5 HABITS BIBLE STUDY WEEK # 4

WHAT TO READ THIS WEEK: RUTH 2:15-23

QUIT QUITTING VERSES:

      DAY 1 JAMES 4:8

      DAY 2 ISAIAH 43:19

      DAY 3 PSALM 103:12

      DAY 4 EPHESIANS 5:15

      DAY 5 JAMES 4:14

What does this mean?

To live a life of surrender and humility. Learning to stay open to the movement of God is hard. It requires a deeper sense of trust and belief in Him thank we may naturally have. Learning to stay open to His movement is one of the hardest lessons we will have to learn. But when we do, we will be close to Him and able to fulfill the assignments He has given us.

Learning to stay open to the movement of God is sometimes a very humbling place. We don’t always get it just right. Sometimes we may even feel foolish. However, remember Habit 2#? We have to follow through despite how we feel. When we make a mistake we may think it’s over or it’s ruined. But that is not true in God’s world

So what makes us put God’s movement on hold?

What are your excuses? Have you ever used the excuse “ I didn’t know”? or “There is not enough time”? I think time is the #1 reason why we quit. We have so many activities that steal our time like : social media, the computer, children’s activities, work, etc. What’s stealing your time?

We may come up with excuses when we don’t see what God is going in and through our situation. Sometimes we have to ask others what they see.

Let's get in the Word:

Remember when we left Naomi, she was bitter. She was a woman that was angry and shaking her fist at God. But then, something changed. Her heart changed drastically. Sometimes when our hearts take a sudden shift, we can be left feeling remorseful or bad about how we reacted toward God.

But one of the most powerful things about God is the grace He offers us through forgiveness.

Here we see Naomi’s bitterness is slowly leaving her and she is able to trust God again. This is what happens when we stay open to God’s movement in our lives.

After a long day out in the wheat field, Ruth comes home filled with excitement. Naomi was curious and wanted to know the details of her day. After hearing the details, Naomi heart changes. She speaks blessing from the Lord upon Boaz.

No longer is Naomi a bitter quitter. No longer is she shaking her fist at God. She has opened her fist to receive.

If your fist are closed toward the presence of God, you will often miss: the opportunity for God to bless you, the chance for God to use you, and the ability of God to expand your faith and trust in Him.

Naomi had felt bitter, but her faith in God was still alive and she praised God for Boaz’s kindness to Ruth. In her sorrow, she still trusted God and acknowledged His goodness.

We may feel bitter about a situation, but we must never despair. Today is always a new opportunity for experiencing God’s care.

God doesn’t meet us at perfection. He meets us where we are in our process towards receiving His promise.

Q.U.I.T strategy.

Q – QUESTIONS WE NEED TO ASK AND ANSWER

     Why is it important in your own life to constantly remind yourself of what God has done for you? Which of the habits so far are you finding you need the most? How is God asking you to stay open to His movement right now?

U – UNDERSTANDING THE WORD

     How does the change in Naomi inspire you to keep trying and waiting on God’s movement in your life?

I – INTO THE PROMISE

     Which of the Quit Quitting verses challenged you the most this week? Why?

T – TURN SOMETHING AROUND

     This week we looked at excuses that could keep us from experiencing the fulfillment of following all the way through. Write down what a typical day looks like for you. Fine a space in your day when you can set aside five minutes to rule out any excuses that could keep you from following through.

5 HABITS BIBLE STUDY WEEK 3

Who has never got up and thought “ I don’t want to go to work today?”

Right! I knew it wasn’t just me. Life is, unfortunately, not 100% filled with moments of doing thing we love.

I remember a time when a dear classmate/childhood friend had Leukemia. Every Saturday, I drove to Emory in Atlanta to be with her most of the day. One Saturday I took my mother. After we had our visit and we got in the elevator to go, mother started to cry and asked how I could do that every week. By the Grace of God is my only answer cause when someone goes through a bone marrow transplant, the next few months is hard on one’s appearance and body. I didn’t have to do it, I would have rather not have gone through that with her, but I have cherish memories of that time.

And now, I am doing the same with my mother. Which brings us to our second habit:

THIS WEEK’S READING: RUTH 2:4-13

As you can see in our assigned reading we are going to reread some verse from last week and talk about the need to put our feelings aside.

QUIT QUITTING VERSES:

      PSALM 3:3

      ZECHARIAH 4:10

      1 PETER 5:6

      PROVERBS 25:8

      MATTHEW 11:28

Remember that when Naomi arrived back to Bethlehem, she was bitter. She had lost hope. When we don’t feel hope, we have to find hope.

Ruth did just that. Ruth made her home in a foreign land. Instead of depending on her mother-in-law, Naomi, she took the initiative to look for some work to help provide for them both. She wasn’t afraid admitting her need or working hard to supply it. When Ruth went out to the fields, God provided for her.

If you are waiting for God to provide, consider this; He may be waiting for you to take the first step to demonstrate just how important your need it.

As I mentioned last week, gleaning was generally for the poor; widows, orphans and foreigners. READ Leviticus 19:9-10.  The widows and poor would come behind the gatherers and pick up any leftover grains left on the edges of the fields.

This job was menial and tiring and even perhaps degrading, but Ruth did it faithfully. She put her feelings aside to do the task that was needed.

What is your attitude when the take you have been given is not up to your true potential? The task at hand may be all you can do, it may be the work God wants you to do or it may be a test of your character that can open up new doors of opportunity. And may I add, opportunities that we could NEVER imagine.

People say they don’t want anyone’s “left-overs”, but there are times when we just have to get behind people to pick up their leftovers.

Leftovers can be of many different things. Maybe someone is dropping some Joy by you today. Maybe some faith, some strength, some love, some peace, some hope. PICK IT UP!!! TAKE IT!!! RECEIVE IT!!! There are people everywhere dropping leftovers all around us. We just have to choose the right leftovers and “glean it”. STAY AWAY from those negative leftovers.

Now Ruth did this work the best she could. She caught the eye of Boaz. Maybe it was first by her looks, but then he noticed her working ethics. Then when he summons her, Ruth humbled herself to him.

 Favor follows those who follow through despite how they feel. Honor follows those who allow humility to shape them, and for those who do not give up, they will see the faithfulness of God.

Don’t let feelings dictate your days. Chose to follow through despite how you feel. The limitations of your assignments are within the strength of God. Hang on to that hope, the confidence that faith will give you the strength to push through every hard and trying circumstances

Q.U.I.T strategy.

Q – QUESTIONS WE NEED TO ASK AND ANSWER

When have your feelings convinced you to quit? What burden(s) do you feel like you truly cannot give to God?

U – UNDERSTANDING THE WORD

Write a summary of Ruth’s story so far. What part of her story have you enjoyed the most.

I – INTO THE PROMISE

. Which of the Quit Quitting Verse spoke to you the most this week and why?

T – TURN SOMETHING AROUND

Do you tend to pay attention more to the commands of your brain or the feelings of your heart? Finding a balance for both is important. Write down one practical step you can take in order to keep both in check.

5 HABITS BIBLE STUDY WEEK 2

Well, I don’t know about ya’ll, but last week’s Iesson gave me a new insight to this story. Different things I really never did notice.

We saw that Ruth “endured”, Orpah “escaped” and Ruth “enlisted” . This enlistment is our first habit.

So what is refinement? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary it is “the act or process of removing unwanted substances from something : the act or process of making something pure”

I don’t know about you but I have a lot of “unwanted “ substances that need to be removed.

THIS WEEK’S READING: RUTH 1:19-2:12

Last week we left Naomi feeling bitter and wanting her daughters-in-law to go back to their home and not return with her to Bethlehem. Oprah finally decided to return but Ruth pledged her devotion to Naomi. This was Ruth’s accepting the assignment of refinement. She is not sure what to expect but she accepts it and trust this new God.

 So these women are traveling together back to Bethlehem where now there is no famine.  Not only did Ruth commit herself to Ruth but she has committed herself to the living God.  Think about what those conversations were like. Did Naomi instruct Ruth more about her God and His Laws or do you think she remained angry with the Lord.

When they got to Bethlehem the city was excited about their arrival. But Ruth continued her bitterness when she said “ Don’t call me Naomi, call me Mara” . She had left Bethlehem with a husband and two sons and come home without them. She had gone to Moab possessing the necessities of life, but now she had returned home having nothing.

Sometime we don’t see what we have to be grateful for when we go through trials and tribulations.  Naomi thought her life had ended, but her trials were really a new beginning. She had lost faith and hope. When we are going through something that feels hard and not going like we think, it’s hard to see the good and know it won’t last forever.  However, something powerful happens when we allow others to see how God is shaping and developing us. Many times people realize they are not alone.

What other things should Naomi be thankful for?

At the time they arrive at Bethlehem it was harvest time. A time when the community expressed joy and praise to God for His goodness. It was spring, a time of new life and new beginning. That is exactly what Naomi and Ruth was about to experience. Harvest was a sign of better things to come.

Although Naomi was bitter against God, Ruth was willing for God to have His way in her life, so God began His gracious works with Ruth. 

Ruth knew that she needed to do something in order for them to survive. So she asked Naomi’s permission to glean in the fields so they would have food to eat.  This was a step of faith. The gleaning was left for the poor to get. That was what God had commanded.

Now this is where God intervenes. So Ruth goes out to look for a field to glean, so being a stranger she didn’t know who owned what field. So she found a place and started to glean. This field belonged to Boaz, who was a man of standing in the community.

Boaz was concerned about his workers and wanted them to enjoy the blessings of the Lord, so he went out to greet them. Then Ruth caught his eye. Was this love at first sight? So he inquired about her and when she heard that she was with Naomi when she returned to Bethlehem, he went to her. He told her to glean only his fields and to follow the other women that were harvesting.  Then Ruth humbled herself to him, asking why he being so kind. Boaz told her that he had heard of the good things she had done for her mother-in-law and all that she had been through.

When I read this, I got the feeling that she was probably gleaning what had already been gleaned. And Boaz was now giving her first shot at the gleaning.

QUIT QUITTING VERSES:

      ROMANS 8:18

      2 CORINTHIANS 4:17

      EPHESIANS 4:31

      2 CORINTHIANS 4:8-9

      JAMES 1:2-4

Q.U.I.T strategy.

Q – QUESTIONS WE NEED TO ASK AND ANSWER

What are your assignments of refinement right now? How is God trying to improve your character? Are there any areas where you’re resisting this process?

U – UNDERSTANDING THE WORD

Who was the new character introduced this week? What harvest season was going on when Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem?

I – INTO THE PROMISE

. Which of the Quit Quitting Verse spoke to you the most this week and why?

T – TURN SOMETHING AROUND

Think of an area in your life where you have resisted refinement. It could be with your health, your dreams, your job, or a relationship. Write down a few possible areas in which God could be taking you through a season of refinement.

5 HABITS BIBLE STUDY WEEK 1

Woo Hoo! It’s time to start our new Bible Study on Ruth. Ready to learn 5 habits from a Woman that doesn’t quit? Hope this past week you have prepared yourself for this study through prayer.

This study is designed for 6 weeks, each divided into 5 days of reading and activity. Some of you will do it daily and others all in one day. Either way is right as long as your spend time in the Word, reflections on how it applies or can apply to your life and prayer.

Each day had a “QUIT QUITING VERSE”. Write them to your heart. Post-it notes on your mirrors, In your car, at work are wonderful ways to help.

There is also the Q.U.I.T strategy.

Q- Questions we need to ask and answer.

U- Understanding the Word. Summarizing the readings, characters and words during the week of the story of Ruth. 

I – Into the Promise. There is a promise in every story in Scripture and Ruth is filled with promises of hope.

T- Turn something around. This is another time of reflections to where we need to action and change.

WHAT TO READ THIS WEEK: RUTH 1:1-18

QUIT QUITTING VERSES:

      DAY 1 ROMANS 5:3-4

      DAY 2 ROMAN 8:13

      DAY 3 1 PETER 5:8

      DAY 4 PSALM 34:18

      DAY 5 HEBREWS 10:23

Let get in the Word:

The story of Ruth takes place during the period of the rule of the judges, when the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. Hmmmm kinda like this day and time.

Due to a famine, Elimelech decided to take his family to Moab, a country known to be Israel’s enemy and where they worshipped pagan gods. Do you see the first “QUIT” here? The situation was getting hard and instead of asking God what to do and trust God, Elimelech did what “he thought was right in his eyes.”

Famine was often evidence of God’s discipline because His people had sinned against Him. Lev 26:18-20; Deut. 28:15

When trouble comes to our lives we can do one of three things: ENDURE, ESCAPE, or ENLIST. If we only endure our trials, the trials become our master and we have a tendency to become hard and bitter. IF we try to escapes our trials, then we will probably miss the purpose God wants to achieve in our lives. But if we enlist our trial, they become our servant instead of our master and work for us and God will work all things together for our good and His glory. Romans 8:28.

No matter how difficult our circumstances may be, the safest and best place is in the will of God.  Elimelech walked by sight and not by faith. To walk by faith is claiming the promises of God and obeying the Word of God, in spite of what we see, how we feel or what may happen.

Elimelech traveled about 50 miles into pagan (enemy) territory. Bad decision. His sons married the women of Moab. Jews were forbidden to marry Gentile women, especially those from Ammon and Moab. They left Judah to escape from starving to death, yet death followed them to Moab.

We now have 3 widowed women. Naomi heard that the famine had ended “back home” So she decided to return. Luke 15:17 says. there’s always bread enough and to spare when you are in the Father’s will. How sad it is when people only hear of God’s blessings but never experience it, because they are not in the place where God can bless them.

There was almost nothing worse than being a widow in the ancient world. They were taken advantage of or ignored. They were almost always poverty stricken. God’s law however, provided for the widow’s nearest relative to the deceased husband should be the one that cared for the widow.

Naomi’s decision to return to Bethlehem was right but her motives was still about food and furthermore, she didn’t want her daughter-in-laws to go with her. She tried to influence them to return to their land and their false god.

Why do you think she didn’t want them to return with her? Could it be that the women would be living proof that Naomi and her husband had allowed their two sons to marry women from outside the Jewish nation?

Then Naomi blames herself for the sorrow and pain the three women had experienced. Do you think she had been walking with Lord? Sounds almost like a guilty conscious of something she had done that was displeasing to God.

Orpah decided to return to her homeland. QUIT. But Ruth refused to turn around. She had come to know and trust the God of Israel and she wanted to be with His people and dwell in His land.

Ruth confessed her love for her mother-in-law and her desire to stay with her even unto death. Then she confessed her faith in the true and living God and her decision to worship Him.

She was willing to forsake her father and mother in order to cleave to Naomi and the God of her people. Ruth was determined.

Q.U.I.T strategy.

Q – QUESTIONS WE NEED TO ASK AND ANSWER

     From the assigned reading, Ruth 1:1-18, what are some questions you would like to have answered?

U – UNDERSTANDING THE WORD

     List all 6 characters in this story that we have read this week.

      Lisa at least 4 life-altering events that we saw happening.

I – INTO THE PROMISE

     You studied 5 Quit Quitting Verses this week. Which of these verses did you need the most this week. Write out how it can help you step into God’s promises for your life.

T – TURN SOMETHING AROUND

     Which of these areas did you feel challenged by God this week.:

            Moving too quickly when I don’t see God working

            Leaving because things get hard

            The need to cling tighter to God.

NEXT WEEK WE WILL LEARN OUR FIRST HABIT

A WOMAN WHO DOESN'T QUIT -PRELUDE

           ONE WEEK TO GO!!!

Are you ready to learn not only more about the Bible, but to learn 5 habits to not “QUIT”, from a women who doesn’t quit? I am!!!

If we are honest with ourselves, we all have “QUIT” on something. Sometimes our goal is to “quit”, something that is generally not good for us, physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually. And we quit on trying to quit.

I googled the internet on things to quit, some I could picked if I were on the Family Feud, but then some caused be to stop and ponder.  Let me names some obvious ones:

o  Snacking non-stop even when not hungry

o  Spending too much time on the couch watching TV

o  Overspending

o  Smoking

o  Drinking alcohol

Now some not so obvious:

o  Making excuse, doubting yourself, judging others, letting the past define you, being ungrateful

o  Feeling sorry for yourself, being idle, jealous of others, holding grudges, lying, blaming others

o  Letting your past define you, playing the victim, worrying, trying to make everything perfect,

o  Putting your needs on the back burner, trying to compete against others, saying “yes” all the time, thinking money creates value, worrying what others think of you.

It is OK to QUIT, but it is never OK to GIVE UP!

Just start again another day or time, refreshed and renewed. Even God’s mercies are new every day.

Even Scarlett O’Hara had that attitude. You know at the end of Gone With The Wind when Rhett left Scarlett by saying those famous words “Frankly Scarlett, I don’t give……..”

She had finally realized that she loved Rhett instead of Ashley. She had turned her love away from Rhett time after time and he finally had enough. But she said “Tomorrow’s another day”.

God’s Word is full of new beginnings. So we have hope for anything and all things that we quit on. We just start again, tomorrow.

WHY DO WE QUIT?

Maybe because it takes too long to see the final results. Or maybe we were not committed 100% in the task.

In our study we will be evaluating our own personal strengths that make us want to quit. We will cultivate new habits to help us progress toward our goals and reading scriptures will help develop the perseverance that we need.

So in preparation of next week, list the things that you have quitted and would really want to say “Tomorrow’s another day”. Write down the reason that you quit each task.

There is a new task I want everyone to do, can you guess what it is? That’s right complete this Bible study. I will be praying for you all so that the enemy will not interfere with the few moments it takes each week to do the study and I am praying that we all will have insight from this study that will touch us personally.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK

30 DAYS TO TAMING YOUR TONGUE DAY 30

DAY 30 THE SILENT TONGUE

A man and wife were feuding and giving each other the silent treatment. One night the realized he needed her to wake him up at an early hours to catch a plane. Not wanting to humble himself and be the first to break the silence, he left her a not to wake him at 5 am. The next morning he awakened to find out that he had overslept by a few hours and had missed the flight. As he leaped out of bed to go angrily to confront his wife, he noticed a piece of paper on the nightstand. The note said “It’s 5am. WAKE UP!

Talking is absolutely essential to maintaining effective relationships. We all have heard the saying “Silence is golden”, but it is NOT golden when one uses it as a passive, retaliatory means of expressing his anger or displeasure with a situation. In fact, such silence is a direct violation of our Lord’s command to confront those who offend us. READ MATTHEW 18:15

Trespassing is an unauthorized crossing of a boundary. Many times we may feel we have been trespassed or wronged, but rather than discussing the issue with the offender, we resort to sulking and pouting. Women are especially prone to keeping silent,

Silence is not golden when we refuse to defend someone against unwarranted criticism or vicious rumors. We cannot let our fear of alienation or rejection cause us to allow slander and character assassination when we are well aware of facts to the contrary.

Silence is not golden when it results in us making an undesirable decision by default. After all, silence can indicated consent. Prayer was taken out of public schools in the US because the majority kept quiet and did not protest. Your silence gives consent to others actions.

A Japanese proverb states, “Silent worms digs holes in the walls.” To keep silent when on should be speaking is a sure way to dig holes in your relationships.

While keeping silent is a virtue in some situations, if we want to be a voice for the voiceless, confront personal issues, and fight for justice, we are required to speak up. The key is to always use our voices for the RIGHT purpose, at the RIGHT time and in the RIGHT manner.

READINGS AND REFLECTIONS

PROVERBS 31:8-9 MATTHEW 18:15    ECCLESIASTES 3: 1,7

1)               Those who have not developed good communication skills or who do not understand the importance of effective confrontation will often resort to the silent treatment. Recall a time when you failed to confront an issue directly and chose to use your silence as a means of retaliation.

2)              Thinks of a situation in which you spoke up on behalf of someone who could not speak for himself. What were the results?

3)              Recall a situation in which your silence implied you were in agreement with a certain course of action that you in fact opposed. What fears kept you from speaking up?

30 DAYS TO TAMING YOUR TONGUE DAY 29

DAY 29 THE INDISCREET TONGUE

After the greet flood that destroyed most of the earth, Noah planed a vineyard. One day he got carried away and drank too much wine. His son Ham discovered him in his tent, drunk and naked. (GENESIS 9:22) Exercising more discretion than Ham, his brothers would not even look on their father, but backed into the tent and covered him with a garment. Their discretion was a sign of their maturity.

Discretion in speech is a key indicator of spiritual and emotional maturity. Saying what is appropriate and necessary in a particular situation reflects a person’s wisdom in restraining his tongue.

One who is discreet shows prudence and wise self-restraint in speech and behavior, and always reap a positive consequence. Indirection can be costly. Some subject matters should simply be off limits for discussion. You would be wise to never discuss your salary or bonus, especially with another company personnel. Your sex life should also be off limits as an item of discussion with a non-counseling outsider.

Ham’s indiscretion proved costly for him. When Noah sobered up, he realized his shame and was sobered up, he realized his shame and was sorely displeased with the manner in which Ham had handled the situation. Noah cursed him and doomed his descendants to slavery.

Have you ever found out something about a leader or other prominent person and could NOT refrain from telling someone? If God has trusted you enough to reveal someone’s NAKEDNESS or SIN, have you ever considered that you were NOT to “see” and “tell” BUT rather to cover that nakedness with discretion and intercession?

This nakedness could be family, friends, coworkers and even church members.  At times you may be called to even confront the individual regarding their wrongdoing, just as Nathan confronted David for his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband.

Whatever God mandates, do it HIS WAY. A public revelation is not always necessary as it can cause irreparable damage to the body of Christ. The punishment is God’s business.

If you are called to confront, do so with love and compassion. NO ONE is PERFECT. Remember that.  God may someday show someone YOUR nakedness. Pray that it will be handled with wisdom. Plant the seed of discretion not.

READINGS AND REFLECTION

PROVERBS 25:11   PROVERBS 5:1-2   PROVERBS 16:22

PROVERS 11:22

1)               “Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don’t make fun of a rich man either. A little bird may tell them what you have said”. ECCELESIATES 10:20. Never underestimate the co-workers who is looking for an opportunity to ingratiate themselves with the higher-ups. Have you even been indiscreet in making comments about a superior and suffered the consequences?

2)              What was the most indiscreet conversation you have ever had, and what did you learn as a result?

3)              Have you suffered any negative consequences as a result of someone else’s indiscreet words?