The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is now going through and studying the book "Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World" by Max Lucado. In this book Max reminds us that we can trust God in all things. He is good, he does good, and he is working all things together for your good and His Glory.
To Pray Effectively, Get to Know God
By Rick Warren
The fruitfulness of your prayers doesn’t depend on how much you know about prayer but on how much you know about God. The more you understand God, the more effective your prayers are going to be.
More important than learning all about prayer is understanding more about God. It starts with knowing that God is multidimensional. That means that God is in the past, present, and future. He’s on Earth and in the spirit world.
Here are a few ways you can see God’s multidimensional character.
You see it in God’s creation.
The God who created a multidimensional world and universe is a multidimensional Creator. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse" (Romans 1:20 NIV).
You can learn a lot about God just by looking at nature. For instance, you know that God likes variety, and he is organized, creative, and powerful. Creation is complex, so you know God has to be even more complex.
You see it in Jesus’ incarnation.
John 1:14 says, "The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us" (GNT).
If God had wanted to communicate to ants, he would've become an ant. If he had wanted to communicate to cows, he would've become a cow. But God wanted to communicate with and love human beings, so he became one of us.
Jesus is bound by neither space nor time, because he is multidimensional: "Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come" (Revelation 1:4 NIV).
You see it in how the Holy Spirit moves.
"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (John 3:8 NIV).
You can't put the Holy Spirit in a box! You can't control him. He's like the wind. You don't know where it comes from, and you don't know where it's going. He moves in dimensions we don't move in.
Your Prayers Don’t Have to End
By Rick Warren
"Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion." Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)
Did you know that you don’t have to end your prayers with “In Jesus’ name. Amen”? In fact, you don’t have to stop praying at all.
Prayer is a running conversation with God. It never has to end! You just talk to him like you would a friend or a loving Father. If something comes up, you talk to God about it. Then, maybe a minute or two goes by, and you talk to him about something else.
If you did not breathe, you would die. Prayer is spiritual breathing. You don't think about breathing—you just do it. In the same way, prayer needs to become so natural that you don't even think about it.
Right now, you may have to think to pray. But you can develop a habit of praying, where you don't even have to think about doing it or what you’re going to say.
You’re good at talking to yourself. You talk to yourself about everything you experience—all the time! Start talking to God instead. To pray conversationally, you just talk to God about whatever you're interested in at that particular moment.
"Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion" (Ephesians 6:18 NLT).
That means you can talk to God anywhere, anytime, about anything, as the Spirit leads. When you get an impression, pray about it!
Maybe you’re thinking that you often don’t feel like praying, because you don’t know what to say. But if you don't feel like praying, it means you’re not praying what you feel.
When you don't feel like praying, it means you're praying about the wrong thing. God isn't interested in what you're not interested in. God already knows everything in your life. He just wants you to talk to him, like a father or a mother longs to have their children talk to them.
Keep a conversation with God going throughout your day. Talk to him about what you’re feeling, and you’ll feel like praying a lot more
Session 3
Philippians 4:4-6 NIV Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Last week we said that one of the things that cause us to be anxious and worry is guilt. Guilt over something that we did do or something that we didn’t do and the worry over the consequences of those actions or inactions often cause us to be anxious.
Max’s suggestion as to how to deal with anxiousness caused by guilt was to look to God’s grace and mercy which can trump guilty feelings.
Adam and Eve hid when they felt guilt after disobeying God. So what did God do after confronting them? In His mercy he covered their nakedness. What should we do to get rid of guilt?
Confess and fall on God’s mercy and His grace.
Psalms 32:3-5 NIV When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Once you realize that through the blood of Jesus you are now righteous you can throw off guilt and the anxiousness that comes through it and move on.
Philippians 3:7-11 NIV But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
When we do sin yes, we should acknowledge that we did it and it was disobedience, and we need to confess it but we don’t have to be overcome with guilt and anxiety because we know that God does forgive us.
1 John 1:9 NIV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Chapter 4 says rejoice in the Lord always. That really sounds good, especially after last week talking about God’s grace and mercy and realizing that He is always in control of all things because He’s sovereign. However, it is another thing when stuff happens.
Max talks about some natural things that God as put in us to help us deal with life. In the book he talks about the amygdalae which are two almond-shaped neural clusters inside our brains. Your amygdalae operate like an alarm system to warn us of physical or emotional danger. Something that can hurt or kill us so we can thank God for this. When the amygdalae is activated,,our bodies react automatically so we don’t have to think about it. Amygdala may be best known as the part of the brain that drives the so-called “fight or flight” response. is thought to play important roles in emotion and behavior. It is best known for its role in the processing of fear. It shouldn't be too surprising (given its role in fear processing) that the amygdala might also play a role in anxiety. While fear is considered a response to a threat that is present, anxiety involves the dread that accompanies thinking about a potential threat—one that may or may not ever materialize. A number of studies suggest that the amygdala is involved in experiencing anxiety, and that it may be overactive in people with anxiety disorders.
An overactive amygdala can cause us to be in a state of perpetual anxiety. Limited anxiety is helpful. We need to be alerted to danger. We don’t need to live in a state of high alert.
God who placed the amygdala in our brains also provides for a way to settle us down after the amygdala does its thing. There is Dopamine which the body makes to send messages between nerve cells. Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure. It's a big part of our unique human ability to think and plan. It helps us strive, focus, and find things interesting.
Then there’s serotonin. Serotonin is the key hormone that stabilizes our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness. This hormone impacts your entire body. It enables brain cells and other nervous system cells to communicate with each other. Serotonin also helps with sleeping, eating, and digestion.
That’s natural stuff and everybody has these things placed in us by God.
Then there is the supernatural that allows us to actually rejoice in all ways. It is one thing to rejoice in the Lord when life is good, but when the odds are against us. Max gives us the Joseph story. He starts with Joseph in Egypt, but his problems started with his brothers after he told him his dream. On second thought maybe he shouldn’t have told them anything. But the whole Joseph story is a real example of Romans 8:28.
Romans 8:28 NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
God’s purpose for us is in the next verse.
Romans 8:29 NIV For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
His purpose for Joseph was to save the ancestors of Jesus.
Genesis 50:20 NIV You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
We can look at the life of Joseph and see that it is possible to rejoice in all circumstances. Even when so many things or the most severe or hurtful things make you wonder where is or was God while all this is happening.
Thinking back to our last study, the Christian Atheist. I believe in God but what's up? Does He care about me and my situation?
Deism says no He doesn’t care. Deism is the belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe. God created the universe and then abandoned it.
Pantheism says no. Pantheism is the belief that the universe is in some sense divine and should be revered pantheism identifies the universe with god but denies any personality or transcendence of such a god while deism is a philosophical belief in the existence of a god (or goddess) knowable through human reason; especially, a belief in a creator god unaccompanied by any belief in supernatural phenomena or specific religious doctrines. Creation has no story or purpose unto itself; it is only a part of God.
Atheism says no. Atheism is the philosophy that dismisses the existence of a god will, in turn, dismiss the possibility of a divine plan.
Christianity, says, “Yes, there is a God. Yes, this God is personally and powerfully involved in his creation”, and that includes you and me.
Jesus, who is God sustains everything including you and me.
Hebrews 1:3 NIV The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Colossians 1:15-20 NIV The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Jesus sustains us. The Greek word for sustaining that we read in Hebrew 1:3 is the term for carrying or bringing. In other words, Jesus carries us.
Remember two weeks ago we said that God is sovereign and in control.
I like it the way that Max puts it starting on page 55:
Because of him, the water stays wet, and the rocks remain firm. The laws of gravity and thermodynamics don’t change from generation to generation. With his hand at the helm of creation, spring still follows winter, and winter follows autumn. There is an order to the universe. He sustains everything.
And this is crucial: he uses everything to accomplish his will. He “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:11 NIV).
God is the energy and energizing force behind everything. No moment, event, or detail falls outside of his supervision. He stands before the universe like a symphony conductor before the orchestra, calling forth the elements to play their part in the divine reprisel
We are not going to read it today but read Psalm 104 which is a Psalm about God’s sovereignty.
Psalms 104:1-35 NIV Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth. He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts. The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the junipers. The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax. He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens. Then people go out to their work, to their labor until evening. How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works— he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord. But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the Lord, my soul. Praise the Lord.
Because God is in control,we can have courage that He will work everything out. The ultimate example of taking a horrible situation and turning it completely around was the crucifixion and then resurrection of Jesus. God took the crucifixion of Friday and turned it into the celebration of Sunday.
I have heard this story before, and I don’t know if you had heard it before reading this book, but it is the story about the writing of the famous hymn “It is Well with My Soul”
It was written by Horatio Spafford who had suffered losses in the Chicago fire in 1871. In 1873 his wife and children were on a ship that sunk, and all of his daughters had drowned. In the midst of his grief he wrote the words of the hymn which is today an anthem to the providence of God.
“It Is Well with My Soul”
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
If you’re humble, God will reduce your stress.
If you’re prideful, your stress is going to go up. Instead, listen to Jesus: "Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29 NLT).
When you’re tapped out and feel like you have nothing left to give, surrender to Jesus. Spend time in the Bible, learning how to choose gentleness and humility by his example. Pray, and ask him for the grace to change.
Then you’ll find the rest your soul has been craving.
Next week Chapter 5 Contagious Calm which is the first chapter in Section 2 of the book Ask God for Help
