Friday, June 28, 2013

God's Sovereignty, Part 2

Day 2 Continued:

Day 2's theme revolved around the Sovereignty of God. The author pulls verses from the bible that focus on this truth. Again, the objective is to see what God is saying to me, during this process. How do I understand God's sovereignty through the words in each verse? When I worked through this assignment, I literally wrote from my heart, completing verse after verse. 


Below, the remaining verses of Day 2's assignment (pg. #'s for my reference w/in my bible):
If you are interested in re-reading Part 1, or have yet to read Part 1, click here.

Deuteronomy 8:18 (pg. 266)
But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

My thoughts: When our lives hit a positive stride, it is easy for us to forget God. When the sun shines, money is in our account, and our relationships are strong, it is easy to take these blessings for granted. We are the reason things are so good, right? Because we are the ones moving through life making these things happen? We may think this, but it’s not true. Often, we aren’t actively relying on God until we hit adversity. Struggle brings awareness of our humanity to the forefront of our minds. We need to remember that God provides for us. God allows us to succeed. We have to recognize God in all of the good we experience, taking time to praise Him for these gifts.

John 3:7 (pg. 1743)
You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’

My thoughts: We must make a choice; a spiritual choice. There is a certain time in our lives (sometimes more than one) where we need to go through our suitcase of all we have been taught and exposed to, then throw out all that is not true for ourselves, but retaining what we believe. We need to choose to be guided by the Holy Spirit and saved by the Son. We must choose to repent for all of our sins, asking for forgiveness. We need to choose to allow God to not just enter our lives, but to live our lives, however long the journey takes.

Proverbs 16:4 (pg. 1013)
The Lord works out everything for his own ends – even the wicked for a day of disaster.

My thoughts: God uses everything to His advantage – including evil. God did not create evil, but He does use it to further His purpose.  God is perfect. God is good. God hates evil. God is a loving god. Nothing is greater than God, not even evil, and He can use evil deeds, evil inventions, to benefit His purpose, His plan. God will destroy evil someday. Until then, He will use it for His good purposes. 

Romans 9:17 (pg. 1897)
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

My thoughts: God wills us to express His power, with the intent that the glory be given to him here on earth. By working miracles through us, by placing us in certain positions, He is able to show us His power. By the coming together of people, in God, God is able to follow through on His promises. We have a duty to give credit to Him, therefore, spreading His name throughout the world. But the same goes for punishment. If we forsake God’s commands, refusing to obey Him, God will use His power to harden our hearts, driving us further from Him. The further we go into sin, the further we get from God. We will be able to see God’s power represented on earth by sharing in His glory with each other, proclaiming His name; and we will be able to see His power in the punishment of those who turn away from God, refusing His intercession. 

Romans 9:17 (pg. 1897)
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

My thoughts: God wills us to express His power, with the intent that the glory be given to him here on earth. By working miracles through us, by placing us in certain positions, He is able to show us His power. By the coming together of people, in God, God is able to follow through on His promises. We have a duty to give credit to Him, therefore, spreading His name throughout the world. But the same goes for punishment. If we forsake God’s commands, refusing to obey Him, God will use His power to harden our hearts, driving us further from Him. The further we go into sin, the further we get from God. We will be able to see God’s power represented on earth by sharing in His glory with each other, proclaiming His name; and we will be able to see His power in the punishment of those who turn away from God, refusing His intercession.

John 6:37 (pg. 1752)
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

Before I could reflect on God's Sovereignty, I had to read the context around this verse, because I was clueless in just reading this one verse. I read from verse 35-40:

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  

My thoughts: God’s main purpose is to bring His children back to Him, through the Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is expressing God’s sovereignty in human form. We are all that God has given Jesus, and Jesus works with God to save each one of us. NO matter who we are, if we walk up to Jesus, recognizing him as God’s Son, our Savior, Jesus will not turn us away from him. We can find God’s protection in the arms of Jesus. We have the opportunity to know God, in the arms of Jesus. God is using Jesus to reach us, to wrap His heavenly arms around our human selves, wanting us to be with Him.

John 19:11 (pg. 1783)
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.

My thoughts: This is in reference to Jesus being handed over to Pontius Pilate. Unless God gives power to the man that delivered Jesus to Pilate, then that man that handed Jesus over to be charged by Pilate has sinned greater. This is because he calculated the murder of Jesus, knowing that giving him to Pilate would lead to his death. If we are talking about today, we can relate this to the fact that, unless given by God, we do not have any power over another individual. When we take things into our own hands, at the expense of others, we are committing sin. It is only by the will of God that power can be given. God is the power, therefore only He can distribute this power.

Job 42:2 (pg. 820)
“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.”

My thoughts: If God wills it, nothing can intervene. If God sets something in motion, no one can stop it. If God put a plan into action, nothing and no one can alter that plan. God has final say in all things. No one is above God. No one is greater than God. 

~ ~ ~

At the close of the lesson, I am to read the prayer, this time with the emphasis on the second word:

~ Psalm 25:4-5 ~
4 Show me your ways, O Lord, 
teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me, 
for you are God my Savior.

When I focused on the word me, my first thought was my God given self

I have been praying for God to reveal my God given identity. I believe this is why I am feeling my "box" stretched. I was recently in a conversation with my mom, expressing my discomfort in my growth. I told her how I felt that God was asking me to go outside my box, my comfort zone. Her response was that I'm not being pushed outside my box, my box just got bigger. I liked hearing that. It gave me a new mental image that was more pleasing. 

My awareness of this growing box came from just before The Paisley Butterfly. I had gotten comfortable in my solitude, but God was ready to release me back out into the world. About a month after moving into this rental, I was called to start this blog. This is a big deal for me. I do not interact on any social network, making this a huge transition. I felt vulnerable, scared. Until God gave me a beautiful vision of Jesus walking with me. I would not be doing this alone. While I was immensely uncomfortable with what I perceived to be a drastic change in my life, I found peace in knowing that this was God's will. 

More recently, I was called to share my prayer study on this very blog. All of those feelings from the birth of this venture came rushing back. This was when I brought up my feelings, of being pushed outside of my box, with my mother. I was aware of growth and instead of picturing a swapping out of boxes, I saw my original box being stretched, and remolded, larger than before, giving me space and time to settle into this duty and pleasure. And once I hit a level of comfort, I am sure my box is to be further stretched. 
************************************************************************************************************************************
For credit purposes, the Prayer Study I am using is: 
Live A Praying Life, New and Revised Anniversary Addition 
Jennifer Kennedy Dean ~ www.prayinglife.org 
This is not an endorsement. This just happens to be the prayer study I am using, and I have decided to share my study experience, here on The Paisley Butterfly

My Bible: Life Application Study Bible, New International Version Zandervanbibles.com. 
Why I like this bible: There are extensive notes on the verses. Each page has more notes:bible verse ratio. 

Here is a link to an online bible -- there are other online bibles out there, this one just happens to be the one I use most. 

Again, listing my bible references is not for the purpose of endorsement, but an effort to appropriate credit to materials used.

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