Week 6: Impatience, Irritability & Anger

I'm trying to get back on track this week, so I decided the first step is engaging in the chapters early and getting the questions posted on time. While I personally haven't dug in to chapters 14-16 yet, here are the study questions to help us all get started.

I don't think I'm wrong when I say that it is getting hard to stick with it. The blog feels a bit lonely, and I can relate to the difficulty too. But whatever your level of involvement on the blog, I hope you'll persevere through the book, and I'll try to do the same. The book isn't a "fun" experience, yet I have to say that this type of self-examination is certainly a tool God can and is using in making me/us more like Himself. And there is no greater goal than that! So even if you're not blogging, I'm just asking you to stick it out and see what God will do. Don't see it as more to feel guilty about but as a way to honor a God that is so holy that He cannot stand even the "smallest" sin yet so loving that He has forgiven even the "biggest" ones. Our sins are paid for, so now we have the freedom to live in the joy of the Lord AND the sanctification His Spirit longs to do in us...for our whole lives.

I'm thankful for sisters in Christ like you! I love you all and pray your week is blessed with the knowledge and presence of our holy and loving God!

Study Questions for Ch. 14-16 (Ouch! These hurt--are we sure irritability is a sin?)

1. Jerry defines impatience as "a strong sense of annoyance at the (usually) unintentional faults and failures of others." In what ways do you tend to express impatience? How do these expressions affect those people who are objects of your impatience?
2. Situations do not cause us to be impatient. "They merely provide," the author writes, "an opportunity for the flesh to assert itself. The actual cause of our impatience lies within our own hearts, in our own attitude of insisting that others around us conform to our expectations." Is Jerry's statement a new distinctive for you? Why is it important for us to understand this perspective?
3. Speaking through Paul in the following Scriptures, how does God want us to act when we're tempted to be impatient? 1 Corinthians 13:1-4, Galatians 5:22-23, Ephesians 4:1-2
4. "Irritability describes the frequency of impatience, or the ease with which a person can become impatient over the slightest provocation." Keeping this definition in mind, do you agree that irritability is a sin? What do you think lies at the root of the irritability?
5. Contrast what the Bible reveals about righteous anger with what it says about sinful anger:

• Righteous anger (self-controlled, arises from an accurate perception of evil, focuses on God and His will): Exodus 32:15-20, Nehemiah 5:1-8, Matthew 21:12-13
• Sinful anger (sinful reactions to people's actions and words): Matthew 5:22, Galatians 5:19-20, Ephesians 4:29-31

A Little Behind...But Here They Are!

Hello, friends! I'm a little behind this week on getting the questions out, so I'll offer a condensed version of the study, discussion and personal reflection questions. I need a little jump-start this week. My level of focus is not good! Hope you're doing better than I am in that area!

Just reading the questions alone has given me a lot of food for thought and conviction. I continue to be thankful that Jesus' work of rescuing me from myself and my sin is finished! I pray the Spirit continues to speak to us all as we continue and that we'd be willing to submit.

Pride & Selfishness (Ch. 11-12)

Study Questions:

1. "The sin of moral superiority and self-righteousness is so easy to fall into today," Jerry writes, "when society as a whole is openly committing or condoning such flagrant sins as immorality, easy divorce, a homosexual lifestyle, abortion.... Because we don't commit those sins, we tend to feel morally superior and look with a certain amount of disdain or contempt on those who do."

• Why do you suppose it is that we can so easily drift into the pride of moral superiority and then develop a spirit of contempt toward those who practice those sins?
• To what kind of people did Jesus tell the parable about the self-righteous Pharisee? Why is this significant to us? (See Luke 18:9.)

2. Which biblical principles help us guard against a sinful desire for personal recognition? (See Luke 17:10; Psalm 75:6-7.)

3. What phrase in 2 Timothy 3:1-2 describes a selfish person? Why is this so convicting?

4. Because time is precious, it's easy to be selfish with it. What do the following verses reveal about sharing our time with others? (See Acts 9:36; Romans 16:2; Galatians 5:13, 6:2; I Thess 5:14; Hebrews 6:10; 1 Peter 4:10.)

Discussion:

1. Do you agree with the author that "there are degrees of selfishness as well as degrees of subtlety in expressing it"? Why or why not?
2. Why is it sometimes difficult to focus on and listen to other people's interest areas rather than talking about our own? How do our selfish tendencies influence our conversations? Our activities? Our thoughts?
3. If we allow sinful pride and selfishness to take root in our lives, what consequences should we expect? (See 1 Corinthians 5:6.)

Personal Reflection:

1. In which particular areas of your life do sinful expressions of pride and selfishness tend to surface (home, work, school, recreation, thoughts)?
2. What do your calendar and checkbook reveal about selfishness in your life?
3. Compare the sins of pride and selfishness to the fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5:22-23). What changes might you need to make, with the Holy Spirit's help?

FYI

I am not sure how I have kept this secret so well (so unlike me!), I sort of anticipated saying something on Saturday, but then I was so consumed by the intricate painting of my angel ornament ...

These pictures say it all:

ETA of Baby #2: May 1, 2009! We are very excited!

Week 4: Discussion Questions

Oops! A little behind on getting these posted! Here are the questions for thought and discussion about anxiety, frustration and discontentment.

Discussion:

1. Why is anxiety so common in our culture--in our daily activities, in advertising, in news reports? How does the Bible's teaching about anxiety contradict what modern culture teaches about it?
2. Which other sins often crop up if we tolerate anxiety, frustration, and/or discontentment in our lives?
3. Do you think God sometimes allows us to face difficult, unchanging circumstances for reasons we may never know? Feel free to share a situation in which you learned a key lesson because you accepted that situation as part of God's plan for your life.
4. Discuss this quote from the author: "Suppose someone you love were to say to you, 'I don't trust you. I don't believe you love me and will care for me.' What an affront that would be to you! Yet that is what we are saying to God by our anxiety."
5. Throughout Respectable Sins, Jerry encourages us to remember God's attributes. If we believe and remember that God is infinitely wise, loving, and knows what is best for us, then how will we respond to circumstances that tempt us to be anxious, frustrated, and discontented? On the other hand, if we think God is simply toying with us and wanting us to suffer, how will we respond to trials?

Personal Reflection:

1. What types of circumstances tempt you to become anxious, frustrated and/or discontent (a, f, and/or d)?
2. When has God used your a, f, and/or d to teach you something, help you grow in a particular area, or get your attention and make you more attentive?
3. What particular insights, verses or quotations particular connected with you this week?

Actions:

1. Carefully note when circumstances tempt you to be a, f, or d, and when temptation occurs, immediately ask God to help you trust and obey Him.
2. Write a prayer thanking God for being in control of your circumstances (even when you don't feel that certainty). Invite Him to help you respond in ways that serve and glorify Him.

Week 4: Anxiety, Frustration & Discontentment

Hello, friends!
Since we've got ungodliness and unthankfulness taken care of now (ha, ha), we're moving on to our friends in chapters 8 & 9--anxiety, frustration and discontentment. We can just skip these chapters if no one can relate to these issues... :)

Okay, seriously now, here are the study questions:

Anxiety & Frustration

1. What did Jesus teach, in Matthew 6:25-34, about how believers should respond to anxiety (worry)?
2. What do Matthew 26:39 and Philippians 4:6-7 reveal about our need to pray for relief and deliverance from whatever tempts us to be anxious?
3. When our faith falters and our situations loom larger in our minds than God's promises, how should we obey Jesus' command in Matthew 6:34 and find hope in Luke 12:6? What insight does Mark 9:23-24 offer?
4. Our frustration, which usually involves being upset at whatever or whoever blocks our plans or desires, has root in ungodliness because we are living as if God is not involved in our circumstances. What comforting and encouraging insights can we gain from Psalm 139:16 (NIV): "All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be"?

Discontentment

1. What is discontentment? When does it spur us to positive action--and when is it sinful?
2. Jerry writes, "It is our response to our circumstances rather than the degree of difficulty [in them] that determines whether or not we are discontent." Do you agree or disagree? Why?
3. One of the key verses for this session is Psalm 139:16. How might this verse help us in dealing with circumstances that tempt us to be discontented?
4. Write out what this statement from the author means to you: "We must believe that the Bible's teaching about these attributes [God's sovereignty, wisdom, goodness] really is true and that God has brought or allowed these difficult dircumstances in our lives for His glory and our ultimate good."

Happy reading!

Week 3: Discussion & Personal Application

Hello! Here are this week's questions for thought and discussion. Last week we didn't get much going, so I hope this week we can all find some renewed time to read, think and share in the things we're processing. We've still got a week and a half until we're together in person to encourage one another, so let's do our best to stick with it!

In fact, I'm personally requesting everyone to take time to post/comment this week in response to a specific question below or about something they're spiritually processing (or struggling to process as is often the case for me). I don't want to let us disengage!

There are some good questions this week:

Discussion:

1. Why do you think it's so easy for good people to be ungodly--to live most of the week as if God doesn't exist, as if they are not responsible to Him and dependent on Him?
2. If you feel comfortable, share a time when you went through daily activities without even thinking of God. What impact did it have on your life or on those around you?
3. What practical things can we do each day to "train" ourselves "for godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7) so we please and glorify God during even ordinary activities?
4. What are some blessings God has given you? Why is it important for us to thank Him for these blessings and make such thankfulness a natural part of our lives?
5. Where does the faith come from to believe and thank God even in the midst of difficult circumstances? Describe a challenging time when you were--or were not--able to give thanks. What did God teach you through that experience?

Personal Reflection:

1. Reread 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Matthew 5:16. To what extent are you mindful of doing "all" to the glory of God? How has ungodliness crept (or marched) into your social relationships, ordinary activities, your prayers, your daily planning?
2. Do your words and actions demonstrate that you consciously and prayerfully seek to glorify God--or tend to forget about Him? What are your attitudes and actions communicating?
3. How much has God done for you in Christ? In what ways can you be sure to take time each day to thank God for His temporal provisions and spiritual blessings?
4. If God stood in front of you right now and told you to do everything to His glory, what changes would you immediately make in order to make Him the center focal point of your life?

Prayer:

Lord, I pray that you would kindle within each of us an even stronger desire to live a lifestyle of godliness and thankfulness. I ask that you would graciously continue to reveal yourself to us, so that we can see you clearly and do nothing but respond to your greatness! Send your Spirit to convict, to heal and to guide. Thank you for our relationships with one another and for the ways you are working in each of us.

In Jesus,

Amen.

Prayer for a Stranger

Hey, Noggies,
I came upon the blog yesterday of a woman who is scheduled to have a c-section tomorrow, knowing that her son is likely to only live minutes or, best case, hours. A similar story to Todd & Angie Smith I think, if you've read their blog. She and her husband are strong believers, and her blog is quite inspiring, though desperately sad. I just bawled and read yesterday.

Anyway, you don't have to read the blog if it's hard for you...because it is very sad and hard. But I thought I'd ask you to pray with me for this couple, Stacy & Spencer, and their son, Isaac. With the timing of finding their blog, I feel called to pray for them. They are still praying for a miracle because that is truly what it would take for their son to be healthy and stay with them on this earth. He has organs that have been growing outside his body and his spine and lungs have severe issues as well. Here's the blog if you want to read: http://sgirl79.blogspot.com/.

So, if you pray, pray for them in this last 24 hours before his birth, that they would have peace, that God's perfect love would cast out their fear. Pray for Isaac, that he doesn't experience any pain, that he feels his parents' deep love for him. Pray that Stacy, the mom, gets to hold Isaac while he is still alive. And pray for a miracle. I'm crying just typing this...I can't imagine. Their faith and their love for their son and their God is so obvious. A miracle in this situation would touch so many people. I so wish for God to answer that prayer for them!

Thanks for praying,
Beth

Week 3: Finally to the Nitty Gritty

We finally get to start talking about our "respectable sins" this week! Isn't it exciting? :) I have not read chapters 7 and 10 yet, but looking at the topics, ungodliness and unthankfulness, I know the fun is just beginning! I have no doubt that this is the beginning of new self-revelation, conviction...and hopefully freedom, too!

In all seriousness, I pray that this is the beginning of us getting to the "root" of some of the sins we struggle with. I continue to think about what it really means to be a person who makes a difference, and I think these sins we consider the "little ones" can often make so much difference in how we relate to other people. Wouldn't it make a difference if we made being grateful contagious instead of complaining? Or if we mentioned the great decisions people around us have made instead of criticizing them behind their backs? The list could go on and on...

Key Verse:
The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness...Be filled with the Spirit, ...giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. -Titus 2:11-12; Ephesians 5:18, 20

Study Questions:

1. How is the definition of ungodliness in teh quotation on page 35 different from what you thought ungodliness meant? What does Romans 1:18 reveal about this sin?
2. Do you agree or disagree that ungodliness is "apt to be the root cause of our other sins" and that each of us is guilty of this sin?
3. Read James 4:13-15. For what expression of ungodliness did James, through the Holy Spirit, condemn those people?
4. What does Paul's summary prayer (Colossians 1:9-10) reveal about our responsibility to God? About our "typical," human-centered prayers for ourselves, friends and family members?
5. During biblical times, leprosy devastated many lives. The Mosaic Law required that a leper continually cry out, "unclean, unclean" while walking along the road (Lev. 13:45). In light of this, what is poignant about Jesus' experience between Samaria and Galilee? (See Luke 17:11-19.)
6. Read Romans 6:6,17 and Ephesians 2:1-5. What is a person's spiritual condition without God? What has God done for every believer?
7. According to Acts 17:24-25, why should we express heartfelt gratitude to God?
8. According to the promises of Romans 8:28-29, 38-39, why should we give thanks by faith even when a situation is disappointing or difficult?

More soon! I hope we can get some good discussion going now that we're getting a little further into the material!

Hugs,

Beth