The Case For Christ

I think I have mentioned before that I "lead"a small women's Bible Study made up of women from my work place.  It was a nudge (shove) from the Holy Spirit that lead to it and now it has been going on for about 6 months.  We met at first and I had NO idea where anyone was spiritually and now I think I kind of know everyone better, understand more where they are coming from and know where we stand, although, I have had ups and downs, uncertainties, and have been over zealous at times.  Thankfully these women know me well enough to know that my greatest desire is to show them God's love for each and every one of them.  They have heard the Gospel.  I think any of them could tell you that "all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God", I think they could all tell you that the Bible says that "Jesus is the son of God and no one comes to the Father except through Him."  I think they all understand the basics of coming to belief in Jesus....now the question is do they buy it.  I was sort of frustrated after going through the first study because I wasn't really sure what my purpose was...I had given them the Gospel and I was expecting results (and by the way I have been very transparent to them and they have heard everything that I am writing)....but forgetting that each person comes to God in their own way, own timing, and No one comes to the Father unless they have been called by HIM!  They told me they weren't sure yet but wanted to continue to meet and keep learning more which is AWESOME!  They have been so faithful and so open...really how could anyone get frustrated with that!  They know what I believe, they know what the Bible says, we have studied the reliability of the Bible, introduced them to Jesus, talked about why Jesus died and that they can be forgiven.  I like this saying:  I'm just one beggar trying to show another beggar how to find bread!  I think after much prayer and contemplation that my job now is to just mentor them and show them truth.  Give them the material and let the Holy Spirit work.  Give them good stuff to think about and let the Holy Spirit work.  I have been very blessed in my life to read good books that were recommended by wonderful people, hear great speakers, listen to great messages, and have been exposed to wonderful, inspiring, interesting thoughts.....so that I believe is my job right now...to share these things with these women as long as the will listen.  I find myself wanting to pass on info, teach them what I'm trying to teach my kids and like my children....their faith, their beliefs have to be their own...I cannot force it!  Just recently, John and I watched The Case for Christ on netflix which is a documentary based on the book Case For Christ by Lee Strobel.  We both thought it was fantastic.  Lee Strobel was an atheist and a journalist.  His wife started becoming interested in Christianity and to prove her wrong and save her from this cult, he launched a two year investigation to prove Christianity wrong.  After two years, he discovered that it would take more faith NOT to believe than to believe and he became a follower of Jesus.  The movie is a case study into his findings, shows historical accounts, dates, interviews,discusses the Gospels, the resurrection, etc.  I'm sure like everything else critics could find things they believe to be holes but I do think that his case was/is very strong it is just plain interesting to learn all the historical stuff.  I DON'T need anything like this to believe....my faith is big enough that I don't need proof or a bunch of data to believe but oh how interesting it is to learn new stuff.  I wanted to share it with the girls so bad so last night my family invited them all over to watch it.  We made dinner for them and several came to see the movie.  We are going to have two showings of it (trying to work around a bunch of nurse's schedules is hard) and then discuss it!  They all seem interested and I'm excited just to give them more good stuff to think about!  My dear husband even volunteered to watch their kids if needed!  We are also starting a new study called, "How do I know God is my Father"  by Kay Arthur.  And then there is another Netflx movie by Lee Strobel called, "The Case for Faith' that is excellent.  I love sharing the good stuff....