In the blanks below write the two most significant statements in today’s reading assignment. Be prepared to discuss why the statements you chose were significant to you.
“Failure to cooperate with God in the three responsibilities in the power of the spirit accounts for every failure in Christian living – why we’re here (doing this study, I mean)
“Discipleship is helping another believer make biblical change toward Christlikeness – helping others in the sanctification process – good definition”
Check… which of the three elements of biblical change you are most prone to leave out of your attempts to change something in your life.
“Mortification of the flesh (restraining my flesh through the Spirit’s enablement)
“Meditation on the word (renewing my mind through the Spirit’s illumination)
Explain this statement from the text: Sanctification has been designed by God to be a cooperative venture between God and us.
“We can’t achieve sanctification by our own power and ability; we need the Holy Spirit’s help. God won’t override our free will to magically make us sanctified. We have to work with Him.”
Before you began, this study, what would have been your definition of discipleship?
“A more mature Christian mentoring a less mature Christian, or a small group of them.”
According to the text, what is the definition of discipleship?
“Discipleship is helping another believer make biblical change toward Christlikeness – helping others in the sanctification process.”
Paul was a ‘spiritual parent’ to the church in Thessalonica. He and his co-laborers exhibited certain personal characteristics described in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 that made this church want to follow them. List them…
“daring (2); had pure motives(3); approved by God (4); entrusted with the gospel (4); trying to please God, not men (4); never used flattery (5); not greedy (5); not seeking praise of men (6); not a burden to them (6); gentle (7); loved them (8); delighted in sharing their lives with them (8); worked to support themselves (9); were holy, righteous, and blameless (10); fatherlike (11); encouraging, confronting, and urging… (12)”
Praise “You are beautiful, benevolent, bountiful, brilliant, and beloved.”
Repent “I’m sorry that I rush through each day just to get it done.”
Yield “I want to become who you would have me become, help me to surrender to doing so.”
Dearest Rachel -
Working my way from the end of this, you offer an apology to God for giving this lesson short shrift; most likely, you’d filled in the last few days (which is to say, this and the next couple of pages) the night before your Bible study, in order to be permitted to have a say in the upcoming discussion. I don’t know if the rule was imposed by the study leaders – I’ve never been a part of a study that even had a written questionnaire to fill out every weekday, let alone a rule that every line had to be completed in order to participate – or if this was something you internalized (since this seemed to be a rule for you in so many other studies; I doubt you had the same leaders, imposing the same rules, all the time).
In any event, whether or not you were hurrying through this or not, you actually did address just about every line item (with the exception of the “ask” portion of the P.R.A.Y. acronym, and that seems to be because there was a small prayer provided for that line by the author). From my perspective, it wouldn’t seem like you had anything to repent of, since you got the assignment done – and probably with more detail than some of your classmates. Perhaps the slapdash nature of your work had you questioning your rationale; getting something done simply for the sake of getting it done isn’t the most noble of motives, but sometimes, that willingness to do a thing is sufficient. Paul spoke in his letter to the Romans of those preaching out of envy of his reputation, but he was just pleased that the gospel was being preached.
Moreover, there’s something to be said about your concern about your motivation that signifies that you didn’t want to be just doing this for the sake of getting it done. I can’t speak for God, but I wonder if He was amused by this; you wanted more out of your motivation, but isn’t that ‘want’ a motivation in and of itself? So you were already on your way, if admittedly you hadn’t arrived.
Moreover, you gave thoughtful answers, not slapdash ones, which is part of why I keep going through these, since they give me a look inside your mind at the time. Sure, I see running themes like this, where you comment upon your habit of procrastination and the like, but it’s further reminder of who you were (which I need to be reminded of, as your memory fades more and more as time builds up between us). Meanwhile, you demonstrate that you know your stuff, as your own definition of discipleship isn’t that far removed from that of your lesson; the comments you make have insight, rather than just parroting talking points. I would say not to be too hard on yourself, but I suspect that God Himself assured you that your work was “well done” when you got there; there isn’t much I can add to His words.
As for myself, well… I’m trying, in my own way, to keep up, although I’m not prompted with preprinted questions, nor do I necessarily have particularly spiritual answers. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I truly know. So with that in mind, I’d ask you to continue to keep an eye on me, honey, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 