Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant
"...the people who know their God will be strong and take action."
Daniel 11:32(b)
I could not count on all my fingers or toes how many times I have heard Kay Arthur quote this scripture. The idea of being able to actually know the God of the universe is mind-blowing when you stop to mull it over, yet His word says it is true. How can we know God? It's not all that complicated. After all, He gave us a great big book that tells His
entire story. Challenging and confusing at times? Yes. Difficult to study? Not really, especially if you have the right tools.
entire story. Challenging and confusing at times? Yes. Difficult to study? Not really, especially if you have the right tools.
I first encountered Kay Arthur and Precept ministries in the mid-1990s. I had attended a women's Sunday School class while visiting my sister and family in Oklahoma. That particular week, the ladies were studying Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness) from Lord, I Want to Know You. This gave me a taste of what an in-depth Bible study could be, and I was hooked. The strategy of repeated reading of the text, marking the text, and word studies was a round peg in a round hole for me, and I have been using it ever since.
If you ever heard Kay's testimony, you know that her path to knowing God was not straight or smooth. What hope that gives me and other women like me to know that God can and will and even seems to delight in using us, despite our past mistakes.
Thirty years later, I have completed who-knows-how-many Precept studies and have been privileged to teach women literally around the world how to implement the inductive study method, all because of what began with that one Sunday School class. This past week, I read that Kay Arthur had died and while I was initially sad, those feelings were eclipsed by the gratitude I feel for this great woman and her ministry that changed my life.
Thank You, Lord, for orchestrating my life to intersect with Kay Arthur. Millions of people have been eternally changed because of her ministry and her faithful teaching of Your word. She surely heard You say with great pleasure, "Well done, good and faithful servant...enter into the joy of your Master (Matthew 25:23)."
You introduced me to Kay Arthur's concept of Precept studies!
ReplyDelete