"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." 2 Corinthians 10:4
As a wife of a churchplanter I have had this on my mind for some time. The Lord has strongly impressed upon me the seriousness and reality of the battle that we are fighting here on earth. It is real. It is happening as I type. It had begun before I was born.
Do we not realize we fight for a King?
That weapons have been given us to take up and fight?
The war is real and there is a battle and a kingdom and a King. He reigns in heaven and is called the King of Kings. Are you in the battle or on the sidelines looking on?
Complacency and "sleep" is what Satan calls us to. He calls us to comfort and pleasure. He desires to get our mind of the things of God and place them on the temporary things of this world. This is dangerous for the Christian and a warning sign to get back on track. Our weapons are the Gospel, prayer, and the Word of God. They are not of this world. We cannot let the pettiness of the things of this world, the temporal, the fading, to shackle us, hinder us, or prevent us from our calling to spread the Good news about Him.
We cannot speak to please man, because his soul needs to hear truth. We have to know truth in order to share it and share it correctly. We need to be Bereans and study the Word to make sure that what is taught in churches, books and online are correct and we are not led astray.
I am currently going through the book of Nehemiah right now and learning from Nehemiah's extraordinary example of leadership as he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days. I have also been devouring Scripture and staying up late into wee hours studying and listening to good sermons and on leadership. I believe God has put this strong desire in me lately, it seems I just cannot get enough! Since this is what has been going on in my life, I thought I would share with you some of the tools we use along with my favorite Bible:
My husband bought this Bible for me over a decade ago and now it is well worn! We also use the ESV Study Bible too.
I bought this as a gift for my husband a while back and we use it all the time, a very valuable resource: Sytematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
We also own The Wycliffe Bible Commentary , The Dictionary of Theology and The Zondervan Exhaustive Concordance among a few other books that I will share later but these are the main ones we use. I must warn you, these books are several pounds and about 4 inches thick but don't be intimidated by their size! I also refer to online site like this and this one to help when I am studying online.
If you are looking for a sound book on doctrine that isn't overwhelming, I used this one when I got saved and was taught under the pastor who mentored my husband:
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My encouragement to you today is:
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who
does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15)
What do you use to study the Bible?
4 comments:
A very encouraging "call to arms".
I get so weary with an unsaved husband and belligerent special needs son, in addition to my other children. Spiritual warfare is never far from my mind and my constant prayer.
P.S. Our pastor quotes Wayne Grudem all the time!
I love the ESV study bible, and use my NLT Life Application Bible most often. I grew up a KJV girl, so my Strong's concordance is one of my favorite resources. I have the My Sword android app on my phone that also add's Thayer's Greek Lexicon for New Testament study - LOVE that! I like to dig into the original word/context/meaning as much as I like to be able to read the passage and understand the message. Great post - thanks for the resource list!
Dear Anonymous,
We are sending up special prayers for you, we know how hard that can be. Remember "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." and "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28. Don't grow weary or discouraged the Lord is by your side!
Many blessings...
Dear Debbie,
One of the sites that I listed also shares the Lexicon as well. I love knowing original word meaning too especially when doing an indepth study on a verse or topic. Thanks so much sharing and hope you visit again soon!
Many blessings...
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