Greetings and Advice from a Bible Bee Alumni :)

As I look on this year of BB I am excited yet somewhat sad.  This is my first year of not officially participating the Bible Bee.  :(  But... I know that all the verses I learned over the past three years and all the books we studied (Genesis, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Matthew, Acts, Romans, Colossians, 1 Peter, 2 Peter) will remain forever.  And all the study habits we all learned and shared with each other will last a lifetime.  As each of you are endeavoring to continue to study God's Word through another year of Bible Bee I would like to share with all of you some things I have learned along the way.

First, always remember the purpose of why you are memorizing and studying the Word.  That is to develop a closer relationship with your Savior.  Never forget that or get caught up is all the practicing, reciting and memorizing that you for get the purpose, "...to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings..." (see if you can find where this verse is from)  :)

Second, meditate on God's Word.  Don't let your knowledge become just head knowledge about the Scriptures, really "know" God's Word and make it a part of your life, make it heart knowledge.

Third, memorize 2 Timothy in its entirety so that you can recite it to others.  (this is something I wish I had done with the study books in the past).  Even if the locals are as far as you get you will be able to share that book of the Bible with those you know.

Fourth, remember that if you diligently study and seek the Lord through this summer, no matter where you place in the scoring, you have won in the sight of God.  There are no losers in the Scripture memory except those who do not start.  Even if you only memorize 1 passage that is still 1 more passage you did not have before you started!

Fifth, include your family in the studying process and share what you have learned with your family and friends.  Include your siblings as much as possible (even if they are not actually participating in the Bible Bee)

Sixth, use what you have learned as a conversation starter to share the Gospel with unbelievers.  (the Bible Bee T-shirts are a great starter)  :)  Also, ask friends to help listen to your verses and share with them what God has taught you through His Word.

Seventh, always keep a humble attitude.  This may be one of the hardest things in the entire Bible Bee.  It is God who has given us His Word, He is the one who gave us the ability to memorize it, He is the one who gives us life.  He is the one who is to receive the glory!  Remember "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Eighth, remember that the most important thing is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Back in 2009 at the Nationals, the Harris brothers gave a sobering warning, "You can participate in the Bible Bee, memorize all the verses and the entire study book, you can even win first place at nationals but it would all be in vain if in the end you did not have personal relationship with the Lord"
This is my prayer of each of you, that you may know Christ, that you may walk in obedience to His commands, that you delight in His Word and in His Law, that the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart may be pleasing in His sight, that others may see the light of Christ in your life, and that you delight with your whole heart in obeying the Savior and following His commands!

Your sister in Christ,
Marie

A New Beginning...

Well, another year of Bible Bee studying has started.  What an exciting time!  As I start to plan out my summer schedule, I'm realizing that this summer is going to be packed full with many activities and learning experiences.   I'm eager to dig in to all that God has put in my path.   But I need to remember to keep the main thing the main thing.  No matter what I do, I need to be doing all I do for the glory of God.

In the midst of all the activity, I can get so distracted.  I start to just do all my Bible Bee studying as routine; just another thing to check off the list.   But that's not how it should be.  Even with a hectic schedule, I can't rush through my time in the Word of God.  That's not glorifying to the Lord.

So as we all embark on this exciting journey through 2 Timothy and memory passages, let's remember to do it for no other reason then to glorify our God.  Don't get caught in the rut of doing it to check it off your list.  Don't do it for the sake of winning a competition.  Don't do it to know Scripture in order to have head knowledge.  Do it to know Scripture in order to grow in your relationship with Christ.  Do it to win the applause of heaven.  Do it all to the glory of God.  That's what really matters.  Nothing compares with that goal.  We won't be perfect, but we can keep pressing toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). 

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

Faithfulness In Those Little Things.

I've been thinking a lot about faithfulness.  About being faithful in the little things.  You know, the little things we do everyday; school work, chores, practicing music, and the list goes on.   Many times we overlook these things. We skim over them as unimportant.

We can get excited about doing the "big" things; the things that "hold significance." As young people, we can't wait until we can have our first job, go on a missions trip, go to college, serve in "ministry", or other "big" things like that.  There is nothing wrong with these things.  In fact, we should want to do these things, if it's according to the will of God.

But sometimes, I think that we get so caught up wanting to do those "big" things that we forget the important ministries that the Lord has given to right now.   We long for the day when we can serve the Lord as a missionary, but we complain about helping Mom in the kitchen.  We can't wait until we can get our first job, but we are lazy in our chores and helping Dad with projects.  We look forward to post-highschool education, but we don't excel in our studies in school.  We love serving in the church's nursery, but we don't find time to read a book or play with our little siblings.

Are we being faithful in the ministries and jobs the Lord has given to us? Or are we constantly longing to do something "bigger"? Let's not overlook the vital positions God has given to us in our homes.   We have the opportunity to serve and bless our families, encourage and disciple our siblings, develop our world-views and characters, learn valuable skills that will be with us for the rest of our lives, and much more.  If we don't do these things faithfully, how will we ever excel in whatever else the Lord may have in store for us?

Let's be content and thrive right where God's placed us.  Let's not hasten to go on to "bigger" things, but let's excel in the little things that God has given us to do right now.  They might seem insignificant, but they hold great value when they're done to the praise and glory of God.

May Jesus say of us:

"Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things."

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.  Therefore is you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?" Luke 16:10-12

"A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished"

Proverbs 28:20

  

I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can

"‘One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said. But there’s one thing more to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things–trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s the funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play-world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia. So thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we’re leaving your court and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for the Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that’s a small loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say.’" (C. S. Lewis, The Silver Chair)

I was thinking about Puddleglum’s renouncement of the Lady of the Green Kirtle several days ago. That has always been one of my favorite scenes in Narnia...when the good side wakes up and stands against the evil. But recently, I realized that we are in the same place as Puddleglum, Jill, Eustace, and Rilian–we’re living in a culture that says that the "trees and grass and sun and moon and stars" are just a product of evolution and not God’s creative handiwork. Then, culture follows up the rest of the Lady’s denial of "the bigger and better cat." The world says that Christians aren’t strong enough to take care of themselves, so we created a bigger and better man–the God-Man, Jesus Christ. We’re just babies playing at a game...the "fools to the world" (1 Corinthians 1). Doesn’t Puddleglum have the most amazing answer to all that?! I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.

Here, Lewis uses Blaise Pascal’s famous apologetic argument in a child’s story. Pascal’s Wager goes something like this:

1) There is no God

• I will gain nothing by believing Him.
• I will lose nothing by not believing in Him.

2) There is a God

• I will believe Him and gain everything.
• I will disbelieve Him and lose everything.

Assuming there was a 50-50 chance that there is a God, you lose nothing either way by believing Him. By not believing Him, you risk losing everything. That’s what Puddleglum is saying when he says that. Puddleglum is willing to be the world’s fool and take the wager on Aslan’s side.

Puddleglum, Jill, Eustace, and Rilian all began their conversation with the Lady knowing exactly what they believed. However, she sweetly convinced them that they were wrong (brings back memories of Genesis 3). There came a point when all their minds became so muddled that they could not remember the truth, and they began to believe her lies. Puddleglum in particular struggled with this. Inside, he knew that Narnia was real, but her words all but convinced him that Narnia was just an imagination. "Suppose we have only dreamed..." What do they risk by believing in Narnia? "That’s a small loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say." They face her wrath and have to slay the serpent, but then they gain everything! Why are Christians so ready to believe that the trees and grass and sun aren’t God’s special creation? Why do they want to take away Jesus’ deity and turn Him into a great human teacher? They’re listening to the wrong arguments. We’re afraid to stand for the truth. But are we so afraid of good news that we let even wet-blanket Puddleglum believe while we sit in the Underland listening to the Lady? That’s when you must make the wager–do you believe the dream or not? I, for one, am on Jesus’ side even if the world doesn’t believe there’s a Jesus. I’m going to live like I am a citizen of Heaven even if everyone else says there is no Heaven.

God's Perfect Plan

"For I know the thoughts that I have towards you," says the Lord, "thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." ~Jeremiah 29:11

This verse has been of great encouragement to me lately.  I've been thinking and making some decisions about what I will be doing this summer and next fall concerning school and other opportunities.   I sometimes get overwhelmed with all the ideas and possibilities before me.  I'm a visionary.  I love to dream big.  And usually my dreams are kinda far-fetched :).   I have so many things I want to do, so many plans.  Sometimes, I come become discontent with where I'm at because I want to move on to bigger and better things (according to my plans).  But I'm learning that no matter what my plans may be, God's plans are always better.  They may not be what I want, but they are always just what I need.  God knows what I can handle when I can handle it.  His plans for my life are far greater than anything of which I could ever ask or think.  I can trust Him with His plans and simply be content and live fully where He has me now.  I have no need to worry about  different decisions - I have the Coordinator of the whole universe working in all the events in my life to perform His perfect purpose.  Praise the Lord for His sovereign plan for us!

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ." ~Philippians 4:6


"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." ~Isaiah 55:8-9

Are you present?

A few weeks ago, I read 2 Corinthians. I love reading the Epistles; the men who wrote them knew exactly what Christians from every time need to hear (I guess that is one of the advantages of having the Holy Spirit tell you what to write!). Those men were the pillars of the Church. Christ is the foundation, and they were the pillars built upon Him that provide structure for the rest of the building. Paul, Peter, John, James–their sermons must have been amazing!

Yet, in 2 Corinthians 10:10, we read that Paul was mocked because his sermons weren’t as strong as his letters! "‘For his letters,’ they say, ‘are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.’" In a world where much of our communication with other Christians is via the internet, we can easily "know" someone through their writing rather than their speech. We have a great opportunity to communicate with people without having to worry about our "bodily presence being weak" or our "speech contemptible." Those of you who don’t know me very well might be surprised if you saw me try to speak in front of people. While I can normally give a Bible study lesson speaking clearly and not too terribly fast, there have been times when little girls will come up to me afterwards and say, "It’s okay, Abbie. You don’t need to shake and look so scared. We’re not going to hurt you." (Talk about getting embarrassed...!) Even though I study the Bible and pray before starting a lesson, I still struggle sometimes with a weak presence teaching! But with blogs, email, and other modes of communication, I can "talk" to people about what I’m learning without having to actually talk. We can encourage and learn from other Christians through technology without having to worry about shyness or speech impediments getting in the way.

BUT–

We have a problem. It’s easy to separate our "cyber life" from our "real life." On this blog, I can talk about all the great things I’m learning in my Bible reading, how God’s working in my life, and all sorts of Christian things. But what you can’t see is my bad attitude when my mom asks me to set the table. I doubt any of you would intentionally live separate lives online and in the real world, but it’s very easy to let your personality, interests, character–to let you–slide around when people can’t see you or know "the real you." Online, we only know what the other person wants to tell us. Do you see how that can be a problem even with well-intentioned Christians? That’s why, after confessing that his speech is contemptible, Paul follows up with this in verse 11: "Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present." As Christians, all of us are living our lives as a reflection of the one Life. Whether we’re communicating in person, via snail mail, email, blogs, or Skype, we need to speak the same message...we can’t let our character be dependent on the media we’re using. We need to learn how to use the same boldness in a face-to-face conversation that we use on a blog. I am much more comfortable writing a long blog post about the Gospel than going out and telling it to a friend, but I need to learn how to say the same words absent and present. That’s why Paul’s sermons were powerful even if the presentation wasn’t–he wrote, spoke, and lived one message no matter where he was.

A Work In Progress

Philippians 1:6: “being confident in this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”

           

            “Come quickly and look at what I found!”

            I rushed over from across the field to see what Amy had found.  I was at a diamond park with my friend Amy.  She was an expert diamond hunter and I was tagging along with her for the day while she hunted.  We spent hours searching and I was tempted to just give up and go home, but Amy kept on looking patiently. 

            Now, as I rushed across the field, Amy was holding up a huge black object.  When I reached her, she excitedly exclaimed, “Look at this diamond I found!”

            I studied the ugly object in her hands.  A diamond? Could that ugly thing of dirt be a diamond?  

            Amy noticed my puzzled look and explained,  “Of course, it doesn’t look like a diamond now.  It looks like a big old stone.  But, you watch; with lots of washing, chiseling, and shinning, this rock will be a beauty unlike anything you’ve ever seen.   You just wait and see.” 

            I wasn’t completely convinced.  I mean, the rock Amy held looked hopeless; it was caked with dirt and awfully out of shape.  It seemed beyond repair.  I shrugged my shoulders, “Whatever. I mean if you want to try and make something of that thing, go ahead.  I sure wouldn’t want to waste my time on it, though.” 

            Amy just smiled. “Let’s get going,” she said, “I want to start working on this right away.” 

            For the next few weeks, Amy was obsessed with that rock.  Every moment she could be found working patiently on her “prize” as she would affectionately call it.  She labored endlessly.  At times, it seemed that she was making no progress; the rock still looked ugly and dirty.   I tried to tell her to just give up, that it just wasn’t worth all that work. 

            But Amy would just say, “I still working on it.  It will perfect yet.” 

            And no mattered how stubborn the rock would be, Amy never gave up.  She still loved that little rock as if it were her own child. 

            One day, after weeks and weeks of ceaseless work, Amy called me into her work room and showed me a sparkling, purely white, absolutely exquisite diamond.

            I gasped, “Where did you ever get this?”

            “This,” she said, “is the ugly, hopeless rock that I found in that field with you all those weeks ago.”

            I stood there, gaping, “How in the world.....?”

            “Oh, believe me,” Amy said, “This took a lot of work and much patience, but don’t you think it was worth it?” 

           

              Do you ever feel discouraged about your own sinfulness? In many ways, we are like that diamond.  God found us hopelessly lost in sin, buried in the ugly dirt of our own flesh.  He rescued us from our despairing state.  He adopted us into His family.  But we didn't become automatically perfect.  We still are not perfect.  We still have many faults and impurities.  And many times we get discouraged about all our disobedience.  We think, “Can we ever get anything right?”  We must remember that God is still working on us.  He is still patiently molding, shaping, and cleaning us of our sin.  His purpose for everything in our lives is to conform us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29).   We need to let Him work and not try to be good on our own.  We must remember that apart from Christ we are nothing.  He is our righteousness. 

            So, the next time you are discouraged about your sin, take a deep breath and surrender yourself to the mighty hand of God.  Don’t fight His hand as He molds you - even though His proddings may hurt.  Remember that He has promised to complete the good work which He has started in you.  One day, you will be sinless before His throne.   Praise the Lord!