A WOMAN'S VIEW ~ Lenore Buth

Does the Bible still matter in our time?

After all, it dates back over centuries. How could the Bible still be relevant today?

This may sound like a logical question to many. I got a lesson in the "how" of it when my husband got a job promotion that kept the man I loved smiling from morning to night. Why wouldn't he? For years he had studied and taken extra training to move him toward that goal.  

I rejoiced for him, truly I did, but I loved the place we were living. The place where I had established an identity and enjoyed interacting with other writers in the area.  

We talked but managed to skirt around this touchy subject. I asked myself what would it accomplish to complain and rob him of his joy? I knew the answer: Nothing good.

Somehow, some way I would learn to love this new place.

Once we moved into our new digs my husband settled into his position as if it were tailored just for him. Morning to evening he was engrossed and energized.  

Each day I watched his car fade from sight, then asked myself, Now what?

No answers came, but I clung to what I knew: Our loving God would not bless my husband and leave me, his wife, abandoned. I would wait. 

"Be still and know that I am God ..."  Psalm 46:10  NIV

Finding my place

A month or two later I learned of the local chapter of the same Bible study a friend "back home" had often praised. Because I always wished I had her excitement about the Bible I decided to give it a try.  

The next week I went to orientation and signed up. The teaching leader addressed the large audience of class members and us newbies, explaining the day's lesson based on Exodus, including Chapters 13 to 16.

She began with how God delivered the children of Israel from slavery

He parted the Red Sea and brought them across on dry land, a miracle for sure. Freedom! Yet soon they grumbled and complained against God's provision for them as they wandered in the wilderness.

Then she looked out at us and it seemed she looked directly at me. "Are you wandering around in a dry, dusty wilderness of your own making?"

At once I knew that I was! I was! 

Then she moved on to how the children of Israel yearned for the abundant meats and fresh produce back in Egypt--where they had been slaves. Our merciful God provided fresh, bountiful supplies of Manna and quail for each day, yet in no time they started griping about being tired of the same old, same old.

With her next question once again it seemed the leader fixed her gaze on me. "Are you murmuring against God's provision for you because it doesn't live up to your specifications?"

My heart started pounding. Immediately I knew the Holy Spirit had just spoken truth to my heart and mind through that stranger. I saw clearly that God moved us to that place for my husband, yes, but also for me. 

Don't ask me how I knew. I just did.

I drove home asking God to forgive me for my weeks of self-centeredness. When my husband came home I asked his forgiveness, too, but that darling man shushed me and folded me into his love. Finally, he had his wife back.

From then on I read the Bible with new eyes

Now I knew firsthand the truth of Hebrews 4:12: "The word of God is living and active ..." God's living Word spoke to me and changed me. For life.

Since then whenever I read the Bible I look for:

• What do these verses say? What do they say to me?
• What can I learn from this account, from these individuals, on ways to live--or not live?
• What principles can I use in my life? Right now?
• What's my takeaway?

Often these truths pop out at me. Other times I need to be quiet and ponder awhile, waiting for what comes to mind.

Or I think I know what a verse means and then find some new facet that's useful for my life. 

One thing is sure. I never come away empty. God's Holy Spirit makes sure of that.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.   Romans 8:26  ESV 

No worries about "doing it right"

It's no more complicated than this: Relax and be still.

All it takes is that we make the time and ask God the Holy Spirit to give us teachable hearts, to open the Word to our understanding and to reveal his Truth. Take a few notes--or don't. Then chew on what you've read throughout the day.

As for being in a Bible study group what's good is that we all learn from each other as we share how the Lord works in our lives. It can be the setting for sharing prayer needs and growing friendships, as well. 

All Scripture is inspired by God is and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.   2 Timothy 3:16  NLT

Always, always, always, it helps to remind ourselves that as God's children through faith in Jesus, HE is with us and guiding us.

The surprise at the end 

God did have a purpose for me in that move. I stayed in the Bible study and became a group leader, where I found new meaning and made friends. Two and one-half years later my husband received another promotion. Once again I knew it fit him exactly right and once again, I regretted leaving behind what I had grown to love.  

This time I knew from experience that whatever God provided for my husband would also turn out to be right for me. 

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.   1 Corinthians 1:9  ESV

Still learning,

Lenore 

How can we stay upbeat in a downbeat world?

Here's a quote that's familiar to most of us:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of incredulity, ... "

                                                                         --A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens 

That sounds a lot like our time, don't you think? 

Add in daily reports of hatred, killings and accusations. 

Overseas. In cities all across the land. In our state. Our city.

Maybe even next door.

We worry over our lives, too. There's that funny-looking mole. The cough that won't go away. Dizzy spells that hit out of nowhere. Rumors of cutbacks at work. The ongoing problems of one of our children. 

Small wonder we're jolted out of sleep with hearts pounding and a trembling case of the "What ifs."

What do we do with our fears?

Whatever our temperament, there's only antidote that works. One that lasts.

It's remembering Whose we are. If we believe in Jesus as our Savior, it means we are the beloved children of the Everlasting God. 

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he (Jesus) gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12  ESV

Children of the same God who said in Isaiah 41:10:

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  NIV

So we give our fears to the Lord and simply trust. 

Again.

And again.

As often as necessary.  

That's what Dr. Kent Brantly did when stricken with Ebola during the outbreak in Africa several years ago

Brantly served with Samaritan's Purse in Liberia. It might seem a person who gives their life to serve God and people in hard circumstances might have the right to scream, "But I'm serving you, Lord! This is not fair!"

Not Brantly. He was flown to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, treated and recovered. Upon his release, Dr. Brantly described how he felt after being diagnosed: 

"As I lay in my bed in Liberia for the following nine days, getting sicker and weaker each day, I prayed that God would help me to be faithful even in my illness, and I prayed that in my life or in my death, He would be glorified . . . "

Clearly, Kent Brantly never doubted God's love for him.

Neither did David, who wrote most of the Psalms. He often faced dangers on all sides, yet he wrote: 

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.    Psalm 4:8  NIV

Let faith drive out fear 

Kent Brantly and the psalmist David were heroes of faith, but also human beings who knew the taste of fear. So do you and I.

I've learned there is no better ammunition for fighting fear than talking to our Heavenly Father and reading The Bible.

This is the time to underline verses that speak to your heart and reassure you. Say them aloud and pray to understand what they mean. Make notes in the margins of your Bible or write the date you realized particular verses "fit" you. 

Don't let it stop there. Speak them to yourself whenever fears bedevil you.  Or in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. 

When we fasten our attention on Scripture God's peace will displace fear.  

Here are a few of my favorite verses: 

The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?  Psalm 27:1  NIV

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.--Psalm 91:1-2 (NIV)

(Jesus said) "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. --John 14:27 (NIV)

 For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. --2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)

By the way, this isn't something reserved for 3 a.m. jitters. Trust me, these verses can soothe our spirits any hour of the day.

All it takes is not LETTING our hearts be troubled, because we know Who's really in charge and we know Whose we are.  

Still learning and growing, too,

Lenore