Need Your Complacency Challenged?

I picked up a Lifeway ad paper recently and was intrigued by the subheading “Recent Studies for Women that Challenge Complacency in Your Walk.” Maybe I was more intrigued by the fact that I have on my office shelf many – okay, MOST – of the studies being promoted. And two things came to mind:

1)      I should tell our women students that they are welcome to borrow these studies to lead a group at their church or small group; and

2)      Having a study on my shelf doesn’t mean a lot if I don’t take the time to actually, well, study it.

First, about borrowing the studies. Should you decide you want to either peruse or even use one of these studies sent to me compliments of LifeWay Christian Resources, I would welcome you to come by my office and ‘check’ it out (like the library, only not). Here’s a partial list of the studies I have:

·        Stuck by Jennie Allen

·        Return to the Garden by Kay Arthur

·        The 7 Experiment by Jen Hatmaker

·        Malachi by Lisa Harper

·        Conversation Peace by Mary Kassian

·        Nehemiah: A Heart that Can Break by Kelly Minter

·        James: Mercy Triumphs by Beth Moore

·        Missing Pieces by Jennifer Rothschild

·        Why Do You Believe That? by Mary Jo Sharp

·        Can We Talk? by Priscilla Shirer

·        Desperate by Cindi Woods

Did I mention that I have a lot of studies? Well, I do, and I would love for them to be used (and returned) so let me know if you’re interested. I just have one copy of each, so it’s first-come, first-served.

And, second, about taking the time to actually study the studies. You can imagine how difficult it is to choose which one to do with so many choices … so many GOOD choices. So, they continue to sit on my shelf, unchosen. But that needs to change.

  

Just as an exercise program starts with the first step, so a Bible study journey begins with an open book and open heart. I pray that this semester you are working through a study – alone or in a group, written or unwritten – so that when you look back in a few months, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you took the time to study God’s Word, not just for pop quizzes and final exams, but to get to know the Author better than ever.