Back to School: Test

To Do-ers List: Back to School, Test

“Please get out two sharpened number two pencils and a piece of scratch paper. Do not open your test booklet until I tell you to do so. Please look at Sample A. Please read Sample A to yourself as I read it aloud…”

Tests! Life seems to be full of tests – math tests, English tests, spelling tests and history tests. Don’t forget about the never-ending-fill-in-the-dot tests. As Christians we also undergo tests. Spiritual tests. Character tests. Circumstances and events that try our souls. Unlike school teachers, God doesn’t test us to learn what we know. He tests us so WE can learn what we know. Once we learn the truth about the contents of our hearts, we are able to seek God’s healing and restoration.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” Malachi 3:10

Test Me in this.

There is an occasion in the Bible, however, when God asks us to test Him. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty …”

The Teacher takes the test.

In fact, the Master Teacher longs for us to test Him. Why? So He can bless. The Hebrew word used for test in this verse is bachan, which means “to try, to prove, to lookout for, to watch.”

What kind of test are we to give God?

The giving test.

Giving.

Giving deep.

Giving till it hurts.

Out on a limb kind of giving where only God can pull it off. We give and what does God do?

God pours out.

” Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it…”

Funny. I have always approached this verse in a very self-centered manner. Prior to writing this study, I believed the verse read something like, “Give your tithe and I will pour out My blessing upon YOU.” I give my little sacrifice and God pours down blessings on little ol’ me. The one receiving my “sacrifice” benefits a little, while God pours His blessing down on me …

The verse doesn’t say that. It says, give your tithe, and

I’ll pour out My blessing so you’ll have even more to give – not more to keep.

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A continuous flow in the direction it was given–like the boy with the five loaves and two fish. He gave Jesus his boy-sized snack and ended up with lunch for 5000 … alfresco … plus doggie bags. Amazing. The blessing wasn’t just for the boy. Jesus poured forth blessing in the direction it was given, to feed the crowd. What would the boy have done with food for 5000? It would have spoiled. Hmm …

… I wonder what happens when we try to hoard our gifts?

For today: take the test.

God asks us to test Him by giving. Start by praying. Ask God to show you opportunities to give today. What shall we give? Our money? Yes, but not only our money, but

our time,
our talents,
our gifts,
0ur possessions and
any other thing we can think of.

Resources:

To help you organize your daily study and record your experiences, please download and print the following PDF, or download the journal app to your favorite Apple device.

To Do-ers List Study Guide PDF
Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

Other Resources:

Joyce Meyer: The Going Through Test

Chuck Swindoll: The Ultimate Faith Test

Don’t forget to comment on your experience in the comment section below! Choose your test for today and be a Doer of the Word. School is in session. Test!

We can’t wait to hear how your day went! Remember, God is waiting for His test.

Let’s do it!

if you need to catch up, click on the links below!

Day 1: New Clothes

Day 2: The Book

Day 3: Pack a Lunch

Day 4: Listen to The Teacher

Day 5: Study!

Day 6: Obey the Rules

Back To School: Study

To Do-ers List: Back to School, Study

10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.”

Acts 17:10-12

“… and [they] searched the Scriptures daily …”

Study. Examine. Search. Searched in the Greek transliterates as anakrin, which means “to examine, to scrutinize, sift and question, to examine specifically in a forensic sense of a judge to hold an investigation.” What did they study? The Word of God. Why? To see if it contains the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

The final verdict? God’s Word has stood the test of truth. Communism couldn’t silence it. Hitler couldn’t destroy it. Voltaire couldn’t banish it. God’s Word is eternal. No force, power, religious system, political regime or law can silence it. And God’s Word will continue to witness of His power and majesty forever and ever, amen. It’s time to go back to school and study.

Read or study?

Any serious student can tell you there is a big difference between reading and studying. We can read the Word of God and let its truths skim the surface or we can study the Word of God and plant it deep in our heart. Reading takes a little effort. Studying requires energy, perseverance, and a willingness to learn. Verse 11 lists a crucial aspect of Bible study. Readiness.

How do we become ready to study?

1) By opening our minds, 2) By not having made a prior decision the Bible is just a book of stories, 3) By being teachable. The Bereans were teachable. Eager to learn. They did not judge The Book by its cover; they judged it by what’s between the covers. They studied. The result of their open-minded study of the Bible was … many of them believed …

Salvation. Redemption. Restoration.

Study.

I cannot study in a noisy room with the television blaring. I need to set the stage for spending time with God-a quiet comfortable place a part from the busyness of the world. I have a small bedroom in my house that serves as my study place. It is furnished with a comfy chair, Bibles, commentaries, colored pencils, notebooks and (of course) electronic devices! Find a quiet place and meet consistently with God.

For today:

It’s time to get your study on. We are not talking reading the Word, but studying the Word. Follow the steps below.

Choose a verse for today and write it on a note card. Carry it with you wherever you go and pull it out and meditate on it as often as possible.
Study your verse at www.blueletterbible.org Click on the link to the left, view the short tutorial and invest some time in the Word of God. God will reward you richly for your study.
Do your verse. Pray and ask God to give you the strength and opportunity to be a Doer of the Word.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to open your mind to the truth of God’s Word.

Resources:

To help you organize your daily study and record your experiences, please download and print the following PDF, or download the journal app to your favorite Apple device.

To Do-ers List Study Guide PDF
Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

Extra Resources:

Study God’s Word: Joyce Meyer

Don’t forget to comment on your experience in the comment section below! Choose your verse/s for today and be a Doer of the Word.

School is in session. Study!

Previous Sessions of To Do-ers List, Back to School:

Day 1: New Clothes

Day 2: The Book

Day 3: Pack a Lunch

Day 4: Listen to The Teacher

The Book

To Do-ers List: Back to School Day 2: The Book

I love the digital age. Cell phones, iPods, laptops, e-readers. Technology – I am all about it. Technology not only changes businesses and industries, it also impacts the education system. Now, back in the day, when I went to college, we stood in line for HOURS to register for classes and buy our books. Today, it’s done by a few clicks of a mouse. Instead of juggling huge stacks of hardcover books, thanks to technology, many students tote a lightweight iPad, pre-loaded with textbooks. Text books are important, but we need to study The Book.

Students of the Book

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Joshua 1:8

As students of the Word, there is only one book in which we need concern ourselves, the Book of the Law, otherwise known as the Bible. As students of the Book, we have two assignments: 1) constantly speak the Book (God’s Word), and 2) constantly think the Book.

Speak the Book

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth.” A more literal translation of this phrase is “this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth.” In others words,

everything we say should be soaked in the truth of the Word.

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What we say either lines up with the Book, or it doesn’t.

Let’s take a test. And yes, it’s open Book.

Our Words about Others:

Are the words you speak about others found in the Book? Are they true? Are they beneficial to the hearers? Do you speak God’s words over your friends, about your friends, to your friends?

Words about Circumstances:

Are the words you speak about your circumstances found in the Book? Are they true, encouraging and full of grace? Do your words speak life or death into your circumstances?

Words about Self:

Are the words you speak about yourself found in the Book? Do your words about yourself agree with what God says about you? You are called chosen, loved, redeemed, gifted and needed. Listen to your self talk. Don’t let Satan get a word in edgewise.

For Today:

The verse today shows a progression: word in, think, speak, and do.

Choose a verse, and write it on a note card.
Meditate on it. Ask yourself these questions. When should I do this? How shall I do this? Why should I do this?
Speak God’s Word into your challenges and situations. Pray it aloud.
Do what it says. Feed the poor. Forgive your enemies. Love the hurting. Pray about everything.

Resources:

To help you organize your daily study and record your experiences, please download and print the following PDF, or download the journal app to your favorite Apple device.

To Do-ers List Study Guide PDF
Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

Don’t forget to comment on your experience in the comment section below! Choose your verse/s for today and be a Doer of the Word. School is in session. Time to hit the book!

Previous Sessions of To Do-ers List, Back to School:

Day 1: New Clothes

To Do-ers List: Trust God

Day 7

To Do-ers List: Trust God

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5

Whom do you trust?

When I was little, my sister, Carol and I used to play a game called Trust. To play Trust, two people stand one behind the other, both facing the same direction. The person behind (the catcher), puts out her arms and says fall. The person in front (the faller) closes her eyes, stiffens her body and falls straight back into the arms of the catcher. The catcher of course catches the faller, thus building a relationship of trust. Fall and catch again. Perhaps, you are wondering why we bothered to play such a predictable tedious game.

It gets better.

After completing round one, the catcher takes a step back and the process repeats.

After a while the game gets a little dicey … will she catch me?

The stakes get higher … will I hit the floor?

At some point in time a smart faller calls it quits. After all, you are only as safe as the one who is catching you.

(Uhh … one time I did drop my sister. It wasn’t my fault … my mother called me.)

In the game of life, God calls us to trust Him.

He is standing right behind us saying fall.

You lose your job … God says fall.

You receive news from the doctor … God says fall.

Your husband is transferred … fall.

Your marriage becomes stormy … fall.

Your child drops out of college … fall.

Trust God and fall into His everlasting arms.

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God is omnipresent. Because He is everywhere, at every time, all at once, He is always able catch you. It may seem He is stepping back, but He is never any closer to you at one moment than any other. Fall into His will concerning your new job, your move, your transfer, your sickness, your debt, your marriage, your singleness. You are as safe as the One who is catching you. Trust God.

Trust God with all your heart.

Read today’s verse again … with all your heart. Not part, but all. How well would you function with part of your heart, say only the right ventricle? Yet so many people try to. I know I have. I can trust God with my job, but my children?

Trusting God with part of your heart will leave you with a heart condition. Not healthy. You may sustain life, but you will never be able to run, soar, and live the abundant life with part of your heart. You will limp along in the shadows, living a half-hearted life. Trust God with all of it. He wants it all, every corner of your heart: relationships, career, school, friends, children, family, love, hate, hurt, blessing. He says fall and you let go. He’ll ask you to trust Him with more of your heart, bit by bit, until you finally trust God with all of your heart. Trust God.

A little warning.

Trusting God will not always make sense. Some people will think you’re crazy. Others will TELL you you’re crazy. You may lose friends over it. I have experienced all three. Trust God anyway. My greatest victories have come when I have listened to God and trusted Him, despite the voices of others.

Remember, God will never call you to do any thing which contradicts His Word.

For Today:

Take a moment and pray. Ask God to show you what areas or situations of your life you need to entrust to Him. Don’t hold back. If He wants you to speak, do it with all your heart. If He wants you to pray, do it with all your heart. If He wants you to reach out in a new way, trust God and do it with all your heart.

Use the To-Doers List Study Guide or a journaling app to plan and journal your day.

Note: the To Do-ers List Study Guide will greatly enhance your time with God.

To Do-ers List Journal Study Guide PDF
Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

For ideas on how to trust God, please check the resources below.

How Trusting God Can Transform Your Life by Joyce Meyer

Please take a moment to pray and ask God for His strength to do good to everyone you meet today (and the people you live with). Don’t forget to leave a comment in the comment section below. Have a blessed day!

To Do-ers List, Day 1: Love God

To Do-ers List, Day 2: Love Others

To Do-ers List, Day 3: Pray ’bout Everything

To Do-ers List: Day 4: Walk by Faith

To Do-ers List: Day 5: Word in Me

To Do-ers List: Day 6: Always Do Good

by Mary Kane

To Do-ers List: Always do Good

Day 6

To Do-ers List: Always do Good

15 “See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.

16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying.”

1 Thessalonians 5:15

There was a saying when I was growing up, “It’s payback time.” Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. If someone did something to you, you did it back to them and then some. It was the law of the street. One of the problems with paybacks, however, is they never end. The cycle of hatred churns and escalates.

Hatfield and McCoys.

Cain and Able.

Notre Dame and Michigan.

Do we even remember what we are fighting about?

God has a different idea.

Do good. Always do good. Instead of payback, pay-it-forward. Good for evil. Blessings replace cursing. Help instead of hate. Always do good.

Why?

Because that’s what God does; it’s who He is. It’s what He did for us. While we were yet sinners, Jesus died on the cross for us. We were enemies of God by our wicked works and He died for us. What if He had waited for us to do something GOOD until He did something good? He’d still be waiting while we spent eternity in hell.

What is good?

In the Greek, good translates as agathos, which means good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy, honorable, upright, excellent. Part of the word means sacrifice. To always do good, we must

sacrifice our right to be angry, our right to be hurt, and our right to be bitter.

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It’s part of the abundant life.

This one is hard for me. Really hard. I learned and lived by the law of the street. I can payback like the rest of ’em. It’s a wonderful witness when you convey a rude gesture and have a fish sticker on the back of your mini-van. I still struggle with it today. Why? Pride. I’m better. I act better. I think better. How dare you do that to ME. It’s ugly and sinful. But, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, I’m making progress.

Long time ago I came across the following maxim:

Satan repays good with evil;

Man repays evil with evil and good with good;

God repays evil with good.

Always do good.

It’s a choice we make … to love instead of hate, to bless instead of curse, to always do good. We were created in the image of God. Like Father, like daughter. He is good; therefore, we must always do good.

For Today:

Today will be tough. Look for ways to do good to those who aren’t good to you. Doing good to another can be a kind deed, graceful words, or prayerful thoughts. Look to do good to everyone, regardless of how they treat you. Do we always do good because others deserve it? No, we always do good because it’s the right thing to do.

Use the To-Doers List Study Guide or a journaling app to plan and journal your day.

To Do-ers List Journal Study Guide PDF
Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

For ideas on how to always do good, please check the resources below.

Overcoming Evil with Good

If you missed a few days, you can catch up by clicking the links below.

To Do-ers List, Day 1: Love God

To Do-ers List, Day 2: Love Others

To Do-ers List, Day 3: Pray ’bout Everything

To Do-ers List: Day 4: Walk by Faith

To Do-ers List: Day 5: Word in Me

by Mary Kane

To Do-ers List: Word in Me

Day 5

To Do-ers List: Word in Me

16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Colossians 3:16

I love to eat. I am an organic, farm-to-fork foodie kind of girl. Three meals a day, with snacks in between and don’t forget about dessert! Our sense of taste is a gift from God, given to us for our enjoyment. Sweet, sour, bitter, and salty flavorings spice up the eating experiences. Eating is necessary to maintain life, but there is something more important to life than consuming food; consuming the Word of God.

I need His Word in me.

Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Every Word. I need every Word for life.

The more Word I have, the more life I have.

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How much life do I have? Just John 3:16? Just enough to keep my heart beating, but not enough to sustain life beyond birth? I don’t want to settle for just life, I want abundant life. Abundant life requires the Word in me.

Today’s verse instructs us to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. The Greek word for richly is plousis, which means abundantly, wealthy, plentiful, and full. When we are filled to overflowing with God’s Word, it will splash on those around us, soaking them with God’s Holy Word. Dry and thirsty souls doused in Living Water. God’s Word in me benefits everyone.

Benefits of God’s Word in Me

What does scripture do for us? Read the partial list of benefits below. God’s Word …

Defeats our enemies. Ephesians 6:17
Transforms us into the image of Christ. Romans 12:2
Makes us strong. Joel 2:11
Heals us. Psalm 107:20
Imparts peace. Psalm 119:165
Guides us. Psalm 119:105
Makes us wise. Psalm 19:7

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly …

It is important to note the word dwell. God’s Word needs to dwell in us, not touch upon, visit, or set up temporary residence. The word for dwell refers to a marriage relationship. A life-long, do or die, for better for worse, for richer or richer, till death do we join Him for all eternity. I need God’s Word in me everyday and beyond.

How can I get God’s Word in me?

Here are a few ideas.

Write verses on note cards and carry them with you everywhere you go today. Look at them at stoplights (instead of checking your phone), waiting in lines, while you’re doing chores, etc.
Subscribe and download a podcast to your device and listen while you’re jogging, doing chores, or walking to class today.
Download an audible version of the Bible to your favorite device. Listen tonight while going to sleep.
Set a goal to memorize a BOOK, yes, a BOOK of the Bible.
Tune in to hear your favorite speakers on Christian TV.
Turn off your TV today and spend a little extra time reading your Bible or doing a Bible study.
Look up your favorite verse at Blue Letter Bible and research key words in the original Greek or Hebrew. Follow the link for a quick tutorial: Blue Letter Bible

For Today:

Make your plan for how you will add more of God’s Word to your day. Make your verse cards, download a podcast, or get a new Bible study. Block out your time and do it! Ask God to bless you for the time you will spend in His Word. Pray and ask Him to open your heart to the wisdom hidden within His Word.

Use the To-Doers List Study Guide or a journaling app to plan and journal your day.

To Do-ers List Study Guide PDF
Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

Extra Resources:

Joyce Meyer Podcasts
Francis Chan Sermons

If you missed a session, catch up here!