passing on the faith

We are right in the middle of 'Believing God' and I am, once again, learning so much. But for me the coolest thing about the study this time around is getting to do this Bible Study with my mom and my grandma. Not to mention the women from all different parts of my life who have also joined in this online study. It is a sweet community, and I am grateful.

When I was in Mesa, I found this list taped to my grandma's bathroom mirror. It's the five statements that the study is based upon, and part of the study is to memorize them. I saw them taped on her mirror, in her handwriting, and in that moment realized what a true treasure this opportunity truly is... to get to study and learn God's Word with my grandma. My heart overflows with thanksgiving for this sweet 10 weeks of growing in faith with her, and for her strong example to never stop learning God's commands and to always follow Jesus.

beth moore

Believing God kick off day

Today is the day we begin Believing God! If you're interested in joining, please do. You can go to this site to register.

Today's task is simple: Just log into your account on this page, print the listening guide and watch the 60 minute video. When you click on "View Video," six segments will appear next to the icon, and you click on each segment one at a time. When I clicked on the first segment, I had a pop-up blocker. This is a yellow strip at the top of the screen...click on the yellow strip and scroll down to, "always allow pop-ups from this site." Hopefully that will do the trick. Then go back and click on first segment again and enjoy!

I have started a google group to organize all of our conversation. If you haven't been invited to join, and would like to be, email me at beccagroves (at) gmail.com and I'll add you to the list.

Beth Moore Bible Study...

So I mentioned this a month or so ago...and here we go!

I would LOVE to have anyone who is interested to join in a bible study with me. My church offers great studies, but they are all during the day when I'm working and it just bums me out that I am missing this sort of community. But I still want the accountability of personal faith growth, so I'm excited to give this cyber-study a try.

The process of this particular study is pretty simple: five days of printed homework each week and one hour long video to watch online each weekend. The homework takes 20-30 minutes to complete (it's a bit shorter than other studies). Beth Moore is a gifted teacher, and the way she walks you through the Bible will definitely leave you changed, challenged and excited to see what God has for you next.

Now here is the thing. When I posted about his before I had just finished BELIEVING GOD and had said that I would love to do the next study LIVING BEYOND YOURSELF next. Since then, a few have mentioned that they really want to do Believeing God, and honestly, I would not mind one bit to do it again. This one really changed the way I see my God, and I would be thrilled to do it again. I would also be thrilled to do Living Beyond Yourself too.

Maybe do this: If you're interested in joining in this good time, check out the two links above and then drop me a comment or an email telling me your two cents. I'll make the call by Wednesday so we can get started on Sunday, January 10th (THIS SUNDAY! YEAH!). I'll have instructions on how to purchase the study for $23.95, which includes the homework printout worksheets and online videos.

More details to come on how we'll interact as a group through email, but for now, just consider joining this study if you need a season of growth with your God. I promise you will not regret it.

Beth Moore

I just completed another Beth Moore Bible Study called Believing God, and oh man, did the Lord use this time to teach me. It was a sweet time of me learning how to trust, taking steps in the right direction and God gently showing me his faithfulness over and over again. The premise of this study is Do you merely believe in God? Or do you Believe God? Each session began with five statements that we had to memorize:

1. God is who he says he is.
2. God can do what he says he can do.
3. I am who God says I am.
4. I can do all things through Christ.
5. God's word is alive and living in me.

I have lots I could share, but actually, I have an idea. Beth has another Bible study available online (you watch the videos online and print the weekly homework into a binder) called Living in the Spirit. I would LOVE to do this study with a group of ladies who are needing their own personal way to recharge. (I know some of you are already in a study at your church. Awesome! But for those of you who would like to connect this way, please do!)

My thought is that we would start the study the second week of January, and do a weekly check in, sharing what God has shown us through studying his word. I did something similar to this with my sisters-in-law, all of us communicating over email. I knew some of the women in the group, and didn't know others. But that wasn't really the point. We were all learning different truths as God revealed them to us, and we were able to share our joys and excitement and the faithful stories of God's movement in our lives with each other. It was a really unique and special community.

Just think about if this might be something you'd want to participate in to kick off the new year. It's a ten week study, with five days of Bible study homework each week (but don't think of it as homework...it's learning and praying and growing in all the best ways!)

And to get a better feel for Beth Moore, check out this link I just found. She is on a morning talk show on Wednesday's and this archives of her Wednesday lessons. She is excitable, very much a Texan, and so passionate that you cannot help but be inspired.

I learned something new.

I'm still doing the Beth Moore Bible Study, "To live is Christ" and it just gets better and better. This week she defined the greek word for Rescue. The word is rhuomai which is "derived from a word meaning to drag along the ground. Rhuomai means to draw or snatch from danger, rescue, deliver. This is more with the meaning of drawing to oneself than merely rescuing from someone or something."

I think I have always thought that to be rescued by God would look something like some big heavenly crane coming and plucking the person needing rescue out of their cicumstances. I have a friend right now who is living a horribly trying season along the lines of Job, and when I pray for him I pray for God to make it all stop. It's just too much for one man. But this definition of rescue changes my thinking. This friend may not have a single circumstance change. He may continue to be dragged along the ground. But my prayer now is that in this process God continues to draw this friend to himself.

Beth writes, "Whether we get to avoid pain and suffering or we must persevere in the midst of it, our deliverance comes when we're dragged from the enemy of our souls to the heart of God. We escape from the clutches of evil every time we draw near to the embrace of God. Delivered from evil. Drawn to God. The rescue has not reaped its ultimate work until we're under His wing."

Doesn't that sound like a good place to be?

Nothing will wear you out faster.

I am doing a Beth Moore Bible Study with some friends focusing on the life of Paul. This first week we've studied what his upbringing likely was like. In one lesson we focused on his studies in Jerusalem and Beth wrote the following:

"I believe Saul set sail to Jerusalem as a young adolescent with a pure heart; but somewhere along the way the negative influences outweighed the positive, and his purity began to erode. The law became his god. That's what happens when you take the love out of obedience. The result is the law. Without love for God and His Word, we're just trying to be good. Nothing will wear you out faster."