As Christians, we ought to look to our Lord as the ultimate example of service. What the Bible reveals about what He did for people during the brief time He lived on this earth stirs within us a desire imitate Him who, “…came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Our Lord gave up His place in heaven to relate to mankind in a very personal way (John 1:14; Philippians 2:4-7). He was very present with each individual with whom He came in contact, and His one-on-one work with individuals left them forever changed (John 4). The multitudes thronged about Him (Luke 8:42), and He had compassion on them because they were as sheep having no shepherd (Mark 6:34). Whether it was early in the morning (Luke 21:38) or late at night (John 3:2), He made Himself available to assist people in learning the truth that would save their souls.
However, the One who came down from heaven did not spent all of His time healing people and answering questions about God’s word. He also spent time alone in prayer and meditation. Even though His overall mission was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), He on occasions withdrew Himself (Luke 5:16). In fact He did not even begin public service until the proper age of thirty (Luke 3:23). Think about it. If Jesus spent time growing in knowledge and wisdom before embarking on His public ministry (Luke 2:52), and if He spent time helping His disciples learn before sending them out into all the world to continue the work (Mark 1:17; John 14:9), then should we not spend time preparing to serve prior to embarking into service?
Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, “If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.” Is it wisdom’s course to take time to sharpen the ax before laying into the tree? Yes. Though no tree chopping is taking place during the sharpening process, the overall process of felling the tree will be more efficient with a sharp blade. Satan has made sure that we have plenty of false ideas growing up all around us. Now we can hack away at them with a dull ax and eventually get the job done, but we can cut down much more of the forest of falsehoods if we have spent the proper time getting sharp. It makes sense to take some time preparing to do the work God has given us to do.
Thus time alone in study and prayer is not selfish, it can actually be a part of service to others. Wouldn’t your time spent in relating to others in evangelism or edification be helped by your own personal development? What if you knew the exact passage to direct some to that would help their misunderstanding? What if you did not overreact to an insult because you had spent quality time in prayer that day? What if you had so prepared yourself that you could be a blessing to everyone who would see your example or seek your counsel? That is what Jesus did. Though there are a host of differences between Jesus and us due to His nature as God in the flesh, He still spent time preparing and we should too.

-Mark Day

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” Psalm 133

It is an awesome thing when people work together toward a common goal. An athletic team that truly works as a team can accomplish things far beyond expectations. A business where all the employees cooperate and are productive will likely achieve great success. In like manner, the church has the potential for accomplishing great things in God’s sight. The condition, however, is that we work together. Since we are the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), we must learn that 1) everyone has a place in the body and 2) that everyone must do the work he/she is capable of doing. Please consider the following observations:

When the church works together…
• There will be less bickering and more forgiveness (Philippians 4:2).
• There will be less criticism and more encouragement (Hebrews 10:24).
• There will be less excuses and more evangelism (Acts 2:46, 47).
• There will be less selfishness and more selflessness (Philippians 2:3, 4).
• There will be less discussion of personal preferences and more Bible study and seeking to know the will of God (Ephesians 5:17).
• There will be less worry about the future and more prayer for the strength and courage to face the future ((1 Thessalonians 5:17).
• There will be less dissatisfaction with worship and more concentration on God himself within our worship (John 4:24).
• There will be less individual glory and more glory to God (Matthew 5:16).

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:1-3

-by Lance Cordle, Church of Christ, Calvert City, KY
as printed in January 2005 Bulletin Digest

There is a great deal of difference in just reading the Bible and studying it. Webster defines the word study as follows: “A busying one’s self about a thing, zeal application of learning; the act or process of applying the mind in order to acquire knowledge, as reading and investigation of any subject: careful attention to and critical examination and investigation of any subject; to fix the mind closely upon a subject, to meditate to ponder.”

We are commanded to study the Bible. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). The word translated study is defined as: “to use speed, to hasten, to be eager, diligent.” It is translated “forward” in Galatians 2:10; “endeavoring” in Ephesians 4:3; “labor” in Hebrews 4:11; and “diligent” in II Peter 3:14.

Is there any book that you are more eager and diligent in studying than the Bible? Are you at your best in studying it? When the Bible comes up for discussion do you have to apologize for your lack of knowledge?

Study is work. Study of the Bible demands desire to know and understand. It requires concentration and patience but its rewards are far beyond whatever the cost may be.

Feel A Deep Need For Truth

Little profit comes from the study of the Bible unless there is recognition of the need of knowing the truth. If one is a sinner he should realize the depth of sinfulness and separation from God and the fact that he must learn the truth in the Bible to be saved. If one was lost in a desert and found a map how would one study the map? Would it be with a passing notice? Would it be consulted occasionally? Would one feel that it made little difference whether the map was followed? How many treat the Bible the way they would treat a map if lost and trying to find their way out of a wilderness? We are travelers from time to eternity and we cannot guide our steps. “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). The Bible is the most important book one will ever study.

Study To Practice What You Learn

Many seem to have the idea that the study of the Bible is simply a mental exercise. They read with no thought of trying to put into practice the things learned. Jesus said, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17). An infidel may learn some things the Bible teaches but he will never learn the truth that saves unless he seeks to do what it teaches. A girl may memorize a cook book but she will never become a cook until she puts something into the oven. I read that a child learns 10% of what he hears, 80% of what he sees and 90% of what he does.

Is your knowledge of the Bible growing? How much more do you know today than yesterday, last week, last year? You may know as much as you are willing to eagerly and diligently search out to do.

– Franklin Camp (adapted from article at thebible.net)
-submitted by Jerry Sturgill

Throughout human history various mediums have been utilized to transfer information. Early in history, oral tradition was the chief source of knowledge. Since books had to be handwritten, they were quite rare and very expensive, making them unavailable to the masses. The drawbacks to oral tradition are fairly obvious. Accuracy and advancement of knowledge were limited by the memory of the elders of a society. Any truth discovered had to be remembered well enough to pass to the next generation.

The invention of the movable type printing press revolutionized information exchange. Books became more available, libraries became more numerous, and discovered truths could be more easily kept in the more permanent form of a book for later generations to consult. There were still drawbacks in regard to the limited number of people who could publish information. Those who had the money and power would have more access to publishing their views, while a poor minority who may have had the truth would not be able to disseminate it. I have some books in my library that document the history of the Lord’s church through the published works of their oppressors who wrote about the reasons for their hostility toward the “heretics.” Six hundred years ago, (and for centuries before that time), the Lord’s church existed underground because oppressive false religion had the reins of the government in its hand. While the Lord’s church did spread the truth, almost all of the material that has survived from that period are the writings of those in power who punished the true followers of Christ as “heretics” for rejecting their manmade traditions. This is just one example of the limits of information exchange during that time.
The Internet, while not solving all of humanity’s problems regarding the exchange of information, certainly revolutionized the world. Since the 1990s, when the Internet began to be used by the masses, people all over the world have been given the ability to exchange information with a level of convenience never before known in the history of humanity. While this has helped some of the past problems in regard to publishing information, it has also introduced some new problems. One of the major problems is the rapid spreading of false, but popular, ideas. We all should know that we should not believe everything we read, especially on the Internet. What is mainstream and popular may likely be false (Matthew 7:13-14).

However, there is one work that spans all the ages of information exchange and gives us the best information. It can be trusted; it is the most reliable source of truth the world has ever seen (John 17:17). That book is the Bible. God delivered, once and for all (Jude 3), a body of information that is vital to our eternal wellbeing (2 Timothy 3:15-17). While it may not hurt to be misinformed in regard to some trivial matters, when it comes to our souls, we cannot afford to be wrong; we absolutely must go to the guidebook. When asked what to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus pointed men to what was written in the Bible (Luke 10:25-26). There is a haze of false information out there regarding what we should do to go to heaven (1 John 4:1). Will you be lost in it or will you cut your way through mist of false doctrines with the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), blazing your way to the narrow path (Matthew 7:14) that leads to salvation? Brethren, let us always check the Bible, the source book of truth, before we believe or practice anything.

–Mark Day

Certain renowned Israelites rebelled against the Lord in Numbers 16 by claiming that Moses and Aaron took upon themselves too much authority (Numbers 16:3). The Lord quickly showed that by refusing to follow His spokesmen, these renowned men of the congregation were actually refusing to follow Him and would be punished. The Lord caused the earth to open up and swallow these rebels, confirming their guilt. Moses introduced this punishment as proof that he was simply acting by God’s authority and not of his own accord. Numbers 16:28 reads, “And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.”
If Moses had acted of his own mind, these charges would have been true, but those who made the false charges were actually the ones concocting false concepts in their own minds. Sadly, there are many today who are of this same stripe. When it comes to religion, they practice that which has been invented in their own minds or the minds of their predecessors. Those who follow the spiritual footsteps of Moses by precisely following the Lord’s pattern (Exodus 25:40) are similarly regarded as control freaks and legalists by the “of-my-own-mind” multitude. The reality, just as it was with Moses, is the opposite. The rebels were the ones seeking to go beyond what God had ordered by seeking to be priests (Numbers 16:10). Those today who innovate and deviate from what God authorizes in the New Testament go beyond the limits and seek too much authority for themselves as well.

Consider our perfect example, Jesus Christ, in this regard. If anybody had the right to impose His own will, teach His own thoughts, and practice that which come from His own mind it would be Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Did Christ of His own mind devise what He should do? On the contrary, the Son of God made some intriguing statements in regard to the fact that He would not go beyond what the Father instructed. In regard to His words and deeds, He said in John 8:28-29, “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” It is clear that Jesus taught only what the Father gave Him and nothing beyond it from John 12:48-50, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.” In regard to His deeds, He practiced what the Father commanded (John 14:31).

If Jesus would not go beyond the instructions of His Father, why should we take it upon ourselves to devise doctrines and practices of our own minds? The Holy Spirit and the apostles He guided into all truth were not even given that prerogative, but simply taught and practiced what they had received from the Son and ultimately the Father (John 16:12-15). Let us follow this example so that God is glorified rather than men, and let us teach others to do the same with all authority, God’s authority (Titus 2:15).

–Mark Day