Hello my brave friends and happy Friday! Thanks for joining me back on the blog for our last set of discussion questions for “I Choose Brave.” This book has definitely challenged my perception of fear and courage. It’s been eye-opening in so many ways!
Let’s dive right in. Here are this week’s questions:
Chapter 15: Community
*What have your experiences with community been like? What have these experiences taught you?
*“Diving into messy community is choosing brave” (pg. 140). Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
Chapter 16: Give Me Grace
*Do grace and fear of God go hand in hand? How would the fear of the Lord create a better understanding of grace?
*In recent years the church has tended to favor the idea of grace over the fire and brimstone sermons of the past. Why do you think that is? Does not speaking of what we are saved from cheapen the idea of grace? And if we do not truly know the giver of grace, can we fully understand what grace is?
Chapter 17: Necessity
*What do you see are the current trends within the church today? How have you seen trends change in your time as a believer?
*Katie says we must sometimes perform ‘spiritual triage’ so that we don’t overwhelm ourselves with all the trends, Christian to-do lists, and challenges that arise. Do you believe the fear of the Lord should be at the forefront and not relegated to the back burner?
Chapter 18: Intimacy
*In total honesty with yourself, do you have a fear of total intimacy with God? What excuses might you be giving yourself that keep you from drawing nearer to God?
*“Separation causes an unhealthy fear of God, it widens the gap. While intimacy turns that fear on its head, it bids us to come near in proper fear, submission, and honor, to come close and know Him here” (pg. 159). How can we reconcile fear of the Lord with safety in His presence? Is this something you struggle to understand? How is it courageous to draw near to Him?
Chapter 19: Freedom
*“When we chose Christ, who first chose us, our identity was forever changed, we are clothed in righteousness. There is no need to keep strapping on overalls of poor choices, of our unfair circumstances. We are a new creation, identity sure and steady, unchanged and unchanging” (pg. 164). Have you strapped on ‘overalls’ that didn’t fit before? Do you struggle with accepting the truth of your identity in Christ?
*Katie says that real freedom lies in walking with the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, and living in the Spirit but often we get tangled up in distractions. What distractions do you need to get your eyes off of so that you can have open eyes to walk, be led, and live in the Spirit?
Afterword
*How should having a true fear of the Lord change how we live out our day to day life?
*How has your idea of fearing the Lord changed since reading this book?
Scripture of the Week
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Proverbs 15:33
Jeremiah 32:38-40
Prayer of the Week
Father God, help us to know You more that we might fear You more and love You more. Help us to live out of this fear so that we can walk in true courage. Thank You for providing all we need and for giving us the gift of grace. We know we don’t deserve this gift! We praise Your name and seek to walk bravely each day because of who You are. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
For Next Month
*Check out THIS POST for all the details for next month’s book club! Hope you’ll join in!
When I was in school and given the option to be a part of a group project or do the project myself, I always chose to do it myself. I didn’t like relying on others because usually they weren’t very reliable. Yes, the project would get done, but only because those of us (me) picked up their slack.
So when I think of community, I often think of group projects – and proudly chant, like the Simon & Garfunkel song: “I am a rock; I am an island.”
But community, I’ve learned, is so much more than simply one category. It’s not just the neighborhood one lives in or one’s coworkers at one’s workplace. Community. Is. Everywhere. It’s those in the grocery line; cars along the freeway; and family members in one’s house. And as much as I’d like to avoid it all, I can’t…because I’m a part of it too.
Community is messy because there are several different thoughts and opinions being put together in the same place. I agree that diving into messy community is brave because we already know there will be a struggle among views – how we handle this matters.
If we fear community, we’ll never grow. If we only give grace within community, we’ll never grow either. This is why the statement “show truth in love” is so important. We have to have both grace and fear – with ourselves and others.
By starting to understand what it means to fear the Lord, I am starting to understand what His grace means and how it works. Grace is giving one what they don’t deserve. Because God is all good, righteous, powerful, and holy – and because I am not, I am separated from Him. And yet God allows me to be with Him by having made a way through Jesus. He didn’t have to make a way. We didn’t deserve to have a way made. He made a way because He is love – grace extends from this love.
I think I have a fear of total intimacy with God. I know my desire for control is a hindrance – although I know He’s ultimately in control and knows best. I think it’s hard to imagine having a relationship that is vulnerable and also not jeopardized.
Reconciling the fear of the Lord with the safety of His presence isn’t something that necessarily happens overnight. Again, because God is all good and powerful we can begin to not only come to a basic realization that He can only do good, but also have a basic understanding that His good does not always look like our good.
We can rest in His presence because He is right – all the time – regardless whether we fully understand. In these moments especially, it is courageous to draw near to God.
I’ve been on a journey a little over a year now regarding my identity in Christ. I’ve had what I like to call the reverse grace complex where I haven’t seen myself as bad as I should. My distractions have been categorizing my sin and comparing it with others; giving myself the illusion of control; and resigning myself to say things won’t get better (deep down that I don’t want them to so I can say, “Even with all I’ve done, it still didn’t work out.”)
The standard has been about me for far too long. But I’m coming to terms with the truth – and coming to the end of myself.
Fearing the Lord doesn’t simply mean respecting Him – and it’s not being afraid of Him. Fearing Him means knowing He could have chosen to not come down and been Emmanuel, God with us. Fearing Him means giving up my standard and letting Him show me how great He is. Fearing Him means knowing He will help me in my struggle and not let me go.