My passion for women’s Bible studies goes back to two distinctly different experiences of my life: first in my childhood and then as a young adult.
I was always a “Why?” person. When Bill and I were just starting out, my dad came up north to help us with some demolition work. Of course, our toddler, Aaron, wanted to help Grampa. “You don’t have to take him with you,” I said to my Dad. “He’ll drive you crazy with questions.” Dad’s response stunned me; “He can’t be any worse than you were!”
That characteristic was never appreciated in the church where I grew up. I wasn’t supposed to ask questions. I was just supposed to do as I was told. I was often told to read the Bible more and pray more (and to rededicate my life to Christ, but that’s another story). There was no help given in actually changing anything. The Word and prayer were the magic wands of the Christian life. Wave them around and they will make everything ok.
Not until after Bill and I were married did I become part of a church that studied and learned from the Word. During the Wednesday night meetings, we broke into study groups. One night we were studying 2 Corinthians 10: 3-5. Questions were asked! What does it mean to walk in the flesh? How is that different than making war with the flesh? What are strongholds? How do we tear them down? Wait! The answer is in the next verse–by taking every thought captive to Christ. What on earth does that mean?
These people were asking multitudes of questions! More importantly, they were finding the answers. I so thank God for leading me to that church and that group of searching believers. I left that study with hope and a plan. I could see the possibility that this could finally lead to the change I needed in my life. The Bible was not a magic wand. It was as practical as Tupperware.
The second experience happened after I was an adult and started leading women’s Bible studies. There were women who had been faithful a long time, coming to church, serving the church. They knew what their pastor thought and what their church thought. But they hadn’t been taught they could understand the Bible themselves. They didn’t know what THEY thought.
I remember another women, bright, dedicated, sharing excitedly about a women’s conference she had just attended. The speaker had given the group an acrostic to tick off on their fingers to help them when they were struggling! This was an intelligent woman able to grasp the pure truth of scripture, and instead they had given her a magic wand!
We’ve all seen soccer games where little six-year-olds, sweaty and red faced, are racing after the ball, giving it all they’ve got. Yet their coach is on the sidelines yelling at them, “Try harder! You have to try harder!” Clearly, they ARE trying, but they don’t know what to do! They need specific instruction and skill and wisdom that makes sense of the game.
We need that, too. Too often our game plan is only to try harder. Or maybe it’s equal parts wishful thinking and magic. In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul calls that kind of plan “fighting with the weapons of the flesh.” We make a list. We try to muster up more faith, more joy, more obedience. We keep rules. Paul also writes about that fleshly plan in Colossians 2. He says we “don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch in accordance to the teachings of men”. He goes on to say those weapons appear to have wisdom, but they have no value in actually changing us. No value!
The Word of God is the most powerful weapon of the Spirit. He uses the Word to change us. Knowing and understanding God’s very thoughts and words changes us inside. Transformed. Made into His likeness. Sanctified. Big words but real possibilities.
A final thought. I had a long-term struggle when I was a young mom. As I struggled, God drew me to Hebrews 10:19-12:29. I read it nearly every day as a pep talk to get me through that day. Yet after repeatedly turning to that passage, using it to try to muster up another days worth of hope and courage, the Word rooted itself in my heart and mind, and it grew into belief. More and more the Spirit aligned my thoughts with God’s as revealed in that passage. He changed the words from a pep talk into solid Truth in my life. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. . .” From that point on, those verses became part of the core of who I am. This is an illustration from my life of the Spirit changing me through understanding His Word.
Romans 12:2 says “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of you minds.” Indeed, being transformed by the Word of God is the only way real change has ever happened in my life. The Word is not a magic wand, but it is the Spirit’s most powerful weapon. You can see why I’m passionate about Bible study.