Here are the words for the fill-in-the-blanks in our Sheila Walsh “The Shelter of God’s Promises” women’s Bible study!
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
No matter what might be raging around you right at this very moment, God promises shelter and cover when you’re at your most vulnerable and alone.
We can trust a God who is holding the entire universe together to hold us together, even when everything seems to be falling apart.
Our faithlessness does nothing to diminish God’s faithfulness.
The Father is truly the only promise maker who is always a promise keeper.
Homework:
* read chapter 1 in our books (“Promises, Promises / I Need Something to Hold On To”)
* journal our 11 questions for the week
* memorize 2 Corinthians 1:20
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19).
It’s important to note that Paul refers to their needs, but he makes no mention of their wants. There is a chasm of difference between what we need and what our culture has lulled us into wanting.
God knows our every need and has been proven to provide abundantly beyond what we can rightly expect.
Prayer is when we partner with God to bring about His will for our lives.
“I am the bread of life” means “I am your source for everything.”
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
Jesus Christ is the Author and Source of all peace!
When we keep our focus on the solid footing of Jesus Christ, we will have peace.
A heart of prayer cultivates peace.
Only Christ can save . . . Only He can bring peace.
When Christ speaks to storms inside and outside the human heart, both obey.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 14:14)
Romans chapter 8 begins with “no condemnation” and ends with “no separation.”
That is our calling; to be conformed, to be made like Christ.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
Shame tells us not that we’ve done something wrong but that we are something wrong.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing – not time or circumstances or space.
When the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change, then you will change.
God’s love conquered both sin and death.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
If we allow shame to occupy our hearts, we force grace right out the back door.
When you look closer at the Greek word for “shame,” it actually means, “to disfigure.”
“My grace is sufficient” = right now, at this very moment.
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.” (Hebrews 13:5-6)
One of the most redemptive elements of our suffering is the comfort and hope we’re able to share with others when they suffer too.
Our experiences with pain and struggle, trouble, and hardship do not diminish the promises of God at all.
He calls us to live with questions draped in assurance.
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
God’s plan, from the very beginning, was to overcome the world – not with force but with love – a violent love stronger than death; one that waters cannot quench or rivers overflow.
All the way from Genesis to Revelation, since it has been our inability to cover ourselves, Christ covers us by the washing of his blood.
God is present in the moments of deepest grief, and His arms are wide and clasping – they are strong enough to keep us, and strong enough to lift us from this world.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)
For “ask,” Jesus used the word aiteo, meaning “to entreat, to beg, or to supplicate.”
For “seek,” He used the word zeteo, meaning to seek after, look for, strive to find.
For “knock,” He used the word krouo, meaning to knock at the door with a heavy blow.
Jesus was saying: run to God. Chase Him down. Bang on His door anytime, day or night.
“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)
“He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
For C. S. Lewis, this pull for something more was evidence that something greater, something better, is what we have all been created for – there is far more than just this life. Something was pulling at him that only the eternal could satisfy.
He IS the cleft in the rock. Jesus didn’t come to give us shelter; He came to be our shelter.