Today is Bible Study day! Hip, hip, hooray! My two ladies' Bible study groups start back today with new studies. We'll be doing Annointed, Transformed, Redeemed, a Study of David by Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur, an awesome threesome if there ever was one!
I love studying the Bible with other women. As I was lathering up in the shower this morning I was thinking about why some people never take a group Bible study. I know some neat, growing Christians (and maybe you're one of the) who have never, as far as I know, taken a Bible study with a group of people. And that's ok. It's not like it's a prerequisite for going to heaven or anything. Still, I just wonder if they have the wrong idea about what it's all about or if they just don't really know what goes on there or what.
So I decided to supply you with my Top 10 Reasons for Joining a Bible Study (and sticking with it, by the way) so you could at least know why I enjoy Bible study. Believe me, there is no condemnation here, and I'm not trying to twist your arm, just letting you know....that's all. So here goes...
By the way, I would list these in reverse order like what's his face, David Letterman, does, but my numbering tab feature doesn't work that way, I don't think, and I'm in a hurry so, here it is 1 - 10:
- It gives you another great place to wear your cutest new outfit.
- There's usually something great to eat and at least a good pot of coffee (in the morning anyhow).
- You get to meet new people you would otherwise maybe never meet and enjoy them for an hour or two. If you like them a lot you can invite them to lunch, if not you can get in your car and drive away and make a note to yourself to sit by someone else next week.
- You get to check your kiddos into a well-supervised nursery for a couple of hours and pretend like you're a real adult having real adult conversation for a little while. Then when you pick your kiddos up you get to hear the nursery ladies tell you how wonderful your children are. If that doesn't happen, don't fret. At least you got the adult time in.
- You get to see what other cute things other women are wearing in the middle of the week. Otherwise you just see their Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes.
- If you're doing an inductive Bible study like a Precept study or something, you get to use colored pencils. You probably haven't done that since middle school when you used them to mark maps.
- You have some other imperfect, growing people holding you accountable to your commitment to Bible study. You get to meet with them each week and bounce ideas off each other, learning from one another. And if you're not there, they notice. And hopefully they help you get back on track.
- You get to pray with other women (or men if you're a man) and you can even ask them to pray for special things going on in your life.
- You get to spend some one-on-one time with God each day as you do your "homework." What a treat!
- And really this is, of course, the number 1 reason for joining a Bible study - You get to learn vital and practical truths from God's Word that really do help you live every day with a little more victory, a lot more joy, and the assurance that you are growing up in Christ! And as you grow in His Word, you also grow more and more in love with the God of the Word.
Well, I have to run off to Bible study now. Are you in a Bible study group? Why or why not? Let me know. I'd love to hear from you.
KayLabels: Christian walk, discipleship, the Bible