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.
“You should be able to see why that renewal of the mind is so crucial – if the mind is deceived, the battle is lost – very important to recognize
“Rather than demanding our own way, we ought to be begging God never to let us have what our flesh demands – That’s very hard.”
The Bible teaches that the flesh deceives man – that is, it conceals truth… Write out below five truths… which are the most ‘concealed’ from you by your heart in your day-to-day activities – those truths you most easily neglect or forget.
“My sin is against Him… – They so often seem so harmless.
“The way of the transgressor is hard – it often seems the easier, more fun way.
“Without him, I can do nothing. – I know it in theory, but forget it in practice.
“He loves me and skillfully orders my way for my ultimate good and his ultimate glory – same as above.
“His word is the only trustworthy account of reality – same (again).”
Because our heart is so destructive, instead of demanding our own way, what should we be begging God to do? “never let us have what our flesh demands”
The text says that once Adam and Eve fell, God immediately reinforced his structure of authority. Why did God set up the accountability of the home, civil authority, and the church? “for their and our own protection from the self-destructiveness the unrestrained sinful heart brings.”
Explain this statement… The same pride in a man that demands the right to make its own decisions will pollute every decision that man makes. “His own wisdom is foolishness, and he will be incapable of making right and wise decisions without God‘s help.”
Write Proverbs 14:12 from memory. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12.”
Praise – “You are infinite, indescribable, (🎵 immortal, invisible 🎵), immeasurable, illuminating, and intimate.”
Repent – “I’m sorry I’m in a rush and don’t have time for the Reflecting.”
Yield – “I will try harder to let You be in charge.”
Dearest Rachel –
Flipping through these answers of your, I’m hard-pressed to find much to comment upon; there really isn’t that much more to add to what you’ve said. That, and I’m still trying to recover from yesterday’s travels; I didn’t spend a moment of it recording my thoughts about it (although after sending you four letters from the past days’ activity, I’d hope you’d excuse that).
One of the things that you would have written down if it hadn’t come out years after this study is that line by the Doctor that “good men don’t need rules; now is not the time to find out why I have so many” with regard to God reinforcing the authority structure under which man is to exist. The more we screw up, the more rules have to be put in place to (hopefully) prevent it in future. It’s why products have warning labels; because someone used the stuff improperly and suffered for it. You would have been all over that quote to respond to this question, I’d wager.
The answer about how every decision a man makes would be polluted by his own pride hearkens back to last week’s (or for your perspective, yesterday’s) homework; the fact that, unlike some modern theories about the inherent goodness within man, we don’t have any such thing, and can’t be trusted to improve ourselves under our own power. Oh, from a human perspective, there are those of us who seem to make good and wise decisions, but that’s the whole point; a human perspective, by definition, is unable to grasp (and achieve) what is truly good). We may have a basic idea of the concept incorporated into our DNA, whereby we can ascertain good and bad, fair and unfair, by way of comparison, but are we capable of always choosing the better option? No more so than we’d be able to fly by pulling up the straps on the back of our boots – which, as you’d point out, is where the expression comes from. Leave it to humanity to take a literally impossible task, and apply it commonly to (humanly) successful people.
Not sure which song you were referencing as you were offering praise today – I can think of an old Welsh hymn that starts with those two word, which would be more in character with your collection of hymnals, but I recall a chorus sung as a round based on 1 Timothy 1:17 this might have run through your mind as well. And yes, despite not having commented on it before, I’ve noticed that you’ve been taking it upon yourself to restrict your daily praise of His attributes to a single initial. I can only guess what you’ll be doing when you get to letters like Q, X and Z (although for now, I won’t look ahead and spoil the surprise – you would have wanted it that way).
For now, though, honey, keep an eye on me, and wish me luck; I’m going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 