Summary of December 8 Care Group

Sue and Doug treated us to a Christmas Ice Cream Cake to start the evening off. Tony began by reading Psalm 57:2 "I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me" and Psalm 62:8 "Trust in him at all times, o people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us." We sang about how we are His Forever and then began our discussion of the 5th CD in the Paul Tripp series. We were slightly surprised that we actually had come to the end of our sweet journey through these messages.

Some themes we discussed about being "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands" were:
-We are instruments in His hands in very subtle ways, being directed by God as we go throughout our day as He wills.
-We are connected to His and He would have us be in tune with His voice and His leading in the middle of life's situations, being functional in our workplaces.
-Instead of trying to "find" the areas where God is using us, we could let Him show us how He is using us where He has placed us in life.
-We can use this desire to be instruments in God's hands to stir us to pursue holiness.
-Knowing that God uses us in any of His purposes gives us such a swell of joy - an incredible sense of fulfillment. All else pales in comparison. What else in life could be so thrilling?
-The key is "Christ is in us willing and working according to His good pleasure." We desire to say "I want to do only what I see Him leading me to do."
-We can be quick to give glory to God as He works through us, trusting Him as our Father who is in control.
-We must be aware of the enemy who can whisper lying accusations, and acknowledge God's truth about our lives and those we are trying to help.
-We want to be God's chisels, not crowbars or sledghammers, in the lives of others.
-Galatians 6:1-2 lays out a beautiful process of how to handle those who are caught (entangled) in a sin. We must remember that God is the Master Craftsman using us as He wills as soft brushes, chisels in others' lives. And we have no idea how many other people He is using as His instruments!
-"Wrecking ball responses to people are never restorative." said Paul Tripp. We lament the times in our lives when we've responded inappropriately to our children, spouses, brethren, etc. God wants us to be gentle in our approach. He gives us wisdom for each situation and can do miracles whenever He wants!
-We need to always minister to others with an eye on ourselves because we are people who need help helping people who need help. We must remember the "log in our eye." Romans 2 warns us about passing judgment on another because we are actually condemning ourselves.
-We need all the grace and instruction that we give to others. Gal 6 says "You who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness." And James 3:17 says "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere."