I am RESOLVED. Are you?

    Ladies if you thought Ladies Night was a great start to a year of LIVING WELL, last night's bible study was an explosive introduction to the next ten weeks as we intentionally, unrelentingly SEEK God! We are on fire because God has called US OUT and we are ACCEPTING His call. The Women of EFBC are resolved to not just do Church any longer. We are on a mission to SEE GOD!

    To introduce Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself, we had a heart to heart talk about the why's and how's of participating in an in depth study. I'm going to outline what we discussed.

    1. Before you begin the study you must be RESOLVED in your mind that you are actively SEEKING and BELIEVING God. Resolution only comes when we are honest with ourselves about what we believe. If you have unbelief in any of the following areas, that unbelief will be an obstacle to Oneness with God. Can you confidently say...

        a. God is who He says He is.

        b. God can do what He says He can do.

        c. I am who God says I am.

        d. I can do all things through Christ.

        e. God's Word is alive and active in me.

    2. Understand that you CANNOT Live Well apart from God. Who are you apart from God? I can admit that I am the meanest of the meanest without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Sure without the holy Spirit I could be sweet on a good day, but cross me and I would cut you rain or shine. And then I'd proceed to tell you why you deserve to be laying in the street bleeding. That's just the truth about who I am apart from God. I can't really experience a patience and joy that allows me to forgive or show compassion without God's help. Imagine how well YOU will live when the Fruit of the Spirit abounds in your everyday experience.

    3. In depth Bible Study requires WORK. I cannot deny the level of commitment that is required for you to complete this study. Whether you are a seasoned Bible Study participant or this is your first time participating in Bible Study, you must engage the lessons outside of Sunday morning and Wednesday night. If you don't currently have quiet time with God every day, commit to ten minutes reviewing lesson notes daily. For bible study veterans, challenge yourself to complete ALL of the homework lessons. Whichever level you find yourself, you have to make a commitment to consistently study on a level that is challenging AND daily sustainable.

    4. Learning more about God requires SACRIFICE. To study you must decide to turn off the television, get off Facebook, turn the ringer off your phone, wake up earlier/stay awake later, ask your husband to leave you alone when he sees your bible open, or put the kids to bed on time. Whatever it takes. Whatever is in the way. Whatever is compromising your time with the Lord. Make up your mind to let it go for the next ten weeks.

    5. Your sacrifice is worth it because God rewards those who diligently seek Him! And the reward is Oneness with God. If you are RESOLVED to be like Christ than isn't Oneness with God through His Holy Spirit your greatest desire? We are not looking for external rewards: cars, money, hot dates, etc. We want the REWARD of heart surgery that transforms us into the kinds of women who through self-discipline have financial blessings, through faithfulness have dynamic relationships, through joy live life with an exclamation point! You will be rewarded.

Any ladies who were present, please feel free to fill in any points that I missed in this outline. Or if there was a point that really hit home for you, share it with us here. Your ideas bless others in ways that you may never realize.

I look forward to getting to know each of you better as we journey through God's Word. If I can help you in any way, please don't hesitate to post a question, comment or suggestion here or contact me at ehjohnson@efbcministries.com. If you are unable to join us on Wednesdays at 7pm or Sundays at 9:15am, that is okay! Keep checking in on the blog, post your comments, follow me on twitter (@efbc_ladyj);  do whatever you can to remain a part of this transformative experience. We would love to reach out to you and review your homework over the phone. Just let us know.

Live Well,

Lady J



    

Ladies Night Lesson

The Following are my notes from the talk I gave at Ladies Night on Friday. Thank you EFBC for such a great turn out. It is always a pleasure to share God's word with you. Please don't forget to leave a comment and let us know you were here. I think it's awesome that we are building an online community! Talk to you soon.

Good Bye, Chaos!

Chaos defined:

1. a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order.

2. any confused, disorderly mass: a chaos of meaningless phrases.

3. the infinity of space or formless matter supposed to have preceded the existence of the ordered universe.

4. ( initial capital letter ) the personification of this in any of several ancient Greek myths.

We are on a mission to Live Well. Living Well means that our activities reflect our priorities. So chaos ensues when we say one thing but consume our time with unrelated activities that do not reinforce the priority. So what do we do. First, we must accept the following four ideas about ourselves: vulnerability, responsibility, capability, and accountability. Next, we must choose to make our relationship with God our top priority and intentionally align our activities with this priority. Lastly, we must daily commit to living like Christ.

1.Accept Vulnerability- God is made strong in our weakness

You know what your weaknesses are. God knows what your weaknesses are. And he chose you because of your weaknesses. Stop running from your weaknesses. Much of the chaos in our lives comes from the exhaustion we are feeling trying to hide our vulnerabilities. Public Service Announcement: Your tired of masking weakness and we're tired of trying to see YOU through all the junk you are disguising yourself in. Instead, engage God as He transforms your weaknesses into strengths for ministry.

2. Accept Responsibility-The power of your mind

You are who you are because you choose to be you. Your mind, thoughts dictate your habits, emotions and the capacity of your faith. You must take responsibility for yourself. Have a moment of personal honesty. Explain to yourself why you are choosing to live in your current situation. "I refuse to be hurt again. I know how to live with this stress, I'm afraid to let it go. What if the other side is worse than this? What if I fail? I'm not expecting to live past 40 anyway." Your moment of personal honesty will cause you to come face to face with who you believe God is. If God created us in His image, why do I believe negative aspects of myself cannot be corrected. God wants me to live UP to my potential, but often we learn to survive in despair for so long that LEARNED HELPLESSNESS paralyzes us. To Live Well you must take responsibility for every aspect of your life that you can control and daily give to God those areas you have no control over.

3. Accept Capability- I can do all things through Christ.

God is able. God is able. God is able. You are capable. If you are going to truly say Good Bye, Chaos! you have to decide what your priorities are, set goals and work your plan. I say all the time, "women can have it all but we can not have it all at the same time." Understand what season of life you are in and maximize the season. Chaos begins to disappear when we are focused on the right priorities.

Stop operating based upon your feelings. You may never feel like it but that does not diminish the need for "it" to get done. Just like you have to come to grips with who God is, you have to come to grips with how you see yourself. If you don't see yourself healthy, strong, loveable, friendly, connected, joyful, sexy, kind, wealthy...you won't be.

4. Accept Accountability-We are the body of Christ.

You will never evolve into the person God designed you to be without participating in relationships. Surround yourself with a community of Christian Women who love the Lord and are willing to Love you as you grow in Christ. Chaos sets in when we operate in isolation. For too long, we have misunderstood isolation as independence. I want you to redefine independence as the ability to think, reason and decide for yourself. Saying you are "doing it on your own" or think "you don't need anybody", just means you are falling into the enemies trap. He wants to get you alone so he can infiltrate your thoughts as you give yourself counsel. No, you need wise Godly council. You need women who are going to hold you accountable to what you say you believe. Women who will challenge and cheer you as you reach your goals.

Walking on the Water

Matthew 14:22-36

^22-23As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night. ^24-26Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o'clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. "A ghost!" they said, crying out in terror. ²⁷But Jesus was quick to comfort them. "Courage, it's me. Don't be afraid."

²⁸Peter, suddenly bold, said, "Master, if it's really you, call me to come to you on the water."

^29-30He said, "Come ahead." Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, "Master, save me!"

³¹Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, "Faint-heart, what got into you?"

^32-33The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, "This is it! You are God's Son for sure!" ^34-36On return, they beached the boat at Gennesaret. When the people got wind that he was back, they sent out word through the neighborhood and rounded up all the sick, who asked for permission to touch the edge of his coat. And whoever touched him was healed.

God does not want you to live in a constant state of chaos.

Learn from Peter and stop drowning in a chaotic mind and lifestyle.

1. v. 26        Be able to recognize God. Only way to recognize Him is to know Him. Only way to know Him is to spend         time with Him. Dedicate time daily to being alone with God.



2. v.28        Know that Jesus has already called you to come out! Stop listening to hear Him call you. He already has.         Today is the day to take action toward your destiny in Christ.



3. v. 28         Don't use "be yourself" as an excuse to not be who God created you to be.



4. v. 30          Focus on God and you won't get distracted by the waves.



5. v. 31         If you are like Christ, you will not hesitate to reach out and grab others who cry out for help. And they will         do the same for you.



6. v. 31         "you of little faith, why did you doubt" Constantly look for your areas of doubt and unbelief. Ask God to         grow your faith and engage the process.



7. v. 32        Follow Christ. If Jesus gets back in the boat, maybe you should too. No one is asking you to be "Super         Perfect Holy Saint". So heavenly you are no earthly good. You are human, be human. You are a             woman, be a woman. Be you, to the Glory of God.