Basket Case

***This is the lesson from our first Secret Sister meeting***

I got the main message off a website (Can't remember which one)

but I changed some of it to fit our Bible study.

If God is in Control, Why am I a Basket Case?

Are you receiving the full benefits of a Christian life? Are you so focused on the circumstances around you, that you are missing the abundant life that God planned for you? In John 10:10 Jesus said, "I came so they may have life, and have it abundantly."

What Kind Of Life Are You Living?

This is a quick check list to find out if you are living a basket case life or the abundant life:

• I don't make time to daily replenish my mind and heart with God's Word.
• I fill the basket of my mind with worldly thoughts.
• I don't take time to memorize God's Word.
• I meditate on my problems instead of God's promises.
• I hide my sin, not God's word in my heart.
• I base my identity on what other people say rather than who I am in Christ.
• I respond to stress with worry rather than prayer.
• I don't sit with God and quietly receive His instruction.
• I hold to my bad feelings toward people rather than forgive them.
• My hope is placed on people or things.
• I am not daily filled with God's glorious might.
• I don't walk in a way that pleases the Lord.
• I get caught up in insignificant details of the world.
• I don't pray and use Scripture to stand against my enemy.
• I live in fear rather than freedom.
• I work to hold everything together rather than resting in Jesus.
• I let my thoughts run wild rather than taking them captive.
• I don't look for Christ in others.
• I am a person pleaser.
• I don't rest. I'm exhausted.

If you have checked three or more of these you are NOT living the abundant life. So what is the good news?

God gave us instructions for exactly how we leave the life of stress, worry, and exhaustion, so we can receive all the goodness and blessings he intended for us here on earth. He gives us exact instructions for how to have an ABUNDANT LIFE!

Keep Reading!

The book of Colossians gives God's instructions for how to have the abundant life. There are three sections: reasons not to be a basket case, reasons to give God control, ans extraordinary choices for a joy filled life.

Ten Reasons NOT to be a Basket Case:

(Remember all the numbers correspond to verses in Colossians!)

• God has a will for my life. 1:1
• I have the potential to be filled with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 1:9
• I have potential to walk in a manner worthy if the Lord. 1:10
• I can praise God in all circumstances.
• I can grow in the knowledge of God. 1:10
• I can be strengthened by all power according to God's glorious might. 1:11
• Christ's power mightily works within me. 1:29
• I have laid aside the old self. 3:9
• I have a NEW self image which is being renewed according to the image of Christ. 3:10
• I have been chosen by GOD! 3:12

Now that we understand that we may not be living in the full grace, goodness and blessings Christ has for us we need to take control of our lives. How do we do that? By giving that control to God.

We need to eat, breath, and live Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not the things of earth. Sometimes this can be nerve-racking. A lot of times, we will know we should trust God and say we trust Him, but that trust never makes it from our head into our heart. Sometimes that trust works really well in areas that we do not care about as much or areas we perceive as being out of our hands. The problem with that is, if we never give God full and complete trust and control of our lives then we will never live the abundant life.

Reasons to Give God Control of My Life:

(Remember all the numbers correspond the verses in Colossians!)

• God rescued me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to the kingdom of His beloved Son! 1:13
• God has redeemed me and forgiven me 1:14
• Jesus made peace between you and God through His blood.
• Jesus is the one who will present me to God as holy, blameless, and beyond reproach. 1:22
• God's will is for me to know the mystery: Christ in me, the hope of glory. 1:27
• God canceled out my certificate of debt and decrees against me. He's nailed it to Christ's cross. 2:14
• Christ has triumphed over all rule and authority. 2:15

We now know a few of the reasons to give God control, but it can be a difficult process. The Devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy; he would love to rob you of your joy! Don't let him!! There are specific choices we make that will allow us to have the joy filled life God intends for us!

Extraordinary Choices For a Joy Filled Life:

(Remember all the numbers correspond to verses in Colossians!)

• Set your mind on the things above, not the things of earth. 3:2
• Consider the members of your body as dead to sin, immortality, evil desires, greed, evil passions.... 3:5
• Do not lie to one another. 3:9 (Have someone who is also seeking God to hold you accountable.)
• LET Christ rule in my heart. 3:15
• Whatever I do, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. 3:16
• Whatever I do, work heartily, as to the Lord, aware I am serving God. 3:23-24
• Give control of my life to Christ, who is in me, the hope of glory. 1:27

I hope this has given you a lot to meditate on for the next month. God loves you and wants you to live an abundant life and He doesn't want you to be a basket case. I challenge you to memorize Colossians 3:2 - Set your mind on the things above, not on the things of earth and learn to apply it in your daily life!