Is it some set of goals that you have

for them (get good grades, become captain of the basketball team) or are they Kingdom minded?

Do your expectations match that in Deuteronomy 6, 11? If they are Kingdom minded, then every

decision you make will have Kingdom implications. Do they align with God’s expectation for

you?

Next step, walk with your kid in those, letting your expectations be replaced with what the Word

of God says the expectations are of your sons and daughters. When we feel the flesh arise in our

parenting, then we need to ask why? Why am I responding like this? What is my flesh needing in

this moment that is not being met? Then take a quick second and ask the Spirit, the Counselor, to

provide that for us. Show our kids how to respond in these moments by going to God, praying

and reading in His Word. Remember Romans 8:1 in this journey of abiding through their hurts.

Redemption, Adoption, Justification, Reconciliation, and Regeneration….That is Who you are.

Today we will dive into the declarations of our Identity as defined by God’s Word, 5 epic gifts that we receive. It is critical to know who we are from head to heart, to know we are God’s son’s and daughters.

Redemption (Scripture to review: Ephesians 1:7-10, Mark 10:45, Romans : 1-4, Romans 6, Romans 12;2):

Redemption is the act of our bondage being broken, our shackles torn, a slave being set free (Romans 6). Redemption is something that happens to us by the grace of God, not because of something we have done or earned. It was Jesus taking our place, spilling His blood, that broke our bondage to ALL our sin, and He wishes nothing but goodness to us. The God that created the intricacies of the universe chose us. He did not inherit us, nor were we thrown on Him, He CHOSE each of us.

Redemption doesn’t change our character, doesn’t change our nature. However, it does mean that we are no longer in bondage to sin, to the power of sin, nor our enemy Satan, to demonic forces, nor to world forces that would keep us wrapped up in trespasses against God. We can look at our hauntings and say that is not me as we live out Romans 12:2. We get to say no to our old self. We get to choose to see that we are God’s sons and daughters, and as such we are his heirs as stated in Romans 8:16-17.

Adoption (Scripture to review: Ephesians 1: 1-5):

We are God’s sons and daughters. If we look at the earthly version of this, parents search and go to great lengths to adopt children as their son or daughter. God does the same as he went out of His way to adopt us back into His family. In love, he destined us for adoption. He planned this before we were even conceived, knowing fully what each of us would do in its entirety, and he still chose to redeem us and adopt us. He did not cause sin, but he had an answer for it.

Justification (Scripture to review: Romans 6:16, John 3:16-18, Romans 5:1-2,6-9,16-17)

Romans 6:16: Condemnation is not the emotional feeling that something, or someone, is badgering and bringing us down. Condemnation is a proclamation that we are not going to heaven. John 3:16- vs 17, and 18. Condemnation is the declaration of guilt. Romans 6 says that the wage of sin is death, we could pay for our sins, but that means we will be condemned to death. It is the state we are in before salvation.

Justification is the declaration of our innocence, that we are no longer charged with our sins. The righteousness of Christ is applied to us. Our slate has been wiped clean.

Reconciliation (Scripture to review: Colossians 1:21, John 3: 5-6):

This is what happens IN us. It is a change to our mind, to our very being. The fullness of God’s truth does not stop at Justification. It does not stop at just a forgiven sinner. Hostility or Alienation would be the opposite of reconciliation. Our minds have been changed, our supernatural work of God has altered our being so that our responses, our thoughts, our essence shift from being in opposition of Him towards a desire to be aligned in Him.

Regeneration (Scripture to review: Romans 7:19, Romans 12:2):

This is an act in us that changes the core of our nature and as we are given the Spirit. Prior to this we did not have a spirit. Paul points out the distinction of the flesh from himself with Spirit in Romans 7:19. He depicts the hauntings of our mind, old thoughts, and habits. However, we see that over time, as Paul planted in the Word, regeneration occurred, later he is content in all things.

Regeneration is a gift that unfolds over time. Romans 12:2, be washed by the Word, cleanse yourself of those old things.

Music By: Zekhar Velaha

Title: “Emotional Cinematic Inspirational Piano (MAIN)

How do I get this idea from my head, to my heart?

We recognize God's at work in our life

The joy of the recognition that God is working brings the "aha" moment that moves the truths from head to heart.

We recognize God's word spoken to us from the Holy Spirit.

Illumination of scripture, not inspiration, brings about an awareness of His presence and leading in our lives.

We recognize we really are redeemed.

After we see the product of our faith coming alive in his works, then we know that if it is true in this time (which he did work), then it is true

Drawing the line between Sinner and Saint, we discuss the truth of who we are as Christians. If we aren't a sinner saved by grace, then what else can we be?

Identity of two natures: sin and spirit

The problems with this:

Scripturally

Rom 8:3,

Logically

The problem with this duality is it will always assume a resistance in the host or person. I can never fully love God, because there are two parts to me. I can't fully surrender because there are two parts to me. If God does say he crucified the old man (nature of sin) and yet we live with it still, then either the crucifixion of our sin nature didn’t hold and God was not strong enough to separate it, or somehow through its own power sin resurrected itself from the death and brought back the sin nature into us and everyone else who comes to Christ. Romans 6

Spiritually

If this duality is true, there can be no true victory in Christ. There can't be true healing, restoration, or hope. Once a sinner, always a sinner. With the truth of that how could one enter the kingdom with a nature to sin? God cannot abide in sin, so how could WE ever be in his presence. Yet he says in John 14:23 that all 3 members of the Trinity will make their abode in us. How could that be possible if we have a sin nature and God cannot abide in sin?

1 John 5:1 and 1 John 5:18

The true characteristics of the flesh (sarx)

Taught since birth how to find meaning outside God. Started in the garden in Genesis 3. It can be trained through the spirit, but our flesh is the leftovers of our past stuck in our mind. It isn't who we are, but the hauntings left over in our brain. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

2 Corinthians 5:1 NIV

God likens it to a tent, not a being. Because as soon as this tent is destroyed, WE (the existential position) the true self will be in a new tent or edifice in heaven with the Lord.

Abiding and the flesh

So when we abide, we walk in Jesus' love. We desperately read his word because it is our breath of life. We hope on his every promise. Our identity is wrapped up in Him.

In these lives if I had a girlfriend or wife that Every time she messaged me I read, reread, and cherished the words. I would be desperate for her to call, speak, show up, text, social media post about me or to me. If I hung on every promise she gave me as of it were the most precious thing I could imagine. I would shortly find my identity in her. I would start to realize without her my life would have no meaning, purpose, or flavor. It would be meaningless (as Solomon might say).

Let's apply that same level of devotion to the Lord. That is the essence of deeply abiding. When we do that our meaning comes from him. Not from someone else. Not from a tragedy, loss, or trauma. Not from what someone else might tell me. But from him. If in the above fictional case my beloved told me I'm handsome, then some lady passed me on the street and said I was ugly, how could I ever believe the lady on the street. Or if someone else told me I could never find someone who would love me because of who I am, yet my beloved would show me love and reciprocate it each day, I would count them a loon. When we abide in the Lord, the flesh may bring back memories of finding meaning outside of God as its own defense mechanism, but ultimately in our spirit we make the choice. And as our identity becomes so enraptured and intertwined with the Lord we can then start to train our flesh that where it found meaning and purpose before (outside of God) is not acceptable. Instead we point to meaning in the Lord. Therefore, the implications are that drugs addiction no longer drives us. Sex no longer is the desire of our flesh. Control no longer plagues our actions. Surrender and submission don't become dirty words, and dependence on Yahweh actually becomes a natural response.

THIS IS ABIDING.

The You, you believe, you are

What makes up what we believe of ourselves?

Talk about the Nature, Nurture, and traumas that have shaped our current self-identity.

Nature, the physical and psychological impacts of genetics.

Nurture, the morals and values shown throughout childhood by parents, guardians, and family/friends.

Traumas, those events which happened because of our choices or others choices made against us. How these can cause us to see ourselves in a negative light and develop a lot of the stuck points or self-deprecating habits.

How do our beliefs in who we believe we are affect our daily actions, life decisions, or even our relationship with Christ/God the Father?

James 1:14-15 How temptations give birth to sin, and sin to death. Explain how a belief in one’s self being in something outside of God brings about the successful temptation to find meaning and purpose outside of God’s will, and that will always bring about the shame, hurt, destruction that God tells us it will.

Give some examples, child told they aren’t good enough or never do anything right. This builds into their identity as an adult. They choose jobs that they feel they can do and not what they are actually capable of. They may pick a partner and settle for just anyone who pays them mind, because they don’t believe they are worthy of a good and decent person. They look at their relationship with God and may accept his grace, but run away from him believing they aren’t worthy of it. Or maybe they live their life trying to prove themselves worthy to God only to be burned out and exhausted, yet never feeling worthy.

Perhaps a sexual trauma or physical trauma occurred in childhood. They believe themselves helpless, afraid, or stained and impure. They grow up believing themselves dirty or disgusting. They might isolate from their friends that are a positive influence because of a lack of worthiness, but perhaps unable to share why. The friendships diminish and eventually might fall apart. This might only further prove to the person their identity is correct and that no one wants to be around them. They may even carry this over into their relationship with God. “He may have saved others but not me. Why would he ever pour his blessings on me when he has seen what I’ve done or what I am” they might say. Perhaps every relationship as an adult is seen through this stained lens, romantic, friendships, or even family, and they find opening up to people extremely difficult and frightening.

How does abiding in the Lord impact these?

Talk about finding our identity in Him, over time, re-writing these beliefs that were ingrained in us from childhood. Allowing ourselves to be transformed by the word of God and who he says we are, can allow us to walk in the identity we have in Christ.

Ellie introduces us to the long-term struggle against perfectionism and controlling those struggles in her life. She talks about how abiding brings an awareness that she needs to surrender, while her flesh fights to be sovereign and take control

John 15:3 You are clean

John 14:27 "I do not give as the world gives"

John 14:6 "I am the way the truth and the life"

John 8:32 "You shall know the truth..."

Mark 4:35 Disciples on the boat in the storm

Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me all who are weary and burdened"

Isaiah 50:2,10

Psalm 23

Psalm 18:16-19 Reached me out of the water, delight in me

Romans 8:1 There is no condemnation

John 15 You are clean

John 15:4 Remain in me, and I in you

John 14:16 I will send you the Counselor

Romans 8:16 The Spirit testifies with our spirit

John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so I love you

Psalm 18:16-19

Psalm 139 Knit you together in your mother's womb

Jeremiah 29:11

John 14:21-27 I will manifest; we will make out abode in you

John 17:20 Jesus prays for his disciples and those who will become followers

Psalm 119:11 Store up your word

Scott walks us through his storm of almost losing his newborn daughter due to complications and medical conditions.

He talks about preparing for the storm, the peace through the storm, and how the Lord showed up in his storm.

Follow us through the scripture as we touch on Psalm 23, Galatians 5 (fruits), Galatians 6 (Carrying burdens), and more.

Hebrews 13:5

Deuteronomy 34:6

"I will never leave you nor forsake you"

"Let your heart not be troubled..." John 14:1-3

God's communication to Ricki through his Word

Psalm 119

The word hidden away in our hearts. The Holy Spirit uses this to flood us with his words and presence.

For Ricki, Identity was wrapped up in his wife before the storm, though he didn't realize it.

1 Thessalonians 4 "Grieve, but don't grieve as those who have no hope."

Lamentations 3: God promised he would take care of everything. ... vs. 18 All my hope in you is gone.

We are people of 5 categories

physical, social, spiritual, emotional, Mental

Single mother of a 3 year old shares her storm of letting her son go with his father, while still trying to control the situation. Hear how she put abiding to practice, both before and during the storm.

What does it mean to surrender our circumstance in the middle of a trial?

A simple way to look at it is to realize I can’t know all the details, including the thoughts of others. If I can’t, then I can’t be assured my outcome will work how I intend. If this is true then God, who knows all thoughts and has seen everything take place, will be able to cause change that can be assured on his part. So in my believing His Word, believing he is a just and good God, and that he loves me, then I can be assured that regardless of my actions, his will ALWAYS be better. So I give up my control of the situation. I give up my sovereignty and seek his will in it. I use his Word (the Bible) to find a solution or way through.

Looking at Luke 22:39-53, what are some skills we can put into place in order to live this dependence on God, even in the storm?

2 Kings 18-20 Hezekiah, King of Judah, threatened and then mortally ill

Acts 16:22-30 Paul and Silas imprisoned

Jesus vs Disciples, how did they respond in their difficulties and the trial. Both desired comfort, they sought it in different places

Hezekiah responds by bringing the letter from Assyria to the temple and placing it on the altar, goes to prayer and asks his trusted aids and Isaiah the prophet to pray with him.

Paul and Silas are imprisoned for continuing in the Lord’s work. Their response through prayer and praise of God. Impacts those around them.

What do these three examples show us about how to respond in the middle of a storm?

Seeking God through it and not always running to humans, though the examples show that a body of believers encouraging and praying with you is also beneficial.

Keeping to God’s word, and what He says. Our first response should be to take the storm and lay it on the altar, realizing in our strength we can’t stop the events from taking place all the time. We can’t stop the armies from coming against us.

What is the most important action we can do in order to be in the right position to abide through the storm?

Prayer with the Lord daily.

Reading His word and finding our identity in it.

Identity rooted in what he did for us:

Justified

Adopted

Redeemed

Reconciled

Regenerated

Allowing transformation to come from God’s word and not from other sources.

What are the uses of psychology to a non-believer? What about a believer?

Psychology can have a few benefits in a non-believer. It can help them to learn to cope with traumas or poor coping skills from their past. It can also bring awareness to defense mechanisms, triggers, and dispositions in a person’s life. Psychology can bring many different exercises or activities which can help an individual attempt to overcome the mental and emotional issues that may plague them.

In the life of a believer, psychology can bring awareness in the same way that it can an unbeliever. All the same can be true, and in most cases are, as many Christians turn to healing from a counselor or psychologist/psychiatrist. There is nothing wrong with a Christian turning to a psychiatrist for assistance, but one should not put their sole hope in that.

What becomes the greatest barrier between the fully healed individual and the methods of psychology?

The greatest barrier is that while psychology understands there are events which may trigger an individual from a trauma which induces an emotional or mental scar, it doesn’t acknowledge the things in the spiritual realm. While psychology may attempt to solve the issue of an individual with alcoholism by introducing activities which could take the place of drinking alcohol or events which could trigger the desire to drink alcohol. It may ever look back at the childhood and come up with many reasons why they may have a propensity towards alcoholism. The problem it found in the spiritual realm. There is a hole in their soul which they are trying to fill with alcoholism. Perhaps a trauma makes that even more apparent and felt strongly. A divorce for instance may make the hole in their soul feel wider or more evident, as they are also feeling a loss in their life. Since psychology cannot accept this realm, it cannot fathom the need for a divine source of love, meaning, and purpose. If it cannot accept this, then any root that may be discovered will never fully solve the issue. Hence, once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.

How can this be overcome through Christ?

If looking at the Word of God is our reference, then identity must be our starting point. And through this the Holy Spirit our counselor. Looking at the issue with psychology in handling many of these problems we noted that the spiritual identity disorder, not knowing truly who we are, is the greatest barrier for psychology bringing the healing in our lives. With this being the case, then the easiest solution is to solve the question, “Who am I?” Think about it, if I know who I am and whose I am, then the hole in my soul is filled. I don’t have the desire to fill it with alcohol, drugs, members of the opposite sex, work, achievement, or any number of idols.

Christ brings the solution, as we spoke of in Romans, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”Romans 6:4-7

Or again, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Peter even touched on the role God plays in this: “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness…” 2 Peter 1:3

(What is the sin nature, and can it stop me from abiding?)

What is sin nature?

The “Old Man” “The Flesh Man” was born within us at conception. It taught our flesh how to find meaning apart from God. It brought an identity that was separate from that which God called us.

This was part of the curse placed because of man’s choice. Now the seed of rebellion caused by our independence brought forth a nature that was inherently against God. Romans 3:10-12 gives us the dilemma.

Romans 5:12-14 Sin spread throughout the world through the sin of Adam.

How does it affect unredeemed and redeemed individuals?

Unredeemed man- Just as stated above, death came through sin, and death spread to all men. It brings condemnation. It brings a nature of rebellion and therefore they cannot pursue God or please him. It brings an identity in things that change, and those things will always bring grief.

Redeemed man- We have the after effects, the hauntings, habits, and memories of what occurred before, but only as far as we allow these to affect us. It has no power to the believer. When we spend time away from God’s word, allowing the world to influence our thoughts, it allows our flesh to fall into those old patterns of comfort and security. These are the trappings as they never fully bring comfort, security, or peace. But when we fill ourselves with him, and who he is, and who we are in him, then we find these trappings have no place. The old temptations that plagued the unredeemed or the non-abiding Christian no longer have their pull.

As a Christian, Do I have a sin nature that I must fight? How would this affect me?

What does Romans 6:1-7! NO It was crucified. So how then could it continue to actively affect our thoughts. It still affects our actions in that the trappings and hauntings of our past are still there. The flesh was taught these responses based on traumatic events judged by the mind. But it can no longer actively impress our will. We have been resurrected, this mean new life/new nature. We had a sin nature. We died to sin in Christ and were resurrected unto his likeness into a new nature, a spirit nature. 2 Peter 1:4 (given a divine nature or spirit nature).

If it were true that we had a duel nature, then we would never be free of its influence. We could never please God. We would never seek God. Every action in our life would be part willful disobedience and if focused part accepting of God. Jesus was quite clear about this position, a house divided against itself cannot stand. So if he said that, then how can we have a dual nature, part evil, part redeemed. God doesn’t do anything part way, He is a Whole E God, dad pun, he goes the whole way.

What is the implication of crucifying the old man for the believer?

We are free forever from its grasp. It means we aren’t a sinner saved by grace, but that we are blood-bought born-again children of God, SAINTS! We are a holy people. Do we still find sin in our life? Yes, our flesh can still respond outside of faith. But we aren’t our flesh. Paul talks about this in Romans 7:25, “So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” If I, the most true me, am sinning, then I am not redeemed. But my flesh, this earthly tent as Paul calls it, is just a vessel. A poor damaged carriage that holds us physically until we can take our heavenly vessel, or tent.

With the Old man gone I can stand righteous in front of God. It isn’t just positionally. It is fully.

Food for thought, 1 John 5:1, then 1 John 5:18 How is it John can tell us with absolute certainty that we are born of God, then tell us that no one who is born of God sins? These are the same chapter, the same discussion. Beloved, it means we no longer have the sin nature and therefore we are

Talking about the spectrum of sin

What exactly is sin? What was the root of the first sin?

Genesis 3 talks about the desirous feeling for wisdom woman felt towards the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Ultimately it came down to this, as far as wisdom: Satan said she would be like God if she ate. Remember God is the ultimate source, because there is no higher power than him. As such, in himself he can set defined boundaries, due to his infinite knowledge and understanding.

The problem in Genesis 3 is man and woman took that into their own hands. Now their limited minds and knowledge had to define almost limitless issues and determine what was good and bad. They had no reference point. Before, God gave the instructions, as his perfect, holy, and righteous character set the standard. Now man and woman, adam and eve, had just themselves to use as a measuring stick.

What was lost in Genesis 3? How does that affect our flesh?

They lost the dependent relationship with the Lord God. That which had sustained them, gave them peace, joy, and purpose was lost. The seed planted continued through their offspring. Now as humans no longer had a dependence on the Lord, but independence, they could only attempt to find peace, joy, and purpose in themselves, what they do, or in others. Realizing the tragedy that many of us can’t see in this; that we change, what we can do changes, and others change. Whereas, in the garden their dependence flowed from an immutable, that is unchanging spring (God the Father), now it must come from the ever changing. Emotional states change, wealth changes, my achievements change, my friends change, my kids change. When I find identity in those, we call that sin, I will always come back to a lack of peace, joy, and purpose.

Describing the spectrum of sin, how do we know something is on the left side? What are some common societally accepted sins which we may not ever realize?

If closest to the center is us abiding in the Lord, and as more and more sin is prevalent in our lives it causes us to move left, or right, on the spectrum of sin. As we get further from abiding we struggle to hear God speak, we struggle to see God working in our lives, and we may “feel” abandoned because we are keeping the Savior at an arm’s distance.”They are darkened in their understand and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardening of their hearts.” Ephesians 4:18

Egregious vs. socially normal sins

Workaholism

Perfectionism

Making spouse or significant other your everything (looking at you fairytales)

Finding meaning in sports, work, or a hobby

These are a few examples of socially acceptable sins, that we may not even know we are sinning.

Romans 14:23b “...everything that does not come from a faith is sin.”

What did it look like with Adam and then Eve (Man and Woman) in the Garden?

Genesis 2

Dependence on God for everything.

Complete submission to His will and way for their lives.

Were they abiding in the way they lived? How so?

Who planted the trees and plants? Who brought the water from the ground? Who brought the rivers, the animals, man’s life, woman, fruit, everything? What did they have to do then?

When it comes to shame, why didn’t they feel shame in the garden?

Genesis 2:25

Shame is failing to accomplish something due to a lack of ability, skill, or resource.

Contrast that to the times I have felt shame, marriage dissolving, falling back on a promise, treating someone harshly only to realize I misjudged them,

What is the parallel between the Garden and the believer today?

The Garden found Adam and Eve living without sin and depending on God for everything. The modern Christian can take heart and see a parallel, not only to heaven but to their current situation. We get a glimpse of what heaven may be like, walking with God in the body, the new redeemed body (2 Corinthian 5). We also see that it is possible for individuals to depend on God fully for everything. We see that we have the opportunity to live without shame, when we depend on God to supply our every need, conversation, act, and desire.

Why we read it? Can we trust it? How do we read it?

Why do we read it?

We read it so we can learn who God is. We read it so we know who he has called us to be. And we read it to understand his plan of transforming us.

Romans 12:2

We read it for hiding his word in our heart.

Psalm 119:11

Reading for transformation not information.

Change: make (someone or something) different; alter or modify

Transformation: a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance.

Transformation is taking something in one form and dramatically altering it. It isn’t mere change that we are looking for, but a transformation in our core. The Word of God starts the process of the Holy Spirit changing us to look more Jesus.

Can we trust it?

The Word of God is authored by those chosen by the Lord and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

The Word of God in the Bible is equal to the spoken Word of God.

The mechanism of Illumination comes of God’s word.

How do we read it?

The Bible is meant to be prayed through, not read. When we read God’s word we should engage it.

How does our Identity, who we see ourselves as, impact our walk with Christ?

Galatians 2:20

Seen in light of the world

Seen in light of traumas

Seen in light of other’s perceptions

Vs

Seen in light of Romans 8:15-17

Seen in light of 1 Peter 1:3-5

Seen in light of 2 Peter 1:3-4

When we see ourselves in light of what Christ has made us, through his work on the cross, we are able to trust in Him and surrender to Him and His will.

When we don’t know who we are then we accept the phrases, you aren’t loveable, you aren’t wanted, you aren’t seen, you aren’t heard, no one wants to be with you, you are unworthy of anything.This can profoundly impact how we view the promises of God, and whether they apply to me or others.

“After my divorce I truly believed God blessed others, and I openly prayed for it. I could not reconcile that God would ever bless me or give those promises in His word to me. I was spiritually stunted and couldn’t accept the nature and characteristics of God to call me, to justify me, to glorify me.”

Why is knowing our identity key in abiding with the Lord?

When I know who HE is, I can start to trust in him. When I start to trust in Him I trust in His word and the scriptures that speak about who I am. I accept His words as truth. When I do this, now I can allow him to transform me through His word. The more I do this, the more I find the hope I have in his plan is greater. That brings about a greater sense of Faith. Then as He shows up and affirms me more and more, through abiding, then I find my trust and hope grow even more. When that happens my faith grows. Through this cycle, I find I focus on him more and more, my flesh even starts to accept this as legitimate. It starts to override all the old habits from the old man, the sin nature that was crucified and no longer alive. I want to abide. I deeply desire to abide. I desire his word. His instruction. I find Psalm 119 come alive in my own life.

What do I need to do in order to abide?

Reading God’s Word for transformation: This is one of the first steps

Holy Spirit will communicate His word to us as in John 14:26

Reading one book in the Bible, treasuring it and focusing on it can bring about what is spoke about throughout Psalm 119.

God’s word transforms my mind. My way of seeing things shifts to the way God sees things. So I respond the way God would respond.

This is a change of focus from knowing it is God’s word to living it as God’s word.

Transformation comes from the Word of God, and his power, not from my efforts or from attending events.

Nehemiah and Sanballot, the example of conflict at work (Nehemiah 6:1-3).

Jesus won’t leave us as orphans, he is giving us His Holy Spirit. John 14:16-18, 23

God tells Joshua to read his word, not ready the troops and arms

Joshua 1:1-9

Isaiah 36 and 38

Who is this idea of Abiding aimed at? Who should abide?

We introduce what the term abiding means in the Bible. We answer 3 points on this episode:

Where do we get the term abiding and where can it be found?

How does it affect my daily life?

If I choose to live this way, how will it look?