These pages are designed for use to aid discipleship among Christians through individual Bible study, Cell groups, Home groups, or for meeting one to one.  If you wish, you could use the questions, while leaving the group to choose their own translation of the Bible.

What is a life oriented to God?

We have an incredible privilege to not only be reconciled to God, but brought into a relationship with Him.  As is true when there is any significant change in our relationships, so when The Lord enters into our lives we find there are adjustments to be made.  There is a reorientation of what is valued in life because instead of going by ourselves and doing what we want, we are now sharing our lives with someone.  The Lord delights to be with us in life, and as time goes on, when we can cope with it, and our trust develops, He will begin to share what is on His heart with us.

The most significant factor in this reorientation of life is that we love God.  He is the focal point of our lives, He is our all in all.  As this becomes true, then many other issues are overcome.  When we hold dear the one who loves all people in the world, then we begin to share that love, and the Lord deals with many of our issues in life.  Love God.

This love is not some mechanistic love, it is a passionate love.  Passion cannot be expressed in a rule book, it has to be seen.  We live in an age when many talk of their passions, but few live them.  We watch them on TV but don’t really experience much of them first hand.  Here are some examples in the Bible of people who have lived out their passion for God.  

This passion for God does not just happen, it is developed as we worship Him.  We need our eyes lifted up to the Father in heaven to see His glory in order that we would recognise that He is the only one worth living for.  Worship - Focus on God.

As we learn to worship the Lord, His name becomes more and more special to us.  We begin to be hurt when we hear His name being used as a swear word.  We want to live in a way that is worthy of Him so that His name will not be dishonoured by those who do not believe.   Honour His name.

One aspect of recognising the Lord’s greatness that often surprises people is that of rest.  We live in a driven world where few have come to value silence, peace and rest.  We feel pressed to the next urgent thing.  As we understand that the Lord knows and is above all our times, so we begin to realise that He has given us enough time to do all that we need to do.  We can do it in an attitude of rest rather than being driven.  We don’t need to push people around to make space for our agendas, we can wait for Him and His time.  Trust God in rest.

The Love that we have for God does not happen automatically.  As Love for anyone is developed by spending time with them, so too we need to spend time with the Lord in order to develop this love.  Nurture Love