Category: Bible Studies

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Malawi Journal – Day 9 and 10- Mwauka Makora

Day 9

Mwauka Makora, Good Morning!

Today Lawrence met with the elders of the Tombolombo church about World Bible School work. Together they are working on a plan of outreach using the World Bible School lessons. * They will oversee this work and four workers who are working short term.

World Bible School

The elders selected four men they knew who would be good. Then asked them if they were interested in training to do this. The men said this is what the Tombolombo church is all about Bible study. Initially,  they have chosen a 3-5 meter square area to work. They are talking with their neighbors about Bible study and offering the World Bible School lessons as one way to study the Bible and English.

Lawrence has been a World Bible School teacher as well as his mother for several years now. They receive their lessons as pdf files by email and grade them and return the lessons to the local study helper who answers any questions or helps with understanding English or the Bible.

They had a great meeting and came up with a working plan and closed with prayer.

In the afternoon one of the young men, Isaiah, who works with the youth came by with Bible questions. He is a very serious student of the Bible. He and Lawrence sat down and studied. They had a great time looking at the scriptures.

In the evening I shared pictures from our previous trips to Malawi.

Day 10

Today Esther and I walk to the building to teach the ladies at Tombolombo. Esther takes the teen girls and they have their Bible study and then play games for a while after class.

Malawi journal
Ladies class Tombolombo

We study The Power of Our Words. They assured me we all have the same struggles. We had a great time looking at the scriptures in English and in Tumbuka. We talk about next week’s study and then close with a prayer.

Malawi journal
Aaron
Malawi journal
Gertrude and Grandchildren with Aaron

Gertrude, one of the ladies in the class wants us to stop by her house on the way home. She has a grandson, Aaron, who is suffering seizures. At one time some American doctors came and treated her grandson and the seizures stopped. Now they cannot find the medicine in Malawi and they have lost the name of the medicine. He suffers from seizures every day. He has scars on his arms and legs from injuries he has suffered. We pray. I have encountered some sad things in this community and some amazing people.

I Drove

This afternoon I drove the car to Manyamula to do some shopping. The kids along the way always get excited when we go by but today they got really excited to see me driving the car.

We did some shopping in this small shopping area. One farmer came by with eggplant. Wanangwa asked me if I knew how to cook them and I told her yes. We bought a few eggplants and headed home to prepare dinner. I enjoyed sitting on the mat shelling beans for dinner.

Malawi journal
Shelling beans for dinner

Most of our evenings end with songs. Mbwenu, our host is marking all the ones that we both know. This reminds me of so many friends and singings over the years.

*If you don’t know about World Bible School or would like to study the Bible this way message me at redaredding@gmail.com

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Why I Memorize the Scriptures

From my earliest childhood, I knew the scriptures were important. As I sat in church listening to the Bible being taught I knew I was to sit quietly. My memories were not really of the lessons themselves, here it is, I thought I would become an angel when I died. Where I got this idea I have no idea. I was taught the usual Bible stories and enjoyed it all immensely.

High School

When I was a student at Mortimer Jordan High School in the 1970’s we had a POW speak to our assembly. I was very impressed with his story. I really wish I could remember his name.  Even though I cannot remember his name part of his story has stayed with me for over 40 years.

This POW shared some of the experiences he had while being held captive. One of the things he and his fellow prisoners did to help sustain them was to put together a Bible. Each man shared what scriptures he could remember and they wrote them on toilet paper. They compiled their own little Bible! This impressed me with a desire to commit scripture to memory lest I find myself in a similar situation with no Bible.

College

While a student at Alabama Christian and later Freed-Hardeman University each Bible class gave us memory verses.  I enjoyed this activity. One teacher emphasized in his life the importance of memorizing God’s word. It was said that he could quote whole books of the Bible. I was impressed. I wanted to have chapters and books memorized.

During my early years as a young bride, I would put a scripture beside my bathroom mirror to help me memorize the Word. It was mounted on a paper that said a scripture a day helps keep Satan away. I memorized a lot of verses this way.

Books

In the book Ordering Your Private World Gordon MacDonald shares the story of Howard Rutledge, a young man who is captured during wartime. As a civilian, this young man never had time for spiritual things. He soon realized he did not have the spiritual resources he needed to sustain him during his imprisonment.

Being imprisoned he said his hunger for the spiritual soon outdid his hunger for food. He said, “It took prison to show me how empty my life is without God.” By the time he was released, he realized his need to grow in his relationship with God. You can read his story in the book In The Presence of Mine Enemies. This story really stayed with me and gave me a greater desire to memorize the word of God.

Resources

We lived in Logan, Ohio in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Barbara Dunn, a friend, and Bible teacher gave me a copy of the Bible ABC’s. My children and I memorized these during that time. They are still with me. Through the years I have found several versions of these. Check out these two :

A B C BIBLE VERSES H

 icanteachmychild.com/abc-printable-scripture-cards/

Conclusion

I memorize scripture because God’s word is the Word of Life. I have hidden your word in my heart so that I might not sin against you. Why not memorize God’s word for yourself today!

Please share in the comment section what things you have used to commit the Word of God to memory.

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Teach Me to Pray

Teach us to pray.

Jesus’ followers asked him in the gospels to teach them to pray. And as we begin our study on prayer our key thought is: Lord teach us to pray. When I was a little girl we memorized the Lord’s Prayer. It is a very familiar prayer. If you haven’t memorized it yet start working on it today. Place a copy beside your bathroom mirror and soon you will know it by heart.

We find the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4.

Let’s read Matthew 6:9 first.

Names of God.

Think of all the names of God you can think of and write them down. I did this on the whiteboard as a class activity. Here is a start:

Father

Provider

Eternal God

I AM

The Lord is Peace

Faithful

Lord of Lords

Great God

Lord Almighty

The God of Heaven

As we speak or pray each of these names we can add why this is true. Because he has provided us with all good things we can with assurance say to God you are provider.  Think of things God has provided you with and acknowledge his provision.

Which name of God do you use the most? How do you think of God?

I think of God as a Father the most. Probably because of some childhood insecurities thinking of God as a father this has meant a lot to me. Read Matthew 7:9-11. How does looking at God in this way make you feel?

Read Matthew 6:10-11

God’s will be done.

Think of specific areas of your life that you would like God to work his will in. Maybe you will want to write them down. As you write them down and remember to think of specific areas.

Give us today our daily bread. I have probably never felt closer to God than when I was depending on him for my daily food. It is obvious that God provides for all of our needs but sometimes we think we do. So, remember today to thank him for your food and ask him to bless those who are enduring the hungry season.

Read Matthew 6:12

Forgiveness.

The keyword in this passage is AS. Forgiving those who have sinned against us is not easy. When I read forgive as I have been forgiven it is easier to focus on the person who has wronged me instead of how I have wronged someone else or how I have been forgiven. Is there someone you need to forgive? The ask God for the strength to forgive. Ask God to show you the things you have done wrong and ask forgiveness for those as well.  Because when I realize I need forgiveness it is easier to forgive.

Read Matthew 6:13

Temptation.

My constant prayer through the years has been for God to keep us from the evil one, especially my children. As you pray this part of the prayer you might want to share areas of temptation and ask for God’s protection and deliverance from those things. The evil one is prowling about seeking someone to devour.

Praying the parts.

In Jennifer Gerhart’s book Prayer, In Practice, she divides the Lord’s Prayer into five steps and calls it Praying the Parts. This is the beginning.

Praise

Purpose

Provision

Pardon

Protection

 

Resources for this lesson:

Bible

Prayer, In Practice by Jennifer Gerhardt

60 Minutes of Prayer-The Lord’s Prayer

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Prayer is a Big Topic!

Prayer is a big topic!
My necklace reminds me to pray.

 Prayer is a big topic! On January 28, 2019, Maria and I met for dinner. Maria and I have attended church together for 3 years. We had been in some Bible classes together and I knew that her heart and passion for God were real. I wanted to get to know her and more about her walk with God.

I asked Maria if she would help me teach a study on prayer. Not just a study, but an actual study and practice of prayer. We both agreed we should do a class on prayer.

Prayer is a Vast Topic

I quickly realized how overwhelming this subject might become. Have I mentioned prayer is a big topic? We brainstormed as we ate and shared our life and experiences. Keeping notes of thoughts and ideas we might want to cover. We had to narrow down our study somehow.

The Bible has a lot to say about prayer! So prayer indeed is a big topic. Looking through my books I found a lot of resources that I already had on hand. Friends shared with me their lessons and thoughts on prayer (Thank you, Nancy!). I checked out library books on prayer, did a scripture word search on prayer, studied the prayers prayed in the Bible. I listened to podcasts and audio lessons from Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration by Chris Altrock on the prayer of Samuel. These were fantastic. 

Timing

Maria and I thought we would begin this class in the very next quarter. Did this happen? No. There were many delays. We both have children. With graduations, weddings, children leaving for college, and moving we had a full year. Add to that my husband, 16-year-old daughter and I spent a month teaching in Malawi. Returning from Malawi I found out we were signed up to begin the study in November! WOW! 

Planning

Maria and I met several times, studied, prayed together, and planned for this study. In my mind, back in January of 2019, Maria and I had a vision. We envisioned each of us stretching, getting out of our comfort zone, learning and growing, praying more, and seeing answered prayers. Did our class turn out to be what we had envisioned? Not exactly! Did those things happen? Yes. So we took an idea and some plans and God made something out of it.

Some Things I Learned

As I studied and prepared for this class I quickly realized I was learning the most. I learned that Satan will work hard to prevent his people from praying. I am involved in spiritual warfare. If you don’t believe it, teach a class on prayer!

Every day is filled with distractions. It is important to slow down and learn to listen to God. One of the thrilling things for me was to relearn the value of prayer journaling, keeping my prayer list updated moment by moment as people ask me to pray or as needs are brought to my attention. This has become such a blessing as time reveals the ways God is answering my daily prayers.

We have many opportunities to pray for and with people, let’s not miss them. We all feel we have a lot to learn about prayer. No one feels they have quite figured it out. Praying get’s easier the more we do it. To pray is simple. Just pray.

Yes, studying different aspects of prayer was good for me. Studying the postures of prayer mentioned in scripture helped me to learn about my prayers and how they reflect my life. Reading the prayers in scripture taught me a lot about the people in the scriptures, their situations, determination, and confidence in God. 

Yes, prayer is a big topic but the most important thing is to spend time talking with your heavenly Father!

Make the most of your opportunities to pray. God is the answer to my needs and yours!

Now I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that you will be encouraged to spend more time with God. Prayer matters. God loves you and longs to talk with you and have you talk with him. Amen.