Category: Bible study

If you “grew up in the church,” some of the events in the book of Daniel are very familiar, like the Lions’ Den and the Fiery Furnace. You may even remember how Daniel and his friends refused the king’s food or the disembodied handwriting on the wall. In those...

The word “seek” is found 389 times in Scripture. Two primary words in both Hebrew (and Greek) are translated as “seek.” The first, “baqash” (epizeteo) is seeking to find or take hold of something. The second, “darash” (ekzeteo) is to search, investigate, inquire, or require (crave or even demand)....

When I was in grad school, the college ministry held a talent show. A group of our guys sang “Dream Big” – the only time I’d ever heard that song until I looked it up for this email. The lyrics had an impact. The chorus says, “When you Dream,...

For some, a tale as old as time is a favorite story book. For me, it's Victory in Jesus....

For everything we CAN see, there is so much more that hides below the surface. Every person we see or meet is going through something. Every relationship has levels of permission and levels of disclosure. Even the closest of friends may hide some pieces of their story from each...

My biggest goal each year is reading through the Bible. Thanks to the YouVersion app, I can do this with friends all over the world. This year, we’re reading through the Bible chronologically. As we read through Genesis, I noticed some recurring themes in the book related to parenting....

“Gratitude means thanks and appreciation…. [It] comes from the Latin word gratus, which means “thankful, pleasing.” When you feel gratitude, you’re pleased by what someone did for you and also pleased by the results. Unlike indebtedness, you’re not anxious about having to pay it back.” (www.vocabulary.com). When I chose the...

Tonight, I picked Dietrich up from youth devo and learned a valuable lesson. As is our custom, I asked him what they ate, which song he picked, if they sang a specific fun song, and about the devotional talk. During this discussion, Dietrich said, “History looks and sounds like...

In addition to listening to books with Madilynn, I also enjoy listening to books on my way to and from my vendor events. I typically pick a self-development-type book or something completely frivolous and entertaining (my music playlist is equally eclectic). Occasionally, I pick a novel or narrative. Most...

Every time I read through the Bible, I linger over Nehemiah. In part because of a lesson learned at the Euro-American retreat that changed how I saw this passage, but also because the remnant of Israel faced great opposition with little (worldly) hope of overcoming. By the world’s standards,...