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Upcoming Events:
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September 16: Bible Study begins
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Seotenber 18: Beth Moore Simulcast @ Brushy Creek
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November 5-6: Women's Retreat
Devotional Thought
Do you remember how old-time TV shows used to have an applause meter to gauge audience reactions? A big arrow would spin around the dial to show how enthusiastic the crowd was—or wasn’t—about what had just happened onstage. It wasn’t particularly scientific, but it provided quick feedback!
When I think about how we feel about God’s rules, I wonder if heaven has one of those meters. Well, not really, but there is one in your heart that God can read, so let’s talk about it. The arrow on your heart meter reflects your honest, instinctive response to God’s Word and His laws. Across the dial are five attitudes that, at any given moment, reflect how you really react to God’s rules for you.
All the way on the left side of the dial is the word disdain. Ever feel like God’s rules are oppressive, restrictive barriers to your pleasure and dreadfully outdated? Then the arrow might just be buried in the low end of the meter of your heart.
Next up on the dial is the word doubt. Those of us who wonder if God’s rules are good and for our best will register in the doubt category. But, be warned, Satan’s oldest tactic for plunging lives into shame and isolation from a loving God was planting seeds of doubt about the goodness of God and His Word (Genesis 3:1). Surprisingly, the tactic still works.
At the center of the dial is duty. Is obedience to God’s laws a legalistic obligation for you? Something that you have to do since you are a Christian with a virtual score sheet of do’s and don’ts that help you keep track of how you’re doing? If you are externally conformed, but your heart is far from Him and His laws feel heavy with the only reward being the ugly sin of pride in your own goodness, then you’re a dutiful but dull law keeper.
Further to the right, the arrow moves to the word devotion. This is closer to where God wants us to be. Those of us who land here obey God’s rules out of our love for Him. And while there is nothing wrong with that and much to be commended for it, there is still another point on the pleasing God meter that the psalmist urges us to qualify for.
Which explains why David cranks the arrow on the meter all the way over to the farthest extreme: delight. He writes that the truly blessed person delights in the law of the Lord!
What does that mean? Well, the Hebrew term used here actually means to be “emotionally preoccupied with.” It’s kind of like being in love. It’s all that you can think about. Other thoughts and conversations get drowned out by your overwhelming preoccupation. Imagine what our lives would look like if we truly became emotionally preoccupied with the profound goodness of God’s rules.
So, what would it take to move the arrow of your meter to the delight position? Try spending time reflecting on the character of the Lawgiver. You have a Father who loves you, who wants to protect you, and who offers His rules as His loving way to keep you safe and offer you true freedom from Satan’s deceitful and destructive ways. And, when you obey His rules and experience the peace, joy, and cleansing that it brings to your life, you’ll delight with the psalmist who wrote that God’s rules are “sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103)!
~Strength for the Journey
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Get ready to GROW deeper with our all new Bible Study for women starting September 16th, 2010
Sign up on the GROW bulletin board for Anointed, Transformed, and Redeemed: A study of David from the Deeper Still Event featuring Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur. You’ll laugh, cry, and learn to love God with them. The messages are divided into 3 segments, two lessons each. Each segment will focus on the life of David at different stages of his life: as a young man (by Priscilla Shirer), as a middle-aged man (by Beth Moore), and as a man facing the final third of his life (by Kay Arthur). This is a six weeks Bible Study that will start Sept. 16th, and will conclude Oct. 21st. We will meet Thursday night from 7PM until 8PM in the coffee house at LRBC. This Bible Study will be co-taught by Jean Blackwell and Alisa Stewart. The cost of your book will be $13. We will serve coffee and dessert. Come join us for a fabulous time of fun, fellowship, and digging deeper into God’s word! See you there!
For more information contact Alisa Stewart at 268-7176.
Living Proof Live Simulcast
featuring Beth Moore
Saturday, September 18, 9:00am – 5:00 pm at
Brushy Creek Baptist Church. The cost is $10 and includes lunch. Please see the GROW bulletin board for registration forms.
Brushy Creek Baptist Church
4999 Old Spartanburg Rd
Taylors, SC 29687
Mission Information
Over the past few weeks, many of our shut-in and home-bound women have been visited. These times are special for the one being visited and for the visitor as well. This ministry is open to all women at Lee Road, and we invite you to join us in this ongoing visitation. If you know of any special needs for any of our shut-ins, or if you need additional information, please call Carol Harvey at 244-9702. Watch for upcoming information on fall plans.
Birthday Card Shower
Don't forget to remember the following ladies on their special day.
September 9: Jean Sargent
NHC Room #322A
850 E. Butler Road
Greenville, SC 29607
September 14: Isola Terry
Southern Oaks #221
120 Roper Mtn Road Ext
Greenville, SC 29615
September 14: Evelyn Karr
Haywood Estates #202
1180 Haywood Road
Greenville, SC 29615
September 20: Pauline Schifley
8207 White Horse Drive
Charlotte, NC 28270
September 25: Ann Cooper
Sterling House
2010 Brushy Creek Road
Greer, SC 29650
WOMEN’S RETREAT
November 5, 5:00 PM – November 6, 4:00 PM
Ridgecrest Conference Center
Guest Speaker: Sue Heimer
“Leaving a Legacy”
Women's Retreat Meeting: Sunday, September 12
If you have signed up to attend the retreat or if you would like to attend, please plan to stay for a short meeting after morning worship. Also, if you have not yet paid your deposit, please plan on getting it in that day. We still have a few rooms available so make plans to attend the retreat even if you have not signed up yet! You are not going to want to miss this great opportunity to fellowship with your sisters in Christ. We will meet in the front of the sanctuary on the piano side. Please gather quickly.
Special Notice:
There are still some GROW shirts in the hallway underneath the GROW bulletin board. Please stop by if you are interested. Thanks!
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