Spirit Quest is a place for Women to expolre their spirituality through focused discussions based on reflections found in the "New Women's Devotional Bible".
“When an alien lives with you in
your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as
one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I
am the Lord your God.”
Reflection: Loving the Alien
Have you ever felt like an alien because of your love for
Christ?
Have you ever treated someone like an alien because they
didn’t look, dress or behave as you do? How has this devotional changed your
mind and heart?
Who in your sphere of influence is alienated from God? How
can you apply the Golden Rule to help them see God in a new Light?
Fortunately, I have never been discriminated against as a Christian. I think this is something that we have taken for granted in America because we have such a freedom to practice as God leads us. This could be very different if we lived in another part of the world. Thank God that we are able to be unapologetically Christian in this country. I have recently become a surrogate mother to a girl in our neighborhood. She goes to school with my children and is often unsupervised for hours. I have found this disturbing. Her mother is not on drugs, she is just oblivious that sometimes parenting requires undivided attention. The girl is a handfull; she talks non-stop and constantly craves attention. She has a smart mouth and has never learned any manners. My first inclination is to turn away from her; send her home each time she gets out of line. This devotional has made me look at her differently. She craves attention because she has never had any. She doesn't have any manners becasue she has never been taught any. Instead of being one more grown up who judges her for being out of place, perhaps I can make a difference in her life. I was just about to give up on her and tell her to stay at home, but when I consider the alternative, I just can't do it. I recently talked to her about personal safety, doing homework, hygeine and minding your manners when you are a guest in other people's homes. My husband told her that she can come over after school but only after she has informed an adult of her whereabouts and that she has to bring her school work to participate in study time. She has eaten with us for the past three days instead of, as she says , having Pop Tarts for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We read daily about children becoming statistics, kidnapped, dropping out of school, becoming unwed mothers. Maybe if they hadn't been treated as aliens by every adult in their life, things would have been different. What I have learned from this devotional is that it is easy to treat people kindly when they are the same as us; the difficulty arises when they are aliens. If I was to go to a different country, church, city, planet; if I became an alien, I hope that someone would treat me as their native born. Thank you God for giving us The Law, by which we know what is required of us to be saved.
What unintentional sins have you committed in
the past few days? Spend some time asking God to reveal your sins to you.
Now offer God a sacrifice of repentance and of
praise for declaring you not guilty
Whom can you serves sacrificially? How will you
go about this?
Lately I have been struggling with
the sin of discontent. I keep rehashing over and over in my mind things that I
could have done differently in my life. Ojalá. If only I would have done A,
B, C or D, I would have more, be more, be able to do more. I want to give more
to the needy; do more for my church; I want to live in a bigger house; have all
of my bills paid and not worry about being able to retire comfortably when the time
comes. I want, I want, I want. But then I think about the way I feel when my
children are constantly asking me for the same thing over and over. I easily
respond to them, “You have everything you need.” I realize that to God maybe I
am sounding like a spoiled child, “begging” for something that I don’t have to
have or maybe that I really don’t need. Sometimes when I tell my children no, I
may not have the money, the time or the energy. Sometimes I tell them no
because I want them to learn one of life’s greatest lessons; you can’t always
get what you want even though I have it to give. There have been times that I have
said no when I had a pocket full of money, a free schedule and energy to burn.
But I know that giving your children everything that they want just because
they ask for it is a very dangerous thing. God knows this too. They become insatiable and live
their lives just to acquire more stuff. They are never satisfied. OK, God. I
understand. I am no different than them. I have to accept that My Father has
all of the riches in Heaven and Earth. He will supply all of my “needs”.
Everything else is a blessing and in order for me to be blessed in the way that
He sees fit, I must be content where I am right now with what I have right now. as a matter of fact, if he never does another thing for me, I need to be content. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it is necessary. If God revealed all that he
has for me right here and right now, first I would be overwhelmed, but as soon
as that passed, I would be forever looking for more. So I want to offer God my
contentment and look around at all of the things that I have and see how
blessed I really am. I have food, shelter, clothing and a family that I love,
and they love me back. What more do I have to ask for? I don’t need more stuff;
I need more God. I know in my heart that there is someone who has a genuine
need. I will be grateful and seek out someone who is not just a “begging”
child, but has a true need and help them meet it. Maybe then, I will be truly satisfied
and content. Thank you Lord, for your sacrifice that I may be forgiven for my sin of discontent.
When the people saw the thunder
and the lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they
trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses”Speak to us
yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the
fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
Reflection:
1.Have you ever
found yourself fearing God in the way the Israelites feared him at Mt. Sinai?
2.How does the
fear of the Lord keep you from sinning, as God said to Moses?
3.What “Heart
Trouble” are you experiencing right now? Turn to God in trust and ask Him to
perform his good work on your behalf.
Related Readings:
Proverbs 1:1-7
Proverbs 3: 5-6
Luke 18:18-27
Sometimes I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach. I am
just worrying and worrying. Did I do this right? Did I say something wrong? When
am I going to have peace from this worrying? Am I a good mother, wife, sister,
friend? I don’t know if this is fear, but maybe it is. Maybe it is the fear of
being judged, not by man, but by God. Am I going to be in the number? But then,
when I read today’s reflection and the passage from Exodus, I thought to myself…my
fear is a good thing. I always hear people (me included) saying that they don’t
care what people think of them. It’s alright to say that. I think what we mean
is we make difficult decisions in our lives that people who are on the outside
looking in have no idea how anguished we
were over those decisions. They have no stake in the outcome of these
decisions, but they always want to put their two cents in. They want you to
leave your spouse, but where are they when you can’t sleep at night, pay your
bills or comfort your ailing child? They want you to put your child on the
street. They can’t remember that they were Hell on wheels during their teenage
years, too. They want you to quit your job because your coworkers are "getting on your nerves". Can they pay their bills and yours too? Can you move in with them and their family when you get evicted? They want to be involved in all of the decisions concerning you and
yours so that they can watch you suffer and fall apart while they turn their
back and go on living their lives.
So, No, I don’t care what these people think. They can give
opinions, advice, or whatever it is that they have to give, but they are not God.
And in the end I care what He thinks. I think that this is why I
have that feeling in my stomach. I want Him to be happy
with me. I want him to go down the list: Did she have any other Gods before Me?
No. Check. Did she make idols? No. Check
. Did she misuse my name? Keep the Sabbath Holy? Honor her Father and Mother?
Commit murder, adultery, theft? Give false testimony? Covet her neighbor’s
husband, house, poolboy, maidservant, and car? Check, check, check check….
I guess I don’t care what people think, but I DO care what God
thinks. And because I know what He has commanded me to do and who He has
commanded me to be, I am fearful.
So Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
Reflection: He Breaks Us to Make Us
Describe the times you have wandered from God
and how you sensed him relentlessly seeking you?
How has God broken you physically, emotionally,
or spiritually? What was the result?
God is a good shepherd; thank him for his care
for you even when you don’t understand his methods.
The question would be how many
times have I wandered from God? I spent so many years running away; sometimes I
wonder how he caught me. In my adult life, I have been a member of three churches.
I joined the first church because I felt drawn to it. I drove past it many
times on my way to the club and I always thought, one Sunday morning I will go
there. I stopped in, and joined but I didn’t really feel connected. After a
while I just stopped going. I visited the second church on New Year’s Eve with
my family. I visited for a while and then I joined. Most of my family belonged
there. I really enjoyed my experience there. The pastor was quite amazing (and
still is). I just didn’t feel connected. I stopped going and I stayed away from
church for many years. I still read my Bible and listened to my gospel music. I prayed
and all the while I kept telling myself that I needed a church home, but made
excuse after excuse for why I just didn’t fit anywhere. I began visiting
churches. I didn’t say much to anyone because I didn’t want to feel the
pressure to join a church. I prayed and told myself that this time I would wait
on God. There was nothing wrong with any of the churches that I had visited. I
was touched by the most amazing words, sermons and songs. But then something
happened. I had a school assignment where I had to research what a loving
church would look like. Through my research I discovered the United Church of Christ. I discovered what they believed and I
began to see that their beliefs were in line with what I believed. God loves us
all, equally. I realized that the connection was between me and God. Denominationalism is of man; it doesn't matter what church I am a member of. God Reigns over the body of Christ. And He is still speaking. He has a place for us all in his
Kingdom and he will not judge. It is only
when we are still and listening that we can not only hear him,but be obedient
to his message.Thank you, Lord, for being a Shepherd to me and taking care of
me when I did not understand your methods.
UPDATE: For the sake of clarity, the devotionals will be taken from the passage that we are reading.
These are personal reflections. In essence, this is about you and your relationship with Christ. I understand that placing your heart on a blog may not feel comfortable to everyone, so please comment as you feel comfortable. If you just want to keep your own personal journal that is OK. God will be pleased with that. Spirit Quest is just that- Your own personal journey with God, so please share as you see fit knowing that your reflections may be an inspiration to someone who is struggling with the very thing that God has already brought you through.
In the face of a flood, who would you take into the Ark?
How are you preparing for the inevitable storms of life?
Has God Commanded you to do things that may seem foolish to others? In what ways are you obeying Him?
Related Readings:
Hebrews 11:1-16
1 Peter 3:13-22
2 Peter 11-18
This seems like a no-brainer. Of course in a terrible storm you would bring your closest loved ones- your parents, brothers and sisters, maybe some cousins. In the course of my life, I really hadn't thought about this seriously. After my friends and loved ones, I would think of the people I didn't want to go, but then I thought that the people I don't want to go are the primary ones who should be there. What if someone else wanted to keep me off of their Ark? Who would include or exclude you from their Ark? Are there people in your life who challenge you? Would you take them or just the people that you get along with and have easy relationships with? God chose Noah because he was righteous. So I would trust him on this. If he chose me, I would not assume that I was the only chosen one; whoever gets on that boat is there for God's purpose.
I have done so many things that may seem foolish to others, but I have always felt guided. I do not wear my heart on my sleeve or always share with those close to me what I am thinking or feeling. I understand that this lack of explanation may be frustrating to those who love me, but I have always had God as a guiding force in my life and am fully aware that things I do that may seem foolish to others have already been blessed by God. Obeying the word can be difficult because people often cause me to question the very thing that I feel God has already told me to do. Have you ever done something and said to yourself, “what will people think about that? What will they say?” For me this is what makes it difficult. It is only when I drown out everyone else’s voice that I am able to stop caring about what they think I should be doing and I go ahead with God’s vision- as foolish as it may seem to others.
“There are some things you learn best in calm and some in storm.” Willa Cather
"I am not afraid of storms for I am learning to sail my ship" Louisa May Alcott
Let's take a journey together. Like many of you, I have questioned my spirituality. Over the years I have found myself at many stages in my relatioship with God; happy, sad, upset, disappointed, joyous, satisfied, prayerful, but mostly fulfilled knowing that his love will sustain me through all of those emotions. I have also learned for myself that spirituality is a journey and not a destination. Each of us as christians, especially Christian Women have struggled with our faith through marriage, divorce, child-rearing, (un)employment, and all of the trial that life has to offer.
I am not a minister. I do not claim to have the answer to any theological question; in fact,I have many more questions than answers. I am a layperson who is trying to gorw in Christ and my daily walk. I created Spirit Quest to assist me and others who have, are, or will be struggling with questions of spirituality to join me here to discuss and take this journey together. Spirit Quest is not a place for hatred, politics or taking a stance on who is right or wrong; God will ultimately judge. it is a place to grow spiritually, share insights, scripture, stories, and songs to aid others on their spiritual journey in hope that we can all grow in our understanding of our relationship with Christ.
Unfortunately since I don't have publishing rights to the text, you will have to have a copy of the new Women's Devotional Bible to read the devotionals; however, anyone is able to participate in the dsicussions.
I wrote my first blog over two years ago. Since then, I have been on a journey of personal discovery but in many ways have still remained exactly where I was. Has anyone ever had that happen. You vow over and over to change, but for whatever reason you stay the same. Sometimes life allows us to remain complacent or change does not really seem necessary. There is no urgency for us to change. It is not until we are given a medical diagnosis, pink slip or served with a court order that we really see the need to take action.
I had actually forgotten that I even wrote this blog. My husband had to write a blog for one of his school courses and he asked me to review it. Something made me log onto my own account and there was my blog, all written out telling the world what I was planning to do with it and how it would be used to bring women on a spiritual quest together, but guess what? I had never hit that publish button.
So here we are in 2012 and I am publishing a blog. I hope this is an inspiration to someone, but really, I hope that it helps me grow in my walk with Christ and become closer to him. I will share music, verses and testimony and hope that all of you will do the same. If the text brings to mind a song or related verse, please share it with us. Invite your friends to join in on the conversation.
I first purchased The New Women's Devotional Bible on my Kindle, It is a great tool, but this is actually a book that you may want to hold in your hand. I ended up buying the hardcover, and use the Kindle App on my Android phone and my PC.
The great thing about The New Women's Devotional Bible is that it has different reading plans to suit every reader's needs. It has thirty and sixty day reading programs, yearly programs and of course the devotionals. There are 260 daily devotionals and 52 devotionals for the weekends. The first writing will be taken from Chapter entitled "30 Days for Beginning Your Walk With Christ" The Fall of Humanity" Genesis 3:1-19
The Devotionals will be taken from week 34 because this is where we are chronologically on the calendar. I think this is the easiest way to keep up with the weeks. I will blog weekly based on the devotionals for that week.
Unfortunately I do not own the Copyright to this material so in order to read the devotionals, you will have to have access to a copy of the New Women's Devotional Bible; however, anyone is welcome to participate in the discussions.
