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Design: April Harrison
Editors: Zane Creamer
April Harrison
Monthly Contributors:
Becky Smith
Martha Hedge
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Greetings!
Welcome to Way of Life Coaching, LLC e-Newsletter!
Have you seen or heard of the Topsy Turvy?
Turns out, it really  works! Just not as fast as I would like. Faithfully I water and fertilize and yes, even pick a worm or two off the plant. Every day I checked for fruit - none, none, none. Then the one day I am gone for an overnight - THAT's when the fruit shows up! The plant is kind of gangly, not much to look at really, but oh, how lovely is that single tomato! It is still green, but that first fruit gives me hope that the 80 or so other flowers may soon produce a harvest. The parallels to a Christian walk are not difficult to draw. I pray this newsletter helps you connect the dots. And when life gets a bit 'Topsy Turvy', that you are able to hang onto some wonderful Truth that keeps you bearing fruit - even if you feel like you're hanging upside down!
A reminder of the simple structure follows:
WOL Community - Quick Snips: Review of the Promised Land Living Curriculum for graduates, but applicable to anyone
Image Bearers - Inductive Exercises: 12 month study of 1 Corinthians 15 - Fifteen minutes to build that faith muscle!
Free To Good Home - No Strings! Free resources & tips for families
Food for Thought - Bible Enrichment: Steak-sized thoughts for hearty appetites!
Take Note - Up & Coming: Resources, materials, products, services, events Remember - A quick opt out at the bottom of the screen ensures you will not receive future editions if you decide this is no longer a helpful tool to you. Cheryl Scanlan for the Way of Life Coaching, LLC Team We are cheering you on towards your finish line! |
| Way of Life Community | |
Faithful following. Faithful waiting. Faithful obedience. Can you identify with those statements? If you sense you are falling short - take heart!
1. There is great encouragement in that even when we are faithless, we know he is faithful.
2. You are breathing, so there is time for a return to Truth.
3. God teaches that repentance is an acceptable sacrifice to Him!
4. His mercy is new every morning!
5. And finally (but clearly we have not exhausted this list!!):
Because Jesus acted in accordance with God's will perfectly, he was accepted as the perfect sacrifice and allowed entrance into heaven as a forerunner for all who are in Christ! Just as the work of Christ is complete, God will finish the work He has started in you and me. Christ is the first fruit - and a harvest is to follow!
Those in Promised Land Living learned much about the salvation rest we have in Christ. We rest in His finished work, we rest in the assurance that we will follow in His footsteps so to speak. We rest in the perfect judgment of our Father. We rest in the understanding that God is a keeper of His Word. In a perfect world, this translates to spirit-lead/filled living. We are guided by Truth, act on Truth, share Truth and live out Truth.
However, living in this world, sometimes we begin to look like the world again. Truth gets supplanted by mixed motives, confusion, others' agendas, our own 'natural' tendencies - the list is endless. Lies creep into our thinking, our behavior, even our church life! When I begin to believe lies and react accordingly, I have stopped the flow of life. I become a safe harbor for something destructive.
Last month we looked at practical steps to shift our thinking from lies to truth. This month we want to look at some roadblocks that can hamper the journey into Promised Land Living. These are just a few of the questions you tackled, but
might make for a good refresher.
1) Who am I comparing myself to right now?
2) What do I think I have to do versus what do I sense God calling me to do?
3) What is so difficult to give up that I'm willing to compromise my relationship with God over it?
4) How am I doing at identifying lies and shifting into Truth? Do I need help here?
5) What is my current definition of success? Does it line up with God's? How do I know?
Jesus -- a perfect success! The first fruits! Accepted by His Father! A tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed! By the world's standard, he was miserable failure, by God's He was the standard bearer! He's
the Truth upon which we fix our eyes as we travel the road into Promised Land Living.
1Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2fixing our eyes on
Jesus.... 12Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. (Hebrews 12:1-2;12-13)
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| Image Bearers | | |
A STUDY
OF 1 CORINTHIANS 15
Before reading this passage, it would be helpful to understand the imagery of "first fruits" as linked with the Feast of First Fruits celebrated by the Israelites (Deuteronomy 26:1-11). On this day, at the beginning of the grain harvest, the Israelites brought the first sheaf harvested and dedicated it to the Lord. The offering assured them that the rest of the harvest would follow. Christ, as the first fruits of the resurrection, is the first person to be raised from the dead permanently. His resurrection assures us that someday there will be a complete harvest.
Step 1: Pray that God would open your eyes to what He wants you to know and understand.
Step 2: Read 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 (NASB)
20But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, 24then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
Step 3: Answer questions based on the text:
1. This section opens with the word "but," which shows a contrast from the preceding verses. As you recall there was false teaching about the resurrection. Paul contrasts a lie with truth.
2. Note all the time references in these six verses. (underlined) Does it suggest to you that God has an established order? (cross reference: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17) Can you think of other passages in the Bible where God establishes Himself as a God of order?
3. What happens "in Adam"? (cross reference: Romans 5:12-21)
4. Could the phrase "all will be made alive" in verse 22 apply to all people? Why or why not? What is the qualifier for "all" as stated here?
5. What happens "in Christ"? What does being "in Christ" look like? (2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 2:16, Ephesians 2:13)
Step 4: Put it into action: Romans 6:4 tells us that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. We have been graciously given a new life - a "do over"! We don't have to continually walk in our old ways - bumping up against selfishness, pettiness, jealousy, gossiping, grumbling, complaining, bitterness, unforgiveness, ______ (you fill in the blank). We have been made alive together with Christ and are seated with Christ in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion (Ephesians 1:20-21). Because of all we have in Christ, we work to no longer walk in our former way of life, and instead walk in a manner worthy of our calling in Christ.
1. What changes when meditating on the fact that Christ conquered death and is a forerunner for all in Christ into heaven?
2. How do you want to live as a result of that renewed understanding: What do you want to hang onto? What do you want to let go of?
3. Where is the resurrection power needed in your life?
4. Meditate on:
Ephesians 2:1-13 - Made Alive with Christ
Ephesians 4:17-32 - The Christian Walk
Ephesians 5:1-21 - Be Imitators of God
5. Who can walk with you as you work on developing this area?
6. How does Scripture instruct you in this area?
7. When the fruit of new life is born in you - praise God and give Him glory. It will take time. Be patient with yourself as God works in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
For more study on this visit HERE:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:18-21)
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| Free To Good Home | |
Walk into any store in the month of July and you'll see back-to-school supplies, accessories and gadgets beckoning your every turn. "Is it that time of the year already?" you wonder in amazement. Where has the summer gone? Before long, instead of purchasing back-to-school supplies, you'll be purchasing items for them to feather their own nest. And one day, as you sit down to a beautifully prepared meal they made for you in their new home, you'll think, where did their childhood go?
Today, give your child an extra hug, extra time and extra words of affirmation. And why not spend some of that extra time in the kitchen showing them some of those tricks you
may have learned the hard way.
Selecting and cutting fruit takes patience and skill. Here are a few tips: Cantaloupe ;Kiwi; Pineapple; Mango
Did you know a very common injury in emergency rooms is due to slicing a bagel? Tips on safely slicing bagels:
How to store those bakery bagels for long-lasting freshness:
Who doesn't love the ease of a casserole? And they are budget friendly too!
Healthy, fresh veggies - prepared to maintain the most nutrients: Sauté veggies; Steam veggies
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| Food For Thought | | His Life in Me
What Jesus did for us is so enormous, so complex, so beyond our imagination our human minds cannot understand it. God has to give us revelation of what it means. From His perspective it is simple: He has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We are in Him and He is in us. (John 17:21)
Practically speaking how does that work? Take forgiveness. Nineteen years ago a drunk driver crashed into the side of the car where my husband Vernon was riding. The drunk's car ended up in a field and he wasn't hurt. Vernon was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition with injuries he will deal with the rest of his life.
As I stood by the hospital bed watching the incredible pain Vernon was suffering, I heard him pray many times, "God, don't let me become bitter. Help me forgive." He doesn't remember praying that; it came out of his spirit, out of his heart. I on the other hand was completely conscious, and forgiving was not my prayer.
The injustice, the unfairness, the uselessness. What words could I use to describe how wrong this was? I could not forgive the driver. But that was exactly what my Father asked of me. When I finally made the choice to release everything that happened into God's hands, when I trusted Him to take care of Vernon and to have mercy on the young driver, I experienced Resurrection life. Peace washed through me taking with it bitterness and resentment.
The Lord Jesus empowered me to do what I could not do alone. I did not have to understand the complexity of the Resurrection. I only had to step by faith into what is already mine. I am buried with Christ, I am resurrected with Him. It is possible to walk in His life.
Martha Hedge © 2010
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| Take Note |
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Be sure to watch for upcoming info on Promise Land Living registration for 2011 in the next newsletter.
Click HERE to learn more about Promise Land Living group coaching.
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Sincerely,
Cheryl Scanlan, Founder
Way of Life Coaching, LLC
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