On a regular basis, Smiling Icon provides what I call “Lunch Buddy” Studies—Bible studies made easily accessible on the web, and available for people to “feed” on while they feed on their lunches at work in the Marketplace. That’s what I used to do years ago when I was a technical writer for nuclear licensing documents in Birmingham, Alabama. It’s not as impressive as it sounds. I basically edited and oversaw the publication of endless revisions to nuclear licensing documents required the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after the Three Mile Island disaster.
It was tedious and not my favorite thing to read. But it put food on the table. And helped me to raise my young family. I knew I needed to “feed” on God’s word on a daily basis to keep spiritually alive and potent, but I didn’t want to go home and take away time from the kids and wife to be doing involved Bible studies. So instead, I seized on the principle in Ephesians (in the King James translation) that said something to the effect of “redeem” the time, because the days were evil.
“Redeem” the time, it said.
Redeem means “buy back” (or something like that) so it occurred to me that I could “buy back” other wise wasted snippets of time during they (driving to and from work, taking breaks during the day, etc.) and “sneak” in some Bible Study.
So I would do it during lunch, at my desk and it was such a tremendous blessing.
Much of what I know about Scripture even today I learned that way.
And I didn’t have to go to bed feeling spiritually hungry and unfed.
I learned how to “redeem” the time.
And find snatches of time to help me keep my daily goal of at least reading the Scripture and studying it for 30 minutes a day (which often evolved into more because it truly was interesting when “lubed and greased” by the Spirit of God asked for during prayer right before I studied).
So my day might look like this.
On the way to work I could “listen” to bible tapes, stopping them for deeper reflection as I drove to my destination, winding back to phrase that caught my attention, and basically chilling with God on my way to work while my mind was fresh and able to focus.
Traffic was often boring and aggravating any way. It’s amazing how much beautiful the ride to work seemed when I chit chatted with my car pool buddy, Jesus, that way.
And how often that I would see the study end “just at the right time” and just at the right stopping point as I pulled into work.
At work, I’d so my thing and edit documents about sump pumps, etc. (I can still remember thinking that I could care less about how this sump pump worked).
We had 15-minute breaks too in the morning, so if I was till spiritually hungry I could sneak in a little more Scripture reading (they had those tiny green pocket New Testaments in those days and you could pull them out discretely in the break room or other quiet respite spots).
Then at lunch, I’d heat up my left overs in the microwave, sit down at my desk, take out my note taking book, and devour Scripture too.
And I wouldn’t just read books about the Bible, that had the occasional Scripture than just a lot of somebody’s commentary. I’d read the Scripture itself. I didn’t want “ABC” Bible study. “All Ready Been” chewed Bible study. I wanted to learn how to cut the spiritual meeting, chew on it (even when it was tough) and learn how to devour it myself.
If that didn’t fill me, and I was till hungry, I’d take advantage of tiny snippets of breaks during the day.
But I’d go home spiritually fed, having earned a days paycheck to support my family, and I was able not only to be present emotionally and spiritually for the family, I felt the sweet sense of spiritual satisfaction that I’d been emotionally and spiritually present for my God, who’d given all things to me!
And if I had a bad day, I would hear this modified phrase from Tevye in “The Fiddler on the Roof” in my head: “Just because I had a bad day, God should suffer?” (He’d really said to God “Just because you had a bad day, I should suffer?”)
Years later, when I was a pastor, many of my young trainees had day jobs too. So I created “line by line” Bible studies they could do at lunch themselves. And I made them so they were not “ABC” studies, but studies the they could cut up and devour, line by line, wrestling with the word themselves at times they redeemed during the work day.
I don’t know if they ever really did. But it’s here for the taking. Attached is a link to my most recent study of Advent (it would create about a week’s worth of lunch times to do).
So I’m giving you all a belated Christmas present this blog. A study to encourage you to “feed” on Jesus in more ways this one this year.
And to bless Him and you along your way.
Happy New Year, Merry Christmas and be blessed in every way and every day!
Advent Bible Study — Unabridged Supplemental Materials
Find more studies at smilingicon.com