My Daily Pause

A faithful man will abound with blessings
but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.– Proverbs 28:20 ESV

If you are looking for the riches that will not rust away, stressing a life of kindness and concern for others is the key. Paul taught against making the accumulation of wealth a priority (1 Timothy 6:6-10) and through his example showed us how to be content no matter the circumstances (Philippians 4:11-13). It takes a special mindset to know when you have enough.

Look at the story of the Rich Young Ruler. He wasn’t lost because he had some money, he was lost because he valued it above all else (Luke 18:18-27). We know God doesn’t mind his children becoming rich – when Solomon asked God only for wisdom, he loved what was in Solomon’s heart so much,  God granted him that and possibly unlimited personal wealth as a bonus.

Putting God at the top is the first step. The rest will take care of itself.

 godliness with contentment is great gain. – 1 Timothy 6:6

I am teaching Bible class this morning and answering the question, “How do I study the Bible?” Since this is a site that centers on Bible study, I thought I would post the outline and notes as reference for future posts.

The blessings associated with reading the scripture do not come from a casual glance. Like anything, it takes some hard work and dedication to gain an appreciation and understanding of the Bible. We could say Ignorance breeds contempt in reference to anything, but it probably holds true with the Bible more than anything.

We Required to Study

Romans 10:17 says that our faith come from hearing the word of God. Basically, if we are not digging into God’s word, then we are not growing our faith!

Some Scripture that proves the need to study:

• 2 Timothy 2:2 – We have to be able to teach the word
• 2 Timothy 2:15 – Study makes us approved people of God
• 2 Timothy 3:16 – The Bible is God’s final word for how to live
• 2 Timothy 4:2 – We should be able to respond with God’s word
• Acts 17:11 – The Bereans were called noble for studying the scriptures
• Revelation 1:3 – Blessings are given to those that study and act on the scriptures

Personal Organization

Personal Bible study is a habit. If it were a bad habit, everyone would do it! In order to establish a habit, the rule of thumb is that it needs to be repeated for 21 days. It probably takes far fewer days to break the habit, so we have do as much planning and setup as we can to insure our success. We can treat our Bible study just like a meeting at work and schedule it on our calendar. This is the fist and biggest step to making the commitment.

Here are the basic steps to help you get organized:

• Decide on a time – set an appointment
• Decide on a place – A nice comfortable place free of distraction that will help you get into the flow of study
• Decide on a time frame – an easy beginning of say 15 minutes will eventually turn into more as you grow!
• Decide on a structure – Important. What are you going to use your time doing? Have a plan going in as to what you will accomplish during your study time
• Choose a Bible reading plan or Bible study. – Rather than randomly flipping open your Bible and reading, you need a plan, like the one in the header of this site, or another of your choosing. You might also decide to follow a topical Bible study guide similar to what we might use in Sunday School
• Pray – James 1:5 reminds us to ask God for the wisdom we lack. Be sure to invite him into your Bible study
• Consider adding worship to your study – Some simple praise and song during this time would add to the benefit of study
• Consider a Journal – I began using this site to journal my thoughts as I do my daily reading and it has really paid dividends to my understanding and retention of what I read. While writing something publically might not be your thing, a personal journal will give you the same benefit.
• Commit – This has to be a firm appointment with God, it cannot be a hit or miss activity or it will never stick.
• Be flexible with yourself – If you find after all of the above steps that what you are doing isn’t clicking, start over at #1 and rethink where you are in your maturity and adjust the plan accordingly. The ultimate goal is to take where you are and grow from there.

Tools

While you can (and should) just start with just your Bible, you’ll need a few items to help you along the way as you get more and more serious about your study:

• Bible – A word for word translation is best for Bible study, especially as you mature. KJV, NKJV and ESV are my main choices for this. The ASV and NASB are also good for this purpose too.
• A Concordance – I mean a really good one like Cruden’s Complete Concordance
• A Dictionary – I honestly recommend Webster’s American Dictionary from 1828! It gives reference to how words are used in the Bible, especially when used with the King James Version
• Strong’s Numbers – This helps you get down to the original words in the Hebrew and Greek to better understand what the passage is telling you.
• Commentary – While not required by any means it can help to get an explanation of how other Bible scholars understand a passage. Always remember to compare what they say strictly to the Bible using your other tools!

This is a lot for one sitting! Over time we’ll use this as a building block for more on how to study God’s word.

During a recent morning blog writing session, I had set the empty coffee cup that I was using that morning beside the one that I didn’t take to the sink the day before. They weren’t identical, but I couldn’t remember which one I was using. When I picked them both up to take them to the kitchen, I knew right away which one was that morning’s cup.

The persistence of the heat in that cup is a great illustration of how our influence on other people can leave an impact for a long time. Even after we have passed from this life, the example that we set for others will remain. What type of example are we providing for our families, our neighbors, our co-workers and others with whom we have contact?

Jesus compared us to salt and light to illustrate the kind of influence we are to have on others. Those who hide themselves from this duty have no value to the kingdom. (Matthew 5:13-16)

Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2 how the Christians there were to present their bodies as living sacrifices and were not to be conformed to this world, but rather they were to be transformed in order to prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Should we as Christians today not be held to this same standard?

In regard to the duration of our influence, we merely need to look at the impact that the Bible has had on individuals since the time of its compilation. Those who wrote down God’s word are still helping to lead many to Christ even though they have long been gone from this world.

How will we be remembered? Will those at our funeral say “You could really see Christ in this one’s life,” or will it be a surprised “This person was a Christian?”

How are you representing Christ?

Daily Bible reading for June 22

Proverbs 23-24
Deuteronomy 23:15-25:19
Amos 9
Matthew 5:1-16

Train children to live the right way,
and when they are old, they will not stray from it.
– Proverbs 22:6 NCV

Three thoughts come immediately to mind when I read this verse:

• Children hear and see everything their parents do.

And imitate it.

And pattern their adulthood after it

• Properly rearing children is a God given duty.
• Children need boundaries

In comparing God’s love with a father’s love, (Hebrews 12:5-11) the Hebrew writer sums up discipline as producing a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who were trained by it. We miserably fail our children if we do not teach them God’s word and discipline them accordingly. Only this kind of “nurturing” (Galatians 6:4 KJV) will allow children to develop and mature into responsible, productive and fulfilled men and women of God.

Daily Bible reading for June 21

Proverbs 21-22
Deuteronomy 23:1-14
Amos 7-8
Matthew 4:12-25

People’s own foolishness ruins their lives,
but in their minds they blame the Lord. – Proverbs 19:3 NCV

What if you took an honest look at each sin you commit over the next year? If you were not allowed to make excuses or blame someone else, would you see the source of your error? How much would your walk with God improve?

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that the Lord will not allow Satan to block the way out of committing a sin. If this is true, then there is always a choice we can make and we have been given the capacity to make it the correct choice.

Will you be proud to tell God about the choices you are making right now?

Daily Bible reading for June 20

Proverbs 19-20
Deuteronomy 22:13-30
Amos 6
Matthew 4:1-11