Forgiven: A Bible study series
God is Present
I am certain now that it was more loving for God to forgive us by sending His son, Jesus to die on the cross for my transgressions, than it was for me to come to a point in my life where I could accept His grace and forgiveness for my sins. I endlessly tortured myself with what all I had experienced in life against what I was taught was sin, but did it anyway; I thought I could never be forgiven for all I had done. I am sure many feel the same way at some point or either never come to the realization that choosing right from wrong, sin from living righteously has deathly consequences. At least that is how I felt for a long time before totally surrendering my life to follow His Word and really live God’s way in my life.
I stumble and fall when I am drawn away from His presence, and He is there to pick me up reassuring me no matter how many times I fail, He will always carry me through every victory or loss. There are times in my life I could have sworn I never felt His presence even though He promised He would never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). I realized that I couldn’t feel His presence because my life I chose to live at the time was opposite of who a Christian should act. When we look closely at those times in our lives, it becomes clear that false doctrines out there influence us because we like to have our ears tickled with things we want to hear, so we can keep living a lie that defies the truth of the whole word of God. God is always present in our lives, even when we don’t feel near to Him. A real relationship with God takes work on our part because the righteousness we receive when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us goes against our innate sinful nature. Don’t mistake me when I say it takes work for us to mature in faith for me speaking about works because there is nothing we can do in ourselves to obtain salvation apart from putting our belief and faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross for our salvation (Titus 3:4-7). When we redirect our focus away from ourselves and onto putting our trust in the Almighty Savior of the world, the realization is mind blowing just to how when we go through difficult times, God is there bestowing blessings in your life.
How many times have we all missed those blessings because we are lacking in our faith?
I like the old hymn that says, “Count your many blessings one by one.” How many can you count just in one day? Every morning I wake up and pray just to praise God for the new day and that He allowed me to take part in it. Sometimes that is not easy, especially when you are not really feeling up to saying thanks for another chaotic day in the life of…, or even in the midst of the everyday normalcy of whatever is going on in your life today. In the midst of it all, God is there, and we all need to slow down a little to catch up on our praising and thanksgiving. That is why the Bible says to, “Be still and know I am God.” He is in total and full control over everything. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 9:6, “Though man plans his way, God establishes His steps.” There is absolutely no way we can get this wrong even if life is currently a huge disappointment. So why not wake up and say thanks for another do over, a new start. I bought a wall hanging to put by my front door which says, “God’s mercy is renewed every morning” to remind me before I go out the door, or one of my children go off to school that it is a new day and God is in control. The big thing I have learned in my life is that, God can only be in full and total control when we let go and let God take over our lives.
Reflection
Describe what true faith is as presented in Hebrews 11:1-3?
What is the consequence of deliberately defying God after receiving knowledge of those sinful actions? (Hebrews 10:26-31)
What 3 things did Paul say that happens when we let go of trying to be good by ourselves and having faith in the righteousness of God? What knowledge do we gain by faith?
What changes take place in the life of a new believer in Christ? Ephesians 4:17-28
What does the walk of a believer who has the Holy Spirit as a helper look like? Ephesians 4:29-32
What things shouldn’t be a part of a believer’s life and what things should they practice? Ephesians 5:1-13
God is Present
I am certain now that it was more loving for God to forgive us by sending His son, Jesus to die on the cross for my transgressions, than it was for me to come to a point in my life where I could accept His grace and forgiveness for my sins. I endlessly tortured myself with what all I had experienced in life against what I was taught was sin, but did it anyway; I thought I could never be forgiven for all I had done. I am sure many feel the same way at some point or either never come to the realization that choosing right from wrong, sin from living righteously has deathly consequences. At least that is how I felt for a long time before totally surrendering my life to follow His Word and really live God’s way in my life.
I stumble and fall when I am drawn away from His presence, and He is there to pick me up reassuring me no matter how many times I fail, He will always carry me through every victory or loss. There are times in my life I could have sworn I never felt His presence even though He promised He would never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). I realized that I couldn’t feel His presence because my life I chose to live at the time was opposite of who a Christian should act. When we look closely at those times in our lives, it becomes clear that false doctrines out there influence us because we like to have our ears tickled with things we want to hear, so we can keep living a lie that defies the truth of the whole word of God. God is always present in our lives, even when we don’t feel near to Him. A real relationship with God takes work on our part because the righteousness we receive when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us goes against our innate sinful nature. Don’t mistake me when I say it takes work for us to mature in faith for me speaking about works because there is nothing we can do in ourselves to obtain salvation apart from putting our belief and faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross for our salvation (Titus 3:4-7). When we redirect our focus away from ourselves and onto putting our trust in the Almighty Savior of the world, the realization is mind blowing just to how when we go through difficult times, God is there bestowing blessings in your life.
How many times have we all missed those blessings because we are lacking in our faith?
I like the old hymn that says, “Count your many blessings one by one.” How many can you count just in one day? Every morning I wake up and pray just to praise God for the new day and that He allowed me to take part in it. Sometimes that is not easy, especially when you are not really feeling up to saying thanks for another chaotic day in the life of…, or even in the midst of the everyday normalcy of whatever is going on in your life today. In the midst of it all, God is there, and we all need to slow down a little to catch up on our praising and thanksgiving. That is why the Bible says to, “Be still and know I am God.” He is in total and full control over everything. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 9:6, “Though man plans his way, God establishes His steps.” There is absolutely no way we can get this wrong even if life is currently a huge disappointment. So why not wake up and say thanks for another do over, a new start. I bought a wall hanging to put by my front door which says, “God’s mercy is renewed every morning” to remind me before I go out the door, or one of my children go off to school that it is a new day and God is in control. The big thing I have learned in my life is that, God can only be in full and total control when we let go and let God take over our lives.
Reflection
Describe what true faith is as presented in Hebrews 11:1-3?
What is the consequence of deliberately defying God after receiving knowledge of those sinful actions? (Hebrews 10:26-31)
What 3 things did Paul say that happens when we let go of trying to be good by ourselves and having faith in the righteousness of God? What knowledge do we gain by faith?
What changes take place in the life of a new believer in Christ? Ephesians 4:17-28
What does the walk of a believer who has the Holy Spirit as a helper look like? Ephesians 4:29-32
What things shouldn’t be a part of a believer’s life and what things should they practice? Ephesians 5:1-13
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