Sunday, January 3, 2010

More of Beth's Seduce-Proofing the Godly Life

I'm still working on the Beth Moore Bible study called "When Godly People Do Ungodly Things."
It's really good and like all of her studies, I'd recommend it to anyone.
Some more of her tips include:
* Allowing God to sanctify you through and through. I've learned through her study that sanctify just means set apart. What I read in Beth's study that also means letting God invade our lives with nothing off-limits.
To me that means that I think twice about what movies I go to see, what shows I watch on television, what books I read. I've become a lot more careful about what I let filter into my brain. Our brains are like little video cameras that record information that can be played back.
And sometimes played back at the worst times - times of temptation, fear, etc. So I think we have to be careful what we let our brains record.
I know I've personally regretted reading or watching some things that really bugged me later and certainly didn't enrich my life. I think others have had the same experience.
So I don't mind if God wants me to be set apart in this area.
* Knowing that we need prayer. We may think this, but I don't think we always follow through. Beth is right when she says that we need others to pray for us.
I think, however, that a lot of us have trouble asking someone to pray for us. We think we need to be facing a major crisis, first. Or we'll seek prayer for some little thing, because we don't want people to know what's really going on.
The problem, though, is that we can become isolated. We may feel like nobody understands us and they may not - because we haven't let them close enough.
May I tell you something?
When you get in a Bible study where you can trust people, it's wonderful to be able to share what's in your heart and to hear others pray aloud on your behalf.
I've had people pray some amazingly wonderful, comforting prayers for me. And, in turn, I've just shared simple observations with people in prayer and later noticed that they seemed to be very grateful.
I think one of the best ways that husbands and wives can share their love for each other is to pray together aloud. I've been so blessed by hearing some of Chuck's prayers for me.
Some couples may not feel so comfortable. It takes time. Even a simple little prayer is a start.
Again, I'd really advise looking into the Beth Moore Bible studies.
Just visit www.lifeway.com - her name can be found in small letters in the top lefthand corner. Click on that and scroll down the page and you can find out more about her studies. I can't tell you how much my faith has grown since I've started doing her Bible studies.
You can buy the workbooks online and download the video sessions - week by week if you'd like. It's really probably better if you can do them in a group - because the group discussions are wonderful for bonding with other women.
But not everyone has that option.
Beth also has written various books and she has a Personal Reflections Series like "Jesus - 90 Days with the One and Only" that's published by B & H Publishing Group in Nashville.
You might be able to find copies at your local bookstore.

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