Fruitful Bible Studies

Every night a small group of the squad meets up to have a Bible study. We pray about where to read and then read and discuss for about an hour and a half starting at 10 pm. We have ministry and other things leading up to this, so 10 pm is our guaranteed time to do Bible study. We have such good discussions, and I am learning so much. What’s remarkable is I’m able to encourage others while also being inspired by others. This is one of the perks of living in community and doing Bible study in a group. The Bible study has been an excellent spiritual discipline that brings me closer to God. He highlights things to me in the chapter, and then I can share them with others. It’s such a sweet time, and I encourage you to do a Bible study in a community too!

Recently we have been studying Hebrews. Let me tell you, there’s a lot in there, and it’s so good!! I am going to share with you some of my takeaways!

Hebrews 2: 14-15 “Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.”

: Wow! This is so good! How kind and intentional is God? He sent his son to break the power of death in the only way possible. He is so gracious that he sent his son for our sins instead of putting them on us. Now we’re able to spend forever with him! It ends in such a powerful way of setting the slaves free who were living their lives dedicated to serving him and going through persecution for his glory. He set everyone free by sending his son, and one day we will spend eternity with him! How cool is it that all we have to do is, have faith and ask God into our hearts?!

Hebrews 3: 7&15

“Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”

: It is reiterated, which means that it is essential. A point is trying to be made with this statement, and it caught my eye. God does speak to us, so we need to be sensitive to it. It can be effortless to doubt that you’re hearing the voice of God, and you harden your heart, but I encourage you not to. Sit with God and let him speak. He will talk to you, and he can speak to you today if you let him and you listen closely. So today, when you hear his voice, don’t harden your heart. He has so much to speak over you, and he longs to have a deep relationship with you as you should with him.

Hebrews 4:9-10

“So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.”

: God has a unique rest for believers. Having a sabbath to sit in his presence and rest in his presence is such a gift. God gave us this gift, which he wants us to accept and walk into. When you give someone a gift, you want them to take it because you got it for them, which is for their benefit. If they don’t accept it, it can hurt the gift givers’ feelings.

In the same way, when we don’t step into the gift that God is trying to bless us with, it can hurt and doesn’t make any sense. He loves us so much and wants us to rest in his presence. It’s not just for us, although it has many benefits for us. It’s also for intimacy with God. He desires to spend time with us and to have intentional time to rest with him and hang out. I encourage you to have a sabbath where you rest in his presence and set aside your busy schedule for a day to be filled up with him.

Hebrews 5: 11-12

“There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.”

: This is convicting for sure! It reminds us of the importance of spending time with God and constantly being filled with him. If we get comfortable and don’t spend as much intentional time with God, we can get to the point where we should be teaching, but we have to be taught all over again because we were not spending time with God and in his word. It’s like we go back to being a baby who skims the Bible because he can’t understand much and is filling up with skim milk, not able to digest the solid food that is meant for the mature. I encourage you to stay in the word and keep spending time with God so that you don’t go spiritually dull.

Hebrews 6: 11-12

“Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.”

: These verses show the importance of loving others as Christ loves us. When we are focused on loving and serving others, it is harder to become spiritually dull. Instead of becoming dull, we will step into greater faith and endurance, as God has promised, if we keep loving others. I encourage you to keep loving others and to love people daily intentionally.

Hebrews 7:19

“For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”

: While laws can be good and set things up nicely, they can also be a stumbling block where people feel like they have to work for heaven. It’s a gift that we don’t have to work for, but we can so easily get caught up in. If we try to work and be the best we can by ourselves by following laws and doing kind acts, we will never make it to heaven because it’s not based on work. It’s based on the saving grace of our God. Praise God the law is not perfect! It points us back to God because He is perfect, and we are not. We get to have confidence and hope in better things than the things of this world! We get to draw near to the Lord, and we have hope for the future. Praise God!

I greatly encourage you to get into the word and spend time with God on your own and in the community because there are benefits to both. I love you all dearly and pray that you are doing well. I’ll finish with Romans 15:13, “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.”