We’re finishing up week one with Priscilla Shirer, reading One in a Million: Journey to Your Promised Land. Our lesson today is about conforming and staying inside the box of religion. Reading this lesson, I wonder if many people do not attend religious worship because they feel outside the box. When we begin to experience things outside the box, a hunger and craving for the Word and for God, we frighten people.

Joy and passion overflow as we purpose our life to KNOW God. To KNOW Jesus. To KNOW the Holy Spirit. This intensity frightens people, so they find ways to tell us to get back into a comfort zone they are familiar with. Maybe you’ve heard this from some of your religious friends:

• “You can’t say that in Bible study, you need to keep the conversation generalized and less intense.”
• “You scare people with your faith….it’s too intense and people doubt that God can really say/do that in you life.”
• “Calm it down. God is not the author of confusion. I’m confused by what you are saying, so it must be Satan, not God”
• “Prove it. What facts can you show me to convince me that God is really speaking to you.”
• “Are you feeling alright. Is something wrong with you. Why are you acting so euphoric?”

Maybe it’s easier to stay inside your box, not share God’s presence in your life, and stay seated at the table of religious norm. Or….maybe you can find some true friends of faith….women you trust…who will listen and guide you in wisdom, not fear. Are you a woman who carried the little box…and when your friends meet the rites of passage, you allow them inside? Or…are you the woman like Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Joyce Meyer, Kay Arthur and Anne Graham Lotz….and when your friend says “God just spoke to me” you listen, in faith, not disbelief.

I ‘m the woman who listens and believes. Your story is safe with me, I respect you for trusting me with your experience. I’m not going to ask you to prove it…I’m going to ask what I can do to support your calling or your ministry. I’m not going to ask you to give me details, validate, and speak to a religious leader for authorization to share your experience. I’m the woman who KNOWS God and KNOWS He speaks and KNOWS that when He speaks to you, I’ll be the friend who listens and believes. I’ll encourage you, not discourage you. I’ll meet you outside the box…..with arms wide open. I’m that kind of friend. In my home, you are welcome outside the box, free to be…you.

Prayer Requests

Heavenly Father, only You know our innermost self and You are the center of our hearts, souls and minds. We seek a relationship with you that falls outside the box and into the reality of Your Presence. We seek only Your approval, not the approval of our friends. We seek Your Presence….and when we we find it, we build upon that relationship. Bring each of us closer, speak to our minds and allow us to experience You in wild faith. We pray that each woman in this study is moving ahead in her relationship with You. Remove any obscured view we may have of You…and fill our life with Agape love and intimacy with You. Amen.

Priscilla Shirer Quotes

• With each divine interruption in my life and in my theology, I received a golden sealed invitation to see God outside the box.
• God’s work in us thus far isn’t a box into which He will fit, but a slab upon which He will build.
• Fear of change and the desire to avoid challenge often stand in the way of a believers growth
  

Today’s Scripture Verses (NASB)

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. John 6:63

Group Discussion

On page 27, Priscilla says “Those who want to grow with God need to deeply search the Word and have an openness to experience Him in new ways.” What does this mean to you? Has your experience with God changed over the years? Do you have a desire to KNOW Him in a new way. Let’s start a discussion about this.

Following Him,

Today’s lesson in One in a Million is a bit longer than previous lessons. Half-way through the lesson I realize that I’m fasting for a blood sugar test this morning, and the entire lesson is centered on food. Challenging does not describe my feelings as I salivate and visualize the foods Priscilla Shirer is writing about. Quickly my attention turns back to God, the focus of my study. In today’s lesson, Priscilla presents the contrast between Egypt’s food and God’s gift of manna.

In our lesson, Priscilla writes on page 22 “far too many Christians turn away from the narrow road of abundant living to temporarily enjoy the Enemy’s worldly variety.” These words made me think about “variety living” as an American Mom in a modern Babylon. My life is flowing with choices….television shows, artisan coffee drinks, travel options, fashion choices, music, books….you name it, I have variety. If desired, I could even change the color of my eyes with tinted contact lenses. WOW! If abundant living is a narrow road….why is my road so wide? Who decided that wider roads are better for me than a narrow path. I’m still contemplating this concept.

Priscilla also says “the simplicity and singleness of manna in the wilderness symbolized the Christ who was to come.” Have you ever fasted? Maybe you fasted as a religious practice, a requirement or suggestion from your church. What if you fasted like Jesus. Instead of the liquid fast, the no sugar fast, the modified fast…what if you ate like Jesus. Suppose you only ate the foods Jesus would eat. Preparing your meal, you look at your food through the eyes of Christ. What would Jesus see on his plate? Use your imagination….figs, goat cheese, bread, wine. Or investigate through the scripture passages for specific foods. Prepare your meal…and eat like Jesus would eat.

When I fasted like Jesus for 40 days, I saw my food with new vision. In the beginning, I hated goat cheese and after 40 days, I became creative with it. Using a flat round cracker, I spread goat cheese on the cracker and covered it with trail mix! I suppose Jesus would eat raisins and nuts, so I placed it on the cracker and made it part of my evening meal. I knew he drank red wine, so I poured a single glass and slowly ate the cracker with the red wine. He’d probably eat apples…I think…so I ate them too. The accuracy of the fast was less important to me than the purpose of the fast: to see my meal through the eyes of Christ. Eating the same foods, 40 days, without boasting (Matthew 6:16-19) and without complaint. I replaced the “WWJD” with “WWJE” What Would Jesus Eat. It was not a promise for a Lenten ritual, it was an experience of Living the Word. When the fast ended, I found myself unable to eat “Babylonian” food and large portions.  In fact, when I returned to my American diet, my blood sugar went wild….hence the hypoglycemia episode and resulting doctor appointment later today.

Prayer Requests

Father I thank you for blessing our lives with your living Word. Your beauty shines in our hearts, as we continue to learn and grow in our walk of faith. Cover us with your continued blessings as we read our Bibles. In Jesus name we pray.

Priscilla Shirer Quotes

• We can enjoy true spiritual freedom only when we commit to accepting the pure, daily dread God provides.
• Heaven’s manna was God’s miraculous potion given to the children of Israel, not to bore them but to show them a new dimension of Him.

Today’s Scripture Verses (NASB)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:35

He rained down manna upon them to eat And gave them food from heaven. Psalm 78:24

As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. Daniel 1:17

My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. Psalm 84:2

Group Discussion

Please share any thoughts you have about today’s lesson.

Following Him,

We’re on the third day of reading One in a Million by Priscilla Shirer, so if you are just joining us at the Women’s Bible Cafe, you’re not far behind. Welcome! In this lesson Priscilla discusses yet another barrier to promised land living: the perks of sin. At first glance you may wonder how sin can be appealing!

I’m curious, what did you list on page 17 as some of the perks you’ve seen attached to sin? My list includes:

• Victim Role
• Helplessness
• Celebrity Status
• Justifiable Behaviors
• Blame Game

These are just a few of my thoughts. What else does the Enemy use to make sin more appealing? Please post a comment below. In today’s study, author Priscilla Shirer walks us through the passage of Numbers 11:4-7. She details how strong flavors and smells contributed to Israel’s bondage. To enhance my learning, I applied this lesson to my addiction for Latte drinks. The sweet aroma of the Cinnamon syrup, combined with the smooth texture of frothy milk….turned my food (coffee) into an idol.  That’s just my opinion….not yours. The fact that I even spent time to photograph my coffee drink…shows you how much I worshiped my food! For most of you this was simply a cup of coffee. For me, it became an idol.

Can you think of an example similar to this? There are no right/wrong answers in our discussion. The purpose in asking is to inspire you to Think about the Word….rather than just read the Word.

Prayer Requests

Father God, we thank you for allowing us to study together and to be in Your presence as we grow in our faith. Bring the Word into our homes, our hearts, and our minds….as we walk through the pages of the Bible and Live in Your Word. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Priscilla Shirer Quotes

• The enemy of our soul always ensures that we enjoy at least a portion of our sin.
  

Today’s Scripture Verses (NASB)

The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? ⁵“We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, ⁶but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.” ⁷Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. Numbers 11:4-7

Group Discussion

1. What are some perks you’ve seen attached to sin, to make it more appealing?
2. Is there a specific food, person, activity or thing…. that has become an idol in your life?

Please post a comment.

Following Him,

Welcome back to the second day of reading One in a Million by Priscilla Shirer. Yesterday we looked at the first lock that binds us to the enemy’s chain. Today we’re looking at the second lock, the sinful lifestyle.

On page 16 of the workbook we looked carefully at Exodus 1:11-14 and listed words that reveal the taskmaster’s role. Let’s review the passage here, in three Bible translations:

• So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites ¹³ and worked them ruthlessly. ¹⁴ They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly. Exodus 1:11-14 The New International Version (NIV) Bible

• So they organized them into work-gangs and put them to hard labor under gang-foremen. They built the storage cities Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. But the harder the Egyptians worked them the more children the Israelites had—children everywhere! The Egyptians got so they couldn’t stand the Israelites and treated them worse than ever, crushing them with slave labor. They made them miserable with hard labor—making bricks and mortar and back-breaking work in the fields. They piled on the work, crushing them under the cruel workload. Exodus 1:11-14, The Message Bible

• So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses. ¹²But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel. ¹³The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously; ¹⁴and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them. Exodus 1:11-14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Today’s Prayer

Please read aloud the prayer on the bottom of page 13 in your workbook.

Priscilla Shirer Quotes

• A difference exists between being free in Christ and living free in Him.
• Being declared free gives us eternal freedom but walking in it daily gives us daily freedom.
• Sin is progressive. What once satisfied us loses its power.
  

Today’s Scripture Verses (NASB)

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. Genesis 15:13

Group Discussion

Is there a specific affliction of sin that weighs you down currently, or in the past? Without naming the specific sin, explain how sin can become overpowering and consuming in your life when it gets out of control.

**please do not list names or specific sins, just explain in your words how “a sin” can become a fireball in your life**

Post a comment about sin. All comments welcome for discussion.

Following Him,

We begin our first week reading One in a Million as we read this week about DELIVERANCE. If you had a chance to listen to Session One, Priscilla mentioned that this 6-week Bible study is centered on three key ideas:

1. Deliverance, Week one
2. Development, Week two through four
3. Destiny, Week five and six

So this week, in our study of Deliverance, we read about shackles and locks from a Biblical perspective.

Prayer Requests

Father God, as we begin our six-week journey in this Bible study, we ask a layer of protection over us as we study without distraction and interruption. May you bless each of us as we learn and grow in our faith and understanding of the Journey to the Promised Land. Amen.

Priscilla Shirer Quotes

• Before God’s chosen people could hope to enter the land promised to them, the shackle had to break. It held them back from entering the abundance God planned for them.
• While Israel’s slavery was physical, ours originates in the depths of our hearts.
• Your journey toward abundance and fullness must start at the foot of the cross.

Today’s Scripture Verses (NASB)***

Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned– Romans 5:12

***Note, the book author uses the New American Standard Bible (NASB) for this study. If you prefer another version, please click on the bold image of the verse reference, you will be directed to BibleGateway.com where you are able to change the translation of the verse to another version, such as KJV, NKJV, NIV and more.

Group Discussion

1. Why do you think many believers do not experience an abundant relationship with God?
2. What do you think of when you think of abundance?

Please post your comments.

Following Him,

Welcome to our new Bible study…today we begin learning One in a Million: Journey to Your Promised Land by Priscilla Schirer. Priscilla is passionate about the Word of God and it is always a joy to learn through her teaching. We begin our six week bible study with session one: Shackle Free. Before we begin reading, make sure you have posted an introduction. We ask that you will pray for the women leading this Bible study and that you will pray for each other we we grow, learn and spend time with God.

We’ll begin our study today by reading week one, day one. This is found on pages 8 to 13 in the workbook. You’ll want to read today’s lesson in your workbook and tomorrow we will talk about the lesson. So for today, you are reading week one, lesson one.

Some people like the benefit of the audio and video sessions for the study. These resources are available from Lifeway, and convenient to have. If you were sitting in church small group, it usually includes the video session followed by a small group discussion. Here at the Bible Cafe, we do things differently because we are geographically separated in many time zones and countries. So we do not watch and listen together, we do this alone. We recommend the audio sessions to enhance your learning, however due to the cost, they are optional. I have enjoyed listening to the sessions with my iPhone…once I purchase mine, I download and listen several times. Charmaine mentioned the benefit of this last week, sometimes the lessons are so moving, we want a second cup!

If you want the benefit of the audio or video segments, these are the links:

Links for Session One

One in a Million Audio Session One

One in a Million Video Session One-Shackle Free

*We are not affiliated with Lifeway or Priscialla Shirer and we do not receive profits, benefits or discounted services.

If you are not listening to the audio sessions, then be sure to download the answers to the viewer guide. If there is a problem with printing, please contact Lifeway.

Begin your study today by reading week one, day one.

Peace and Grace,