Return to Me Study - Day 1

These thoughts and comments are generated from my study of the book, "Return to Me says the Lord - A Journey of First Love Surrender" written by Gregory Reed Frizzell.  It is highly recommended reading.  What follows is a copy of what I posted to Facebook a couple of days ago from my time on "Day One" of this study.

I've re-committed to a better use of my morning hours and am grateful that I can report a good first Monday. Instead of going back to bed and wasting a couple of hours, I stayed up, got in some good exercise on my Simply Fit board and the Total Gym, had my coffee, and settled into a Bible Study.
Choosing what to read/study was a bit of a challenge at first till, following prayer for guidance, I was reminded that my primary need at this time is a return to intimacy with Christ. That led me to the study our church did communally in January of last year - "Return to Me" by Gregory Reed Frizzell. It was a powerful study then, but I did not really put whole heart & soul into it so I know there is much more I can get out of it.

I've actually "re-started" this study several times since last year but never made it passionately past the first few days (it's a 21 day study). That will change this time.

Part of my challenge has been that I have approached it with a "check this duty off the list" attitude (the "Martha" in me). This time, I'm choosing more of a "Mary" approach and it feels different.

So - keys from this morning's study that I will meditate on today as the Lord brings them to remembrance:

1. Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God . . . Not seek ye first to confess every single thing you think probably disappoints God. This is key for me because I am a perfectionist. I could spend HOURS confessing all the "sins" in my life - some of which would be legitimate, obvious sins and some of which are more "gray" - to me anyway. But focusing on the negatives will not draw me closer to God. Yes, if the Holy Spirit brings it to mind for confession, I know I must do that - confess and repent - but apart from that, I need to focus on the positive. If I am seeking Him and loving Him, the sins will naturally decrease and the obedience will naturally increase. This will also help me avoid a legalistic approach to life -which is something I am susceptible to.

2. "God does not require perfect vessels, just hearts WILLING to be honest, surrendered, and 'pressing toward the mark'" (p.9, emphasis mine)

3. This one's important - "our whole life purpose is the passion to know, love, and fear God in obedient lifestyle worship." (p11)!!!!!! Said differently, "Above all else, our central life purpose is INTENSE love and worship of God." (p12, emphasis mine)

4. "...every effort [in this spiritual journey] is TOTAL DEPENDENCE upon God's grace and Spirit" (p11, emphasis mine). I CANNOT do the work - HE must do it in me. Thankfully, He has promised to do just that!!! (Phil 1:6)

5. "Make no mistake - our level of worship flows directly from our level of love." (p12) . . . let that one soak in for a bit . . . .

6. "Virtually all sin stems from the failure to properly know, love and fear God." (p13) . . . another truth to seriously ponder.

That's it for this morning :-) I hope to post every weekday at the very least and soon I hope to begin preparing lessons again - I miss teaching. I'm thinking of re-starting my old Blog with a Bible Study focus . . . we'll see how the Lord leads in that.