SEL F
DI S CO V E RY
Dear R-AGEr, You are probably wondering “What’s there to discover about myself?” or “Why would I need a material to know who I am?” Before you glance through this book and chuck it in a pile of recycled paper, ask yourself “What has God called me to do?” This question may seem rather strange… but it is very relevant to who we are. Many times, we divide ourselves into two. One section containing our interest, intelligence, school and even love life, the other section would be what God has called me to do. But if we can’t answer this question, we probably have yet to discover ourselves completely. A lot of self-discovery has a lot to do with what God made us to be. By discovering ourselves in the light of God’s Word, it becomes so much more than just knowing what we like or dislike, whether we are angry or sad but understanding god’s will for us in every part of our life. Self-discovery is not an easy thing to do, but we challenge you to be bold and find out more about yourself. More than that, we challenge you to open your heart and mind to the Holy Spirit as he searches us. We believe that the following topics are important areas we can learn to be more aware. We pray Psalm 139:23-24 to you:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Let the Lord search our hearts and make us more aware, that we may also know who He is and His plans for us! We look forward to hearing the many insights you have gathered after the 2 weeks! Love,
Enjoy!
Starting with Brokenness
by Ellie Yeo
Brokenness is simply put, our sinful nature. Being imperfect human beings we are thus broken in nature. One example of brokenness is when a beautiful piece of glass breaks. Another would be a delicate pottery broken. Those shards and pieces are the broken parts. Likewise, our life is broken as well. When sin entered the world, it destroyed the originally beautiful and whole being. The process of being broken is painful but it is an invitation to Jesus. Brokenness should not draw us further away from God but helps us to realise how much we need Him in our lives. By acknowledging that we are all broken people, we have a clear idea of who we are and why we need Jesus. He is ever ready to mend the broken pieces of our lives, only if we are willing.
Let’s think about it! What do you think of when you see “brokenness”? Are we broken only during the tough times in our life? (eg. Experiencing family troubles, break-up, friendship problems.) Do you think you are broken? When did you experience it? Does brokenness draw me further from or closer to God?
I have been through certain struggles when I was young. It was a horrible experience altogether and I often find myself thinking that a lot has been taken away from me. My family was never a complete one and separated before I met my biological father. Neither am I on good terms with my current father. This was one fact that made me hurt a lot. Sometimes I felt unwanted, out of place and ashamed of my identity. There was a lot of confusion and struggle in the heart. Questions like “Whose daughter am I?” “How do I respond to this news?” That was brokenness for me. Insecurity and self-pity creeps in. Sometimes I choose to wallow in it which leads me nowhere. The Devil is big on trying to make you feel horrible about your life but do not succumb to the Devil’s lies. Let God define who you are. Despite all the lies that the Devil tried to make me believe in, I am reminded that God chose to adopt us into His kingdom so that we are His children and He is now my most beloved and trusted Heavenly Father. The perfect love of God is sufficient and overwrites all shame, sin, pain, loss for faith, trust, joy and wholeness. It’s a beautiful exchange.
Looking deeper.. Read Jeremiah 18:1-5
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
Jeremiah draws a parallel between human nations and clay in the hands of the potter, who also represents God. Even though the clay was spoilt and disfigured, the potter formed it into something new and what seemed best to him. Likewise, Jesus takes our brokenness and turns it into something beautiful. In verse 4, Jeremiah spoke about the marred clay and how the potter acted in spite of the circumstances. The potter did not throw the clay away, instead, he continues to work on it and mould it to what seems best. Likewise, Jesus does not despise our brokenness. He chooses to work on us and does what is best. Do you believe that God the potter can turn your ruins into beauty?
When Jesus moulds us, we need to be malleable and soft like clay. Our hearts need to be willing to be changed. Remember, your brokenness is a sacrifice unto God, and it will not escape God’s notice. Do you desire change in your attitude towards brokenness?
Also, think of glowing sticks. They need to be broken in order to shine. Similarly, we need to bend and break for God to shine in our lives. Reflect about a time when you where being tested and a how God has changed you through that incident.
Reflection Let us choose to respond to our brokenness. You could respond in anger, disappointment and walk away or you could embrace the brokenness from within and yield to Jesus, the one who can make us whole and allow our brokenness to bear fruit into something beautiful. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the brokenness within. Start by baring your heart to Jesus, whether or not you agree if you are broken. Articulate them. Write a letter to God and pen down your moments of brokenness. Let the words be your cry to God. Check out Unashamed by Starfield and meditate upon the words.
Close with a prayer Dear God, thank you for this day that You have made. Thank You for this life and Father, help me to realise today that I am with flaws, but that’s alright. Help me to see the brokenness in my life and the desire for You to make me whole. I come before You humbly to seek Your presence. Don’t turn me away but instead draw me closer to You. Thank You for your grace and love that covers me. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
How do we look like? by Jolene Lee Let’s think about it! Today, we are going to talk about being made in God’s image. Is there a difference between being created by God and being made in His image?
All our lives we’ve heard that we’re “made in the image of God.” It’s a nice thought, and probably one we’ve clung to when we need a reminder of our own value. But have you ever stopped to think about what it really means? “Made in the image of God” is an audacious claim—and one that probably carries some responsibility with it. We all know we are not gods—though if we’re honest, we know we often think we are the god of our own lives, even if we’d never admit it. The truth is, you are not God. But you are godlike. Our confusion about whether or not we are God arises from our godlikeness. It’s described in the first chapter of the Bible. Genesis 1:26-27 reveals, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in
our image, in our likeness’ ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” To be fully human is to fully reflect God’s creative, spiritual, intelligent, communicative, relational, moral and purposeful capacities. So, what does it mean to be created in God’s image? The Hebrew root of the Latin phrase for image of God—imago Dei—means image, shadow or likeness of God. You are a snapshot or facsimile of God. At the very least this means humans occupy a higher place in the created order because we alone are imprinted with godlike characteristics. Your godlikeness is the path to your greatest fulfillment. You will feel the greatest pleasure and wholeness when who God made you to be is fully developed and expressed. Your godlikeness can also be a pitfall, because in our hubris we often confuse being like God with being God. Mystery writer Nevada Barr learned this after returning to faith from her long sojourn on the wild side, and concluded: “It was a number of years of crashing and burning before I made the discovery that I was not God. Finally I realized that though I was not God, I was of God.”
Looking deeper... About You and Your Godlike Aptitudes But in what way are you an image of God? How are you godlike? Theologians have long debated this question, but the answer becomes clear when we read the description of God in Genesis 1 and then ask: If we could take a snapshot of God, what would we see and what would it reveal about humans created in God’s image? First, the truth about you is that you are creative because God is creative:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). We know that God
is creative. Every human makes things. Artists make things with paint. Poets, writers, philosophers and lawyers make things with ideas and the compelling use of words. Doctors make people healthier; consultants make organizations better. Manufacturers make things with raw materials; chefs make things with fruits, vegetables, meats and spices. Every human has the capacity to make things, to create, because we are all made in the image of a creative God.
The second truth about you is that you are spiritual because God is Spirit:
“The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2). Every human possesses spir-
itual aptitudes and capacities. We are more than the sum of our physical parts. Our spiritual nature, though unseen, is as real as our physical nature. Nurturing our spirit is as important as eating, drinking and exercising are to our physical body. The very essence of God is relational, and that essential quality has been imprinted on humans.
A third truth about you is that you communicate because God communicates:
“God said, ‘Let there be light’” (Genesis 1:3). Anthropologists agree that the emergence of
symbolic language—first spoken, then written—represents the sharpest break between animals and humans. The human ability to think and reason, to use language, symbols and art, far surpasses the abilities of any animals. This gift was bestowed when the communicative God’s image was imprinted on us.
A fourth truth about you is that you are intelligent because God is intelligent:
“In the beginning was the Word [logos, a Greek word meaning reason, or logic] and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Logical sequential thought flows from the
orderliness of God’s mind. As a result, though we are not all intellectuals, we each possess a mind and a way of thinking and learning, so Jesus commanded us to love God with our minds (as well as our hearts and all our strength). Because of God’s intelligent image imprinted on our lives, though we possess different kinds of intelligence, each of us is to develop our mental capacities to their fullest.
A fifth truth about you is that you are relational because God is relational:
“Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. ... It is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis
1:26, Genesis 2:18). The phrase, “Let us make man in our image” reveals an “us-ness” in the very nature of God. The very essence of God is relational, and that essential quality has been imprinted on humans. This capacity for a relationship with God extends to humans, which is why the Genesis story declares that God created Eve for Adam because “it is not good for man to be alone.”
A sixth truth about you is that you are morally responsible because God is a moral being:
“And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17). Just as there are natural laws that govern the universe, universal moral laws govern human behavior. The Bible teaches that these laws are written on human hearts and are universal.
When we fully grasp what it means to bear God’s image, we are at once struck with the grandeur of our possibilities and the tragedy of our unrealized potential. To be fully human is to fully reflect God’s creative, spiritual, intelligent, communicative, relational, moral and purposeful capacities, and to do so holistically and synergistically. Furthermore, though all humans possess these godlike capacities, each of us has the potential to express them distinctively, because God’s image has been imprinted uniquely on each of us. In God’s infinite creativity there are no duplicates; you are the only you there has ever been or ever will be. Courtesy of Relevant Magazine by Dick Staub
Reflection Which of the 6 truths you learnt today, surprised you? Why?
How does learning these truths changed the way you view God and the way you view yourself?
Prayer & Praise Spend some time meditating on the attributes of God and His character.
Close with a prayer Dear God, Thank you for creating me in your image. Help me to remember that I am able be creative, spiritual, intelligent, communicative, relational, moral and purposeful, because of who You are. Grant me understanding into the 6 new truths I learnt today and may the Holy Spirit guide me to be more and more like you. Amen.
What season are you in? by Nicole Yeo It is important to know which season God has for us. In every season, He has a plan to grow us and mould us to be the man or woman in His image. But God is interested in the journey just as much as He is interested in the destination-to be with Him. We should learn to be more aware of the season that we are in and to be contented with what He has provided us with. Instead of desiring for another season that God has not intended, let’s learn to surrender and embrace what He has in store for us!
Let’s think about it!
Have you thought about what season of your life you are in today? (i.e. waiting for something, studying for O levels, singleness and so on) Discover more about your season now by filling this checklist Living with family
Living alone
Secondary school
Poly / JC
Working part-time
Working full-time
Single
In a relationship
University
What can you tell from this flowchart about your current season? What are your current priorities?
How do you feel about the season that you are in? Do you wish that you were in another season? (Use another coloured pen to mark the season you wish you were in instead)
Singleness was something that I struggled with in the past when I was in secondary school. Coming from a girls’ school, I think one of the greatest struggle was when I had friends who had boyfriends and they were much more outgoing than I was. I had two relationships during my time in secondary school and both didn’t end very well. It affected the real relationships that I should have spent time investing on, like my family. I neglected my studies and I was distracted with the things of the world that my focus was not on what was important like my relationship with God. It was only when I was in my tertiary years when I realised that the younger me was not embracing the season of singleness that I was placed in and my heart’s desire was far from desiring God and desiring to be like Christ.
Looking deeper.. Read Ecclesiastes 3: 1-14 God is interested in the journey not just the destination of where we are headed. During every season we face, we must recognise that He is present and He has a perfect plan for us. Although sometimes it may not be a smooth journey or it may seem to contradict His plan, it should not discourage us from believing in Him. What we may want for ourselves may not be what God wants for us. Instead of wishing that we were in another season, we should pray for our hearts to be aligned to God’s heart that we will be content with what He has decided for us. We should embrace our season to discover God’s purpose for us. Ultimately, God places us in each season to bring us closer to Him and to mould us to be more like Christ! In verse 11: God has given us a yearning for eternity and although we cannot predict the future or understand why we are undergoing this particular season – He has made everything beautiful in His time – and we can learn to trust in Him and faithfully seek Him. In verse 12: God wants us to enjoy the lives He has given to us – it is His gift to us!
Am I contented with the season I am placed in? Why or why not?
What is the desire of my heart during this season? Is my priority God? Is it to be closer to God and to be more like Christ?
“Contentment in Jesus is not paralyzing. It is energizing. … The contentment Jesus gives is meant in this fallen world and probably for eternity to grow and grow and grow, to increase by expressing it in risk taking acts of love and by drawing others into it. It is the sort of contentment that gets bigger when it expands to include other people.” - John Piper
Read Philippians 3:8 Knowing Christ is much more meaningful and important that all other things are considered a loss! Are you finding contentment in Christ? Am I finding contentment in other things like “earthly things” during this period of time?
Reflection Now let’s rank our priorities, what is first on your list followed by priorities? (God, Family, Studies, Friends, Boyfriend/Girlfriend, CCA, Leisure time, Church Ministry etc. feel free to add other commitments that you have.)
Where is God on your list? Is spending time with Him first? If not, do you think you should reshuffle your priorities today? Start your day by surrendering your life unto Him and your desires and wants for your life. When we spend time with God before we go about our day, we are placing Him first as our priority in every season of our lives. We should pray for God’s will to be done in our lives as we learn to be contented in the season He has prepared for us because He knows what is best for us. Let’s learn to trust in God for He will provide for us every step of the way!
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22
Close with a prayer Dear Lord, I want to commit my life into your hands. I thank you for watching over me all these years and for loving me unconditionally. Please forgive me for the times when I wished I was in another season, I pray that you show and teach me your ways. I want to surrender my current season unto you as I know that you have a perfect plan for me. For you make all things beautiful in your time, I want to put my trust in you.I pray for the contentment in Jesus Christ in my life as I continue to seek the kingdom of God above all things in my life. And may God’s will unravel in my life as I live each day for Christ. Amen
Describe your family? by Deborah Liu Well done for coming this far! Thank you for your diligence. I pray that your relationship with God has been deepened through this precious time spent with Him.
Let’s think about it!
Who is family to you? Feel free to list names down! How important is family to you? (Mark it out on the scale below) What is family? Can eat anot?
0
5
10
okay lor
LOVE THEM, think about them all the time
What is family to you? Is there a difference between family and friends? Time spent with family (per week) Meals:
Time spent with friends (per week) Meals:
• • •
• • •
0 – 7 meals 8 –14 meals More than 14 meals
0 – 7 meals 8 –14 meals More than 14 meals
Activities (going out/hanging out):
Activities (going out/hanging out):
• • •
• • •
0 - 2 activities 3 - 5 activities more than 6 activites
How else do you spend time together in a week:
0 - 2 activities 3 - 5 activities more than 6 activites
How else do you spend time together in a week:
Besides our upward relationship with God, our earthly relationships are also important to the Lord. Friendships, dating relationships, parents, siblings, etc.! But have you ever felt that maintaining all these relationships gets a little tiring? Perhaps even, difficult? Well, I sure have. I believe God teaches us a lot on love through relationships. It gets tiring when we have to give all the time, especially if you are not appreciated. But wait a minute! Before we even go into how to love others, do we even love our family as much? I realized that if I can’t even love the people that are related to me by blood, how can I show love to my friends, teachers, or non-believers?
God has designed us to live in families. But yet, out of these earthly relationships, family is so often taken for granted. After all, it seems that they will always be there. So what exactly makes family so important? Let’s take a look at what the bible has to say.
Looking deeper.. Read Exodus 20:1-21 The importance of family can be seen from the Ten Commandments. The fifth commandment regarding honoring parents (Exodus 20: 12) is meant to preserve the authority of parents in family matters, and the seventh commandment (Exodus 20: 14) prohibiting adultery protects the sanctity of marriage. Two of the Ten Commandments deal with maintaining the cohesiveness of the family and this shows that that the health of the family was so important to God that it was codified in the national covenant of Israel. Reflect back on the scale on how important family is to you. Why did you put in that number?
What is stopping you from loving your family more? Do you feel that you’re already giving a lot? Or whatever you are giving is enough? Or not enough?
Read Galatians 3:26-29 When we are born physically, we’re also born into a physical family. But when we’re “born again” as a christian, we are born into a spiritual family. Hence, it is important not just to love your physical family, but also your spiritual family, where God is our Father, and Jesus our Brother. Furthermore, the spiritual family extends to all the brothers and sisters in Christ as mentioned in Galatians 3:2629. Therefore, despite our differences, our personalities, our gifts, or our family backgrounds, we are all one family in Christ. Now, consider your spiritual brothers and sisters. Do you actually treat them like brothers and sisters? What would it look like if you did so? (Doing them favors? Buying them a drink? Praying for them? Scolding them?)
Read Galatians 5: 13 –15. What do you think Paul intended to convey when he said this? Do you think it is difficult to “love your neighbor as yourself”? Why?
Reflection When we get a grasp of the family structure God has established, we can get a better understanding of how God wants us to interact with one another and with His authority. This allows us to get to know our Heavenly Father better and see His amazing love for us. When we understand how to love our physical family, I believe we will learn how to love our spiritual family so much better and emit this love and embrace others outside our spiritual family too.
“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5: 6b What actions can you take to show love to your family? How can God help you in doing this? (Asking for patience, a larger capacity to love, humility, a heart to serve?)
What is one thing that God has spoken to you about today?
Close with a prayer “Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for opening my eyes and my heart to the things you have spoken to me about today. I commit these areas of my life to you: Lord, thank You for showing me the importance of loving my family and I want to thank You for each one of them. I want to take my faith and trust to another level by obeying You. Help me to put these thoughts into action so that I may learn to love like how You love me. Father, grant me Your strength when loving gets tiring and humility to put myself behind others. Thank You for loving me. Amen.”
What is your personality?
by Jolene Lee
After tallying your numbers, visit http://qdostraining.com/downloads/personality_test1.pdf to learn what each letters represent and your strengths and weaknesses.
Let’s think about it! After doing the personality test, have you discovered what are your strengths and weaknesses? What are some of your strengths that you possess, that you can use to serve God and His people even better? What are some of the weaknesses you possess that you would like to work on?
Have you ever sat and really looked at God’s handiwork? Isn’t it amazing? You can see the starlit sky at night. The stars seem to shine like diamonds. Or have you ever watched the heavens at dawn when it looks like a blazing orange canvas? Even when stormy days come, filled with gray skies and torrents of rainfall, and winds sway the trees like they are dancing, it is a sight to see the wonders of God’s artistic hand. I couldn’t help from daydreaming the other day as I gazed out my window. I watched the lightening and heard the thunder. The rain was so heavy you could hardly see the shapes of the trees. The Creator of the universe created all that artwork. Our minds are captivated at the wonders of God’s creation. Flowers bounce back after torrents of rain. Birds and squirrels even sit in the trees as if to watch what is happening around them. Yet in all this beautiful scenery there is something greater. His greatest masterpiece is you and me. Wow! When the Lord created the heavens and the earth, He rested and said all that He made was good. Yet, something was missing… us. So He made man in the image and likeness of Himself. Man and woman were created to have fellowship with God. We weren’t the afterthought in creation. We were the special finishing touches. He longs for the day when he shall gather His children and we shall be with Him for all eternity. The Lord dropped a thought in my heart. He loves us so much He chose not to live without us at the beginning of creation nor when He went to the cross! We are His greatest work of art, so valuable that He says we are the apples of His eye.
Looking deeper.. “For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.” Zechariah 2:8
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
Next time you look in the mirror, see what God sees and cherish your time on this earth. Take time to tell Him how much you love Him and all He has done for you. Try not to take life for granted, but rather value it. I see the tiny newborn baby who looks for someone to hold it and take care of it. I am glad that their mother chose not to abort them. Then I think of the sick and elderly people, and how they look to the Lord to help them. The point I am trying to make is that you are the most prized possession God has. You are His masterpiece. What matters most to Him is you. He loves you. Courtesy of CBN.com, By Cathy Irvin
Reflection 1. How would you like to use your strengths to worship Him? 2. How would you like to work on your weaknesses in view of being called the apple of His eye? 3. Read Ephesians 2:10. What are the good works that God is calling you to do?
Prayer & Praise Spend a few moments singing worship songs to Him and thanking Him for how He has created you.
Close with a prayer
Dear God, thank you for creating me special and unique. Help me to embrace my strengths and weaknesses. For the areas that I am strong in, give me insight to how you would like me to use these strengths for your glory. As for the areas that I am weak in, help me to surrender to you. Amen.
Okay, so how do you feel? by Cassie Chan Flashback when was the last time you laughed so hard your stomach hurt? Or the last time you cried over a heartbreak in front of your best friend? You may not remember exactly the situation that took place but I’m sure you remember how you felt in that moment. Like it or not, God created us as beings with emotions. Emotions are what makes us so unique. It can also make our life like an exciting roller coaster journey. Since we are also created in God’s image, God must have an equal amount of emotions as well! How does God express His emotions? How did Jesus handle His emotions when He was on earth? Who better to learn from than the giver Himself. Get to know yourself better by matching each situation to the emojis! Getting 17/30 on a History test Dropping your phone on the floor and there is a slight crack! Someone spilled milo all over your assignment due tomorrow You found out that your close group of friends went out without you
Looking deeper.. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” Hebrews 4:15
God created us with emotions as He is an emotional person Himself! As He set foot on earth and began His creations, I’m sure that there was joy when He ‘saw all that he had made, and it was very good.’ (Genesis 1:31) When sin entered, God was angry and this can be seen in the tone and words that He used to respond to Adam and Eve. Even up to today, we serve the same emotional God that we saw in Genesis – one who still loves His creation, but would still be angry when we sin. Yet above all these, God does not sin in His emotions. How is this possible?
Looking deeper.. Emotions can be both positive and negative, and it is important to be able to tell the difference. The positive ones are easy to identify and are usually the ones that put a smile to your face. But negative emotions may not necessarily be anger, frustration or irritation. It is the actions in response to these emotions that lead to sin. Read Genesis 4:2-8 and John 2:13-17 Compare the 2 stories of anger recorded in the bible. What did both men do as a result of anger? Which was right and which was wrong? Cain killed in his fit of anger and jealousy and received punishment from God. Yet Jesus’ anger showed His ‘zeal’ (passion) for God’s house as He drove away the people gambling and showing disrespect for the house of God. His anger was pure and came out of his love for God. Reflection: Are you able to identify more with Cain or Jesus? Do you sometimes accidentally ‘kill’ because of your anger?
“In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Ephesians 4:26-27 In life, there may be many different situations that can cause negative emotions to arise and make us do certain things that do not please God. In the verse above, the bible says that we are giving the devil a foothold in our lives if we give in to these negative emotions and it does not just apply to anger. When you are too caught up with these emotions, your focus shifts from God to yourself and becomes ‘what can I achieve if I do this?’ instead of ‘how can God be glorified in this situation?’
Reflection Do you struggle with dealing with your emotions? What is one feeling that often turns into a negative emotion because it leads to sin?
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7
The good news is we do not have to go through trying to deal with our emotions alone! As you can see from the verse above, God has given us some ‘tools’ to help us to better manage our emotions and one of the key ones is self-discipline. The grace of God does not stop us from falling into sin, but picks us up from where we have fallen. What is one thing you can do/change to help you to better manage that negative emotion that you identified?
Close with a prayer Dear Father, thank you for giving me emotions that shape me and make me who I am. Lord, I acknowledge that sometimes I can make mistakes when I face a negative emotions, especially when ___________________________. Help me to make wise choices in my response and do things that will glorify you. Give me more self-discipline in this area. Thank you Lord for your grace and mercy. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Now, we Praise. Congrats on making it through! We are proud of you! We hope that the journey of self-discovery has been fulfilling. But we have not ended yet! Before we move on, let’s summarise what we have learnt: What have you discovered about yourself regarding... •
Brokenness
•
Image bearers
•
Family
•
Seasons
•
Personality
•
Emotions
Discovering oneself can be tough. Learning more about your family, your priorities or brokenness can sometimes be unpleasant to discover. But God does not merely reveals who we are for no reason! He has a plan and a purpose! In David’s psalms, he never hid from God. He admitted and confessed for every sin, victory, gift and blessing. He praised God for everything he has accomplished and received!
Looking deeper.. Read Psalm 147:1-20 What is David praising the Lord about?
We have purposefully started off this material with brokenness and ending it off with praise. Why? Because the journey towards self-discovery is so! Sometimes discovering our hidden anger, bitterness and discontentment can be a painful thing to do. But God redeems us through these discoveries. He does not leave us on our own but instead grows us to be more like Him. Our gifts and passion are the same. God does not make us for our purpose, but for Himself!
Reflection With your discoveries, give God praise for...
Who you are!
The things He has given you:
What He has done:
Who He is:
We will be conducting a mini discussion session (open to both boys and girls) to discuss this material on the 24th and the 25th of October. Sign up here tinyurl.com/embraceunion4
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