Turning Your Dreams to Goals: Week 1

Week 1: Should Christians Have Goals?

Welcome to week 1 of Real Life in the Gap: Turning Your Dreams Into Goals! We are so thankful you have joined us over the last several weeks and pray that you were blessed and encouraged by the H.E.A.R.T. stories!

Over this next couple of weeks, we are going to dig into what a selected author, and the Bible, has to say about goals.  Assignments will be based around reading the article, then reading and/or comparing it with the Bible. Just like the last Gap study, we will have links for 'free tools' on the blog each week. We will also have a blog hop each week and encourage you to share your heart with us.

Our focus verse for this study is: I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. (Psalm 119:15 ESV)

Week one begins with the question, "Should Christians Have Goals?" Based on an article, used with permission, from Daniel B. Wallace, Professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary. Don't be intimidated, this article has amazing points and plenty of Scripture to "flesh" out.

Proverbs 29:18 (a) tells us, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained...." (NASB). Other translations use the word "perish" instead of unrestrained. In Hebrew, the word vision is "chazown." It means "the message received by prophetic vision." (Strong's) What better 'vision' should we have, or use, while setting goals than the Bible itself? Inspired by God, and written by men under such inspiration.

Looking forward to a week of study with you!

Jennifer Newsom

Free tools:

• Biblegateway
• StudyLight
• OnlineBibleStudyTools
• Blue Letter Bible

Assignments:

Watch for Assignment Posts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Christa Hutchins and share your responses there!

1. Sunday: Read this article: Should a Christian Set Goals? and get ready for a great week of Bible Study!
2. Assignment 1, Monday:  Respond: Professor Wallace lists 3 'faulty assumptions' made by his friend. Read the Scriptures that he quoted to make his point. After searching the Scripture, do you agree that any or all of these are 'faulty assumptions?' Why or why not? Please share with us.
3. Assignment 2, Wednesday: Read Proverbs 6:6-11 and James 4:13-15. Compare those with Proverbs 3:5-6 and Proverbs 16:9. Respond: What do those verses 'speak' to you concerning setting goals? How should we approach goal setting? In the article, Professor Wallace mentions 2 things about balance-what are they? Please share your responses with us.
4. Assignment 3, Friday: Application and wrap-up! Read back over the 3 bullet points in the article, under the section title "How Can We Apply These Truths?" Respond: How can you personally apply what you have learned from the Scripture readings, the article, and the discussions in the group this week? Does this change your 'vision' of goal setting? If so, how? For your personal life, would you add anything to the Application portion of this article? If so, what?

Blog Hop Topics:

Watch for the Blog Hop Post on Saturday from Lauren Bates and post the link to your blog there!

1. Proverbs 29:18 (a) tells us, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained..." (NASB).  Other translations use the word "perish" instead of "unrestrained." Do you have a current vision for your life?  If so, what does it consist of?  Do you have a vision for this year? In 5 years? 20 years from now?  How does this vision line up with God's Word?
2. Describe a time when you let your feelings guide you into making a wrong decision.  Or was there a time when you were so rigid in your planning that you refused to change your actions?  Looking back, can you see the Holy Spirit prompting you to make a different decision?  How can you learn to distinguish between Holy Spirit prompting and emotional responses in future planning?
3. Are you a to-do lister or not?  Do you get anxious if you must veer away from your to-do list?  If you aren't a planner, what are you hoping to learn from this Real Life in the Gap study about goal-setting and planning?
4. Looking forward to 2014, what hopes do you have?  What dreams?  Have you chosen a New Year's Resolution or one word for your year?  How do these relate to any goals you may be considering?  What steps will you take to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into 2014?