Journal for week 16

- The role of women in the church and in society has been tainted from what God originally intended it to be. In fact, a woman should not be teaching or in any position of authority where she is above her husband, father, or someone else’s husband. This includes leading worship, preaching, or even reading scripture. Just as Christ is the head of the church and the head of the man, a man is the head of his wife, and until a woman marries, she is under her father. (This is just a summary of what I learned; there are verses to support it. Check out “God’s High Calling for Women” by McArthur for more info)

- Faith means entrusting myself to God, not positive thinking. There is no power in faith itself but in the object in which I put my faith. If I am praying with a preconceived outcome, I am not totally entrusting myself to God.

- Being unequally yoked can lead to compromise. This can be in a marriage relationship, in a friendship, or even in a business transaction. So I need to be careful not to have such an open mind as to let my brain fall out.

- The difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow is that worldly sorrow works under the assumption that, as humans, we can achieve perfection and leads to guilt, whereas godly sorrow comes from an understanding that we are fallen and leads to brokenness, genuine humility, and repentance. Repentance involves a 180 degree turn away from the sin and a complete turn towards Christ. And because of this, godly sorrow leaves no guilt because I know I have been forgiven completely! Regret, instead of causing me to be angry at myself, should cause gratitude for God’s amazing grace!

- A sacrifice is something that costs me something. In other words, it means giving up something that I want and if I am not giving up something I want, then it is not costing me something and it is therefore not an acceptable sacrifice to God!

- In history, there have been three temples, three places God has displayed His glory. The first was in Jerusalem, the second was in Christ, and the third is in every believer.

- The best of what God has condemned is still condemned. When Saul kept the best of the sheep and cattle after destroying the rest of the Amalekites, he was obeying God selectively, which was still disobedience. I kid myself if I think I am the master of my own sin. If I do not give it up to God to deal with it, it will only continue to grow.

- I am not indispensible to God, but He is indispensible to me and so I need to make sure that I am where He is.

- A woman after God’s own heart is someone who does not make her own plans (therefore I need to seek God’s will in every situation and delight in the Lord in every situation), who doesn’t manipulate her own process (I need to trust that God will bring about His purposes in His timing), and doesn’t manufacture her own path (I need to get all my power from God).

- In life, I can’t stop driving to look for a green light but instead I need to keep driving in what seems to be the right direction until I hit a red light. The same is true in following God’s will.

- When sharing my faith with people, I need to rely completely on God to say what they need to hear. I also don’t need to fear rejection and this fear shouldn’t stop me from telling people about my awesome God. I need to make sure that I am not ‘Bible bashing’ and that I am listening to the person and not putting them down in any way.