Its Time- Study #1

It is Thursday and I wasn't able to find the time to get on here to blog. Noah got sick, oh course he would when I got back from my retreat because that is just the way it goes. I made a commitment with the thanks to a friend to get up at 5am every morning to read the bible. Noah has had some rough nights however I am still holding up to my part of the deal :)

Yes Renay I am fighting through the tiredness! I know that after a week it will become routine and I will get used to it and it will not only allow me to have that quiet time with the Lord but I will be able to get my workout in early in the morning before Noah gets up and takes control of the day :)

So as promised I am going to share my notes and a summary on the first teaching that we had on Saturday morning at the retreat. This teaching was entitled- www.You.com (walk wise in this world) and it was taught by Millie Juarez, Pastor Pancho’s wife. Please bare with me as I try to read my notes and hit the key points...

The Lord wants us to declare

God’s word causes us to walk wise and well

Walking wise and well will be displayed in our behaviors

In the book Ephesians we will find that Paul uses the words “In Christ, In Him, In beloved” many times throughout the book. { this morning I went through the book roughly and found about 18 times}

Eph Ch. 1- talks about redemption In Christ and Spiritual wisdom

Eph Ch 2- talks about staying on course

Eph Ch 3- talks about His Mercy and Peace

Eph Ch 4- talks about walking in unity and God’s will

Eph Ch 5- talks about how we should walk. The theme scripture Eph 5:15-17 “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Millie then put up a slide of a women who was power walking and this spoke to me since I have been running on my treadmill. She gave us some power walking Scriptures that we can reference.

( Eph 2:10, 4:1, 5:2, 5:8, 5:15)

There are four parts to this verse:

Walk Carefully- We adapt to Jesus requirements by accepting his personal invitation ( Matt 11:28-30) Jesus says to take the Yoke upon Him. I didn't really know what yoke was till Millie showed a picture of this contraction that was placed around two cows neck to walk side by side. She expounded that when we accept the invitation and we come and we take the yoke, Jesus comes along side us and He will give us rest. A few scriptures that were referenced - 1 Peter 2:21, Romans 15:5, 1 John 2:6 Abide and walk like Jesus.

Walk Wise and not Foolishly- Knowledge=understanding. Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge to daily life. We need to make good use of what God has shown us and apply it to everyday life, 1 Tim 3:13. Foolishness is govern by feelings, desires, impulse, instincts, and lacks providence, Prov 1:7.

Redeem the time- You cannot buy back time and time is to short. Millie said “Don't waste time, make time” This really spoke to my heart and especially this morning when I was reading at 5 in the morning. I was tired and remembering how I complain that I don't have enough time in the day to do what needs to do. At the end of the night I reflect what did I spend my time doing? Half the time I don't remember and that is because it was wasted time. If I cant remember it, it wasn't important and it surely wasn't for the Lord. My husband has a book he has been wanting me to read, it is called “wasting time with God” I love the title, are you wasting time with God? Don't worry you are not alone most of us don't but today you can make the time.

Days are Evil- Millie ref Matt 24: 36-40 No one knows the day or hour and while we wait we need to tend to the fathers business while we wait. We need to be like Noah because we are in the days of Noah. She expounded on the days of Noah when he built the Ark how he was a preacher and walked with God. She made a great point. She said that it took along time for the Ark to be finished like 100 years in that time God was long suffering and waited for Noah to finish. He is waiting for people to respond before He comes again.

What a great study to open up the weekend! Lets redeem the times and walk in wisdom!

Praying in His love,

Monica