... I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: -II Peter 3:1[Lesson 23 PDF available here or go to the Resource tab for easy access to all the lessons.]
*UPDATE: we now have Facebook study group page.
Send me a message and I'll send you the link*
Motivation is quite the buzz word these days. We find an overwhelming industry built around this word. Just one word .. can you believe it? Big business built around a word?? People seem to lack the umph to do anything... is it really because they don't want to be healthy? .. or have a good, consistent job? .. or do people really want to have bad relationships instead of strong and encouraging ones?
You can certainly find a gazillion motivation products to help you in any area you need. There are fitness centers, yoga studios, and athletic clubs on every street corner. Need a little 'pick-me-up'? Coffee houses, cafes, and drive-thru's are next door to those fitness places and offer your choice of caffeine, healthy smoothie, and energy drinks.
You can find all the help you want by way of YouTube to get you out of your slump, or depression .. hypnosis, self-talk, change your mindset, or kick-in-the-pants teachers/speakers .. just subscribe today and you'll be on your way to a 'better you'.
Maybe you are the out-of-doors type, well, by all means, take a hike...get back to nature.. enjoy the fresh air and get away from the stresses of life and the city..
We've all been there .. in that place where we seem to just lack the WANT TO do that particular task that will make our situation better.
The lack of WANT TO can come from the lack of good nutrition in our bodies and actually prevents our body from cooperating in certain tasks. Or the 'I don't care' attitude can come from a mindset..from hurts, from disappointments, from failures, or from stresses that overwhelm our mind which then lead to depression, loneliness, and despair.
A Google search of the word motivation brings some astounding results. To the natural eye, one might think "big deal", I could some motivation in my day.. a little kick in the pants to get moving. However, when we look again at the results of this search with the eyes of God, we something very grieving and telling of the days we are in:
1. Motivation for fitness -- my body
2. Motivation for work -- my money
3. Motivation for self -- me, myself, and I
Where is the motivation to KNOW GOD? Where is the motivation to HELP SOMEONE ELSE?
These results should not surprise us, but rather remind of us of what the Scriptures told us would come about.
READ: II Peter 3
The fact is that the lack of motivation is really a HUGE sign of the times, and therefore, we as children of the most High God should be astute this and hold fast to the LORD! But alas, many of the children of God do not fear God and as a result are falling away.
According to John 14, Jesus Christ himself is the THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE, and the ONLY WAY to the Father God. This is eternal life full of joy and peace.
The sad fact is that most people want to come to their own truth, their own way of life and circumvent God. They think they can do it better by following some other guy's way's to success.
It is only a temporary fix and a fix that actually will lead to death and more tragically, it will lead to an eternal death full agony, bitterness, and torment...a death meant for the devil and his angels...
THERE IS HOPE!! THERE IS JOY and THERE IS PEACE available today.
LOOK UP:
John 14:23-31
I Thessalonians 5:23
We are now to pages 54-59 in A Treatise of the Fear of God by John Bunyan. It continues to amaze me how the Lord used this man of God to write this little book way back in 1679 and it would be so timely for today. It is a word in due season, just what we would need in our life now .. over three hundred years later.
Before we go over each of these individually, your WANT TO for any area of your life comes from the LORD alone! And it starts with REALLY humbling yourself to that truth. If we think we can go it alone -- well -- that's pride and it brings a truckload of problems.
Humility and yielding to God's ways will bring the strength, the want to, to do all that you need to do in your day.
- Let God's distinguishing love to you be a motive!
- Let the privileges of God be a motive to you
- The escape out of evils that others fall into
- Keeps every grace in exercise
- It is the way of the wise
- It is seemly for saints
- It is honourable
- Qualifies a man to be put in trust with heavenly and spiritual things
- Where no fear is grace does not thrive -- nor faith, nor hope, nor love, nor any grace
- Gives boldness with God and man
- Your labours will be blessed to the saving of the souls of others
- To engage God to deliver you from outward dangers
- To be delivered from errors and damnable opinions
- A general license to trust in God
- God will own and acknowledge such to be His. Yea, he will distinguish and separate them from all others.
DEFINE:
- catalyst
- inclination
- disposition
- distinguish
- seemly
- honourable
- license
- ambiguous
- inconclusive
- sure
- perfect
- clear
LOOK UP: write a sentence for each that matches one of the 15 motives above
- I John 3
- Matthew 5:1-12
- Psalm 91
- Psalm 103
- Colossians 3
- Psalm 51:6
- Psalm 111:10
- Proverbs 1:7
- Proverbs 3
- Malachi 2:1-7
- II Peter 2:9
- Revelation 1:6
- II Corinthians 7:1
- James 1:7
- Nehemiah 1:11
- Psalm 115:13
- I Peter 3:1-2
As you study this lesson, ask the LORD to open the eyes of your understanding and remember God wrote it. We submit to what he wrote because God is GOD ALMIGHTY :)
It looks like this will have part 2 next week.
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