A New Life in Christ...

I have recently become a Christian again, (and I mean very recently; a couple of months ago) and I just cannot believe the amazing sense of peace/joy that I feel daily. This is not to say that every day is perfect or that I don't struggle at times, for I do. And yet even the struggling is a different, more positive kind of struggle. I feel like I'm finally struggling with purpose; to be closer to God and to know Christ personally and this purpose just makes struggling rewarding. :-) Before I became a Christian again, I always felt like something was missing. My heart was aching almost every day and I was struggling against myself and against God's will for me. I feel ashamed to admit it, but I doubted God and doubted his love for me...Sometimes it still hurts to look back on those times and to remember the pain I tried to deal with on my own. But ultimately, I look back on these struggles and on this pain and am thankful. God taught me the hardest, but most necessary lesson of my entire life; I cannot live without him and, more importantly, I don't ever want to try again.

I know this isn't directly related to the posts, but I felt compelled to share this. :-) I hope you all are having a  beautiful evening!~ Thank you for this blog space and your support/friendship!

Reflecting

This morning I am thinking about our first week's reading and longing to sit down with Jesus in person (like John was so blessed to be able to do!) and ask him my questions, express my concerns, feel his peace. I know we can and do that daily through prayer and his Word given to us, but sometimes I just ache to have him nearer. For the hustling and busy-ness of our world to stop distracting me, for even the resounding quiet of my house, empty now with husband at work, to be quieter still. The cars still whir by and the neighbor dogs bark and I hear the running water of whoever lives above us scrambling to get washed and ready for the day. SO MUCH steals my thoughts and commitment and focus. I really long some days to have less of a Type A personality :) haha
But really that is why I am so sure studying God's word in the way we are is right for busy women like ourselves. It is essential to only take a spoonful at a time some days, to think on it for more than a fleeting second and to allow God to change the course of our day through what seemed to be such a small stretch of time with Him. After re-reading 1 John 1:1-4, I read through the introductory pages of our study plan this morning and fell in love again with Psalm 1:2,3!

"Blessed is the [woman] whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law [she] meditates day and night. [She] is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever [she] does prospers."

...and also a quote that was included by William Gurnall:

"Remember, it is not hasty reading - but serious meditating upon holy and heavenly truths, that make them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the bee's touching of the flower, which gathers honey - but her abiding for a time upon the flower, which draws out the sweet. It is not he who reads most - but he who meditates most, who will prove the choicest, sweetest, wisest and strongest Christian."

What I learned this week is that I need Jesus to survive, to excel, to breathe, to love. Anything I desire or long to do for him is propelled forward by his presence in me through Word and Sacrament, through hearing and reading a healthy dose of his Law and Gospel messages. It is impossible to have meaning and purpose in life without him. And secondly, I am praying for more opportunities and courage to share him with others that need him! Saying all that feels so familiar to my ears, and our verses from this week - well, I've read and heard them and skimmed over them in the past. So my heart is asking God to help me see what I haven't in the past - in these 4 verses of 1 John...and in others and the world around me. To have eyes that truly see.

(It's like Brandon Heath's song "Give me Your Eyes" - listen to it if you haven't :))

Love you all - thanks for taking this learning journey with me!

Have a great weekend!!

-Cait

1 John 1:4

"We write this to make our joy complete."

The introduction to this book in my Bible says that John wrote this letter " out of his love for his brothers and sisters in Christ to expose false teachers, and to give assurance of salvation" John wanted to save early Christians from Gnosticism so that they wouldn't be led away from the truth Christ really gives us. He is a great example for us because he cared so much for these people even though they were turning away from Christ and living without any morals. I know that if I had been in his position I might have been tempted to give up and let them make their own decisions. How sinful is that!

When I think of my friends that do not share the same faith I do, I feel like all I can do is pray, because I know that they know about God, and they know that I am a Christian. I have talked to them about what I believe and confessed my faith to them, but after the first few times I stopped expecting anything to change. Giving up on people, especially close friends that don't believe, is something I struggle with. I never know if there is anything I can do, and if there is I am too afraid to do anything about it.

I would love to follow John's example in my life - especially since I am going into the public ministry! Doing what he did made his "joy complete" and pleased God! This week I'm praying for boldness :)

1 John 1:3-4

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

Isn't is amazing that our fellowship with God has been restored? We had completely lost this joy due to our sin and rebellion. But even as we were dying, God sent his Son to be our brother, to take all that sin upon Himself, to wash us in His holy blood.

Sometimes fellowship can be a thorny issue and we feel uncomfortable as we deal with the situations that arise. Yet, here the apostle John uses the word JOY! To agree with another believer in heart and mind, to be one in Christ Jesus, to worship together in truth - this is joy!

Thinking about Colossians 1:6 this afternoon -"All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." Sisters, let's keep proclaiming Him through our words and lives!

A MUST-Read!

Ladies,
On a side-note, I decided I need to refer you all to a GREAT book I finished reading this last weekend. It's for married women, technically, but to be honest - I wish I would have read it before marriage, for sure while engaged!!
I would say it's appropriate for any women that desires to be a godly wife for her husband someday, to honor him as her leader and to serve him because of her great love for God and her husband!
It's serious, funny, very conservative, and very very inspiring! Tears may or may not have been shed by the end of the book. It's seriously a game-changer. I will recommend this book to all the lovely women I know!!

Buy it here!

You can buy it for only $6.00 on Amazon and it is totally worth it! I just had to throw this out there - if anyone buys it and reads it, let us know what you think!! :)

Have a beautiful day!

Cait

1 John 1:3-4

Good morning ladies!
A lovely thought from my commentary:

This assurance of the son-ship of God, of the fact that all causes of apprehension and fear have been removed, will ever have the same effect upon the Christians, namely, that of making their joy in faith complete and perfect, of causing them to rest in their salvation in Christ and their heavenly Father without the slightest hesitation or doubt, of imparting to them that inexpressible happiness of faith which no man can take from the believers, which they retain in the very midst of misery and tribulation.


We can't properly live lives of faith and witness without regularly seeing and hearing God through his Words and therefore our faith cannot bring us complete joy if fruits of our faith are not growing in our life. It brings such utter joy, doesn't it, to sense your faith changing and stretching closer to the Lord?...And also to find a dear friend or loved one, or even a stranger, experience life-changing hope and faith in God? There is nothing like it - I only pray and long for it to be a more common occurrence!! Or maybe with more sanctified and child-like faith I would see such evidence of God working more often...?

This is my prayer and hope today!
Leaning hard on Him with you, fighting the distractions of this world with you, praying for greater faith with you,

Love,
Cait

1 John 1:3

"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ."

Reading this verse makes me especially thankful for all of the Christian friends and family I have in my life. I am beyond blessed with family and friends that always lift me up with God's word, and I have an encouraging boyfriend that continually reminds me of God's promises. God put them in my life to strengthen my faith on a daily basis, and I pray that I can help do the same for them and all of you :)

When I think of fellowship, I also think of my relationship with God. I love those moments when you feel that special closeness with Him - like when you are in a church service and a hymn or song you sing hits you hard, or you are outside and are overwhelmed by His creation, and you can't help but feel SO loved. He is always with us of course, but these little moments are what I personally think of.

Those are my thoughts for the night! Sleep well everyone :)

1 John 1:3

As Caitlin so humbly attested in one of her posts, I can also ashamedly admit to periods in which fellowship with my Father in heaven has been sparse. Lately, I have felt a bit "far" from my husband, as we both have been busy with school and work. I long for an hour alone to sit and sip something warm and reconnect. This is the kind of fellowship our Savior wants to have with us. I shared a comment on Caitlin's post about this verse I recently came across in reading about prayer. Song of Songs 2:14 reads, "...show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely." Perhaps it is easier for a woman to read it this way, but as this book can be read as a dialogue between Christ and his bride, I can embrace this verse as his words to me. The lover longs! to spend quality time with me. That truly awes me. Praying that he fills me with a longing to be continually in his presence, to know he is there, and for quiet moments with something warm to sip.

This verse in I John also reminds me of the kind of longing I have to speak with others and share faith. It is so refreshing to talk with someone who lives under God's canopy of grace. I'm so thankful for this with you all and others. I know when I feel I cannot broach this subject without making someone feel awkward, I get sad. It is the ultimate joy to be able to freely converse with somebody about the faith we share. I am continually praying for wisdom in how to speak around different individuals. We are all different, and some people just need to feel our love before we talk about Jesus with them, I realize, but who knows when he will return? Praying for boldness, so that, through his word, others might come to be a part of our fellowship.

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.

It may be oversimplified, but I see this as spreading God's word. It's amazing to me that they were doing the same thing that we continue to do so today. It is refreshing to have people come for fellowship both for the first time and every week. I know I really enjoy seeing some people on a regular basis at church both for their fellowship and knowing that I am worshiping with people who believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as I do.

Hope(ful) Romantic

Just got out of a 3-hour poetry class tonight where "religion" was referred to as some romantic phase that poets drew on for a time and then grew too smart for, at least the majority of them. It helps that the man teaching is warm and deep in knowledge, but it still hurts to hear. And to see the doubters being sympathized with and encouraged to pursue their own substitutes for Jesus.

But it doesn't change the fact that he is life, from beginning to end, our eternal God who is working all things for my good (and yours), even hours spent in a skeptical poetry class. He isn't some phase. He is our unchanging, faithful, loving God, and I am so glad he has opened our eyes to him. But there remain eyes with scales that need to be removed. As John writes to "proclaim to [us] the eternal life," as he originally wrote to the audience God intended for him, we need to proclaim it to those he gives us the opportunity to meet and know. Praying that God gives us his Spirit to see and speak the truth in love.

"The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us."

As someone who did not grow up going to church on a weekly basis, I am so grateful to have found Jesus through campus ministry and continue to work on our relationship over the past several years and today. I think about when "The life appeared" and how it continues to work in my daily life. Frequently, it is still hard for me to give up "control" (like we have any anyway, right?) and trust the Father, but over the years I have learned that He does provide both now and for the eternal life.

1 John 1:2

"The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us."


I love how this verse uses the word life - "The life appeared" because living without him would mean no life for us. No meaning, no purpose, no loving creator. God makes himself known to everyone that has walked and will walk this earth, but sadly it doesn't mean people will "testify to it." Today I'm going to keep those I know who need our Savior in my prayers.

1 John 1:1-2

Hello ladies!

I am so thrilled to be studying this Spirit-inspired book with all of you. Since I don't have internet access every day, I'll probably play "catch-up" and post in little chunks like this one. I hope you don't mind! So onto God's Words for us...

That which...we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes (1 John 1:1)

I, too, was struck by the thought that the apostles touched and gazed upon the One who had created them. To hear the very words of Jesus as He spoke them, to observe His life of compassionate service and sacrifice - what wonder! And yet, don't we have this same inexpressible joy, though we have not yet seen Him face to face? Every time we study the Word, we hear the voice of our Good Shepherd. We take salvation into our mouth at the Lord's Supper. And through studies like this one, we strive with the Spirit's help to know every more fully this Savior we adore.

The life appeared (1 John 1:2)

I read the first three words of this verse and stopped in my tracks (mentally anyway :)). The miracle of Jesus' incarnation always floors me. That God should wrap himself in the flesh of a little baby and enter human time and space is beyond my comprehension. I've always liked the last stanza of this ancient Nativity hymn:

"'Glory' saints and angels sang; heaven with their praises rang; while shepherds saw with wondering eyes the Shepherd who had made the world." (C. Sedulius, 400s AD).

My prayer for you dear girls is that this study would draw all of us closer to Him and embolden us to proclaim Him to the world. May God bless and keep you today.

1 John 1:2

Good morning!

I just finished reading Verse 2 of our study, and at first struggled to see how it was much different from Verse 1 from yesterday! Sometimes going slowwllyy through Scripture is tantalizing and each little "bite" is quite enough. Other days and "bites" though, can seem bland or we can be unsure as to what God wants us to know about Him in such seemingly repetitive or simple words.

However, after I read the footnote on Verse 2, something popped right out at me! It says "he is also the source of life and sovereign over life". He gives us our life in baptism when beforehand we were actually the walking dead - in sin! In those short, grace-filled moments when the Word of God is spoken and the water is poured, a still lifeless soul is awakened and breathing full abundant, eternal life!!

This reminded me of course of the baptism of my nephew this weekend. :) It just bring tears of joy to see a baptism. How God promises to give eternal life and faith to a soul in baptism - it is the ultimate witness of grace working! How undeserving we are but his desire and love for us is magnificent! He wants us home with him someday to spend all of eternity with him! The way he values us, that he came from living with the Father in heaven to live with us on earth and not just live - but die a death unspeakable in order to have us with him forever.

And just a note in regards to starting a new study: I don't know if any of you have read this post on the other GMG site, but I want to share it because it has some great ideas for studying the Bible and encouragement for the commitment! I know without this tool, I am much slower to read my Bible daily and use it for the life power and resource it is! When I really think about it, it's so obvious why at any point I feel the way I do in anger or frustration or worry (the list could go on!)...my filter isn't clean and my faith and heart aren't recharged! I confess that there's been too many stretches of time without God's Word, and after those times, I can only thank God for his patience and forgiveness towards me. I want a relationship with him that is strong and fruitful - but why do I act sometimes like I'm just a distant acquaintance?!

So, I am thankful for each of you that take the time for this accountability and encouragement group. I know God is using each of you as well as many other women all over the world going through this study with me, to do amazing things and to stretch our faith so we don't grow stagnant! According to the enrollment over at the  GMG site, 

"We have women in Guam, Singapore, Italy, South Africa, Ukraine, the Caribbean,  Israel, Germany, Austria, Costa Rica, Japan, Switzerland, Palestine and more!  Nearly ever state is covered from the west coast with a group in Orange County, California, to Oregon, Washington and two groups in Hawaii to Las Vegas, Chicago, North and South Dakota, Montana, Iowa down to Florida, Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and over to New York, Maryland and Ohio!"

...cool, right? Needless to say, there's lots of alarm clocks going off and coffee pots brewing each morning as we all study God's word together in the mornings! (Or in the evenings or whenever you know is your best time...) :)

Praying you all have a day full of blessings! When you notice them or experience them - please share your joy! 

Love,

Cait

1 John 1:1

Hello ladies :)

I just wanted to start out and say that I am so thankful for all of you and this wonderful opportunity to come together everyday to share and discuss our faith and God's word in our lives. I know that for me personally it is a great way to start out (or end, like today's case) my day!

Today's reading reminded me of how much I take God's blessings for granted. I look around at everything He has put in my life, and I realize how easy it is to not even acknowledge Him for it. It's humbling to reflect on God's power, because from the very beginning, He knew His plan for our lives. I love to think of that when I am having a tough day, or am stressed out from school. When you really take time to meditate on Him and the fact that He is almighty and has always and will always take care of us, it's sometimes almost impossible to feel negatively about whatever is going on in your life afterwards.

I hope you all have a wonderful night!
Jessica

blog sin #1

Hello! I just wanted to apologize and say that I fixed something utterly heretical in my post. If you didn't catch it, great, but I said that there was something more significant than Jesus living for us, when I meant there is something more significant than even nonbelievers recognizing thatJesus lived--the account of people who actually lived with him....anyway, sorry if I scared you. :) But better yet, we have God's word that his Word is his. And like Liz and Caitlin says, we know he's real--working even through the micro-miracles that we all too often fail to notice, through his Spirit working in us...

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

As I sit here tonight to reflect on this passage, I think of all the things I hear, see, look at and touch every day. I think about how they just pass through me and over me. Sometimes it is easy to forget that He places all of these sensory reminders that He loves us and the sacrifices that have been made for us, how they have been strategically placed in our lives. I hope to think about these more often and how day in and day out, every sensory detail I take in, is because of Him.

1 John 1:1 ~ Life and 1,000 Things

Hello girls!

Pete and I just got back from a long weekend away to be at my nephew's baptism and it was a long day in the car! (But such a beautiful new baby boy and a miracle to witness God calling him in faith! Tear-jerker..) I'm sorry it's taken me all day to get to our study - Day 1 here we are already! :) It's very exciting! And even more so to do my study tomorrow in the morning -God's Word is refreshing and cultivates amazing things any time of any day, but I love a morning Bible study - something about it!

Anyway, to address our short little introductory verse today I took away one major lovely reminder:

All of life stems from Him.

He has always been life, he is my life now, and he guarantees my life in the future and after death! And the quality and content of my life all depends on Him! He is the only way to a purposeful life. I see and enjoy miracles, blessings and heartfelt joys regularly, but the reality is that they are all marred - and interrupted - by the sin of this place, and by the grave truth that this is not all that we're made for. It reminds me to not put a lot of stock in anything here, but to praise him for what he gives and what he takes away, and rest content in His promise that real life lies in relationship to Him here, but also, excitedly in heaven one day! It is incomprehensible how deep and wide his love is for us that he envelops us in such meaningful, really, eternal life through faith in Jesus!

This brings calm and comfort to me tonight. He is in control here and after, and life is always good (here and later!) knowing this!!

Thank you God, for being our life, down to the minute joys and sorrows.

Listen to this song tonight 1,000 Things and praise Him that he is always working in our lives and that His life gives ours meaning beyond our understanding! It's based on the words of John Piper, who said God is doing a thousand things in every thing He does in our lives.


Have a restful night and see you again in the morning!

Welcome to our study!! :)

Love you,
Cait

1 John 1:1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

The first part that stood out to me about this opening to the letter is the phrase, "which we have looked at and our hands have touched." It is awesome to think that this disciple, Jesus' cousin, actually saw Jesus. I think of Jesus appearing to Thomas and inviting him and the disciples to look and see his hands and side, to touch and know that he is alive! In Suprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis's story of coming to faith, he describes an encounter with a close friend toward the end of his book, shortly before his conversion, in which this brilliant, atheist scholar friend of his informally comes upstairs to chat, and he makes a comment to the effect of, "You know, Lewis, it's a rum thing--the historicity of the gospels." Even many of the brilliant atheist/agnostic scholars of this world recognize that Christ lived. More significantly than their recognition are the living accounts of these disciples who saw him with their own eyes lived to record his words and actions. I like to think about that.

Secondly, I hear an echo in this opening of the book of the gospel of John. This "Word of life," "that which was from the beginning." Rings a bell with "In the beginning was the Word..." And this Word became flesh, flesh that John and the others saw with their own eyes. Our God came down in humility for us. It is beyond my comprehending, but I'm excited to learn what I can through this study with you all. I'm so thankful for this love letter from God to us and for our eagerness to read it! Unlike any other book, this one is "living and active," food for our souls.