Oh friends! Don’t miss out! Get involved in your local church’s Bible study. And if your church doesn’t have one, print out one of my studies, try it out, and then take a group through it. Don’t settle for reading about someone else’s study, study God’s Word yourself. You’ll be hooked! But more importantly, you’ll be changed as you behold the Lord’s glory through His Word (2 Corinthians 3:18)!

How not to get the most out of Bible study—really? What a topic! Sometimes we don’t mean to undercut our commitment to going to Bible study, but we end up doing it anyway. What are some ways we hinder our own blessing in studying God’s Word and attending Bible study?

At its essence, a quiet time is the private time you spend with your Savior, talking with Him in prayer, and hearing from Him through His Word. The time you spend with the Lord each day is essential to your spiritual health and growth. No Christian can maintain spiritual health and vitality or grow in grace, knowledge, and understanding if they omit time with the Lord. It is not even possible.

One passage that provides essential training for our hearts and minds is 1 Corinthians 16:13-14. The soul-strengthening truths it contains, prepare us for any contingency that may unfold in the midst of the upheaval and distresses going on around us. Our text is basically a string of commands that provide 5 ways for us to prepare for uncertainty and difficulties, so we’ll respond in a God-glorifying way.

In Luke 10:38-42, we happen upon Martha in the midst of a meltdown. The friction from the “must-do-this-and-this-and-this-to-be-a-good-hostess” details in her head appear to have reached their boiling point. Thankfully, God’s Word cools off our fevered brains. Jesus opens a window of truth to allow a refreshing breeze to blow through a stifling hot kitchen. As our sweet Martha hears those soul-calming words from the Word of God Himself, she gains some perspective. Let’s see what we can learn from Martha’s story, because like it or not, we all find ourselves in the midst of those “Martha, Martha, fever brain” days every once in a while.

Sometimes, it can feel daunting to think about how to talk to someone about their need for salvation. We can get stalled out wondering, “Where should I start? What should I say? What Bible verses should I use?” I like to keep things simple—and easy to find and remember, especially when I’m talking with someone about God’s plan of salvation. Showing them from the Bible what God says, so they can look it up again later, lays the foundation that the Scriptures are our “go-to” for the Christian life. 

Pecking is natural for chickens, yet when chickens begin to peck at each other, it reveals something is wrong. The same can be said for us, which is why I want to encourage you to guard against pecking at each other during this strange season of quarantine life, specifically regarding the way fellow peeps exercise their freedoms according to the Scriptures. If ever there was an opportunity to love each other well, it's now!

To walk with God during the day, all day, every day means being right with Him. Fellowship with God is interrupted when we sin. If I want to walk with the Lord all day long then what do I need to know so I can do that well? Three verses contain what we need to know and apply to live closely with the Lord.

Did you know that it’s natural and expected that we grow as Christians? When we repent and place our faith in Jesus, we are born again—new babies in the Lord. We would never expect or want babies to stay babies their whole lives, but often people don’t realize God wants every one of His children to grow from babyhood into mature adulthood. God, being the perfect Father, provides everything we need to grow from baby believers into strong, steadfast believers.

I’m new to everything. Can you tell me how I can know God? In a nutshell, you need to know that Jesus is the means God has given for salvation. In fact, He is the only way you can be saved. Salvation is only in and through Jesus.

I don’t know much about the Bible. What can you tell me? First and foremost, you can trust the Bible. God cannot lie. His Word is true. And you can trust it. Though there are parts you may not understand right away, know that you can trust God’s Word. There are no mistakes in the Scriptures. Everything contained in the Bible is relevant—and has some kind of application for you today.

Now you might think that pecking at God’s Word sounds a bit flighty, but if we’re going to stick with our chicken coop theme, then it’s helpful to know that chickens are actually quite persistent, passionate, purposeful, and personally committed in their search for food. May we be equally so in searching for the all sustaining Word “that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

How you live in your little chicken coop, cooped up or not, reveals God’s work in you. Don’t put all your eggs in that one basket that life will soon return to “normal.” We don’t know how long the Lord intends this trial and testing. We do know that He will give the grace we need to respond well in every circumstance (1 Corinthians 10:13, 31). Seek to follow the Lord Jesus as closely as you can, which will bless the rooster and any little chicks cooped up with you in the hen house.

Dear believer, you may not be a friend of the world (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15), but is it possible that you stalk it? Are you secretly enamored by its allurements? Do you find your thoughts more focused on its ways than God’s?

Use the reset and the rest of summertime as a means of being more effective when things start back up again.

Often summertime provides a type of “sabbath rest” for many of us when our regular church events like Bible studies, small groups, home groups, etc. take a hiatus. Yet a perpetual holiday/vacation can cause us to lose spiritual ground we may have gained during the year. As we enjoy different routines and changes in our schedules, we slow down. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The downside of slowing down and taking a rest is that it becomes so easy to just roll to a stop and take a nap at the wheel. Without realizing it, we quit doing the very things we know help us grow in the Lord.

Somehow my thoughts about newlyweds made their way into my prayer time one morning. I was praying about some different troubles and what concerned me more than anything was my response to them. Was I responding with a sweetness of spirit that is so endearing of a newlywed or was I responding with an old married, nag type of response to the Lord’s dealings with me? Oh my.

I was eating lunch on a layover in the Denver airport when I couldn’t help but overhear a conversation between two men traveling together. Their somewhat loud, though innocuous, conversation centered along the lines of business, until a young woman walked past dressed in tights/leggings. One man was completely derailed in his animated business conversation. I heard a sharp intake of breath, and then he said, “We need to thank whoever the guy was who created those tights things the girls wear. Man….", he said with a sigh of appreciation. The other man knew instantly what he was talking about and echoed similar sentiments. It was silent for a few moments while those men ogled that girl as she made her way through the airport.

Have you ever started the day cheerfully, full of good intentions, and by mid-morning you’re in a puddle, pouring your heart out to the Lord in frustration over your sad turn of events? Have you ever said to yourself, “What happened? I started the day well; I spent time with the Lord; I even got up early to do so, but something went wrong. How did this happen?” Galatians 5:7 reads, “You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?” Ahhh, what a question! Taking the time to answer that question will help us the next time we find ourselves wondering, "How did I end up here?"

Trials have a purpose. They produce a perfected faith and a completed character. You know this; I know this. The difficulty comes in staying still while God does His work in us with that trial. So, the first thing we need to consider is just how do we persevere under trial? Keep reading for some ways to apply these words to “persevere under trial.”