This past week a gentleman called, who said he has been watching our weekly TV program. He said, “Yes, every Sunday morning at 9:30 on FOX, I watch Study the Word.” He finally mustered enough courage to call and take me up on my offer for a home Bible study. After he called, we decided to meet at McDonalds, with him and a couple of friends. We then went back to his place to study. This is now a weekly class and they are excited about studying the Bible. Even though they have read much of the Bible, they have lots of questions.

The reason I mention this is to illustrate just how easy it is to set up a weekly Bible class. Whether it is just with one person, or if they gather a few together, the goal is to study the word of God. I assure you that when it comes to studying, James 1:19 is put into place. We are to be swift to hear and slow to speak. This isn’t a dictator setup. If someone doesn’t agree, they speak up. If there is something misunderstood, they speak up.

When Jesus said that those who seek will find (Matt. 7:7), He is affirming that there are those who will seek. As the title mentioned, it is refreshing to see the desire that people still have in wanting to learn the word of God. One does not have to be totally ignorant of the Bible to desire a class. Some have invited me who were actual teachers of the Bible. Why get together then? The truth is, the only thing that suffers from investigation is error. If error is taught and exposed, then we all can be a winner. You can’t know what error is without knowing the truth.

It is not our place to follow blindly (Matt. 15:14), nor is it our place to put our head in the sand and not test those who say they have the truth (I Jn. 4:1). This means that everyone is to be aware of the need and responsibility to examine themselves to make sure they are right (II Cor. 13:5). There is an obvious reason why we read in so many places that we should not be deceived. It’s because many fail to keep their guard up.

You might wonder what we talked about in our first meeting this past week. Well, as we talked about the word of God, I asked if I could take the next three classes (40-45 min. ea.) to teach the whole Bible. This is to get them familiar with the “big picture” of the Bible. Then the fourth class would be on understanding the differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament. From there, we will study about Christ and His plan of salvation for man and His church. It will be during these studies that many of the questions and confusions will be cleared up.

The goal of these classes that we have is NOT to get anyone to come to the church I attend. The goal is to provide enough Biblical instruction so they can rightly divide the word of God on their own. No one wants to believe false teaching, so the more knowledge one has, the better armed they are. As the Psalmist put it, “Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.” (119:104). The less one knows, the more vulnerable they are (Eph. 4:14).

Another benefit of these classes is to confirm what one knows to be the truth. When people have the attitude of, “If I am wrong I want to know it”, nothing but good will come. If you learn that what you believe is correct, it will strengthen your faith. If it doesn’t, you will have the opportunity to get on track. Studying he Bible is not just for those who doubt, it is for those who are convinced they have the truth. I study believing what I believe is right. However, if I am shown from the scriptures to be in error, I will take hold of that which is right.

This article was to encourage you to see the value in having a Bible class. If this appeals to you, don’t hesitate or email today. Phone –

812-550-6234 or email: studytheword@wowway.com

Chuck

Controlling our thoughts

One of the ways Christ distinguished between His teachings and those found in the law of Moses was to first state what the law of Moses taught and then say “but I say unto you…”  One such statement can be found in Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Our Lord first quoted from Exodus 20:14, which clearly taught that it was unlawful to commit adultery. Then Jesus took it further by saying that even looking at a woman with lust is a sin. Is our Savior actually saying that we ought to control our thoughts? Yes. This reminds me of Paul’s words to the Corinthian brethren when he told them what love does not do – it “thinks no evil” (I Cor. 13:5).

Godly people work very hard to discipline their minds. This is accomplished by meditating on things which are proper. The Philippian saints were told, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things,” (Phil. 4:8).

Yet we all recognize the difficulty in controlling our thoughts all the time. This is much easier said than done. What guidance has the Lord offered to help us with this? Read on for a few things we can use.

Do not meditate on ungodliness

Garbage in, garbage out. It is hard to avoid impure thoughts if we only dwell on impure things. If we do not control what we watch and listen to, we will surely become worldly-minded. This was precisely the state of the world prior to the flood. God described mankind like this: “…every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” (Gen. 6:5). Children are not born with a dirty, corrupt mind – it is developed by constant exposure to evil. I realize that we cannot leave this world and that evil is everywhere. However, inviting evil into our lives is a recipe for an evil mind.

Learn to walk away

This is where our last point left off. Gossip, dirty jokes and other inappropriate conversations will stop much sooner if people refuse to listen (Eph. 5:4). Even if we cannot stop them at the source, God’s children can the leave the conversation, change the channel or walk out of a movie. Again, the goal is to keep our mind from being filled with impure thoughts. There is a reason brethren were told that evil company corrupts good habits (I Cor. 15:33). One such good habit that can be corrupted is a holy mind.

Remember who we are to think like

The goal of every saint is to be different from the world. Those who succeed in not being conformed to this world are those who renew their minds (Rom. 12:2). This is done by imitating Christ. When it comes to thinking right, Paul put it best: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 4:4). The more time we spend familiarizing ourselves with the Savior, the more we begin to understand He spoke words that promoted godly thinking.

We all need to ask ourselves what we are allowing to influence our thinking.  Let’s face it, if we are going to control our thoughts, we need to control what we think about!

                                                                                      Chuck