The last key to living stressless

Hello again, welcome to A Good Bible Study: StressLess. Let's pray and invite God into this time as we discover the last key to living stress-less:

Father, thank  You for Your Word. As we prepare to share how to apply Your Word to our lives, open our minds and hearts to Your Holy Spirit. We invite You to be the true leader of our bible study time, to make us delight in Your Wisdom and Will. In the name of Jesus, amen.

That's right, we are nearing the completion of this topic of A Good Bible Study, but not the study itself. So, come back each day as we continue to study scripture and learn to apply God's wonderful wisdom to our lives, living with more joy, peace, and love, every day!

It's so powerful to activate our minds and our spirits, but we can't forget about our bodies. It's all connected and one without the others leaves us off-balance.

Getting active every day with something as simple as taking a walk, using light weights sitting in a chair, or even joining water aerobics at the local Y, helps to remove stress hormones like cortisol and adrenanline, and counteract the negative physical and emotional effects of stress. By the way, exercise can be even more effective at treating depression than medication!

It wasn't that many years ago that I suffered depression (and still have to be proactive during the dark winter months) to the point that I found it difficult to get out of bed during the day. I just felt so tired all the time that I didn't have the energy to do much more than care for my kids' daily needs.

If' you've read my book, Effortless Weightloss, you know that a big key to my recovery was getting up and moving for just 5 minutes every day. Now you know where that 5 minute concept began!

Read Isaiah 40:28-31 - don't skip this - read it!

Now, in the beginning, I didn't feel like getting up. Nope, didn't wanna do it. But, looking back I realize that I activated my mind and spirit through prayer and made a commitment to my own health. In the end, I made a choice to get up. And I made a deal with myself: 5 minutes and I was done.

That five minutes made a huge difference in how I felt. I really began to feel just a tiny bit more energetic, so it encouraged me to get up a little longer, and a little more often.

I started out just marching in place, then around my house, and when the weather permitted, outside to the yard. I didn't need any fancy equipment or a gym, just the resolve to help myself five minutes at a time. That's all you need, as well.

Read Philippians 4:13 and repeat it to yourself when you question your own resolve.

Physical movement builds up your immune system, your strength, your sense of competence, and your confidence. It makes you feel better, look better, and sleep better.

Read Romans 12:1

We can care for our bodies as a service to God. What a gift to our Creator to take good care of the body He has given us! Taking care of our bodies ensures we are fit and able to accomplish His purpose for our lives.

The biggest obstacle most of us face in taking good care of our bodies is our own feelings. We let feeling tired, fat, old, over-scheduled, or stressed affect the way we treat ourselves every day.

It's interesting: Our minds affect our feelings. Our bodies affect our feelings. Our spirit affects our feelings. As much time as we all spend thinking about our feelings we should be all over how to give ourselves the feelings we desire, you'd think.

We don't have to give in to feelings if we don't want to. In fact, we can change our feelings by submitting them to God, and asking Him to give us the strength, motivation, and desire to actively care for our bodies, just like any other area of our lives.

Read Ephesians 4:20-24

Put off the way you used to handle life; be renewed in the spirit of your mind; put on the new person God has made you!

We can take advantage of God's gifts - including a new attitude anytime we want it! You, me, all of us, we are never alone in our struggles and in our success.

Throughout this study we have shared 3 Keys to Stress Less. They are to Authenticate, Recuperate and Activate.

Authenticate: Be who you are in Christ, as intended by God and accomplished through the Holy Spirit.
Recuperate: Rest and recuperate both physically, mentally and spiritually, enjoying your God-given creative gifts and talents.
Activate: Actively use your spirit, mind, and body the glory of God.

And remember when you feel discouraged by others, by life, or begin to feel helpless and hopeless:

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (New International Version)

Come back tomorrow and be encouraged in the Word of God!
Love, Karen

Photo by Enter_design, courtesy of http://www.photoxpress.com/ 

What's driving you?

Welcome again to A Good Bible Study: StressLess! I'm glad to be with you here, discovering God's Word and how we can live the joy-filled life He intends for us. Let's join in prayer:

Father, thank you for this time. Please help us to honor You with our thoughts and actions today. Help us to be sensitive to Your encouragement, and Your leading. Please prepare our hearts to hear You, and take action. Let us be doers of the Word, and not just hearers. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Read James 1:22-27

Instead of just listening and agreeing with what you know is good to do, go and do it, the writer of James implores us. Too often we procrastinate and let opportunities slip by. At the end of our days, will we regret more what we did, or what we didn't do?

It's easy to intend to do things, isn't it? It's harder to take the first step, but once we do, the rest is downhill. Rick Warren, Pastor and author of the best-selling book "The Purpose-Driven Life" says there are 5 main circumstances, values, or emotions that drive most of our decisions. They are the core forces that shape our thoughts, feelings, and decisions.

He calls them guilt; resentment and anger; fear; materialism; and approval.

I'm going to focus on fear in this study, because it is the most common and debilitating problem facing people today. It's also one of Satan's favorite weapons, because we are all so susceptible to it.

Stress often leads to a feeling of fear: fear of the unknown, of the future, or what might or might not happen.

Did you know anxiety is the problem people most commonly seek treatment for in America, today? May be that's why God provided over 365 scriptres addressing fear - more than one for every day! Over and over He encourages us in His Word:

Don't be afraid, for I am with you.

Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you.

I will hold you up with My victorious right Hand.! Isaiah 41:10 NLT

I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord.

Thoughts of good and not of evil,

to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call on Me

and go and pray to Me

and I will listen to you.

And you will seek Me and find me,

when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-14 NKJV

So, the first thing we have to do is call it out. Recognize it is fear that stops us from taking action.

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is name what it is we are afraid of. It takes the edge off just to say it out loud.

So, our first step in conquering fear so we can take action, is to name it and say it. It sounds simple, but like all simple things, it works.

Try it. "I'm afraid that if I ________, then  _____________ will happen."

Or "I'm afraid that if I ______, then ______________ won't happen."

Now, take a breath. How do you feel? Did the sun stop shining? Did the earth stop turning? Did they take away your birthday?

Now, continue on.

And if what I am afraid of happens, or doesn't happen, what then?

___________________________________

___________________________________

Ok, and after that then what?

___________________________________

___________________________________



And after that, then what?

___________________________________

___________________________________

Keep going till you run out of fears. Are you still ok?

Now what is the likelihood of what you are afraid of happening? 99% of what we are afraid will happen, won't. But if it did - can you, in reality, recover?

It will also really help you to turn to the back of your bible, and look up a few verses on fear. Write them down and when you feel yourself getting caught up in anxiety, pull them out and say them out loud. Say them with power and choose to believe in them!

Shake your fist in the face of Satan, the father of fear, and use the Word of God as a weapon - it will never fail to fill you with the power of the Holy Spirit if you wield it with conviction.

Let's pray:

Oh Father, thank You for Your Word! Thank You for giving us a weapon against fear and a shield against anxiety. Help us to use it every time we need it and use it quickly. You tell us to seek You and that we will find You when we search for You with all our hearts. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Love, Karen

Photo by Andrzej Borowicz, couresy of http://www.photoxpress.com/

The third key to living stressless

Hello! Can you believe it? We are moving on the the third and final key to living stress-less today. Now, it will take some time to hit all the great points, so don't worry, we have lot's more time together.

Welcome back to A Good Bible Study: Stress Less. Let's pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, Abba, you know our hearts. You know the burdens each of us carries, the ways in which we have felt stress and pressure. Lord, show us in Your Word how to live the life of joy and compassion that you intend for us. Help us to remember to authenticate, recuperate, and now activate our bodies, minds and spirits to be powerful and intentional in our lives. Most of all, lead us to know how to love You, and please You, and then to go out there and do it! In the name of Jesus, amen.

The third key to living a life free from stress is Activate!

Think about it: You can spend time praying and meditating on your authentic self all day, and you can rest and let your creative juices perculate till they are spilling over, but what good is any of this unless you put it into action and do something with it?

Proverbs 23:7 says that as you think, so you will act.

Joyce Meyer, in her book Joy Redefined: Loving Others says, "But along with our beliefs, what's most important is how we treat other people we encounter along life's road. It's the truest test of what we believe."

The Word tells us that our fruit, our actions, are an indication of our inner thoughts and beliefs.

So, it's truly a continuum: change our thoughts and feelings through becoming an authentic being of God (the first key); and also keep refreshed by regularly recuperating and refilling our bodies, minds and spirits - both in the Word and physically retreating and resting (the second key); and finally, show the evidence of that internal change by taking action.

You know, I am a big fan of thinking positively. We can choose what to dwell on so why not choose to believe the best: the best of God, the best of others, and the best of ourselves and our future.

But, if we sit around all day believing the best is coming, but never go out to meet it and never bring our best to fruition, then let's be honest, we are just dreaming.

Now we can focus our action on a variety of things. We can choose what will drive our behavior. Some things will bring us more joy and satisfaction, and others will drive us right back to bitterness and despair.

Read Matthew 7:15-18. Jesus says if you want to know what's driving a person, look at their fruit, their actions, what comes of their efforts.

We've got to be very careful because being authentic, meaning being true to our intended purpose and nature (as intended by God) results in activating our gifts and talents to produce good fruit, fruit that blesses our lives, and the lives of others.

Using our gifts to serve God's purpose for us leads to pleasure, joy, satisfaction, and contentment. Using our gifts to serve selfishness (really the purpose of Satan) leads to anger, greed, bitterness and eventually the loss of everything we gained.

Read Galatians 5:19-25

List here the fruit of the flesh (selfishness):
"_________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
_______ ____ ________
_______ _________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
 and the like and . . . those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Now list the fruit of God's Spirit:
"________
_________
_________
_________
_________
_________
_________
_________
Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its (selfish) passions and desires. If we live (daily) in the Spirit, let us also walk (have our intentions and actions reflect) in the Spirit."

How do we know if we being authentic, and if we are recuperated and filled up with the Spirit? We need only look at our behavior, and the results of our actions.

Let's pray:

Lord, I want to live in Your Spirit authentically. I want to be recuperated and refilled by Your Spirit every day. And I want my actions to reflect Your Spirit, instead of my selfish nature. I thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit, sent by Your Son, Jesus to comfort and guide us if we accept the gift of His sacrifice, His payment for our sins. I do, Lord. I know that nothing good is in me without You.

Thank you for paying the price for my selfish sinful thoughts and actions. I ask Your forgiveness now, and I am equally thankful for I know even as I ask, that You have already given it. I gratefully accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and open my heart to Your Holy Spirit to live within, and walk with me daily. When my fruit is good, let me dance with joy in knowing I am living out my purpose and using the wonderful gifts you've given me. When my fruit is rotten, I ask you to open my eyes immediately and break my heart with remorse so I can turn off that path, and run back to You! In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Friend, beloved, I hope you prayed along with me and meant every word. If not, then I ask you to simply pray for God to change your heart, so that you can. Love, Karen

Photo by Enter_design, courtesy of http://www.photoxpress.com/

Make all the difference

Hello, welcome back to A Good Bible Study: StressLess! Let's pray and dive right into the Word:

Father, thank you for creating this time for us to meet with one another and share Your Word. We ask you to prepare our hearts to receive the message dear to You. Let us be more committed to serving You and sharing the joy of Your love with everyone we meet, from this point on. Change our hearts, Father, so everyone who meets us, feels as though they had an encounter with Your Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Do you ever feel that you don't make any difference in this world? Do you feel your contribution is too small to be significant? Do you struggle with wondering if it's worth it to even try?

I want to reinforce what I shared with you about your purpose to God. The entire world might scoff at your worth, but it doesn't change the fact that you were created with a purpose. You are here to be loved by God, and to love Him in return. Pretty simple, isn't it?

Read John 15:9-12

You were designed to enjoy the gifts and talents given to You in your DNA and in your spirit. But, like all gifts - your talent and inspiration, creative efforts, and material blessings are meant to be shared. God loves to see us revel in the joy of what makes us unique, what gives us energy, and brings us laughter and pleasure. You know what, He absolutely beams with pride when we begin to ask Him how we can use those gifts to improve the lives of others and point them to the Giver, Himself.

Read Philippians 2:4

"Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but _____ for the _____ of others."

And John 3:17

"But whoever has this ______'s _______ and sees his brother in ______, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the ______ of God abide in him?"

Let me tell you a story I heard a while back. If you know the original author, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.

A man walked along the seaside and was amazed at the thousands of starfish that had been washed up on the beach after a storm. A little boy was dashing along the shoreline picking up the starfish and throwing them into the ocean, one at a time. The man laughed a little at the boy's naivete. "Son," the man said. "You are wasting your time. You can't make a difference. There's too many." The boy picked up one more starfish and put it into the water, then turned to the man and said, "Well, I made all the difference to that one."

This boy did not let the overwhelming magnitude of the situation keep him from doing what he could: saving one starfish at a time.

I think Helen Keller summed it up best:

I am only one, but still I am one.

I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;

and because I cannot do everything,

I will not refuse to do something that I can do.

The magnitude of your circumstances may feel overwhelming. You may wonder if you are significant in any way to the person you help. 

Whatever you do may seem insignificant,

but it is very important that you do it.

I don't know who said that first, either, but if you do know, please tell me.

Read Hebrews 6:10

God does not forget when we bless others.

Let's pray:

Lord, you created us with purpose and intention. Reveal to each of us this week how we can use our gifts to help someone else. Show us how our abilities or resources can point someone to Your Son, Jesus Christ and to eternal salvation. Let us make a difference to just one; then to many. Show us how significant we are, to You, and to Your plan. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Love, Karen

Photo by Paul Moore, courtesy of www.photoxpress.com



Let your light shine

Hello again and welcome back to A Good Bible Study: StressLess. We are continuing with the 2nd key to living stress-less by recuperating our spirits.

Let's begin with prayer:

Father, today when it seems there are so many things pulling on our hearts, time, and attention, we ask you to give us a few peaceful moments to spend with You in Your Word, together. Jesus gave us Your Peace, not as the world gives it, but a deep and lasting peace in our spirits. Thank You for that. Please help us to rest in Your peace, Lord, when we start to think everything will fall apart if we don't do it right now. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Isn't this a wonderful part of the study? I love that you have spent the last few days becoming aware of how fabulous you really are in God's plan! Hot diggity!

You've got talent, kid, and God wants you to use it. Sing it with me: "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine (come on, no one is around, sing!) this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine . . . this little light of miiiinnnee, I'm gonna let it shine (now belt it!) let it shine, let it shine, let it shiiinnnnneee!"

What? Don't believe that God wants you to strut your stuff? Read these verses:

Matthew 5:13-16

Dust off those paint brushes, polish your speaking skills, get out your gardening trowel, sit down with pen and paper, shine up your tap shoes, search out scholarships for that training course, get out your gifts and let your light shine.

Your creative gifts are those things that when you do them, you feel most like yourself, the most joyful and alive version of yourself.

So what do you do enthusiastically? What are you doing when you lose all track of time? May be you come away physically exhausted but intellectually charged and emotionally at peace afterwards? What did you do for fun in the 5th grade?

Get out that gift from the things-I-used-to-enjoy box!

"When Howard Thurman spoke, he filled the entire room with compassion, truth, keen intellect, and joy." He mentored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and helped found the first intercultural and interdenominational church in the US (Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples.) Thurman said "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it! Because what the world needs is people who have come alive!"

Now, there are those who are thinking, "Aren't we supposed to use our gifts to serve God?" We will get to that. But, be assured, God loves to see you enjoy the gifts He has given you! It brings Him joy to see you joyful and celebrating His goodness. All good things come from God and when we enjoy what He has given us, it is pleasing to Him that we acknowledge Him and celebrating His generosity.

Read Deuteronomy 14:22-26 (New International Version)
"Tithes

22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.
 
24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish.
 
Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice. 'Now at first, enjoy being filled up in your spirit. Let yourself have fun again doing what reminds you of what it is like to be alive and creative. Let others be blessed by the new found brightness in your eyes and spring in your step.
 
27 And do not neglect the Levites (meaning priests or pastors) living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.  28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands."

Are we as New Testament believers called to support the ministry and give to widows, orphans, and the truly poor, as we are able and with happiness that we can help someone else? Yes. I invite you to read 2 Corinthians 8 and other verses on your own in which Paul describes collecting offerings to help the people in various churches, and also to support the leaders in the churches (with basic necessities not rich homes and cars) so they can focus on ministry. But, that's another bible study.

In the meantime, God says enjoy your gifts, and bless others with them as well. So, go and enjoy being the un-duplicatable, remarkable, one of a kind, genuine YOU!

It was Howard Thurman who said, "We were all born originals. The tragedy is that most of us die copies."

Let's pray:

Father, You are so good to us! Open our eyes to see You as You are, not what our religious minds have made of You. You are the source of fun, enjoyment, peace, and true joy! Give us a godly sense of fun so that our celebrations honor You. Help us to get over feeling like we are only worthy when we are working, sacrificing, giving, giving up, and giving in. Thank You for helping us to see ourselves as You do: valuable, creative, and life-filled! In the name of Jesus, amen.

Love, Karen

Photo by Salvatore Vuono, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

You are gifted

Welcome! I'm so glad to see you back in A Good Bible Study: StressLess.

We are discovering how to recuperate our spirits and today, recognize our gifts. We can't enjoy our lives, or help anyone else enjoy theirs, unless we are running on a full tank of Holy Spirit joy ourselves.

Read Romans 5:5 and write below what God pours into our hearts:
___________________

Did you know you are gifted? It's true. May be you weren't in the "gifted program" in school, and may be no one ever patted you on the head and told you so, but I'm telling you now - and here is how I know. Read 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11

Spiritual gifts are given to each of us by God, in order to strengthen us and encourage us in our faith, as well as enable us to help one another.

What are all the spiritual gifts God gives believers through His Holy Spirit (by the way, we've all been given at least one)? Write them below. I've taken the notes from my Nelson NKJV Study Bible to explain further what these gifts are.

Now, the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each of us for the profit (benefit) of all. We are given the Holy Spirit as believers and can manifest or show evidence of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, or be used by Him to help others.

And, prepare to be shocked (some of us): we are all given a spiritual prayer language by the Holy Spirit as well. We are instructed to pray often using this tongue as it is direct communication between our spirit and God, and the neat thing about it is, it keeps our minds out of our spirit's business.

I don't know about you, but I can start getting off on tangents when I pray, and I love that I can't understand or interfere with what my spirit prays in tongues. Sure it sounds strange at first, but I obey God and do it, because I know He knows my heart, and He makes it right, even if I do it wrong at first - so have courage, get off by yourself, and let yourself praise Him in the tongue only He understands!

If this is new to you, stop right now and read 1 Corinthians 14:1-25!

1. The Word of ______________ through the Spirit - practical application of knowledge. 
2. The Word of ______________ through the same Spirit - ability to teach knowledge or doctrine (beliefs) 
3.  ______________ by the same Spirit - the capacity to believe in God for extraordinary deeds.
4. Gifts of ___________ by the same Spirit - ability to heal in Jesus' name
5. The Working of ___________ - ability to perform miracles and wonders as did Moses and the prophets
6. ____________________ - ability to tell a new revelation from God or give a divine explanation of a previous revelation. Paul says that although we all speak in tongues to pray to God for our own needs, he wishes that we would all desire to have and use the gift of prophesy even more, because praying in tongues only helps ourselves, but prophecy (and also the public interpration of tongues) helps everyone else. This is going to be exciting or challenging for some of us but pray, and read the scripture and ask God to help you understand His Word.
7. Discerning of ____________ - being able to recognize the work of God versus demonic spirits in the church
8. Different kinds of __________ - probably to preach or speak in different human languages miraculously
9. Interpretation of ___________ -  ability to understand and translate spiritual tongues spoken in gathering of believers so all can benefit
10. This gift is not listed in the same verse, but in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 he finishes with saying the greatest gift of all is the ability to love. If we have Christ, we have the ability to love because He is love.

Notice the gifts are not given by "spirits" such as through "channeling" in which a person allows a spirit (always a demon whether the person wants to know that or not) to possess their body in order to give knowledge. Read verse 11 again.

"But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." NKJV

We are also gifted with talents, interests and desires which we will cover in more detail tomorrow. For now, I invite you to pray about these gifts, and ask God to reveal which gifts you have been given to use for His glory.

Don't worry, we've all got at least one. Think about instances in which you seemed to suddenly know something that you didn't know before. May be you can quickly grasp a Scripture and explain it to others. Perhaps you are able to be faithful in any difficulty when others struggle over the slightest disappointment.

Have you ever prayed with someone, or touched them in prayer, and they were healed? Do you have a sense when someone is preaching whether it rings true to His Word, or seems more of a manipulation of Scripture to serve the speaker? Think about what comes easily to you, but not to others.

If you still can't see your gift (s), ask someone who not only knows you, but also is intimate with the Word of God and loves Him. Ask God to reveal your gift(s) and choose to believe that He will.

Let's pray for discernment of our gifts, now:

Lord, what a joy to know that You created each of us with not only a purpose, to be Your child and to be loved by You, but also a divine  purpose. We are gifted and special and useful! Open each eye Lord over the course of this day and the coming week to our gifts and how we can be of good use to Your kingdom, Your children. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Love, Karen

Photo by Salvatore Vuono, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/