GirlsTBS

GIRLS ONLY
Weekly Bible Study

TBS #15
Sent out via E-mail to those who request it every Tuesday

The purpose of these weekly Bible Studies are to grow you closer to God. To know God is to love God, to love God is to obey Him, and to obey Him is to become more Christ-like. Before you begin, give yourself time and quiet. Have your Bible with you, and make sure you pray before and after each Bible Study.

Do You Want Some Cheese With That Whine?

I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS...



Hello and welcome back to school for those of you who hadn’t started it up yet. I thank God that each class means a witnessing opportunity for you, even with teachers/professors, and that God will use you to further His kingdom and glory. What an amazing responsibility, yet God chooses US to complete the task. Well, as you well know, you are not my only Christian friends. (Doesn’t mean you’re not special, I promise.) I know brothers and sisters in Christ from all walks of life and walks of faith, from newer-than-you Christians to those who have been Saved for decades. And I’ve found that regardless of how long you’ve been Saved, God will grow everyone at a different pace, but unfortunately many Christians choose not to let God grow them to their full potential. I’ve met long-time Christians who have a weaker faith than some who have only been Saved for a few months. I sometime talk to friends who are a lot older than me but have a very sour outlook on life; there’s no joy because they choose not to focus on Christ, who will bring that joy. And that’s going to be my focus today. What’s your outlook in life? Your attitude toward life in general and different events and things that happen to you REALLY reflects where you are in your walk with Christ. It shows how much faith you have, and where your focus REALLY is. If you find that you’re often depressed or pessimistic or always down or complaining because you just can’t seem to get a break, you seriously need to step back and reevaluate how strong a Christian you really are. I’ll explain how the two are related after you grab your Bible and pray…make it a long prayer. Really focus on God and His will for you. HERE GOES… When I’m talking to someone who’s whining and complaining and calls themselves a Christian, I know that one of two things, or both, are possible: either they have given themselves things to complain about, or really have a messed up outlook on life. I’m not just talking about something like asking someone how they’re doing and getting a minute-by-minute account of their “awful” day, but even stuff as big as “My car is totaled and now I’m late for work and my boss said if I’m late one more day I’m fired.” We don’t have reason to complain. We don’t even have reason to be down, let alone voice that emotion. There’s definitely going to be quite a few verses to look up. It’s okay to print out these Bible Studies and read them over the course of the week…do a section at a time, if you can’t handle it all at once. (Yes, I talk a lot!!) ALL THE TIME It has been said that when a language has more than one word for a certain concept or idea or thing, that it is a very important thing to the culture that uses that language. For example, Eskimos have MANY words for “snow”. I will not be listing those, though I’d like to point out that we have many words for “bathroom” in America (toilet, powder room, john, bathroom, restroom…). Emotionalism is also an important concept in America. “If it feels good, do it,” is a thought that pulls a lot of people deeper into sin. But what about feeling bad? Growing up in America, we’re pretty much raised to think about ourselves, and when something doesn’t go right, it’s “Oh, woe is me.” Here’s some words for sad: depressed, melancholy, down, morose, self-pitying, pitiful, low, blue, in the dumps, tearful, heartbroken, desolate, woebegone, gloomy, mournful, doleful, unhappy, sorrowful…my goodness, are we depressed or what? Most of those were off the top of my head! As Christians, we are aliens in this world (1 Peter 2:11) and thus set apart from the unsaved. Let them wallow in their self-pity. We’re different and have something to be happy about ALL THE TIME. Read Psalms 66:1 ad 47:1. Everyone should rejoice! Woo! But how can you rejoice in God if you don’t know Him? We know Him. Also read 1 Thessalonians 5:16…God commands it. WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE So this is the first of those two things I said will really bring down a Christian’s mood…if they let it. Bad stuff. Car breaks down, get into argument with your mom/dad/brother/sister/friend/boyfriend/bum on the street, bad grade on test you studied for, bad hair day, bad everything day, dog dies, grandma dies, 9-11, friend moves away, you move away, get sick, late for work, had to walk home in rain, got insulted, got gossiped about, etc etc. Yes, bad stuff happens. If it didn’t, we wouldn’t appreciate the good stuff. Let’s say you have your average run-of-the-mill bad day. I’ll give a couple examples. Do you have A LOT of obligations, and your agenda is so full you don’t even have time to blink? Read Philippians 2:14. Are you being bullied or persecuted a lot? Gossiped about, insulted a bunch of times, etc? Read Psalm 5:11. Are you in serious need? Family financially not doing well, hurricane wrecked your home, something that really was out of your hands? Psalm 37:18-19…and remember: everything happens for a reason. There is a difference, a big one, between trials and temptations. Trials are from God and temptations are from Satan. A trial is meant to grow and strengthen you…to test you so that you’ll depend on God. A temptation is meant to trip you up and pull you away from God, to weaken your faith and trust in Him. Read James 1:2-3. When you go through trials, know their purpose. When you face temptations, know your stand. GIVING YOURSELF REASONS TO COMPLAIN (BRINGING IT UPON YOURSELF) Sometimes, there is stuff we do that seriously leads us down the wrong path…such as giving into temptation. Obvious example I KNOW none of you would do: if you have premarital relations, you WILL later struggle with a bad reputation and maybe even STDs like gonorrhea of the mouth or some other horror of the body. You might get pregnant if you actually have sex. It’s hard times that resulted in your bad choices. An example given in Proverbs 23:29-35 (read it) is drunkenness. Of course you have a reason to complain…you brought it upon yourself!! You may have reason complain, but you better not complain in times like this. Read Lamentations 3:39. It’s a “do the crime, do the time” kinda thing. If you make a choice, be prepared to face the consequences, and know that the consequences of sin are not happy and special or have little rainbows floating around them. You can hear Paul’s incredulous tone of voice in Galatians 4:15, and the second part of his comment suggests that they’re putting themselves through all the suffering. Don’t do the same to yourself. A BAD OUTLOOK ON LIFE The most common way of “bringing it upon yourself” is self-pity, which is rooted deeply in pride. Though all sins are equal, I strongly believe pride is Satan’s favorite. Pride is what got Satan kicked out of heaven in the first place (check out Isaiah 14:12-15). And when we are pitying ourselves, we’re thinking only of ourselves, which is a characteristic of pride. My original three girls will remember when we studied The Parable of the Sower in Luke 18 (that’s the one where the seeds are scattered in different places). Most of you know the parable…the seed, or Word, is planted in different people. It lands in different places, and either grows or doesn’t grow for different reasons. Check out specifically Luke 18:13. At first there’s that joy!, and then as trials come along, they “woe is me” themselves away from God. Bad attitude. ? Some people are always complaining and self-pitying because it attracts attention, even if it’s negative attention. Let me first get out of the way the fact that man’s opinion of you does not matter…they will not be the ones judging you when you die. And I say secondly to read Proverbs 14:10. Your pity will bring you nothing: no empathy, no sincere appreciation of the “pain” you’re going through. People get sick of whining, and sick of listening to it, and will NOT respect you or your words. How can you verbally witness IN A CREDIBLE MANNER when no one will listen to you? The solution to a pessimistic outlook is found in Psalm 86:4. Give it all to God. All your sorrows, troubles, chores, trials, temptations, aches, pains, stress, responsibilities, etc. He will take care of all of it for you, and He will take care of you. When I or someone else says “Give it all to God”, it means to put your faith and TRUST in Him, that He knows what He’s doing and will guide your life. It means don’t take matters into your own hands: go to Him first in prayer, and trust, trust, trust Him. ECCLESIASTES Still bogged down by the worries and pains this world has to offer? Thinking you can’t give it all to God, or it’s too hard? Remember this: everything is meaningless. From the book in the Bible often considered the most depressing comes the best advice to give you amazing joy. Read Ecclesiastes, keeping in mind that the main point of the book is not “Everything is meaningless,” but goes beyond! Look deeper and see that everything is meaningless…except God. This is a deep book with an enlightening message that really puts things into perspective. We’ll put things into perspective now with a few examples. Read first Ecclesiastes 9:9. What you get is what you get, and feel blessed because you can always have worse and less. If you’ve ever read Job, the guy lost all his income, all his children, all his servants and employees, his wife put him down, his friends put him down, he got horribly sick (gross blisters and sores kinda sick), and all at the same time. Yet he kept his faith, because he had life and breath, and most importantly he had God. You have eternal life. What is there to complain about? You were chosen by God to live forever with Him in the coolest place ever created. It was created by the same God who set the stars in place and named each one, who carefully numbered the hairs on your head, who breathed life into Adam that one miraculous day not so long ago, and who loves you more than your heart can experience. Compared to Him, everything is meaningless. Pause for a moment and consider those words, and try to understand the fullness of His love for YOU. Read now Ecclesiastes 11:8. God gave you a specified amount of time here on Earth, and you have a purpose. He’s called, or will call you, for an important task (or more than one!) that you and only you can complete for him. You don’t know when you’ll be called home to heaven, so make the most of your time here. And “remember the days of darkness”…there will be hard times, and stand be prepared and be strong in the Lord. WHAT TO BE SAD ABOUT (BUT NOT OVERCOME BY) Okay now, this doesn’t mean run around with an obnoxious smile and peppy outlook on everything. You do need to be realistic. There are times to cry, but it’s not all the time. There are things to be sad about, but know that there is joy in even death. Morose as it sounds, I was thinking about what I will do when my parents die. I’m gonna be frank. My parents aren’t Saved, and as of now are not on the path to Heaven. If they were to die tonight, they would be in hell. Yes, I would cry – for the loss of lifelong friends, lifelong guardians, and because they had died without Christ living within them. But I would rejoice in that God is perfect and so is His plan, that He had a reason for their death, and that I was a witness to them and did my best to help them come to Christ. Now, they’re not dead yet: and I pray daily that they’ll be Saved so that I can spend eternity with them, too, because I love them. It’s okay to cry when a Christian dies, too, because you won’t see them for a long time. You cry when a friend moves away or leaves on a really long trip because you’ll miss them. I shed a few tears before coming up here to Tallahassee. But rejoice that they are safe and happy and in good hands! Rejoice that goodbye is not forever anymore, because Christ’s death allowed us to always be together! And just as the subtitle suggests, it’s okay to be sad, but don’t only be sad. There is ALWAYS something to take joy in…rather, Someone. God, and His promises to us. Read John 16:21-22. Here’s some meat for you. The verse has more than one meaning. On the surface, Jesus gives a metaphor that makes a lot of sense: like a woman in labor, the pain is worth the results. Then He says that yes, when I leave you (die) it will be hard, but my return (resurrection) will be even better. Here’s the second meaning, and the one that really applies to us today (since He was talking to his disciples here). In the Bible, you’ll often see the End Times, more specifically the really tough trials and tribulations, compared to a woman in childbirth. If you’re not exactly sure what I’m talking about (I hope you are), I’m talking about Christ’s return. There will come a time when Jesus will come back to take all Christians to heaven…there will be a time of seven years of really bad natural disasters and more than half the Earth’s population will die. Then there will be a great battle between God and Satan, and God will win. It’s the end of the world. As we draw nearer to this time, the world is going to get worse and worse…more and more sin is going to be socially acceptable (i.e. homosexuality, porn, religious pluralism, horoscopes and psychics, etc.) and Christians are going to have it worse off (more persecution, called closed-minded, etc.) Though we should be saddened by the state of the world and the sin of God’s creation, mankind…there is joy and HOPE in that He will come back for us, and there will be a major revival (a lot of people will get Saved) right before these End Times. On a side note, don’t worry: there’s gonna be a lot of signs that tells Christians that it’s happening, so you won’t miss it…God promises and so I do, too. ;) WHAT TO TAKE JOY IN There is A LOT to take in. Please take the time to look up all of these verses, really. I have you look up verses yourself so that you will REALLY get to know the Bible. Take joy in your brothers and sisters in Christ, that you’ll be friends literally forever! (2 Timothy 1:4, 2 John 1:4, 3 John 1:3) Be joyful when you’re in the presence of God, like in church. (1 Chronicles 16:27) Be VERY joyful that you’re Saved. (Psalm 30:11, Isaiah 12:3, Isaiah 26:19, Isaiah 51:11) Feel joy even when you’re persecuted. (1 Peter 4:13) Take joy when you go through trials. (James 1:2-4) Be joyful when you see God’s work being done. (Psalm 92:4) Look around and see God’s creation that was made just for your enjoyment and pleasure. (Isaiah 65:18) Take joy and HOPE in Christ’s death, and His love for you. (Hebrews 12:2) Take so much joy in Jesus. (1 Peter 1:8-9) CONCLUSION I personally do not believe that depression is a chemical imbalance of the brain. If I am wrong (I’m not always right), then I know 110% that God can overcome it. If you think you’re struggling with constant not-so-happy feelings, put your full focus on God and pray whole-heartedly and sincerely. God’s the ultimate physician (besides, He made you and thus knows you better than any Earthly doctor). Read Romans 12:12 carefully, and carefully consider each word. Be patient through affliction, or hard times and trials, because you know that God has a reason and the end result will be worth it, even if you can’t see that right away. “Be faithful in prayer” means to pray continually, just like it says to in 1 Thessalonians. I feel joy because I feel like John did when he wrote 3 John 1:3-4. I saw a lot of you girls get Saved, and some of you to my words. I feel a great responsibility to you because I see that God has given me the task of teaching you, and I’m honored. I am so encouraged by you, even when I only receive a simple question, because it shows me that you are seeking God and remaining faithful to Him. You are all a blessing to me (yes, even you Jessie and Vanessa, who have come a long way in your faiths), and I love you all so much. Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Please pray now in closing, and feel joy all this week and the rest of your lives.