God is the Creator of All Beginnings

I am thankful for new beginnings. I look forward to the New Year each January. Not for the cold weather, but for a chance to clean out the clutter in my life (and closets), that has accumulated over the past year. As Paul says in Philippians 3:13 – “…Forgetting what is behind and pressing toward what is ahead.” – I am grateful for what the New Year brings. We need that fresh start every once in awhile to help us refocus on what's important and what can go!

God is all about new beginnings as well. Take a look at what Lamentations 3:22-24 says about His compassions (love) for us – “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are NEW every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say to myself, The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him.” Isn’t it exciting to know we can have a clean slate every morning; a fresh start to every day? Make sure you take advantage of His compassions and thank Him for this privilege.

Genesis means: beginning or origin of: the world, human history, family, a nation, civilization and salvation. As the book of beginnings, Genesis sets the stage for the entire Bible. It reveals:
· the person and nature of God. (Creator, Sustainer, Judge, Redeemer)
· the value and dignity of human beings. (made in God’s image, saved by grace, used by God)
· the tragedy and consequences of sin. (the fall, separation from God, judgment)
· the promise and assurance of salvation. (covenant, forgiveness, promised Messiah)

A blueprint for beginnings in the first book of the Bible would look like:

• The Beginning of Life – Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 (Creation)
• The Beginning of Man – Genesis 2:4 - 5:32 (Adam, Eve and their family)
• The New Beginning – Genesis 6:1 – 11:32 (Noah and the flood)
• The Beginning of a Great Nation – Genesis 12:1 – 25:18 (Abraham and Sarah)
• The Beginning of Family – Genesis 25:19 – 36:43 (Isaac, Jacob, Esau)
• The New Beginning for a Family – Genesis 37:1 – 50:26 (Jacob, Joseph and his brothers)
  

What needs a new beginning in your life? Is it your relationship with God? Join our online Bible study, it's guaranteed to give your spiritual life the new beginning it needs. www.pathfinderministries.org/study.html Has the hurt and pain from unforgiveness affected your relationship with others in your life? Are you holding on to the guilt and shame from your past that you just can't forgive yourself for?

God wants to heal all these areas of your life and give you a new beginning. Remember that His love never fails and His mercies are NEW every morning! There’s no limit to His faithfulness…You can’t use it up! Go to Him and tell Him your hurts. He may already know, but He wants to hear you acknowledge what you’re feeling. He wants to know you are ready to move on; to start over. First John 1:9 assures us that “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – which means He wipes the slate clean; He allows us to begin anew.

Are you ready for a new beginning? Ask God-the Creator of all beginnings-to provide you with the hope and grace only He can give and make sure to take advantage of His new mercies EVERY day!

Online Class: Like Abraham, we must learn the importance of obedience to God. Share with us what obedience looks like in your own life. Also, how are others affected by your disobedience? Thanks for sharing...you'll never know what an encouragement you are to others!

Do you read or heed God's Word?

Is there a difference between reading the Bible and studying the Bible? Do you consider yourself one who reads the Bible for facts and information or in order to gain wisdom and understanding of God's Word and how you can apply it to your life? As we prepare for our journey through the Bible, one book at a time, I thought it would be good to recognize what the purpose of studying the Bible really is.

The first step in preparing to study the Bible should always be prayer. Asking the Holy Spirit to guide and guard your heart and mind is essential. Remember, the Enemy will try to distract and disrupt your study time with God every chance he gets.

Based on Psalm 25:4-5, we see three components of what we are to study the Bible for: "Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truths and teach me, for you are God my Savior and my hope is in you all day long."

1) David is asking God to "show me your ways." In order to be shown something, we have to look at it. We have to be willing to see what God's ways are and want to follow them. If we're not studying His Word, we will never know what to look for. Whose ways have you been following? Yours, God's or the Enemy's? Do you know how to tell the difference between the three?

2) David also asks God to "teach me your paths." In order to be taught, we must be willing to learn what God's Word means. This requires some work and effort. This is the part of Bible study that people want to skip over because learning takes too much time. They would rather read or listen to what someone else tells them it means, then to find out for themselves. Are you teachable? Do you desire to learn God's paths or are you content with living your life following your own or better yet, someone elses path?

3) David continues to ask God to "guide me in your truth." In order to be guided, we must be willing to listen to instruction and follow what it says. Are you dependent on a GPS to guide you to your desired destination? Do you listen intently to and faithfully follow the instructions on where to turn, which direction to go and when to re-route your course, if necessary? Then you are willing to be guided. Are you just as willing to listen to God's truth and instructions from His Word and be guided in the direction He wants you to go? Or do you prefer to map out your own course and be your own guide?

4) Finally, David acknowledges God for who He is, "you are God my Savior" and confirms that "my hope is in you all day long." In other words, David is willing to lean on God for all his needs. He's willing to surrender control of his life. Knowing that his hope is in God and His Word, David can continue to grow in wisdom and understanding. In taking this action of surrender, he will be better able to understand God's ways, follow His paths and be guided by His truth.

Where are you today? Are you just interested in learning the facts about the Bible or are you wanting to know, understand and apply what it says to your life personally? If so, I encourage you to join our online study, Know the Bible. I know this is the desire of over 70 women who have signed up for this study! I am so excited to see what God is going to show us, how He's going to teach us and where He's going to guide us over the next year.

Online Class: Don't forget to post your verse(s) this week.

Top Ten Reasons for Personal Bible Study

As we begin our new study, Know the Bible, we want to start by looking at why we need to have a personal Bible study time. From the following list, keep track of how many of the benefits you are personally experiencing in your life today?

1) To settle the issue of our own salvation. Many believers struggle with assurance of salvation. Knowing that our salvation is God's number one purpose for sending His Son to die for our sins, I think He wants us to be secure in this area. If you are unsure, I suggest you read the book of I John "so that you can know you have eternal life" (I John 5:13).

2) To grow spiritually. Are you still a baby Christian living off the milk when you should be eating the meat of the Word? Just as our physical bodies need food to survive, our souls need the spiritual food of the Bible. What is your "spiritual age"?

3) To receive personal blessing and encouragement. Meditating on God's promises encourage us to persevere in our own Christian life with comfort and hope. What promises are you clinging to today? Do you even know His promises?

4) To receive personal guidance. Many times the Bible addresses our specific situation and other times it doesn't. Through studying the Bible, we learn what the will of God is and experience His direction. Do your personal decisions contradict or line up with the Scriptures?

5) To defend ourselves against the devil. When we read about the Armor of God in Ephesians 6, we see that the Bible, the Sword of the Spirit, is our only weapon! When we know God's Word and apply it to our lives, we will be able to overcome the devil's temptations. What are you using as your defense in your spiritual battle?

6) To effectively teach God's truth to the next generation. Deuteronomy 6:7 tells us that we are to diligently teach the next generation the things/truths of God. If we don't know what those truths are, how will the next generation know? We can't just assume they will learn them on their own.

7) To be able to counsel others. God wants to use us to provide knowledge about what He has said in His Word to others. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another" (Colossians 3:16). Are you able to give people godly advice and back it up with God's Words when they come to you for counsel?

8) To be ready to speak with unbelievers about Christ. Peter advises that we are to "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (I Peter 3:15). We need to be ready; not with a sermon or a lecture, but with humility and respect, to give the reason why are hope is in God. Do you know what you will say when asked?

9) To verify that the teaching of others is the truth of God. A group of early Christians "searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things (that Paul was teaching) were so" (Acts 17:11). There were false teachers, distorting the Truth, even in Bible times. Our world is full of "men/women of God" teaching things that are not from God's Word. Are you easily swayed to follow a teacher/preacher because they have a message that sounds good? Do you know God's Word well enough to identify the lies?

10) To present ourselves approved to God. Learning God's truth involves the work of studying. "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). We are God's workmanship and our Foreman has the right to examine us and our work. God's Word does just that. It shows us areas of our life that need to be challenged, corrected and changed, so that one day we will stand before Him and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant. (Matthew 25:21). Are you ready for your examination?
*Information taken from How to Study the Bible. Robert West (2007) Barbour Publishing.

There you have it. The top ten reasons why we need a personal Bible study. How many were you able to say you are experiencing today? Alot? A few? None? Either way, we can continue to learn, grow and prepare ourselves by studying God's Word. How? If you have not signed up for our free, online class, why not do it today? You will receive lessons to work on during the week, encouragement and support from other women doing the same study you are, an opportunity to share prayer requests and much more. For more information, visit http://www.pathfinderministries.org/study.html

ONLINE CLASS: What is your word for the year? I am anxious to hear what God has shown you that He wants you to focus on.

Developing Self-Control

We've come to the final fruit of the Spirit:: self-control. Any wonder the list begins with love and ends with self-control? Personally I think, out of all nine, they are the most difficult part of the fruit to exhibit! As we have been learning, God is continuing to develop this fruit in our life and wants to make it a part of our character, so that our character will reflect the character of His Son, Jesus.

We all know what self-control, or the lack of it, looks like! Proverbs 25:28 describes it as: "Like a city whose walls are broken down, is a man who lacks self-control." When we have "lost it" and our walls are broken down, we are vulnerable to attacks from our Enemy. We have lost our security and protection. We cannot afford to be defenseless and open to temptations because of our lack of self-control.

Let's look at three verses from I Peter that remind us of the importance of being self-controlled.

1) I Peter 1:13 - "... prepare your minds for action, be self-controlled ...." We must be prepared for action; for battle against the Enemy. We must not allow our unreliable feelings and our unpredictable thoughts to interfere with our actions. We must be self-controlled in our thinking.

2) I Peter 4:7 - "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray." Have you ever tried to pray when your mind is full of "stuff"? All the stuff you have to do, the things that people have said, your worries and concerns, etc. Peter is pointing out that in order to be self-controlled and able to pray, we must be clear-minded. When does it seem that the Enemy strikes the easiest? When our mind is scattered and focused on the "stuff" of our life. Don't let this lack of self-control lead to an inability to pray!

3) I Peter 5: 8 - "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." When we lack self-control, we are not alert to our surroundings. We are focused on ourselves and satisfying our own desires....Watch Out! When our "walls are broken" and we are unprotected is when the Enemy will attack. We must be alert. We must realize that Satan is on the prowl. He's not sleeping in a corner somewhere, he is watching and waiting for our most vulnerable time to pounce on us and if we're not in control and alert, we will fall prey. Also notice, he doesn't just want to scare us or nip at our heels, his plan is to devour us! Destroy us! Defeat us! Depress us! Whatever it takes to make us uneffective for God's purposes. Don't be caught off guard.

My challenge for you today is to check "your walls." Are they broken down by lack of self-control in your life? Is your mind clear from distractions so that you are prepared for action and can pray? How alert are you to the Enemy's schemes? When we lack self-control, we lack focus on our surroundings.

The secret to self-control is Christ's control. If you have not done so yet, I'd encourage you to simply ask Him to take control of your life right now. You don't need to do this all on your own. Then, as you face temptations that are too strong for you to resist, remember that He is with you and you can turn them over to Him.

Remember, God provides the power to change your life!