EXTRAordinary | Wednesday Bible Study

Welcome to the first Wednesday Bible Study for the month of December! The end is in sight for those who are eager to put this year behind us. I am not so sure next month won't be filled with some surprises, too, and not necessarily good ones. With the world on edge, tired and weary of Corona Virus, sick of the debates on whether to send children to school in person or not, racial tension, wearing masks...or not, or improperly.....we all could use some good news! So today we are forgetting those things which are behind us and we are putting our eyes on the prize, amen?!!

Today I want to encourage those of us that have dreams inside our hearts right beside some self-doubt, or reservations that we could actually do the big thing we have been pondering. If God has put something in your heart: a dream, an idea, a thought.... and it seems too big for you to do by yourself, my friend you are dreaming in the right size. God gives us desires to do things that seem impossible and in the natural it very well could be. We know how God works, though. He uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things for Him to further the Kingdom. I have three perfect examples of this in today's lesson.

LUKE 2:15-20 (15)And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. (16)And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. (17)And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. (18)And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. (19)But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. (20)And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Just imagine how those shepherds must have felt. It was incredible that they witnessed the heavens open and angels heralding the blessed birth of Jesus! The Savior! Messiah! Jesus was born and all of heaven wanted to let the world know. With great fanfare the angels lit up the sky and sang a chorus unmatched in joy and exuberance. And who was the audience? Not the king and his royal cohorts. Not the high priest and religious leaders of the day. Not to the government, law makers, the wealthy, the advantaged. No! God Himself declared the birth of His only begotten Son to lowly shepherds, hired hands out working in the field. The common, ordinary working class people! The ones others looked down their noses at. The ones that were made fun of for smelling like the sheep they cared for. The outcasts who did the hard work others avoided. They heard it first! The Wise Men who came to seek Jesus were not even the first to hear about His birth. No, it was the humble shepherds.

What great message is trumpeting in the halls of your heart? What is God longing to have you be a part of that no one else is being asked to do? What incredible, miraculous, big, bold, awesome anointing is He wanting to place on your life to do great exploits for the King of kings and Lord of lords. Friends, don't second-guess yourselves. If it is a little scary and a little exciting at the same time, jump in! Take a leap of FAITH and say, "I'm all in God! I don't know how! I don't know when! I don't know the details but count me in!"

The shepherds aren't the only ordinary people God uses in this epic story of God's love and grace as He gives the world the greatest gift! Joseph is the stepdad to Jesus. He is not the biological father of Jesus. Imagine his dreams to marry the young girl he loves. He must have had plans to have a happy life. He was a carpenter so maybe he was going to build them a home. Joseph is an honorable man. When he finds out Mary, his fiancee, is pregnant he must have been crushed. He knew the child wasn't his because he had never been with her intimately. He could have been so hurt that he tells his family and friends that Mary had been unfaithful and put her to a public shame, but he didn't. God sends an angel to tell Joseph to not be afraid to take Mary for his wife. He explained that Mary was having no ordinary child. The mix of emotions must have been overwhelming. Can you imagine the relief? The honor to be a part of Jesus' story. The gravity of what it would mean to father the Son of God? God did not choose a rich man. He did not pick the strongest, most handsome, and wisest man in the land. He chose a man of honor and integrity to be Mary's life partner and a strong father-figure to Jesus. He was to be in Jesus' life, not in the shadows like we hear so often. We don't know what happened in the years Jesus was a child and teenager. We do know that God chose Joseph specifically. It was no accident. He chooses the ordinary to do the extraordinary.

What big responsibility is God giving you? Is it scary? Is it exciting? Are you humbled He chose you but yet in wonder and awe of the magnitude of what He is calling you to do? Will you step out on in faith? Will you trust and believe even when it looks like your plans were going one way and God has stepped in and rearranged everything? You may feel crushing pain as you think your dreams are dashed, but take heart! Like Joseph, God is going to reveal His wonderful plan to you and you will get a better set of dreams and plans and it will be with greater reward!

Our final example of God taking an ordinary person and using them for extraordinary purposes is Mary. She is a very young girl. Some scholars say she was only 13 years old when she was pregnant with Jesus. I do not know but it seems with the culture and this time in history that it may be more accurate than we think. Can you even imagine being a teenager and an angel appears in your room to give you news that you will be the mother of the Son of God? What questions she must have had. She did not doubt it. She asked how it could be possible and the angel told her. Her response is acceptance and said let it be like you told me. She started praising God and she even went to visit Elizabeth and share her great news! God chooses you and me to do big and amazing things for His purposes.

What has God revealed to you? What part of His plan for your life has He removed the curtain and allowed you a glimpse of ? How did you react? Were you surprised? Do you have questions? Did you humbly accept it and begin to rejoice? What is God asking of you?

Friends, we may feel like there is nothing special about us. We may not feel like God has a giant billboard with lights flashing telling us the particulars of our destiny. He may be dealing with us in a big way, but even if He is not, there are things that must be done to further His Kingdom. We have to tell our family and our friends why we believe in Jesus and why He is the hope that anchors our soul. We must get busy working for Him. It does not matter whether it seems like a small thing or not, just do it and watch God make it grow, flourish, and spread like wildfire.

God put it in my heart years ago to have a Bible study in my home. I did that faithfully and sometimes I had one friend, other times I had 2-3 friends. We broke the Bread together and we dug deep into Scripture. We prayed and fellowshipped together. It was wonderful and after a while the seasons of my life changed. I no longer had those studies in my home. A couple of years ago God put the desire in my heart to do that again. A friend and I tried to do it over the phone since she now lived out of state but it was difficult to make it work. I tried again a few more times and then this year, a couple of months ago, I started having a Bible study with my daughter and a friend of ours. My friend in Indiana found out that we were doing that and asked if she could join us via Zoom and I said yes, of course! The first night we had 8 for the Bible study! And it continues to be a wonderful time to grow in faith as we share together. I didn't know when I asked one friend to have a Bible study in my home what God was going to do and how fast He would make it grow. I still have no idea how far He will take it. He wants to use you and me to do extraordinary things for Him. Say yes to the call and watch Him work!

I hope this has been encouraging today. I always want to speak life to you and these blog posts help me more than anyone else! My prayer is that something I said today has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Count It All Joy | Bible Study

Yesterday was the presidential election. Many have voiced their opinions on who they think should be elected. It honestly doesn't matter who is the next President of the United State of America. God has a big plan for the whole world and His plan won't be swayed by who is in office. 

This has been a strange year. We had a pandemic around the world, Africa had locusts so bad in swarms that it destroyed much of their crops and vegetation, wildfires have destroyed acres and acres of land and burned many homes along with people's hopes and dreams, tropical storms/hurricanes/tornadoes have ripped apart Louisiana and many neighboring states along the border. Thousands and thousand of people have gone without power, lost food, and had damage to their property and vehicles, created hardships in an already brutal year. 

On Sunday, kids in my small group shared about their feelings of having to wear a mask all the time, increased restriction of shelter and place orders, and their anger over how life has changed with no end in sight. I gave them scriptures to strengthen them and empower them to walk victoriously this week and they really responded well. 

Tonight as I was reading in James I felt compelled to share chapter 1verses 2-8 in hopes that it may encourage someone reading my blog. In the familiar passage we are told to count it all joy when we fall into many temptations. They joy is not that we have  so many temptations but it is found in knowing that when our faith is tried, it develops the spiritual fruit of patience. It is important to allow patience to develop so that we will be complete and not want for anything. We don't always know how to do this so verse 5 tells us that if any of us lack wisdom; we should ask God and He gives to everyone generously without condemnation and we must have faith and not change our minds like a wave tossed with the wind. The Bible says that person should not think they will receive anything from the Lord. Someone who cannot make up their mind if they trust the Lord or not is unstable in everything they do. 

God is proven faithful in keeping His word. The Bible tells us He is not a man that He should lie. Make up your mind to trust Him. He is trustworthy. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is in control and His children are in His loving care no matter how bad the world gets or how dark the days, He is proven faithful. Trust and believe He is working all things together for our good and His glory. 

James 1:2-8
2) My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations:
3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience
4) But let patience have her perfect work that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 
5) If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 
6) But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 
7) For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 
8) A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. 

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens 

Two-Edged Sword | Bible Study

I am a writer. I have written a book and it would be a dream come true to get my book into the hands of millions of people in hopes that the things I shared in my first book will impact their life in a meaningful way. We all have read a book or story or news article and long after we set the periodical down, we are touched, changed, or impacted for good or bad. My favorite book to read and re-read does that. It has me laughing, crying, questioning, and ever-learning. It is the Holy Bible. This best-seller is a powerful book. It is the Holy Word of God and it impacts the reader every single time. Even if you disagree or don't fully understand it, you can never be the same after reading God's Word. This is how it is explained in Hebrews:

HEBREWS 4:12 For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

The scripture says it is quick which means alive! The Bible is definitely alive. It is an amazing book that has layer after layer of meaning and wisdom. It is timeless. It is not outdated, but is relevant regardless of the age in which it is read. It is full of life because it is authored by the Life-Giver: God! Those who pray for wisdom to understand the Scriptures, will be able to connect with the God of the Word and through Jesus His Son, have life-everlasting.

Hebrews says it is powerful! That is so accurate. It is full of power to change those who dare crack the cover and consume the content. It has the power to change lives, situations, events, and hearts. It can change your destination. The Bible tells us exactly how to change our ways to line up with God's expectation of us!

The Bible is sharp! The words in the Bible will cut you so deeply, that the writer of Hebrews said it is more sharp than any two-edged sword. The Bible is a divisive tool. It cuts going in and cuts going out. Merriam-Webster defines doubled-edged sword as "something that has or can have both favorable and unfavorable consequences." The Bible meets that definition to the letter!

The Bible is so precise that it divides the soul and spirit. The soul is different than the spirit. God dwells in our spirit. Our self, who we are, is in our soul. The spiritual sword will slice between who we are and who God says we are. It is so sharp it separates the bone and marrow. The marrow is inside the bone, so the thought of something capable of separating them tells us what God's Word will do. It divides the very deepest parts of who we are. It is so sharp and exact that it separates the very thoughts from the intentions of the heart. That's a powerful tool!

Why would God's Word divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and thoughts and intentions? The truth of God's Word penetrates our hearts and comes alive. It changes us and causes us to see when we are doing the things that pleases God and when we are not. It's the tool God uses to transform us into His image.

Last week I shared three free Bible study resources with you and this week I am sharing what it is we are actually studying. I am looking forward to next week's Bible study when we will once again dive into the Scriptures and break the bread together. I hope you have been encouraged to study God's Word and dig deeper into the mysteries of His Truth.

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Three Free Resources | Bible Study

Every week on Wednesdays, it is my hope to bring you a Bible study. Today I want to talk about how to study the Bible. There are many different ways to study the Bible; countless devotions, books, and resources available for those who desire to learn more. Today, I want to share a few of my favorite free Bible study resources. No matter how you study the Bible the most important thing is that you study God's Word deeply and often. 

One of my favorite ways to study the Bible on my phone is with an app called YouVersion. This valuable tool is very convenient to study Scriptures anywhere. Some of the features I like about this app are the ability to do studies alone or with friends regardless of where they are as long as they have the app, too. I enjoy the ability to highlight favorite scriptures in any color I choose. There is a myriad of topical studies to choose from. The keyword search feature helps when you don't know exactly where in the Bible a verse or passage is located. I am a KJV girl but it is nice to have the verse comparison tool to read the same verse in multiple translations. Another cool feature on this app is the badges. It's fun to see a reward for reading the Word and doing Bible study plans throughout the year. I really enjoy the ability to create an image with the verse of the day. It can be saved or shared on social media and with family and friends. I especially enjoy listening to the Bible be read to me while I am working or driving and cannot read the text for myself. For several years now I have read the Bible through in a year and this app has given me a variety of plans to do that.

Bible Gateway is another fantastic free resource. You can quickly look up verses with key words. The commentary section is excellent and they also feature translation comparisons for verses and passages. There are reading plans, devotionals, keyword searches, and audio Bible features, too. I have used this resource a lot and refer to it often when preparing lesson plans for my students. It is a resource I highly recommend for those wanting to explore God's Word in an in-depth way.

Our Daily Bread is the third and final free resource I will talk about today. I have been reading through their small and compact devotional booklets for decades. Each booklet has three months worth of devotions and prayers with prompts for extra reading if you want to study further. These are great for those pressed for time or new to studying the Word. The website has free articles, videos, and you can even join their email list to get free uplifting content. You can donate to this ministry and it is an excellent one to sow into. Their mission statement is "To make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all."

No one is paying me to say anything about these resources. These are by no means the only resources available. I enjoy using these when I want to look something up, dig further on a specific topic, or read what others have said in their commentaries. Whether you use one of these, all of these or none of these; the important thing is to daily break the bread of God's Word. It's vital to study the Bible for yourself because even pastors who study at great length can misquote a verse. I have sat under anointed men and women of God and heard some big blunders that I would not have caught if I was expecting to be spoon-fed the Word of God every Sunday morning. It's important to know the truth for ourselves and the only real way to do that is to study it for ourselves.

JOSHUA 1:8    "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

2 TIMOTHY 2:15    "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Friends, no matter what version of the Bible you read, or where you are in your faith journey, keep studying it. You grow closer to God, know His expectations of you, understand His character, know His Will for your life, and the more you read and learn, the sharper your spiritual sword will be to fight off the enemy! God bless you!!

Hugs,

Bridgett