Chase.

 

‘Everyday we wake up and we chase something or we chase an invisible God’ – Jennie Allen, Chase

After Stuck and Anything I knew that I wouldn’t embark on Chase without facing conviction.  Jennie Allen has a way of hitting you right between the eyes with truth.  The truth of our sin nature, the truth about the allure of the world we live in, and the truth about what it takes to be whole-heartedly in love with our Savior.

It took her exactly one chapter to tug my heartstrings by stating: what we love determines how we live.  I read this line on a plane on my way to Togo in West Africa where I was headed on a short-term missions trip.   As good as that may sound, to you, I knew my life still wasn’t reflecting what I so desperately wanted my love to show.   Jennie says in her video intro to the study she says that she use to care more about people thinking she loved God then actually knowing and loving Him.

I was still clinging to too much me.  Still within that first chapter she writes, ‘self esteem dies hard, especially for those of us who stand on a great performance.  The work of Christ steals all shame but it also steals all of our pride’.  Pride.  If wanted to Chase after the heart of God I was going to have to sacrifice my pride.  I was going to have to crush the image I’ve controlled, let go of my death grip on my earthly desires, and say simply: here I am Lord.

As I continued the study I knew that Jennie understood what we’re up against as Christian women.  What keeps us from chasing after the heart of God?  Fear.  The fear of what that life would look like.  Of the sacrifices it might require. 

Chase is rooted in the story of David.  If you’ve read about David in the bible you know that he made some huge mistakes.  Murder and adultery for starters but he is also the one and only person the bible ever says the Lord called ‘a man after my own heart’.  You need only to spend some time reading David’s psalms to know he was in passionate pursuit of the Lord’s heart.

In chapter three of the Chase study, the chapter on obedience Allen writes, ‘ as my view of Him grew, my trust in Him grew and my obedience to Him grew, not out of fear but because I wanted Him more than my own way’.  This.  This is what that tired, filthy mini-missionary in Africa wanted.  I found that as I read Allen’s study I was desperate to want His way more than my own.

Each of Allen’s studies have challenged me, grown me, and pushed me out of being comfortable in my Christian existence and for that I’m grateful.  Each study has had a profound effect on my faith walk and each has come to me at the perfect time.  As I find that I am at the strongest my faith has ever been I am also realizing that I’ve reached the point in my walk with the Lord where I have to jump off the cliff into full surrender. 

Allen’s Chase study includes a DVD with lessons for you and your group to watch weekly – a great feature for in-home bible studies.  I love her honesty. I love how real she is.  Most of all I appreciate how relatable she is in each video.  The package also comes with a leaders guide, a member book, and my favorite feature – discussion cards.  The kid has a box labeled ask and each week as a set of cards you’re to lay out on the table.  Each member of your group will either have a key verse to read or a question to ask at the end of the group meeting.  It is the perfect way to get everyone in your group involved (as well as relieve some of the pressure off you as a leader).

I highly recommend the Chase study, especially for a group that’s growing and thriving but ready to kick their commitment up a notch.  This study challenged me – a bible study leader, a church worker, a long-time Christian and I know it will challenge you and your group.  We wake up everyday and we are chasing either something or someone – the one.  I hope that many of you will joining in chasing the heart of God even as I will be leading my own small group through this study over the summer.

Love,

B

*Please note: this study was given to me for review but the thoughts are my own honest opinions.

Burning Bridges.

Photo.

'Truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had the opportunity to have returned'. - Hebrews 11:15

I'm currently leading a bible study called 'No Other gods' by Kelly Minter (a christian singer out of Nashville, TN). And as I consider what it looks like in my own life to destroy the idols I've made along my journey, the things I have given places of honor to in my life, I realize that sometimes in life - you have to burn bridges.

We're a culture that shutters at the idea of stepping outside of political correctness and we shy away from hurting anyone's feelings or drawing lines in the sand. No black and white, only gray. We don't write people off, we don't burn bridges. Everything is left open-ended, even things we know brought us down, hurt us, or held us back from reaching our goals. Why is that?

As I've thought about some of the idols I've built - the desire for acceptance from others and achieving success being two - I realize that a bonfire of bridges isn't always a bad idea. When I look back on my life and the unwise decisions I made before I brought my faith to the forefront, I realize that if I leave those bridges unburned, there will always be the option to go back. Back to unhealthy relationships and expectations, back to people pleasing at the Lord's expense, back back back to a time in my life when my priorities were out of whack.

I desire with every fiber of my being to let the past be the past. To bask in the forgiveness that the Lord has offers us and to never return to darker places where the shallow things of this world reigned supreme in my fragile existence. So why leave bridges unburned?

I raise my diet coke in a toast, to lighting a match and watching the bridge to your past go up in flames. I'm telling you it's not only ok to burn some bridges, it's essential! When you cross out of a bad place and you find hope, burn that sucker so you can't go back, and your past can't follow you to your new home. Not looking back is a biblical theme we see over and over. Don't leave yourself the option of returning to that place...head for the promised land.

Love,
B