Just like the picture of an old bible and old hands we ladies are all older, starting at the 60's all the way up to the middle 80's.
These ladies are a touch of heaven in my life. They bring wisdom and years of studying the Word of God. We all have seen sin destroy family and friends and try its way with us. There is enough disappointment contained in us ladies to bring us all down but those old hands that open an old Bible are trusting the God they have walked with for many years to teach them a deeper walked with Him as they deal with life in their "golden years".
Our latest study is in the book of Ezekiel. I must admit I was not a 100 percent for it, I wanted to do a shorter book, like Habakkuk . I am so glad I went with the ladies wishes, complex did not scare them.
The pastor of our church said it was a bold action to tackle Ezekiel and I do agree. But there is something to be said for standing in fear and trembling humbling asking God to bring light into our human minds. Light is His specialty.
Just a few things we learned right away. God did not exile the Israelites primarily to punish them. God never has been nor is He now interested in punishment for punishment’s sake. Rather, He intended the punishment or judgment in Ezekiel’s day as a means to an end—to bring His people to a state of repentance and humility before the one true God. They had lived for so long in sin and rebellion, confident in their own strength and that of the neighboring nations, that they needed God to remind them of His holy nature and their humble identity in a most dramatic way. After centuries of warnings, prophetic messages, and invasions, God decided that more significant action was required—He had to remove the people from their promised land. Ezekiel 1-17
This action begins to show how prideful they were as they claimed to be victims of their ancestry rebellion before them. That old blame game is still around today, nothing new under the sun is there? Up to chapter 18 God has been dealing with sins of a nation, of race of people that should have been worshipping the one true God, starting at chapter 18 God begins to deal with personal accountability, a one on one. Also, God reminds them through Ezekiel that He will not break the covenant He made with them. Hope in the middle of despair and rebellion, oh how He loves you and me. Ezekiel 18
This Thursday we finish Ezekiel 18-21, then the week after next set of chapters. Our pastor keeps saying, just wait till you get to the chapters in the 30's and 40's. Here is a touch of heaven when studying the bible with strong long-time faith such the ladies have. A young believer might say, I hope God waits for a long time before the tribulation and rapture, I still have a lot of living to do. The Ladies that come to the Bible Study want Him to come now, don't wait, we are ready.
I think the only thing that scares the ladies is having a lost friend or family member. Here is another touch of heaven, many are talking about the evil all over the world so every week one or two of the ladies will tell of being able to witness to someone. It just feels like something big is gonna happen is heard in conversations.
We ladies love that song, Come Jesus Come...today, Lord. The time is near and we ladies can feel it in our spiritual bones, can you? Wise Hearted
What a fantastic group of seasoned ladies who know and love the Lord, and are willing to tackle the Book of Ezekiel! You are blessed, indeed, Betty. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences in this group and encouraging us all, if we aren't already, to read our Bibles every day. I do love this sentence about the message of Ezekiel : "Hope in the middle of despair and rebellion." So powerful! May God bless you!
ReplyDeleteMartha, I love your latest post. You always encourage me with you comments. Blessings
DeleteI love the book of Ezekiel. I understand your ladies being concerned for.lost family members or friends. I'm studying Revelation and oh how I want lost family and friends to come to Jesus.
ReplyDeleteRegina, thank you for commenting on my post. Our pastor is starting a Revelation study next week on a sunday night. We ladies are coming to grips with how serious God is when our hearts leave Him as our focus. Nothing new under the sun.
DeleteI too love the fourteen women in my small group, one of seven or eight such groups that meet once a week at our church. The women range in age from 20s to 80s, and we gain much from one another, in spite of the broad age differences. We're studying Hosea this semester, with a similar message to Ezekiel's--God would be disciplining the people of Israel through exile, to bring them to repentance and humility. / Yes indeed, we too wait with anticipation for our loved ones to come to Jesus!
ReplyDeleteNancy, I went over to read your latest blog post but no post. I appreciate your comment and it does my heart good to hear of other ladies gathering. We ladies have so much influence in our families and friends that the enemy of our soul tries his best to put an end to Godly women meeting. blessings
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