IBS Psalm 90:12 (1/28/14)

Inductive Bible Study Method for Psalm 90:12 (1-28-2014)

“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

The previous IBS I did was on James 3:13-17 and it was about wisdom - what the differences were between godly wisdom and worldly wisdom, what the fruits were of the different types of wisdom, and how to receive wisdom from God. This verse in Psalms is stating that  by having God teach us the value of our days, we will gain a heart of wisdom. How do we gain wisdom? By tying the verses in James to this verse in Psalms, we see that we gain wisdom by being meek, not being self-seeking or bitter, being willing to let God work in us and asking Him to teach us to number our days.

This Psalm is all about the way God is outside of time and we are confined to it. So often, people are searching for something to fill the void in their hearts and they use many different things to fill it. If they aren’t repenting and believing on Christ, everything else is useless - and they’re just counting down the days until they die and land in hell. Others, like I used to be, are saved but not living their lives for Christ. They too are basically counting down their days, but they end up in heaven because they repented. 

I was counting down my days until I went to heaven - living my life for myself but still acknowledging Jesus as my Savior. What was I doing to further His kingdom? What was I doing to serve Him? Nothing, because I wanted to keep my mind and heart while giving my body and soul to Christ. “Teach us to number our days” means help us see the value of each year, month, week, day, hour, minute and second we are alive with His breath in our lungs. It means we ask Him to help us not take for granted, but take advantage of the time we have left to serve Him. 

Everything is a test. Every second counts. Every person we come in contact with is a chance to minister to and serve. I’m going to stand before God one day and give an account for how I used the life He gave me to give Him glory. I’ll watch as He sifts through my works - seeing which ones I did with a pure heart to serve Him and seeing which ones I did with selfish and prideful motives.

I rush through life sometimes, thinking about what I’m doing next and what’s happening tomorrow. I need to slow down and take a second to ask God what He wants to do with me. I need to stop moving so quickly that I forget what’s important. I have a problem with hurrying through my devotions. Its not about how much time I take to do them, its about gleaning from what I read and being silent before the Lord. I’m going to slow down during the time that I read the Word. 

The application for this IBS is to have my prayer partner ask me WHAT I learned from my devotions, instead of just asking me if I DID them.

IBS James 3:13-17 (1/27/14)

Inductive Bible Study Method for James 3:13-17 (1-27-2014)

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

We are asked the question - Who is wise? Proverbs 3:5-6 says: “ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” This verse tells us not lean on our own understanding, but to let the Lord lead us. 2 Timothy 3:15 says: “and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” This verse says that Scripture is able to make us wise and bring us to salvation through faith.  

True wisdom from God is shown to be meek - not bitter, envious, or self-seeking like the wisdom that comes from the world and demons. We know that God is not the Author of confusion, so we can see why the fruit of worldly wisdom would be confusion. The fruits of God’s wisdom are peace, gentleness, being willing to yield, merciful, and pure. This kind of wisdom does not show partiality and does not bear hypocrisy. 

It appears to me that the wisdom that comes from God bears a lot of the same fruits as love. Love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not seek its own, thinks no evil, and endures all things. True godly wisdom is shown by actions and words - in love. An action or word may be right and moral, but if its not done in love then there’s no point.

Have I shown wisdom in meekness, gentleness, mercy and love? I come off as harsh sometimes, and I see that its because I don’t share the Truth in love. This is something I need to work on. I think a big part of the reason I am the way I am is because of pride. Pride says “I would never do something like that, so how could you?” and “You should know better, so you don’t get any mercy!”. Who am I to judge someone? All of us are equally sinners, and the only thing that makes believers different from the world is that we have laid aside our pride and humbled ourselves at the Cross.

The world will know us by our love. I am commanded to love everyone, including my enemies. I need to show compassion for people when they talk to me. I need to love everyone as Christ loves them. I want to memorize 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a so that I can always keep in mind what love is and how I should love.

IBS Matthew 6:30-34 (1/24/14)

Inductive Bible Study Method for Matthew 6:30-34 (1-24-2014)

“Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

God takes care of all His Creation - how much more does He take care of the Creation He made in His own Image? He will provide for our daily food, our daily drink and our daily clothing. The Gentiles sought after the worldly possessions, but God wants us to fully rely on Him to meet our needs. We need to focus on the things of Heaven and not the things of this world. God holds all things in the palm of His hand, He knows all things, He is in complete control, and He wants us to trust Him. 

He sees the beginning and the end at the same time. He is a lamp unto our feet, not our football field. We need to have faith that He works all things together for good, to those who love Him and to those who are called according to His purpose. Our main purpose as believers is to love God with all of our being and to love others as ourselves. To seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness is to do what He asks of us - this means sharing the Gospel with the ends of the earth. 

I spend so much time worrying about tomorrow. Worrying about whats happening at home. Worrying about what’s going to happen here at Ignite and what’s going to happen after. Worry is something that believers have the choice not to do - as with every sin. When I repented of my sins and surrendered my life to Christ, He freed me from bondage and chains - yet I keep picking up those chains and putting them back on. I have to stop looking at myself as condemned and unclean - Jesus’s Blood washed away my sin and I’m free. 

God knew before He laid the foundations of the earth that I would be serving Him. Why would I question His plan? Why would I be sitting here with anxiety about things that are in the more-than-capable hands of my Lord? I have all these hopes, dreams and plans that I want to happen. God looks at those things and laughs. He has shown me over and over again that my plans will lead me to hell, but His plans give me a future and a hope. 

I want to surrender myself to Christ every day. I want to keep my mind of His kingdom and righteousness instead of the things that I want and desire. I want to stop worrying about tomorrow and give it to Jesus. I am going to hand over control to God every morning. My prayer partner, Haley, will keep me accountable.

IBS Acts 8:15-16 (1/23/14)

Inductive Bible Study Method for Acts 8:15-16 (1-23-2014)

“For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

God sent Peter and John to Samaria to pray for the believers there, that they may receive the Holy Spirit. These Samaritans had repented and been baptized in the Name of Jesus, but the Holy Spirit had not come into them yet. After Peter and John had prayed over them, the Holy Spirit was received into them. 

I have seen the Holy Spirit work in my life and it’s only by the grace of God that my heart had been softened to let Him in. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. He is the One who knocks on the doors of people’s hearts to lead them to repentance. Jesus is our Advocate to the Father - He intercedes on our behalf and shows that He paid the fine for our sins after we repent. But before we can repent, we need to see the need for a Savior. This is what the Holy Spirit’s job is - to intercede on behalf of Christ. He opens people’s eyes to see that there is nothing they can do to earn Heaven, and points them to the Cross. 

The Holy Spirit does not force Himself where He is not wanted - for believers and unbelievers. I have experienced the hardening of my heart towards the Holy Spirit’s convictions, and its really scary. There’s been sins in my life that I have NOT wanted to give up - the Holy Spirit had tried to speak to me through my conscience, and since I was ignoring my conscience, He stopped talking to me. It was only after repenting of my sin that He began to speak to my heart once again. 

I need to be sensitive to His leading. If I truly want to be filled with the Spirit, I need to listen when He speaks to me. We as human beings are prideful in that we think that we couldn’t fall into sin. This is extremely dangerous - being afraid of falling into sin is what keeps us humble. I need to acknowledge that I am capable of any kind of sin, and I need to be down on my knees - submitted to Christ - so that I am willing to repent when He brings to Light the evil things in my heart. 

I want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. I’m going to take an extra 10 minutes every morning to just sit and listen to what God has to say to me. Haley is my prayer partner and I'm going to have her keep me accountable.

IBS Galatians 5:22-23 (1/22/14)

Inductive Bible Study Method for Galatians 5:22,23 (1-22-2014)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

These godly attributes are called the Fruits of the Spirit. They are the actions that speak of how the Holy Spirit is working in our lives. Matthew 7:16-17 says “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” The only people that know if someone is truly saved would be God and that individual. No one can “judge” if I am saved, but you can get a pretty good idea about my walk with the Lord by what my life says and what fruits I’m producing.

For a long time, I thought that the good things (fruits) that came out of my life were not just a gift from God, but something that I could take partial credit for. Jeremiah 17:9-10 says “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” I see from this verse that everything I do is evil, therefore nothing good I do is from me.

My life is known by my fruits, but these fruits (if they are good) cannot come from me. The only way that I can have these fruits manifested in my life is if I am submitted to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to have His way in my heart. Through the process of allowing myself to be emptied by the Holy Spirit and having the Holy Spirit fill me, these fruits should be shown in my life. 

It is very important to know that we are not saved because of our works or fruits, but our lives should be an evidence that we have believed on Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” From this verse, I see that it’s nothing that I’ve done to earn God’s grace. 

I’ve gathered from this study that everyone’s lives produce some kind of fruit and if we are working in our own strength the fruits will be bad. The only way to produce good fruit  - love, joy, peace, etc. - is to let the Holy Spirit work through us. It’s not our fruits or works that save us, it’s God’s grace and our faith in Him. When we are saved and surrendered to the Lord, our lives should be producing good works as a result of Christ in us.

I want to have these good fruits manifested in my life, so I must submit to the Holy Spirit’s leading. I want to memorize Jeremiah 17:9-10 so that I will always know that my heart is wicked and the only good things I do come from God. My prayer partner is Haley and I’m going to ask her to hold me accountable.

IBS Hebrews 11:6 (1/21/14)

Inductive Bible Study Method for Hebrews 11:6 (1-21-2014)

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

I learned that God desires to have a right relationship with us. We need to have faith in Him and believe not just that He is God - even the demons believe that - but that He desires and rewards those who diligently seek Him and want to have a relationship with HIm. The principle in this passage is that God will reward us when we diligently seek Him and have faith that He is God. 

I have failed to live in accordance with this passage by not diligently seeking God. I have half-heartedly sought after Him most of the time, and only whole-heartedly sought after Him when I was in need. I made my relationship with Christ about ME instead of about serving and loving HIM. 

The sin in my life that I need to forsake is being lukewarm. Revelation 3:15-16 says “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”. 

In order to stop being lukewarm and to diligently seek God, I need to step back and evaluate why I’m a Christian. I need to make a conscious decision to follow hard after Christ - to have my own faith and beliefs instead of what my church/friends/family believes. I have been learning through this time of being at Potter’s Field that God’s relationship is truly personal - He doesn’t just want us to pray, read our Bibles and fellowship... He wants us to get to know Him for real and put all of our trust and faith in Him. 

I am in the process of doing what I need to do. Being here at Ignite has helped me to get to know God on my own, and to have Him as MY God. I am learning to search the Scriptures and see God’s Truth for myself. When I wake up every morning, I need to pray and seek the Lord on what He wants for me for the day. I need to continue to read the Word - not just skimming it, but digging deep, letting Him speak to me and then applying what I learned from Him. I need to lay aside my pride and give up my death-grip on my life. I seek total control of my life but God wants me to let it go. I need to be ok with not knowing what’s going to happen next - to let God have His way in me.

James 1:23-25 says “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

I want to memorize James 1:23-25 so that I may be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. My prayer partner is Haley and I’m going to have her hold me accountable.