I have had the privilege of leading God’s people in a great study over this past week here in the Northeastern part of Poland. Elena and I traveled two days with our three children to get here. It was an adventure that started off in Moldova, took us through Ukraine and then in to Poland. Our trip itself was eventful. Ten minutes into the trip I hit an unseen piece of metal pipe that punctured our rear tire. The Lord was good as always and we were 10 feet from a tire repair station. I would have had to take all of the luggage out of the back to get to the jack in order to put on the spare. The man at the tire station brought his equipment and was able to repair the tire for a reasonable fee. After that 45 minute delay, we were off again. The rest of the trip was pretty much uneventful except for the fact that we could not find our way out of 2 Ukrainian cities. We left on Thursday morning and arrived at the church on Saturday morning 12:00 A.M. It was a long but fun trip.
Once on site, we slept for a few hours and then later, on that same Saturday morning, I began teaching during the morning session. Our study is, “Lord give me a heart for You“, a devotional written by Kay Arthur based on the Paul’s second epistle to the church in Corinth. The purpose of the session and study is to train leaders who will in turn, go and form small group Bible studies where they will teach what they learn during the session.
We have had a great time digging in God’s Word, discovering deep spiritual truths as well as practical advice for daily living. I highly recommend this course for all who want to have a heart dedicated to the Lord. It is easy to study yet very profound. If you spend just 45 minutes a day digging in then in 8 short weeks you will have a closer walk with the Lord (if you apply what you learn).
One of the most practical lessons is lesson 2, a lesson devoted to resolving conflicts God’s way. All people who have anything to do with other people, either at work or at home, will have to face and resolve conflicts. God is aware of this and He wants to equip us for resolving them for His glory and our own good. Can both sides forgive and reconcile or must there always be a “winner” and a “loser”? The answer is YES and NO. Yes, both sides can forgive and be reconciled and no, there does not always have to be a winning side and a losing side.
Another powerful lesson is the lesson on finding your adequacy in Christ to be able to do all things for Him. Do you ever battle with thoughts and feelings of inadequacy? Would you like to know how to overcome those thoughts and feelings? Lesson three practically teaches us how to find our adequacy in Christ and live accordingly.
Have you ever considered what motivates you to do what you do? Or, do you just go through the daily motions wondering if there really is a purpose in living on this earth? Have you ever wondered is there really more to life than just working, raising a family, and trying to make it through alive? There is, and lesson 4 teaches us that we can have a higher purpose in this life, if we walk with the Lord and serve Him daily.
Thank you for all of your prayers. It has been an awesome session so far. I am looking forward to the next 2 days when we will finish out the study and the students will take their exams. I pray that they will take the information and knowledge acquired here and apply it to their daily lives. I have a unique groups of students. One is a pastor and has been pastoring longer than I have been alive. Another is a high school English teacher. One is an architect. Another is a pharmacist.
God bless you as you continue to serve Him faithfully.
Erik and Elena Brewer's Weblog 