SeeKing Holy

Since my salvation in a jail cell twenty 22 years ago, God has instilled within me an insatiable desire to share with and offer others what has been freely given to me. I want ladies to know there is a way out; but only one way out. We live in a culture and world that is constantly telling us there are many ways to God and to happiness and contentment.

There was a time in my life when I didn’t sense my life had any worth. I certainly couldn’t see any value in it. I didn’t feel I had any significance. In fact, I didn’t feel life had any meaning at all other than general misery; then you die. I was suicidal mostly from my preteen years to 24 y/o, which the age of my salvation

These deeply felt beliefs really influenced me to make a lot of detrimental decisions. This general pervading sense of self abasement, I believe, came from most of my early life feeling abandoned, rejected, and unloved.

What I found to be true is:

John 14:6 Jesus answered, I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I didn’t find the one way, I learned He found me. I assure you I did not wake up one day in a jail cell having almost lost my own life including everything worth anything to me and decide to follow Christ.

He pursued me. He called me. Through the Holy Spirit, He came for me. He found me.

There are women who will listen to this and who God is right now pursuing and calling to salvation. I encourage you, if you’re listening, to respond to Him with humility, repentance, willingness to surrender to Him in prayer. Believe Him, receive Him, and desire to follow Him.

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Titus 3: 3-7 “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

When we recall... we remember... where we once were, we’re reminded that fallen nature is not that far from us, and we need constant reminding to stay on course, --where we should be in the Lord lest we begin to drift.

Hebrews 4:16 - Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

We can ask for His strength, His mercy, His help, His grace. We have everything we need in Jesus - we only need to seek Him.

So in this segment we’re going to talk about changing the legacy, walking in freedom, ,and walking in pursuit of holiness.

I realize that there are many of you listening who cannot exactly relate to what you’ve heard. Perhaps you had a wonderful childhood, a delightful Christian upbringing, and a blessing of godly people to disciple you in life.
So often those of us who did not have that place our sadness onto these people and they feel guilty for the great start and support they’ve received from their loved ones.
I’d like to extend the message that if you - you had a healthy upbringing, to rejoice in it and not worry about making up for it! Please don’t feel the need to be silent about it or to apologize in any way - in fact this is something to celebrate!
Now, those of us who may not have been as fortunate - and I’m talking to myself because this can be a real struggle that creeps in again and again, but we must be careful to not displace our hurt onto those who haven’t walked where we had to walk. I get it - it’s hard! I’ve felt it creep up when someone was mourning a grandparent or relative that they had a wonderful relationship with and all I could think was “at least you had someone you can mourn their great influence instead of grieving the coulda wouldas that never were” or “at least you knew your grandparents” - perhaps we should call this the “at least” syndrome.

We must be careful, for this is not the attitude we Christians should have. It’s so so difficult ... but there is an opportunity in EVERY circumstance of suffering... let’s not waste it, to minister to someone.

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Since my salvation in a jail cell twenty 22 years ago, God has instilled within me an insatiable desire to share with and offer others what has been freely given to me. I want ladies to know there is a way out; but only one way out. We live in a culture and world that is constantly telling us there are many ways to God and to happiness and contentment.

There was a time in my life when I didn’t sense my life had any worth. I certainly couldn’t see any value in it. I didn’t feel I had any significance. In fact, I didn’t feel life had any meaning at all other than general misery; then you die. I was suicidal mostly from my preteen years to 24 y/o, which is the age of my salvation

These deeply felt beliefs really influenced me to make a lot of detrimental decisions. This general pervading sense of self abasement, I believe, came from most of my early life feeling abandoned, rejected, and unloved.

What I found to be true is:

John 14:6 Jesus answered, I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I didn’t find the one way, I learned He found me. I assure you I did not wake up one day in a jail cell having almost lost my own life including everything worth anything to me and decide to follow Christ.

He pursued me. He called me. Through the Holy Spirit, He came for me. He found me.

There are women who will listen to this and who God is right now pursuing and calling to salvation. I encourage you, if you’re listening, to respond to Him with humility, repentance, willingness to surrender to Him in prayer. Believe Him, receive Him, and desire to follow Him.
Verses Sighted>
Romans 3:23

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This week we’re going to be digging into some favorite subjects! We love and want more peace, to enter His rest, and to grasp joy. We think that it’s only fair to prepare you that this may not be the average message on these subjects.
In fact, ironically we found that this has been the most difficult series to write so far! Goodness!
I mean - it’s about happy things, things we want! So why was it so much... work? Why was it so hard for each of us?
We think there’s a few things in play:

• Peace rest and joy is something that many women are chasing, and it’s easy that in pursuit of it - unbeknowingly, we bypass the actual way of acquiring it. In concern for women who are wondering “I strive to have peace, or enter His rest, or to have joy but it isn’t coming!” we’ve felt the need to identify, clarify, and caution women from going down this path.
• Defining what it is and what it is not to aid us and confirm for us that we are in fact, pursuing the right things.
• Solidifying our confidence in Him - SO THAT we are actually able to abide in peace, in rest and with joy - 2 of which are fruits of the Spirit, and therefore not just something we can have in our own strength - and we want to address this in these challenging times.
  So, in the next few episodes, we’ve decided after much discussion, a good approach would be to address each subject in 4 parts:
  1] What are these?
  2] Is there a cost?
  3] What are they not?
  4] How do we receive and enjoy them?

In order to accomplish this, please realize that there will be highs and lows in each episode: there will be a sense of exhortation - we’ve been given so many promises of aid in God’s Word!
And - there will be some hard stuff. We talked this over a lot, as there were parts in reading and recording where one or both of us were like, “man- this is deep. Or Man, this is hitting hard.” and we had to keep going back in prayer - and if I may just lay it out... we had to determine if we ...we as ladies with a microphone, with a platform to voice on this podcast ...what is our style? What is our responsibility with how to handle what has been given to us? We must teach the word - and I’m just being transparent, it’s not easy. Ironically, this is feeling a bit heavy.

Ok, so we feel the need to address some ways peace, rest, and joy are being STOLEN from you - and dramatic as it sounds, it’s true... but if you’ll hang with us, we promise that while we get into some deep stuff - we won’t leave you there!
There is no greater hope ever to be found in the heavens or on the earth than the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Ok, are we ready?

So before we get started on defining peace, rest, and joy. Let us all, all of us... ask ourselves:
How do we define them? What do we think peace is? I often hear the term peace partnered with “and quiet” and I quite like that and would likely gravitate to thinking of peace in that way... but that may not be the actual way peace is always given.

Or rest ...are you tired? Do you long to have some solitude? What does rest look like to you?
What about joy? What is joy? How close is it to happiness?

In these answers lie the hidden pursuits: what is it we’re searching for?
Links sighted:

• Barbara's book: Rescued, Ransomed, Restored: From Damaged to Delivered - www.abbaloves.us
• NPL No Place Left Discipleship resources at www.noplaceleft.net

Bible Verses sighted:

3a.
John 6:25-68
Luke 19
Psalm 233b.
John 14:27
Philippians 4:7
Colossians 3:15
Hebrews 4:12
John 14:6
Psalm 85:8
Colossians 1:20
Romans 5:1
Psalm 119:165
Isaiah 26:

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What do we do when we don't understand what God is doing?
How can we continue to wait on Him when we're worn out and weary?
Often In times of stress and difficulty, we learn our greatest lessons, for that is often when God breaks through in our lives and shows us something new for His purposes.

If you were to examine your faith, would you say it’s a little faith, a struggling faith, or that you’re just stepping into great faith? Do things that used to shake you up no longer ruffle you up - you immediately give it over to the Lord trusting He’s going to take care of it.

Habakkuk wrestled with God in deep theological issues, but embraced God with a life that was in tune for His purposes for him. Habakkuk had a burden - not only in the sense of a message from God, but also in the sense of a heavy weight. It was heavy in its content, because Habakkuk announced his coming judgment on Judah. It was also heavy in its source, because Habakkuk deals with tough questions he brings to God and God's answer to those questions.

There will certainly be opportunities for our faith to be tried and tested in it’s resolution. It’s not if, it's when situations and storms are sifted through the powerful, sovereign hands of God our Father and allowed to seep into our lives. When they do, faith responds, “how can I respond to this in such a way and by doing proves my faith and belief in God to be true, and my Savior to be tremendously present in my time of need, in the end bringing His beautiful purpose into and out of this hard thing, placing His glory and ultimate goodness on display?”
References:
Notes taken from Aleister Begg’s sermon “Faith that is Taught” http://blb.sc/00920p
Notes from Sermon Mountain Moving Faith - Bill Foote http://blb.sc/005vpy
Notes from David Guzik's commentary on Habbakuk 2: https://preview.tinyurl.com/ybwq8v5c

Verses Sighted:
2 Timothy 1:12
1 Peter 1:3-9
James 2:17-26
Habakkuk 2:1-4
Psalm 22:1
Romans 1:17
Hebrews 10:38
Galatians 3:11

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