Tag Archives: centerpoint sisterhood

Seek and Believe-A Study of the Gospel of Luke-Scripture Plan

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You will watch a generation of Christians-of Christians-set the Bible aside in an attempt to become more like Jesus. And stunningly it will sound completely plausible . This will be perhaps the cleverest of all the devil’s schemes in your generation. Sacrifice TRUTH for LOVE’s sake. And you will rise or fall based upon what whether you will sacrifice one for the other. Will you have the courage to live in the tension of both TRUTH and LOVE?

– Beth Moore

If we are going to be a generation of Jesus followers who follow Jesus well. A generation who keeps His commandments, live like Him, love like Him, then we are going to have to think like Him and KNOW Him well. We can sit under good teaching, read books by good and faithful people, and we can discuss things of faith with others BUT when it comes down to it, each of us, as individuals need to know how to distinguish between truth and lies (with discernment given by the Holy Spirit.)

The only way to get to know someone well is to spend time with them. To get to know Jesus, we need to go right to God’s word. Spend time in prayer and read scripture. Jesus wants us to seek Him, ask questions, believe in His words, rest at His feet, and experience His love as we learn to walk faithfully with Him.

Over the next months, our Sisterhood will be studying through a series on the gospel of Luke. We are going to focus on getting to know Jesus well- what he did, what he said, who he said it to, who he associated. My prayer is through our prayers and scripture readings, God would work on our hearts, help us become more like Jesus, and know both TRUTH and LOVE so that we can become faithful disciples and more willing servants of Him.

Below is a scripture reading plan for the Gospel of Luke. There are five scripture passages for each week. Grab your Bible, grab a journal, maybe a cup of coffee. I have developed a tool, using Luke as an acronym, to help in our study of the scriptures. As you pray and read through each of the scriptures, I hope you find what God has for you to discover.

Please join us (virtually) and in person at our Sisterhood gatherings on this journey to seek and believe in Jesus, Son of Man. I will be praying for you!

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L- Look towards God in prayer ( Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9)  Don’t go to  the scriptures looking for your idea, go searching for his.

U– Read prayerfully and carefully to understand–  Proverbs 2:1-3, “Call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding. and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of  the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

K– Keep and store commands within your heart– Proverbs 2:10-11,” For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant for your soul. Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you.” Deuteronomy 11:18

E– Explore– What does this mean to me and my relationship to Jesus? How does it apply to my life? Where can this passage lead to me to deeper and new places with Jesus? (James 1:22, Ephesians 5:1-2)

lukescripturestudyplan

Click link below to download plan….

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Embrace Interruptions and Interactions

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Many of us are readying our homes and our tables for gatherings. Others of us are readying our suitcases for a journey home. Some of us are readying ourselves for the first holiday season without a loved one or the visit of bittersweet memories that come with this time of year. The holidays season comes with a lot of readying. A preparation for the mingling of interruptions and interactions that can leave us refreshed, exhausted, or a combination of both.

Most of us have ideas and expectations of what the holidays will be like. Agendas and schedules of places to go and people to see. Sometimes, the places and people can feel more like obligations. Obligations we check off on our holiday to-do lists rather than a genuine experience we enjoy. We often get caught up in the busyness and can lose sight of people and how our attitudes, influence, and interactions can leave a long lasting impressions on those around us. In all our preparing, we may forget to prepare and ready one of the most important things- our hearts.

To ready our hearts takes some intention. It takes practice and effort. It involves looking beyond ourselves, sacrificing our own agendas and viewing our obligations in a different light to be able to embrace interruptions and interactions with a heart ready to love.

In Acts 16, we find examples of how interruptions and interactions led to changed lives and hopeful futures. Paul and his companions were at the start of their second missionary journey and they had made a plan to go back to check on the churches they had previously planted.(Acts 15:36). But God had other plans for group (sound familiar?) and the Holy Spirit would not allow the men to enter places where they tried to go. Through dreams, visions, ships, and many miles of journey, they found themselves on the shore of Philippi.

While in Philippi, Paul and his friends were interrupted many times and had many different interactions with many different people. They met Lydia, an interaction God had planned in advance, a woman whose heart God had been preparing to hear Paul’s message. Not only did she end up believing in God but her whole household did too. (Acts 16:15)  Lydia became the first Christian convert in Europe.

Shortly after the encounter with Lydia, Paul is interrupted several days by a slave who was possessed by a spirit. In his annoyance, he cast the spirit out of her (Acts 16:18.) This leads to this woman’s freedom but causes Paul and Silas to be bound by prison chains causing a chain reaction of encounters and interactions with prisoners and a jailer. After a powerful display of God’s power and the Lord’s word spoken, the jailer and his household  came to believe in God. So many unplanned events, so many lives impressed upon, changed, and influenced by the time Paul and his companions spent with them.

I want to challenge us to be ready for interruptions and interactions in this season. What are people taking away from their interactions with us? What impressions does our lives leave on people? Our neighbors? Co-Workers? The checkout clerk at the store- a waitress?

As followers of Christ, we have a great opportunity to be different this season. To be a light for Jesus, to portray our Lord and Savior well. This is an opportunity to slow down, take time to be with people, to reflect love, hope, and kindness through our actions and responses. We want people to wonder and question where our light and love comes from. We want to be magnetic, drawing people to our tables and into our presence.

Here are a few things I will be working on to ready my heart for the interruptions and interactions of this season. 

I will try to:

  • QUIET myself and LISTEN (I will make rest and quiet time a priority, even if it is for short periods of time. I will turn my ears toward the Lord and listen to what God is putting on my heart.)
  • GIVE UP my agenda (I will try to be realistic with my time and not overbook my family’s schedule. I will be ready for and expect interruptions. I will accept the fact that I will not be perfect but expect the blessings will far outweigh what I think I need to accomplish.)
  • SPEND time with people 
  • TRUST the Lord has gone before and prepared hearts (This is so freeing!)
  • OFFER hospitality in our presence and in our homes (Our presence can provide a place of emotional and spiritual renewal and hope. Ask the Lord for help in this area.)

With a ready heart, we can embrace the interruptions and interactions that lead to beautiful things which encourage a ripple effect of love and kindness. Unplanned events and interactions can leave lasting impression on other people and only the Lord knows where things can go from there.

Happy Thanksgiving!