Women & Biblical Literacy: Steppin' Our Game Up!

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1 Women & Biblical Literacy: Steppin' Our Game Up! With the ever evolving ideologies of today and contradictory offshoot religions that attempt to align themselves with Christianity, it's important that we hold tighter to and understand all the more, the Truth in God's word. Beyond skin deep is where we should find ourselves where Scripture is concerned and it's my prayer that through this article, you'll come to understand just how holistically necessary it is to be biblically literate. I want to challenge us women to do one thing with more consistency and tenacity in 2014, and that's to become more biblically literate than where we are right now. It's not enough to just follow the teachings of prominent women teachers such as Nancy Leigh Demoss,Elyse Fitzpatrick, Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, Lysa Terkeurst, and others. While these women have an awesome amount of wisdom where God's word is concerned, we too have the same access that they have. We have the written word of God and the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us that leads us to all Truth. Don't ever let a person's platform lead you to believe that hearing from them is more important than hearing from God Himself. We were not given the spoken word of God for it to be replaced with the words spoken by man. In Acts 17:11 we learn of how steadfast the Jews in Berea were about studying the word of God. While they were ready to receive the word with all eagerness, they didn't just take Paul's words preached to them at face value. The word tells us that they "examined" the Scriptures to see if what they heard was in accordance with God's revealed truth at that time.{1} That's exactly how we should be. God's word is eternally rich with timeless principles that the Holy Spirit uses to renew our minds and shape the way we live.

2 1 Timothy 4:6 encourages us to be constantly nourished on the words of the Faith and sound doctrine. How are we to live and have our being in Him if we are lax in the reading of the Word whereby we learn of Him and are to live accordingly? It's to our detriment if we are. And truth be told, we have the time. We need to make time. If we can make time for the fleeting pleasures of the world, most certainly we have time to spend in the presence of God through His love letter to us. Ladies, let's consider the following: We are disciples Over 10 times in the NT Jesus was called Rabbi (Mark 9:5, Mark 11:21 John 1:38, John 1: 49, John 3:2, John 6:25, John 4:31; John 9:2; John 11:8, Matthew 26:25, 49; Mark14:45, John 20:16, Mark 10:51). In Jewish culture the relationship between a Rabbi and his talmid (disciple) was one of passionate devotion. The talmid noted everything the Rabbi did or said and not just for the sake of knowledge but for the sake of becoming like the Rabbi. We become more like Him as we read and study His word. His word teaches us His character and shares with us His life. His word is the means by which He counsels us, encourages us, rebukes us, and shapes us. His word is how we live our lives. His word is life. It's a mind renewer, an aid to keep our hearts guarded, it convicts us of sin in our lives, and it provides wisdom whereby we learn to discern truth from error. It's the final and governing authority for the life of anyone who calls herself a believer in and disciple of Jesus Christ. A disciple living without her Bible and finds no dire need for it, is a woman with no direction, aimlessly living, missing out on Jesus, and oblivious of the spiritual destruction she's causing to herself. We can't know God or be about His work without being in His word.

3 "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." -2 Tim. 3:16-17 We are our sister's keeper Our life as a disciple is not an isolated one. Discipleship, the life-long process of sanctification (i.e. being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ), happens in the context of community. We need to strengthen, teach, edify, counsel, encourage, and lovingly rebuke more from God's word and less from our personal opinions and experiences. No two experiences are the same and we most certainly can't presume that the outcomes will be the same. It's perfectly fine to share one's opinion and experience but the weight of what we share should ooze from within the wisdom contained in His 66 books. We can't share what we don't know, thus keeping a consistent grip on His word isn't just beneficial to just ourselves but it's a blessing to our sisters who will come to us in our faith communities. Pointing one another to Jesus through His word makes disciples of Him and not disciples of ourselves. We must not enable one another and pacify each other's walks with cliches, feel good statements, or promises that aren't biblically accurate. Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and to lean not on our own understanding. In all of our ways we are to acknowledge Him and He will direct our path. Let us acknowledge Him in our lives and in the lives of our sisters by seeking Him through His word and prayer and allowing Him to lead us accordingly. Wives & Mommies

4 Our husbands and children need us to be rich in the text. A spiritually impoverished wife and mother cannot spiritually feed her husband and children. Our husbands have low points where they feel weak and discouraged, and what a blessing it should be to him to have a wife well versed in Scripture to not only affirm him but remind him of God's truths. In their lowest moments, they will turn to the Lord first and then to us for comfort. In those tough times in marriage when we have disagreements, knowing God's word keeps us in check with how we respond in the matter. With no foundation we interact in our disagreements from an emotional place instead of the sobriety that comes from knowing a practical reminder such as being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger spoken of in James 1:19. I could write a pretty lengthy blog on how being like the Bereans could truly bless and enrich our marriages but this isn't it. Lol! In the case of our children, alongside our husbands, we are to nurture and raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). While the husbands are the heads of our families, we are the next in command over our children. Our children are instructed to heed the teaching of their mothers in Prov. 6:20, and again, we have to know His teachings to be able to teach our children. If we don't properly learn the Word to teach it to our children they will be indoctrinated with the teachings of the world. So now what? It's time to go deep! What does that look like practically? What can we gain? How can going beyond skin deep be beneficial to my life as a believer? What free resources are available to achieve this? All of these questions can and will be answered in next week's follow up article! Be sure to stay tuned!

5 Christians need no other reason to be avid readers of the Word of God. Realizing that Scripture is "God-breathed" is motivation enough. Immediately, we see a connection between the living Word and the written Word. Just as Jesus Christ the living Word is an ever present and dynamic reality, the written Word is equally alive and active through the mind of the Holy Spirit. Every time we open the Scriptures, we should expect a personal encounter with the God-breathed Spirit of the living Word. This is reading at its very best. When the mind and spirit of a biblical author interact in vibrant dialogue with the mind and spirit of a reader, the highest purpose of the inspired Word is fulfilled. We should soar every time we read the Word of God." -David L. McKenna