Benetta Perry - From His Word to My Heart: Discovering the Will of God

This book is dedicated to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who I am grateful and thankful to, for the vision He gave to me.

To my Sister, Teresa, my Sons, Joey Jr and Jonathan, my Daughter, Rochelle. I thank you all for believing in Gods anointing upon my life, verbally encouraging me to walk in the spiritual gift given to me and for constantly praying for me.

To my Mother and Father, Pastor Benjamin D. & Isabell U. Blake without you there would be no me.

It is my prayer that this personal study guide will bless, stretch and deliver all who read it.

Preface

As a child, I loved to read. Since my childhood, until now, I have read through the Bible many times. However, during most of my early years, when I read the Bible, it felt as if I were reading any other interesting book. During my quick ritualistic routine of morning readings, time stood still, as it seemed to take forever to get through a few verses, much less an entire chapter. Nearly a decade had passed before I was able to read a full chapter during a morning session. As I got older, I was taught that I needed to spend quality time with God in order to develop a deeper relationship with Him. It was then my desire to spend more time with the Lord grew. However, I began to get frustrated because it seemed that my morning readings would never make it to five minutes of time with the Lord. I did not realize that, before now, I was only reading the Bible, I was not having quality time with the Lord. I desperately wanted to develop my own personal devotional time with the Lord, but I did not know how. I was clueless but determined. As a result, I started asking around. I polled other Christians as to what their morning devotion looked like. How did they spend quality time with the Lord? How long did their quality time with the Lord last? What a disastrous plan that was! I got a huge range of answers. All of my polling efforts only proved to further confuse me. I eventually came to realize that I could not mimic another persons relationship with the Lord. I needed to seek His face for myself. Thus, my prayer for myself was Lord teach me how to commune with you.

My desire was to have a better understanding of Gods word. I wanted to hear from the Lord. I needed to hear from the Lord. My desire was to have more of Jesus traits and less of my traits. Once I asked the Holy Spirit to teach me how to have quiet quality time with the Lord, things eventually started to change. The more I prayed and read, I noticed that the Holy Spirit was opening up my understanding. This was a process. A slow process, but a steadily improving process. I began to be encouraged. I also began to study Gods Word corporately through attending Sunday School and Bible Study. I was afforded many opportunities to teach and through my study and teachings, more of Gods word was revealed to me. As a result, my morning readings were being transformed into morning devotions. I was truly experiencing quality time with the Lord. As I read Gods Word, my eyes would light up with each page. Time passed quickly. Each morning, as I immersed myself into Gods Word, I was lost in time. Sometimes, I got so caught up, I just had to make myself stop reading. When I read the Bible, I got excited and my need to share what I read began to bubble up within me. It was like fire shut up in my bones. I could not wait to share the revelation with someone, anyone, everyone. For me, this experience showed me the difference between reading and revelation.

How did this personal Bible devotional series come about? Glad you asked. God speaks thru His word. So, from His mouth to my heart, the more I read and meditated upon the Lords word, the more I began to absorb His word into my heart and less into my head. I began to develop a stronger heart relationship, with the Lord, in addition to my existing head relationship. I heard in my spirit, from Gods word to my heart. Thus, the title of this series From His Word to My Heart.

Introduction

For years, as a babe in Christ, I struggled with finding the will of God for my life. Today, I talk to many Christians who also struggle with finding the will of God for their lives. We hear it said all the time, I do not know what the will of God is for me. I believe, what is really meant, is I do not know what Gods purpose and plan is for my life. Thru the scriptures, we will learn that the will of God is made clear in His word. His will applies to each and every one of His children, equally. If we concentrate more on actively living according to His will in our lives, then, in Gods timing, the rest will come. We should all try not to focus on the cloudy or grey areas in Gods word but instead walk boldly and consistently according to the clear blue skies of His word. Living and thinking in this manner, will eliminate much frustration and confusion that exist between Christians.

Why do the will of God? Because deep down we, as Christians, desire to be obedient to His Word. Why do we want to be obedient to His Word, because ultimately, we want the blessings of God to be poured out abundantly into our lives and into the lives of our loved ones.

We are given a priceless gift in exchange for our obedience. We are given a gift that cannot be bought with money. What is this gift? Glad you asked. The gift is the Holy Ghost, given to those who obey.

Acts 5:32 (KJV) And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

Acts 5:32 (NLT) We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.

Acts 5:32 (MSG) And we are witnesses to these things. The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey him, corroborates every detail.

In this book, I will share with you some nuggets of revelations that spoke to me and prayerfully, they will speak to you as well. Lets begin our morning breakfast nuggets. I hope that you have your coffee, milk, tea, water, or juice in hand. I do.

Psalms 34:8(KJV) O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him

Psalms 34:8(NLT) Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

Psalms 34:8(MSG) Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him.

Nugget 01: Flee Fornication

What is the will of God for my life? Let us explore some scriptures that state the will of God for our lives.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 (KJV) F or this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 (NLT) Gods will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 (MSG) God wants you to live a pure life. Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.

Here is the will of God, simply put, no sex outside of marriage. Period.

Examples - Legal disclaimer: Situations described, and names used are fictitious. Any similarity to your life is purely coincidental and divine.

Sister Calis husband of 15 years died. Sister Cali started attending the Grief Counseling meetings, held on Wednesday nights, at church. During one of the sessions, she caught the eye of Brother Willi, whose wife of 30 years died of cancer. After the meetings, they would hang out and talk in the church parking lot. Eventually, their friendship progressed to meeting at a coffee shop after the grief counseling sessions ended. They are both senior citizens, about 65 or more years old+, collecting their retirement benefits plus their spouses social security benefits. Now, a few years down the road, they have found love again and are in a committed relationship. Neither thought they would experience happiness again. They thank God each day for blessing them with each other. They are thankful to the Grief Counseling ministry for helping them to see life after the death of their spouses. On the other hand, they are now faced with a life altering dilemma. If they marry, their financial benefits would be cut drastically. It is taught over and over that financial struggles are the #1 reason for divorce. It seems that their chance at sustained happiness is greater, if they remain single. From time to time, they are intimate, but not too often however.