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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Do your verse. Pray and ask God to give you the strength and opportunity to be a Doer of the Word.
4.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to open your mind to the truth of God’s 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

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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:

1. 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:

1. 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:

1. 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.

1. Choose a verse, and write it on a note card.
2. Meditate on it. Ask yourself these questions. When should I do this? How shall I do this? Why should I do this?
3. Speak God’s Word into your challenges and situations. Pray it aloud.
4. 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!

all rights reserved. copyright 2015

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

Day 1: New Clothes

To Do-ers List Bible Study: Back to School, New Clothes

They are everywhere. Adults love them. Children fear them. You can’t turn on the TV or the radio or pick up a newspaper lately without seeing or hearing about them. Back to School Sales. It’s time to get some new clothes.

Back to School Sales

As an omen of the coming season,  I always dreaded seeing the first back to school advertisement.  They seemed to come earlier and earlier with every passing year (sort of like Christmas advertising). While I dreaded going back to school, I did look forward to back-to-school shopping. New crayons. New notebooks. New shoes. New clothes. The worn dirty clothes of summer were replaced by crisp new school clothes. Out with the old and in with the new.

New Clothes

When we become Christians, Jesus also provides us with new clothes. We trade in our filthy rags for robes of righteousness.  A new outfit makes us feel better, look better, and act better. New clothes – new man. That’s exactly what the Bible says. We put on our new clothes, and then we need to put on a new man.

Put Off/Put On

” … see that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another…

… 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Ephesians 4:22-24, 29-32

Below is a list of a few things we are to put off/put on.

You may have other items to add to the list.

Go up to the list and mentally circle or write down on your notes or prayer app one or two things you need to do today. Like baskets of laundry, we have some things we need to “put away” and some things we need to “put on.”

For today:

Choose one verse from above to do today. Pray and ask God to help you put off the old clothes of the old man and put on the new clothes of the new man.  As you wear you new clothes, the Holy Spirit will transform you so that you feel better, act better, and live better. Write down on a note card the portion of scripture you’re going to work on today. Look for opportunities to forgive, speak truth, encourage, and give to others.

School is in session. Put on your new clothes!

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To Do-ers List

Back to School

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25

Welcome to To Do-ers List: Back to School Bible Study series. It is our prayer you become a doer of the Word.

How many times have you heard a portion of scripture, thought to yourself, Wow! I really need to do that! and then promptly forgot about the task at hand? The To Do-ers List Bible Study will help you move from being a hearer of the Word, to becoming a doer of the Word. Let’s work together to develop the godly habit of applying Scripture to our lives and circumstances by intensely focusing on one Scripture a day.

Since the second session of To Do-ers List Bible Study coincides with the start of the academic year, we designed this Bible study with a back-to-school theme. Each day we relate a common school rule or habit to a specific Scripture and challenge you to become a doer of the Word. Light-hearted but meaningful, you will realize many benefits by applying Scripture to your life, challenges, trials and relationships.

Some of the benefits of being do-ers of the Word.

1. Grow in righteousness  (2 Timothy 3:16)
2. Walk in wisdom (Psalm 19:7)
3. Live in freedom (John 8:32)
4. Enjoy the abundant life (John 6:68)
5. Act in strength (Joel 2:11)
6. Strengthen your faith (Romans 10:17)
7. Receive comfort, revival, and peace (Psalm 119:7-16)
8. Plus many, many other benefits.

We can be listeners, hearers, watchers, thinkers, and gatherers of His word, but there must be a point in time when we become doers of the Word.

Starting August 31st,  check our website every morning at 5:00 a.m. or later to get your To Do-ers List: Back to School for the day.

From hearers to doers. Are you up for the challenge? The bell is ringing … don’t be late for class!

Study Guides:

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.

Please add your name to the comment section below if you are up for the challenge. School is in session!

What time is it, Honey?

Due to my poor eyesight, I cannot see the digital clock in our bedroom. Every morning, the first thing out of my mouth is an inquiry about the time. Time is very important to me.

Usually, I wake up every morning around 6:30 a.m.  (I am an early riser). After a quick breakfast, I write my schedule for the day.

Bible study 7:30-8:30

Morning walk 8:45-9:45

Housework 10:00-10:05

Write for website 10:05-11:30 …

You get the idea.

Vacation time

This summer, we vacationed in a little cabin in northern Michigan. Much to my chagrin, the cabin did not have a working clock. I was flabbergasted. How would I be able to schedule my vacation without knowing the time?

At first I struggled with the whole time issue; I never realized how often I checked my phone … until it didn’t work. The internet is dicey at best in northern Michigan. But, after a few days, I sank into a delightful rhythm.

Time?? Who needs to know the time? A pox upon all clocks and time pieces, I thought with reckless abandon.  We ate when we were hungry and slept when we were tired. I was no longer ruled by

the tick

and the tock

of an

unrelenting clock.

The tyranny of time.

While Jesus does not want us to be ruled by the tyranny of time, He does want us to have a sense of urgency about the time and the seasons. All time is moving towards an awe inspiring event – the Day of the Lord. What do the times and seasons tell us about this day? How can we prepare for this crucial event? Please click on the link below for more information.

1 Thessalonians, Session 18: Time and Seasons

Short and Sweet Nourishment for the Soul

Spiritual Growth

Acts 2:42 lists four things the early church did to grow up in their faith:

1. ” … continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine …”

1. What can you do today to put more of God’s Word in your heart?
2. Is anything growing in your heart (bitterness, jealousy, sketchy habits) taking up space needed for God’s Word?

2. Fellowship

1. Which type of fellowship do you need to grow your faith, teaching and encouragement or good works?
2. Using your answer to point one, what will you do to start growing in fellowship?

3. Breaking of bread (a.k.a. communion)

1. What can you sacrifice today to help someone else grow up in Christ … time … Starbucks … a plate of cookies … a personal note of encouragement?
2. Name a certain area of life or character quality you need to improve. How can you more closely follow God’s will in this area?

4. Pray

1. Grow up and take a step of faith: I will lay aside my will and ask God to work His will concerning _____________________________.

1. Thank God for how He will work His will for point 1..

Life is sweet! Grow up!

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