Daily Bible Study

August 26

(Acts 17:11 NIV) “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

(1 Cor. 2:12, 14 NIV) "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. {14} The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

(James 1:22 NIV) "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

Daily Bible study is a vital tool for the disciple of Jesus. Here are some hints on how to become more like the Bereans. First, find a translation you understand. There are many, and most of them are good. Second, find a reading plan and stick to it. God is a God of order. It makes sense to use an orderly plan for reading the Bible. Third, ask the Holy Spirit to speak through the Scriptures. We need God’s help to understand. Ask God to open your ears and your heart so you can hear what He is saying. Fourth, as you read, ask two questions: what does it say, and what does it say to me? In other words, what did it mean then, and what does it mean to me today? Fifth, be faithful in personal application and obedience. Once we know what God is saying to us, we need to do what the Lord says. Without this last step, the Bible is just words on paper. God wrote it to be far more than that. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Daily Examination

August 25

(Acts 17:11 NIV) “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

(Luke 11:3 NIV) “Give us each day our daily bread.”

(1 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV) “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”

The Bereans didn’t read Scripture because they thought it would impress God, or make them look more holy. They examined the Scriptures daily to hear from God. They read seeking truth. They read God’s word every day to verify that what Paul preached was the truth. They spent considerable time diligently studying the word of God. They are a model for us. Many Christians today are long on feelings, but short on knowledge of Scripture. The majority have never read the Bible through. Examining the Scriptures daily is a foreign concept. They may attend church regularly, but seldom open their Bibles outside the church building. In so doing, they miss out on God’s daily bread, and on one of the Lord’s greatest tools for producing noble character. Don’t join them in their negligence. Be different! Get into the word. Be among those who examine the Scriptures on a daily basis. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day   

Eager Beaver Bereans

August 24

(Acts 17:11 NIV) “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness…”

(Matthew 13:23 NIV) “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

(Romans 15:4 NIV) “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Luke describes the Bereans as being of “noble character”. What does that look like? Scripture says the Bereans “received the message with great eagerness.” They eagerly received the gospel that Jesus died for their sin and rose again. They also likely shared that message with enthusiasm. They became gossips for the gospel. Can you imagine a church where all of the gossip pertained to the good news of Jesus, rather than the perceived failings of others? The church’s reputation could change almost overnight. We could become like the Bereans and be thought of as “noble in character”. But it all starts with us receiving the message with eagerness. Believe the good news. Receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If you’re tired of the character you’ve become, and would like to become a person of noble character, this is where you start. It’s where the Bereans started. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Like A Broken Record

August 23

(Acts 17:10 NIV) “As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.”

(2 Corinthians 11:23-28 NIV) “Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. {24} Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. {25} Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, {26} I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. {27} I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. {28} Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”

Paul’s life played out like a broken record. For those too young to remember, when an old phonograph record got a deep scratch or a crack in it, it would often skip, playing the same phrase over and over again. Today’s verses repeat the now familiar story of Paul being run out of town. Over and over again, this was his earthly reward for preaching the truth. The true gospel is offensive. It changes people, and many don’t want to see that happen. More than once, Paul got beaten up and close to killed. Again and again, he had to flee for his life. This is because Paul was a persistent prophet. The first thing Paul and Silas did when they reached Berea was to go to the synagogue. They didn’t go there for a handout -- they went there to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Thank God for persistent prophets whose lives play out like broken records. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day