GirlsTBS

GIRLS ONLY
Weekly Bible Study

TBS #4
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.

Livin' It Up

I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS...

Pray daily and continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

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Get your Bible, say a prayer, get started. :) Today's is called "Livin' It Up", and is pretty darned important because it has to do with living as a 24/7 Christian, not just when we're with other Christians, and dealing with persecution. It's really hard to do. You talk about Buddha or Allah and most people are super-open about it. Mention Jesus and they get closed up, but call you closed-minded. Carry a Bible and you'll get weird looks, sometimes mean looks. I've had a really nasty message left on my voicemail of my cell phone a while ago, and I felt on top of the world. I know that sounds weird, but I promise to explain. First we're gonna hit on how to live as a Christian daily, and then how to deal with people's reaction to that lifestyle. :) LIVIN' IT UP (WOOO!!!)...ALONE (Oh.) Thoughts, words, actions, deeds. Well, they're not the road to Heaven as many people think, but they sure do store up those treasures for you in Heaven. (Check out Matthew 6:19-20). We have to live as Christians not only in our private lives, but in our public lives as well, despite the opinions of others. Remember: the opinions other people have of you don't matter; they won't be there on your Judgment Day (when you go to heaven and stand before God so He can decide whether or not to let you in Heaven). In our private lives, we're to do things I hope I've already encouraged you to do. By living as a Christian, we grow to be more like Christ. This is described in the Bible as growing "in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18, NIV). We do these things, among others: (1) Read the Bible daily. It's God's inspired Word. It answers questions you may have, and tells you what pleases God. If you don't know where to start, head this way: First, read through the Gospel of John, a chapter a day. This will help you understand the basic facts about the Gospel. Then read Acts, for the exciting story of how Christ's first disciples spread the Good News of His death and resurrection. Next, read some of the letters that Christ's apostles wrote to these first disciples -- all of whom were new in their faith, just like you. These letters include Romans through 3 John. Then, go back and read one of the other three gospels: Matthew, Mark or Luke. Really think about what you read; study and analyze it. Talk about it with your pastor, a big sister or brother from church, or me. The Bible not only reveals God to us; it contains greater wisdom than all the other books in the world. Read through the Psalms -- the Old Testament book of worship -- to enrich your devotion to God. Read Proverbs to gain wisdom and common sense, and to strengthen your relationships with other people. Pray for understanding when you read. The Holy Spirit will help you (Psalm 119:18), and you will begin to see life from God's perspective. Whenever you can, talk with others about what you are learning. God will sometimes speak to you through other Christians. (2) Pray daily. Like you'd build a relationship with a friend by talking to them, we do the same with God through prayer. And He will reply...it's not one-sided...you just gotta listen. Talk over your problems with Him, and let Him carry the weight of your troubles for you. (Read Matthew 11:28 and 1 Peter 5:7.) Praise and thank God for who He is and for what He has done for you. Admit your weaknesses. Confess each specific sin that you are aware of. Pray for others that they, too, may accept Jesus as their Savior. I used to pray as I walked through school. Just walking class to class, I'd pray mentally. "God, I don't know that kid but he seems to be someone always looking for attention. Lord, He needs your attention. Please let me or one of my brothers or sisters have a witnessing opportunity with him." And there's crazy stuff that happens when you pray. I had a Jewsih friend Scott in my 2nd hour class that I witnessed to for about half an hour one day, and prayed for big time afterwards. When I went to Fast Friday that week and told Merritt and Gary about it, I found out that they too had witnessed to him that week...we had no clue the other had been witnessing to him, but God had coordinated it perfectly. Three seeds, at least, have been planted in Scott, and I feel sure that someday I will be able to call him brother. Prayer is awesome. (3) Learn to depend on the Holy Spirit. We talked about the Spirit last week (?) and hopefully we know more about Him now. He lives inside of you, is your counselor, and will help you understand the truth in God's Word. Trust Him, He knows what He's doing. Check out John 14:26. He will guide you, teach you, and strengthen you in your times of need. (4) Learn to conquer your doubts. I have doubts sometimes. Every Christian does, but it's a matter of not letting them get the best of you. Merritt and I talk about our doubts sometimes, and help each other overcome them. Something that helps me when I realize I'm doubting God or God's plan or whatever, is I kinda sit back and just pray, "God. I'm doubting. Help me to trust you more." It's so easy, yet so hard, because you're admitting to God that you're doubting Him (as if He doesn't already know). Maybe you doubt that you're really Saved. Hey, it happens to us all. Here may be some causes for your doubt: There may be some big failures in your Christian life; you may find yourself thinking about things that you feel Christians just shouldn't be thinking about; or you may be troubled by some unconfessed sin. When these things happen, it is important to remember that you are not Saved by your goodness but by what Christ has already done for you. Reassure yourself with the fact that, if you have received Christ by faith, you are now a child of God. Once you are Saved, you're Saved eternally. (5) Live one day at a time. Way too often our lives become filled with anxiety and stress. We worry ourselves sick about what might happen tomorrow. Check out Matthew 6:33-34 and Philippians 4:6-7. The Bible also promises that, "Your strength will equal your days" (Deuteronomy 33:25, NIV). In other words, God's never going to put something in your path that's too much for you to handle. You'll always have the strength to get through each day...just depend on Him! (6) Learn how to deal with tempation. This is one I'm still working on. It's a constant struggle, it really is. And everyone has something specific that they struggle with. For some it's lust, or movies that go too far. Maybe music you know God wouldn't approve of, or that one friend you just can't stop calling, even though she always gets you in trouble. The clothes you want to wear to fit in. The lies you want to tell to keep out of trouble. Leaning over that brainchild's shoulder that sits in front of you to sneak a peak at the answers to a final you didn't study for. It's not worth it. You're gyping yourself out of treasures in heaven that you'd get if you'd resist temptation. Temptation is a part of life. It was before you received Christ, and it still will be. And so you know, it's not a sin to have wrong thoughts from time to time. It is, however, a sin to choose to dwell on such thoughts over and over again. The first verse I ever memorized was Matthew 26:41. Look it up now. Also read 1 Corinthians 10:13. And be prepared to take advantage of God's "way out" of temptation, whether it means that you "flee" the scene of the temptation (1 Timothy 6:11), or that you stay on the scene and "resist" it (James 4:7). "I'M IN PUBLIC RELATIONS, YOU?" "PRETTY MUCH THE SAME. I'M AN AMBASSADOR." "WOW! REALLY? WHO'S YOUR EMPLOYER?" "CHRIST." "...OH." Jesus may love everyone, but everyone certainly does not love Jesus. It's okay. He expected it. Hey, He faced it when He was here, why wouldn't He face it when He was gone, too? And because we are Christians, because we bear His name as CHRISTians, we're gonna face the same kinda opposition. That's why it's hard to live as a Christian...persecution. Persecution is when you are attacked for your faith in Christ. It could be verbal, a dirty look, or in some cases physical persecution. What is the worst that can happen to us? We die. But that's not bad at all! When we die, we spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven. So it's worth it. After becoming a Christian, you may have noticed that some people you considered your friends aren't as friendly as they used to be. Maybe you've been persecuted like I have -- a nasty voicemail, or even someone saying stuff right to your face. This is a good thing, believe it or not. If you are being put down because of your faith in Christ, it means that people recognize that you are a Christian...you're doing something right. If you're not being persecuted at all, maybe it's time to reevaluate your lifestyles. There's a couple things to know: (1) We're aliens. Yeah, you read right. Aliens. No, not UFO-flying, "force be with you"-saying, kryptonite-fearing, "ET phone home" kinda aliens. Read 1 Peter 2:11. As soon as you accepted Christ, you became set apart, or sanctified, from the rest of the world. You deserve better than what this world has to offer you. Read Romans 12:2. We don't need to conform anymore, because to conform is to want to be like the rest of the world. We don't want that, because we see the error in it. There's better. (2) Take joy in persecution. Because we're not like them, they're going to persecute us. Sadly and strangely, sometimes "Christians" who don't have understanding because they don't seek/know God will also persecute you. You may be called an extremist, as my mom calls me. You may be accused of forcing your faith on others, like Merritt has been because of her frequent missions trips. You may be accused of a lot of stuff, but remember: the Spirit will guide you, and He knows the truth. Don't buy into the lies of this world. So why should this make us happy? Read 2 Thessalonians 1:4 and Revelation 2:10. God will reward you if you trust in Him and stay strong. It means you're doing something right. (3) Witness for Christ. Those who do not know Christ are lost. They're in the dark. I hope you've been reading or have finished reading John in your daily Quiet Times. Go back to John Chapter 3, and reread verses 19-21. We need to tell people about Jesus. When comforting a friend who just broke up with their boyfriend/girlfriend, or was just broken up with, remind them that Jesus will never abandon them. If your friends want you to do something you know that God wouldn't approve of, tell them why you won't do it...your faith. Play Christian music in the car when you're giving friends a ride, or at a sleepover. It's hard, I know...but it takes a leap of faith. It comes down to this: IF YOU DON'T SHARE YOUR FAITH WHEN YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, YOU'RE BEING SELFISH. Jesus is the only way to a life of inner peace, security, and Heaven. How could you deny someone else the opportunity to choose to have the same? And if you have the privilege of being asked about your faith, and you shrug it off in embarassment, you've just denied Christ and turned down a witnessing opportunity He's provided for you. And remember: when witnessing, if you don't know something, say so...promise to find out and get back to them, and do so. (4) Serve and love everyone, including the "unlovable". There are people in this world that I do not like. I simply don't like them. They annoy me to no end, or they're mean to others without reason. But I have to remember: Jesus loved and washed the feet of Judas. He ate with tax collectors. Didn't even ignore or try to avoid them. It's hard to love the unlovable, but we've gotta remember: love is a verb, not the touchy feely emotion we see on TV. That doesn't mean think to yourself "I hate you, I hate you, you suck" while you lend them some lunch money you'll probably never see again, because that's self-extended not-cool thoughts. But it does mean set aside how you feel about them, and try to see what makes them do that. The annoying girl may be so all over you all the time because she needs a friend. She needs attention or affection or just to have her existence acknowledged! She might be hurting so bad inside, and behind that obnoxious smile is self-doubt, low self-esteem, and maybe even thoughts of suicide. To smile back and treat her as a friend, despite how much she may get on your nerves could save her life. And what a witnessing oppotunity, to befriend someone everyone else ignores. You will show her Christ's love like no other method could. And that guy who always puts you down. Calls you "Jesus Freak" or "Bible Beater", "moron" or accuses you constantly of things. If he sees you get angry or catches you in the act of committing a sin, he'll call you a "hypocrite". Pray for him. You never know when he may wind up in a situation where you can help him, and then he sees more in you than he wanted to see before. And don't rub it in. Christ's love shines brightly enough on it's own. God loves you, and He loves everyone else, too. When the unSaved don't want to set their eyes on Him and His love, they may look at you, and you can be a beacon of His love and light. Grow near to God in your private life, and stay near to Him in your public life. Do what you know is honoring to Him, even when it's hard. Close in prayer, giving thanks and asking for help in applying to your daily life.