Fri, May 12th - 3:10AM

Long time no .........

To all my new friends here at Christians Unite,

     I apologize for being away so long from my study.  It is the time of year when my daughter's dance studio puts on our spring dance recital.  Since my daughter is a student and teacher and I am the producer of the show, I have been working around the clock on the program.  I really didn't want to try to squeeze in my blog study  too, and not be able to give it due time and attention.  Our shows are this Sunday and again on Tues morning, but after that I will be somewhat free again to devote the proper time to this work.  Look forward to adding more as the Lord leads and time permits.  This hectic schedule comes for a season, but this too shall pass and once again we will come together and seek God's wisdom from His Word. Until then God Bless you all.

Val

Sat, Apr 22nd - 3:55AM

Course Outline

   The following course outline defines the scope and sequence of this study.  I'm sure I will be making changes as this is a work in progress, but this will at least get us started.

I.     Overview of Course 3D cubed. The exponential growth of God's grace and work in us.

           A.  Deliverance (redeemed)

           B.  Discipleship (renewed)

           C.   Duty (reflect)

II.    Expanding on Deliverance 'From Darkness to Delight'

           A.  Dead in our sins

           B.  Drawn to saving faith

           C.  Delivered from evil

III.  Expanding on Discipleship 

           A.  Desire to know God

           B.  Devotion to God in response to His love

           C.  Doctrine (In His Word)

IV.   Expanding on Duty 

           A.  Demonstration of a changed heart and mind

           B.  Do the work of the Lord (following Christ's example)

           C.  Dare to share (evangelism)

V.    Summary

          A.  Diagrams

          B. Scripture References

          C.  Vocabulary

Mon, Apr 17th - 4:32AM

New Name -- Same Dame

     Yes, I've changed my blog title to reflect the changes in my study.  Since I am going to put the 3D View study on here first, I thought I would change the name to Back to the Drawing Board.  This little quip enhances the visual aid I used as an introduction for my class last weekend. I will share that with you here as well. For the class, I printed the following images on card stock and then showed them one at a time while explaining their meaning.  For you, I have uploaded these images and will take you through the same explanation. .My goal was is for you to experience a visual representation of what I want to accomplish through this study. So here goes.

     As an artist when I draw something on paper or canvas, I first draw an outline. This is very 2D as in this example:

         To make this picture more interesting, I use color or texture to enhance it, such as in this next image.

      Now our pictures is becoming more interesting and even more recognizable. But wait,  when I add more detail to the edges of the lettering, we get this.

   Now this is a really nice picture, but I can do more to make it look more realistic.  This could look like a real wooden sign if I could just add some depth to the picture.  How might I do that?  By adding another dimension just look 3D.

     With the detail of shadow, we now have what appears to be a wooden sign of the name Jesus.  I am still working on a flat piece of paper, but now it looks like I could just reach out and grab that sign right off my page.  The shadow has added depth to the picture, and what do we need to have a shadow?  Of course, light.  So it is the light that shines on an object that defines it and gives it depth, and helps us to better comprehend that object.  I would like to bring depth to our understanding of the Christian life, by shining the light of God's word upon it.  Won't you join me, so we can all reach out and grab that truth for ourselves?

   Thanks again for your time.  More to come.

Val

Sun, Apr 16th - 4:18AM

Best Laid Plans...

     Well, here I am again after such a long break. I really did plan to work on my blog everyday, but unfortunately I had much more to do for our women's retreat than I thought.  The retreat went very well, and I believe many women were truly blessed by the event.  I know that my having an opportunity to share part of my study also helped me to better prepare for my book.  I do need to tell you though, that I ended up giving my lesson on another study.  It is called 'A 3D View of the Christian Life' and it's subtitle is 'Adding Depth to our Faith.'  I will probably change this blog to that study for now, since it is further along in its development.  I just tried to upload the graphic for it, but the server wouldn't take it, so I will need to work on that.  In the meantime, I would like to tell you a bit about the study.  I have divided the subject into three parts, which are: Deliverance, Discipleship, and Duty.  As in the original study, this course will explain each of these steps in our Christian walk, but from a slightly different perspective.  I hope you will check back to see this study develop.  Pray for me that I will have the time and the ability to share this message with all of you.  Thank you for your time and support.

Happy Easter to You!

Val

Tue, Mar 7th - 7:29PM

Just a quick thought for today

Much of what I have been talking about has been addressed very well by the Living Waters and Way of the Master evangelism ministries.  I would encourage you to download the audio or video version of 'True and False Conversion' by Ray Comfort.  Here is a man not 'ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.'  We have truly enjoyed listening or watching material from these websites. Here is the link to the audio resources. Let me know what you think.

Val

http://www.wayofthemaster.com/wotm_flash.html