Lysa Terkeurst - Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl Participants Guide: Living the Faith after Bible Class Is Over

H ave you ever wished you could not only know Gods truth but also feel equipped to live it out in your everyday life?

Me too. Thats why I wrote this study.

For too many years I was full of Bible knowledge with no idea how to let the truths I knew impact my daily life. I would go to Bible study, leave all inspired, and then come home and have a complete meltdown over spilling bleach on my favorite shirt. Or a kids bad attitude. Or finding out a friend betrayed me. Or gaining back the five pounds over a weekend that took me two months to lose.

How do we apply truth to this kind of everyday stuff?

We are quick to say all the right Jesus answers in church, around our Christian friends, and in our Bible study. But when the strains of life press against us, do we live as if Jesus really works?

Im challenged by this. And so I write not as an expert who has achieved a life that authentically reflects Jesus at all times, but as a friend who dares to try to become more than just a good Bible study girl.

Inviting you to accept this challenge is the whole point of this study. I started with a question that many people seem to be asking today. They used to ask, Is Jesus true? Books were written about it, sermons were preached about it, seminaries offered courses all offering up spiritual, emotional, historical, and biblical answers proving that Jesus is true. And I gladly stand up on my kitchen chair with the paint chipping off, shouting Hallelujah! He is the way, the truth, and the life as He claimed He was.

But now that question has shifted to, Does Jesus work? Its great that Hes true, but what kind of difference can He make in my life? At first, this question seems bold and self-centered, not even worth answering. I would never want to reduce Jesus to the same qualifications by which I judge a car thats great that its the nicest vehicle on the road, but will it get me where I want to go?

Still, Does Jesus work? is an honest question deserving an honest answer. The world is literally dying to know.

Thats why I decided to tackle six issues that each play a vital role in determining whether or not Jesus works:

Will Jesus make a difference in my heart?

Will He help my connection with God be more real?

What kind of difference could He make in my relationships?

How do I process my struggles with Jesus?

What do I do when my thoughts pull me away from Jesus?

Does Jesus really have a calling for my life?

If we can truthfully answer these questions as I address them one by one in the six sessions of this study, I believe well truthfully answer the bigger Does Jesus work? question as well.

So, if youre looking for another keep on keeping on study, if youre looking for a little more kumbaya in your life, or a good Jesus feeling, or how to play the Christian game better, look elsewhere.

But if you, like me, want to break free from the confines of our Christian arenas and replace the worlds emptiness with true fulfillment, please continue.

Lysa TerKeurst