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the promised one…are you ready?

Recently I was eating lunch with some friends and one of them asked me out of the blue, “What is your passion?”. I was a little caught off guard because, really…that is a huge question! What is my passion? What is the one thing that is driving my life right now? I thought I would be stumbling all over myself to answer but immediately the Lord brought to my mind something that He has laid on my heart. Something that He has been growing inside me since Cora died. A passion for His Word. Not just a passion to know His Word. But a passion to understand it and apply it to my life in a way that changes me. And I long to encourage others, especially moms, to do the same.
Don’t get me wrong. I struggle just like the rest of you. I would like to say that along with this passion has come a daily discipline to be in the Word and that I have never struggled since. I do struggle. Even just this past week I have been struggling again. I struggle to keep my time with the Lord a priority. I get selfish and lazy and allow other things to creep in and fill my time…things that definitely aren’t as important. I make excuses and listen to the excuses that others make for me. After all, I am a busy mom, right?! It is just about impossible to have any quiet time by myself, let alone time to study God’s Word. But really, I need God’s Word desperately. Especially as a busy mom. His Word is where I find joy and strength and purpose as I struggle to raise my kids and function on not enough sleep. I need His Word to guide me as I learn how to discipline my boys, and pray for them, and train them, and teach them about this God that I love with my whole heart.
While I still fail all the time, I get tired of hearing so many people make excuses for me…for moms. That it is just impossible to make time to study the Word at this stage in our lives. That reading a verse here and there and praying is good enough for now. I agree, some days it does seem nearly impossible to find any alone time. But somehow I manage to find time to do a lot of other things (you know, like instagram and reading blogs) that are far less important than filling my life with God’s Word. It seems like we are minimizing the power of God’s Word when we live out these excuses…myself included. Moms, we need the power of God’s Word in our lives.
Today at church our pastor taught from Nehemiah 8. Building on the Word of God was his theme. We have to hear the Word, respond to the Word, and apply to Word to our lives. Without the Word of God we can’t build anything that counts. I wrote down this quote from Dr. B.B. Warfield,
The Bible is the Word of God in such a way that when the Bible speaks, God speaks.
I love that. I want God to speak into my life and into the lives of my children. That won’t happen by wishful thinking or by just reading a random verse here and there. I need to be in the Word…reading God’s very words to me. And I need to allow His words to transform my life.
A good reminder for me as we plunge into these summer months.
What about you? Are you needing some accountability to be in God’s Word?
We are starting our online Bible study, The Promised One by Nancy Guthrie, this week. It is a study that has grown out of this passion that I have been talking about. A passion that I am so thankful that my friend Julie shares with me. So, will you join us? Grab a friend to do the study with you. There is still time to get your book. You can find it on Amazon here. You can find all the Bible study info here and here. The first week is mainly reading and discussion questions. We will dive into studying Genesis the second week.
If you are joining us you can grab our Bible study button that my friend Katy designed for us (thanks Katy!). I tried to figure the whole scroll box thing but I could only get this gray box to show up. Technology is not my passion. 😉 But I think you should be able to grab the button the same way by copying the html code in the gray box. I am so excited to study Genesis together this summer and be changed by God’s Word!
The Promised One at the Macs
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  • Mindy - Ordered my book today 🙂 looking forward to being in God’s word this summer.I find that I NEED that time with God,especially with 6 kiddos 😉 My days always go so much better.I am very excited about this and what God is going to do THROUGH this.ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Mindy-Yay! So glad you are joining us. Yes! My days always go better when spend time with Him and allow Him to direct my time too. You are a busy lady!! 🙂

    • Jess - Mindy-Yay! So glad you are joining us. Yes! My days always go better when spend time with Him and allow Him to direct my time too. You are a busy lady!! 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Kimberly Dial - Jess, I had to laugh as I read your post. I got up this morning before the alarm went off and had every intention on having extra time with the Lord, in His Word. I made coffee (resisting the urge to unload the dishwasher … “No Kimberly. You need to get in The Word”), poured a cup, sat down … “I’ll put in that load of towels” … got back up & did that, checked on the dog I’d put outside earlier … sat back down and ended up on the computer instead of in the Bible (imagine that!). The reason I laugh is that, while yours is not the first blog on my reading list, it is the first one I clicked on and read … the title was thought provoking. Imagine my surprise! I’m getting off of here right now but I couldn’t before I thanked you for letting Him use you. My children are grown but now I’m a Nana to four grandgirlies (after raising two sons!) and I still need the influence of God’s Word in my life. Actually I believe in today’s world we all need it more than ever before. Thanks again sweet lady for sharing your passion. Have a great day!ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Kimberly-So thankful God used these words to encourage you to be in His Word today. Yes! We always need the influence of God’s Word in our lives, no matter what stage we are in. Thanks for sharing your heart!

    • Jess - Kimberly-So thankful God used these words to encourage you to be in His Word today. Yes! We always need the influence of God’s Word in our lives, no matter what stage we are in. Thanks for sharing your heart!ReplyCancel

  • Erika - Jessica, thank you so much for sharing. I, too, feel a deep need for the Word and struggle to be disciplined. And I do think that there is grace for different phases of life. But, yes, I GET TIRED OF PEOPLE MAKING EXCUSES FOR ME. I often feel that very same thing. Him and His Word will fill me more than any “me” time I can conjur up. I affirm your ideas here. Thank you!ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Hi Erika! I think we all struggle with discipline if we are honest. Yes! I am so thankful for grace too. While our time in the Word will look different as we pass through different seasons, it will always be true that we desperately need His Word speaking into our lives. That means we need to be IN His Word, right? Thanks so much for leaving a comment and encouraging me too!

    • Jess - Hi Erika! I think we all struggle with discipline if we are honest. Yes! I am so thankful for grace too. While our time in the Word will look different as we pass through different seasons, it will always be true that we desperately need His Word speaking into our lives. That means we need to be IN His Word, right? Thanks so much for leaving a comment and encouraging me too!ReplyCancel

  • Jenae - I love this, Jess! I totally agree with your thoughts on needing to be in the Word (although I struggle MAJORLY with staying consistent). I once heard Kay Arthur say that she gets so tired of young moms saying they don’t have time for an in-depth Bible study. She said, “You don’t NOT have time…this is of eternal significance and very few things matter in comparison.” I need to keep this perspective daily when I am tempted to be doing a million other things instead.

    I also love that you mentioned Nehemiah…I just started Kelly Minter’s study on Nehemiah this week (after waiting far too long to get into the Word after our Community Bible Study ended).ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Jenae-Hi, friend! So fun to see you at chick-fil-a. I love that quote from Kay Arthur. Thanks so much for sharing…I need to keep that daily perspective as well. I haven’t heard of Kelly Minter before. You will have to let me know how you like the study!

    • Jess - Jenae-Hi, friend! So fun to see you at chick-fil-a. I love that quote from Kay Arthur. Thanks so much for sharing…I need to keep that daily perspective as well. I haven’t heard of Kelly Minter before. You will have to let me know how you like the study!ReplyCancel

  • Erica G - Yes! I’m in! I’m really excited about this study. I thought I was too late, but I didn’t realize that there is a Kindle version. Yay for instantaneous transfer! I have not been in God’s Word much outside of church in many months. Life got crazy, but that is a terrible, terrible excuse. Thank you for this opportunity.ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Erica-Yes! The kindle option is so great. So glad you are joining us. Praying that your time in God’s Word will transform your life this summer. I know it will because God’s Word is living and active!

    • Jess - Erica-Yes! The kindle option is so great. So glad you are joining us. Praying that your time in God’s Word will transform your life this summer. I know it will because God’s Word is living and active!ReplyCancel

  • Denise - Oh Jess, that really is a great question. At about your age, I realized that I had been praying for my kids to have a passion for one thing. See, I am kind of a scattered person and have lots of interests. I thought if they could develop a passion for one thing and concentrate on that, their lives would be easier. I think God gave the insight that I had a passion for Him and therefore, I loved and took joy in the things He brought to my life. So, since then, I have prayed that our children would have a passion for their Creator, that they would fall deeply in love with Him and learn that He cherishes them, pursues them, and loves them even more than their dad and I do. So thankful for your heart and the passion that our amazing God has given you for him in his Word. May your Light continue to shine brightly!!ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Denise-Yes! So true and what a great thing to pray for your children. When we love Jesus and have a passion for Him, His passions become our own. I long to have passions that reflect our Creator!

    • Jess - Denise-Yes! So true and what a great thing to pray for your children. When we love Jesus and have a passion for Him, His passions become our own. I long to have passions that reflect our Creator!ReplyCancel

  • meg duerksen - im in.
    and that lunch has been bugging me for a week! my answer???
    i still don’t have a clear answer.
    i am working on it… with God.ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Megan-I keep checking my email for your answer! 😉 So glad you are joining us. I’ll be praying that God makes that answer very clear to you.

    • Jess - Megan-I keep checking my email for your answer! 😉 So glad you are joining us. I’ll be praying that God makes that answer very clear to you.ReplyCancel

  • Sunshine - I got my kindle copy yesterday! Cannot wait to start. SunshineReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Sunshine-Yay! So glad you are joining us.