OK. I have to be honest. I keep doing this. I just found out that I will have to get permission from the publisher to conduct a blog on Experiencing God even if I cite it. I can however conduct my own Breakfast with God. I personally think it will be better. I can use all of my study resources to conduct it.
Also, I have decided to move my blog to Blogger. The new address is http://biblegrounds.blogspot.com/
Pray for this. Pray that God draws people to Him through this ministry. My desire is to glorify God and bring people to a better understanding of Him including myself.
I do apologize fo rthose who are expecting a consistent blog post. I will do my best. I do however consider other writers. If you would like to write a post just submit it via email or through a comment to this post.
D. Shannon Rainwater <><
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Experiencing God Day 1
Military pilots and civilian alike are trained to know what the gauges are saying. They know to trust them. When I was going through Naval Aircrewman school, we went through what was known as the "Spin and Puke". It was a pod in which you sat in that was allowed to spin left and right as well as around in a big circle with other pods. There was a joystick on a display pad so that when asked you had to determine what angle you thought your wings were at. The instructors spun the machine so that we were disoriented, hence the "Spin" part and then they spun the individual pods, hence the "Puke" part. No I didn't puke or hear of anyone in my class puke but I can see why they would call it that. The objective of this was simply to let you experience that your body is not meant to fly. After spinning around we were asked to indicate where do we "feel" the wings should be at. Then they would reveal that the tilting that we felt was totally opposite and sometimes we were stopped. In an aircraft, the forces being felt by your body tricks your brain into thinking that the wings are in a left turn when in fact the wings are actually in a right turn. This obviously could lead to a very dangerous situation. So to counter this "feeling", the pilots are trained to rely on the flight gauges. The gauges never lie and can be trusted. (I do realize that there can be some mechanical and electrical failures that could lead the gauges wrong but in most situations they worked.)
When we as Christians go through our daily lives, we tend to live by our "feelings". Then we wonder "What is God's will for me today?" Often we get no reply. Do we hear God's voice? Do we trust it when we do? How do we hear it? Audibly? This series on Experiencing God we are going to explore what it means to really get closer to Him. Just as the helicopter pilots that I flew with learned to trust their instruments and distinguish their feelings versus what the helicopter is doing, we will distinguish God's voice and will for our lives. So without further adieu lets look at the book. If you do not have the book then just follow along with my lead. I'll post a link later for you to order the book. It would be advisable to keep a journal while doing this Bible study. You will need to answer questions as we go along. Don't worry I will never them and neither will anyone else, unless you share them. Also, writing your answers in a journal will help you review if you happen to miss a day or two. You will notice progress in your walk with Christ as you look back in your answers.
1. When you come to the Lord Jesus to seek His will for your life, which of the following requests is most like what you ask? Check your response.
You know many of us just wants to know the place where God wants us to go and we will find the way there. Instead we should let our response correspond to the second one. It's almost like we were taken to the amusement park by our parents and then told to meet back up at a certain time. We rode every ride that we saw first and stood in long lines just to ride to best ones. However, our parents saw the big picture and wanted us to experience the whole park by following a certain path. You see, when we follow our own path we miss the blessings of the whole. Who is it that really knows the way for you to go to fulfill God's purpose in your life? God is. Jesus said, "I am the Way."
If you were to do everything that Jesus tells you one day at a time, do you suppose that you always would be right in the center of where God wants you to be?
The book tells of how Abram (later to be renamed Abraham) followed GOd one day at a time. God told him to go to a land that I will show you.
Gen 12:1-5 The LORD said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father's house to the land that I will show you. (2) I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (4) So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. (5) He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people he had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
How specific was God? He just told Abram to go. Where? "To a land where I will show you." Are you ready to follow God in that way? (This is a good time for journal reflection)
God is more likely to call you one day at a time rather than giving you the whole details.
Please comment on this material. I take each comment serious. It only makes it better.
When we as Christians go through our daily lives, we tend to live by our "feelings". Then we wonder "What is God's will for me today?" Often we get no reply. Do we hear God's voice? Do we trust it when we do? How do we hear it? Audibly? This series on Experiencing God we are going to explore what it means to really get closer to Him. Just as the helicopter pilots that I flew with learned to trust their instruments and distinguish their feelings versus what the helicopter is doing, we will distinguish God's voice and will for our lives. So without further adieu lets look at the book. If you do not have the book then just follow along with my lead. I'll post a link later for you to order the book. It would be advisable to keep a journal while doing this Bible study. You will need to answer questions as we go along. Don't worry I will never them and neither will anyone else, unless you share them. Also, writing your answers in a journal will help you review if you happen to miss a day or two. You will notice progress in your walk with Christ as you look back in your answers.
1. When you come to the Lord Jesus to seek His will for your life, which of the following requests is most like what you ask? Check your response.
- Lord, What do you want me to do? When you do you want me to do it? How shall I do it? Where shall I do it? Who do you want me to involve along the way? And please tell me what the outcome will be.
- Lord, just tell me what to do one step at a time, and I will do it.
You know many of us just wants to know the place where God wants us to go and we will find the way there. Instead we should let our response correspond to the second one. It's almost like we were taken to the amusement park by our parents and then told to meet back up at a certain time. We rode every ride that we saw first and stood in long lines just to ride to best ones. However, our parents saw the big picture and wanted us to experience the whole park by following a certain path. You see, when we follow our own path we miss the blessings of the whole. Who is it that really knows the way for you to go to fulfill God's purpose in your life? God is. Jesus said, "I am the Way."
If you were to do everything that Jesus tells you one day at a time, do you suppose that you always would be right in the center of where God wants you to be?
The book tells of how Abram (later to be renamed Abraham) followed GOd one day at a time. God told him to go to a land that I will show you.
Gen 12:1-5 The LORD said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father's house to the land that I will show you. (2) I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (4) So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. (5) He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people he had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
How specific was God? He just told Abram to go. Where? "To a land where I will show you." Are you ready to follow God in that way? (This is a good time for journal reflection)
God is more likely to call you one day at a time rather than giving you the whole details.
Please comment on this material. I take each comment serious. It only makes it better.
Monday, July 25, 2011
New Daily Bible Study... and the winner is....
Alright, the readers voted and the winner is...... Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby.
Every day if you are registered, you will receive an email containing the lesson for the day. I will post the bible memory verses and any questions from the book. I will comment on the sections as well as give you all the lesson for the day along with the assignments. I encourage everyone to actively particpate and discuss the content.
My goal is to get 1000 readers by the end of the year.
I encourage everyone to tell their friends about this site. I will add more as we go along. The first lesson will be coming later on today!
As an introduction Experiencing God is a daily walk. It requires that you contemplate and focus on Jesus. Since the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden God has been actively seeking a relationship with man. Since we are sinful, we can not commune with God because He is Holy and can not associate with sin. When we seek after Him, He will draw near to us. This is the will of God in our lives. As we study through this book, we will not only seek this relationship but we will 1. Learn to hear when God is speaking to us, 2. Find out where God is working and join Him, 3. Experience God doing through you what only God can do!
Every day if you are registered, you will receive an email containing the lesson for the day. I will post the bible memory verses and any questions from the book. I will comment on the sections as well as give you all the lesson for the day along with the assignments. I encourage everyone to actively particpate and discuss the content.
My goal is to get 1000 readers by the end of the year.
I encourage everyone to tell their friends about this site. I will add more as we go along. The first lesson will be coming later on today!
As an introduction Experiencing God is a daily walk. It requires that you contemplate and focus on Jesus. Since the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden God has been actively seeking a relationship with man. Since we are sinful, we can not commune with God because He is Holy and can not associate with sin. When we seek after Him, He will draw near to us. This is the will of God in our lives. As we study through this book, we will not only seek this relationship but we will 1. Learn to hear when God is speaking to us, 2. Find out where God is working and join Him, 3. Experience God doing through you what only God can do!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Options for Daily Study
Updated 7/23/2011
So far Experiencing God is in the lead for the most votes. Keep it coming! Voting ends tomorrow at 8pm! Monday will be the big announcement and then the first devotional post.
I would like to hear from my readers. Since this Blog is going under construction in the days and maybe weeks to come, I am still working things out.
I have a few ideas on Daily Devotionals:
1. The Mind of Christ by T W Hunt and Claude N. King
2. Spending Time Alone with God, from the moving toward maturity series, by Barry St. Clair
3. Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby
Comment on which of these you would like to see every morning. My understanding is that you could sign up for email updates and get the post sent directly to your email.
Also I can get permission to recreate any worksheet items so you too can follow along.
What do you think??
So far Experiencing God is in the lead for the most votes. Keep it coming! Voting ends tomorrow at 8pm! Monday will be the big announcement and then the first devotional post.
I would like to hear from my readers. Since this Blog is going under construction in the days and maybe weeks to come, I am still working things out.
I have a few ideas on Daily Devotionals:
1. The Mind of Christ by T W Hunt and Claude N. King
2. Spending Time Alone with God, from the moving toward maturity series, by Barry St. Clair
3. Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby
Comment on which of these you would like to see every morning. My understanding is that you could sign up for email updates and get the post sent directly to your email.
Also I can get permission to recreate any worksheet items so you too can follow along.
What do you think??
Friday, July 15, 2011
HELP!!! I Need a website extreme makeover
Seriously... can you come up with a better look?
Comment... send email... call me say something...
I am looking at something that is easily maintained and something that is easy to read. May be something in the future about selling things. I kind of want it to be like dailyaudiobible.com
Comment... send email... call me say something...
I am looking at something that is easily maintained and something that is easy to read. May be something in the future about selling things. I kind of want it to be like dailyaudiobible.com
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Don't be Saul, be a David
As some of you probably have already known I have had a birthday recently. It was significant because I turned the big 4-0. With turning 40 I have to get doctor's check up. Especially with it being summer and I'm off work because I am a teacher, I have the time to go. My first visit was for a blood test and examination of some spots on my arm. The result was that I have high cholesterol and I am showing signs of glucose intolerance, the pre-stages of diabetes. WHAT?!?!? What about my arm? I have these hard spots under the skin and I'm being told about a blood test from 6 months ago?Hmmm... I now have to go back in for a glucose test. So I drink the nasty concentrated orange soda and wait for the nurse to come in and prick my finger every hour. Yep my glucose level is high, which means that my body isn't getting rid of the sugar. Solution? Diet and exercise. Doc said that the diet needs to be high protein and low carb. Little did I know that trying to stay on this diet was going to be a battle. For one thing the food is expensive and second I didn't realize how much I love carbs. (I am eating ravioli as I write this... shhh don't tell my Dr.) He said he wants to put me on Metformin. It's a medicine that re-instructs my body on what it's supposed to do with insulin.
Next was to get my ears checked. For a while now everyone says I have to have them repeat things in a conversation. My wife says that I can't hear thunder which is my excuse when trying to participate in conversations in crowded rooms or social get togethers. The first doctor I go to tells me that I have stress in my throat and prescribes me Omnaris. What? Stress? Isn't Omnaris an allergy med? For the throat? At least that is what I think he said. So, needless to say I went to make an appointment at another audiologist. Dr. Jones, now we have this thing goin on... (sorry bad joke). This result came out that I had a hearing problem. My left ear is really bad and my right is moderately bad. At best I can only hear 47% of the conversations. There was a commercial a while back that had 3 men in a conference room having a meeting. Two of the guys were doing most of the talking but the third guy was struggling to understand. He heard them talking gibberish which is what the audience hears them to say. Things like "Bubble gum cappuccino wrapped in cheese". This scenario describes exactly what I hear in a conversation in a crowded room. Anyway the audiologist recommended that I get hearing aids. I kind of figured that is what he was going to say and did a little research. The cheapest aids on the market are at least $1500 for one. And they only last for about 6 years. Insurance companies consider these a cosmetic device and covers only a portion of them. My coverage is for $1000 every 3 years. So I do more research and found that I can get a used pair from ebay or craigslist for under $1000. But there is one catch. I don't have $1000 and my flex spending card can't be used for purchases in this manner.
I did in fact find a great deal. It was for a pair that has every feature I liked and was one of the top of the line hearing aids on the market. They were for $500. I told my wife and she gave me the answer "I good with whatever decision you make". This is usually how we make money decisions in our family. We use the protocol of asking the other spouse for permission and want them to give the right answer but the other dodges responsibility and puts it back on the other. Kinda like tennis.
Finally I asked her "I want you to tell me you real answer. What do you think i should do?" She said, "Don't be a Saul, be a David." Since my first name IS David, I was wondering what she meant. She explained that her boss at work had a Bible study about Saul and David. Saul was the king that tried to do things himself and then wanted God to either honor it or make it the right thing to do in the situation. David, who was known as a man after God's own heart, waited for God to work.
As I thought about this concept, how many times have we wanted God to make what we did great instead of letting God do the great thing? Hmmmm. Come to think about it, this concept is taught throughout the Bible. We tend to try to do things under our own power and fail miserably. Why can't we be a David and let God be God!
How about you? What are some ways that you have wanted God to move in your life and you were impatient and moved for yourself? How did it work out? (I do realize that sometimes we do the right thing and we do succeed)
Have you ever trusted God whole-heartedly? How did that work out?
Have you ever witnessed these scenarios in other people's lives? Did it work out for them? What would be something different that you would have done?
Please remember to comment!!!
Next was to get my ears checked. For a while now everyone says I have to have them repeat things in a conversation. My wife says that I can't hear thunder which is my excuse when trying to participate in conversations in crowded rooms or social get togethers. The first doctor I go to tells me that I have stress in my throat and prescribes me Omnaris. What? Stress? Isn't Omnaris an allergy med? For the throat? At least that is what I think he said. So, needless to say I went to make an appointment at another audiologist. Dr. Jones, now we have this thing goin on... (sorry bad joke). This result came out that I had a hearing problem. My left ear is really bad and my right is moderately bad. At best I can only hear 47% of the conversations. There was a commercial a while back that had 3 men in a conference room having a meeting. Two of the guys were doing most of the talking but the third guy was struggling to understand. He heard them talking gibberish which is what the audience hears them to say. Things like "Bubble gum cappuccino wrapped in cheese". This scenario describes exactly what I hear in a conversation in a crowded room. Anyway the audiologist recommended that I get hearing aids. I kind of figured that is what he was going to say and did a little research. The cheapest aids on the market are at least $1500 for one. And they only last for about 6 years. Insurance companies consider these a cosmetic device and covers only a portion of them. My coverage is for $1000 every 3 years. So I do more research and found that I can get a used pair from ebay or craigslist for under $1000. But there is one catch. I don't have $1000 and my flex spending card can't be used for purchases in this manner.
I did in fact find a great deal. It was for a pair that has every feature I liked and was one of the top of the line hearing aids on the market. They were for $500. I told my wife and she gave me the answer "I good with whatever decision you make". This is usually how we make money decisions in our family. We use the protocol of asking the other spouse for permission and want them to give the right answer but the other dodges responsibility and puts it back on the other. Kinda like tennis.
Finally I asked her "I want you to tell me you real answer. What do you think i should do?" She said, "Don't be a Saul, be a David." Since my first name IS David, I was wondering what she meant. She explained that her boss at work had a Bible study about Saul and David. Saul was the king that tried to do things himself and then wanted God to either honor it or make it the right thing to do in the situation. David, who was known as a man after God's own heart, waited for God to work.
As I thought about this concept, how many times have we wanted God to make what we did great instead of letting God do the great thing? Hmmmm. Come to think about it, this concept is taught throughout the Bible. We tend to try to do things under our own power and fail miserably. Why can't we be a David and let God be God!
How about you? What are some ways that you have wanted God to move in your life and you were impatient and moved for yourself? How did it work out? (I do realize that sometimes we do the right thing and we do succeed)
Have you ever trusted God whole-heartedly? How did that work out?
Have you ever witnessed these scenarios in other people's lives? Did it work out for them? What would be something different that you would have done?
Please remember to comment!!!
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