Study 1
Are you ready for some Bible study from Dr. Tim LaHaye's book "How to Study the Bible for Yourself"? Grab your Bible, a pencil/pen, and a notebook. A concordance (check the back of your Bible) and a dictionary are helpful tools if you have them. I also like https://biblehub.com/ online, since this resource has just about everything you would need for study. Before we start, don’t forget to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide and teach you, give you insight and understanding, open your eyes, heart, and mind to receive His truth, and help you apply what you learn in your life today!
Chapter 2 “What will Bible study do for you” lists nine benefits of studying the Bible, and each one is significant and important, so I plan to take just one topic each day, so that we can lay a good foundation for study together.
The first thing Bible study will do for you is that it will make you a strong Christian.
- Take a minute to look up the word “strong/strength” in a concordance.
- Pick out three verses and look them up
- What is the meaning of the word “strong”?
- How can something/someone be weak and strong at the same time?
- Think about God’s strength. What pictures come to your mind when you think of Him as the Creator of the universe? Does nature demonstrate His power? Does the fact that He is all-powerful comfort or frighten you?
I chose Proverbs 24:5 “A wise man is strong. Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength.” My observation: The two words are different in the Hebrew, “a large lizard -- ability, able, chameleon, force, fruits, might, power(-ful), strength, substance, wealth,” and “strength, might, stronghold, fortress.”
2 Corinthians 12 :10 “Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” I am supposed to “take pleasure” in difficulties? Don’t we become a Christian and all our problems go away? If I am strong apart from God, then why would we need to have faith and trust in Him?
Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Three different Greek words are used in this verse. Strong = “fill with power, strengthen, make strong.” Power = “dominion, strength, power; a mighty deed.” Might = “strength (absolutely), power, might, force, ability.”
Application: Am I a “strong” Christian?