Unit 5, Day 5: God Speaks Through Prayer

"Prayer is a relationship, not just a religious activity." The sad fact is that far too many believers find prayer a religious activity rather than an encounter with Him. Some see it as a boring duty, but prayer is perhaps the greatest delight of being a follower of Jesus Christ. One of my favorite quotes regarding prayer is, "Prayer ceases to become prayer, when it stops coming from the heart."
Are you having trouble finding the desire to pray? Is it difficult for you to be quiet and still long enough to wait on Him? Are you a "go" person, one who needs to accomplish things and always be busy?
Try to begin viewing prayer as an appointment with God. Set a time, write it in your appointment book, allow plenty of time to speak, listen, wait and worship, and make sure that you keep your appointment with Him daily. Your life will change. Remember...life and ministry are empty and void apart from your remaining in Christ (John 15:5).

Unit 5, Day 2: God Speaks by the Holy Spirit

I'm hoping that by now the Lord has begun to awaken your soul to hearing His voice. Don't forget, it's much easier to hear His voice when we are engaged in daily Bible study, prayer, and being a part of the body of Christ (the church), rather than merely attending a Sunday church service. God speaks through the pastor, but He speaks even more so through the many different people and the gifts God has given them that make up the body of Christ.

Respond Immediately
Has God revealed something to you that you are sensing you need to respond to immediately? Perhaps this response will cause you to exercise great faith. We would love for you to share your experience in this Blog and if you do, we would like to back you up in prayer so that you are able to respond immediately to His voice.

Unit 4, Day 2: Worship God

Worshiping God Through Prayer
In the lesson entitled, "Worship God," the authors of Experiencing God teach us how to worship God using His names and Scripture. Too often we rely solely on music to bring us into an atmosphere of worship. But as we have learned in this study, worshiping God is giving Him worth for who He is based on what Scripture says about Him. Years ago I learned a valuable lesson in worship and that was to worship God in prayer. So often we think that the purpose of prayer is to ask God for something and await His response. Prayer is so much more than that. Using the list of names on page 268 in your workbook, begin developing the habit of calling out to God using His names. Don't ask for anything, just thank Him. Worship Him. Adore Him. Try spending 10 minutes each day just calling upon Him and you will notice a change in your prayer life, your worship time and your personal interaction with the One who created you and Redeemed you back to Himself.

Unit 3, Day 3: Walking With God

The day 3 study introduces an assignment of spending at least 30 minutes alone with God, simply taking a walk with Him, praying to Him and allowing your soul to connect with your Creator.

We would like to hear from you. What did God do during your walk? What did you do for your walk with Him? Perhaps others reading this could benefit and be encouraged by your experience.

Unit 2, Day 4: God Speaks to His People

Hearing God speak to your soul can be one of the most profound experiences a person can have in his or her life. The authors of Experiencing God point out four ways God speaks to His people in the 4th reality listed in the back cover of your Experiencing God workbook. Those four ways are through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church. If you are not daily opening yourself up to these 4 ways, you most likely will not be hearing from God as clearly as you could be.
The Bible: Not just a book to read, the living Word of God. Read it, memorize it, meditate on it and study it. If this is a problem for you let me ask you a question? Which would you prefer....watching an hour or two of television each night or knowing the Word of God?
Knowing God's voice comes from an intimate love relationship with God
Prayer: Not just reciting a ritualistic prayer that you were taught years ago, but calling out to God with a sense of desperation, knowing that He has your entire life in His hands. Thanking Him in prayer, confessing your sins to Him in prayer, praying for others to come to know Him, growing to love Him in prayer. Praying with others frequently. Staying in prayer for more than 5 minutes (ever pray for an entire hour?). Waiting with expectation in prayer to hear from God.
Knowing God's voice comes from an intimate love relationship with God
Circumstances: Coming to the realization that every experience in your life is not just by chance, but that God Sovereignly ordains everthing that happens to you. You need to figure out what God's purpose is in it all.
Knowing God's voice comes from an intimate love relationship with God
The Church: Not just attending a Sunday morning church service, but being a part of the church...giving back to the church and the people of that fellowship through serving, loving and knowing them. You might not hear from God that clearly if you are just attending a church service with no other active Christian fellowship experience in your life.
Knowing God's voice comes from an intimate love relationship with God

Unit 2, Day 2: God's Plans Versus Our Plans

The Experiencing God study continues to stress the truth that we are to find out what God is doing or what He is about to do and join Him. Here is a question I have for anyone who is reading this: What do you think God is about to do in our church? What do you see Him doing? What is the yearning of your heart for our church? Perhaps we could get a list going.

I've been thinking about the Karla Faye Tucker story referenced at the end of Unit 2, day 1. Our summary statements are that we must deny ourselves, focus on God's purposes (not our own), see things from God's perspective, wait to see what God is about to do, and watch to see what God is doing around us. For someone on death row, it seems like there would be two main options... to give in to hopelessness because your life is over, or turn everything over to God and let him take complete control and submit totally to His plans for you. God really used her story and I was amazed at reading about it on wikipedia. I think that we as "free" Christians have too many options sometimes. Maybe we think that our plans are better than Gods or that His plans don't really apply to us, because we are content doing our own thing. Really, our lives apart from joining in God's plans for them, are as futile as if we were like Karla in prison on death row, awaiting our execution in a dark and empty cell, with no way out and no motivation to even attempt an escape. But if we turn our lives over to God like Karla did, and engage fully in His calling to us... we can be used powerfully, even if we are awaiting an exection and shut up in some prison somewhere. there is no shutting out God's presence and purpose to any of God's children who seek Him, because His love is too great to be interupted by concrete or barbed wire. Robert

Unit 2, Day 1: God Centered Living

One of the most difficult God-Centered decisions I have made in my life was to pursue overseas missionary ministry 20 years ago. I can remember yielding myself to God's plan, sometimes not completely sure what was going to happen next. One of the first things I had to do, was to change my thinking and one of the first things I can remember God leading me to do was to abandon the "American Dream." The pursuit of the American Dream was what I was bread to pursue, but letting going of it was painful. I had quit my job, sold my things and was headed towards Bible college. The next step was to sell my car...ouch! I can remember taking the car to the person I had sold it to praying and crying out the Lord, "This hurts, how can I live without a car?!" Looking back on that experience, I can see that it took alot of faith to embrace such a concept.

How about you? What areas of your life do you need to abandon to live a God-Centered life?

We would love to read your faith experiences. Please post a comment or a prayer request.

Unit 1, Day 5: God Works Through His Servants, Part 2

What Can God Do Through You?
Not only does God desire to use you in great ways on this earth, He most likely has been calling you for all long time to begin the assignment He has created you for.

How Do You Discover Your Assignment?
The best way to align yourself with what God is doing and what He has called you to do while on this earth is to begin asking Him. Pray. Pray daily. Pray earnestly. Pray without ceasing.
Continue to do the Experiencing God study and learn how God speaks to His people.
Get to know other Christians, especially in the church. Do not just attend Sunday Service. Open yourself to others. It might not be easy, but you will experience the rewards if you do so.
Get involved. Start serving God somewhere, somehow. In time, He will lead you into the place where He created you to be so that He can use you.

Don't forget to review you memory verse, share it with someone else, post a prayer need on this blog, reach out to someone else.

Unit 1, Day 4: God Works Through His Servants, Part 1

As you might have already discovered from the first four days of the Experiencing God study, it might not be as easy as you bargained for! Well, don't get discouraged and give up. The changes God calls us to are always good. God has our best interest in mind. Yes, this takes faith and action and moving beyond our comfort zone, but what would life be like, if at the end of our days all that we could have done for His Kingdom and all that we could have been and accomplished in this life never happened because we did not take the invitations God was offering us throughout our lives. If you read the story of Moses, you will learn that he was somewhat resistant to some of God's invitations. But God gave Him the grace to overcome.

What about you? What might God be calling you to do? Where might He be calling you to make a change in your life, correct a relationship gone wrong, purify a part of your life that only you and He know about, be honest in integrity in an area that you have bordered on the edge of deception? God is inviting you. Be honest with Him about your feelings, fears and insecurities. Moses was (Exodus 4:1-17). You are not alone. Many have gone before you and many stand alongside you. You can do it! You can become great in God's sight. If you remain in Him, you will bear much fruit (John 15:5).

I would like to agree with George that spending time with Jesus is the thing that always keeps me from burnout. The memory verse for this unit 1 has been on my mind this week so far. Remaining in Jesus... spending time in His presence... that is the only way we can do anything. Time with God has to be the most valuable thing in my life, and I continue to strive to remain in Him each day. It is a discipline that we develop and maintain throughout our whole Christian lives. Its the only way we can be fruitful.
Robert

Unit 1, Day 3: Learning to Be a Servant of God

As a Christian for over 30 years now, I have been involved in all different kinds of ministries.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned in and through these ministries of service is that if I ever attempt to serve God disconnected from Him, I will burn out.

Have you ever been in such a place? I have. That's why I guard my time with Jesus each day above all else and I would encourage you to do the same also. Perhaps you are not serving God in a ministry role, but you are wearing numerous hats in the various roles of life. Do you ever feel like it's just too much? Why not take that weight to the Lord? Get alone, put on some soft music or ever better yet, some Christian worship...quiet yourself and tell God all about it...your troubles, your burdens, your concerns; the weight you are carrying. Sit in silence for a moment. Open the Bible. Read what it says. Ask God to lead you, to refresh you, to help you.

Try it again tomorrow.

Are you currently serving in a ministry role? Feeling a bit overwhelmed these days? Why not gather a few of your co-laborers together before engaging in ministry and wait on the Lord together. You might just experience a dramatic change not only in you, but in the livesof those you are ministering to.

Are you feeling really overwhelmed? Submit a prayer request in the comments section and we will pray for you.

Unit 1, Day 2: Jesus Is Your Model

What is God's Will?
In today's lesson, the author points out the importance of knowing God's will first, rather than trying to find out what His perfect will for our individual life is. The answer to this question is clear because God reveals His will to us in the Bible. The difficult part comes when He calls us to obey. Once we find out what that will is and we continue to do otherwise... well, that's called sin and we all do that!

God is always at work around you
Take a moment now and review your day. If you are doing this in the morning, think about yesterday. Stop. Pause. Wait. Pray: "Father God, as I consider my day, please show me when and where You were at work around me. In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, I ask You to give me insight to where You were working and perhaps what You are calling me join with You in." Stop. Pause. Wait. Be Still. Now consider what God might be trying to show you. The individual you came in contact with who was hurting. The opportunity to share Christ's love with someone else. A situation in your family. Write down your insights now. Share them with another believer.


Did you review your memory verse today? (John 15:5)

Unit1, Day 1: Jesus Is Your Way

I want to start this first entry in the Experiencing Blog by welcoming you. Our desire at New Life is to see you grow closer to Jesus Christ and experience all that He has for you. Walking with Jesus is so much more than going to church, reading your Bible and doing good things. An intimate walk with Jesus radically changes your life. Bad habits are broken, hidden talents emerge, and in some cases, you find yourself in a place or situation that you would have never dreamed of. You see, God loves you and has wonderful things planned for your life starting right now!

If you have not already read the first lesson in the Experiencing God workbook, please do so now. This blog will have little impact in your life without the book. The real benefits will come when you get alone, in a quiet place with God, study the book and allow the Holy Spirit of God to speak to your soul.

Have you ever come to the place in your life where you asked God in complete honesty to show you what to do and regardless of what He showed you, or where He called you to go, you would obey? This is a difficult question to ask God. It is a BIG question and a question of great faith. The author of the workbook highlights the story of Abraham's response to God's command over his life (Genesis 12:1-5). Through Abraham's many acts of obedience, God greatly blessed him and today he remains the father of faith.

I can remember a time back in 1986 when the Lord spoke to my soul in a similar way. Twenty-two years later I have traveled around the world and have seen God work in amazing ways not only in my life but in the lives of those around me. If I had not obeyed, I would have missed out on some of the best times of my life.

What about you? What is God trying to get your attention about? Stop. Pause. Be Still...ask Him...Father God, speak to my soul, what have you created me for. Am I doing what you want or I am headed in the wrong direction? Now wait. Write down what comes to your mind. Share this with another believer. This might be something God wants you to pursue more.

Each week we will be memorizing Scripture together. Week 1 memory verse:
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Coming Soon: Experiencing God

God is inviting you to experience Him in a deeper, more intimate way. He desires for you to experience Him in a real love relationship through which He reveals His ways, His will, and His work. Beginning in April, New Life Community Church will enter into a season of Experiencing God. If you have not already done so, please purchase the Experiencing God workbook. This blog is to be used as a tool with the workbook. This blog is especially designed for those who are not currently attending a small group. The weekly posts will help you process through the things you are learning in your daily readings. Please feel free to post questions, insights, personal victories and challenges, in addition to your prayer needs.