Tag Archives: Bible Study

Making Snap Judgments

How often do you judge others by appearances and first encounters with them? Because we’re going to be leaving soon and moving to a new area, I’ve been thinking a lot about the prospect of meeting new people. I know an inherited trait I have is that I am always been quick to sum people up and form judgments about others. Years ago, when I became a leader at a BSF interdenominational bible study group, I had one woman come into the group. Sad to say my first impression was, ‘this woman is a nut.’ Over time, the Lord showed … Continue reading →

How Important is Timing?

Do you want to know God’s timing regarding events in your life? Following on from my last blog about John the Baptist, let’s look at the importance of timing in God’s plans, Jesus’ ministry, in the lives of those who followed Jesus and in our lives. Here are eight points from Mark 1:9-20. 1. Note the importance of timing, as verse 9 is connected back to John’s testimony about Jesus and the Holy Spirit in verse 8. The events meshed together so others could see God’s hand at work and His timing. Similarly I can look at my life and … Continue reading →

Waiting Actively

When you’re in a position of having to wait for anything in your life, how do you respond? My husband and I have learned the importance of keeping in touch with the Lord. While waiting for God to resolve our situation, we started reading the bible together each day, something we’d previously neglected. This time reading God’s Word has become a great blessing. Just how precious it is hit home to me recently, while I was away for several days at a convention. It left a huge hole in my life. We readily got back to our study as soon … Continue reading →

The Names of God–Adonai

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Out of all the names of God that we’re going to study, this is the one that goes against the grain in our society and culture. If we’re going to reject one of God’s attributes; one of His names–Adonai is the one that gets overlooked or twisted. Adonai means Lord and Master. Can you say that’s true in your life? Lord and Master In Biblical times, slavery was common and so I’m sure the ideas of servitude, submission and being dependant on a master were easily understood. A slave was not his own person, but was the property of the … Continue reading →

How to Do a Bible Study

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Many people choose to learn about the Bible by starting with Genesis and reading forward until they finish Revelation. The problem with this is most people don’t make it to the end; they often get stuck in some of the Old Testament books and lose interest with who begat whom. Another problem I’ve heard, especially among non-Christians, is refusal to finish reading the Bible out of frustration with God—typically by the book of Job, where the hardships people faced don’t seem to make much sense. The Bible is so much more than a history or story book. To retain what … Continue reading →

How to Prepare a Devotional

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Have you ever been asked to supply a devotional for a Bible study? The first time I was asked to serve in this capacity I was extremely nervous. I didn’t know where to start. How should I choose a topic? How do I come up with enough information to fill up the allotted time? Though the process was scary, it ended up being a wonderful blessing. Here are a few ideas for how to develop a devotional that will bless you and those to whom you speak: First things first, pray about the theme, occasion and audience. What will your … Continue reading →

Why Should I Read the Pentateuch? Part 2

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Part 1 of this series discussed the reasons why many people dread reading the first five books of the Bible, and why others do not attempt it at all. The following are a few suggestions for how to read the Pentateuch and enjoy it: 1. Read larger portions (four chapters or more) in one sitting. A mistake many people make when they sit down to read Leviticus, for example, is that they read only several verses to one chapter at a time. It is no wonder that when a month later, they are still reading the same book, they feel … Continue reading →

Accountability Partners

Most Christians I’ve talked with seem to have a pretty good understanding of what an accountability partner is. It’s a fellow believer that you can go to for prayer requests, fellowship, study, and well of course, accountability. When choosing an accountability partner, it’s probably better you find someone other than your spouse and someone of the same gender as yourself. No one is going to understand women’s issues better than a woman, and no one will understand a man’s issues quite like a man. Typically, though not always, men and women tend to have different types of struggles. Women tend … Continue reading →

Devotions of Patience

Ahh, patience. If you were to ask me the top five things I struggle with in my life patience would definitely rank in the top five. I am not sure why, but I definitely struggle with patience. Although, with that said, I can see a difference in the amount of patience I have now in comparison with only a few years ago. Things like my dogs teach me patience. Things like my husband teach me patience (I’m smiling on the inside). I am certain that if I am blessed with children, my children will teach me patience. For many people, … Continue reading →

Introduction: “Devotions of” Series

I want to start a new series entitled “Devotions of . . .” over different topics in the Bible, different Biblical concepts, and different struggles we all deal with in our lives. In this series I want to share with you some key passages in the Bible dealing with the topic at hand. I also plan to share my thoughts on the topic. I will also give you tips on how to do further study on the topic by sharing such things as other relevant words you might look up in a concordance which relate to the topic. While you … Continue reading →