Answering questions about the Bible

04/24/2026

9 steps to overcoming sin:

1. Evaluate whether a particular sin is especially deep-rooted and persistent - Consider the sins that are most dominant in your life. Identify the ones that have become deeply engrained.

2. We are often tempted to let ourselves off the hook and downplay the seriousness of our sin. While we should trust that God will forgive us, we also need to recognize the grave violation we have committed against the Lord.

3. Long for deliverance from the sin - We should cry out to God for mercy and deliverance.

4. Consider how this sin is amplified by your nature - What habits in your life are enabling this sin?

5. Contemplate the occasions when this sin breaks out and guard against them.

6. Battle hard against the first awakenings of that sin.

7. Meditate on God to see his glory and your desperate inability.

Overcoming sin is a process that can, with continuous effort, lead to victory over individual sins.

04/23/2026

04/23/2026

8 components for discerning God's will for your life:

1. Know God - Am I more concerned about knowing God's will for my life than I am in knowing God?

2. Know his word - Have I searched the Scripture to find God's revealed will.

3. Prayer - Do I frequently ask God for guidance and to open my eyes to his will?

4. Life experiences - Why has God given me this particular set of life experiences? What could they reveal about what I should do with my life?

5. Counsel - Who are the wise and godly men from whom I should be seeking counsel?

6. Circumstances - What do my circumstances reveal about God's prompting? Are any obvious needs or opportunities pointing me in a particular direction?

7. Timing - Is the timing right for me to respond to a felt calling? Is God calling me to wait where I am or to take a decisive step forward?

8. Desire - What do I want to do? If I delight in the Lord, what would be the desire of my heart? How do I most want to serve God?

God has a place for every one of us, and there is great joy and peace in both finding and doing it.

04/22/2026

7 questions to ask yourself to reveal those intentional sins in your life:

1. In what areas of life am I the weakest?

2. Which temptations do I most frequently succumb to after offering the least resistance?

3. In what context am I most likely to commit these sins?

4. Do certain triggers - events, times, places or actions - lead me to respond to temptation?

5. Are there ways I can avoid this sin by changing my situation?

6. What excuses do I make for my sin?

7. How do I attempt to justify my actions after I commit these sins?

Write the answers to these questions in your journal and set a date to review them. Using these questions as a tool for self-reflection can help you identify the destructive patterns of sin in your life. Regular periods of self-reflection are necessary to discover our hidden sin and better understand our deceitful hearts.

04/19/2026

5 ways to use your church bulletin as a tool for worship:

1. In Prayer - Many bulletins include upcoming events, missionary updates and even prayer requests. Use them as prompts to remind you to pray for others.

2. In journaling - A bulletin can provide lots of fodder for your journal. Look through it during the week and make note of anything that can be used as a writing prompt.

3. In engaging Scripture - Most bulletins include Scripture passages that were read in the service. Reread those passages as part of your devotional time.

4. In remembering the sermon messages - Read back over the notes you took during the sermon.

5. In thanksgiving - You might want to save and file the bulletins from each week, then make it a practice to review old bulletins. You can look for answered prayers and note changes in the life of your church and then thank God for his ongoing presence and help.

A church bulletin can be a powerful tool for recreating the worship experience in between Sundays.

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04/18/2026

The thought of sharing the good news of the Gospel with others makes many Christians apprehensive. So what’s the deal? Must all Christians evangelize? Yes. Acts 1:8 makes it clear the command to witness is given to all who have received the Spirit. But does it have to be stressful and scary? Absolutely not! Here are 6 tips to help take the anxiety out of the call to sharing Gospel:

1. Be yourself

2. Be active - Don’t wait for people to come to you asking how they can find salvation. Look for opportunities in your day-to-day life when you can share the good news with someone who needs to hear it.

3. Be open to telling people your own story about how Christ has changed your life - Don’t be afraid to admit how you were trapped by sin. Just share your story in a way that lets others know you can understand and relate to their lives.

4. Be honest about what what becoming a Christian entails: complete obedience to Christ. Don’t water down God’s word to make it more palatable for unbelievers. Above all, emphasize the necessity role repentance and giving up sin play in giving their lives to Christ.

5. Be prepared- thinking about what to say to an unbeliever ahead of time by having answers to common questions and objections to the Christian faith. Memorizing key Bible verses related to spreading the Gospel and knowing how to explain them in your own words can be helpful.

All Christians are called to - and can rejoice in - sharing the the Gospel with others.

04/17/2026

6 steps for breaking negative habits:

1. Identify your own negative habits - Make a list of the recurring troubles in your life and then try to identify patterns of behavior that might cause or contribute to the problem.

2. Isolate the habit loop - Every habit starts with a behavioral pattern called a “habit loop.” This loop consists of three parts: a cue, routine and reward. The cue is the trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and begin the behavior. The final step is the reward , an internal or external stimulus that satisfies your brain and helps it remember the “habit loop.”

3. Change the trigger - some negative habits can be overcome simply by changing the trigger.

4. Replace the negative habit with a positive one - Eliminating a negative habit is easier to do when it is replaced with a healthy habit.

5. Plan for setbacks - Negative habits are difficult to overcome. Expect that it will take numerous attempts and lots of trial and error before you are able to replace a negative habit with a positive one. Ask God to give you strength and ability to persevere.

We can change negative patterns of behavior by identifying the relevant aspects of a negative habit and replacing them with a positive “habit loop.”

04/13/2026

3 ways to practice immediate obedience:

1. Fill your heart with love for Christ - Jesus says, "If you love me, keep my commands" (John 14:15). Our love for Christ is our motivation for immediate obedience.

2. Commit to immediate obedience - Make a commitment today that you will obey God immediately in whatever he requires. Ask the Lord to give you strength necessary to act without hesitation.

3. Look for commands to obey - During your daily Bible reading, make a list of the commands applicable to all believers. After identifying a command, think of ways you can apply it immediately.

Practicing immediate obedience can help us deepen our love for Christ.

04/12/2026

4 ways to look after widows and orphans:

1. Look after them.

2. Provide relief for widows - Being a widow or a single parent can often be lonely and exhausting because they have to do the work of a couple all by themselves. Providing relief can be as simple as taking them a meal, helping them shop for groceries or baby sitting so they can get some rest. Find one way to help them regularly.

3. Spend time with orphans - boys need men who can exhibit biblical masculinity and girls need women to demonstrate biblical femininity. Be a role model by spending time with a child just being a model of Christ’s love. Make a commitment to spend regular time with them. Orphaned kids are most needy than most, and that need doesn’t expire.

4. One of the most helpful way we can look after widows and orphans is to Incorporate them into our own lives and families. Make an effort to include them in your regular activities.

04/11/2026

5 things to know about vocation:

1. Vocation is about love and service - The purpose of vocation is to love and serve our neighbor.

2. Vocation is more than your job - Vocation includes all the roles in which we are called to serve and minister to our neighbors.

3. Vocation is not self-chosen - A vocation is something we are called to by God. It is not something we choose for ourselves. We discover our vocations by considering what resources God has given us for stewardship (talents, interests, abilities) and the people he has put in our lives.

4. You have multiple vocations - We are called to serve in various spheres such as the family, workplace and church. In each of these we have a vocation.

5. The primary vocation of a Christian is to be a Christian - While most of our vocations are equal before God, one stands apart from all others: our calling to be a follower of Christ. This is the most important vocation we will ever have in this life.

Vocation is the specific way God calls us to live as a Christian in the world and serve our neighbor.