1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Psalm 103:1-5
The Ladies Bible Study I lead started again last Friday. This autumn we will be reading and discussing Joanna Weaver's Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. The theme God has laid on my heart this year is balance, balance, balance. As I shared with the ladies, God is calling us/me to have balance in our/my life. I need not stop doing the things at home in order to pursue Bible Study, nor do I stop my quiet times to care for family and house. I can't neglect my physical well-being in order to develop my spiritual disciplines. It is all about balance! I'm really looking forward to what God is going to do in our group this year.
Each year, I ask God to lead me to a verse that will be my basis for leading throughout the year. This year, He led me to Psalm 103:1-5. Each of us need to pursue the 5 benefits in our life. We may need physical healing--or we may need to claim that promise for others in our realm of influence. We may need to be freed from a pit of sin or we may need to feel His love and compassion. As we pursue balance this year, I am encouraging my ladies to memorize these five verses and to claim the promises in them. We can only find true balance in allowing God to reign in our lives. How about you? Do you need to claim the promises? Blessings to you as you pursue your own relationship with the Almighty.
photo credit: www.morguefile.com, author=taliesin
3 comments:
Were we twins separated at birth or something?! My Bible study group is starting Having a Mary Spirit by Joanna Weaver! And I always like to pick a "theme" verse for the year too. I put it on the very top of our prayer request sheet so it is seen often. In past years I've chosen long passages, but this year decided to make it short and sweet, only using part of a verse. Ours is Psalm 34:10, ". . .those who seek the Lord lack no good thing."
May God help us achieve balance and ignite in us a passion for Him.
What a wonderful idea to ask God to show you a theme verse for leading a study! I want to remember that!
Balance - you are so right about needing balance. And balance can be very difficult to not only attain but maintain. It's almost like walking a tight rope sometimes. But it is crucial to strive for balance.
Thanks for sharing!
Karen
http://thetagblog.blogspot.com/
We've finally found a parish that we feel comfortable with - I'm so hoping that they will have small groups like you lead! Your Ladies Bible Study will be in my prayers.
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