Can you believe it? We've had more than 30 of our very own girlfriends join us for one of the weekly Bible studies since March! I love the fact that our women are getting into God's word, leaning on each other, and looking for opportunities to grow in our faith. That's something to celebrate!I just want to encourage each of you to continue with your daily Bible reading as often as possible. If you're like me, it's easy to stop that habit when you don't have a study book or guide to tell you what to read. This summer, pastor Jeff shared some great Bible study tips with us in one of his Next Step classes and I thought this would be a great time to pass them on. There are many methods you can use to read the Bible and study God's word. While I don't have the space to share everything he talked about, take a look at the following quick tips for a method called "holy reading".
- Pray - ask God to speak to you through His word.
- Pick a passage - a few paragraphs or a chapter or two.
- Read expectantly (knowing that God has a message for you).
- Read it through twice.
- Pray again.
- Read it again and allow words or phrases to jump out at you.
- As a particular word or phrase stands out to you, spend time meditating on that.
- Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your spirit through His word to you.
- Pray - ask God what he wants you to do with His word.
- Meditate on the phrase or word that He spoke to you throughout the day.
I hope that these pointers will be helpful to make Bible reading a part of your regular schedule. Be sure to find a close friend and ask her to keep you accountable by checking in and making sure you're keeping up your commitment. I'm happy to help if you have any questions!
On another note, weekly small groups will be starting soon and I hope you'll make a decision to get involved in one. We don't want to overload any one's schedule or take away important time with family, so we'll take a break from our girlfriends study for now.
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