Today, I am going to share a few quotes from a Bible study I'm part of. It's a study written by three authors, one being Beth Moore. The study focuses on David and his life. God Himself called David a "man after My own heart."
Wow. Can God say that about me? About you? I sure hope so. Being people after God's heart are the people we need to be.
The title of the part of the study I am going to share with you is called Hanging Onto the Blessing. A lot of us probably ask God for blessings, but when we do this, are we ready to hold on in belief till those blessings come to pass? That is the hard part. But it is also the part that grows us deep. Beth writes, "Let's have the courage to see the fulfillment of God's promises."
She goes onto paraphrase 2 Samuel 7:27-29 when David is speaking to God. She writes (in the paraphrase), So, Lord, if You really want to bless me and really want to do all of these astonishing things for me, I'm going to have the courage to receive it! After all, who am I to stop You? You have spoken! Go ahead and do what You said!
Her comments on these words: Oh, to have the courage to receive the promises of God! And, oh, for the bravery to stand to our feet and become persons He can stunningly bless to the glory of His name!
She goes on to talk about forgiveness and redemption. Here are a few great words from Beth: God doesn't just redeem on occasion. He is the Redeemer. It's His job! It's what He does because it's who He is. He buys captives back from slavery and restores the surrendered fortunes of their son-ship.
The times I've been in deepest need of forgiveness have been the very times I felt most shamed and reluctant to come to Christ to receive it. That's the destructive power of self-condemnation. It lies and keeps us from the cross. I hated so badly to have to ask Him to help me out of another mess . . . He is never reluctant to forgive the repentant.
Praise God for Himself! Oh, that He never tires of us is positively miraculous. He just keeps loving us no matter what.
(I've put a picture of the study these quotes come from. It is a good study. I must admit there are parts of it I don't agree with and parts I don't like. But overall it is really good. It is okay to disagree with your teachers. As long as that disagreement gets you in the Bible and studying for yourself, it is a very good thing.)