Hey Friends :)Can I let you in on a little secret??
You may remember when I hinted a few months ago about my new "office" and my Tues & Thurs "work days" ~ but yes, I am working on writing my very first Bible study. Woo Hoo!!
It's title?? "Red hot!" I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!! :)
However, the truth be told, I feel like a big, sloppy fish out of water!
What in the world do I know about writing a Bible study?? I didn't even grow up in church, led an embarassingly rebellious life, and still get confused about the books of the Bible. What am I thinking?
I mean, I love working through Bible studies, selecting Bible studies for women and I am so passionate about the Word I can barely sleep at night, but write a Bible study, really??
But then I read words like this from Erwin McManus....
To set up the quote...In his book "Wide Awake", Erwin challenges us to put an end to all the "sleepwalking and settling", and reminds us that each one of us was created by God for a reason. Living "wide awake" (or in my paraphrase, red hot!) is about realizing that the world desperately needs us to live up to our God-given potential.
Erwin shares...
"We need to live wide awake because there are
diseases killing millions and we need to find a cure,
famines leaving multitudes starving and we need to provide food,
economies leaving families homeless and we need to create opportunities for work and wealth,
genocide that must be stopped,
slavery that must be ended,
water wells that must be dug,
children who need to be loved,
relationships that need to be healed,
elderly who need to be cared for,
beauty that needs to be created,
futures that need to be saved, and
dreams that we must not let die or go unfulfilled.."
Oh sign me up, Erwin!! I WANT TO LIVE "WIDE AWAKE"! I want to live a RED HOT, passionate, effective, fruitful, purposeful life in Christ!! You too??
I don't want my life to be so focused on me or my comfort or what's for dinner or what's on sale at Walgreen's or whether I'm a size 8 or a 10 or, for crying out loud, what size Jennifer Hudson is this week.
How easily I can get distracted from what really matters. What matters to God. What is important to Him and to His heart.
Let's live our lives Red Hot! Let's ask God to use us to make a difference in this lost and hurting world. To reflect His goodness and His grace wherever He might have us...whether it's at Starbucks, or in an office, or on a missions trip, or in our own neighborhood.
Let's live our lives Red Hot and look for those divine opportunities to be His hands and His feet. Let's live our lives looking for a child that needs love, a friend that needs a hug or an encouraging word, a co-worker that could use a listening ear.
Let's live our lives Red Hot ~ and allow Him to do immeasurably more in and through us than we could even ask or imagine. There is a future that needs to be created, and it is waiting for us all to wake up and get out of bed.
As Erwin says..."The alarm has sounded, and it is time to shake off the slumber." It's time to live, to create, to imagine, to dream . . . . Anyone with me??? Woo Hoo???
I am so FIRED UP about what I am learning!! Have you ever studied Rev 3 and the church in Laodecia?? Watch out if you are with me, if you ask me about it, I will start spewing everything I am learning, my arms will start gesturing, and you will get a 15 minute sermonette if you wanted it or not.
The Bible is so brilliant I just can't help it!!!
If you are interested, I would love your insight, wisdom, and prayer support on this "writing a Bible study" journey! :)
For starters, I'm curious....what are the biggest obstacles for living a "red hot" life that you encounter??
Do you know someone who you would describe lives "red hot" for the Kingdom?
If you were going to work through a study on Red Hot living, what would you hope to take away from your time in the Word??
Thanks, dear bloggy friends, for allowing me to share my little secret today with you today. I'm off to "work"!! Yippee!! :)
God's richest blessings to you today!!
P.S. A HUGE thank you to my awesome friends, "prayer posse", and the amazing Monday night gals for journeying with me!!
I love when I get little care packages, like this from dear April in Virginia....
What a blessing!! Thank you!! I'm so glad God didn't intend for us to journey alone!! Love you guys!! :)
7 comments:
Good morning Cindy! WoW! i just got fired up reading this. I want one of your Bible Studies!Sounds wonderful, and yeah you can do it because God has already prepared the way!!Reminder:From yesterday's post!! God is Already There!! Love it!! and BTW(by the way), I got fired up over a piece of news on tv last night and just set down and shot that news station an E-mail, (first ever)... but I decided that I had to Speak for Jesus! in regards to the topic of a male student wanting to run for Home Coming "Queen" at his School. he was not holding back about his Gay Lifestyle! this just made me sick!! But I know that God is still in control! Have a Wonderful Day!! Keep us Informed! Love and Blessings!
First off,,this post would make the BEST Rednesday post EVEAAAAAAAAAA..lol..can you 'hear' me with the ever word..lol
For starters, I'm curious....what are the biggest obstacles for living a "red hot" life that you encounter?? me....the thoughts...(worry, doubt, fear, anxious, anxiety, obsessive,foreboding thoughts..get the picture?)...
Do you know someone who you would describe lives "red hot" for the Kingdom?...in my 'real world'..our Priest Father Manuel..he's totally on fire for the Lord and I LOVE spending time with him...'blog land'...It's been such a blessing to have our Father lead me to SO many red hot sisters!!
If you were going to work through a study on Red Hot living, what would you hope to take away from your time in the Word??.....Prayer. Boldness (I've shared in a post previous about this 'process') God says we are the apple of His eye, and a crown of splendor in His right hand...that is pretty WOW stuff to me...I haven't had many (hmmm, I don't think anyone actually) say that about me..and here the Creator of Heaven and Earth says that about us...so that is what I would love come out of that time leaving the 'old creation' and walking in the new creation I am in Christ Jesus...
Cindy, I can't wait to read your Bible Study! It sounds fantastic!
I am praying for you as you write. It is a wonderful experience writing a Bible study because God teaches you SO mcuh in the process!
So happy to hear that you are being filled and overflowing as you study and write, Cindy. I'm looking forward to reading and hearing more of your Red Hot heart.
Biggest obstacles? ... I would have to say that sometimes other Christians and "religion" can be an obstacle for me. Not always. As you've testified so well today, we aren't meant to live alone, and what a blessing when we are bearing the fruit of the Spirit. But other times, I find my Red Hot snuffed out by others in the Body. That's more of a grief than when those who don't know Christ rain on my joy.
Cindy,
This is just so exciting! I can't tell you how often I think of you writing with smoke coming from your pen in your "office!" I pray shower of blessings for the process. As for me, obstacles to living "red hot" would be forgetting to accept and give grace and mercy. That ties knots in my life faster than anything! If I were in the Word learning how to live "red hot" I would want to know how to do it consistently through Jesus. (I might have just typed the answer for my life above!)
Cindy, I am just now responding to this blog because it has been a difficult week for me. It is not important to explain the why, what, how, when, etc. etc. etc. It is however part of the story to know that I have been FRAZZLED!! 6 doctor appointment, 5 trips to the Apple store, 1 surgery, etc. etc. etc. I have been FRAZZLED and TIRED!! I so needed time with God, but right or wrong, all I had time to do was draw what was in my head. Truth that was there but was being shouted-over and stomped on. I didn't do it perfectly, but I did know where I wanted to be--standing on the truth and in my Father's arms. Which brings me to your questions......I will only answer one, it is all my mind can handle. But it is already right there, on the tip of my tongue, my struggle before you asked. What is one of my biggest obstacles to living redhot--the demands of life---staying fixed on the eternal, not the temporal. Hearing my Heavenly Daddy whispers the reassurances and truths and promises and responsibilities I need to hear among my crazy life!
I CAN'T WAIT till I have your Redhot (in more ways than one) book in my hand. So excited for you and anticipating for me!! (Will you sign it too?)
Good afternoon! I have just stumbled across your blog and can't help but comment! I desire to be "Red Hot"! I have already been so blessed by your site and I only came across it this morning! When I think about being "Red Hot" for Christ, I think about being able to minister to anyone and everyone that God asks of me. I desire to know God's word so well that I can hear Him speaking to me with EVERY single situation that comes my way! I'm sure you have read or heard of Lysa Terkeurst's book, What Happens When Woman say Yes to God"...God used this book to change my life. I want to say yes to God as He teaches me to become "Red Hot" for Him! Thanks for letting me share!
Tasha
tcantrell@choctawnation.com
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