Tevis’s Comments (group member since Feb 03, 2014)

Tevis’s comments from the Walking with God group.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday, May 27 at The Firehouse from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM.

Read pages 188-210 in Walking with God and/or 156-186 in the personal guide.

Sorting Things Out (pages 188-192)

Video: http://youtu.be/L90rUXBOx-8

- How well do you live in the moment?
- Why is sorting out the issues of your heart important?
- How aware are you of your internal life and all that you're feeling and thinking as events take place throughout the day?
- What events of your life would you currently like to invite Christ into to help interpret and sort things out?
- In what ways will this lesson affect your response to all that unfolds in your life in your life each week?


Seeking Guidance (pages 192-210)

Video: http://youtu.be/E4J0Jr5NRUs

- Does asking God for direction on the important issues of your daily life come easily for you? Why or why not?
- Describe the walk with God you would love to have?
- How do you get that life you desire?
- What things in your life would Christ have you put down?
- What crucial things of life would Christ have you take up?
- How has your walk with God changed after reading this book and going through this study?
- What has God said to you about your walk with him now that you have finished this study?

Our next meeting is on Tuesday, May 13 at The Firehouse from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM.

Read pages 153-188 in Walking with God and/or 129-156 in the personal guide.

Healing the Past (pages 153 - 161)

Video: http://youtu.be/pZGxB5Nv4Mc

- Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free; he wants to restore human lives. Do you believe this is true for you?
- Have you experienced Christ restoring the healing of unresolved issues, old wounds, or deep brokenness?
- What issues, fears, emotions, or reactions of yours may indicate a deep need of restoration or healing?
- Would you like to invite Christ into these areas?


Unmet Longings (pages 162-188)

Video: http://youtu.be/tNKzLJMiT_Y

- Do you live as though your heart is the most important part of your inner being?
- Why is guarding your heart so difficult?
- What do you desire or long for in your life?
- What are some of your unmet longings for life?
- How have you handled those unmet desires/longings you have had?
- Describe a time when Jesus proved himself to be enough for you in the face of unfilled desires?

Our next date for our group to meet is Sunday evening, April 27 from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM at The Firehouse.

Read pages 121-153 in Walking with God. If you are using the personal guide to Walking with God, read pages 94-122.

Accept the Grace God is Giving (pages 121-127)

Video: http://youtu.be/KHzDl6Pikz4

- Are you an essentially happy, free person? Why?
- Do you believe God offers us an immense grace for all we need in our daily living?
- Do you commonly ask Christ whether or not he wants you to carry the burdens you do?

Things that Go Bump in the Night (pages 127-153)

Video: http://youtu.be/eCDOCTHJ75E

- John states that a major hindrance in our learning to walk with Go is a desire for a "nice, easy little life." Do you find that true for yourself? What is your desire for your life?
- Have you understood Christianity as a love story set in the mist of a life and death battle?
- Is spiritual warfare a part of your Christian worldview? If so, how is it expressed in your daily life? If not, what is your reluctance about spiritual warfare rooted in?
- What struggle are you facing that you would like to ask God: "Is this a result of spiritual warfare?"
- How will this topi affect the way you interpret the events of this week?

Below are the video links and questions for our group. We will meet on Tuesday, April 15 at The Firehouse from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM.

Read pages 79-118 in the book Walking with God. If you are using the personal guide, you can also read pages 52-91.

Video: The Next Day - http://youtu.be/ZFD7ckKSOVU

Video: Hawks - http://youtu.be/xyrxfdTelEs

Questions for Discussion:

The Next Day
- What do you believe about love?
- How do you respond to time of disruption, strong emotions, being provoked, or distressing relational issues?
- What makes it easy or difficult for you to hold onto the truth of God's Word in the midst of swirling emotions or difficult circumstances?
- What currently ls unsettling in your life?
- What truth of God will help you through all that this disruption has raised in you?

Hawk
- In what ways has God spoken to you since we last met?
- And why might he have chosen that particular way to speak to you at that specific time?
- Why must we be reminded that God speaks to us in a hundred different ways?
- Do you find yourself asking for and looking for God to speak to you each day?
- What's the point of walking with God in conversational intimacy?
- How has your ability to recognize God's voice changed as you have progressed through the book?

Our group meets on April 1 at The Firehouse from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM.

Read pages 33-84 in Walking with God. If you are using the personal guide, this reading would include pages 23-59.

Consider keeping a journal and record your thoughts regarding listening to God. Here are some questions to help as you pray and journal:
- What distracts you?
- What helps you focus on God?
- How are you hearing God speak?
- As you pray for the others in the group, what are you hearing God say?

Videos:
On Elk and Elijah: http://youtu.be/W4E5cxtAoXI

God: http://youtu.be/fJC_9tLBzO8

Group Discussion:
On Elk and Elijah (pages 33-76)...
- How have you been taught to pray? How have you taught others to pray?
- Does prayer feel like a powerful part of your life or is it more disappointment?
- Do you ever stop and simply ask God what you should pray for?
- What is an area in your life where you feel stuck?
- If you could pray for Elijah and see results, what would you be praying about?

God? (pages 79-84)...
- When internal turmoil or deep affliction strikes, how do you navigate your life?
- What would "shepherding your heart" look like for you when you face crisis?
- What does it mean to "make no agreements" in our hearts in times of trial?
- What agreements have you made about God, life, yourself, or your struggle when you have faced a time of struggle?
- How have the agreements you have made affected your life?
- What would it look like for you to be gracious to your heart?

Good idea. Lunch could be a time for some people to find time to listen to God if the morning and evening is a difficult time.

Here is an interesting post from Ransomed Heart and John Eldredge I read this week in regards to spiritual warfare...

There Is No Escaping This War
POSTED ON MAR 15, 2014
Remember, when Jesus boiled his whole mission down to healing the brokenhearted and setting prisoners free from darkness, he was referring to all of us. Our modern, scientific, Enlightenment worldview has simply removed spiritual warfare as a practical category, and so it shouldn't surprise us that we can't see spiritual strongholds after we say they don't really exist.

If you deny the battle raging against your heart, well, then, the thief just gets to steal and kill and destroy. Some friends of mine started a Christian school together a few years ago. It had been their shared dream for nearly all their adult lives. After years of praying and talking and dreaming, it finally happened. Then the assault came . . . but they would not see it as such. It was "hassles" and "misunderstanding" at first. As it grew worse, it became a rift between them. A mutual friend warned them of the warfare, urged them to fight it as such. "No," they insisted, "this is about us. We just don't see eye-to-eye." I'm sorry to say their school shut its doors a few months ago, and the two aren't speaking to each other. Because they refused to fight it for the warfare it was, they got taken out. I could tell you many, many stories like that.

There is no war is the subtle—but pervasive—lie sown by an Enemy so familiar to us we don't even see him. For too long he has infiltrated the ranks of the church, and we haven't even recognized him.


Want more?
Get your copy of Waking the Dead today

The reading for week two comes from pages 16-32 in Walking with God.

Here is a link to watch the video for week two: http://youtu.be/lC15nqari7M

Look over the discussion questions below to prepare. Feel free to post a comment:

- How has God been speaking to you from this book?
- What would you love to hear from God about?
- What makes it hard for you to hear from God?
- How often do you truly rest to hear God's voice?
- How do you know if it is God's voice speaking to you?
- John talked about the issue of surrender. Does surrender come easily for you?
- Do you bring even the "little things" in your life to God?
- What would you love to ask God this week?

Cliff wrote: "I am getting a message that the video is private."
Try it again. It looks like a setting needed changed.

Click on this link to view the one hour and 30 minute video of John Eldredge speaking to a live audience on Walking with God. This session is a great way for you to get started with this series.

Walking with God Session: http://youtu.be/ske_g1ZJq74

I have assumed God wants an intimate relationship with us. However, I have viewed the people in the Bible who seem to have an intimate relationship with God as the exception rather than examples. I have felt only certain people must have that kind of relationship or maybe God just must not speak today like he did in the past. I haven't really had anyone model for me how to really hear God speak either. I have tried to listen for his voice but I can make prayer more of listing things rather than conversation.

1. Read pages ix - 16 in Walking with God.

2. Consider getting a journal to use with this series, and bring it to our group to refer to or take notes.

2. Watch this video which goes with the first session:

http://youtu.be/19RzCaR8R5A

3. Look over the discussion questions below to prepare for our group.

4. Go ahead and post a comment below to share or discuss.

5. If you have the Personal Guide to Walking with God, do the Prelude section, pages 1-13.

Discussion Questions:
- What are your concerns about listening to God or learning to hear the voice of God?

- Has listening to God been a part of your spiritual life?

- How many things in an ordinary week of your life do you ask God about?

- What are some assumptions you make about God speaking to us?

- Do you view the Bible as a book of examples or a book of exceptions?

- What kind of relationship do you believe God wants with us?

Use this link to access the companion video content that goes with the book, Walking with God.

http://www.ransomedheart.com/walking-...

Click here to get the book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400...

Click here to get the personal guide: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1418...

You can also click on the following link go to Ransomed Heart Ministries and order the books or to find more resources related to this series: http://store.ransomedheart.com/catalo...

This is a series of stories of what it looks like to walk with God, over the course of about a year.” So begins a remarkable narrative of one man’s journey learning to hear the voice of God. The details are intimate and personal. The invitation is for us all. What if we could hear from God . . . often? What difference would it make? We can live life with God. He offers to speak to us and guide us. Every day. It is an incredible offer. To accept that offer is to enter into an adventure filled with joy and risk, transformation and breakthrough. And more clarity than we ever thought possible.