Jot This Down

Yesterday my mother handed me a red binder filled with Bible study and sermon notes that she'd put together from over the years. Most of the pages are worksheets with my mother's handwriting popping up in different locations, whether answering study questions or writing down a sentence or two from a sermon or lecture she wanted to remember. Sentences like "God has programmed His moral code into our hearts. When you become a Christian, changes begin to occur in our conscience" or "Life is what happens when we're making plans." It's a precious record of a section of her spiritual journey. I think it's interesting that she handed me this binder the same day that Ayla said she purchased a book to keep all her sermon notes in. "I got tired of carrying around a bunch of little bits of paper, Mommy," she said. I have another friend who takes notes on a clipboard she carries with her everywhere. Typically, I have notes written all over the inside of my Bible from sermon's I have heard over the years.

Learning through study and in worship are wonderful ways to continue to grow in our faith. They can make you understand, appreciate, obey and worship the Lord even better than you have previously. If you feel compelled to write something down that you have heard, it is a good possibility the Lord is speaking to your heart to do so. I have kept just about every Bible study I've ever taken or taught and likewise the notes. Every once and awhile I will go back and read those notes or redo the study. It is interesting to me to see the changes in my spiritual life since that first note-taking effort. Or to see what different attributes the Lord wants me to catch the second time around.

Next month, me and about 10 others are retaking a Bible study I took last fall called "Foundations in Apologetics." It is an excellent study by Ravi Zacharias International Ministries led by various theologians and professors at Oxford University designed to "introduce a comprehensive range of apologetic arguments and strategies." The lecturers speak in a variety of accents and brogues and use a number of words that I needed a dictionary for. They spoke way over my head. But I gleaned so much from the study. After we finished, most of us commented we wanted to go through all the lectures again to absorb even more ... so we are. And new folks are joining us. I am excited to see what the Lord wants me to learn and apply this time. See, I have a long way to go with regards to applying a good defense of the faith.

Proverbs 1:5 "Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance;" and Proverbs 18:15 says "An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." Never stop learning. Never stop taking notes. Retake studies to retain and discover new information. Not only will it make you better Christians, but it will also enhance your efforts to work as a team for the Lord in the growth of His Kingdom.

Discussion: Tell about a study you have taken that you'd consider retaking. When do you typically take notes during a study or sermon? Do you ever reread your notes?

Prayer: Lord, you have given us the gift of the Living Word where we learn something new every time we read it. We thank you that you have inspired many souls to preach the Word, teach it and write studies on it for us to learn more. Help us to be diligent is wanting to make ourselves more and more like you. In Christ, our Rabbi teacher, Amen.