What does 2 Corinthians 5:7 say about your status now that you are in Christ?
“I am a new creation.”
Scripture says that accessories come with your “newness.” What are they?
- Psalm 40:3 – “A new song”
- Lamentations 3:22-23 – “new compassions every morning”
- Ezekiel 11:19 – “a new spirit”
- Romans 7:6 – “the new way of the Spirit”
- Ephesians 4:24 – “new self (?)”
On the following thought closet bins write a truthful statement you can say to your soul to reinforce what God has given you.
“It really is better for you to encourage and nurture your new self and deny the desires of your old self, rather than the other way around.”
What did the psalmist say to his soul in Psalm 58:8?
“Awake!”
What is the inscription at the beginning of Psalm 57?
“…When he had fled from Saul in the cave”
Why do you think he did that?
“Maybe in the midst of trouble he is trying to ‘jump start’ his joy.”
Psalmists all throughout the collection of poetry and wisdom talked about their sin. Write a phrase to describe what they said in these psalms:
- Psalm 32:5 – “he acknowledged his sin and God forgave him.”
- Psalm 38:18 – “he confesses it and is troubled by it.”
- Psalm 39:1 – “he will watch his ways and keep his tongue from sin.”
- Psalm 51:3 – he knows and always is aware of his sin.
Write down what He shows you.
“With most of my favorite sins, I am sorry because I know they are outside of God’s will, yet I am simultaneously not sorry because they are fun and I enjoyed every minute – and probably will again.”
What is the action we are to take when we become aware of our sin (1 John 1:9)?
“Confess”
[starred for emphasis] The Greek word for “confess” is homologeo, meaning “to assent, acknowledge.” The purpose of confessing your sins to God is not to inform Him of something He doesn’t know!
Psalm 119:105, 130 tells us what light we need in our thought closets. What is it?
“God’s Word”
Dearest Rachel –
To a certain extent, there doesn’t seem to be much for me to add to these notes that haven’t already been discussed so many times before. While they’re never mentioned explicitly in scripture, the so-called ‘seven deadly sins’ are never far from anyone’s mind when going through a study such as this. I’m going to assume – simply from my own observation, you understand – that when you refer to your favorite sin, you’re probably referring to some variation of sloth.
Granted, it isn’t the sort of sloth that one would recognize as mere indolence; it was never a case of doing nothing, as such. Rather, it was a matter of doing something else, as opposed to what really needed to get done from time to time. There was fun to be had, and little enough time to have it, so you spent as much time as you could having it. All perfectly logical, if not for the fact that you recognized that it did pose a problem; just not enough of one to make you want to do anything about it.
And before I go to much further on this, I realize I have no right to criticize you about this. Heck, it’s probably why I let you go down this path, rather than trying to correct you; I had enough of my own issues that I didn’t want to deal with (approximately equal parts lust and gluttony – which, come to think of it, are much the same things, appetites, only for rather different things – as you must well have known) any more than you did. And so, rather than try to give any help to each other – and in the process, attempt to get help from each other in the process, as we both had our logs to contrast with each other’s specks – we simply allowed each other indulgence, and more or less enabled each other to continue in our individual ways.
Of course, that may be the most uncharitable perspective regarding our lifestyle. Yes, we let a lot slide with regard to each other; that’s a necessary part of marriage, accepting and loving each other regardless of flaws. It’s possible we could’ve made more of a positive difference to each other, but I don’t think we really knew how. And in any event, to quote Ellen, it would’ve been “too much like work.” So, we didn’t. And while I didn’t think too much about it, the fact that, upon reading these studies of yours, you certainly did, makes me feel like I ought to work on my own flaws a little bit more going forward. God knows about them, and He knows what I can do about them.
So, to that end, wish me luck, honey. I’m going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 