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Light for the Journey Online Bible Study
Lesson 2 10.13.08
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Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. |
Welcome to Light for the Journey!
We are on the same journey. Sometimes the road seems dark, the directions confusing and the destination questionable. Light for the Journey is an online bible study that exists to bring the light of God's Word into the darkest places of your heart and equip you to apply the power of God's truth in your daily life.
I am very excited about this new series, A Glimpse of Heaven. Several years ago, I lost three very special people in my life. All three were believers and I was certain I would see them again one day in heaven. Then the thought hit me that I knew very little about the place where I would be reunited with friends and family. I had never really thought about the details of heaven before but the fact that friends and family were waiting for me there peaked my interest. This study is the result. The more I learned about heaven, the more excited I became about going there. A Glimpse of Heaven not only changed my perspective of heaven itself, but brought new meaning and perspective to my daily life. I pray God uses this study to change your life as well.
Need Prayer? We have an awesome team of women who are prayer warriors and love to pray! Simply email your prayer requests to Ginger Meador, our Prayer Team Director, and she will call the prayer team into action! gjmeador@comcast.net
Here's the Plan: Light for the Journey can be completed in one day or over a period of five days ... or even ten days - whatever best fits your schedule. Each day is numbered (ie: Day 1. Facts for the Journey). After completing each day's assignment, proceed to the next day.
Also included are several "extra" sections such as Joy for the Journey, Let's Talk About It,
and Resource of the Week. From time to time, you will also receive special announcements from Mary, coupons for the online store, etc. Below is a brief explanation of each section.
Mind-Set for the Journey: choose to discard distractions and focus on this special time with God
Facts for the Journey: study the main biblical facts and principles of the lesson
Prayer for the Journey: learn how to pray simply, effectively, powerfully
Steps for the Journey: make a specific plan to put feet to or apply the truths you have learned
Truth for the Journey: pinpoint the one truth that stood out and impacted you most this week
Power for the Journey: memorize one power verse each day |
Mindset for the Journey
Pray, thanking God for His written Word. Ask Him to reveal the unique message He has for you in the primary passage of Scripture for each study. Read the mindset passage 2 or 3 times. Make the deliberate choice to fix your thoughts on each word and each phrase as you read it. Don't let your mind wander. Focus only on God's truth and let everything else fall away. Your mind is set and you are ready to begin.
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| Philippians 3:20 But our homeland is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. | |
 Day 1. Facts for the Journey
We all have questions about heaven and while we cannot know every detail about our eternal home until we actually get there, God's Word is filled with enough information to make us want to pack a bag and go today! I never thought much about heaven until I became a believer but I suddenly needed to know as much about heaven as possible. Why? Because our cicizenship is in heaven along with our treasures. Heaven is our eternal home and the home of God. There's much more ...
1. Heaven is a real place.
John 14:1-3 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
In this passage, Jesus refers to heaven as as "topos" which literally means "place." He also calls heaven "oikos" which literally means "a house, a dwelling or a home."
Some people argue that heaven is a state of mind, a dream or even wishful thinking, but the bible clearly states that heaven is a very real place; as real as the home in which you live here on earth and as real as the city in which you reside.
Acts 1:11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return!"
Jesus did not go up into a state of mind, a dream or wishful thinking. Jesus went to a real place, a real home.
Acts 10: 9-11 Peter was going up to the roof to pray. He was hungry and wanted to eat, but while the food was being prepared, he had a vision. He saw heaven opened.
Stephen was martyred for Christ. While he was being stoned, he spoke the following words:
Acts 7:56 Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God's right hand!
The bible repeatedly refers to heaven as a real place. We should do the same.
Heaven is a beautiful city.
Heaven is the workmanship of God and as Mary Kay once said, "God don't make no junk." Several years ago, our family spent Christmas in North Carolina with some very special friends. While out walking one morning, Dan and I noticed a beautiful home with a sign in the front yard that read, "Ballard Construction." Hmmm ... it couldn't be! While Dan served as a youth pastor in Florida, we had a college student in the youth group who was a fine craftsman with the dream to one day move to North Carolina and build homes of the highest quality. He said that every detail would be perfect and that all of the material used would be top quality. When we got home, Dan called the number listed on the sign and sure enough, it was "our" Dave Ballard. "How did you know it was me?" Dave asked. Dan responded, "By the beauty of the work."
Jesus was a master carpenter and builder who announced that he was going away to prepare for us a beautiful home in heaven.
Think about the fact that God created the universe in six days. We know what kind of work He does.
He loves detail. Look at the wings of a butterfly!
He loves color. Look at a rainbow or sunset!
He loves beauty.Look into the face of a new baby.
He's been working on heaven for over 2,000 years! What a place it must be! We cannot begin to imagine the beauty of heaven!
The Apostle John tries to describe it for us in the book of Revelation. He was probably the only one of Jesus' original twelve disciples to live to be an old man. He was persecuted, exiled and banished to Patmos, an island off the coast of Turkey. It was in prison that God revealed heaven to John.
Revelation 21:1-2 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and there was no sea anymore. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband.
John described heavens in the best words he had available when he said that heaven was "prepared like a bride dressed for her husband."
Have you ever been part of a wedding?
A wedding takes time, great preparation, planning and resources beyond your own.
The most endearing term Jesus used for His church was "bride" which is why John chose to use this picture to describe heaven.
Heaven is a real city, a real place with specific dimensions, gates, mansions, streets and inhabitants.
Next week, we will explore the "inside" of heaven. |
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God changed Mary Southerland's life when He gave her a "hope for the future". You, too, can learn to live each day by faith, not by sight, with an expectant heart. This message will teach you how to:
- Learn how to deal with the pain of your past
- Trust God and see your faith grow
- Discover and follow God's perfect plan for your life
- Live each day in such a way that you experience true joy
ORDER
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 Day 2. Prayer for the Journey
A pastor paid a visit to one of his church members who owned a farm on the edge of town. As the two men walked the land, the farmer pointed to a large bed of flowers and said, "It has taken a lot of hard work, but I have finally turned this useless piece of ground into a productive garden."
The pastor smiled and said, "You mean, 'Look at what God and I did to this piece of ground, don't you?'" The farmer replied, "I guess you're right. But you should have seen the shape this place was in when He was taking care of it by Himself."
It is an amazing spiritual truth that we are co-workers with God. This applies to every area of life, including prayer. In Matthew 6:8, Jesus reminds us that we don't need to pray the same prayers over and over like the pagans do. God knows what we need before ask.
Then why pray at all? The answer is simple and comforting. God has chosen to give us the privilege of being His partners in both the physical and spiritual areas of life. Through prayer we work with Him in defeating the powers of evil and in bringing about the fulfillment of His plan and purpose in the world. Herb Vander Lugt once said, " Partners with God - what a privilege! What an incentive to pray!"
Remember, when you pray you are doing God's work. |
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 Day 3. Steps for the Journey
Using the word "heaven", create an acrostic that describes your perspective of heaven.
H heart cries answered
E eternal joy realized
A at one with God
V vision of true life
E everlasting peace and purpose
N no more pain |
Day 4. Truth for the journey
What one new truth have you learned in this week's lesson?
Record that truth in your journal.
Record one change this new truth has made in your:
attitude ____________________________
behavior____________________________
outlook_____________________________
relationships ________________________
thought patterns _____________________
Remember, it is not enough to know the Word of God. We must apply it and practice God's truth in order to experience God's power in daily life.
Read James 1:22. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
What do you think James meant when he said that if only hear God's truth and don't live it, we are deceiving ourselves?
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 Day 5. Power for the Journey
God's Word is our greatest source of power and strength for living.
Listed below are five verses. Memorize one verse each day. Create a section in your journal for Power Verses and record each one or the ones that really impacted your life.
Psalm 104:13 You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.
Deuteronomy 10:14 Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God.
1 Chronicles 16:31 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Tell all the nations, "The Lord reigns!"
Mark 10:21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. "There is still one thing you haven't done," he told him. "Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Colossians 3:2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
(All verses from New Living Translation)
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MP3 Downloads now available
We have just added MP3 download files to our store!
Some MP3s are of the current CDs offered online but there are also some new messages such as:
- In His Eyes
- Conquering Jealousy
- Experiencing God
- God's Chosen Woman
- The Powerful Woman
And there are more to come!
We will be adding new MP3s from time to time. Stay tuned!
Click HERE to order! |
Joy for the Journey
Try this italian pasta diet.
It really works!
1. You walka pasta da bakery.
2. You walka pasta da candy store.
3. You walka pasta da Ice Cream shop.
4. You walka pasta da table and fridge.
5. You walka pasta da hotdog stand.
You getta the idea! | |
Let's Talk About it!