I am excited to tell you that the books have arrived! Hopefully everyone is able to start in on the study.
My hope is that this Blog will be a spot where we can share our God sitings, the rain falling often, as you are working through your homework in the days and weeks to come.
Something that struck me as I was working through Psalm 120 was that my life is not free from conflict and hardship, nor will it ever be. The Psalmist knows he can cry out to God about it. There is confidence that God will answer. This has been such a stark reminder of my need to cry out to God for absolutely everything. I try to hang on to some things and forget that God is the God of everything. And then I wonder why I fall back into old patterns of behavior.
Eugene Peterson in his book, "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" says "the usual biblical word describing the no we say to the world's lies and the yes we say to God's truth is repentance." He also goes on to say;
Repentance is not an emotion. It is not feeling sorry for your sins. It is a decision. it is deciding that you have been wrong in supposing that you could manage your own life and be your own god; it is deciding that you were wrong in thinking that you had, or could get, the strength, education and training to make it on your own; it is deciding that you have been told a pack of lies about yourself and your neighbors and your world. And it is deciding that God in Jesus Christ is telling you the truth. Repentance is a realization that what God wants from you and what you want from God are not going to be achieved by doing the same old things, thinking the same old thoughts. Repentance is a decision to follow Jesus Christ and become the pilgrim in the path of peace.
So how about you. What are you mining from your first day at it?
So how about you. What are you mining from your first day at it?
