Satan Doesn’t Mind Bible Study Never Applied

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Matthew 7:24 (NIV)

Receiving, reading, researching, remembering, and reflecting on the Word of God are all useless if we fail to put them into practice. We must become doers of the word (James 1:22 KJV).

I understand this is a hard step, because Satan fights it so intensely. He doesn’t mind you studying the bible as long as you don’t do anything with what you learn.

We fool ourselves when we assume that just because we have heard or read or studied a truth, we have internalised it. 

Actually, you can be so busy going to the next class or seminar or Bible conference that you have no time to implement what you’ve learned. You forget it on the way to your next study. Without implementation, all our Bible studies are worthless. Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24 NIV)

Jesus also pointed out that God’s blessing comes from obeying the truth, not just knowing it. He said, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17 (NIV)

I cannot overstate the value of being a part of a small Bible study discussion group. We always learn from others truths we would never learn on our own. Other people will help you see insights you would miss and help you apply God’s truth in a practical way.

The best way to become a doer of the Word is to always write out an action step as a result of your reading or studying or reflecting on God’s Word. Develop the habit of writing down exactly what you intend to do. 

This action step should be personal (involving you), practical (something you can do), and provable (with a deadline to do it). Every application will involve either your relationship to God, your relationship to others, or your personal character.

Talk about it – 

What has God already told you to do in his Word that you haven’t started doing yet?

Just a few thoughts….

Well it is Monday morning and I am in my office reflecting on the week that has been and planning for the week that is. 

For Sharon and I we just had one of the quietest starts to a weekend that we can remember. Much to the frustration of our daughter we were home Friday night, Saturday and Saturday night. Sunday made up for this quiet time with church Sunday morning, a friends birthday in the afternoon and then 6 hours sitting around Henley Square with friends taking in the amazing Adelaide weather.

Something stood out to me about all of this and it is pretty simple:  we all need times of rest. Although it can be hard to sit still sometimes because of the pace that life can throw at us, moments of rest are critical to how we navigate life. Here’s a few things I experienced through a few days of rest:

• the pressure comes off - don’t HAVE to be anywhere, don’t HAVE to do anything.
• get a little perspective on things - sometimes we can make things so BIG in our minds but when we have moments of rest it allows us time to put these areas into perspective and realise that it’s not all doom and gloom
• peace comes - i turned up to church Sunday morning with such a peace that God is in control. I wasn’t running around with a million things to do but instead I was excited for what God was going to do

I could go on and on with the positive effects of taking some time to rest but I might just let you experience that for yourself. Rather than read my experience and be inspired how about just making a plan NOW to get a day or two where you close down the diary, slow down  the pace and get some time to REST.

I promise you that it will be a great experience.

Have a terrific week - Josh B

What Do I Do With This, God?

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9 NIV) 

When we confess our belief in Jesus Christ, we often assume our lives will become easier. It doesn’t help that many people with good intentions teach this as biblical truth.

Certainly Jesus taught that his yoke is easy (Matthew 11:30), and the apostle Paul spoke about the Sabbath rest of God (Hebrews 4:9), but both these examples teach the need to develop a deep trust in God and not that following Jesus is easy. We’re to step into the will of God and stay there, trusting he has our best interests at heart (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28).

With God’s Spirit working in us and through us, we can get through what we’re going through. The apostle Paul says this is the very time we can learn to trust Jesus: “Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am” (Philippians 4:13 MSG).

If we want to make a significant contribution to the Kingdom of God, we cannot sidestep the difficult seasons of life. Like Paul, we can watch God keep us from being crushed when we’re under pressure, give us hope when things don’t make any sense, reveal his presence when we are rejected, and pick us back up when we’re knocked senseless to the ground (2 Corinthians 4:8–9). 

Getting through what you’re going through requires a shift. Instead of asking, “Why me?” ask, “What do I do with this, God?”

Fathers - by John Bishop

FATHERS

We are a fatherless generation.   So was the nation of Israel some 2500 years ago.  I love the story of God, pursuing us, loving us with a consuming fire and even in our sins he wants to restore us.

Your children NEED YOU.  Turn your hearts toward them.  Reach out to them.  Seek to understand them more than wanting them to understand you.

They want your presence more than your perfection.  They want to know you are there, through whatever, and whenever.   They need you to be the safe person in their lives. 

According to recent studies “children with involved Fathers are more confident, better able to deal with frustration, better able to gain independence and their own identity, more likely to mature into compassionate adults, more likely to have a high self esteem, more sociable, more secure as infants, less likely to show signs of depression, less likely to commit suicide, more empathetic, boys have been shown to be less aggressive and adolescent girls are less likely to engage in sex.”   SOURCE: U.S. Dept of Health

Everyone grows up with a common longing, and a deep need for a fathers presence in our lives.   Turning toward your children is the first step in healing and restoring your relationship with them.   I get what it ‘s like to “feel like you can’t or don’t measure up”   I really, really do.  I am a dad before I am a pastor.    And I was a son before I was a dad.

You matter SO MUCH to your kids.  Turning is merely the first step.

Growing up with a step-dad that was abusive and a dad that died when I was really young made me hesitant to trust God as my father.  I wanted a Savior, I needed a Savior and I also needed a Father.  I needed a Heavenly Father, and so do you.  I can’t express enough how I missed so much because I was focused on what I had lost, instead of who God was.  He is the perfect Father.  His love and compassion will never fail.

A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you”  

So many people have a distorted view of God because we somehow think God is a bigger version of our earthly fathers. We transfer negative experiences into negative expectations of God.    

God LONGS to be the Perfect Father you have always needed and wanted. As good as the best dad is, we all fall short of being perfect.  Be ok to be you, and turn your heart toward God, and as you do you will see what God sees.  You will see not how much you need to fix, but how much you matter just because.   The more clearly I see God, the more authentically I see my role as a father in the life of three kids who need their daddy.

CHILDREN

God wants to do a new thing in your heart and in your relationship with your father.  I encourage you to pray for him, to accept him, and to love him.

As I said before, I was a dad before I was a pastor, but before I was a dad I was a son.  I get so much of what people feel when it comes to the dad “stuff”. I still to this day remember standing at my dad’s grave basically yelling at him for dying.  Talk about a moment you never forget.  But that moment was also a pivotal point where I began the journey of forgiving a dad I have never known.

I can say that without hesitation I am blessed to have three amazing kids who each have extended so much grace to my life.   I’m not sure where I would be without each of them.  They love me, and we can talk about almost anything. 

Being a dad isn’t an easy thing, but being able to bless my kids and see their joy is a picture of what God wants for each of us.  Being a dad is a big thing and almost every dad I know doesn’t feel like they can measure up.    Turn toward your dad.  Turn toward a new day.  Turn toward what God wants for you. 

When people ask me who goes first, I say “You do”. 

It is always your move,

Afraid of Making the Wrong Decision?

“He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3b NIV)

Sometimes we’re afraid of making the wrong decision. And that creates stress.

But God says there is an antidote to our indecision. Psalm 23:3 tells us, “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” We handle the stress of decision-making by letting God guide us.

You may be thinking, “But I’ve tried this!” You asked God to guide you, but then you became m ore confused than before. You still couldn’t figure it out. You wonder, “Why is knowing God’s will so difficult?”

Is God playing games with us? Of course not! God wants to guide us. He wants us to know his will more than we want to know it. Our problem is we often look for the wrong thing when we’re trying to find God’s will.

Some of us look for a feeling. Some of us want a methodical approach to God’s will, a recipe, or a formula to apply. Some of us take a magical approach and look for God to do some fantastic sign. 

All of these ways lead to frustration and cause us to miss God’s will. 

God does not want you confused, and he does not want you stressed over making any decision. He is there, guiding you every step of the way. 

This is his promise, so you can believe it to be true: “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”