My Dear Sisters in India,
Let's come together in prayer before our study today. As you pray each section with me, please continue to pray amongst yourselves as the Holy Spirit leads; praising God, giving thanks, making your confessions to one another, or asking Him to meet your needs and the needs of others.
A - Adoration. We begin with a time of praise.
Our Father in heaven, Your names are Holy. You are more precious than the finest platinum or diamonds. There is nothing or no one on this earth that compares with Your majesty. Your love and beauty are beyond compare and we long to worship at your feet. What great joy it would be to anoint your head and feet with fine oils. The mighty chorus of angels with purest voices could not sing a song as sweet as the sound of your comforting voice in our souls. Bless You O Lord, for You are Most High God, Holy One, Almighty God, Redeemer, Savior, Merciful Father.
C - Confession. We confess our sins. Daily we must praise out God and confess our sins. Too easily we put aside little things and they become bigger things and soon we are doing things that shame us. (James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.)
Father, look upon us with compassion. You wore our flesh, suffered our lashings, carried our cross to Calgary, hung upon that cross in a cruel and humiliating execution - all for our sins, and yet we still fall short. How can we ever repay you? We try Lord! We want so much to be clean and Holy even as You are Holy. Alas, we stumble. Here we are Jesus, broken and humbled before you. Forgive us please for not being truthful or for withholding something we should have told our husband, sister, friend, or other. Forgive us for thoughts we played out in our minds that we should have chased away with Scripture the moment those thoughts crept in. Forgive us for over-indulging ourselves or hoarding food. Forgive us our anger and harsh words spoken to loved ones. Forgive us any idols we hang onto whatever they are, we cast them aside for our trust is in You alone. Forgive us for disobedience to Your Holy Spirit. Cleanse us Lord from all our iniquities and purify our souls. Etch Your Word upon our hearts so the next time sin comes to tempt us we will chase it away with ease. Thank You Jesus!
T - Thanksgiving. Thank the Lord for all He has done, is doing and will do.
Father we thank You for bringing Sara and I together across the ocean to become such dear friends, even family, and now we're working together to help spread the gospel throughout her land. Thank You for allowing me the privilege of sharing my heart and Your Word with these women. Thank You for the men and woman You've brought into my life recently who are working to help me find contacts in India for a future visit to East Godavari. Thank You for the many blessings You're bringing to Sara and her people now and all Your going to do in the future. Thank You for keeping them safe! Thank You for the plans You already have in store for me to travel to India and how our time will be spent together.
S - Supplication. After we have Acknowledged God's greatness and confessed our unworthiness, knowing He forgives and gives with abundance from His everlasting overflowing mercy, we come to Him with our requests. He supplies all our need!
Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Trusting in Your Holy Word Lord, we come before you humbly today to ask Your blessing on the people of East Godavari.
There is much idol worship in this area, this You know already. Help the Christians be good examples, to keep no idols in or around their homes so that those they share the gospel with would not call them hypocrites. Bring them good weather for their crops, nutritious food and clean water. Keep the women and children safe at home when husbands are away and protect the men who preach the gospel in other villages. The needs are many and great Lord, we need Bibles, community Internet access, teachers, finances, missionaries, and generally more support for the growing Christian fellowship in India. Open the hearts and ears of the people who depend on silly idols that mean nothing, prepare the way for them so that when they hear the gospel of Jesus their souls will be thirsty and drink it in like cool water under a burning sun. Bless my plans to visit India, keep my mind and heart clear to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, guide me according to Your will regarding funds, timing, planning, length of stay, and every aspect of that journey. May Your will be done in and through each and every one of us. We love You Lord and ask all these things in the name of Jesus our Savior.
Our Study
At my last writing I said I was going to write on trust and then on prayer. My prayer above has just covered the prayer format I use. It's based on how Jesus taught the disciples to pray:
Luke 11:2-4 So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. NKJV
I don't doubt that those topics are meant to be finished and published at some point but the Lord has impressed upon me that for the women of East Godavari, He wants us to study the book of John. I'm using the New King James Version of the Bible which is the closest to the original English translations but in the modern language style. From time to time I will also use other versions to emphasize something our Father wants to teach us.
We begin at the beginning - always a good place to start, don't you think?
John 1:1-3
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Rephrased, John just told us, from the beginning the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
He. The Word was a He. A person. Not a thing. He was WITH God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
The Word is a person through whom which ALL THINGS were made. My Bible gives reference to Genesis chapter 1 through chapter 2 verse 1, which outlines God's creation of the earth and heavens. So now in verse 1 John says the Word was here from the start of everything, the Word is a person, He's with God. And He made everything. Genesis 1:1 tells us God made everything. The Word is God. In Genesis 1: 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 26, 29 God said...and something happened: water, sky, earth, animals, vegetation, and man. Then God rested. With His Word God created.
So who is the Word? John will reveal more as our study continues but today I'll simply say we've been introduced to God's Spirit Which manifests as Christ Jesus in Elohay Kadem (God of the beginning.)
The concept of the Triune God is confusing to many. How can he be a singular God but still three persons? As a mere human, my feeble attempt to define the Godhead will fall far short of God's multifaceted wondrous nature. But this analogy, simple as it may be, works for me:
I'm me. I have all sorts of things going on inside my body: physiologically, emotionally, and intellectually. In order to function properly, I need all three. The physiological part manifests in my flesh. That's the part that gets me around and does things. The emotional part is my motivator, the compassion that drives me to serve the Lord, the place where the Holy Spirit resides. My intellect is the computer that processes all the data and directs the activities based on evaluation and logical sequence. You can't say your emotions are your body can you? You can't say your intellect is your emotion right? They are all separate entities in one person.
Somewhat similarly, Elohim, God Almighty, Father from beginning, now, and forever, is the "brain." The Holy Spirit is the emotional or heart aspect of His nature. And Jesus is the physical manifestation of His love. I must beg the Lord's forgiveness for this over-simplified description. I need pictures to understand things and this helps me see Him as the personal loving Father He truly is. Make Him personal to you in your own way. Find a comfortable place to sit and meditate on the Triune God.
What does it mean that He is Father God, Holy Spirit, and Christ Jesus yet embodied in only One personage?
I see YHWH as the GREAT MIND. He is the purest of all light, so magnificently glorious that no one can look upon Him. It is beyond anything anyone could ever imagine or describe. Emanating from this GREAT MIND on His right is Y'SHUA, the person of CHRIST, our ADONAI and SAVIOR. He is the physical manifestation who was able to walk in the garden with the first human beings and interact with them, and he walked among us two thousand years ago. On the left of the FATHER YHWH emanates the HOLY SPIRIT who is sent to reside with all who confess the name of Y'SHUA as ADONAI and SAVIOR. That's the image I have in my head when I meditate on the glory of our FATHER.
He's ever present all over the cosmos ready to enter the heart that says yes to Y'shua's invitation. The moment you made the decision to die to self and live for Him, the Holy Spirit entered your soul and became one with you. You are now already a member of God's family. There's no waiting until you get to heaven to be adopted. The papers are signed, sealed and delivered!
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. NKJV
Thank You Jesus for our wonderful time together and the treasures You've given us in Your Word today. In Your Holy name we pray, amen.
All my love,
Mama anne
Let's come together in prayer before our study today. As you pray each section with me, please continue to pray amongst yourselves as the Holy Spirit leads; praising God, giving thanks, making your confessions to one another, or asking Him to meet your needs and the needs of others.
A - Adoration. We begin with a time of praise.
Our Father in heaven, Your names are Holy. You are more precious than the finest platinum or diamonds. There is nothing or no one on this earth that compares with Your majesty. Your love and beauty are beyond compare and we long to worship at your feet. What great joy it would be to anoint your head and feet with fine oils. The mighty chorus of angels with purest voices could not sing a song as sweet as the sound of your comforting voice in our souls. Bless You O Lord, for You are Most High God, Holy One, Almighty God, Redeemer, Savior, Merciful Father.
C - Confession. We confess our sins. Daily we must praise out God and confess our sins. Too easily we put aside little things and they become bigger things and soon we are doing things that shame us. (James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.)
Father, look upon us with compassion. You wore our flesh, suffered our lashings, carried our cross to Calgary, hung upon that cross in a cruel and humiliating execution - all for our sins, and yet we still fall short. How can we ever repay you? We try Lord! We want so much to be clean and Holy even as You are Holy. Alas, we stumble. Here we are Jesus, broken and humbled before you. Forgive us please for not being truthful or for withholding something we should have told our husband, sister, friend, or other. Forgive us for thoughts we played out in our minds that we should have chased away with Scripture the moment those thoughts crept in. Forgive us for over-indulging ourselves or hoarding food. Forgive us our anger and harsh words spoken to loved ones. Forgive us any idols we hang onto whatever they are, we cast them aside for our trust is in You alone. Forgive us for disobedience to Your Holy Spirit. Cleanse us Lord from all our iniquities and purify our souls. Etch Your Word upon our hearts so the next time sin comes to tempt us we will chase it away with ease. Thank You Jesus!
T - Thanksgiving. Thank the Lord for all He has done, is doing and will do.
Father we thank You for bringing Sara and I together across the ocean to become such dear friends, even family, and now we're working together to help spread the gospel throughout her land. Thank You for allowing me the privilege of sharing my heart and Your Word with these women. Thank You for the men and woman You've brought into my life recently who are working to help me find contacts in India for a future visit to East Godavari. Thank You for the many blessings You're bringing to Sara and her people now and all Your going to do in the future. Thank You for keeping them safe! Thank You for the plans You already have in store for me to travel to India and how our time will be spent together.
S - Supplication. After we have Acknowledged God's greatness and confessed our unworthiness, knowing He forgives and gives with abundance from His everlasting overflowing mercy, we come to Him with our requests. He supplies all our need!
Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Trusting in Your Holy Word Lord, we come before you humbly today to ask Your blessing on the people of East Godavari.
There is much idol worship in this area, this You know already. Help the Christians be good examples, to keep no idols in or around their homes so that those they share the gospel with would not call them hypocrites. Bring them good weather for their crops, nutritious food and clean water. Keep the women and children safe at home when husbands are away and protect the men who preach the gospel in other villages. The needs are many and great Lord, we need Bibles, community Internet access, teachers, finances, missionaries, and generally more support for the growing Christian fellowship in India. Open the hearts and ears of the people who depend on silly idols that mean nothing, prepare the way for them so that when they hear the gospel of Jesus their souls will be thirsty and drink it in like cool water under a burning sun. Bless my plans to visit India, keep my mind and heart clear to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, guide me according to Your will regarding funds, timing, planning, length of stay, and every aspect of that journey. May Your will be done in and through each and every one of us. We love You Lord and ask all these things in the name of Jesus our Savior.
Our Study
At my last writing I said I was going to write on trust and then on prayer. My prayer above has just covered the prayer format I use. It's based on how Jesus taught the disciples to pray:
Luke 11:2-4 So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. NKJV
I don't doubt that those topics are meant to be finished and published at some point but the Lord has impressed upon me that for the women of East Godavari, He wants us to study the book of John. I'm using the New King James Version of the Bible which is the closest to the original English translations but in the modern language style. From time to time I will also use other versions to emphasize something our Father wants to teach us.
We begin at the beginning - always a good place to start, don't you think?
John 1:1-3
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Rephrased, John just told us, from the beginning the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
He. The Word was a He. A person. Not a thing. He was WITH God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
The Word is a person through whom which ALL THINGS were made. My Bible gives reference to Genesis chapter 1 through chapter 2 verse 1, which outlines God's creation of the earth and heavens. So now in verse 1 John says the Word was here from the start of everything, the Word is a person, He's with God. And He made everything. Genesis 1:1 tells us God made everything. The Word is God. In Genesis 1: 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 26, 29 God said...and something happened: water, sky, earth, animals, vegetation, and man. Then God rested. With His Word God created.
So who is the Word? John will reveal more as our study continues but today I'll simply say we've been introduced to God's Spirit Which manifests as Christ Jesus in Elohay Kadem (God of the beginning.)
The concept of the Triune God is confusing to many. How can he be a singular God but still three persons? As a mere human, my feeble attempt to define the Godhead will fall far short of God's multifaceted wondrous nature. But this analogy, simple as it may be, works for me:
I'm me. I have all sorts of things going on inside my body: physiologically, emotionally, and intellectually. In order to function properly, I need all three. The physiological part manifests in my flesh. That's the part that gets me around and does things. The emotional part is my motivator, the compassion that drives me to serve the Lord, the place where the Holy Spirit resides. My intellect is the computer that processes all the data and directs the activities based on evaluation and logical sequence. You can't say your emotions are your body can you? You can't say your intellect is your emotion right? They are all separate entities in one person.
Somewhat similarly, Elohim, God Almighty, Father from beginning, now, and forever, is the "brain." The Holy Spirit is the emotional or heart aspect of His nature. And Jesus is the physical manifestation of His love. I must beg the Lord's forgiveness for this over-simplified description. I need pictures to understand things and this helps me see Him as the personal loving Father He truly is. Make Him personal to you in your own way. Find a comfortable place to sit and meditate on the Triune God.
What does it mean that He is Father God, Holy Spirit, and Christ Jesus yet embodied in only One personage?
I see YHWH as the GREAT MIND. He is the purest of all light, so magnificently glorious that no one can look upon Him. It is beyond anything anyone could ever imagine or describe. Emanating from this GREAT MIND on His right is Y'SHUA, the person of CHRIST, our ADONAI and SAVIOR. He is the physical manifestation who was able to walk in the garden with the first human beings and interact with them, and he walked among us two thousand years ago. On the left of the FATHER YHWH emanates the HOLY SPIRIT who is sent to reside with all who confess the name of Y'SHUA as ADONAI and SAVIOR. That's the image I have in my head when I meditate on the glory of our FATHER.
He's ever present all over the cosmos ready to enter the heart that says yes to Y'shua's invitation. The moment you made the decision to die to self and live for Him, the Holy Spirit entered your soul and became one with you. You are now already a member of God's family. There's no waiting until you get to heaven to be adopted. The papers are signed, sealed and delivered!
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. NKJV
Thank You Jesus for our wonderful time together and the treasures You've given us in Your Word today. In Your Holy name we pray, amen.
All my love,
Mama anne
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