Sweeter Than Chocolate - Week Six!

May I say that it has been a pleasure studying Psalm 119 with you these past few weeks. As you have studied and discussed, God's Word has been hidden in your hearts and we are not the same girl's coming away from this study as we were coming in. Praise God!

By the way, if nothing else, these videos are meant to be used as a springboard for further discussion during your group time. I've left in all the goofs (keeps me humble) , just a little disclaimer though - headcolds can play havoc with simple clarity of thought (and so I just needed to make sure that I was being a little clearer than mud) so know this...

Those that love God's law (which is God's Word, which is Jesus because He has fulfilled the law) have Great Peace (Jesus being the Prince of Peace!)... and nothing causes them to stumble (in regards to their SALVATION WALK - not in reference to their SANCTIFICATION WALK).

This will make more sense after you watch the videos... I love you and look forward to seeing you on October 26th when we begin our new study in Revelation.

PS... I'll let you know who won the little Beaded Bookmark on Monday on the Pure Grace Home Page!

Your sister servant,

Video One

Video Two

Video Three

Sweeter Than Chocolate - Week Six!

Good morning Girls!

As we enter into our final week of study, it is proving itself to be one that requires time for deep contemplation.

I will be posting my final thoughts this week on Thursday morning in order to give you the necessary time for personal reflection as you work your way through the last four stanzas of Psalm 119.

May God bless you as you finish this week strong!

With love,

Just a thought, I thought I would share....

One verse that spoke to me this past week from Psalm 119 was v. 130 'the unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple'.

Unfolding is so vastly different from the force that is used to rip or tear into something. Unfolding takes time, there is a gentle rhythm, motion and care to unfolding that force could never achieve.

Flower buds unfold, warmth and light, among other things, working to achieve this. And in between each small and gentle motion of unfolding, there is growth. A tightly sealed little rosebud is so much smaller than the full and substantial and mature rose. The more unfolding of God's Word the more Light, the more Light, the more unfolding of God's Word. This in Itself is what gives understanding to the simple... of course we know from our study in John that Jesus Himself is not only God's Word... He is also The Light.

And by the way, as far as being simple goes, take heart, in this particular rendering it means to be humble.

Just something, among many things, that God spoke quietly to me about this week. Just a thought, I thought I would share...

Sweeter Than Chocolate - Week Five!

Week Five! It is my prayer that we finish this study strong and I commend you for 'staying the course' in your commitment. It hasn't always been easy, has it? There were no promises that it would be, but the treasures we have gleaned have been well worth it!

Once again you have a full week ahead of you, remember... don't set your study aside and then try and play 'catch-up' on the last day, you will miss so much and leave yourself feeling only frustrated and exhausted. Rather, set aside a certain amount of time each day, praying before you begin that God Himself would guide you through and open your eyes to those truths that He would have you to know.

I encourage you to continue in your markings that I have already given to you in past weeks, along with those that you have added yourself. This week you will be looking at everything from Joshua to Acts, from Habukkuk to Matthew and Mark and even a little of Revelation 1!

Because of the extent of your homework and knowing that you will have PLENTY to discuss when you gather together, whether On-Line or in person, I have kept the interactives this week to only a few:

- Continue in your markings and write down your findings from what you have marked

- This week mark the word 'righteous' in all four stanzas and go back to the beginning of Psalm 119 and mark every occurrence of it as well

- Remember to mark purpose clauses, time references and every mention of 'adversaries' and its synonyms

- Discuss with your In-Person Group or On-Line Group what you have learned from your studies, in the additional scriptures that have been included in your homework, that have deepened your understanding of the significance of the cross of Christ

I am looking forward to meeting with you in Bible Cafe, see you there!

New On-Line Study!

We have a new On-Line Study beginning the week of October 26th!

Behold! Jesus is Coming is a 13 week study on the book of Revelation. The everyday Christian can understand the book of Revelation and this clear, helpful study encourages readers to delve into this important scripture and, by studying it inductively, let the text speak for itself.

The Canadian price for the study workbook is $10.99 (before taxes). In Canada you can order your study from the Precept Ministries Order Line at 877 234 2030. For the local groups and solo participants, if you get your registrations in to me by October 19th I can order the workbooks free of shipping and handling for a cost of $12.00 per workbook (after taxes).

This 13 week study will begin the week of October 26th and run through to the week of February 22 (breaking for the month of December).

To register simply:

1. E-mail me your name by clicking here

2. Your general location (Province/City)

3. Indicate whether or not you would like me to order the Workbook for you

4. If possible, including a picture of yourself

That's it! I am presently putting the finishing touches on the new On-Line Revelation Bible Study Room in anticipation of your arrival, the doors will be open soon and you are more than Welcome!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Enjoying the Fellowship of My Sisters!

click on pictures to enlarge

This morning I got to enjoy the fellowship of Edna, Margaret, Cat, Wendy, Jan, Debbie and Joan as we gathered to partake of that which is Sweeter Than Chocolate... God's Word! It was wonderful being with these women once again, to laugh and to share, to ask questions and dig deeper into the Scriptures - Edna was right though when she said that the time just seemed to fly by. I still think that one day our love of God's Word and being together will cause us all to just pack an overnight bag and make our Bible Study morning into a long weekend... now wouldn't that be great!

As the clock began to inch past 12 noon, we packed up our things and headed to the Frogstone Grill for our lunch. Joan was not able to come with us because of a prior commitment and she was dearly missed. This precious woman has been just such an encouragement to this group as she has week after week brought such great insight, through her diligent word studies, to share with the women.

When we arrived there was so much... chatter! Actually, that is not exactly accurate, it was more like C-H-A-T-T-E-R! Who would have ever believed us if we had told them that we had just spent the better part of three hours together... talking! Amazing!

As we found our places around the table and began to settle in, it seems that certain 'somebodies' had left a little gift for our group. Angie and Marnie were unable to attend the luncheon and so a lovely card, candies and chocolates had been gift bagged and left for us to enjoy - thank you girls! We miss you so much and are looking forward to seeing you in just a few short weeks.

We talked as we chose our orders, we talked as we placed our orders, and we talked as we waited for our orders to arrive! As our plates began to be placed in front of us, and as I took pictures, Debbie suggested that perhaps you should try and guess who ordered what. We stopped talking as Margaret gave thanks, praying a blessing upon our food and fellowship - and then we dug into our lovely lunch as we continued to... talk!

Who's plate do you think this is?

Yum! How about this?

Or this creative looking plate?

The elbows and glasses might be a clue!

Fingertips are poised and at the ready by the knife and fork!

How about this?

I purposely saved this last plate for last because whoever it belongs to... they were certainly not about to wait for me to take a picture... look at that knife a fork fly!

After our meal the candies were opened and sweet tooth's were indulged... and satisfied!

All in all it was a really wonderful morning and afternoon spent with my sisters... if you would like to see a little video montage of the afternoon check out the Pure Grace Home Page!Love you,

p.s.    Just know that the video below is rough, but sincere!
p.s.s    If you would like to leave a comment on this post click here!

Sweeter Than Chocolate - Week Four!

Hi Girls! Well, here we are already, on Week Four!  This will be a FULL week for you and I know that whether you are going solo, or whether you are gathering with your group, you will have more than enough to do.

Know that I am daily praying for each one of you, well aware that the enemy would like nothing more than to keep us from going deeper with God through His Word; whether it be through distraction, discouragement or just plain weariness. I am walking this with you and know that we need to simply tell it all to God and ask for His refreshing and His sweet leading as we walk through this week TOGETHER.

In addition to your Workbook Homework discussion, your interactives for this week are:

1. Read through the Introduction to Week Four from your STC Workbook at the beginning of your time together, to refresh and review the thrust of this week's study.

2. Read aloud all four stanza's KAPH, AMEDH, MEM, NUN before beginning study discussion.

3. During your time together (or on your own) mark every reference and synonym to:

- the arrogant, the wicked (mark them the same)

- false, evil way (mark them the same)

- every time phrase reference

- terms of conclusion

ex: v. 100

v. 104

- faith (ful) (ness)

4. Continue marking every occurrence of 'affliction' and it's synonyms

5. Continue marking 'according to'

6.  Make a list of what you have learned through each of your markings and reflect on how this has deepened your study of these four stanzas.

If you have ANY questions regarding the Interactives for this week, e-mail me at puregrace@telus.net and I will answer just as soon as I can.

Now, away you go, into the week, enjoying your Lord and walking strong with your God!

Love you,

Refused... But Not Denied!

I am laughing so hard! I just wrote out a comment in the Bible Study Cafe and when I went to post it - I was refused! Refused! Great big red letters came up stating that I was only allowed 4,096 characters and no more! First thing I thought of was Psalm 119:96. Next thing I thought of was... why not 4,097? I am still laughing!

I've posted the comment below, but make sure you visit the Bible Cafe FIRST to hear the conversation so that you understand what I am responding to!

Gosh it is good to see you girl's here, let me just pull up some extra chairs for you 'new' girls to come and join in!

Let me get right to it and address some of the questions and queries. First, the amount of study required for the week and feeling rushed. Just do what you can each day (don't make the mistake of trying to complete the study in just one evening). If you find like Margaret, that it is the Digging Deeper portion that you are inclining more towards, then just do the necessary portions of the main study, but spend the majority of your time in the Digging Deeper sidebars. A word of caution here, as you dig deeper, don't forget the MAIN THRUST of the Psalm 119 stanzas lesson that you are studying, keep it ever before you!

Margaret, by the way, thank you for your insights regarding belief and obedience through faith. I am presently studying Jeremiah along with Psalm 119; it is sobering indeed to see where disbelief in the Word of God leads to. The children of Israel had been told by God what their unfaithfulness (due to their unbelief) would cost them, but they chose to listen to their own counsel and that of the false prophets. Unbelief can begin quite subtly, in statements such as "God would never do that" or "the God of the New Testament is a God of love, NOT a God of wrath".

Both statements could simply be a case of complete ignorance to the Word of God; perhaps listening to what others say the Bible says instead of studying and knowing truth for ourselves. The second statement stems from the same, although it is, along with the first, a form of IDOLATRY. Picking and choosing those attributes that YOU like about God and negating the rest of Who He is - creating your own god. Dangerous.

Which leads into what you were saying Margaret regarding mankind's concept about sin and their opinions regarding God when disaster strikes. Some of you did a 'side study' with me (during our study of Romans) regarding the Sovereignty of God. I had given you a 'string of pearl verses, the second one being... "I AM the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing WELL BEING and CREATING CALAMITY; I AM the LORD Who does all these." (Isaiah 45:6-7)

Did you catch that? It is GOD Who creates WELL BEING... AND Who creates CALAMITY. If we were ever to say that the coming down of the Twin Towers (or any other devastating disaster or affliction) was all the work of satan and God was absent in it, then we are saying that for that one moment in time, God was NOT GOD and satan got the upper hand. If this is the case, then God would not be God. God's plans and purposes for mankind CANNOT be trumped by satan!

God is above ALL THINGS. Psalm 119:89 tells us that FOREVER His Word has been settled in heaven. God is not like like man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). God's Word has been set in motion in heaven and in His sovereignty and in His righteousness and in His faithfulness, He MUST act according to His Word. Israel sinned in disobedience and unbelief and God acted according to His Word, we see God moving all through Scripture according to His character and according to His Word.

We can and must learn from God's dealings with Israel (His beloved) throughout the Old Testament in order to know the God of the New Testament. "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, SO THAT (purpose clause!) through PERSEVERANCE and ENCOURAGEMENT we might have hope." (Rom. 15:4)

Which leads us to our next question regarding the meaning of God's salvation 'according to His Word'. Debbie the definition of salvation that you gave is right on the mark... yet what does this definition mean ACCORDING TO HIS WORD? If one of the definitions is 'freedom from trouble' then how does that fit with John 16:33?

God's salvation 'according to His Word' is simply this... what God has SAID in His WORD regarding salvation. We need to know what the Old Testament and we need to know what the New Testament has to say about SALVATION. You get to know, by studying. Book by Book, Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse - remember, there are no short cuts in Bible study!

Which leads to our next question. Will the study of Revelation be too hard without a teacher? ABSOLUTELY NOT! The NISS (New Inductive Study Series) on Revelation that has chosen, has been written to do on your own OR in a group setting. It is designed for a day by day study that will take 20-30 minutes each day.

If you trust God with you and trust God with me, then this can be and I believe will, be an EXCEPTIONAL study. Bible Study Cafe will be vital to the depth of study that is done and I will be posting my written notes and teachings each week to add to what you are also gleaning.

And last but not least, regarding YODH v.73 where I asked you to explain how you were "made" and "fashioned". You already saw from my interactive segment that FASHIONED = KUWN a primitive root, meaning that it cannot be confused with any other Hebrew word.

FASHIONED/KUWN means to be erect, to stand perpendicular, to set up; to establish; to fix; to prepare; to apply. Here is where I was going with this question - in Genesis 1 and in John 1:3 we see God speaking all things into existence. In Genesis 2:7 and in Psalm 139:13 we see God forming, knitting, weaving man. And He did this for a PURPOSE, it was to stand us up (1 Cor. 16:13); to establish us (2 Peter 1:12 1 Thess. 3:13); to fix us firmly (Heb. 12:2); to prepare us (1 Peter 1:13); to apply us to His good purposes (Eph. 2:10), by His Own Mighty Hand. And as far as my alluding to our Romans study to help us in understanding this... read Romans 9 regarding God's choice!

Well, I have a pot of homemade turkey soup bubbling away on the stove and I am away to set the table! Thank you to my 'Home Girl's' for keeping the Home Fire's Burning in faithfulness to God's Word and in the spirit of fellowship that we might remain 'sharp women' of God.

By the way... there is an onion in the soup! I have not tasted an onion in almost 20 years! Praise God with me and let us bless His Holy Name!