Daily Bible study excerpts from my book: “Looking for Contentment in All the Wrong Places”
Thing 4 – WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH LIGHT ON OUR PATH
Going to Bible Camp every year is on of the pleasures in my life. It is a chance to get away from the “noise” of the world and focus on God and His beautiful children. We always have a devotional at night before we retire to our cabins. After the devotional, we need a flashlight to see our way down the dark path toward “home”. The flashlight doesn’t light the entire path, only a few feet in front of us, but without it, darkness would conceal the way “home”.
Psalm 119:105
What does the Psalmist say is a lamp and a light?
- Circle “Your word”
- Hi-lite “lamp to my feet”, “light to my path”
What light do we have without God’s word? If we don’t use that light we are walking in darkness. God has given us a light to guide us through this dark world. Like the flashlight, God’s Word doesn’t show us the end of the trail or the whole picture, but it lights the path we are on right now, giving light to our spiritual feet.
1 John 1:7
Notice the if-then statements:
- :6 Circle “if”, write in “then” above the comma and before the words “we lie”.
- :6 Put brackets around “fellowship with Him” and “walk in darkness” then draw a line connecting the two and put an “X” on the line – we cannot walk in darkness and assume we have fellowship with Him.
- :6 Underline “we lie and do not practice the truth”
Circle the connecting word
- :7 “but”
- :7 Circle “if”, write in “then” above the comma and before the words “we have”
- :7 Hi-lite “walk in the light”, “He is in the light”, “fellowship”, “cleanses us”
When we walk in darkness (without the light of God’s word) we don’t have fellowship with Him, but when we walk in the light, we have the blessing of fellowship and cleansing. Think of what walking in the light means to you and how it affects your daily life.
Proverbs 6:23
Hi-lite
- “commandment”, “law”, Reproofs of instruction”
Circle
- “lamp”, “light”, “way of life”
God’s word is what gives our lives light as we journey through this dark world.
Psalm 119:130
- Underline “entrance of Your words”
- Hi-lite “light”, “understanding”
Like David (assuming he wrote Psalm 119), are you passionate for God’s Word? Knowing the author of a book, helps us to appreciate the words he writes. Knowing God, having a close relationship with him, will help you develop a passion for His Word.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Circle
- :16 “All Scripture”
Double underline
- :16 “given by inspiration of God, and is profitable”
Hi-lite
- :16 “doctrine”, “reproof”, “correction”, “instruction”
Find a bible dictionary online and read the definition of each of these words.
Circle the reason word
- :17 “that”
Put brackets around
- :17 “complete”, “equipped”
If we don’t have the light of God’s Word on our path, our journey will be dark and joyless.
Thing 5 – TOO MANY DISTRACTIONS (CARES OF THIS WORLD)
Work, cooking, cleaning, dishes, laundry, and chores are the daily cares of this world. They are necessary in our daily lives, but if we aren’t careful, these daily cares can distract us from our relationship with God, stealing our Joy in Him. The “cares of this world” are not wrong, but they can become a distraction to our pursuit of Joy in Christ. Because of these “cares”, we sometimes neglect prayer, study and service to Him.
Matthew 6:33
- Put a box around “seek first”
- Underline “kingdom of God”, “His righteousness”
- Hi-lite “all these things shall be added to you”
One of Webster’s definitions for the word seek is “to try to discover” and “go in search of”. We are to look for and seek out God. In our day to day lives, we should be eager to seek out God first before we begin to seek other worldly things. His kingdom and righteousness are God-things, always be looking first for the God-things in your life. If we do this, then the world-things will fall into place (be added unto you).
We become like the rich farmer (Luke 12:16-21), so busy gathering and working for “stuff” that we have to build bigger houses or get storage sheds to hold our “stuff”. Our “stuff” becomes a distraction to us because the more we have, the more time and money it takes to maintain it.
Luke 12:15
What does Jesus think about your “stuff”? Our “stuff” becomes a distraction if we are not careful.
- Double-underline “does not”
- Underline “consist in the abundance of the things he possesses”
- Write “my stuff” in the margin next to this verse
- Hi-lite the warning words “take heed” “beware”
- Circle the word “covetousness”
Luke 10:38-42
HI-lite in one color:
- :38 “Martha”, “her house”
- :40 “Martha”, “distracted with much serving”
- :41 “Martha, Martha”, “worried”, “troubled”
Hi-lite in another color:
- :39 “sister”, “Mary”, “sat at Jesus’ feet”, “heard His word”
- :42 “Mary”, “chosen that good part”, “will not be taken away”
Circle
- :42 “one thing is needed”
Martha’s chores were distracting her from hearing the words of Jesus. She was trying to do good by serving Him, but she wasn’t listening to Him. Jesus told her that Mary had chosen the good part. Think of some ways that you can keep the “cares of this world” from becoming a distraction.
Don’t let things and cares of this world steal your joy, keep them in perspective. Jesus promised that “these things will be added unto us” (Matthew 6:33) if we seek Him first. Do you believe Him?