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Day 10 Transcript

Read the Word: Romans 8:1-2

From the time David was anointed as the next king of Israel to the time he actually became king was 20 long years. Imagine you were promised a prestigious job promotion in a large company. After ten years and no promotion, would you start to lose heart? What about 20? And on top of that, the trouble David had to navigate was mind-blowing. Including death threats from King Saul, David faced lots of disruptions and detours. One of David's favorite questions for God during that period of preparation was, "what have I done now?"

Some days I feel like this is my life. How about you? You've got a dream. It might be a big one—something that seems impossible. But something you feel called to do. And the journey gets hard. So hard you start to think maybe you took a wrong turn on the path somewhere. But the truth is, the journey to our dreams is hard. There's proving to be done…preparation for the next step.

One of the key truths we need to embrace about disruption is that it is not meant to punish or condemn us. Some part of our disruption may be a conviction—a call to let go of something or repent from something. But it is never a condemnation. Never. Romans 8:1 promises us that there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Condemnation is shame's finger-wagging partner. Conviction is God's drawing love and grace. Condemnation is the work of our sinful nature pairing up with some lie. It's designed to draw us away, to discourage us. Don't let it. Call it out. Take that thought captive and hand it over to Jesus' authority. (2 Cor. 10:3-5) And because we belong to Him, the power of his Spirit in us sets us free from the power of that condemnation that leads to death. Disruption and detours are not our punishment. They are our road to better life.

Wait in prayer: Do you struggle believing that roadblocks in your life are God's punishment for something you did wrong? Write a personalized declaration from Romans 8:31-39 as a prayer of praise and thanksgiving and speak it out loud every day. Here is my personalized version from The Message. I recommend reading this first thing in the morning or the last thing before I go to sleep. Keep it on an index card next to your bed.

With God on my side, how can I lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for me, a sinner, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for me? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with me, one of God's chosen? The One who died for me—who was raised to life for me—He is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for me. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between me and Christ's love for me? There is no way! I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between me and God's love because of what Jesus has done to set me free.

Worship: I Am Redeemed performed by Big Daddy Weave

Links:

Lyric video for I've Been Redeemed

-Link to sign up for our launch team and get your free advance copy of The Mary Answer.

-Join the community on our Facebook page here.

Day 9: Trying Worry on For Size

Read Phil. 4:6-7, Eph. 6:12-13

I am a list maker. One of my top Strengths Finder© gifts is Strategic. And strategic people like to make plans, lists, and spreadsheets. I love contingency plans. My life motto should be, "what if."

One of the lists we keep handy as believers is our list of objections. It has a heading on top that reads, "Please, God. Anything but this." It's a long list of things we don't want God to bring into our life. We're okay with a little disruption, but there are some lines we don't want God to cross. In our mind, these are a list of our breaking points. But what this list actually does is invite a spirit of fear into our lives. Joyce Meyer used to call this a spirit of dread. But the truth is, God will not allow anything into our lives that is, "more than we can stand." (1 Cor. 10:13) God knows something about us that we do not. He knows right where our real breaking point is.

Sometimes he allows us to get dangerously close to that point, and sometimes we break because we get distracted by our list. In Ephesians 6:10-11 Paul writes, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." All the items on your list are just schemes of the enemy. And God has given us some armor to stand against those schemes. The Bible doesn't promise that trouble won't hurt (is that on your list?) or that it won't bring grief (how about that?), but that we will be able to stand our ground. (v. 13)

Wait in prayer: What's on your list of objections? Take that list and give it to Jesus. Ask him to sanctify it under His authority, making every item obedient to Him, and then pray to stand firm. It's a good idea to revisit this occasionally if you feel those objections creeping back in. When they come to mind, remind yourself that God's got this list. I know it's hard to remember this in the heat of the moment, but when we try on worry for size, God asks us to put on prayer instead. (Php. 4:6) Prayer is a one-size-fits-all garment for trouble. Write out Philippians 4:6-7 and personalize it. When we trust God with our worries, his peace guards our heart and mind in Jesus.

Worship: It Is Well performed by Kristene DiMarco.

Links:

Link to It Is Well lyric video

Link to get your free advance copy of the Mary Answer and join our book launch team.

Day 8: Live Like You're a Member of the Royal Family

Word: Read 1 Peter 2:4-12

In the first movie of the Lord of the Rings trilogy we meet Strider, who is really King Aragorn in hiding. Later in the movie we find that he was hidden as a child from the forces of evil that wanted to destroy his royal line. Even though he is of royal descent, he stayed in the shadows and joined the team of unlikely heroes protecting the ring from getting into the wrong hands. His royal heritage is still there, even though he doesn't claim his throne until the last movie in the series.

Sometimes I think we Christians are a little like Aragorn. Even though we have a royal inheritance, we live our lives totally unaware of the royal standing we have in Christ. When the enemy tries to take us out with a bout of disruption, we are tempted to forget who we are and Whose we are. Remembering our royal blood is the anchor that keeps our hearts still when the waves start beating against the side of the boat. Remembering who we are in Christ helps us focus on the One from whom all things come. (Rom. 11:36)

Is this a point you struggle with? Is your identity in Christ your first go-to when you see trouble on the horizon? One of the best weapons we have to steer our reaction in the right direction is to remind ourselves that we "a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession." (1 Pet. 2:9-10) And what does a highly favored person do when times get tough?

"Be careful to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world." (1 Pet. 2:11-12)

Wait in prayer: Today, repeat the prayer from Ephesians 1:3-14 you learned in day four. Go back to it every day. Never, ever lose sight of who you are and Whose you are.

"I am blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. I am chosen to be holy and blameless in Your sight. I am your adopted child. You've redeemed me from death. You've lavished your grace on me. You've made known to me the mystery of your will to me. I am marked with a seal guaranteeing my inheritance. You have forgiven my sins."

Worship: I Am Who You Say I Am performed by Hillsong Worship.

Don't forget to look up the lyric video link in the show notes and worship along. And also in the show notes is a link where you can get a free advanced copy of The Mary Answer and join our book launch team tp help us get the word out. We'd love to have you along.

Links:

Link to get a free copy of The Mary Answer and join our book launch team.

Link to worship video: I Am Who You Say I Am performed by Hillsong.

Day 7: I Didn't See That Coming

Word: Read John 16:33, Mt. 6:31-34

Summer driving in rural America usually means construction detours, roadblocks, and long lines waiting for a pilot car. It's a good idea to add time to your schedule when traveling… just in case. Driving the 90-mile trek to an airport large enough to catch a flight on a real airline has no room for error. I had an important appointment in Los Angeles. Being a performing musician since I was 16, there was a hole in my life when I moved to a town with a population of 200 out in the middle of nowhere. I really felt like God wanted me to pursue my music for Him, so I snagged an audition with a Christian record label in LA. It was a big deal. I packed the night before and left plenty of time for any detours. Then Murphy's Law kicked in.

About 25 miles down the road I missed the short cut to go "the back way." I can't even remember how I missed that turn. It was key to my plan. So plan B meant navigating the long way around on the highway. It was a half hour longer. My margin for error was shrinking. Then, I got stuck in a pilot car line. By the time I crept through the long stretch, I was way behind schedule. When I finally arrived at the airport parking lot my plane was boarding. In my rush I forgot my toiletries bag. With only an hour at my hotel before my audition, I was doomed to hotel hair products and no make-up. It seemed like the day couldn't get any worse.

So how do you rebound from that? The quality of our spiritual journey is going to be determined by how we handle what we didn't see coming. We like predictable; God likes detours. He's not trying to make our lives harder, just deeper and richer. If I want to be used by God, I must be willing to be disrupted. I must be willing to relinquish control. When we try and hang on to control, we are displacing God's work in our lives. We all need to take a lesson from Mary. Life is full of surprises. What are you going to do with them?

We may not always see it coming, but because we know disruption will come, we will not be surprised. Don't bother with the why—it will derail you. Our job is to just embrace our life, to ask God to lead us through, and to always have our heart prepared for whatever comes our way. Let Jesus take the wheel—he knows the road that you need to take.

Wait in prayer: Do you dread disruption? Write out a prayer asking God to help you see disruption as an invitation to go deeper with Him and not as a negative. Ask Him to help you to let go when trouble comes. Use Matthew 6:33-34 as an inspiration.

Worship: Wanna Be Happy performed by Kirk Franklin. For a treat, search for this song on the Voices of Mobile YouTube channel.

Links:

Video Link to Wanna Be Happy by Kirk Franklin

Video Link to Wanna Be Happy from Voice of Mobile

Link to sign up to get your free review copy of The Mary Answer.

Post-script: It never did work out with the record company in LA. But I learned a lot from the trip!

In this episode Chris and Diane pick up where they left off in episode 66 and talk about content resources, how to keep people engaged online, and what your biggest challenges might be.

Show Notes & Links

-What are some of the content options for finding online Bible studies this fall? Free? Paid?

-How to make sure everyone can get online.

-Beware of screen fatigue.

-Ice breakers and other ideas for increasing engagement.

-Why you need to over communicate time, dates and other info.

Links:

-Click here to let us know what you're doing this fall on our Facebook page.

-Link to Right Now Media

-How to download the Kindle app so you can read e-books you purchase on Amazon on your phone or computer. (click here)

-Lifeway free Bible studies

Don't forget to share the podcast with a friend and leave a comment letting us know what you're doing for fall Bible studies this year.

Day 6 Transcript:

Day Six: Clearing the Footpath

Word: Read Hebrews 12:7-13, The Message

Summers always meant vacation to me growing up. We would pile in the car and make the long trek north to my grandparent's cabin in northern Wisconsin on Big Lake. On the prairie, lakes are few and far between so when my kids got old enough to travel without car seats, I talked my husband into buying a small cabin on a wooded lake right across the Canadian border from our farm.

The cabin was set back from the water's edge so our first order of business was clearing a footpath down to the water. Evidently the previous owners never went near the water. Grass that hasn't been mowed or walked on for years has several layers to deal with. First you have to mark out your path and cut the grass short enough to dethatch with a bush mower. Those wispy waves of prairie grass were hiding a couple layers of compressed grass that needed clearing. The first layer was the hard stalks of grass that had years to gain strength. When you walked in those cut stalks, they feel like little swords poking into your legs. Under that was a dense layer of decomposing grass that had been crowded out by the stronger stalks over the years. And last but not least was the uneven ground peppered with gopher holes. This needed to be smoothed, sprayed to inhibit weed growth, and covered with a layer of small pea gravel. Clearing a footpath was hard work.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that hard work, or discipline, is never fun or easy. (Heb. 12:4-11) Discipline, like the word disruption, can be cause for pause. Do we really want to do all this hard work God asked us to do? The answer, of course, is yes. Like the benefits we find in James 1:2-4, Hebrews 12 promises us that our hard work of clearing the path will "pay off handsomely"(11). The writer's directive is, "so don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet. Clear the path for the long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it" (12-13, The Message).

Learning to embrace disruption and detours is not just for our own good. It is for all those who are running the path with us. Our family, friends, neighbors, and whoever is doing life with us. As we clear the footpath, we are making a smooth way for others. And Paul says in Galatians 5:14, "For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself." God has given us people to run with. Help each other out. And run for it!

Wait in prayer: Is there a layer of underbrush you need to clear out so you can run your race without hindrances? Write out a prayer today asking God to help you clear the footpath for others. Write it in the first person like you're talking with God face-to-face and not about Him.

Worship: Through It All performed by Hillsong

Links:

Click to sign up to get your free review copy of The Mary Answer and join our book launch team!

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Day 5 Transcript:

Day Five: A Wrench in the Works

Word: Read James 1:2-8

When my children were little, they both managed to catch strep throat. It seems like once it starts making the rounds at school, everybody gets a turn. The doctor prescribed a liquid antibiotic and its taste left something to be desired, even laced with fruity sugar. I remember negotiating each dose by reminding them, not that it was good for them, but it was the path to getting back to their school friends. Sometimes extolling the benefits of what is good for us isn't enough to change anything.

We have that same feeling when God throws a wrench in our works with an unexpected disruption. Lots of times our first reaction is, "why this, why now?" We might search for something we did wrong, or something that was done to us. But God's purpose in disruption is not punishment, even though it tastes bad in out spirit. His purpose is to force our faith into the open. (James 1:3, The Message) James even goes as far saying tests and trials are an opportunity for great joy. (The New Living Translation) This is tough to do unless we are grounded in the truth of verses three and four: "because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." I struggled with the "so that" in verse four for many years because I took my eyes off God's goal and focused on my own discomfort. Sometimes those two words still touch a nerve, depending on the test. But God's goal in every "wrench in my works" is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow: that I may be mature and complete not lacking anything. Wow. Not lacking anything. That is the abundant life. But guess how we get there? Letting perseverance finish its work by being in step with God's Spirit. (Gal 5:25)

Wait in prayer: What is your biggest challenge to persevering through trouble? Write out a prayer today asking God to help you with that challenge. Commit yourself to listening and stepping out in faith regarding that challenge.

Worship: I Will Trust In You performed by Lauren Daigle

If you would like to be a part of the book launch team for The Mary Answer, we'd like to give you a free advance copy to review. You can sign up for the team by clicking here.

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Introducing our new feature: "3 Minutes to a Better Day." These short mini episodes are designed to be a short kickstarter to your day. Enjoy and be blessed.

Today's bonus is from Bob Goff's wonderful devotional, Live in Grace, Walk in Love. Click here to find it online.

Start your "Bob Goff Journey" with his book, Love Does. Click to find it here.

30 Days to Embracing God's Disruptions and Detours.

Join us for this devotional preview of our new Bible study, The Mary Answer, coming in January 2021.

Day Four: We've Won the Spiritual Lottery

Word: Read Ephesians 1:3-14

Have you ever bought a lottery ticket? I'm ashamed to admit I have—several of them. I went through a period in my life where we were having financial trouble—lean years on the farm—and I was getting weary. I had it all worked out with God. If He would give me a winning lottery ticket, I would use it to pay off all our debt, my family's debt, put some in our savings account and give the rest away. Sounds like a holy deal, right? All good?

One day I was studying Ephesians 1:3-14 and verse three would not leave me alone: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Not some blessings, but every blessing. So what are those blessings I have in Christ, anyway? I made a list:

I was chosen in Jesus before the creation of the world (4), I am holy and blameless in his sight (4), I have been predestined (in love) to be adopted as His child to show the world His glory (5-6), I am redeemed and forgiven by grace I do not deserve—it's been lavished on me (7-8), He's made known the mystery of his will to me (9), I have a predestined place in His plan (11), I have been given the Holy Spirit as a seal of my redemption—God lives in me (13-14).

I had to camp there for a few days before I realized just how rich these blessings are. Those verses made such an impact on my life that I wrote them out in the first person and say them every day. We can never lose sight of who we are in Jesus. He died so I could receive those blessings. Think of them, meditate on them, remind yourself of them every single day. I encourage you to start each day with this list. And open with verse three: "Praise be to the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing Christ." We've won the spiritual lottery, my friend. Let's celebrate!

Wait in prayer: Thank God today for every spiritual blessing in Christ. Read through verses 3-14 and personalize each blessing. Ask God to work in you a humble attitude of gratitude for each one.

Worship: How Great Is Our God performed by Chris Tomlin

I'd like to close with Romans 12:1 from the Message—my prayer for you. And here's what we want you to do, God helping you. Take your everyday ordinary life, your eating, sleeping, going to work, walking around, and staying at home life and present it to God as an offering. Embracing what God has done for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don't forget to check out the show notes on our women finishing well podcast page and get that link to the worship song and a link to our Facebook page. We'd love to have you join our community there.

Links:

Click here for the link to the lyric video for How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin.

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Welcome to 30 days to embracing God's disruptions and detours.

Day 3 Transcript: A Nice Little Life

Word: Read John 10:10, 2 Cor. 4:16-18

When I was a high school English teacher, one of my biggest frustrations was gifted students who just did enough to get by. No matter how interesting or engaging I made the class, they just wanted to settle for that "C" instead of the "A" they were capable of. They weren't lazy; just satisfied with not engaging with the learning process. I always chalked it up to the typical teenage apathy some kids have for school.

Sometimes I wonder if we have become apathetic about our spiritual growth. In today's scripture, we sit in on a discussion Jesus is having with the Pharisees about the difference between Satan's mission and his. "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy." And the path to that destruction is nothing violent or traumatic. The prime tactic the enemy uses to destroy us is to get us to settle for a nice little life. The inherent danger is that a nice little life encourages us to forget there is something more beyond that; something that Jesus promised us in the second half of verse 10: abundant life to the full. The New Living Translation calls it "a rich and satisfying life." This life isn't defined by externals: a nice house, a couple cars, good kids, good health, and a vacation every year. It is an internal abiding relationship with a God who walks with us 24/7. It may include some of those externals, but it is never defined by them.

Paul put this in perspective for us in 2 Cor. 4:16-18: We don't lose heart because our light and momentary disruptions are working for us an eternal glory that far outweighs any nice little life the world can give us (my paraphrase). So what do we need to do? We fix our eyes on what is not seen because what is seen (the nice little life) is temporary, but what is not seen is eternal. That which is not seen, my friend, is the abundant life Jesus wants to give us. It is exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond anything we can dare ask or think. (Eph. 3:20)

Wait in prayer: Are you in danger of settling for a nice little life—a life of ease? Write a prayer asking Jesus to help you seek the life He has to offer—life to the full. Ask Him to show you areas where you are starting to accept the status quo and not push through to the best life you can live in Him. Ask Him to give you a new attitude towards your "light and momentary troubles." Nothing we go through in this world can compare to the glory that is being revealed in us. (Rom. 8:18)

Worship: Fix My Eyes performed by for King and Country

Links:

-Click here to watch Fix My Eyes lyric video performed by for King and Country

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