I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one…. 1 John 2:12-14
...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe... Ephesians 1:17-19a ESV
Read MoreChapter 15 God's Process of GrowthKey Verses:
spiritual growth
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.I write to you, children, because you know the Father.I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 1 John 2: 12-14 ESV
Key Question:
What is Christian growth?
Read chapter 15 and answer the following:
1. Have you been tempted to believe that Christian growth occurs in only one certain How did that look to you?
2. What was the result of trying to put a box around God’s process in you?
3. Dan talks about three stages of growth from First John 2:12-14. What did God say to you through this description about God’s process of growth?
4. What does it mean to you that “God takes us in love” (p. 168)? What is God saying to you through that statement right now?
5. Think of two or three difficult circumstances in your life right now. Have you accepted that God is working on you to your benefit in each of these, or are you resisting God’s work? How does He want you to respond to Him in each circumstance?
6. Is there a contradiction between Christ living in us, as us, and Dan’s call to obedience on page 168? Why not?
7. Are there any areas in which God is calling you to be a responder to Him, to be obedient? If you have not yet responded, what has that done to your windowpane?
8. On pages 169 and 170, Dan says that God causes us to grow as He “uses the storms in the soul” to drive us to a place of inner rest. In what areas of your life are you not at rest? How is God telling you to respond to Him in those areas?
9. In what ways is your soul still turned outward, its attention on the body and the world? Is there an area or two in which you hear the wooing of God back to Him? What would it look like for you to respond to His wooing?
Chapter 11 Revelation: God's Way of KnowingKey Verses:
revelation
...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe... Ephesians 1:17-19a ESV
Key Question:
What is the difference between "knowing" something spiritually and "knowing about" something spiritually?
Read chapter 11 and answer the following:
1. Has God brought you to the place where in your heart you know that you can’t live the Christian life on your own?
2. In what ways are you still seeking flesh answers to flesh questions (p. 123)? What is the answer to all spirit questions?
3. What are you trying to produce that you are incapable of producing? Or, to put it another way, how are you still trying to live out of your own effort? Are you ready to stop trying and trust God to do it instead?
4. Are you still expecting yourself to succeed at trying to live the Christian life? Does God see you as a failure when you are unable to? What is His perspective on your failures (p. 123)?
5. What is the practical meaning to you of “know-about means we must earn; know means we understand it’s freely given”?
6. What are some things the Spirit of God has revealed to you, things you know, that you can’t be shaken from?
7. What is the good news in the fact that true knowing comes by revelation of the Spirit, not our analysis?
8. Can you be content with where God has you in His process? How might He want you to trust His timing in your life? What does He want you to stop being anxious about?
9. What are some things God is telling you to believe? Review the three things Dan beginning at the bottom of p. 129. What is God saying to you about these three things?
Janet Renner Loyd has been a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ most of her life. Her formal education includes a degree in education from the University of Arizona and also a degree in Bible & Theology from Moody Bible Institute. For more than thirty years, she has been involved in teaching and leading women’s Bible studies, retreats, and meetings…most notably Precept upon Precept and various studies that she has personally developed. Professionally, Jan recently retired from teaching language and writing to GED and adult ESOL students.
About her life, Jan says, “The most important thing about me is my relationship with my Father God through my Lord Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful to Him for His love, mercy, and grace to me and my family and friends...and the world.”
Jan has been happily married to John Loyd for more than forty years. They have two adult, married children and five lively young grandsons.
