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.
“The Devil did not tempt Adam and Eve to steal, to lie, to kill, to commit adultery; he tempted them to live independent of God – this is so true!
“Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms – (I love C.S. Lewis) this also is so true!”
What tendencies of your own heart do you find described in Romans 3:10-18? If none are readily apparent to you, and look up the explanations of some of the phrases in a good study Bible or commentary.
“Sadly, ‘none that seeketh after God’ is a tendency of mine – without a study such as this, I can find any excuse to procrastinate prayer and Bible study or just conveniently forget on any given day.
“I try to be careful about my words, but I can be too blunt and hurt feelings or blab private information. I prefer to focus on God‘s love and mercy and not have all that much fear of Him.”
Complete the quote of Dr. Bob Jones Sr. from page 34: ‘The devil did not attempt to Adam and Eve to steal, to lie, to kill, to commit adultery; he tempted them to “live independent of God.”’
Complete the quote of CS Lewis from page 34: ‘Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement. “He is a rebel who must lay down his arms.”’
Study carefully the passages describing our own way on page 35. Since this is a portrait of your heart, write out a prayer that will reflect the daily cry of a believer who truly understands the treachery within.
“Lord, I know Your way and Your plan for me are far better than my own. I know this, but I like my stuff, especially my fun stuff. Help me surrender my will, my schedule, and my time to You and trust You to give me back a reasonable amount for my leisure time.”
Praise – “You are great, good, generous, gracious, grandiose, and glorious.”
Repent – “I’m sorry I have such a rebellious spirit.”
Yield – “I will try to surrender to You (And also to abandon my two favorite but ill-advised Doctor Who quote mantras.)”
Dearest Rachel –
I’m guessing you weren’t reading ahead to the next questions when you responded with what you saw as the most important lines in today’s study. At least, I rather hope so, as it looks somewhat silly to see both lines repeated in this pages of responses. I know that you could rush through a week’s worth of homework on the last night beforehand; I’d like to hope this wasn’t a shortcut born out of such a situation, but one never knows.
Still, as much as you could berate yourself for not studying and taking notes independently, the fact that you took the time to involve yourself with a study such as this (and many more both before and after this one) just goes to show that you made a point to take steps to force yourself to do so, and remain accountable to others about it as well. It’s not something I’ve ever made much of a point to do myself; I may try to read the Bible every day, but it isn’t as if I take notes, or even try to read too terribly deeply into a given passage if I find myself in a hurry.
Of course, trying to reassure you about such stuff, when you’ve presumably received affirmation from the One we will all eventually answer to for our actions (or lack thereof) feels either inadequate or pointless.
Meanwhile, as far as focusing on His love and mercy as opposed to His fearful righteousness in which we cannot stand on our own, well… whether everyone does or not, I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t at least prefer to. Again, this doesn’t necessarily excuse any of us for doing so, but if it helps to recognize this as a failing that is common to all mankind, there it is.
I assume that your expectation that God would “give [you] back a reasonable amount for [your] leisure time” stem from a reference to Matthew 6:33, in which by seeking God’s kingdom first, all these things – such as your cherished leisure time – would eventually be added to you, but that’s just educated guesswork on my part. Without you here to confirm that, that’s all it will remain, I suppose.
Even less clear are the “Doctor Who mantras” you’re referencing that you seemed to think you needed to surrender; to be fair, none of us have any right to act the know-it-all that the Doctor was (sometimes, not even him), but as to what these were, and why they would be objectionable for a Christian to hold, I’ve no idea. The only one I can recall that you seemed to make a watchword that I couldn’t appreciate was the one insisting that “sleep is for tortoises,” resulting in you staying up nearly indefinitely on any given night while I headed off to bed to prepare myself for the next day. Of course, to the untrained ear, that sounds like a noble sentiment; there’s work to be done, so let’s stay up and do it; but as might be ascertained by the rest of what you write here, that time was spent in the leisure activities you hadn’t had the time to get to during the day, thinking that it wouldn’t disturb anyone else if you engaged in them while everyone else slept. Trouble was, sometimes even you couldn’t stay awake enough to engage in them – and I hardly need to tell you how difficult it was for you to wake in the morning (not that you needed to be up as early as myself). Still, you were always appreciative that my work allowed you the time.
Be that as it may, those issues are behind you now; it’s up to me to deal with my own situations. To that end, honey, keep an eye on me, and wish me luck, as I’m going to be needing it.
Letters to Rachel 