Okay, I did not do this very well last post. I was a little confused about part 1 of chapter 1 or section 1 or whatever it was....but, here I will share my thoughts on Chapter 1: Thinking about God and Chapter 2 : Idolatry.
This chapter is really helpful to, help us shape our thinking about WHO God is, hence the title name. God is Holy and Merciful. We must somehow wrap our minds around the fact that God is holy (yet loves the most vile of sinners...which is you and me) AND God is merciful in that he does NOT give us what we deserve (which is hell). The author goes on to tell us " Our sin requires punishment, but the mercy of God withholds it and even lavishes life upon us!" THIS IS THE GOSPEL!!!! Jesus satisfies both the holiness and the mercy of God. As women who desire to be peace makers, we must remember both the holiness and mercy of God. The author tells of the danger that believers face in embracing this truth....."when tempted to sin, we may want to focus on "grace" and when tempted to self-condemn, we may want to focus on "law" and when we give in to these temptations, we lose our peace.....it is the mercy and holiness of God together that produce "shalom".
Remember:
God Adopts us
God delights in us
We are God's beloved daughters.....one area that resonated with me in this subsection was the lie that when we sin, we need a little time to earn our way "up" to God again.....that we need time to make up for what we have done in order to receive God's love again. I KNOW this is a lie from the pit of Hell, but I confess that I struggle with this often; most often I see it in my prayer life. When I am in the pit, often I find it hard to approach the Lord in prayer (which is the VERY life-giving thing that I need)!!!!!
God loves us particularly
God loves us because we are his....in this paragraph, something that stuck out to me was the author tells of a game she plays with her husband.....why do you love me? She says that when she asks her husband, "why do you love me?, he always responds, "because you are mine". This is Gods response too! REST in this truth, Delight in it! Find yourself wholly defined by it. "This is Christianity 101. The Gospel in a nut shell. We are the blessed recipients of eternal love. God loves us more than the number of stars in the sky and grains of sand on the beach.
There are many other points the authors make in this section but basically, in order to grow into a woman of peace, I must understand the Gospel and preach it to myself daily!
Chapter 2: Idolatry
pg 45 ...."our hearts are continually in movement either toward or away from God. The objects of our worship are the things we value supremely and the things in which we find our greatest pleasure, joy and security. We make minute by minute choices to worship either the one true God or false gods."
Idols cause conflicts
" when idols rule us, we stumble in our christian walk and we attack or avoid other people. We do WHATEVER it takes to defend and cherish what is precious to us."
The Development of an Idol
Idols lead to death
Idols give no lasting help or security
Idols blind us .....We choose false gods, idols over God himself. In so doing, we both avoid God and set ourselves up in opposition to him. Instead of loving as we ought, we live to please ourselves and feed our idols and our lives bear the fruit of our false worship: dissatisfaction , lack of peace, and distorted vision.
-This section really made me think about a few particular times in my life where I have been so consumed with the idol of "something" that these things were true of me. I have had and still have many idols. One in particular was a very strong desire to see a ministry run a certain way....MY WAY!!! Over the years, I have hurt feelings and made a huge stink all in the name of wanting it to be "better"....but, in the kindness of the Lord, He has been gracious to SLOWLY change me and my perspective on the situation and is even giving me a strong desire to participate in the ministry in whatever capacity HE desires me to and to be a blessing to those around me no matter "how" the ministry looks.....I have been blinded by the idol of ME!
Idols cannot give us meaning or fulfillment
Idols lead to death
This was a lengthy chapter on Idols...then we get to the HELP part
Turning Away from Idols
Idolatry is heart worship- devotion to anything in all of creation except God.
Identify your idols
Prayerfully wield the sword of the spirit
Get Help
Remember that God is Faithful
Turning toward the Lord
Don't just turn to another idol
Christ delivers us
Grace changes what we love ( I LOVE THIS ONE)!!!!
God hears us when we call to HIM (I LOVE THIS ONE TOO!!)
From Idolatry to Shalom
"We are functional idolaters as we seek satisfaction in things outside of the Lord and are guilty of wrong worship." "To be peacemaking women, our hope is to rest in God's grace as we turn from false gods. This is a lifelong battle. It is our ongoing calling to turn away from idols and turn toward the Lord. This is one of the foundational aspects of our sanctification and conformity to Christ. We must never think, "if only I can have victory over this idol, then my life will be great.' No! As Christians, we fully realize that even as God's grace enables us to knock one idol over and banish it from the alter of our hearts, another idol is waiting to take its place." We must be CONTINUALLY turning away from idols and to the LORD!
This last section was the kicker for me. I say that a lot..."will I ever have victory over this sin?" While I know that God gives us grace and we do see victories, it was so comforting to me to be reminded that it IS a life long battle.....my very own good vs evil plot!
Oh Lord Jesus, help me to remember that ANYTHING or ANYONE that I love more than you is an idol. Help me Lord, to be always turning away from idols and running hard after you. Mostly so you will be honored but also so that I can become a woman of peace, which DOES honor you. I love you Lord and thank you for this book, the authors and for your son Jesus who ALONE is worthy and who ALONE gives victory, grace and peace.
Amen
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