A new beginning

If someone says, “Tell me about yourself,” what do you say?

If someone asks, “What is your spiritual gifting,” how would you answer? 

I would respond, “I am a Christian wife, mom, daughter, and grandmother, and God called and gifted me to teach his word.”  

I’ve been teaching the Bible for a long time now and this week I will step into a new beginning. I’ve been teaching a Bible study for more than three decades and I am stepping away from that effort to focus on my online Bible studies

The week after Easter

Jesus was meeting with his disciples in the Upper Room for the Passover meal. He told them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). Then Jesus was arrested, tried, crucified, buried, and, on Sunday, rose again.  

Everything about the disciples’ lives changed after Easter. They saw the risen Jesus and knew with confidence that he was their Messiah. They would soon receive the Holy Spirit and realize all that Jesus had gifted them to accomplish for their kingdom work. 

Jesus had told them, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.” The words of Christ are still his teaching to his disciples today. The reality of Easter has changed our lives as well. 

Are we doing the “works” Jesus has enabled us to do? 

How has your Christian faith changed you?

Do you ever think about who you would have been apart from your salvation in Christ? 

Would your life be dramatically different or would you simply notice subtle differences? 

Which people would be part of your life and who would be missing? 

Our salvation changed us in ways we will never fully realize this side of heaven. When the Holy Spirit entered our lives, we were “born again.” We joined a family that has been increasing in size since the days of Adam and Eve. We were given a new name and a new character. We became an eternal child of God the day we asked Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. We also became a disciple of Christ, gifted by his Holy Spirit. 

What has God gifted you to do?

One of the most important lessons I ever learned was the difference between my abilities and God’s gifting. I think every Christian needs to gain a deep understanding of what their spiritual gifts should mean to their lives and ministries. It is very possible to live your entire life as a Christian without ever entering into a powerful relationship with the Holy Spirit. 

Our ministry depends on our keeping “in step with the Spirit” as Galatians 5:25 teaches. The Holy Spirit is the amazing gift of God’s counsel, teaching, understanding, and calling. That’s why Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” 

Jesus can continue to minister to people of every nation because Christians allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives, producing the works that Jesus does through them. 

  • People are still healed by Jesus Christ.
  • People are still taught by Jesus.
  • People are still brought to faith in God through Christ.
  • The gospel message still changes hearts and lives.

Why do you need to know what God has gifted you to do? 

God’s gifting through the Holy Spirit is the way Jesus will continue his earthly ministry through your life.  

You have heard a Christian say, “I could never . . . .” That should actually be a statement of confidence when it comes to the work of the Holy Spirit. The key to allowing the Holy Spirit to work through your life is understanding that his work is not our own; it is his work. The work of the Holy Spirit in your life is something “you could never do.”  

If you limit the Holy Spirit to your abilities, you will never fully understand the spiritual gifting of God to use your life for his kingdom purpose. The point is not what you are able to do but what Jesus is able to do through you.  

If you will serve God in your gifting, you will come to understand the Presence and power of God in your life. You will be blessed to know the reality of Jesus at work in and through your life. You will come to have a daily, dependent relationship with the Holy Spirit of Christ. Jesus didn’t submit to the cross simply to be your Savior. He also wants to be your Lord and Master as you serve him through your gifts. 

Gifted to teach

Teaching God’s word has been my joy for almost forty years now. I began teaching before I understood what a spiritual gift really was. I taught children and was very comfortable sharing the Bible with them. Then, one day, I was asked to teach a class of women. 

It’s a long story, but suffice it to say that I had every intention of saying no and sticking to my class of boys and girls. To this day, I’m not completely sure why I ever said yes, except that God led me by the hand to step into that role. 

I was a young woman and utterly terrified that first Sunday. I had seven women in my class that day. I had five women the next week. It was a rough beginning but it was the path God was calling me to take. A friend had taught me that, when God calls you to a ministry, you can count on him to gift you and equip you to fulfill his calling. For decades now my friend’s teaching has been truth in my life. 

I’ve been teaching for a long time now and I often tell people that if someone had told me that one day I would stand up in front of a large group, wear a microphone, and teach the Bible, I would have told them they didn’t know me very well. I would never have chosen the path that God placed me on, but I will always be grateful. Teaching was God’s calling on my life. He led me and equipped me to do something I would never have chosen to do myself. 

Some people think it sounds arrogant to say, “I have been gifted to teach,” but it is actually the exact opposite. The fact I am gifted to teach has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the work of Jesus in my life. The only credit I can take is that I learned to present his word with a desperate dependence on his Holy Spirit to do the teaching. I am simply a willing voice who wants Jesus to speak through me. 

The good days are when I teach Spirit-led lessons. Honestly, there have been “not-good” days when I got in his way. It is easy to know the difference. We will never use our gifting perfectly, but that doesn’t change the fact we have been perfectly gifted. 

What are you gifted by the Spirit of Christ to do?

If you are a Christian, there is a specific answer to that question and you need to know it. 

This is a spiritual gifts tool my husband Jim developed. After you have prayed and opened your heart to God’s leading, carefully work through this online spiritual gifts assessment and prayerfully ask to understand how the Holy Spirit has gifted your life. 

God has called you to serve him, and you are equipped to fulfill that calling.  

Join centuries of Christians who found new beginnings by discovering their spiritual gifting. Jesus wants to continue his earthly ministry in and through your life.  

Paul wrote, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).  

If you are a Christian, you have been gifted to serve. 

Do you know what God has gifted and called you to do?  

It could be that the Lord has a new beginning for you too.

Until the whole world hears

Jesus said something to his disciples that seemed an impossibility until it happened.

It was Tuesday afternoon and Jesus had just left the temple gates. He was walking past the stone walls that were used to construct the temple when he told his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2). 

Some of the stones Jesus was speaking of weighed as much as a 747 jet. The disciples were confused because, to them, what he was suggesting seemed physically impossible. It also seemed spiritually impossible. Why would God allow his dwelling place on earth to be destroyed? 

Yet, in AD 70, Jesus’ prediction came to pass. 

Jesus took his disciples to the Mount of Olives, where he told them something that seemed an impossibility, until now. 

Jesus told them dark days of tribulation would occur in the future. Then he said, “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).  

Jesus said that after the gospel was proclaimed to the world, to all nations, at some point the end would come—and Jesus always keeps his word. 

Why is 2030 being discussed as a significant year?

CNET published an article in 2019 that is worth considering. I read several other articles that agree with their thinking as well. The year 2030 is the worldwide goal of several nations and companies. 

Melinda Gates runs the Gates Foundation. She and Alibaba CEO Jack Ma are optimistic that they can help bring about the international cooperation needed to accomplish the goal. The article said, “The hope is that global collaboration will help connect every adult to a ‘digital network’ by 2030.” 

I’ve never been one to speculate about the end times. Scripture makes it very clear that no one knows the day or the hour when Jesus will return (Matthew 24:36). But, Jesus said that when the gospel had been proclaimed to the world, the end would come. 

Everyone who has access to the internet has access to the gospel message. Could it be possible that Jesus’ promise to his disciples on the Mount of Olives will be accomplished because of the internet? 

 

Until The Whole World Hears

Books that speculate on the “last days” or “end times” have been around for a long time. That subject was keenly important to Christian preachers and authors in the years that followed World War II. That was a time when many were convinced Christ’s return was imminent. 

Yet, we are still here. The gospel has not yet been presented and proclaimed to “all nations.” 

Our ministry is an internet ministry. We have felt for some time that our digital ministry has the potential to reach far more people for the Lord than we could have accomplished from a pulpit, platform, classroom, or series of books. The internet is the most potent mission field we have ever seen. 

It has been our privilege to provide many Christian leaders of many nations with tools to share biblical truth with their people. We would never speculate or proclaim that we know Christ is returning soon. We can say that, for the first time in human history, we can see that it could be possible, maybe even in our lifetimes. 

I have written and taught Bible studies for almost forty years. This year’s Bible study is titled Until the Whole World Hears. It is a series of studies that can be described as “last words” from several biblical authors. There are twenty lessons from Scripture because I think the only words that should create our theology about the end times should be those we find in God’s word. 

The lessons are mostly instruction about how God wants us to live, as faithful witnesses throughout our lives. They are the words of Jesus, Micah, James, Paul, and John that God made sure to preserve for us as Scripture, his perfect truth. They are lessons that you and I need to consider if we want to serve the Lord and his purpose in this world. 

I have created written and video lessons that anyone can receive. Simply go to FoundationsBibleStudies.org to sign up for the study, choose Until the Whole World Hears and click the “sign up for free” button on the checkout page (this is where you will create your login if this is your first study). If you have signed up for other studies, you will be redirected to sign in to your account and then hit the sign up button. Once a video releases, you can access it whenever you want, and it will stay in your library indefinitely.

Will the world be presented the gospel in our lifetime?

It is an interesting thought. More importantly, it is a thought that should prompt God’s people to live the kind of lives that our biblical authors encouraged. That is why I wrote this year’s study, and I hope you will want to study along with us. 

What if Melinda Gates and others will be able to connect the population of our world in the next decade? What if all of us, who present God’s word to people via the internet, are able to help accomplish Matthew 24:14? 

Interestingly, the articles, blogs, Bible studies, and more can live long past us on the internet. And God’s truth is unchanging.  

The Bible studies I write today will still be valid truth one hundred years from now, if the Lord tarries. 

I don’t know what God has planned for the world. Jesus didn’t know when he would return, and I know I have no idea. Nor am I claiming that he must come back as soon as the entire world has access to the internet. 

But, I do know this: Jesus never makes a promise that isn’t fulfilled. He can’t speak something that isn’t truth. 

And Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).  

Sign up, study, think, and pray

I would love to work through these important “last words” with all of you this year. I hope you will consider being a part of this study

I believe God wants the Remnant, those who are set apart for Christ, to be strengthened in his word. I know God wants us to put feet to our faith and share the gospel message with our culture. It isn’t hard to recognize people’s great need of the Lord when we consider our culture and our world. 

The study is free to anyone who would like it. It costs quite a bit to produce, so if you can make a donation of any size to help reimburse our costs, we would be grateful. 

Our goal is to encourage and inspire a digital awakening and help God’s people live the gospel truth in their daily lives. We were called to change the world. God wouldn’t have called us without equipping us for that call. 

Is Matthew 24:14 possible in our lifetime? 

I think so. 

Please, God, help us to live like we think so.

Amen?

How do I teach God’s word?

What is a teacher’s role?

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:3-6

When we teach the Bible, we are partnering with all the saints of the gospels across the ages in communicating the words the Lord left us to study and know so that we could know him and make him known.

See yourself as a partner with other saints in the past.

Who is in your classroom or small group?

Think about why your Bible study group or class comes to see you each week. 

  • Do they need nurturing?
  • Where are they in their knowledge of the Lord?
  • How do you teach those who are seasoned students of the Bible as well as those who sit quietly, still trying to determine if Christianity is right for them?

It is crucial that you create a lesson that works for everyone. 

What is the central purpose of Bible study?

As a teacher it’s your job to focus on the central reason people are there — to study God’s word, but never lose sight of the other reasons people come to the room.

Understand your lesson might be the only Bible study some people in your class experience that week. Know their faces and names, making sure you provide them a lesson from God’s perfect word.

God has a plan for you every time you teach. When we teach God’s word, God accomplishes his purpose through us. 

 “…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11

The key is in knowing what God’s purpose is for the day. Make it your goal every time you teach to remember that you have a high and holy calling. You are partnering with the saints from the past in teaching his word. His word is what matters; ours are secondary.

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17

God’s word stands forever, God’s word is truth, and God’s word never returns void. It has a purpose that God wants to accomplish through his Holy Spirit.

Called and Equipped

Teachers are simply humans with a high calling.

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” James 3:1-2

  •  A person should be called to teach God’s word and gifted by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the task.
  • If we teach God’s word, we are held to a higher level of responsibility for how we live our lives.
  • Remember though, to give yourself grace. No one is perfect and no one will ever teach a perfect lesson. But trust that anything God teaches through you is perfected.

Bible study: You are all invited!

I began this summer discouraged about the fall, but now I’m excited to see what the Lord has planned. 

I’ve been teaching Bible study for almost thirty years and this is a first: I’m combining my local Bible studies this year into one virtual format and inviting all of you to join us. 

We realized there are a lot of people who are going to miss their Bible study groups this year due to COVID and knew we could help. 

We are going to provide you the opportunity to study God’s word each week with a large group of people who are connected through our ministries. 

I’ve often said the single most important thing I have ever done for my own spiritual life was to learn the value of studying God’s word. The Bible really is “a lamp to [our] feet and a light to [our] path” (Psalm 119:105). 

I can’t cure COVID. I can’t always know your name. I can’t always know how to pray for you. 

But I can teach you what the Bible says and what it means. 

Together, we can choose to live what we learn. 

Bible study changed my life

I was a young pastor’s wife, with babies at home. 

We had pastored a small, rural church we loved in Mansfield, Texas. I knew everyone’s name and most of their stories. 

The next thing I knew, Jim was called to pastor First Baptist Church in Midland, Texas. That church had thousands of members, and I quickly realized I was in over my head. 

I’d grown up in the church, but not in a Baptist church. I’d read the Bible but had never really studied the Bible. 

And yes, there is a big difference between those two things. 

I agreed to teach a small women’s Sunday School class, and I knew I had a lot to learn. I joined the Community Bible Study program at our church and quietly took my seat in a small group. 

Every week, I was terrified, thinking the leader would call on me and expect me to have the right answers. After all, I was the preacher’s wife. But, I was a preacher’s wife who still had a LOT to learn. 

Years later, I’m still learning. 

I can honestly say that nothing I have ever done has been more important to my soul than learning what God has spoken to all of us through Scripture. 

I enjoy writing this blog post and the many other things I’m involved in. But nothing is more important to me than teaching God’s word to others. 

It is a privilege to pass along what others gave me and, most especially, what the Holy Spirit gives me today. 

Foundations of Faith 

The Bible study this year is entitled Foundations of Faith.

You are invited to join us each week as we study Peter’s words of encouragement and direction to the early church and then look at the faith of many of God’s people throughout biblical history. 

The faith Peter described in his letters to the early Christians is still the perfect model for all of us today. If it has been a while since you read 1 and 2 Peter, I would encourage you to do that. His words are incredibly relevant to what we are experiencing centuries after his letters were written. 

2020 has been a year of challenges, and there will be more to come. But, it is often the difficult days that most provide Christians with the opportunity to share our faith with others. 

Peter teaches us what we need to know to live as strong, loving examples of Christ in our culture today. 

Come study with us

For the past several years, I have been teaching two Bible studies in Dallas. I will miss seeing the faces of these ladies I have grown to love. 

Later this week, I will tape the lectures I would normally give each week. Please pray that I can put myself and my circumstances aside and allow the Holy Spirit to teach through me. Jesus is our teacher; I’m just a “mouth and mind” who wants to be used. 

I’ve written lessons and they are published in a book, Foundations of Faith, that you can order. The book is offered by our ministry at our cost. Our original printing of 750 quickly sold and a second order has been placed.

So, if you have ordered one, it is on its way, but it will take a couple more weeks to get it. The books will begin shipping on September 4. 

I always tell my classes that the most important part of Bible study is the time you spend with your Bibles, the lessons, and God’s Holy Spirit as your guide. God still speaks to us like he spoke to Moses. Most often, his voice is heard from the pages of his perfect, holy Word. 

If you don’t want a book, you can still join us and watch the virtual lessons. We will provide a link each week so you can study with us. 

Please pray

If you are a reader of this blog post, you are probably a student of the Bible and a Christian who wants to walk with God. Therefore, I have a prayer request. 

This study is going to reach people who have studied the Bible for most of their lives and people who will study Scripture for the first time. Please pray that God will grant me wisdom to teach his word well through the power of his Holy Spirit. That is everything. 

I had been praying the Lord would redeem our “closed-in and closed-off” days for his great purpose. This study, I believe, is one of my answered prayers. 

I’m praying that God’s word will strengthen, encourage, and even call—for the first time—a group of people who will spend eternity together one day. 

What a privilege for me to be part of God’s plan to redeem a virus for his greater good.

One last story, a God story 

We ran out of books and the ministry had to shut the link off. 

How were we going to fulfill all those orders? 

I’m grateful to all of our staff who jumped toward the challenge to make all of this possible. We are blessed to work with some of the finest, most dedicated people I know. I am so grateful for them because they are able to do what I never could have done myself. 

We are a group of combined gifts who genuinely want to serve God. What a privilege to be part of this staff! 

But, I have one last story to share because it is a story only God could have written. We don’t make money on these books, and there are expenses for the taping. But, our staff believed it was worth whatever it took to make Bible study available to my groups and to others. 

When we ran out of books, it was a “moment” to be sure! 

That day, a woman I’ve taught for more than twenty years felt led to make a gift to our ministry and asked me to direct its use. She had no idea at the time we had run out of books. 

Is God amazing or what?! 

We didn’t have to ask God what to do next because he had already told us. And that is why I am excited to invite you to join us in this study. I believe God has made it possible, “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). 

If you would like to order the study guide, Foundations of Faith, just click on the title and it will take you to the order page. 

Your books will ship out on September 4, and the first lecture will be available on the website the following week. 

(To the ladies in my Bible studies: you already have a book reserved, and you will be hearing from your leaders if you haven’t already!) 

I hope you will join us each week. 

It will be encouraging to see what God has planned for us as we study his Word together yet from different places. 

Bible Hacks

It’s funny how words can evolve to take on different meanings. The word hack used to describe the sound of a person’s cough. Now we most often use the word to describe an idea that makes our life easier.

A lot of words have evolved and changed over time, and there will never be an end to new ideas. Maybe that is the most remarkable thing about the Bible. 

The Bible we study today contains the exact same Scripture that every other generation has studied. The prophet Isaiah lived in the eighth century BC and wrote, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). Thousands of years have proven the truth of his statement. God’s unchanging word still stands. 

So how can I make studying the Bible, God’s forever truth, a bit easier? 

Here are a few Bible “hacks” I have used over the years. 

A few Bible hacks 

How to search your Bible easily

Take your Bible and divide the pages of Scripture in half. You should find yourself in Psalms or Proverbs. The first half of the pages will be the Old Testament history. The middle of the Bible is wisdom literature. 

Next, you can divide the back half of the pages into two equal sections. The first half contains the prophets and the back half will be the New Testament. (Hint: If you have a study Bible, you will have to adjust for the study pages at the back, but, generally speaking, this works.)

How to choose the best study Bible

Everyone needs a study Bible, but which study Bible version is best? 

Study from a version that has the study helps authored by a long list of scholars. No one person can know enough to be an expert in every book. Choose a version that has invited the best scholar(s) for each book to author the notes. Those notes will be less denominational and more focused on the original translation of the original manuscripts. 

Scripture will always mean what it has always meant. Buy the version that understands that perspective is the accurate goal for study.

How to believe the Bible 

The Bible makes many promises but many more “probably statements.”  

People often read a psalm or proverb as a promise, then feel let down when the verse seems untrue in their circumstances. Psalms and Proverbs are wisdom literature. Most of those Scriptures were written to remind us of what God is able to do, not what God has promised to do. 

I often use Proverbs 22:6 to illustrate this point: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” That verse cannot be a promise because we know God created every child with a free will. Therefore, it is a “probably” verse because most kids who are raised to know and love God usually find their way back to the faith, even if they choose to stray.

How to know the Bible 

Google is great, but Psalm 119:11 is better: “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” 

One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of what God would say now because it is what God has already said. In our Google world, it seems easier to remember our phones than remember a verse of Scripture. But, we will make fewer mistakes if we store up what we need to remember. 

The best teachers and counselors will rarely pause mid-sentence to say, “Let me check Google and I’ll get back to you.”

How to live the Bible

The best hack I can suggest is to give up the notion that ease is our goal. 

There is no such hack. The easiest way to live out our faith is to be absolutely convinced that it isn’t easy

Never underestimate the value of knowing how much you need God’s help to live his ways. He knew it was difficult. That’s why God gave us his Holy Spirit. The best way to live a biblical lifestyle is to “keep in step” with God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:25). 

Suggested Bible resources

After thirty-plus years of ministry, I’ve discovered a few helps that I’m happy to share. There is an abundance of information, but I can help you wade through those waters. These are a few of my favorite Bible helps: 

Favorite study Bibles

I recommend the NIV Study Bible and the ESV Study Bible. Both have used great scholarship for the notes. That said, only the Scripture is the perfect word of God. The notes will always have a few imperfections.

Favorite shortcut  

I like to use a Bible promise book to search for a good passage about a subject. If I have to teach a class, speak to a group, or counsel a friend, a Bible promise book is a great way to begin. 

I look up a topic, then I often find a verse that leads me to a passage. I can then teach the verse in its context. Because what the verse meant is what it still means today.

Favorite Bible websites

I like BibleHub.com if I want to read a verse from several different versions. 

I like OpenBible.info if I want to see several verses from Scripture on a particular subject. 

I like BibleGateway.com for advanced study of a passage. 

Their commentary help is called BibleGatewayPlus and will cost you a few dollars each month, but it is handy and reliable help if you are a teacher or person who wants to dig a little deeper using a website. 

And although it might sound self-serving, you should know that those of us who write for Denison Ministries have a strict commitment to biblical accuracy.

Only God’s word is perfection, but a lot of dedicated Christians have worked hard to make it easier for us to know and live a life that God is able to direct and bless. I’m grateful for the countless teachers I have had throughout my life. I’m glad to offer all of you a few “hacks” for some easy help along the way. 

The best Bible hack 

I was teaching 1 Corinthians last week when I discovered what might be the best hack in the Bible. Paul wrote to the church and said, “And I will show you a still more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). Paul proceeded to give them 1 Corinthians 13, often called the “love chapter.” I’ll sum it up for all of us by saying the most excellent way to live our Christian lives is to love God like he loves us and to love others with the love God gives through us.  

Hack into God’s love and the rest of life will get a lot easier.  

Now, go find your Bibles and try that first hack. It really works, and you should be finding those Bible passages much faster in the near future.