Devotional Spirituality Study 7

Falling In Love With God

1. Life and Ministry

How was your week?

What is God doing around you?

How did you influence someone this week in their relationship with Christ?

Main Idea

What are the keys to loving God, and how can we cultivate a growing intimacy with him? This section explores what it means to enjoy God and to trust in Him. Henry Scougal observed that “the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love.” We are most satisfied when we seek God’s pleasure above our own, and we gradually become conformed to what we most love and admire.

Overview

As we grow in our understanding that God is our highest good, we become increasingly willing to renounce the aspirations of the world so that we can pursue God’s pleasure.

These verses focus on the abiding relationship with Jesus and cultivating a passion for him.

Sub-Themes

Our Image of God: Session 1 & 2

The Contemplative Way: Sessions 3-5

Falling in Love with God: Sessions 6-8

Principles and quotes come from Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation by Kenneth Boa

Directions

There are three passages for each week.

Read them in light of the Semester Theme and the Week’s Focus found in the underlined section above.

A daily spiritual discipline is to learn to hear God’s voice from his Word.

Please don’t look at this as a homework assignment.

Find a quiet place each day to read the passage(s) slowly a couple of times through.

1. Summarize the passage(s). You might want to journal it.

2. What is God saying to you through the passage(s)? (Commands to obey, praise to give, sin to confess, example to follow, etc.) Make note of it to better remember it.

3. What does it mean to fear God? Another way to say it, what does the fear of God look like in a Christ follower’s day?

4. Be prepared to share how some of the Bible passages impacted you in your weekly group meeting. (No question mark needed here)

The key to effective application: Being a group member of like-minded Christ followers for encouragement and accountability.

Psalm 90:1-6

English Standard Version Psalm 90

From Everlasting to Everlasting

90 A PRAYER OF MOSES, THE MAN OF GOD.

1  Lord, you have been our dwelling place

in all generations.

2  Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3  You return man to dust

and say, “Return, O children of man!”

4  For a thousand years in your sight

are but as yesterday when it is past,

or as a watch in the night.

5  You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,

like grass that is renewed in the morning:

6  in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;

in the evening it fades and withers.

1. Summarize the passage(s). You might want to journal it. Man’s life is but a brief blip on the screen. We come from dust and return to dust, but in spite of that God is eternal and has been and will be our safe place.

2. What is God saying to you through the passage(s)? (Commands to obey, praise to give, sin to confess, example to follow, etc.) Make note of it to better remember it.

Confess—Lord only you are eternal, from eternity past to eternity future, we came from dust and will return to dust. yes our souls will live on forever, but I all too often fail to contemplate my mortality, my life’s brevity, in light of eternity. What is my life to be? Enjoyment here and now, or one that resounds in eternity, that mattered??

Praise—Lord You formed us and have brought us to know You, You have put eternity in our minds, and given us a confident assurance we will live eternally with You.

3. What does it mean to fear God? Another way to say it, what does the fear of God look like in a Christ follower’s day? Fearing God means knowing our limitations, our brevity, and that we were created to live eternally with Him. To fear Him is to live for Him, to abide in Him.

4. Be prepared to share how some of the Bible passages impacted you in your weekly group meeting. (No question mark needed here)

Psalm 90:12-17

English Standard Version Psalm 90

12  So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

13  Return, O LORD! How long?

Have pity on your servants!

14  Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15  Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

and for as many years as we have seen evil.

16  Let your work be shown to your servants,

and your glorious power to their children.

17  Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands!

1. Summarize the passage(s). You might want to journal it. Lord teach us to be mindful of our brief existence so we can live wisely. Satisfy us with Your presence, love, and goodness in the morning and sustain us throughout the day, make us glad, joyful because our existence is a difficult one, it comes with many challenges. But remind us of all You’ve done, of Your great and mighty deeds, so we can go and do in Your name, in Your power, for Your glory.

2. What is God saying to you through the passage(s)? (Commands to obey, praise to give, sin to confess, example to follow, etc.) Make note of it to better remember it.

Example—to go and get our tanks filled each morning from the Lord so we can endure all that life throws at us. Ask the Lord if what we are doing is what He would want us doing.

Confess—I all too often run into my day, not having my tank filled, and struggle. I think I can handle all that life can throw at me. I even do things that would seem like it is what the Lord wants of me, but I can’t be sure because I don’t ask.

Praise—You are there Lord, each day and throughout, ready to fill our tanks with from Your goodness.

3. What does it mean to fear God? Another way to say it, what does the fear of God look like in a Christ follower’s day? Fearing the Lord means relying on Him, asking Him for help, and filling, and guidance. Fearing the Lord means knowing we are but a breath.

4. Be prepared to share how some of the Bible passages impacted you in your weekly group meeting. (No question mark needed here)

Psalm 16:1-11

English Standard Version Psalm 16

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

16 A MIKTAM OF DAVID.

1  Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

2  I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you.”

3  As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

in whom is all my delight.

4  The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

or take their names on my lips.

5  The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;

you hold my lot.

6  The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7  I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

8  I have set the LORD always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9  Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

10  For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

or let your holy one see corruption.

11  You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

1. Summarize the passage(s). You might want to journal it. Who are we without God, nothing. Many chase after the “gods” of this world, making so many sacrifices to them, but for what?? All they bring is death and destruction in its many forms. But not us, not with our God. What God has given us is good, not easy, but good. Most of all, He has given us Himself, to know now and to live with Him forever, so be glad and rejoice. We will not be left in the grave, our life path leads onward and upward, so experience the pleasures of life with God, walking with Jesus.

2. What is God saying to you through the passage(s)? (Commands to obey, praise to give, sin to confess, example to follow, etc.) Make note of it to better remember it.

Example to follow—David understands who he is and who God is, our life and preserver. Without Him, we are not good. He stays far away from wickedness and doesn’t let his eyes get caught up in what other “gods” can offer. He sees his life as blessed by God and he’s determined to walk with Jesus, now and forever.

Confession—how ofter are we intrigued, curious, jealous, desirous, of what the “gods” can offer or of those who sacrifice to them. Do I set the Lord always before me, not after me, in front of but also His desires above my own. That is how I will walk secure and enjoy security and have the fullness of joy and experience His pleasures.

3. What does it mean to fear God? Another way to say it, what does the fear of God look like in a Christ follower’s day? Fearing God is staying far away from the “gods” of this world. It means shelving my desires and knowing God so well, that His desires become my desire and my joy. Fearing God means walking with Him, and experiencing His goodness.

4. Be prepared to share how some of the Bible passages impacted you in your weekly group meeting. (No question mark needed here)

Weekly Group Time

Hearing from God

a. What is God saying through His Word?

b. What passage of Scripture spoke to you?

c. How did it change the way you live?

Talking to God

a. What do we need to say…to God about others and His Kingdom?

b. Personal: From the discussion, what can we pray for you?

c. Ministry: Where do you need God’s help in ministry this week?