GirlsTBS

GIRLS ONLY
Weekly Bible Study

TBS #12
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.

Stay Focused [on God] in School

I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS...

You are legally allowed to pray in school; it's your student right.



Hey girls. :) Well, this TBS is a result of a request. School's coming up soon, and you guys have grown SO MUCH over the summer, so it's gonna be a lot different come the end of this month (except Tunisha...first day of school was today! Yay!). Even us college girls start fall term soon, and I'm sure God's got a lot to teach us as well. (Me, especially, despite the fact I've already been through summer term...) A lot of this you already know, but it's to serve as a reminder, and give you the Biblical foundation..."WHERE in the Bible does it say I should or shouldn't do this?" So whip out that Bible, and get on your knees before your God... AFTERSCHOOL/WEEKENDS I know...we're talking about staying focused in school, and here I am, first thing, talking about after school and weekends. Let me start off easy and slow: as a Christian, God lives with in you. The Spirit convicts you, and you KNOW when you're doing something you're not supposed to do. This can go both ways: we are either and awesome light in this world as we allow God to shine through us, or we ignore Him and live like heathens, despite the Truth we know and love. We really can't be fence-sitters. The only reason I put this little paragraph in here is to remind you that no matter where we are, we ought to behave as the children of God we are. GOSSIP Okay, when you see the word "gossip", it's an obvious neon-sign flashing "No!" But when it's real life, you KNOW that it's harder to avoid. Usually, it's not even really huge and obvious, like a big rumor going around school about what Girl A and Guy B did this past weekend behind Guy A's back after blah, blah, blah. It's usually subtle. It starts out with a random fact or piece of info, usually in casual conversation. "I heard John and Sue broke up." Then a response, because you can't just ignore the comment. "You know, they only dated for a month or two." Then comes the speculation. "I wonder if it's because...?" And from there, gossip. Barely three sentences and you're talking about someone. How do you avoid it? I mean, you can't censor everyone's comments to you. And it's never your intention to put someone down or talk about them behind their back. It's just conversation with another person. So let's look at what God says about gossip. He says a lot in Proverbs....Proverbs 11:13, 16:28, 18:8, 20:19, 26:20. He lists it with quarelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, arrogance, and disorder in 2 Corinthians 12:20. It's not something to be taken lightly. We're supposed to be the light to this world...reflecting the light of the Son in all we say an do. But when you tarnish a shiny surface with the stains of sin (gossip) and continue to do it, you can't reflect a darned thing and people may be surprised when you tell them you're a Christian. And what's worse, it's bad enough when we gossip in general, but when we gossip about our own brothers and sisters in Christ... We're to encourage each other. We're to hold each other accountable, yes, but that's done by confronting the Christian(s), not by making side-comments to friends. So what do we do when we encounter it? Well, remember Proverbs 26:20, which shows us that where there is no gossip, things are a lot better off. Rewind a bit in Proverbs and we see in 20:19 that we're supposed to avoid people that gossip. That doesn't mean that when you see loose-lipped Lucy in the halls or dorm that you rear march and avoid her...it means you talk to her about it first, and then if she doesn't let up, you tell her "I can't talk to you so often if you're going to be talking about other people all the time." Be polite about it. Yeah, some people are gonna get upset with you. But I'd rather do right in the eyes of God than right in the eyes of man. Bottom line: avoid it...avoid doing it, avoid being around it. It's hurtful, and you KNOW it is if you've ever been a victim of gossip and rumors, true or not. SUBMITTING TO AUTHORITY Those of us in college...no such thing as detention!! Yay! Those of us in high school...::muffled laughter::... Alright, just kidding. ;) No matter where we are though, there is SOMEONE in charge of us. Sometimes, the leadership abilities of that authority figure is...questionable...but we still need to respect them and submit to them. If you're at a school, for example, who doesn't permit backless shoes, then don't wear backless shoes. Really. It's a law in place, and we gotta obey it. I don't care if "everyone else is wearing them", and neither does God. Who cares about everyone else? Now if you follow the rules set in place by the school (as ridiculous as I know some of them are) then you shouldn't get in any huge trouble. But let's say you get...I dunno, a Saturday school. It was stupid. You asked your friend for an eraser during a test, and your teacher accused you of cheating. You tried to explain (calmly and politely) that what was really happening, but you got a big fat zero and Saturday school anyway. Go to the teacher after class and explain yourself (calmly and politely) one more time. If it doesn't work, take it. Really. Don't complain to your parents and have your mom call in and complain. Take it. It's a witness to the teacher (Hebrews 13:17), and to the friend who knew what really happened. And if anything, the zero will give you incentive to work harder the rest of the semester and pull out with a super-A, and the Saturday school time would be a good time to whip out that Case for Faith book that's a sequel to Case for Christ. ::wink:: Read 1 Peter 2:13-14. "Every authority instituted" is key. Look, God put them where they are, so there's a reason they're there. Read Romans 13:1. By not obeying them, you're telling God that He did a crappy job choosing the leader. Bad idea. Read Romans 13:2-3. So basically, when you obey/submit to authority, you're obeying God. I read a really good book called "The Pleasures of God" by John Piper, and one of the points he made was that when our motive for our actions is to obey God, then we're really set apart from the rest of the world. When the rest of the world looks at us and sees that we're different, it raises questions. When we're asked by non-Christians about why we do the things we do and act/speak the way we do, it's a big witnessing opportunity, and should encourage you because you know that you stand out because you're living as a Christian. So even when you know that they're wrong and you're right, submit to them. Missionaries in communist countries KNOW that what they're preaching is truth, yet they get imprisoned, beaten, murdered, and more for their faith. They submit to the authorities of these countries with VERY WRONG rules and laws, because they know that it glorifies God. I'm sure we can skip the flip-flops and handle an undeserved after-school detention. Oh, and if they ask you to do something. Do it. Don't talk back. Don't whine and complain. Smile and go for it. Same thing goes with your parents. It's hard for me, too, I know. CLASS ASSIGNMENTS Well, in completing the work assigned to you, you are submitting to authority. (See how easy it is?) You know that public schools are not Christian. Some private schools aren't Christian. And some private schools that claim to be Christian aren't Christian. Just because you are at a school that discontinues the moment of silence before the pledge just because some atheist might take offense to the thought that someone might be praying...just because your science class teaches evolution...just because your history class puts down Christians because of the Crusades (which was an action of the then-corrupt church, not Christians)...just because your classical lit/mythology teacher claims Christianity has roots in paganism (lies, btw)...it doesn't mean that you need to leave your cross at home. Carry that cross in school (Luke 9:23), and let it shine through your actions, words, and everything you do...including writing assignments. Here's an example from the wonderful world of FSU. (It is wonderful, by the way. :) ) I had this Religion in the U.S. class my last semester. See, in Florida, there's this law called the Gordon Rule where college students need to take a certain number of reading- and writing- intensive classes to prove that we're literate. My Religion in the U.S. class happened to be one. So my final grade was based on seven things: the two big exams and five two-page writing assignments (one per week). My professor was a Unitarian Universalist. They believe that there is truth out there, and than man should seek it, but truth is subjective and we really have no way of finding out what the absolute truth is, so people of all faiths (except Christians...) are welcomed into the "church" as they search for their own individual truth. If you claim to have found this truth, good for you. If you try to share it with others, knock it off, you're forcing yourself on us. Anyway, in every one of my writing assignments, I witnessed to my professor. You can do it, too. Regardless of the consequences. There's a song by Pillar with lyrics that say, "It's a shame to be ashamed...to be ashamed of the One who we should glorify." Girls, I can't stress enough how important it is to open your mouth for Christ when you have the opportunity. A writing assignment or report is usually the best way to witness to a teacher, next to going right up to them and sharing the gospel. Think of those really open english prompts...who's your role model? (Jesus) Describe your home. (heaven) What motto do you live by? ([insert Bible verse here]) WITNESSING OPPORTUNITIES Okay, review: so you witness through your response to certain situations. "Sorry, I can't go to that party with you if there's gonna be drinking." "Hey, can we talk about something else? I don't feel comfortable talking about her when she's not here." "Look Ms. Smith, I promise you that I did not cheat on my test and was only asking for an eraser, but if you don't believe me, I'll still take the detention and zero. I promise to prove to you with my grades the rest of this semester that I do study what we learn and earn my grades." "I haven't seen my home yet, but I look forward to it. It's one of my hopes in this life, and I'd be hopeless without the One who is saving a place for me and preparing my own room for me in my home: Jesus." You can make it easier for God to present you for those more straight-edge, basic witnessing opportunities, too. Your choices that set you apart, for one. But pray for witnessing opportunities. Make friends, lol. When you see someone sitting alone in the cafeteria, go and talk to them. And pray while you're talking with them. If you take a brother or sister in Christ as you go befriending others, make sure you both know to pray constantly...especially when the other is speaking. When I want to start guiding the conversation to be about God, I always ask, "So, do you go to church?" You can tell by their answer where they are with God. And just because they say they go to church (1) doesn't mean they really do and (2) doesn't mean they're a Christian. Invite people to First Priority and See You At The Pole, too. Let God guide you...He'll show you how to reach people. He knows them better than you anyway. :) CONCLUSION I'm so cheesy with these subtitles. But really...all of these things...from the afterschool activities to the contact with gossip to teachers and principals to lunchtime to writing assignments to witnessing opportunities to prayer in school....stay right with God, keep in touch always (pray, pray, pray) and seek Him (read, read, read)....you won't be able to help but do the right thing because you'll be allowing Him to shine so brightly through you. IMPORTANT: If you haven't started school yet, and haven't been already, start preparing for this upcoming school year now. Be in prayer about it...that God will give you witnessing opportunities, that He will redeem a lot of people (not only students, but faculty and staff, too). Pray that He'll give you the words, and that you'll meet other Christians in your school. Read the Word as much as possible to just get ready! And be excited...God's got great plans!! So pray now in closing. I really hope I've helped y'all. Get in touch with me if you need me, cuz I love you.