Archive for the 'Bible Studies for Life' Category
Can the Bible help you deal with pressure?
Most Christians are aware that God’s Word, the Bible, can help in pressure-filled times of life. When the Apostle Peter said to Jesus, “You alone have the words of life,” he was only saying in advance what many have come to know by experience. Believer after believer can quote a verse that accompanied them through a time of sickness. Others can recall a passage shared during a funeral service bringing comfort to a broken heart.
What you may find surprising, though, is that a large number of the general population also turns to the Bible to help them deal with pressure. A 2013 survey by LifeWay Research and Bible Studies for Life found 25% of Americans had searched the Bible within the previous month to help them deal with pressure. When the timeframe is expanded to a full year the number rises to 42% of Americans.
Searching for and finding truth
This is significant because people are searching for the truth and are turning to the source of it! When two-fifths of Americans have, on their own, looked to the Bible to help them in the last 12 months, the door is already open. We need to walk through it with a focus on God’s Word as the unchanging source of help.
As General Editor of Bible Studies for Life, it was important to me that this curriculum be structured and written in a manner where people recognized that there is nothing in this world more important than knowing that God’s Word applies to every aspect of our lives. Bible Studies for Life has been designed to facilitate gaining wisdom from the Bible.
When under pressure people want to know “Does the Bible speak to my situation? Is there something in it that can help get me through this?” The answer is a resounding “Yes!” God’s Word is living and powerful. It speaks today. It speaks every time it is referenced in a worship service, on a street corner, in a phone call, or in a group of believers studying it together.
The living Word
The writer of Hebrews called God’s Word “living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). There is no area of life it cannot touch, and no time we cannot plunge into its rich pages to find help.
Consider the circumstances during which many Psalms were written: hiding from an angry king, hiding from an angry army, after deliverance from battle, while being oppressed by enemies, and various other troubled times. Yes, the Psalms are songs that lead us to worship, but they also point to the writer’s source of help: God’s Word. In Psalm 119 alone, God’s Word is described as many things like: instruction, His ways, precepts, statutes, commands, righteous judgments, decrees, and wonders. How can it be any less for us?
People will find rest, comfort, guidance and assurance in the Bible.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church Northwest Arkansas General Editor, Bible Studies for Life
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Americans seek a listening ear
Where do you turn when you are under pressure? Friends? Family? Pastor? Counselor?
At times every one of us is under pressure and needs help. Very few people attempt to make it through life without help and with good reason! God did not call us to be “Lone Ranger” Christians. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.
Where do Americans turn when under pressure? In a recent survey from LifeWay Research and Bible Studies for Life more than 1,500 Americans were asked this question: “Where do you turn to when you feel pressured?” While more than one-third said “prayer” and nearly half indicated “within myself,” only one of the eight options gained a majority (52%): “someone who will listen”. “Someone who will listen” rated even higher than “someone who will give advice” (32%).
The benefits of listening over talking
Some people surmise that the benefits of counseling are less about the words of the counselor and more about the fact he or she simply listens to the counselee talk it out. It is no accident that listening is one of the strongest elements of small group Bible studies.
Anytime believers gather to study God’s Word, whether a Sunday morning or weeknight, they should intentionally include an element of sharing outside the prayer request time. It is very hard to effectively minister to each other when no one really knows the needs. Learning about the needs comes from listening.
As we seek to involve those outside the family of faith, we do well to remember people are looking for listeners rather than talkers. This will be clear as we consider the instruction to “be quick to hear, slow to speak” (James 1:19). Our tendency is to speak so we can fix the problem. But, the need is to listen so we can better understand the problem.
Listening to those under pressure accomplishes three things:
1. It provides clarity for us. Bad counsel derives from misunderstanding the problem. Intent listening helps us discern the exact issue or issues.
2. It demonstrates true concern. When we talk we demonstrate concern about what we say. When we listen we demonstrate concern about what is being said. It is only then effective counsel might be offered.
3. It strengthens the relationship. All beneficial relationships depend on good communication. As we listen to those in need, relationships are strengthened. In the case of those who do not know Christ, listening can open the door to an effective sharing of the Gospel.
As we go throughout this week let us seek to be listeners to those in need. And, when the time comes, we will also be heard.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.