The Bible is not a book to cram information into your mind. It is God’s Word for you to study as it studies you. As you prepare a plan with which to read the Bible, ensure that you know how you should be reading the Bible in the first place. Consider what God is saying. It’s time to go the second mile in reading the Bible.
Since God is the most forgiving relationship in our lives, it is easiest to neglect our obligations to Him over other people. But neglecting His Word affects our lives greatly. If you have a plan, you need to decide when you will make time to meditate on God’s Word daily.
The Bible is a big book full of complicated stories, challenging situations, and complex settings that often seem foreign to us. Most of us never finished reading the Bible because we never started in the wisest place. It is important to know how you ought to progress.
Consider what it must have been like during that first Christmas when God invaded some people’s plans for His own. The presence and promise of God were meant to rid them of fear and embolden them to go forward.
With the growing exposure to bite-sized social media updates and quick exposure to news, we are losing our ability to read long and read well. While there is a great danger to this for many facets of life, none is as dangerous as what it means for our ability to handle Scripture.
We often wonder how much we should pray to be considered a serious Christian. It’s not about reaching some type of goal. It’s about forming a type of relationship. We don’t want the bare minimum in the way that we prioritize talking with God.
Realize that you haven’t sinned when anxiety hits, but you could sin by how you address it. Jesus provides helpful clarity in how He took His anxieties to God in prayer. It’s time to go the second mile in praying through your anxiety.
If you pray about the same things in the same ways, day after day, you shouldn’t be surprised that your prayers are boring. To get out of a prayer rut, you have to change your strategy. What if one simple change could enliven your prayer life?
If your prayer life consistency is based on how you feel, you will only connect with God when you are desperate. But that’s not healthy. We need something more. We need to have an established connection with God that endures through all times.
If you’ve ever tried to pray but gotten distracted during it, you are not alone. While we may have different reasons that we get sidetracked, there are some simple changes you can make to your rhythms to help you stay focused during prayer.
Most people claim that prayer is helpful, but our commitment to it says something different. Everyone is busy, but we always find time for what is most important. If you value prayer enough, you will prioritize time to talk with God regularly.
For every single person, our sin disrupts our relationship with God and others. Without intervention, there is no hope for us, but in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can find mercy for our transgressions and meaning in our brokenness.
When Adam and Eve first sinned, it changed everything for them and us. God counseled them during the event and led them through the fallout. We can’t hide from the reality of what our sin costs nor can we overlook His grace through it.
You will sin. Your spouse will sin. What will you do when it happens? The first couple paved the way for us to repeat, unfortunately. They immediately hid from God and framed others in the awareness of their guilt.
Your marriage would be much easier if sin weren’t in the picture. Unfortunately for you and your spouse, it is unavoidable. Your marriage can survive if you work together to navigate temptation, sin, and restoration when it all happens.
God’s original command to the first couple was to be fruitful and multiply. It was a call to take what He had given them in order to use it and multiply it to the best of their God-given abilities. God is up to something, and your marriage can be a part of it.
To have a healthy marriage, you must consider numerous components. One area that is rarely discussed from a scriptural perspective is the role sexual intimacy is intended to play. We must reorient ourselves to God’s perspective.
During Nehemiah’s day, God’s people were discouraged and directionless. Met with significant challenges, they continued to press on to the work assigned to them.
Marriage cannot work if someone has a higher priority than the spouse. There must be a thorough yet healthy leaving of one’s initial family and a complete and eager cleaving of one’s unique spouse. It is essential.
God designed marriage to provide a helper because He knew that, even before sin, we needed someone to walk beside us in life. We aren’t wired to navigate life alone. In our need, He offers us a companion.
You were created by God for a certain purpose. And every person in this world will either encourage you to fulfill that purpose or discourage you from that calling. Out of all your relationships, there is none more serious than your spouse.
Next to your decision to follow Jesus, there is no more critical of a decision than if and who you will marry. While you may find yourself lovestruck at some point in your life, it is essential that you have considered God’s role in your potential marriage.
If you are at the place in your life where you have so much to do that you don’t know what to do next, it’s probably because you aren’t doing the important work of evaluation. You must ensure that you can step back to get a handle on your chaos.
So many Christians feel tremendous guilt for the level of anxiety they struggle with on a daily basis. You need to realize that you haven’t sinned when anxiety hits, but you could sin by the way you address it.
People often talk about the unique challenges that teenagers bring. Whether you are a parent, mentor, or church leader trying to invest in the student generation, you must prioritize that which can inspire them to be all God has called them to be.
Each of us experiences temptation throughout our lives. We have an intentional enemy who knows where, when, and how to attack us in vulnerable areas of weakness. Ignoring his tactics will not make you impervious to personal setbacks.
We often categorize people’s skills by those which can serve sacred situations and others which can work in secular environments. To our detriment, we wrongly characterize the majority of how God has equipped people to a point of no usability.
You might be going to the chapel, but are you prepared for the marriage? So many people spend an unthinkable amount of time planning a 30-minute ceremony and a 2-hour reception but fail to prepare for what should be a lifelong marriage.
The people we allow in our lives will have a major influence on the directions we take. If you surround yourself with godly people, you have a better chance of becoming godly. But beware of the negative influences that can entice you to change course.
In church, we often talk about the need to devote ourselves passionately to Jesus. While that is true, you rarely find someone doing that if they aren’t surrounded by other people with a similar pursuit.
We all know those people in our lives who appear very godly. Their sincere spirituality is apparent in everything they do. For those legitimate disciples, you will not find one whose deep dedication is not fueled by a love for God’s Word.
Whenever someone mentions the need to know God’s Word better, most of us feel overrun with guilt. We know we should be more diligent, but we have numerous reasons why we never find the time or the desire.
It has been said that failing to prepare is preparing to fail. For short-term mission participants and trips, this is also true. Journey to the Field was developed as a tool for individuals to use as they walk toward the mission field, serve on the mission field and return from the mission field.
As you attempt to follow Jesus, your motives and intentions may be exactly what they need to be, but they will be challenged by common yet successful opposition. Many disciples find themselves struggling due to these recurring issues.
We often compartmentalize our lives. We have a section for faith. We have another area reserved for our family. We sort our hobbies over here and our entertainment over there. But what if our lives are not meant to be made up of isolated components?
If we are going to follow Jesus truly through the 2nd mile and beyond, we must ensure that we don’t wander off onto other paths. Making our pursuit of Jesus to be our singular ambition clarifies all other decisions during our lives.
You’ve made attempts to read different sections of the Bible with varying levels of success, but if you are going to be a lifelong student of the Word, you must show perseverance. Each of us needs a long-term plan for spiritual growth.
In the last few pages of the Bible, God delivers a dazzling picture of what is to come. Despite the coming or current conflict, we can look at what God has promised and trust that his plan will come to pass. The conclusion will be a good one.
As persecution increased among the early followers of Jesus, God sought to encourage them through the words of the apostles. In addition to encouraging epistles, God gave a revelation to the Apostle John that showed what was to come.
As the first church movement multiplied greatly and quickly, certain letters were sent to be distributed among these new believers. Within them, doctrine and practice were clarified to ensure that growth did not allow for dilution.