We are about a month out from when we found out the results for the NBBC Qualifying Test. For those of you who did not qualify, right now you might be feeling disappointment that you are not one of those that are studying hard for the NBBC, or maybe you are feeling relief that you are not one of those that are studying hard for NBBC! Either way, you can take what you learned from the summer study and apply it to your life even now. Let’s dive into three ways that you can do that.
First, is to apply Scripture and the truths that you have learned this summer to your life. The beautiful thing about God’s Word is that there is always more you can learn from it, no matter how many times you have read it. It is constantly giving us life and teaching us about God’s character and who He is. Learning about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, which is what you dedicated this summer to doing, is one of the most important things we can do, because that is what our whole faith is based on. 1 Corinthians 15:14 says, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” The fact that Christ died for our sins and was raised again is why we are all even here today. Let those truths sink into your heart and mind and experience the benefit of knowing God’s Word. The theme this year was truth. Keep in mind that you have learned the most important truths you could ever know. This life doesn’t get any easier in terms of knowing and believing the truth. The devil throws all kinds of flaming arrows at believers to try to get them to stop believing, trusting and living for God. However, the truth of God’s Word is what you can always come back to to fight against that. And the fact that you now have some of that in your heart and mind makes it even more powerful, and “easier” (so to speak) to do that. Run to God, run to Jesus, run to His Word, and He will sustain you! Try picking out two or three favorite verses that you learned this summer- of course, you might have more favorites than that- but either way, try to keep those two or three verses memorized, and you might be surprised at the times when those verses come back to your mind.
The second way to apply what you learned this summer to your life, is to continue to use those tools that you learned for studying God’s Word. Of course, do it at whatever pace you are able to, but remember that you now have a knowledge of so many more passages of Scripture, as well as a deeper understanding of those passages.
Cross- referencing is an aspect of the NBBC that a lot of people don’t love, and understandably so, because it can be very difficult! However, in many ways it is the best tool that you have learned for studying the Bible. It is truly incredible to see how much the Word of God ties together, because it is all one story pointing to the same thing: the gospel of Jesus Christ. John himself points out so many prophecies throughout his gospel that Jesus fulfilled through his life, death and resurrection. John 19 is an example of this, and even though it was not technically a part of your study passage, you still probably studied it quite a bit. Starting in verse 23, when the soldiers cast lots to decide who would get Jesus’ tunic, John has an Old Testament prophecy for just about everything that happens until Jesus’ resurrection in chapter 20. And in verse 35 John states clearly why he wrote his gospel this way. He says, “He who saw it has borne witness- His testimony is true, and He knows that He is telling the truth- that you also may believe.” There is so much to explore and learn in the Bible, and when you do that, you are learning more about our Creator, God and Father who loves us and sent His Son to die for us.
Finally, the third way to use the tools you have learned from NBB is to continue to develop the character building habits that you used over the course of the summer study. You have begun a habit of being in God’s Word everyday, of sticking to something for a long period of time, and of working hard towards a goal. Now you can take those habits and use them to study something else with excellence. God cares about these other areas of life, whether it’s school, a job, or a goal that you are trying to reach. He has given us the ability to work hard towards something, and grow and learn in the process. So let the habits you have built now be just the beginning of learning and growing in the things God has set before you. But whatever you do, don’t stop learning God’s Word now just because you aren’t competing in NBBC for this season. Maybe you won’t study it as intensely as you did for the Summer Study, but either way keep God’s Word a priority in your life and always be willing to learn and grow in the Lord, especially now that you have already experienced the eternal prize and blessing of knowing God’s Word.
Written by NBB Alumna: Tori Hoverson
