I have loved reading all your comments about what stands out about meno to each of you. How lovely and loving that God embraces us and we get to abide in Him! Thank you for continuing to share and study with us!
If you have any questions about how this study works, we’ve answered most of them here.
Catching up? That’s okay! We’ll leave the videos up, so you can take your time.
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Okay, now onto the video! We’ve posted the questions to answer in the comments and your study assignment for the week below.
Questions to answer in the comments:
- Describe a time when the Lord helped you overcome something. (page 107)
- How does the truth of God’s pursuing love for you silence your biggest fears? (page 116)
- Why do you think obeying God’s commands is synonymous with loving Him?
This week, complete Session 5: Experiencing the Word. I look forward to reading your comments and meeting back here next week!
1. During my young adulthood I spent years in 12 step recovery for adult children of alcoholics and dysfunctional families as well as codependency. Through that process with Jesus as my higher power I overcame wounds and false beliefs that were crippling. Praise God.
2. I feel like I mean so much to God. He would have sent Jesus even if he knew that it was just for me. Thank goodness it is not just me. I belong to God and I am part of this amazing family. This body of believers. The church.
3. When I obey God’s commands I am placing myself in direct alignment with God. That demonstrates my love as it is respectful and worshipful and trusting. I become more like Jesus and therefore place myself in a better position to serve God and build His kingdom here on Earth.
I am very late with my comments but I have been away.
1. God helped me overcome the guilt and shame I felt because I believed the lie that I had been unfaithful when in fact I had been abused. I was set free by the truth.
2. I fear that God won’t act on my behalf and my life will continue to be difficult but God loves me so much that he will always act on my behalf and His love is greater than any disappointment.
3. When we love someone we want to please them. Obeying God pleases Him.
1: For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with wanting to be liked. I used to be made fun of and had trouble making friends. God has blessed me with a few good friends and even though none of them live in the same town, we still try to get together at least once a year. I think it has taught me to have a more tender heart. It is still frustrating and something I still struggle with, but my ultimate acceptance has to be in Him.
2: Another thing related is I struggle with being single when I have dreamt of being married and having a family since I was little. I have to remind myself that if God loves me, His plan will ultimately be good.
3: I think when you love someone you want to please them and at the same time knowing they love you makes it easier to trust the. And therefore be more willing to obey.
1. Describe a time when the Lord helped you overcome something. (page 107)
2. How does the truth of God’s pursuing love for you silence your biggest fears? (page 116)
3. Why do you think obeying God’s commands is synonymous with loving Him?
I love that verse in John I think that says God id bigger that my heart, feelings emotions. I have victory in Christ. When I remember this it gives me peace and I also remember that nothing is a surprise to God.
Obeying God is an action we demonstrate because my love for Him makes me what to Glorify Him.
The Lord is constantly helping me overcome things especially worry. I worry a lot and have to continually give it back to God. And the worrying causes me to create crazy scenarios in my mind.
When my mother had a stroke that put her in the hospital and from there to the convalescent home. I had never been home alone before. (I had always had someone at home day or night when I was single or married . I was 60+ yrs old. I was crying asking God why was having to be alone? When in my spirit in heard Him say to me “you’re not alone I am with you”. The fear left me now I can be alone with no fear. God has been great to me.
I know keeps His promise to us. When we obey God we can know always God never leaves us.
1) I have see God help me overcome so much but these days he is showing me that he is helping to over the effects of being bullied for two years by my supervisor . It is amazing that she has almost been gone for a year but those words she spoke still affect me at times but I see as I believe who I am with God he helps me change. The hardest part of those two years was the fear of losing my job but also fear of depression and mental illness. Shi had to learn to trust God and what he spoke to me about who I was. There was time of forgiveness etc. sometimes it is still amazing as I see where I was to where I am.
2 when I was studying this it really spoke to me about how his love for me helps me to place my trust in him. Looking back as I have dealt with fear I was dealing it with my own strength and that often did not work and usually left me in a ball of fear. The fears would become irrational and so strong. For me one of the biggest fear was to deal with depression and mental health. There was a time that I was scared to share my feelings because if I did then it would say I was not stable. This year I have learned that God is there for me and there are times that fear crepes up but it is so much better.
3) I think as we grasp his love for us we want to obey his command more and more. The love he has for us I s so much greater then anybody could love us. There are still times I struggle with obeying what he wants me to do or do it and question it because not everybody is goungbtonappreciate you following what Gid has told you to do
1. Wow God helped me overcome so much. I was always afraid of never being a mom. He gave me my daughter through adoption after eight years! He has helped me overcome dyslexia and I am able to have a job and help support my family. He has helped me overcome an eating disorder.
2. How has Gods love silenced my fear? By reassuring me time and time again that I am good enough. That he loves me even in my mess. I was so anxious through my daughters adoption and Gods love was my only hope of not losing it!
3. For me I want to obey God because of what he has placed in my heart. I think it is a heart issue.
1. One of my ongoing struggles is not feeling like I belong or the flip side feeling left out. Sometimes I feel unworthy. Other times I just feel alone in a room full of people. God is helping me overcome this day by day. I have a wonderful church family and a really supportive group of friends. I know God put these people in my life to help me overcome these feelings. He gave me the strength to tell my friends that I have these feelings. And he helps me focus on other things when I’m feeling left out. I have two very close friends that seem to always know when I need a text, or a call or lunch together. Again, I can feel God in these interventions of human contact. There are still times when I have a constant negative loop playing in my head – “why wasn’t I invited?” – “I shouldn’t have come” – “I will just sit by myself”…. but now I stop, I pray and I ask for God to show me where I should be. I love that he gets my thoughts going in a positive direction and puts positive people right by my side.
2. I have such a need to fix things. I want to make sure I find the best solution. When a friend is having a hard time or a problem, I want to help them. I always fear the worst if I can’t fix it or I can’t come up with a way to make it better. God’s pursuing love shows me time and again, that it is not all on my shoulders. He will fix it. He has the best solution. When I ask for help for myself and for others, God is there. His love is palpable and he is the solution.
3. God’s commands are steeped in love. Following them is all about reflecting his love in our actions. Our actions when we follow his commands are the only way we can return his love. He wants so much for us and he loves us so much and we can abide in this love, knowing that it is with us and in us as we live his commands.
I agree Debbie God’s commands create boundaries for us and the boundaries are for our own protection. Also, I can identify with what you describe in #1. It’s just Satan trying to deceive us. We need to tell him to Flee!
1) God has helped me overcome my insecurity and lack of confidence. I grew up very insecure. Because of Him and His love me, He’s pushed me beyond my own limits and shy-ness to speaking on behlalf of HIs truths to many over the past 13 years as a divorced woman of God. It’s been so humbling and so amazing to have nothing but true dependence on Him to do HIs work. WIth Him I am everything and without Him, I am nothing.
2) God’s relentless pursue of me with His undying love is hard to fully comprehend in a world that is so emotionally unstable! I have felt that I was not deserving, unworthy, not important. But learning that connection that GOD IS LOVE and nothing more.. His Love gives me love and overcomes fear.. that silences any lies that go against or any of my “trying” to understand., grasp and receive.
3) God is the Almighty, the Maker and ruler of all things and also God Is Love.. It makes sense that both loving Him and following in His ways go hand in hand. I loving parent sets rules for our good – wiser and knowing what is right.. By loving God, we do what’s right because we know that HE knows and we DON”T know.. His ways are higher than our ways.. Obedience = Love
I am a day late but caught up! This past weeks study, I felt like I dug so deeply into it. The Lord over the past few years has really been working with me in overcoming so many strongholds in my life and today when I sit and look back I am in awe. I literally have held on by a thread to our Savior during such difficult times, and rough stormy waters and he hasn’t let go! When the enemy had that stronghold over me I felt as if my world was totally going to crumble at any minute, our Lord wasn’t going to have it! His constant, never ending, always pursuing love for us, for me, silences those fears, those fears of shame, failure, disappointment) and this past week I have learn so much from this week’s study and portion of 1John (in depth) and the timing of it, I know was right in “God’s time”. Loving God … Obeying God