DG Bible Study 3

God's Love

"God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

This is so powerful and mind blowing! I see and hear this verse often but I don't always stop and think about it. His Son lived the perfect life, free from sin, so that he could take EVERYONE'S punishment for their sin back then, now, and forever to come. It is hard to imagine any father letting his son die and especially suffering so much. I can't picture my parents doing this to me and I wouldn't be able to do the same for my children. This shows how vast God's love is for me and everyone else. I'm so thankful for this! I know I sin and I don't deserve the grace that I've been given. God could have easily decided to punish all our sins and deny access to Heaven but He leaves the doors open under one condition:

"that if you confess with you mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

I don't have to worry if I'm "good enough." I'm not "graded" on the number of good deeds I do or how often I sin. God loves me for who I am, God loves me even when I pull away from him, He loves me unconditionally and more than anyone else can or will. I can know that I have a spot in Heaven waiting for me and that makes me so excited!

DG Bible Study 2

Is the foundation of your faith in God strong enough to withstand the storms of life that will inevitably come?

Not at all like Job, who even after his house, animals, possessions, money, and children were taken from him, he was still able to remain faithful to God. I would probably respond like his wife, who didn't remain faithful to God, if I had to endure anything close to that of Job and his family. I feel like my foundation has slowly been deteriorating or wasn't much to begin with. I'm struggling with building a strong foundation and completely putting my faith in God. Unfortunately I usually turn to Him last.

What am I doing to build on my foundation?

I've been going to The Village Church, DG Bible Study, and my lifegroup when I can. Occasionally I have read my bible and pray, I'm working on this but I'm not as often as I should. I keep telling myself that I need to work at it, but I always put other things 1st that are of less importance or out of selfishness. I need to read more often. I need to pray and simply spend more time getting to know God on a more personal level, like a best friend.

What is one new thing you'll begin doing this week to further strengthen your faith?

SPEND TIME! Pray and read. I also want to start going to Axcess again.

DG Bible Study

Have you completely yielded your dating relationships and future to God? If not, why not?

No. It's difficult to completely put my faith/trust in God. I like to feel in control and I think I know what's best even through I should know that God has the best plan for my life. It seems like I come to God only when things aren't going good and things get rough or too serious in my relationships or life in general. I need to try much harder to put God first in all that I do, which I haven't done much of. I get too wrapped up in my life to take time to put God first or even pray. I find it even harder to put God first in a relationship. My boyfriend is always on my mind, I think of ways to make my boyfriend happy, I want to make my boyfriend feel special, and I spend all the time I can with my boyfriend. I do all of this, but it is God that should be first. How do I do this? It's easy to say that God needs to be first in all that you do, but how do you do that?

"You shouldn't be concerned as much with finding the right person as you are with being the right person."

Where do you need to grow in order to "be the right person"?

I need to be less concerned with my wants and place others before me. I need to take time to appreciate what I have and how blessed I am. I need to be more compromising. I need to work on my communication. I need to build a stronger relationship with God. I need to go out of my way to make others feel special and appreciated. I need to be more serving. Basically, I need to be more like God.

What is one step you can take this week to sharpen your character?

I can do more for others so that they know I care about them. I will also continue to pray to do God's will and have the strength to do what God wants me to do. This is a struggle for me because I like my independence and I like to be in control.