Just RISE UP! Week 3 Midweek

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Hello Friends. How are you? Really. How is your heart? How is your walk with the Lord? How is your faith today?

Today, this middle of the week Wednesday, let’s take a deep breath. I shared on Monday about bowing low before God as we RISE UP! Oh how pride stifles my soul and brings me to a level of choking on…myself. Will you take a deep breath and release whatever you might place as a “little g” god and allow God the upmost in your life?

Today let’s quiet our heart and soul and literally take a physical posture of humility before the Lord. Let’s bow before our Maker and realign ourselves…make Him more…make ourselves less. Physically kneeling in prayer helps me to do just that. It reminds me that He is holy. He is BIG. He is glorious…I am not. He is Worthy.

In Chapter 3 of Just RISE UP! I encouraged you to read through Psalm 8 and participate in a journaling activity in worship and prayer. This is taken from page 82 and is an exercise that I do often with in the pages of Just RISE UP! Will you grab your Bible and your pen and join in?

Journal IT!

In your own Bible, take a moment to read through Psalm 8. I am going to break it down into pieces using the New King James Version. After each segment, I invite you to write out your own thoughts. If this seems daunting, don’t worry, I will be right there with you and will give you some starting points.

O lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens! (v. 1)

Tell the Lord why His name is excellent. Tell Him how glorious He is in your own words.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? (vv. 3–4)

Tell God about the beauty you see on earth that points to Him. Ask Him to show you more of His glory here on earth.

For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. (v. 5)

God places you and me by His side at His magnificent throne in heaven. Ask God to show you in a special way today why He thinks you are glorious in His sight.

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen—even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. (vv. 6–8)

The Lord gives us His earth to not only live in but to thrive in, with purpose. We each have a purpose here on earth as we RISE UP! Praise the Lord for allowing you to join Him in His work. Ask Him to open your eyes to see where He is leading you.

O lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! (v. 9)

Because He is oh-so–worth it, tell Jesus one more time, in your own words, how awesome He is.

The Psalms are a great place to start to learn to pray through Scripture. I invite you now to take what you just wrote, get on your knees, and pray this psalm to the Lord one more time.

How has this journal exercise enriched your conversation with the Lord today?

Talk About IT!

I would love to know your thoughts from anything in Chapter 3 of Just RISE UP! Leave a comment…let’s chat!

Prayer...

Just RISE UP! Online Study Week 3 Intro

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Welcome to week 3 of our time together reading Just RISE UP!

This week is another tough topic. It is one that goes against everything society ingrains in us. It is one that I must constantly circle back to in evaluation of my own stance before God.

Bow Low Before We Rise UP!

Chapter 2 Just RISE UP!: A Call To Make Jesus Famous

If I say it once, I will say it a million times. We do ministry with our life when we choose to circle our entire life around the renown of Jesus. You HAVE ministry.  Taking a posture of humility makes rising up all about Jesus and less about pride which destroys our ministry. Let’s start out our time this week reminding ourselves how great our God is by reading Scripture as an act of worship.

~Head back to Psalm 145 and ask God to give you fresh eyes toward these words of praise.

~I would love to know what verse or verses have meant the most to you thus far in our study?

Take a look at my video blog for this week where I share what my personal journey has looked like so far as I learn to bow low before my King of kings.

 

Dig IN!

As I mentioned in the video, pride is a big thing for me. And I hate it. I’m constantly begging God for forgiveness when my pride creeps into my thoughts and words. I’m also constantly begging Him to retool my heart so pride is no where near. I know for sure that pride wrecks me.

On page 61 I introduced a verse that spurs me forward when pride holds me back. I invite you to read it for yourself in your own Bible and maybe write it out in your journal! Do whatever you can to inscribe the words into your soul.

He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)

Yes, Jesus is already mighty and great and powerful. Just like Jesus is already famous. The question is, do we back ourselves out of the way so that we allow Him upmost authority and priority in our life?

My most effective way to allow Jesus to increase in my life while I decrease is to do what we’ve already discussed together: praise Him, praise Him, praise Him. Scripture often uses the word exalt.

In your Bible, flip to the back to the concordance. Look up the word EXALT. You will find some references that point to worship and lifting God up.  You will also find references to what happens when we humble ourselves before God. (Example Psalm 34:3, James 4:10, 1 Peter, 5:6)

~What did you learn about a posture of humility with this search?

One of the verses that I chose to sit with was Matthew 23:12 where it says that God will humble those who set themselves in high places. And, those who live before God with a humble heart, He will exalt them. (paraphrase)

~Based on your word search how would you define the word exalt? Is it something you want personally from people (that is so tempting!) so is it something you know deep down should come from God?

Journal IT!

~Read page 61-62 in Just RISE UP! where I give examples of increasing and decreasing based on John 3:30. Journal through some life situations where you know you need to decrease so that Jesus would be famous in your life. Get to the nitty gritty, day to day stuff. That is where true transformation happens.

~Write down reasons why you think it is important to take a posture of humility before the Lord. If at this point you don’t know how, THAT IS OK! Ask God to soften your heart and highlight areas in your life where you need to tweak so that He increases.

Pray About IT!

Take some time to finish this prayer prompt with your own words.

~Father God, even if it is difficult for me, show me how I can bow low before your throne in every part of my life . . .

~Lord, dig up areas in my life and convict my soul to take a posture of humility before you . . .

 

Share IT!

Share these on social media! Be sure to use #JustRISEUP

 

 

SarahMartin_PerfectHand

SarahMartin_LivingJohn330 Yes Jesus Is Famous

 

Talk About IT!

I want to hear from you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or struggles on anything we’ve discussed so far. Leave a comment…let’s chat!

The LIST

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The List

Hello there, Friday! It has been a weird week for me. My son had off from school both Monday and Tuesday. We had fun, yes. But this mom likes a routine my feathers get ruffled a bit when my routine is thrown off. I’m working on that. How was your week?

Let’s jump on in with the LIST. I can’t wait to hear your responses so leave a comment…let’s get to know each other.

~Describe your most favorite, comfy sweatshirt.

*Since we got a cold snap here in my neck of the woods, I dug out my husbands old, seriously old sweatshirt from the early 90’s. It is a BUM sweatshirt. Some of you might be too young to remember the BUM brand. I originally made fun of this sweatshirt years ago when he wore it one day in college. Now, I can’t live with out it. It has holes and is tattered at the sleeves. But I love it.

~What is one thing about Autumn that you look forward to each year?

*Me? I look forward to the freshness in the air that comes with cooler weather.

~What three words must you have spellcheck in order to write correctly?

Me? Grammar, privilege, recipe (random, right?)

~What album is playing on your music player of choice these days?

Me? I’m addicted to Pandora on my phone and on my laptop…so many choices!

~So many of us stress about the Christmas season these days. I’m working to simplify. What stresses you out most about Christmas?

Me? That my house doesn’t measure up to my friend’s gorgeous dwellings. This causes me to NOT invite people over sometimes. It is really sad, I know. I’m working on it.

Ok…YOUR TURN!

Leave a comment with your answers to The LIST!

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