Frank's Bible Blog

Keeping Your Pants Up and Groupies4God

Recently I was leading a discipleship group and we were discussing the armor of God in Ephesians 6. There were two particular parts of the armor that generated a lot of discussion--the belt of truth and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

We were reminded that the belt does several things--not the least of which is holding your pants up! One of the group members commented how in BIble times people would tuck the end of their robe into their belt so that they could move freely and quickly--such as when going to war.

Truth keeps everything together and allows us to successfully navigate life.

The question was raised "How do you get truth?" Well, we know Jesus is Truth (John 14:6) and God's Word is true.

That led us to the sword of the Spirit.

Another participant commented how if we don't know God's Word, then we have nothing that the Spirit can use in our lives. With both truth and the sword it is clear--we need to know God's Word. We need to read it, study it, meditate on it, and memorize it.

Okay, we know all that--but it's especially hard to memorize.

Well, let me introduce you to Groupies4God.

This is a group of people who recently started meeting on Facebook to learn verses together. Each Monday a new verse(s) is posted on the site Groupies4God.com and the group commits together to learn that verse over the coming week. As a way of accountability, if you are a Facebook member, you can indicate to everyone once you learn the verse. Facebook, of course, is free to join. If you don't want to join that's fine--you can still see the verse of the week. It's just nice to be part of a group that is committed to helping each other learn God's Word.

So, let's "keep our pants up" and take up the "sword" by learning the Bible. Let's start a movement to hide God's Word in our hearts. Gather some friends and commit together to weekly Bible memorization. 

Join us at Groupies4God.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Ephesians 6-- Grab the Instructions and Your Tools

I must admit, I'm not very handy when it comes to fixing things around the house. It's not that I don't try; but for some reason my projects don't quite look like they should or they take me three times as long to do them as it should. People often say that having the right tool is 75% of the job. So, in my defense, I'm going to blame my struggles on the fact that I often have to improvise when it comes to tools. It could be that I just don't know what I'm doing, but I would rather think that it is the tools:)  When it comes to life, however, all of us can know how to handle ourselves if we will carefully study Ephesians 6. It describes both what to do and the tools with which to do it. All of us are either a child, parent, employer or employee. The first nine verses describe how we are supposed to do these jobs, but the bottom line is that we do it from the heart to please God not men (v7). The rest of the chapter describes the tools that we need to be successful at our project called "life." Tools like truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Bible, and prayer. If you are struggling today at "life improvement" maybe it is because you either aren't following the instructions or you aren't using the right tools. Dive into this great chapter and apply its truths to your life. You will be glad you did!
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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Ephesians 5-- How to be a Great Mime

Our family was at an amusement park waiting for a show to begin. As people came into the front of the stadium, there was a mime who would sneak up behind people and mimic them. Of course the mime over-exaggerated the person's movement and got laughs from the crowd at the unsuspecting guest's expense. The mime watched someone then carefully imitated them. In Ephesians 5 we are told to be mimes--not of other people but of God. We are told to imitate Him (v1). While that is a very difficult task, God breaks down for us how to go about it. First, there needs to be a dramatic contrast in how we live compared to how those outside of God live (vv2-14). The difference should be as stark as a totally dark room and one filled with brilliant light. Next, He says we need to be smart in how we live, paying attention to what is around us and how we are using our time (vv15-20). Finally, we need to practice selflessness in our relationships (vv21-32) as we mutually consider the needs and well-being of others. If we will do these three things, we will become great mimes.
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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Ephesians 4-- The Dream Team

Historically, it is the most successful team in Olympic history. The U.S.A. Men's Basketball Team had long dominated international competition. When professionals were allowed to participate, it extended its dominance by fielding the "dream team" at the 1992 Olympics. They won the gold that year and in the next two Olympics. But by 2004, the bottom dropped out for team U.S.A. as it lost more games in that Olympics than it had in all the prior Olympiads combined. Faced with improved competition and the fact the the team was made up of individuals superstars who hadn't played together before, they fell apart. Individually they were incredible. As a team, sub-par. They lacked unity and team work.  Ephesians 4 is a great description of the kind of team God wants to build with His children--and it is remarkably different than the 2004 U.S.A. team. It is a team that seeks unity (vv 1-6) where each player understands his or her special role (vv7-16) but humbly strives for the greater good. Each player lives up to their potential by dropping "losing" habits such as lust, lying, anger, stealing, laziness, and destructive speech (vv22-31). But successful players must do more than end bad habits. They must replace these with what is good--attitude and actions that seeks to build up the rest of the team (vv25, 28, 32). You and I may never win an Olympic gold medal, but we can experience victory in life as we seek to advance God's "team".
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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Ephesians 3-- Don't Look Down!

My children and I were at an amusement park and decided to climb a rock wall. They put the harness on my 11 year old daughter and I watched as she made her way to the top. Then my nine-year old son made his way up. Next, it was my turn. I did real well until I got about 3/4 of the way up when I started to slow down--and look down. I began to lose heart. "What in the world am I doing" I said to myself. Paul in chapter three encourages the Ephesians, and us, to not lose heart (v13) as we climb this life. To not look down at the struggles around us but look up to God in prayer (vv 14-21). He tells us what to pray when we are in these situations. Pray that your inner spirit would be strengthened (v16). Pray that you would allow Christ complete control of your life through faith (v17). Pray that you will be rooted in love (v17). Pray that you can begin to comprehend the love that Christ has for you (v19). Pray that God would fill every part of your life (v19). Then thank Him for His amazing power that is able to do "exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (v20). But whatever you do, don't look down. Keep looking up and you won't lose heart.
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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Ephesians 2-- The Transformation to a Butterfly

Butterflies are amazing creatures. Small and fragile, but beautiful. They don't start out beautiful, however. There is a transformation that takes place. A transformation of something ugly (caterpillar) to something beautiful (butterfly). This is a great picture of us. You see, Ephesians 2 outlines a three-fold transformation that takes place in our lives when we receive Christ as our Savior. We go from death to life (vv 1-10), from outsiders to insiders (vv 11-18) and from foreigners to citizens (vv 19-22). The transformation is all about what God does. What happens after the transformation is up to us. God expects us to work (v10) and grow (vv 21-22). Again, this is not a requirement for salvation but a natural outcome of it. God doesn't transform us to just sit and remain the same. No, He transforms us to demonstrate His love and grace to us and to others as we serve Him. Two questions to ponder today: have you been transformed, and if so, are you going and growing for God's glory?
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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Ephesians 1-- Making the Coach Proud

Have you ever coached a children's sports team? How did it make you feel when they succeeded? Pretty good I bet. You poured your heart and soul into your team, led them in practice, gave them the necessary tools to win and then cheered them on. And when they won, it made you look good. You couldn't play the game for them, but you did everything you could to set them up for victory. Well, that is kind of the way it is with God as outlined in Ephesians 1. God created you, called you to eternal life (vv13-14), made you an heir (v11), bestowed His grace on you (v7), provides wisdom (v17), gives hope (v18), and demonstrates power (v19). He gives us everything we need to succeed spiritually in life. But it is up to us to "play the game." We are not robots--we have a free will. And we must decide whether or not to use the insights and tools our "Coach" has given us. When we do, it is to the "praise of His glory" (vv6, 12, 14). How are you making the "Coach" look with your life? Is it bringing Him praise? Or have you ignored the resources He has given you and decided to do your own thing?

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.