The Bible and my iPhone

My iphone is a great resource for studying the bible.  I have included a few of my favorite apps here.  When preparing for a lesson, I will first read the passage and take it apart, looking for when was the text written, who is writing it, who is the message for, where is Jesus in it, and how can I apply it to my life.

iPhone Apps

• Blue Letter Bible – I use this one to hear audio commentary, compare versions, and look at original Hebrew/Greek text. (Free)
  Strong’s – More streamlined look at the original Hebrew/Greek text (Free)
• K-wave – Broadcast radio. Listen to pastor’s perspective from 1500hrs to 1600hrs.  Also listen to other great pastors. (Free)

I am a very visual person.  I need to see things, touch them, and experience information to be able to retain it.  That is part of the reason for Project 22 Six.  Teaching with examples helps us to remember.  After I have absorbed all the information and make a connection in life application, I then think about how I can convey the message in a way my audience will understand it.  Am I teaching my kids, people at church, co-workers, strangers, foreigners with a language barrier?  The possibilities are endless.  Draw from your experience and create something that will be memorable.  But don’t do it to elevate yourself…do it to bring the glory to God.

No Time To Read?

That is my problem.  I never have time to just sit and read.  Did you know the acronym for BUSY is Being Under Satan’s Yoke?  It is so hard to find time.  With a busy job, kids to raise, a wife to love… it’s hard.  That is why my 45 min commute to work is such a blessing.  I often use this time to listen to a different podcast or recordings of a passage that I am studying.  Of course the devil wants to distract me from this.  I try to listen to the traffic report first.  Next thing you know I have 25 min left in my drive and my flesh says, “That’s not enough time to hear a message.”  So what if I don’t finish.  I can finish it tomorrow, that is unless the Lord takes me back or we all get raptured up.  In that case, I can just listen to Him.  Anyway, don’t make excuses,and as Nike said, “Just Do It”

Books

• The Jesus Style, by Gayle Irwin
• Developing the Leader Within You, by John Maxwell
• The Leadership Challenge, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
• It’s your ship, by Capt. Michael Abrashoff

Leadership

Like it or not, you are a leader.  It’s tough to be a leader.  I find that there are great leaders in the world and they have great points to make and lessons to teach.  I don’t remember where I heard this, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” It’s is so true.  John Maxwell said, “A leader leads his people by listening.”

The Decision Tree

Everyone has a decision tree.  It’s how choices are made.  “Is it good for me? Okay, let’s do it”, but I submit this to you.  The problem here is that there is only one branch on that tree, You.  I look at it like this.  In this order…

• Does it glorify God?
• Is it good for my family?
• Is it good for my community/co-workers?
• Is it good for me?

If you say no to any of these, then you should think again about what you are doing.  You can also think, if this were on the front page of the newspaper or went viral on the internet, would God, my family, and friends be proud or ashamed?

Two Kinds of People

There are two kinds of people in this world.  Those who put away shopping carts, and those who don’t.  Which one are you?  I like to think of things as black and white.  We do things either out of love for ourselves or love for others.  The Bible was written in black and white and that is how we should read it.  It is not wishy washy.  It is direct and gives us examples of how to live our lives.  We can either be a vessel for honor or a vessel for dishonor (.  What do yo do when no one is around?  Will you push the shopping cart back? or leave if for another?