What a joy and
privilege it is to share God’s Word with those around us! The joy of giving a
Bible study is truly exhilarating! If you don’t know what I mean, you just have
to try it! Go out and give a Bible study to someone and just see how excited
you will be!
Here at PAFCOE, our
students learn the techniques, methods and theories of giving Bible studies. But
instead of just getting all the head knowledge, they also have the chance to
practice giving Bible studies to people in the nearby community. It’s been
amazing to see how many of them have Bible studies and what God is doing through
them!
The following are some
of their stories:
“There was a Chinese
man who slammed the door in our face when he saw my partner and I. I was
shocked because we had greeted him politely and with a smile. Suddenly in the
middle of it all, the cutest dog ran out of the gate and the man didn’t want to
let his pet run away, so of course, he had no other choice but to open the door
and run after the little dog. We were at the entrance and the dog started
jumping and wagging his tail. I love dogs, so I commented on his dog and he
ended up talking to us after all. His countenance changed. God used that cute
little dog and inspired me through it! Nothing is impossible with God!”
Sometimes God uses
unexpected circumstances to lead others to know more about Him! That little dog
was the key to help the master listen to the students! Another student said:
“This week during
outreach, we met a man from an infamous religious sect. He welcomed us and began
sharing his faith with us. We invited him to do Bible studies and he agreed. He
was praising God that we came to give him Bible studies, because just the day
before, one of his friends gave him a Bible. He told us that now he could study
the lesson with his new Bible!”
How did the students
just “happen” to meet this man just after he had received his new Bible? God
had guided them to that man to help him learn more about the Bible! Here’s what
another student said:
“When we went to do the
Bible study this week, our interest asked if she could bring 2 more friends to
study with us. This showed she was really excited about the study and really
enjoyed the previous one! Being part of God’s work is such a privilege and we
end up getting far more blessed than our interest! When we are connected to God
through prayer, nothing is really too difficult for Him, though it may appear
that way to us.”
Yes, you go to share
with someone, to be an encouragement to them, to help them and to bless them,
what happens? You even up getting a huge blessing yourself, too!
Of course, the devil is
not happy with anyone sharing God’s Word with anyone else, so he tries to bring
in distractions. Here’s what one student commented:
“When we are doing our
Bible study this week, there was a dog that started barking and barking and just
wouldn’t be quiet. So when I started the Bible study, I prayed to God to shut
up the mouth of the dog so we could hear one another. Then little by little,
the dog became quiet and we praise God for the 3 people who listened to the
Bible study!”
Later on he said:
“When we were going to
Bible studies this week, the rain was falling so heavily. Our interest’s house
had a ceiling that was basically just plastic only – but plastic with lots of
holes in it! So while we did the Bible study, the rain drops fell on us and my
Bible got wet, but we just continued on and finished the study. As we left the
study to go back to the church, we realized we had only one umbrella for the 2
of us and it was far too small so we got very, very wet. But thank God because
despite the heavy rain and being so wet, we had a Bible study and we didn’t get
sick, either!”
That same rainy week,
another student said:
“I’m so happy for the
outreach this week! Even though it rained heavily and my shirt, shoes, socks
and pants were so wet, I knew that this is part of the work of ministering to
others, to win them to Jesus!”
You never know who you
might meet! Here’s what one student said:
“I was so inspired with
the old woman that we met in our site. She’s already 88 years old and I’m so
amazed that even though she’s old, she can still read and see the small letters
without using glasses. I was so inspired with her because even despite her age,
she’s still willing to study the Bible and wants to answer the lesson we gave
her. We saw her willingness and faith in God in her.”
Her partner commenting
on the same lady said:
“I was so inspired
meeting that 88 year old lady. She was sitting on a parked tricycle when we
approached her. She listened to what I was saying with a big welcoming smile on
her face. But to our amazement, she can still read clearly without glasses! We
spent several minutes talking with her and felt impressed to offer to do Bible
studies with her. So we left her the lesson and prayed with her. Then several
houses away, while I was waiting for my partner, I looked back to the old woman
and saw that she was reading the lesson! God bless that lady!”
And once someone learns
something new, they love to share it with others as did another lady:
“Our Bible study
interest has been so interested! As my partner shared the study, I saw the Holy
Spirit work in her heart. She later called the rest of her staff members to
join us and listen too. God answered our prayers; not only was she inspired, but
was encouraging her staff members to learn too! God provided us that day with
listening ears and hearts that not only heard the message but shared it with
others. Praise God for what He did that day!”
God really provides the
strength to work for Him! One student said:
“I got a big lesson
this week because I had many events happen to me that I did not expect. Sometimes
I feel so weak, but I forced myself to go out for outreach and work for others.
And I was so amazed that I felt so good after an hour and that my weakness was
all gone!”
One student said:
“Have 3 Bible studies
in one day is the best experience I have ever had since I came to PAFCOE!
Sharing God’s Word and being blessed while doing it is a great experience! I would
love to continue doing it!”
You really have to try
it if you have never experienced giving a Bible study! It’s truly one of the
best things you can ever do!
