Ketema's Notes

WEEK 8, DAY 3

TAKING UP YOUR CROSS

You are to be like Jesus.  He is your model of godliness, and just as He reflects the Father, you are to reflect Him.  He is the ultimate example of self-sacrifice, humbling Himself to the point of death on the cross for your sins - "while you were yet a sinner."  Think about what that really means.  Remember all of the wickedness and sin in your life before you came to know and accept Him as your Savior.  Examine your head and see all of the sin, pride, self-seeking, and wrong motives still there, even if you have been saved by His grace.  When you are convicted of your own selfishness, do you justify it by saying, "Yes, Jesus died on the cross for me, but surely He wouldn't expect me to humble myself here!"?  If Jesus was willing to die for you, even in your unworthiness, should it ever be too much for you to humble yourself and give up your own desires for your spouse or others?

Romans 5:6-8

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 Peter 2:21-24

21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
 22 "He committed no sin,
      and no deceit was found in his mouth." 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

Galatians 2:20

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Ephesians 5:1-2

1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Matthew 16:24-25

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

Matthew 20:26-28

26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

John 13:12-17

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I  tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Luke 6:27-36

Love for Enemies

 27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

 32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Matthew 18:1-4

The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven

 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

 2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 23:12

12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

John 3:30

30 He must become greater; I must become less.

WEEK 8, DAY 2

MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY?

You don't have to control everything.  The power struggles you have in your relationship with your spouse are harmful, pointless, and do not honor God.  You should realize that your need to control is rooted in fear - fear that somehow your needs won't be met, or you won't be taken care of the way you want.  This fear is an indicator of a far bigger problem' not trusting the One who is really in control.  When you know God and believe He loves you and is always working for your good, His perfect love for you casts out your fear.  Trusting God mean you can always anticipate the best outcome because you know He's in charge.  Trusting God with every part of your life enables you to surrender your need to control things and gives you the security to be able to stop thinking of yourself and start focusing on living His way, laying yourself down for your spouse and others.

1 John 4:15-18

15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 A nd so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
      God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Psalm 20:6-7

6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
       he answers him from his holy heaven
       with the saving power of his right hand.

 7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
       but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

John 10:9-11

9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Ephesians 2:4-7

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Psalms 25:4-5

4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
       teach me your paths;

 5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
       for you are God my Savior,
       and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalms 46:10

10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
       I will be exalted among the nations,
       I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 37:1-7a

 1 Do not fret because of evil men
       or be envious of those who do wrong;

 2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
       like green plants they will soon die away.

 3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
       dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

 4 Delight yourself in the LORD
       and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 5 Commit your way to the LORD;
       trust in him and he will do this:

 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
       the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
       do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
       when they carry out their wicked schemes.

In the World, But not Of It

You live in the world.  You can't deny it, get around it, or hide from it.  You have to function day-to-day: to provide for yourself and your family, interact with the people you come in contact with, deal with the traffic and chores and long lines.  God tells you in His Word that you are to be "in the world, but not of it."  That means as a Christian you are supposed to be different than those who don't follow Christ.  The way you do your job, raise your children, respond to people who are unpleasant, drive your car, and everything else you do should reflect Him to others.  What about your marriage?  Is it different than the marriages of those who are in the world?

2 Peter 1:4

4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

1 Peter 2:11

Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.

1 John 2:15-17

Do Not Love the World

 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 3:13-14

13 Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.

Philippians 3:19

19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

James 4:4-5

4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?

Jude 1:17-21

A call to persevere

 17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

1 John 5:3-5

3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Galatians 6:14

14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.