God is Able - Turning

What to read this week:

• Chapter 2 of God is Able
• Numbers 13
• John 20:11-18

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This week we are reading Chapter 2...Turning...

In this chapter there are two stories from the Bible about people who fixed their eyes on the Lord. One was from Numbers chapter 13 and the other from John 20. I do want us to read those directly from the Bible (not just the summary that is given in the book) and I do want us to discuss them in the Facebook group this week, but I am not going to comment much on those now, I will let you guys get that conversation going over on Facebook.

While I was reading this chapter, an old hymn came to my mind. Standing on the Promises... Here are the lyrics to that hymn in case you aren't familiar with it.

Standing on the Promises

Written by Russell K. Carter

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,

Through eternal ages let His praises ring,

Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,

Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain:

Standing, standing,

Standing on the promises of God my Savior;

Standing, standing,

I’m standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,

When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,

By the living Word of God I shall prevail,

Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I now can see

Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;

Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,

Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,

Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,

Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,

Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,

Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call,

Resting in my Savior as my all in all,

Standing on the promises of God.

What an amazing hymn!! It is even more amazing when you know the story behind it. When Russell Carter was 30 years old, he was diagnosed with a fatal heart condition and doctors told him that he would not live much longer. He knelt down before the Lord and prayed. He told God that no matter what happened, from that moment on, whether he was healed or not, he would live the rest of his life wholeheartedly serving the Lord.

Carter had been a professing Christian most of his life, but had never until this time in his life really believed the promises of the Word of God. When diagnosed with his heart condition, he turned to Christ and leaned on the promises in His Word like never before. When he was 37 years old he wrote this hymn.

Carter lived to be 79 years old!! If you need me to do the math for you, that is about 49 years longer than doctors anticipated!!

What a testimony! What a blessing this hymn has been for so many years to so many people. I sort of wish we were all together in one room, just so we could sing it together. Here is a clip of Selah singing it (in a medley with a few other great old hymns)!!



My greatest hope for this week, as a community of believers, a community of sisters in Christ, is that we can come together to really, truly, wholeheartedly, help our fellow sisters in Christ find the promises that they need to stand on for their life.

Everyone's situation is different, and the Word of God is full of so many great promises. Sometimes we are so focused on our issues that we struggle to find the scriptures that we need to focus on instead, so let's help a sister out!!

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Discussion Starters:

1. What part of this chapter in the book or in the story in Numbers 13 or John 20 jumped off the page at you this week?
2. The Chapter talks about three places that we turn to instead of to God, to others, to ourselves, and to our "junk". What happens when we turn to these things and why is each one of them not the answer?
3. Why is turning to Jesus so important in any situation? What are practical ways that we can focus our attention on Jesus??
4. ***Group Project***
   As a group this week, I want us to come up with a good sized list of promises from the Word of God that we as believers can stand on. That we can memorize, write, post on our mirrors and refrigerator doors, to help us get through trying times. Comment here with your promises (be sure to include the scripture reference) and I will create a master list to share.