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Kim McIntire - Abide - 7 Lesson Study - 258 · Marriage Life and More and Bible Study

0:10
Daniel Moore: Welcome.
0:25
Daniel Moore: Welcome back to Marriage Life and More, where we dive into God's Word, godly principles for marriage and conversations that help us grow in our faith and relationships.
0:40
Michelle Moore: Today we're really excited because we get to talk about something that every believer longs for how to truly abide in God's presence.
0:48
Michelle Moore: And we have a special guest with us, author Kim McIntire, who wrote the book and Bible study Abide John 15, 4, 7 lesson study.
1:01
Daniel Moore: Kim's heart is to help believers move past routine religion and really experience the presence and the power of God in everyday life.
1:08
Daniel Moore: And if you've ever struggled with making prayer or Bible reading a joy instead of it being a duty, well, today you're going to love this conversation.
1:17
Michelle Moore: So grab that coffee and your Bible, or just a quiet, and let's jump into today's episode with Kim McIntire.
1:33
Daniel Moore: So welcome back to the podcast this week and, as we've mentioned here in the intro, we have Kim McIntire here with us.
1:40
Daniel Moore: Welcome, Kim.
1:42
Kim McIntire: Hello, so good to be here.
1:43
Daniel Moore: Now it's your first time on Marriage Life.
1:45
Daniel Moore: More it is, but you've been on Connecting the Gap before.
1:48
Daniel Moore: That's right.
1:49
Daniel Moore: I loved it.
1:49
Daniel Moore: Matter of fact, this is just a little tidbit here.
1:53
Daniel Moore: You still have the second most popular episode on my Connecting the Gap podcast.
1:57
Kim McIntire: Thank you, I'm honored.
1:59
Daniel Moore: One of our episodes is right on your back, bumper.
2:02
Kim McIntire: That's okay, I'm honored.
2:04
Kim McIntire: Thank you for that.
2:05
Daniel Moore: But you're still up there, awesome, and the last time that we had you here was from your previous book.
2:11
Daniel Moore: Yeah.
2:12
Daniel Moore: And we'll mention that here in just a minute.
2:14
Daniel Moore: But Kim McIntyre she's a retired teacher who loves the Lord and is devoted to intentional discipleship.
2:20
Daniel Moore: Her passions are teaching the Word and leading prayer groups.
2:23
Daniel Moore: Her passions are teaching the word and leading prayer groups, kim's.
2:28
Daniel Moore: Currently she leads a team who teaches the Abide study in person and select lessons online through the podcast it's Time to Rise Up.
2:31
Daniel Moore: In addition, she leads the prayer team for Rise Up, an annual conference that is a vessel for revival.
2:38
Daniel Moore: Her hobbies are Phoenix and Everly, who keep her very busy, and she says they're the best grandkids on the planet.
2:45
Daniel Moore: They are.
2:46
Daniel Moore: They are.
2:46
Daniel Moore: Of course they are, so we're going to have to duke it out here in a minute, because we've got four.
2:51
Kim McIntire: I don't know, you guys, I have to break out the boxing gloves.
2:54
Kim McIntire: Okay, I get.
2:56
Kim McIntire: It Okay, I'll let you guys tie with me.
2:58
Daniel Moore: Oh, that'd be a tie.
2:59
Daniel Moore: Okay, I'll let you talk.
3:00
Daniel Moore: We can handle that All right, sounds good.
3:02
Daniel Moore: Good.
3:03
Daniel Moore: Well, as I mentioned earlier, you've written one book already called Abiding Conversations, and that book was released October 18th of 22.
3:12
Daniel Moore: Can you believe it's?
3:13
Kim McIntire: been that long.
3:14
Daniel Moore: I can't.
3:14
Daniel Moore: It seems like it was yesterday.
3:15
Kim McIntire: It really does.
3:16
Daniel Moore: And that was put out by Trilogy Christian Publishers.
3:19
Daniel Moore: And now you have a new one out that just came out this month, on August 12th, and, as Michelle, she mentioned the title earlier.
3:26
Daniel Moore: It's Abide, john 15, 4.
3:27
Daniel Moore: And this one's a seven lesson study and we're going to talk a little bit about that today as we get into this interview.
3:32
Daniel Moore: But I wanted to read that scripture, john, chapter 15, verse 4.
3:37
Daniel Moore: It says Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine.
3:43
Daniel Moore: Neither can you unless you abide in me.
3:47
Michelle Moore: Amen, Kim.
3:50
Michelle Moore: Before we dive into abide, can you share a little of your personal journey with the Lord and what inspired you to write this study?
4:01
Kim McIntire: Okay, well, my journey with the Lord started about four decades ago.
4:06
Kim McIntire: You know, just growing up in a Christian home, I just always believed in God, was very faithful to go to church with my parents who were faithful to the house of the Lord and I would say my journey with the Lord until about 2003 was really as sincerely as it could be.
4:27
Kim McIntire: It was just a checkbox relationship with God and if you don't know what that means, I went to church every time the doors were open.
4:36
Kim McIntire: I read the Bible as a devotion.
4:38
Kim McIntire: I studied the Bible to teach Sunday school.
4:41
Kim McIntire: I prayed the kind of everyday prayers of protect my family, bless the food.
4:49
Kim McIntire: If someone was sick would pray for that person, mostly prayed for my family and some church, like my youth group at church I would pray for them because I was helping lead that.
4:59
Kim McIntire: But that all shifted in 2003 when I took a class that, honestly, the day I left that class on how to read the Bible for personal devotion, I was just captivated by it.
5:12
Kim McIntire: I can't explain it except God just put a hunger in my heart that day for His Word and that love for the Word grew into a love for prayer that I didn't even know you could actually walk in Because it did kind of feel always more like a duty, something I needed to do, something I should do as a Christian, as a believer, and now it's a passion and a love, and I believe it grew from time in the Word.
5:42
Kim McIntire: So that's a little bit about my journey with the Lord.
5:46
Kim McIntire: And then why did I write the study guide?
5:49
Kim McIntire: Well, in 2023, the Lord gave me some names of young women and he said I didn't actually know any of them except by face.
5:57
Kim McIntire: And the Lord said ask them to come and read the Bible and pray with you and just show them what you do read the Bible and pray with you and just show them what you do.
6:09
Kim McIntire: So I did, and they said yes, and that was a three month time together and in that time with them, god said this needs to be a lesson study.
6:19
Kim McIntire: And, you know, god grew it and then those girls ended up becoming part of an ongoing Abide study to really just help me learn how to tweak what I was doing.
6:32
Kim McIntire: And God grew up leaders in that group and teachers in that group, and I'm so grateful, I'm so grateful.
6:40
Kim McIntire: So that's really how Abide was born.
6:42
Kim McIntire: I love that, just with a group of four other women, young women and me.
6:46
Daniel Moore: We know, you know all the women that you have that help lead.
6:48
Kim McIntire: You've got a phenomenal group of girls around you.
6:51
Kim McIntire: They're amazing.
6:52
Kim McIntire: They do an excellent job.
6:53
Daniel Moore: And, kim, we mentioned the podcast earlier.
6:56
Daniel Moore: It's time to rise up and you are the host of that podcast.
6:59
Daniel Moore: So anybody that's listening, if you don't already know about it, we've already, you know, like I said, had her here before and we've talked about that in previous episodes, but you can check that out.
7:11
Daniel Moore: But you do some of these studies on that podcast.
7:14
Daniel Moore: So after you guys, you know, listen to this interview this week and you go to Amazon and you're going to buy this book.
7:20
Daniel Moore: I know you're going to do it.
7:21
Michelle Moore: Yes, please buy it.
7:21
Michelle Moore: I haven't got to read it yet.
7:24
Daniel Moore: I know you're going to do it.
7:25
Daniel Moore: Yes, please buy it.
7:25
Daniel Moore: I haven't got to read it yet.
7:27
Daniel Moore: Once you do that, then you can get on the podcast and actually listen to some of the online classes and kind of see how those work.
7:34
Daniel Moore: So that kind of help you a little bit as well.
7:37
Daniel Moore: So I know, with your testimony, you know you've mentioned that there was a season in your life where you struggled with Bible study and with prayer and that kind of thing, although you had a walk with God.
7:48
Daniel Moore: Yeah, and like a lot of us do, you know we'll have a walk with God, we'll have our church time and the things that we do for the Lord, but yet for some reason, when we try to sit down with the Bible in our lap or we try to have the quiet time in our closet just to call out to God and that kind of thing, it's difficult, it's just like it's so out of our, it's like out of our stretch.
8:11
Daniel Moore: It seems like those times when that was like that in your life.
8:14
Daniel Moore: In what ways did God meet you in those places during that time before you learned this new process of study?
8:22
Kim McIntire: Well, I thank God for his grace because he'll meet us anywhere, even in the struggle, especially in the struggle, yeah that's good.
8:30
Kim McIntire: And I feel like even in my neglect of a true pursuit of intimacy with him, his grace was always pursuing me and so I think that was really the sustainer in that time of my checklist mentality rather than the relational approach to being with the Lord.
8:56
Kim McIntire: And it's very, very different and the level of joy increases when it becomes a relational focus rather than a checklist focus.
9:07
Kim McIntire: That's been my experience, because it's not a struggle for me anymore and I'm not saying I never struggle, that's not true but that would be a rare occasion that I struggle to open my Bible and read and pray, because it's such a rhythm now it's like breathing Bible and read and pray, because it's such a rhythm now it's like breathing.
9:27
Kim McIntire: It's hard to explain, but it's like I wouldn't miss a meal intentionally and I don't miss God's word intentionally.
9:32
Kim McIntire: You know, some things happen sometimes that oh, I forgot to eat lunch.
9:34
Kim McIntire: But that's not, that's not my normal.
9:37
Kim McIntire: You know what I'm saying.
9:38
Kim McIntire: So it's my rhythm now and God's grace I would say I give him the credit for that.
9:44
Kim McIntire: Yeah, yeah.
9:45
Daniel Moore: And you know, I think something that we can take away from that that we need to remember and you hit it right on the head with that is God knows where we're at in our walk with him, and he knows that there's more.
9:55
Daniel Moore: Yeah.
9:55
Daniel Moore: You know we might think we're full to the brim and I can't handle it anymore, you know.
9:59
Daniel Moore: But God knows different.
10:01
Daniel Moore: There's a lot of empty space in there that he needs to fill in, and he does pursue us.
10:07
Daniel Moore: He does and as long as we keep that hunger inside of our heart and as long as we are intentional to make sure that we do crack that Bible and we do get on our knees occasionally and call out to him and we keep that hunger burning inside of us.
10:20
Daniel Moore: He doesn't leave us alone, you know.
10:22
Daniel Moore: He continues to come after us.
10:23
Daniel Moore: Amen.
10:24
Daniel Moore: As we keep praying and studying and opening his word, then those little light bulbs keep popping on.
10:31
Daniel Moore: You know, and you'll notice you get deeper and deeper before you know it, and I really like how you put that, because that's a very key thing.
10:39
Daniel Moore: I think that we need to remember, as Christians, when we feel like we're in a rut, especially because those ruts, they're dangerous.
10:45
Daniel Moore: They can make us feel like.
10:45
Daniel Moore: We need to remember, as Christians, when we feel like we're in a rut, especially because those ruts, they're dangerous.
10:46
Daniel Moore: They can make us feel like we're at a standstill.
10:48
Michelle Moore: It's true.
10:48
Michelle Moore: So let's talk a little bit about the book.
10:51
Michelle Moore: The subtitle of your study talks about the presence and power of God resting on those who diligently seek him.
10:59
Michelle Moore: Can you unpack what it looks like in a believer's everyday life?
11:03
Michelle Moore: Can you unpack?
11:04
Michelle Moore: What it looks like in a believer's everyday life.
11:06
Kim McIntire: You know there's a difference between seeking the Lord and diligently seeking the Lord.
11:13
Kim McIntire: And when people are really fervent and diligent in their pursuit of knowing the God through his word, through prayer, through praise, his presence will come down on that person in a different way and I've learned this over time.
11:35
Kim McIntire: You can tell if you spend time with someone or you observe a person long enough.
11:43
Kim McIntire: It's not hard to tell whether or not they are diligently pursuing him, because it comes out of their conversation, it comes out of their reaction to crisis, it comes out of the way they serve and love, their compassion or not.
12:01
Kim McIntire: And only God's presence can increase our wisdom, our compassion, our ability to love and forgive, our ability to overlook an offense, our ability to be humble rather than proud.
12:16
Kim McIntire: And so what I've noticed over time and I've noticed God change me in so many things in my life that needed to be corrected is the more I seek him with a diligent heart and intention and give him attention, the more his presence rests on me and the more of him flows out instead of Kim, because the flesh, my flesh, wants to be offended.
12:43
Kim McIntire: My flesh wants to turn and look the other way when someone needs help.
12:47
Kim McIntire: Right, oh, I've got other things to do, I'm far too busy to stop right now.
12:50
Kim McIntire: But when God's presence rests on you, it'll change everything, and that's power.
12:57
Kim McIntire: And so when I say presence and power the power to love, the power to forgive, the power to overlook an offense, the power to be compassionate when you would much rather turn and go the other way that's power.
13:11
Kim McIntire: So I just believe, diligently seeking the Lord changes everything about how you live your life, and people will take notice.
13:22
Kim McIntire: Yes, yes, they will.
13:24
Kim McIntire: You can't miss it.
13:25
Kim McIntire: You can't miss it when someone's diligently seeking the Lord and it's not because they're holding up a sign that says I diligently seek the Lord every day you just see it in their life.
13:36
Kim McIntire: It's powerful.
13:37
Daniel Moore: Yeah, it's a lot like you know, being a true leader.
13:40
Daniel Moore: When you're a true leader, you lead by influence.
13:44
Kim McIntire: That's right.
13:44
Daniel Moore: You don't crack the whip and be bossy and that kind of thing.
13:48
Daniel Moore: There are leaders out there that are like that.
13:51
Kim McIntire: Oh sure.
13:51
Daniel Moore: But a true leader leads by influence.
13:53
Daniel Moore: If they have a good influence on the people that's around them, then those people are going to be more than likely to follow their lead.
13:59
Daniel Moore: And you know, that's when it comes to God.
14:02
Daniel Moore: That's how I kind of look at that, because Jesus was our biggest influence.
14:07
Daniel Moore: He is our influence.
14:09
Kim McIntire: He set that path before us.
14:11
Daniel Moore: Amen, he gave us that example and I think that you know, if we, if we keep our eyes on him and we follow that path that he's laid out there before us, then you can't go wrong.
14:22
Kim McIntire: So true.
14:22
Daniel Moore: And you're only going to want to get to dig deeper.
14:25
Daniel Moore: You're only going to want to know more and more about who he is, and you know, I know there's many times that you've emphasized that intimacy with God is not just for a select few, but for anyone who's hungry for God.
14:42
Daniel Moore: Why do you think so many Christians still feel like closeness with God is so out of their reach?
14:44
Kim McIntire: so out of their reach.
14:46
Kim McIntire: I think that I know the answer to this, but I also think there are some question marks, because there's not a one-size-fits-all on why it's a struggle or why people think it's unattainable.
14:58
Kim McIntire: But I feel like a lot of people just don't want to pay the cost, and the cost is time, and this is not legalistic.
15:08
Kim McIntire: It's not legalistic to have a heart posture that says I'm going to devote this block of time to be alone with the Lord.
15:18
Kim McIntire: That's not legalistic.
15:20
Kim McIntire: Unfortunately, some people lean into.
15:22
Kim McIntire: If you think you have to have a set time to be with the Lord, you can get into legalism, but the truth is, if you love someone and you desire time with them, you make it a priority and a focus of your life.
15:39
Kim McIntire: I talk to my husband every day.
15:41
Kim McIntire: If one of us is out of town, for whatever reason, we still talk Right, yeah, even if one of us is gone, yeah, and so the cost is time and it's not unattainable.
15:54
Kim McIntire: I believe anyone hungry for God can get as much of God as they are willing to invest time to gain that that is so good, filling that satisfaction.
16:07
Kim McIntire: Yeah, invest time to gain that good, filling that satisfaction.
16:13
Kim McIntire: He says he desires.
16:13
Kim McIntire: He satisfies our desires with good things, so our youth is renewed like the eagle.
16:16
Kim McIntire: But the way he satisfies us is through the time we spend with him, where he's pouring in to us right and our spiritual hunger is then filled.
16:27
Kim McIntire: So we're not going around starving spiritually because we have been filled by him and satisfied by him.
16:33
Kim McIntire: Just like if I love bread and so I feel very satisfied when I eat a really good piece of bread or roll or whatever I mean, the same is true with spiritual satisfaction.
16:45
Kim McIntire: He is the living bread, yeah, and he fills me.
16:50
Kim McIntire: Yeah.
16:51
Kim McIntire: And the more hungry I get, the more he fills me up.
16:54
Kim McIntire: But it does take time, I'll tell you.
16:58
Kim McIntire: I would argue against anyone who would say that's not absolutely essential in a relationship with Jesus.
17:05
Kim McIntire: It just is, it is.
17:07
Daniel Moore: It really is.
17:08
Kim McIntire: It is.
17:08
Kim McIntire: It really is A relationship.
17:10
Kim McIntire: I'm not talking about being saved.
17:11
Kim McIntire: I'm talking about a personal, intimate relationship where you are growing and he is filling you so you can pour out, because if he's not filling you, I promise you have nothing to give to others.
17:24
Kim McIntire: He's the source of what we pour out.
17:27
Daniel Moore: Yeah, that's exactly right.
17:28
Daniel Moore: So you know, michelle and I talk a lot about in our, our marriage episodes.
17:32
Daniel Moore: We've talked about it many times that even in marriages like you mentioned you and your husband, you know, michelle and I, we you have to carve that time out you do Whether if you feel like you're got too much going on or whatever.
17:46
Daniel Moore: That's not even in the equation Right.
17:48
Daniel Moore: You have to have that time, that intimate time with each other in order to make sure that that relationship flourishes and continues to grow.
17:57
Daniel Moore: And who do we get that from?
17:58
Daniel Moore: We get that because we've watched the example that God's given us, yes, that Jesus has given us, and we know that, just like you said, if we don't carve that time out for God, then we're never going to grow.
18:10
Daniel Moore: Yeah, we're never going to draw closer.
18:11
Kim McIntire: It's true, and the beautiful thing is that I think some people don't understand is that time can literally start with 10 minutes, yeah, and I would even say for some people, maybe five, yeah, because some people have attention issues and that really is a struggle for them to focus, because some people have attention issues and that really is a struggle for them to focus.
18:28
Kim McIntire: But any time you devote to where you're like I'm going to spend five minutes reading a chapter and then I'm going to pray, or 10 minutes reading a chapter and then I'm going to pray, god will meet you there, and then, over time, you get hungry for more.
18:43
Kim McIntire: I mean, that's what God did for me, hallelujah, that's right.
18:48
Michelle Moore: Intentional baby steps and I wanted to make the comment.
18:50
Michelle Moore: You know, going through a couple of weeks of your study and stuff like that, if you're reading a chapter and you've listened to the podcast Rise Up and you've had your group on there and how they go dissect that actual chapter, the chapter, yeah, breaking it down, it is amazing because what you are reading and what you're getting from God that you're needing to see out of it, and if you go back and listen to that, the podcast, it actually each individual person had something different to say.
19:22
Michelle Moore: It's true, and God, he puts everything in the words in front of you, but yet what you need you're going to receive.
19:31
Michelle Moore: And it's even made me dive a little bit more, like just seeing it in a different view of when I did your study.
19:39
Michelle Moore: I mean I was like wow, this is like hey, it makes you really think it's not just reading, yeah, it makes you dive into it and it's like, ok, whatever I need to know today and it's so personal that way.
19:50
Kim McIntire: Yeah, it's so personal.
19:51
Michelle Moore: And each time you guys go back, you're like you can read it over and over, and each time you're going to get something different.
19:56
Michelle Moore: It's true, so.
19:58
Kim McIntire: Good point, thank you for bringing that up, that's awesome.
20:01
Michelle Moore: Yeah, so abide is such a rich biblical word, so what does abiding in?
20:12
Kim McIntire: Christ mean to you personally.
20:13
Kim McIntire: Well, the example Jesus used in John 15 was the vine and the branch, and a vine and a branch are connected.
20:22
Kim McIntire: There's not a disconnect.
20:24
Kim McIntire: If there is a disconnect, the branch is going to die.
20:27
Kim McIntire: There's not a disconnect.
20:28
Kim McIntire: If there is a disconnect, the branch is going to die.
20:30
Kim McIntire: So the branch can only live and be healthy and thrive and grow when it stays connected.
20:38
Kim McIntire: So what I know is for my life, as I stay connected to Jesus through the word and prayer and praise and that's really the principles of Abide, the study I wrote when I stay connected through those really gifts God gave us, I grow, I'm healthier in my mind, in my body, in my spirit, in my relationships, I can actually bring something to others right.
21:11
Kim McIntire: So branches bear fruit and it's not me.
21:14
Kim McIntire: I want to be really clear.
21:16
Kim McIntire: This isn't about Kim, but a branch connected to the vine, a person connected to Jesus Christ, who stays connected through the word, prayer and praise and service.
21:26
Kim McIntire: They will bear fruit because God says they will.
21:29
Kim McIntire: So to me, abiding in him is that connection.
21:33
Kim McIntire: It's again, it goes back to the time element.
21:36
Kim McIntire: It's a relationship that I'm investing in and God's investing in me.
21:42
Kim McIntire: It's reciprocal, it's not one-sided, because God's always going to do his part.
21:47
Kim McIntire: He's never going to not do his part in his pursuit of his people.
21:53
Kim McIntire: But the problem is we as people, god's people we don't always pursue him and that's when the branch gets dry, that's when the branch might get disconnected, that's when the branch no longer bears fruit that glorifies the father.
22:11
Kim McIntire: So abiding to me is all about that vine in the branch and it's an investment of time and love.
22:17
Kim McIntire: Love like loving God.
22:19
Kim McIntire: He already loves us.
22:20
Kim McIntire: We want to love him back and I can't help but love him when I read his word and pray, because there's so much, like you said, personal.
22:28
Kim McIntire: He's speaking it to me.
22:31
Daniel Moore: Yeah, you know, yeah, and I think something to remember about the word abide.
22:35
Daniel Moore: It's kind of like when you love someone or having faith.
22:38
Daniel Moore: It's an ongoing thing.
22:40
Kim McIntire: Yeah, it's action, it's a continual action it's a verb.
22:43
Kim McIntire: Yes, it's a verb.
22:44
Kim McIntire: Whoa it it's a verb.
22:45
Kim McIntire: Yes, it's a verb.
22:45
Daniel Moore: It's not a one moment for a second thing, and then you're done, right when Jesus, when he says to abide in me, that's a continual thing for the rest of our life that he wants us to do.
22:56
Daniel Moore: Yes, he wants us to be there with him moment by moment, day by day, just drinking in his goodness and everything that he has for us.
23:08
Daniel Moore: And I think, so many times when we read that scripture and because I've been guilty of it myself in the past I just superficially read over the scripture real fast.
23:13
Daniel Moore: You know, biden Jesus and you know, find the branches and all this stuff.
23:16
Daniel Moore: We just kind of read that real fast and we really forget the depth of what that really means, you know, and the dedication that it's going to cause us.
23:26
Daniel Moore: We're going to have to break down some strongholds, we're going to break down some walls, we're going to have to do some things to be intentional, yeah, and make sure that we have that connection like you're talking about.
23:35
Daniel Moore: If we're the branches and he's the vine, we have to stay connected to that Like you said if we don't, we fall off and die.
23:44
Michelle Moore: I really like how you just did that.
23:46
Michelle Moore: Well, it's not really analogy, it's the truth.
23:49
Michelle Moore: I mean, if you don't stay connected, you dry up.
23:51
Michelle Moore: And that spoke to me.
23:54
Michelle Moore: I'll just tell you.
23:55
Kim McIntire: I can speak to that because I've been that person who was dried up.
23:59
Kim McIntire: I mean, I have and seasons of life, and so that's why it's an ongoing and it has to be intentional.
24:07
Kim McIntire: And I will say this too there are times I'm just taking a walk with the Lord and I'm just with him, and I'm not necessarily reading the Bible, I'm not necessarily praying or listening to worship, but it's still so very personal and I think it looks there are different layers to it.
24:27
Kim McIntire: But if I'm not in the word, how do I know his voice?
24:30
Kim McIntire: And so the word is to me, foundational for everything when it comes to abiding in him, because I want to know the shepherd's voice and the clearest way God speaks is through his word.
24:44
Kim McIntire: I mean it is.
24:45
Kim McIntire: And when people tell me they don't hear God speak, I quickly say would you just share with me a little bit about what does your time in the Bible look like?
24:54
Kim McIntire: You know how often are you reading?
24:56
Kim McIntire: And a lot of times they'll say, well, maybe you know once a week, or always at church, or well, there are statistics out there and you can Google this.
25:05
Kim McIntire: Everyone Someone just spoke about this at a church a few weeks ago that my husband went to a men's Bible study and he said it was interesting because they were saying if you only take you know one day a week that you're in the Word, it will have very little effect or impact.
25:21
Kim McIntire: Two, it's a little more.
25:23
Kim McIntire: Three, it's more.
25:25
Kim McIntire: Four or five days, there's a significant impact and beyond that it's exponential.
25:31
Kim McIntire: So God's word is his voice and if he's speaking to you and you're listening, oh my, your life is going to change.
25:42
Daniel Moore: And that doesn't mean everything's perfect, but it will impact you.
25:43
Daniel Moore: Yeah, we got to train our minds.
25:45
Kim McIntire: Oh, and it renews yeah.
25:47
Daniel Moore: They say practice makes perfect.
25:48
Daniel Moore: You know, there's a lot of truth to that, and that comes to God's word and prayer and everything.
25:53
Daniel Moore: If we practice reading the word and we practice praying like we're supposed to on that continual basis and having that relationship with God, then we do start hearing his voice.
26:02
Daniel Moore: He will speak to us because the more you talk, it's just like a regular relationship.
26:06
Daniel Moore: The more you talk to the person that's closest to you, the better you get to know them, the more you have to talk about you know, and so that's the same situation with God.
26:14
Daniel Moore: If we continually have that relationship with him and that communication, then we get to know each other more and more and more and more, and there's so much to God to know We'll never know it all.
26:23
Michelle Moore: It's true.
26:28
Daniel Moore: So we have no excuse to say, oh well, I've already got it all figured out and I'm done.
26:30
Daniel Moore: No, that doesn't happen.
26:31
Daniel Moore: You know there's, there's just a forever thing there to God's goodness and who he is.
26:35
Daniel Moore: And so so this book that you've written, like I was talking earlier, you've written another book also.
26:42
Daniel Moore: How is this one different from your first one?
26:46
Kim McIntire: Well, the first one talks about a few of the key words that I use as I read the Bible.
26:51
Kim McIntire: Abiding Conversations is really a prayer journal that I wrote as I read through the book of John and responded to God's voice.
27:00
Kim McIntire: It's very personal, it's my heart on paper.
27:03
Kim McIntire: The book I wrote this recent book is a Bible study format and it's different because it's not a prayer journal.
27:12
Kim McIntire: Every lesson has a testimony, a personal testimony from my life.
27:18
Kim McIntire: Each chapter is based on a chapter of the Bible that has significantly impacted me in transformational ways, and there's always there's a worship segment to it.
27:36
Kim McIntire: There's a prayer segment and then a study segment where you're using keywords to ask questions as you read the Bible.
27:45
Kim McIntire: So the big difference is Abiding Conversations really is a prayer journal and this is more a guide for how to connect with the Lord in a personal way, to hear his voice, and how reading the word can drive you to deeper places of prayer, and God's taught me a lot about prayer.
28:05
Kim McIntire: So every chapter has a way.
28:08
Kim McIntire: The Lord has taught me to pray.
28:10
Kim McIntire: That is probably out of the box for most people, but it was birthed in my prayer closet and I've stepped out on a limb and I've shared those personal moments in the book and I've had people who've taken the class say I don't pray the same anymore since I took her classes and I taught classes for two years before the book came out.
28:30
Kim McIntire: So a lot of people have gone through it and I've had the joy of hearing feedback, good and bad.
28:35
Kim McIntire: So you know, good, like, oh, this is really.
28:38
Kim McIntire: People are grabbing this and then maybe not so good in ways, okay, this isn't maybe clear and I need to clarify or, you know, make it present it differently.
28:47
Kim McIntire: So that's the beauty of teaching it before you, before you publish it.
28:52
Daniel Moore: Yeah, and this book is pretty well self-contained with.
28:55
Daniel Moore: It's got everything in it that you need.
28:57
Daniel Moore: It's got the, the keywords that you'll be utilizing when you go through the little, the chapters for the studies and kind of walk us through one of these chapters.
29:08
Daniel Moore: Here we can just do lesson one on page 19.
29:10
Daniel Moore: There I guess I noticed you know each one has a format.
29:16
Kim McIntire: Right.
29:16
Daniel Moore: And they're all kind of formatted the same way.
29:18
Daniel Moore: There's a song passage, keywords, prayer, practice.
29:20
Daniel Moore: Just kind of walk through that you know real quick and kind of explain why you laid those chapters out that way, sure and the intention there and kind of explain why you laid those chapters out that way.
29:28
Kim McIntire: Sure, and the intention there.
29:29
Kim McIntire: So we open class with a worship song because I feel like you know God's very clear.
29:34
Kim McIntire: We enter his presence with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.
29:37
Kim McIntire: So I always open with a worship song and I encourage people, when you're spending time with the Lord, start with a song.
29:44
Kim McIntire: Start even if it's just from your heart.
29:47
Kim McIntire: Doesn't have to be on your playlist, you know.
29:52
Kim McIntire: And then, after we do that, we open the word and we dig into the passage.
29:57
Kim McIntire: We read that together and then we ask some questions Lord, what do you want me to know?
30:02
Kim McIntire: You know that's always the foundational question and we talk about it in class and there's a place to respond in the book where you can write out your responses.
30:12
Kim McIntire: There's also a testimony, like I said, a personal testimony and at the end, a prayer practice Lesson.
30:21
Kim McIntire: One has a prayer practice called Victory Prayers and it's about how one day I was just feeling so discouraged and just overwhelmed and desperate for God to move and I'm on my I'm on my knees and I'm crying out to God and I'm just like, lord, I need you to change this.
30:38
Kim McIntire: I need you to move.
30:40
Kim McIntire: I'm desperate and the Lord was like I want you to just get up and start shouting victory, victory over this.
30:47
Kim McIntire: And I'm not going to say because it was personal in my family.
30:51
Kim McIntire: And I was like, okay, I will do that.
30:54
Kim McIntire: And you know what I went from desperate and beyond desperate mess on the floor, which there needs to be times that we're on the floor before the Lord crying out.
31:04
Kim McIntire: I'm not diminishing or minimizing that, but the Lord wanted me to grab onto hope and he turned despair to hope through me just getting up and just declaring victory over my family.
31:18
Kim McIntire: And that's a way people don't always recognize.
31:21
Kim McIntire: Sometimes a prayer looks like a victory shout.
31:24
Kim McIntire: Sometimes it's not, head bowed on the floor crying, sometimes it's I'm standing up and I'm going to march and I'm going to say victory and I'm going to shout because that's how the Jericho walls came down Right.
31:37
Kim McIntire: And the Lord's like if you want the walls to come down, get up and shout and march around this room.
31:42
Kim McIntire: And so you know what I did and I didn't care if I looked like a fool.
31:46
Kim McIntire: I'll be a fool for Jesus any day.
31:48
Kim McIntire: But the peace of God and the hope of God and the joy of the Lord just washed over me and I'm like I have to share this with people.
31:58
Kim McIntire: There is somebody listening right now.
32:00
Kim McIntire: They feel overwhelmed and discouraged, like there's no hope.
32:03
Kim McIntire: That is a lie of Satan.
32:05
Kim McIntire: Yes, you know, get some wherewithal, some determination, and take your stand against the devil and shout victory.
32:13
Kim McIntire: Yes, and it doesn't matter who's listening God is the audience of one.
32:18
Kim McIntire: We should be living for Right.
32:20
Kim McIntire: That's right.
32:20
Kim McIntire: Okay, I can preach, so I'll stop.
32:23
Daniel Moore: I was just getting into it here.
32:24
Kim McIntire: I was like yeah, I was like good girl, we got another hour.
32:26
Kim McIntire: But I'm just saying like that is an example of the Lord has met me in some really desperate times.
32:34
Kim McIntire: Yeah.
32:34
Kim McIntire: And he's whispered things to me that have become ways that I pray that look so different than a few years ago.
32:41
Kim McIntire: Yeah, that looks so different than a few years ago.
32:43
Kim McIntire: And I tell you I have a lot more fun praying now too, because it's exciting.
32:46
Kim McIntire: When you start shouting victory, the Lord stirs up your spirit and, I guarantee you, the devil gets really unhappy and he leaves because he can't stand it.
32:55
Kim McIntire: So pretty soon he's gone and the glory of the Lord is in the room and I just get to be in his presence.
33:02
Kim McIntire: Hallelujah, that's right.
33:04
Daniel Moore: Well, prayer is just like reading the word.
33:06
Kim McIntire: Yeah.
33:07
Daniel Moore: When you read the word, there's many different ways that you can read it.
33:10
Daniel Moore: There's many ways you can study it.
33:11
Daniel Moore: There's many ways that God will speak to you through it.
33:13
Daniel Moore: When it comes to prayer, there's prayers of lament, there's prayers of praise, there's prayers of supplication, there's prayers of action.
33:26
Daniel Moore: I mean there's all these different ways.
33:27
Daniel Moore: You know us as we grow up especially.
33:27
Daniel Moore: Again, this comes back to if you're going to make your life a living sacrifice to God, where you're going to continually pray and read his word and make that a big part of your life each and every day, then you're going to progress in this a lot quicker.
33:39
Daniel Moore: But for the person that does not do that, the person, the biannual Bible reader, biannual prayer warrior you know these people that are Sunday prayer warriors.
33:51
Daniel Moore: You know the people that just save it for their.
33:52
Daniel Moore: You know they don't do anything in between.
33:54
Kim McIntire: The Sunday experience Exactly.
33:58
Daniel Moore: You're going to find that a lot of those people they pray the same exact way all the time because they don't know any different.
34:03
Daniel Moore: You know, they've never ventured out to experience God in a true way, the way that he wants us to experience, and to understand that there's many different ways that we can pray to him and ask for things or worship him and thank him for things.
34:16
Daniel Moore: There's just so much more to that, but you'll never know until you make it a practice in your life and abide.
34:23
Kim McIntire: It's true.
34:24
Daniel Moore: Just like your books that you've written.
34:26
Daniel Moore: You've got to be intentional with that, it's true, and make sure that you abide in him constantly.
34:31
Daniel Moore: It changes everything it changes everything it truly does.
34:34
Daniel Moore: We're going to go ahead and wrap this up here in about a minute or so here, a couple minutes as we go.
34:46
Kim McIntire: If someone only remembered one lesson from Abide, what would you hope that that would be?
34:49
Kim McIntire: Well, I talked about time earlier and in one of the lessons I ask the students what is your most valuable relationship?
34:58
Kim McIntire: And I would just ask them to think about that person and put that person in their mind.
35:12
Michelle Moore: And so once they have that person identified, I say what makes that?
35:14
Kim McIntire: person, the most valuable person in your life.
35:15
Kim McIntire: And then they think about that.
35:16
Kim McIntire: And then I ask them okay, we're going to go around the circle and just tell me what makes that relationship so special.
35:24
Kim McIntire: And so they share.
35:25
Kim McIntire: And there's a lot of different ideas, but I've taught this so many times that I narrowed it down when I wrote the book to a few.
35:34
Kim McIntire: And so one is they give me time.
35:36
Kim McIntire: The other one was it's valuable because the relationship isn't one-sided, it's both give and take.
35:44
Kim McIntire: The other was encouragement.
35:47
Kim McIntire: I feel really encouraged when I'm with them and I think they're encouraged when they're with me.
35:53
Kim McIntire: Another was accountability.
35:56
Kim McIntire: They would say this person holds me accountable and I know it's because they love me and I try to hold them accountable.
36:03
Kim McIntire: And then this I love this one.
36:06
Kim McIntire: The other was listening.
36:07
Kim McIntire: This person listens to me with intention and I try to listen when they speak.
36:15
Kim McIntire: So do you see this reciprocal, mutual, relational, that's really what makes human relationships so valuable.
36:23
Kim McIntire: Two more One is present when you're together, you're in the moment and not distracted.
36:29
Kim McIntire: And then trust.
36:31
Kim McIntire: That's pretty obvious, right?
36:33
Kim McIntire: So then I ask this question Is this the way you value your relationship with the Lord and is this the way you function in your relationship with the Lord.
36:46
Kim McIntire: And then I say time.
36:47
Kim McIntire: You know, be honest, are you giving time to the Lord?
36:51
Kim McIntire: Because he's giving time to you.
36:53
Kim McIntire: He's available 24, seven, every day of the year.
36:58
Kim McIntire: Then I say is it mutual?
37:00
Kim McIntire: Do you receive from the Lord and then pour out to someone else?
37:05
Kim McIntire: Because that's the way our life in Christ should work.
37:08
Kim McIntire: When he pours in, we are then pouring out into others around us.
37:13
Kim McIntire: The other one is encouragement.
37:14
Kim McIntire: Basically, I took everything they said and I turned it back to reflect on relationship with God.
37:19
Kim McIntire: Is your time with him encouraging to you?
37:23
Kim McIntire: Because I guarantee it's encouraging to him.
37:25
Kim McIntire: He wants us to bless him as well.
37:28
Kim McIntire: Right, and then accountability.
37:30
Kim McIntire: Do you allow God to hold you accountable by responding to conviction and correction?
37:36
Kim McIntire: And then I end with this listening.
37:40
Kim McIntire: Do you listen to the Lord through his word and prayer, or are you the one who's doing all the talking?
37:48
Kim McIntire: Because if you treated your most valuable human relationship that way, if you treated your husband or your closest friend in a way that you do all the talking and you never give them an opportunity to speak, that person would probably not be around for very long.
38:06
Kim McIntire: Yes, probably not, and that is the most eye-opening exercise that we do so good, it's from lesson and there's a lot more to that in the book, but it's lesson six.
38:15
Kim McIntire: But I think I've had so many people say that really opened my eyes to the point of that really opened my eyes to the point of I give time to my husband or my children or my best friend or my whatever golf club team, treating the Lord with the same regard and respect.
38:44
Kim McIntire: And how much more should we be treating the Lord with that kind of love and consideration and respect?
38:53
Kim McIntire: I mean he deserves so much more than the people in our lives deserve, and I mean we should always love and respect and treat people well.
39:01
Kim McIntire: That's not what I mean.
39:02
Kim McIntire: You know what I'm saying.
39:04
Kim McIntire: But the first command is love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love others as you love yourself.
39:11
Kim McIntire: So that would be my takeaway, daniel, if I would say there's one point that I would drive home from abide if you live your life in that way, you will abide in Christ and he will abide in you.
39:24
Kim McIntire: Oh, so good.
39:26
Kim McIntire: Thank you.
39:27
Kim McIntire: Oh, my gosh, I'm so honored to be here today.
39:29
Kim McIntire: I'm just pumped up now.
39:31
Daniel Moore: The thing we have to remember is God is more invested in us than we are yes, it's true.
39:36
Daniel Moore: And we have to remember that, yes, amen, if he would have stopped at the cross and all we had, you know, if we were standing or staring at the cross and that's all we had to look at.
39:45
Michelle Moore: Yeah.
39:45
Daniel Moore: Imagine how bleak that would be you know how disturbing that would be.
39:49
Daniel Moore: But no, if we turn around and look the other direction, we see the resurrection.
39:54
Daniel Moore: Amen, that's the light, amen, that's the true cost, yes, of what he gave just to save our lives.
40:02
Daniel Moore: Praise the Lord, and I think that everything that you just said, we owe that all to him.
40:08
Kim McIntire: All of it and more and more.
40:10
Daniel Moore: We'll never pay him back for what he's done for us.
40:13
Daniel Moore: Not a million years would we ever do.
40:14
Daniel Moore: That, it's true, and so you've given us a lot of good things to think about.
40:20
Kim McIntire: Thank, you so much.
40:21
Daniel Moore: Go get this book.
40:23
Kim McIntire: This book is awesome.
40:24
Kim McIntire: I would be honored for anyone to buy that.
40:27
Daniel Moore: So tell us how we can get it.
40:29
Kim McIntire: It's available on Amazon, it's available on Barnes and Noble, and I'd just be so honored for anyone to read it.
40:36
Daniel Moore: Yeah, it'll be a blessing.
40:39
Kim McIntire: Yeah, if you can do it alone or with a group of people.
40:44
Daniel Moore: It's better in a group, it's better in community.
40:46
Daniel Moore: Yeah, it is formatted to be a very good group study.
40:49
Kim McIntire: Yeah, definitely.
40:50
Daniel Moore: And I think that would be a good thing for someone.
40:53
Daniel Moore: Of course, it's awesome to do it on your own too.
40:57
Kim McIntire: I don't know if you want to add this in or not.
41:00
Kim McIntire: If not, you can, but I am offering a half-day session of Abide on September 27th from 9 to noon.
41:08
Kim McIntire: It's an introduction to the study and it's just going to help someone really be able to dive in deep on their own, and so if you want information about that, it's on the itstimetoriseuporg website.
41:22
Kim McIntire: Okay.
41:22
Daniel Moore: Under the Abide link.
41:23
Daniel Moore: Okay, definitely.
41:23
Kim McIntire: Under the abide link.
41:25
Daniel Moore: Okay, yeah, go check that out.
41:26
Daniel Moore: Yeah, that's definitely.
41:28
Kim McIntire: There's room for 15.
41:29
Daniel Moore: Any way we can disciple and help people draw closer to God, I'm all for it Okay.
41:34
Daniel Moore: Most definitely Awesome.
41:36
Daniel Moore: So well, kim knocked it out of the park again.
41:40
Kim McIntire: Thank you, thank you for being here.
41:42
Daniel Moore: We make it easy, you guys, I so appreciate you coming in and sitting here with Michelle and I.
41:47
Daniel Moore: It's a joy Going through this.
41:49
Kim McIntire: I love you guys.
41:50
Daniel Moore: We love you.
41:51
Daniel Moore: Yes, you're just an awesome inspiration to us both.
41:53
Daniel Moore: He's pretty amazing.
41:57
Kim McIntire: My man is pretty awesome.
41:59
Daniel Moore: Yeah, we got to give him a shout out.
42:00
Daniel Moore: He's awesome, that's right.
42:01
Daniel Moore: Yeah, we don't.
42:01
Michelle Moore: We got to give him a shout out.
42:02
Daniel Moore: He's awesome, definitely, yeah, all right, well, we do appreciate you being on the podcast.
42:07
Kim McIntire: We'll have you back again soon.
42:08
Kim McIntire: I would love it.
42:09
Kim McIntire: You guys are awesome.
42:10
Kim McIntire: Thank you so much.
42:11
Kim McIntire: It's been an honor.
42:12
Kim McIntire: Thank you.
42:15
Michelle Moore: Wow, what a powerful conversation.
42:17
Michelle Moore: Kim reminded us that abiding in Christ isn't for a select few.
42:23
Michelle Moore: It's for everyone who is hungry for more of Him.
42:25
Daniel Moore: Yeah, and you know, I really loved when she shared about how hearing God's voice begins with spending time in His Word and listening with expectation.
42:34
Daniel Moore: It really just puts a personal twist on that word abide.
42:37
Daniel Moore: You know that's something that we can all put into practice this week.
42:41
Michelle Moore: Well, if you want to dive deeper, make sure you grab a copy of Kim's book Abide Seven Lessons Study.
42:47
Michelle Moore: We'll put the link in the show notes so that you connect with her.
42:51
Daniel Moore: Yes, and thanks again to Kim for joining us, and we want to thank you guys for being a part of Marriage Life and More Community.
42:56
Daniel Moore: If this episode encouraged you, make sure that you share it with a friend and subscribe so that you don't miss the next conversation.
43:04
Michelle Moore: Well, that's all for this week, and we pray that your marriage is stronger and your walk with God is closer after this episode.
43:11
Michelle Moore: This is an extension of Connecting the Gap Ministries.
43:14
Michelle Moore: We pray that you have a blessed week.