OUR INTIMACY WITH GOD

 

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;...'" Genesis 1:26 NASB

LIFE PRINCIPLE 1

OUR INTIMACY WITH GOD - HIS HIGHEST PRIORITY FOR OUR LIVES - DETERMINES THE IMPACT OF OUR LIVES.

   One of our greatest needs is to know we are loved. Each of us has to feel certain, deep down in our hearts, that someone loves us, cares for us, and has our best interests at heart.

   That is how God designed us. He wants us to know He loves us with a passionate intensity too deep for words.

   God created human beings with fellowship in mind - first with Himself, then with others. But we cannot fully love one another until we have ourselves experienced the love of God. We experience His love when we willingly surrender to His call to be our Savior, Lord, and Friend.

   There are at least three reasons God seeks our surrender:

He loves us and desires our fellowship and worship.

   As long as we hold something back from God, we cannot know Him completely or fully experience His love. When we surrender to Him, we get all of Him. 

He wants our service for Him to be effective and fruitful.

   The more we know and love Jesus, the more effective our service will be. The closer we draw to God, the more impact our lives will have. The more energetically we nurture our relationship with the Lord, the greater the positive mark we will leave behind.

He waits for the freedom to bless us.

   God is omnipotent, but He will not violate His own principles. He draws us to Himself so we can experience His love and forgiveness. He asks for our willing surrender so He can give us the best blessings He has to offer.

So why do we resist? With all this in mind, why does anyone resist surrendering to God?

   Pride is the key reason most people resist surrender. They think they know better than God and that they can handle their lives better than He can, so they keep Him at a distance.

   Others do not surrender because they fear what God will do (or not do) for them, They think that if they give Him control, He'll make them do exactly what will make them most miserable.

   Still others refuse to surrender to Christ because they believe Satan's lie, which tells them God is judgmental and will punish them for their mistakes.

   All of this is completely false! God always has our best in mind. He will refuse us no good thing when we gladly submit to His will (Romans 8:32). He tells us, "'I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope'" (Jerimiah 29:11).

   It only makes sense to surrender to God, because when we do, we grow close to Him - His highest priority for us - and we begin to have an impact on our world.

Dr. Charles F. Stanley continues with a personal example from the life of Anne Graham Lotz. . .  

Do you want to know the Savior and live in the fulness of His blessing each day? You can. David wrote, "They who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing" (Psalm 34:10).

When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, He not only forgave you but also made you into a new creature. You were no longer standing at a distance from God but then were able to draw near to Him. . 

   He knows your weaknesses, and if you will tell Him you want Him to take control of your life, He will come to you in a mighty way and bring hope and light to your situation, no matter how dark and hopeless it may feel (Isaiah 55:6.7).

Stanley, Charles F. Life Principles Daily Bible: Biblical Principles for Each Day of the Year. Nashville, Thomas Nelson. 2011. page 2.

Our Generous Provider

Psalm 65

¹ Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
    to you our vows will be fulfilled.
² You who answer prayer,
    to you all people will come.
³ When we were overwhelmed by sins,
    you forgave our transgressions.
⁴ Blessed are those you choose
    and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
    of your holy temple.

⁵ You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
    God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas,
⁶ who formed the mountains by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,
⁷ who stilled the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.
⁸ The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.

⁹ You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,
    for so you have ordained it.
¹⁰ You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty,
    and your carts overflow with abundance.
¹² The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills are clothed with gladness.
¹³ The meadows are covered with flocks
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;
    they shout for joy and sing. NIV Bible Gateway.com

   Generosity is usually a term we apply to people, but have you every considered how generous the Lord is toward us? First of all, He created the earth and all its contains as a habitation for mankind. He made the sun to give light and cause vegetation to grow, and He sends rain to water the land and quench our thirst. The Lord has abundantly made provision for our physical needs.

   This alone should cause us to stand in awe of His love and care for us, but His generosity doesn't end with the physical necessities. He's also provided for all our spiritual needs through His Son. As a result of Jesus' death on the cross for our sins, we who believe in Him are reconciled to God and given a wealth of spiritual blessings. We have His Word to Guide us, His Spirit to empower and transform us into Christ's image, and His church to encourage and support us. Yet His generosity doesn't end there.

   The Lord has also promised us an imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance in heaven. (See 1 Pet. 1:4.) All that He has prepared for us is beyond our human understanding, bu Revelation 21 and 22 describe the new heaven and earth as a place of abundance and blessing, untainted by sin and death.

   In light of all that the Lord has so richly provided and promised, gratitude should be our first response. However, since we are His people, who are called to walk in His Spirit, we should also be characterized by generosity toward others. That means meeting not only physical needs but also spiritual ones by proclaiming the gospel and encouraging fellow believers. 

Stanley, Charles F. In"Our Generous Provider." In Touch: Daily Readings For Devoted Living October 2016. Atlanta: In Touch Ministries. page 33.

Set Apart for God

Romans 12:1-3

A Living Sacrifice

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Humble Service in the Body of Christ

³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.  NIV Bible Gateway.com

    By placing faith in Jesus Christ, a person becomes a new believer and is sanctified - that is, set apart for God's purposes. Unlike salvation, which takes place in a single moment, sanctification is a lifelong process. We who are followers of the Savior should be letting the Holy Spirit control our lives. If that's the case, we are currently being sanctified, regardless of what we may feel or how our actions appear to those around us. In other words, we are progressively maturing in our faith.
   And if we are progressing, we must be working our way toward something. The apostle Paul explained the Christian's mission: "For those whom [God] foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom. 8:29). A believer's character, conduct, and conversation should be reflections of Jesus, who lives within. On our own, we might place too much emphasis on behavior and get caugh up in following rules and rituals that look Christian without truly reflecing Christ. But God has given each believer His Holy Spirit as a teacher and guide. The Spirit works to transform our minds and hearts so that we are markedly different from our unsaved peers. When we allow the Spirit to control us, we speak and act in acordance with our true identity: God's sons and daughters.
   Our Father wants His children to be living examples of who He is. He doesn't expect perfection - He knows we can't be totally sinless in our human body. But He shows us how to think and act so we may "walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which [we] have been called" (Eph. 4:1). 
 Stanley, Charles F. "Set Apart for God." In Touch: Daily Readings For Devoted Living August 2016. Atlanta: In Touch Ministries. page 30.

A Special People

1 Peter 2:9-10

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
NIV from www.biblegateway.com

    
 Whenever feelings of low self-worth threaten us with discouragement, we need to rely on the truth of God's Word rather than on our emotions. Today we are going to examine four phrases that describe how the Lord sees every believer.
    A CHOSEN RACE. God chose you and me to be part of His kingdom and family because he wanted us. No one who has been specially selected by almighty God is insignificant.
   A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD. As believer, we are children of God and, therefore, part of a royal family. In other words, we are "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17). Just as Jesus fulfilled the roles of both king and priest, so God has also entrusted us with priestly responsibilities of worship and intercession for others.
   A HOLY NATION. The church - or body of Christ - is a group of people who are holy, which means "set apart" for the purposes of God. Our lives are never meaningless, because living for the Lord is the greatest purpose one can have.
   A PEOPLE FOR GOD'S OWN POSSESSION. You and I are the heavenly Father's personal possessions. (See Deut. 14:2; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 2:9.) Because He sees us a precious, He sent His Son to die on the cross in our place so we could belong to Him.
   Each of these descriptions shows the high value God places on you. Satan may whisper lies of condemnation and criticism, but he can't change who you really are. Begin today to demonstrate the truth of Scripture by remembering your real identity and living out your high calling from the Lord. 

 Stanley, Charles F. "A Special People." In Touch: Daily Readings For Devoted Living. April 2016. page 34.

Know Jesus Christ as Love

   1 John 5:1+ “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and really, that isn't difficult. For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory. And the ones who win this battle against the world are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Son of God…” New Living Translation

   How will anyone know the love of God and know Christ as Savior without knowing who He is? How will anyone believe without studying the Word of God, the Bible?

   “There are many ways to study the Bible, and there are many excellent study aids available to help you with specific books of the Bible. But the most important thing you need to remember is that to find out what the Bible says, you need to read it yourself in a way that will help you discover what it says, what it means, and how you are to apply it to your life.” How to Study Your Bible by Kay Arthur.

   The following quotes are from www.joyfulheart.com. “A ‘deductive’ Bible study begins from a point that the teacher is trying to make, and then uses a number of scripture verses and examples to support that conclusion. Most sermons and Bible studies are conducted this way.

   An ‘Inductive’ Bible study, on the other hand begins with the raw text of scripture, and encourages participants to read the text and draw conclusions directly from the text itself… It trains people to ask questions which help them understand what is going on, what is being said, and how that relates to the rest of the passage.”

   Two authors who write on how to study using the inductive method of Bible study are Irving Jensen and Kay Arthur; or, how about searching the Web for more information.

   The site, shown to me by Al, www.e-sword.org is a great free Bible study. The following is a brief study using e-sword resources.

Analytical-Literal Translation

2Ti 2:15  Be eager [or, diligent] to present yourself approved to God [as] a worker with no need to be ashamed, cutting straight [fig., teaching accurately; or, interpreting correctly] the word of truth. 1965

1889 Darby Bible

2Ti 2:15  … cutting in a straight line the word of truth.

International Standard Version

2Ti 2:15  … handling the word of truth with precision.

New Living Translation

2Ti 2:15 …who correctly explains the word of truth.

Dividing G3718 Thayer Definition:

1) to cut straight, to cut straight ways

1a) to proceed on straight paths, hold a straight course, equiv. to doing right

2) to make straight and smooth, to handle aright, to teach the truth directly and correctly

Word G3056 Thayer Definition:

1) of speech

1a) a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea

1b) what someone has said

1b1) a word

1b2) the sayings of God

1b3) decree, mandate or order

1b4) of the moral precepts given by God

1b5) Old Testament prophecy given by the prophets

1b6) what is declared, a thought, declaration, aphorism, a weighty saying, a dictum, a maxim

1c) discourse

1c1) the act of speaking, speech

1c2) the faculty of speech, skill and practice in speaking

1c3) a kind or style of speaking

1c4) a continuous speaking discourse - instruction

1d) doctrine, teaching

1e) anything reported in speech; a narration, narrative

1f) matter under discussion, thing spoken of, affair, a matter in dispute, case, suit at law

1g) the thing spoken of or talked about; event, deed

Truth G225 Thayer Definition:

1) objectively

1a) what is true in any matter under consideration

1a1) truly, in truth, according to truth

1a2) of a truth, in reality, in fact, certainly

1b) what is true in things appertaining to God and the duties of man, moral and religious truth

1b1) in the greatest latitude

1b2) the true notions of God which are open to human reason without his supernatural intervention

1c) the truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians

2) subjectively

2a) truth as a personal excellence

2a1) that candour of mind which is free from affection, pretence, simulation, falsehood, deceit

“…But the people who know their God will be strong and will work.”

Daniel 11:32b

Blackmon, Selma, editor. The Exchanged Life News. Volume 3 Issue 1. January 5, 2003.

"We Would See Jesus"by Roy Hession, part 2

We Would See Jesus by Roy Hession

   “Whenever a sense of sin lies upon our conscience, two persons, it seems, fight to get hold of that conviction-the devil and the Holy Spirit. The devil wants to get hold of it in order to take it and us to Sinai, and there condemn us and bring us into bondage. (Law) The Holy Spirit, however, wants to take us and our sin to Calvary, there to bring us through the Door into peace and freedom. (Grace)… The whole purpose of the devil in these accusations is to get us into striving and self-effort, and thus into real bondage…The Holy Spirit takes that sin, and us with it, to Calvary, to Jesus our Door. There He shows us that that sin, and much else, was anticipated and settled by the Lord Jesus in His death upon the cross…The word of promise is for us…Having returned-that is, having repented-we can rest, and we can do so because we see that Jesus has done a finished work for us on the cross…The Holy Spirit is not concerned primarily to get us to try to be better, but to repent deeply of the sin there is; not to try to be more loving to that person, but to repent of having been jealous and critical towards him… Then having repented, the Holy Spirit would bid us rest as sinners at the cross, where sin is cleansed away, and so be at peace. As we rest as sinners in that low place, Jesus pours into our hearts His own love for that other person…a forbearance towards him that was never there before… ‘Not I, but Christ liveth in me,’ for it is into His love, patience, and victory that we enter, not ours. And so it is that we learn by experience, ‘In returning and rest shall ye be saved.’…While Satan accuses only to bring despair, bondage and striving, the Holy Spirit convicts only to bring comfort, freedom and rest…

   “A ‘door,’ then, speaks of the beginning or a crisis, while a ‘way’ speaks of the going on. Both are fully provided for in the Lord Jesus…God calls us to walk in continuous, present-tense fellowship with Him…Basically this difficulty is due to the fact that we are not seeing Jesus as the Way but are trying to make other things the way, and they just do not work. Some feel that prayer is the most important thing in the Christian life, and it becomes the way for them. Others would put Bible study in that place, others fellowship, others personal witnessing…It is felt that if we do these things we shall then be really living the full Christian life-and so we consider them to be the way onward…None of these things, however, is the Way, and they only make the Christian life hard and barren…Only the Lord Jesus Himself is the Way; to attempt to walk on any other is to fall and to despair…The Lord Jesus Himself is the Way. None else will suit our stumbling feet…Living with Jesus in the now.

   “Since finding Him, men have not only found the Way but the End too. We do not have to go beyond Him to something else to satisfy our needs. He is the End of all that we need, and the simple, easily accessible way to that End…Our End is to be the Lord Jesus Himself. The reason for getting right should not be that we might have revival, or power, or be used of God, or have this or that blessing, but that we might have Him. He knows all ends will not satisfy our hearts, for we are made for Him, and we are restless till we rest in Him. Moreover, such ends, if that is all we come to, would fail to satisfy His heart, for the Bible tells us that the whole purpose of Jesus on the cross was to reconcile us ‘unto Himself.’ (2 Cor. 5:19)… So it is that He allows us to be frustrated and disappointed in our strivings after this or that end until at last He comes to us and says, ‘My child, I never promised you that if you would surrender, repent and get right with Me, you would have an eased situation, great power, success in your service, or even revival. What I do promise you is that, if you will walk with Me and allow Me to show you sin as soon as it comes in, and cleanse you from it, you will have not these things but-Me. Make Me your desired End and you will surely have that End, and you shall be satisfied, lacking nothing that is in the will of God for you.’… ‘predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself’ (Eph. 1:5), and that Jesus gave Himself for us ‘that He might…purify unto Himself a peculiar people.’.(Titus 2:14)

 He is our peace; He is our power; He is our victory; He is our revival. There is nothing beyond Him.

"We Would See Jesus" by Roy Hession, part 1

He is our peace; He is our power; He is our victory; He is our revival. There is nothing beyond Him.

We Would See Jesus by Roy Hession

The book and companion study guide are full of everyday useful tools. Scripture backs all of the instruction.

   First we need to see God and His purpose for life. Then we see God in the face of Jesus Christ. Next we learn that Jesus Christ is all we need. The following chapters allow us to see Jesus as the Truth, the Door, the Way, and the End. The following are just a few random quotes from the book or study guide.

   “Two emphases stand out today…First of all, instead of stressing holiness in order to see God, the emphasis is on service for God…There tends to be today an emphasis on the seeking of inner spiritual experiences…not as much from a hunger for God as from a longing to have an inner experience of happiness, joy and power, and we find ourselves looking for ‘it’ rather than God Himself…Both these ends fall utterly short of the great end that God has designed for man, that of glorifying Him and enjoying Him forever. They fail to satisfy God’s heart and they fail to satisfy ours…the purpose of life: to see God, and to allow Him to bring us back to the old relationship of submission to Himself…that to see God and be in living relationship with Him is the supreme goal of life is not to insist on anything strange or unnatural. It is the very purpose for which we were created…In what ways are you trying to use a formula to make the Christian life ‘work’?

   “All we need to know of the Father has been revealed in the Lord Jesus with such simplicity that a child can understand…perhaps with such simplicity that unless we become as little children we will not understand, for so often it is our intellect that gets in the way…for, seeing Him, we see all, and every need of our hearts is met…

   “it is not merely that He supplies our need, but He becomes Himself the fulfillment of our need. He is ever ‘I am that which My people need.’ Oh, the grace of it…

   “…our first and basic need? It is to know the truth-about ourselves and about God…our first step is to be willing to see the whole truth about ourselves and the God with whom we have to do, as it is revealed in Jesus Christ…He Himself is the truth. Therefore, truly to see Him is to see the truth. If we are asked, Where do we see Jesus as the truth, we reply, Supremely on the cross of Calvary. There in Him we see the whole naked truth about sin, man, and the God with whom each of us has to do. The very scene that reveals the richest and sweetest grace of God towards man also reveals the starkest truth as to what man is. If grace flows from Calvary, so does truth, for both ‘grace and truth come by Jesus Christ’ (John 1:17)…

   “…The Bible tells us that it is sin, and only sin, that separates man and God (Isa. 59:2). By ‘sin’ it means the attitude of self-centeredness and independence of God which is common to us all, and the many acts of transgression which have issued from that attitude…sin always builds a wall between us and God…However, even when a Christian identifies the sins that have separated him from God, he often occupies himself with the problem of how not to sin again rather than with getting back to God and to peace… It is just here that we flounder for lack of knowing how to get back; how to get through the many barriers that sin has brought…Truly our need, then, is to see a way through the wall.  This is the point at which the Lord Jesus meets us again…He Himself is the Door. (John 10:9)…Jesus stands immediately available to us as our Door, open on street level, and we could so quickly enter in if we were willing to bow our heads at His cross…(The author gives quite an explanation of the location of the door; it is always open and how to get in.)

The Geese and the Snowstorm

There was once a man who did not believe in either the virgin birth of Christ or the spiritual meaning behind it, and was skeptical even about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised her children in the faith. He sometimes gave her a hard time about her belief and mocked her religious observances.

"It's all nonsense, why would God, if there is a God, lower Himself and become a human like us? It's such a ridiculous story," he said.

One snowy Sunday, the wife and the children left for church while the husband stayed home. After they had departed, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window of the house, and, still another thump. He looked outside but could not see anything so he ventured outside for a better view. In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a flock of geese. They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down south, but they had been caught in the snowstorm. The storm had become too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles. He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself, "the barn would be a great place for them to stay. It is warm and safe, surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm." So he opened the barn doors for them. He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn door and go inside. Nevertheless, they did not notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear. He went into the house and came back with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread trail to the barn. They still did not catch on. Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them towards the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn.

Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety, and shelter. Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why don't they follow me? Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm? How can I possibly get them into the one place that would save them?"

He thought for a moment and realized that they just would not follow a human. He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them. Then I could save them. They would follow me and I would lead them to safety."

At that moment, he stopped and considered what he had said. The words reverberated in his mind; "If only I could become like one of them, then I could save them." Then, at last, he understood God's heart towards mankind...and he fell on his knees in the snow.

 author unknown

God my Father: How can I know Him?

HOW DO WE GET TO KNOW WHO GOD THE FATHER IS?

¨      THROUGH HIS WORD “and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

¨      THROUGH HIS SON “…He who has seen Me has seen the Father…”

John 14:9

¨        THROUGH HIS ATTRIBUTES “…God is love.” 1 John 4:8 “Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant.”

1 Corinthians 13:4

¨      THROUGH HIS RESOURCES “…for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

¨      THROUGH HIS PROVISIONS “Don’t be anxious about life, food, and clothing. God cares for the birds, lilies, and grass. You are worth much more.” Matthew 6:25-34

¨        THROUGH MY NEEDS “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

¨      THROUGH MY LOSS OR SUFFERING “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8

¨      THROUGH HIS NAME “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10

Significance in Christ

Significance: a sense of value, importance, and worth, having a meaning.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bearfruit-fruit that will last…John 15:16

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

1 Corinthians 3:16

Wow!!! Wonderful!!! God’s definition of how significant I am to Him. This is beyond my wildest dreams! These versus are just a few that tell you and me how much we are worth- our significance- to God.

Where do you think you have looked to find significance?

What do you think you have tried to do to make you significant?

Additional Resource: Search For Significance Robert S. McGee

Satisfaction, Security, and Significance in Chirst

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them: Genesis 1:27

The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. He created us for Himself. Before the fall, man was in the likeness of God, bearing the image of God. Adam and Eve chose knowledge of good and evil which left them needy and empty. We have all inherited this neediness.  Most of our basic human needs can be categorized under the headings of satisfaction (forgiveness, rest, fulfillment), security (belonging, unconditional love, acceptance, connectedness, protectedness), and significance (value, importance, identity, separateness, adequacy).

Answer the following questions for your own better understanding of how you have attempted to get your needs met in your own way.

SATISFACTION

What have I done, or where have I looked to try to attain a sense of peace, fulfillment and satisfaction?

SECURITY

Where do I think I have looked to find security? What have I done to try to feel secure?

SIGNIFICANCE

Where have I looked to find significance? What do I think I have tried to do to have a sense of value?

Has confusion, disappointment and frustration been the results?

Ø  Isaiah 53:6 We have turned, everyone, to his own way.

Ø  Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes.

Ø  Proverbs 21:2 Every way of man is right in his own eyes.

Ø  Proverbs 3:5 lean not on your own understanding

Ø  Romans 13:14 Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh

Ø  John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life

Ø  Galatians 5:16 Walk by the spirit and you won’t carry out the desire of the flesh