Week 5
Intro: how to use this booklet What you have in your hands could be a powerful tool. Think of this book as a map that could help guide you in drawing closer to God and help you hear what He may want you to hear about yourself, your world and Himself. By carving out these moments with God, your sense of purpose may become stronger, your self-reflection may become clearer, and your love for others may grow as you understand Him and yourself more. Or you could throw it in the recycling bin. The choice is yours. But if you do choose to use this booklet to draw closer to God, here is the blueprint we suggest:
Set aside 10-30 minutes each day (I recommend the morning). Set reminders for yourself so that you will be consistent and won’t forget. Some suggestions to help you prioritize this time with God would be to schedule it in your day planner or cell phone calendar.
Remove any distractions during this time. Find a quiet place where your television is off, your phone is set to silent, and if possible, that you won’t be disturbed by people interrupting you.
Start by praying. Not sure what to pray? Try this: “God, as I take this time with you now, help me to hear you. Help me to focus on you. Help me to listen to you. Please speak to me God, I want to listen. Amen”
Reflect on and answer the questions asked each day.
End your time by praying again. Not sure what to pray? Try this: “God thank you for your grace in my life. Help me to
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel Genesis 28:10-19 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
Monday: In the cool of the day Genesis 3:8
Then the man and his wife heard the sound
of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 1) Read Genesis 2:4-3:10. Try to imagine what it would be like to be in those moments with God and Adam and Eve. What do you think Adam is feeling first when he is created and then when he gets caught disobeying God?
2) There are a lot of different perspectives on this story in Genesis. Some take it literally, others may believe it was more of a narrative to illustrate something that needs to be taught. From your perspective, what do you think is the purpose of this story in Scripture??
3) On Sunday it was said that it when the people ate the fruit they did not just become aware of their nakedness but self absorbed. What do you think about that? Do you think a focus on yourself can get in the way of your connection with God? How?
4) How can you keep your focus more on God than yourself?
5) What do you need to change in your daily habits to help you
Tuesday: When God feels distant In the Book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel’s prophecy in scripture ends with the city being named Yahweh Shammah. These words in the NIV are translated as the Lord is there. Through out the Old Testament God is given titles associated with His name to describe His attributes, in this vision of Ezekiel the attribute they emphasize is god’s presence, that God is near.
1) Does God always feel near to you? Can you remember a time where God felt distant? What was going on in your life at that time?
2) When God feels distant from you, what do you do to try and get closer to God? Do you want to get closer to God?
3) James 4:8 tells us to come close to God, and He will come
close to us. The antithesis of this could be “move away from God, and He will move away from you.� Is there anything in your life that might be making you move away from God?
4) What do you need to adjust in your life so that you can come closer to God?
5) What is stopping you from coming closer to God?
6) Spend some time in solitude and silence in prayer to seek God on what we have been reflecting on, is there anything you
Wednesday: Never Alone John 14:15 “If you love me, follow my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 1) Read John 14:15-31. What is Jesus promise to His followers here?
2) What does it mean to you to hear Jesus say that He never left you to be alone, that God is always with you through the Holy Spirit? Do you believe this?
3) On Sunday it was said that God is always there, we just are not always aware. How do you think you can raise your awareness of God in your life?
4) Is there a time in your life when you were very aware of the presence of God in your life? What made you so aware, what happened?
5) Spend some time in prayer, asking God to show
how near He is through the Holy Spirit. Ask God what you might need to (or need not to do) today to help you know how close He is. What do you think He told you to do or not do?
Thursday: Call me maybe Jeremiah 29:10
This is what the LORD says: “When seventy
years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
1) Read Jeremiah 29:10-14. This passage has one of the more famous passages in Jeremiah, what do you think it meant for its original audience to here this?
2) What does it mean for you?
3) God speaking through Jeremiah says we are to call and come and pray to God, how often are you spending time calling to God? What gets in the way of you calling to God and praying to Him in His presence?
4) When you pray what do you usually say? Does it feel strange at times to be speaking to someone you can’t see?
5) An important part of prayer that sometimes gets overlooked is confession. Not coming clean to God, admitting our sins to God and maybe someone we trust, can be a barrier to our journey with God. What do you need to confess? What is stopping you? Confess to God and if you have someone you can trust, share with them as well and ask them to hold you
Friday: Seek and you shall find Matthew 7:7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
11) Read Matthew 7:7-12. In this passage Jesus says to ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open. This passage can be interpreted in different ways, but what do you think Jesus was saying to those listening in this context?
2) Jesus is echoing the words of Jeremiah we read yesterday, when God spoke through Jeremiah and said to seek and He will be found. What does it mean to seek God with all our heart?
3) How often are you seeking God with all your heart? What might be preventing you?
4) Where can we seek God? Are there specific places we can look to find out more about God? Read Romans 1:20, what might be a more unexpected place we can learn about God?
5) One of the most important places to seek God is through scripture. Read Psalm 145. what did you learn about who God is and how you should respond?
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