PMS
Physical *
Mental
* Spiritual
IN THIS NEWSLETTER
Notes from "Saying 'No' without guilt" with Nancy Chin
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday 2/4/06
"The Myth of Compatibility" with Miltinnie Yih
10am-12pm
Newton Campus
OTHER MINISTRIES
Stroller Brigade
Saying "No" without guilt
Nancy Chin
1/7/2006
Summary
On January 7, Nancy led us
in a Bible Study of one day in the life of Jesus as described
in Mark 1:21-39. We examined Jesus'
activities on
that Sabbath day and His interactions with the people as He was
teaching and healing. He incorporated interruptions to His teaching
as part of His agenda to glorify God. Through an intimate
relationship with God and prayer, Jesus' knew that His priority
was to preach authoritatively in various villages. His commitment
to obey God enabled Him to say 'no' to the villagers,
who were begging Him to stay and heal them, and to travel to the
next village.
Through Jesus' example and a case study, we discussed the
general guidelines of asking our wise and right God for His
opinion, discovering God's priorities for our lives by spending
time in His Word and by praying, and by making a decision and
a commitment to obey and follow God's direction. It is easy to
make decisions when we know what God desires for us to do. Sometimes,
however, God will not give us a clear answer; He may give us a
choice. God has equipped us with intelligent minds and desires
us to use them. He will also provide us the time and resources
to accomplish His priorities in our lives.
Study Questions on Mark
1:21-39
1. List the activities that Jesus did on
the Sabbath day.
Most activities were initiated by Jesus rather than by the people.
He taught, exorcised evil spirits, healed the sick, prayed, traveled,
preached in synagogues and drove out demons.
2. Describe Jesus' demeanor throughout
the day.
Jesus was prayerful, both calm and energetic, focused, unstressed,
unhurried and unrushed, patient, in control, stern and authoritative,
caring, purposeful, driven, dutiful, and did not sleep much.
Jesus was on a mission, but took time to incorporate interruptions
as ways to glorify God.
3. Describe people's reaction to Jesus
in Capernaum.
Amazed and excited, the people rushed to see Jesus. They
desired Jesus' miracles and healing, perhaps even more than
His teaching.
4. Why couldn't the people and the
disciples persuade Jesus to stay in Capernaum?
Because Jesus' purpose and priority was to preach and teach in
other villages, Jesus did not stay in Capernaum to heal everyone.
He took a risk by disappointing the people in Capernaum
and moving onto the next village where He did not know
how He would be received.
5. Application
(rough) guidelines for making decisions
A. Before making a major decision, ask God for His opinion. God
is wise and always right.
B. Find out the priorities God has for you by spending time
in God's Word and praying.
C. Make up your mind and be committed to do what God has shown
you. Know what God's priority is. If you are following God's priority,
there is no guilt in saying 'no'. However, saying you are following
God's priority is not an excuse to be lazy or insensitive towards
people.
Example from Jesus: Jesus incorporated the interruptions to His teaching
as part of His agenda. He was not upset, but instead made
time to meet another person's need and used the opportunity
to glorify God. Jesus figured out that teaching was His priority
by praying about it and maintaining an intimate relationship with
God. He was also committed to doing what God desired Him to do.
Jesus also preached with authority because He knew what the Scriptures
said; He knew God's Word.
Five of the common reasons we say 'yes' when we should
say 'no':
1. we do not have a good reason to say 'no'
2. we feel obligated as a Christian
3. of the demands of people
4. the task is good and we enjoy performing it
5. we don't see that there are any other qualified people
to do the task
The 5P's from Loving God With All Your Mind by Elizabeth
George
1. Plan
2. Prepare
3. Pray
4. Proceed
5. Trust God to provide
God leads us step by step and also gives us intelligence. Sometimes
we may not have a clear answer from God, or God gives us a choice.
God gives us our mind to think, so we should use it. We may have
our own agenda that is clouding our view of God's answer, or we
may have a lack of peace, and may need to reexamine ourselves.
People desire decisions by a deadline. However, we should allow
for God's timing. Sometimes there may be a sense of urgency.
Be honest and willing to say that 'I'm not ready yet
to make this decision'. When we know what God's priority
is in our lives, we have the freedom to say 'yes' or 'no'.
Nancy also led us in a case study
Case Study
Ann is well respected at her workplace. Last year she started
a weekly luncheon Bible Study with some of her non-Christian co-workers.
As a result, one of her co-workers in her Bible Study group became
a Christian. Just before Christmas, her manager offers Ann a senior
analyst position, overseeing two departments. It means more responsibilities
and money starting this March.
Besides work responsibilities, Ann leads a small
women Bible study group at her church. For the past six months,
her group has been studying the Christian's responsibility for
serving. She also participates in the Adult Fellowship on Wednesday
nights.
Last Sunday during refreshment break, Ann was chatting with
her pastor. Toward the end of the conversation, her pastor stated
that he was interested in starting up a mentoring discipleship
program for women at the church. He asked Ann to seriously consider
heading up the program because she is one of the few people
who is qualified for the job.
Should Ann say yes or no?
Overall we thought that Ann should pray to ask God for His
opinion, whether this is what God really wants for her. It
helps if she knows her gifts and heart, limitations and the
sacrifices she'll be making. By saying 'yes' to one thing she'll
be saying 'no' to other things. She may want to re-evaluate
her current priorities and consider the time involvement.
God gives us the time and resources to do what He wants us to
do.
There are no shortcuts. If we truly want to know God's mind, we
need to put in the time and effort to study God's Word. If we
earnestly seek God, we will find Him.
To find out more about our ministries, please contact us!
Upcoming Events
"The Myth of Compatibility"
Miltinnie Yih
Saturday February 4, 2006, 10am-12pm, Newton Campus
How do I know if someone is compatible to me or not? What
are the deal-breakers? Is there only one person God has planned
for me to marry? What if I don't find him? What if
he marries someone else? What if I think I married the wrong one? What
if we started out compatible but after many years, we no longer are?
This study will explore the concept of compatibility - what makes people
compatible, what makes them not, how they can become compatible, and
some of the motives we have when we define compatibility. We will
explore how God might view this concept. Along with the questions
above, there will be discussion on how to find a life mate, how
to develop one's life mate, and how to become a compatible life
mate.
Note: This talk is applicable for both singles and married women.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Miltinnie Yih was born in California and spent 17 years in Hong Kong
before returning to the States a few years ago. Miltinnie was a teacher,
counselor, and fund-raising for the Hong Kong International School and
also started Kaplan in HK and China. She is presently a part time fund-raising
consultant for Asia. She has co-authored Celebrate the Seasons (NavPress)
and was a contributing writer for the Women's Study Bible (Thomas
Nelson). Miltinnie has a BA from Stanford and a MA from Columbia, and
is a sought-after conference speaker and Bible Study leader. Miltinnie
and her husband Lee have three adult children, and both currently attend
BCEC's Chinatown English Service.
Our session will consist of large group teaching (by Miltinnie), small group break-out discussion, and light refreshments. All welcome.
RSVP Bernice Cheung
Other Ministries For Women
BCEC Stroller Brigade
This is a yahoo-groups formed by moms at BCEC to swap information and arrange get-togethers. To join the group, please contact Wendy Yee or Bernice Cheung.