Week 13 – July 8th Reading Assignment & Questions

Please read the last chapter - Chapter 13 – “The Trip In” If you have extra time, complete Step 13 in the Workbook. This week’s step is particularly impactful and you could probably spend the next couple weeks on it. Key points in this Chapter include:

• For you to correct your thought process is hopeless unless you cooperate with God to release His power in your mind. Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
• To renew your mind, you must: (1) agree with God that we have been deceived, (2) agree with God that we have been believing a lie and we need to repent for doing so, (3) allow God to show us how destructive this lie has been in our lives.
• It is common to believe that situations cause emotions, the fact is that we perceive situations through the grid of our beliefs.
• The first step to freedom is recognizing that life is distorted by our expectations of what we are going to experience.
• Often God allows us to undergo troubling circumstances so that we can see what is inside of us (e.g. the tube of toothpaste).
• It is important to identify, confess, reject and then replace the false beliefs in your life.

Questions that we will discuss this week at Tuesday at 7am and Friday at 6:30am include:

• What does it mean to you to renew your mind? Has bringing to light the false beliefs in this book heightened your awareness of the need to renew your thinking?
• Do you have trouble understanding how you feel inside or why you feel a certain way? Sharing those feelings with others? Your spouse?
• The author contrasts the thought that “situations cause emotions” with the concept that we perceive situations through the grid of our beliefs. Do you agree with that statement? If yes, how should it affect the way your respond in difficult situations?
• How do you feel your expectations of what you are going to experience in a situation influence your responses?
• The author provides a visual example of a tube of toothpaste in parallel to the statement that God allows us to undergo troubling circumstances so that we can see what is inside of us. How have you seen that play out in your life?
• Let’s discuss any victories over these false beliefs we have had since the beginning of this study?