1 John Archives - Good Morning Girls

Angela December 4, 2011

{Week 12} He Hears Us & Winter Session Announcement

Last week in our 1 John Good Morning Girls study we read:

1 John 5:14- This is the confidence we have in approaching God:
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

That one verse came alive for me a few weeks ago. I had been driving through the night with my 3 young daughters and mom, we had gotten a call from my uncle earlier that afternoon telling us my grandma was dying and we needed to come home as soon as possible. My grandma lived in Indiana and I live in Texas. We got on the road at 10 pm that night and drove straight through to Indiana. At 7 am the next day we got another call from my uncle saying he didn’t think we’d arrive before she passed. I was driving at the time and started to cry and pray…begging God to let me see her one last time. I so desperately wanted her to know that we were on our way, trying our hardest to get there as fast as we could. I wanted to tell her one last time how much I loved her and thank her for being such a wonderful grandma to me. As I was praying this and crying out to God, I drove through an underpass and there on one of the columns someone had spray painted “Trust Jesus”……ohhh how sweet God is to us when we are hurting and crying out to Him! He so encouraged me to have faith that we would indeed make it there in time…which we did! I was reminded on this trip that sometimes we feel the closest to God when we are hurting. He does hear our prayers!

I had always struggled with knowing if my grandma was truly saved. I have prayed for her for YEARS and as I was driving to Indiana, I continued to pray and ask God for proof that she was indeed saved. The day of the funeral was hard, my grandma had asked that I speak on her behalf, which I did…..but the ceremony was hard for me. After the ceremony was over, I made my rounds thanking people for coming and came upon a sweet little old man and his wife. The man turned out to be a retired pastor and his ministry in his retirement was to go to my grandma’s nursing home every Sunday and give a sermon. He told me that one Sunday a few years ago he had an alter call and that my grandma had received Jesus as her Savior! Can you believe that!!!! Ohhh the goodness of God! I’m so thankful for that sweet man’s ministry, I’m so thankful he and his wife came to my grandma’s funeral and shared that story with me and I’m so thankful that God allowed me to hear that story and thus answered my prayer. He hears our prayers!

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This is our last week for the 1 John study here at Good Morning Girls. Week 12 is our week of reflection:

Monday: Reflect on weeks 1-3

Tuesday: Reflect on weeks 4-5

Wednesday: Reflect on weeks 6-8

Thursday: Reflect on weeks 9-12

Friday:

The main point of 1 John is:

I feel God wanted me to learn:

I will forever be changed by this truth:

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For our winter session here at Good Morning Girls we will be studying….

Ephesians!!!

Courtney and I pray you will join us again for our upcoming winter session.

Sign-ups begin December 15th

Winter session runs from: January 15th-April 15th

Please feel free to comment below and let us know if there is anything we can do to make GMG even better! We love to hear your suggestions!

Love God Greatly!

Filed Under: I John Book Club Tagged With: 1 John, Good Morning Girls 12 Comments

Angela November 13, 2011

(Week 9} 1 John 4:7-21 God’s Love and Ours

This week we will be reading about God’s love toward us and how we are to express that love to others. I recently found this video clip of a young woman who brought me to tears. She is an inspiration to me and I hope to you as well.

(If you can’t see this video- click here.)

I wanted to be like her when I was younger. I wanted to go off to another country and make a BIG difference for God just like she is in Uganda. Unlike Katie though I wasn’t as brave….or maybe it wasn’t God’s will, but either way I LOVE the difference she is making in those children’s lives. Whether abroad or in our own country, we can ALL make a BIG difference for God. Where I’ve had to confess to God this week is in my fear of not trying. Between you and me, I hate to FAIL! Absolutely hate it! I hate it so much that it paralyzes me into not stepping out on faith because of my fear that I won’t do well. It kills me when I disappoint people. Have you ever been like that?

I took a mission trip to the Ukraine my Junior year in high school and I remember coming back from that trip and saying to myself, “From now on I’m going to trust God more with my life! I’m going to give God more opportunities to really work through me so that I can see Him more and so others can see Him through me.” Of course “life” happened when I came back and well here I am now (I won’t say how many years later…hehehe) happily married and blessed with 3 precious little girls……and yet I still have that same desire in my heart. I want to trust God more with the life He has given me. I still want to make that BIG difference for Him….and I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I want to love others. I want to love the family, friends and neighbors He has given me the way He tells me to: to love others as though they were me. I think I might have some changes I need to make in my life…..I know I need to pray about the HOW God wants me to reach out more, but I know that He does. I’ll keep you posted as to my progress.:)

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If you are new to Good Morning Girls you can download the free e-study guide here.
(Note: You will need Adobe Reader to open and read the document)

For those of you who would like further study into these verses, I’ve provided a few resources below for you to use to help you dig a little deeper this week. Enjoy!

1. John MacArthur

a. 1 John 4:7-12 Manifesting Perfect Love Pt 1

b. 1 John 4:13-21 Manifesting Perfect Love Pt 2

c. 1 John 4:7-21 Why We Should Love One Another- Study Guide (Note: see link in drop down menu)

2. John Piper

a. 1 John 4:7-21 The New Birth Produces Love

b. 1 John 4:13-16 God Abides In the One Who Loves

c. 1 John 4:17-19 Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

3. Charles Spurgeon

a. 1 John 4:19 The Secret of Love to God

Praying for all of you as you spend time in God’s Word!!!

Love God Greatly!

Filed Under: I John Book Club Tagged With: 1 John, 1 John 4:7-21, God's Love And Ours, Good Morning Girls, Kisses from Katie, Loving Others 13 Comments

Angela October 30, 2011

{Week 7} 1 John 3:11-24

Today we are starting our 7th week in the 1 John GMG study!!!

Congratulations to each of you, we are now halfway through our fall study! Wooohooo!!! Praying you are growing closer to our Lord each and everyday you are in His Word!

For those of you who are struggling….we understand. It’s hard being disciplined everyday to set aside time to be in God’s Word. (yet it’s soooo important!!!) On average research has shown it takes a little over 2 months, about 66 days to form a new habit. That’s one of the many reasons why our sessions are 3 months long, we want to make sure you have enough time to develop the discipline of being in God’s Word on a daily basis. Courtney and I have coordinated enough GMG sessions now that we know this is the point when some groups start to get discouraged with a few of their group members not participating. Please remember, we are all at different stages in our Christian faith and in different seasons of life. I can personally attest to the fact that right now with a 10 week old it’s a lot harder to be in God’s Word than when I only had a 5 and 4 year old. If you are struggling please remember that we understand but PLEASE don’t get discouraged! That’s exactly what Satan wants, he wants you to get discouraged and quit. Nothing scares him more than to have a woman in God’s Word daily…….ever wonder why that’s when the phone rings, the kids decide to wake up early…etc. Please don’t allow yourself to get discouraged….remember everyday is a new day. Some of you are just needing to focus on baby steps while others of you are now ready to RUN and that is wonderful!!! Encourage those who are struggling! One way to do that is by being consistent and posting daily to your group! Don’t allow Satan to get you discouraged either if you feel as though you are the only one posting….see it as a way to encourage and minister to your fellow GMG friends. Even if they are not responding, I guarantee they are reading what you are sharing and being blessed by your words.

I recently stumbled across this week 6 video from our James study last winter and thought it might be fun to show to all the newbies. In this video Courtney and I were actually together in Dallas, and we had just finished attending a Sally Clarkson Conference, and decided to make a video to encourage our GMG groups. The spirit of the video is still how we feel about the groups…if your group is struggling – I hope it will encourage you!

This week we will be reading: 1 John 3:11-24

If you are new to Good Morning Girls you can download the free e-study guide here.
(Note: You will need Adobe Reader to open and read the document)

For those of you who would like further study into these verses, I’ve provided a few resources below for you to use to help you dig a little deeper this week. Enjoy!

1. John MacArthur

a. 1 John 3:11-24 How’s Your Love Life? (Study Guide) Note: See link in drop down

b. 1 John 3:11-18 True Christians Love One Another

c. 1 John 3:19-24 Holy Affections

2. John Piper

a. 1 John 3:11-18 Love: A Matter of Life & Death

b. 1 John 3:19-24 If Our Hearts Do Not Condemn Us, We Have Confidence Before God

3. Charles Spurgeon

a. 1 John 3:14 Life Proved by Love

b. 1 John 3:16 God’s Love to the Saints

c. 1 John 3:22-24 The Conditions of Power in Prayer

Praying for all of you as you spend time in God’s Word!!!