Thinking Girls Bible Study

Philippians 1:29: “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Suffer. Doesn’t that word just make you pull back and feel uncomfortable just at the mention of it? The Greek word for suffer is pascho and means to be affected or have been affected, to feel, have a sensible experience, to undergo, to suffer sadly, be in a bad plight. Strong’s Definition: apparently a primary verb; to experience a sensation or impression (usually painful) — feel, passion, suffer, vex. (1) There’s also the word suffering, which in the Greek is pathema meaning:      1. That which one suffers or has suffered           A. externally, a suffering, misfortune, calamity, evil, affliction                i. Of the sufferings of Christ                ii. also the afflictions which Christians...

It's hard for me not to be scared right now, because this is some scary stuff we are facing. The Bible uses terms like perilous, beginning of sorrows and days of lawlessness to describe the last days before Christ returns. I believe we are in those last days now. So what do we do? How do we approach this? Of course, the Bible has the answers. Paul was forever exhorting and teaching not only how to live, but to endure, to be patient, to persevere to the end and to finish well. He was constantly using the term "in vain," exhorting us to remain faithful and persevere lest we believe in vain, or labor in vain, or receive the grace of God in vain. It has to be possible to believe in vain, and all those other things he lists, or else Paul would not have warned us about this. So now, in these most difficult times, it’s imperative that we set our resolve to persevere, endure and finish well. We need a plan of action. We need to know what it really means, what it looks...

This summer we lost two heroes of the faith. Though they are no longer with us, their testimonies will live on indefinitely. Most people knew who Billy Graham was. Some might not be as familiar with the other one, Chuck Missler. Nevertheless, he had a huge following and impact on the world for Christ. Both had a tremendous impact in the world for evangelism and discipleship. It’s interesting as I write this, I see that in the twofold commission that Jesus gave his disciples that Billy Graham was most impactful in evangelism, while Chuck Missler’s call and passion was for discipleship. Chuck’s work can be found on his website khouse.org. I would urge everyone, if you are not familiar with Chuck’s Bible studies, to check them out. They have been most meaningful in my growth as a disciple of Christ. What is so significant about these two men and their ministries, is that their witness, impact and fruit will continue long after they are gone. This is true of so many, for example,...

We often hear of the proverbial “blessing in disguise.” Many times, in fact, I would say every time we are faced with loss and hardship, there will be a blessing attached to it. It’s in our barrenness, our dry times, our wildernesses that we learn things we could not have learned otherwise. But when we come out on the other side, what we learned turns out to be precious stones in our lives. Our study of Hannah begins In 1 Samuel 1. I will be using the New King James Bible and the Blue Letter Bible and Strong’s as references. 1 Samuel 1: 1-2: “Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. And he had two wives; the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. Right from the start we get a clue for studying the story of Hannah when we look at the Hebrew word Ramathaim ...

Rest. Don't we all crave that rest? Especially now, with the amplified chaos of the world?  I'm good at encouraging those around me to "rest in the Lord," but I still struggle with doing it myself.  The enemy knows his time is short and is wreaking havoc on those of us who belong to Yeshua.  He is very clever and has had thousands of years to hone his craft.  And crafty he is.  He is the master of disguise and knows perfectly how to blindside us, sending us reeling from his attacks.  When those attacks come I want to run somewhere.  I get anxious and nervous and I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. What to do?  Rest.  Run to our Great High Priest who is interceding for us at the Throne of Grace, and rest there... knowing that even though our world might seem to be falling apart all around us...even though the ground under our feet seems to be crumbling...even though we see no way out...rest in Him.   Rest in the One who ...

A few years ago I watched a program on Day of Discovery. It was about a twenty year old girl named Lygon Stevens who was a mountain climber and had died in an avalanche while climbing with her brother. Lygon did not sound like your typical twenty year old. We get a glimpse into her walk with the Lord through her journal that her brother salvaged during the accident. She seemed to have found all the things that young girls are looking for in her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But after her death, her family was left to deal with their huge heart rending loss. Their suffering was horrific. More of the story can be found on the website http://www.timetoliveisnow.org/ . The takeaway in this story for me is an illustration that came from Lygon's mother. She had been asked to speak somewhere and had gone to a place of solitude to gather her thoughts. It was still very hard to carry this whole thing around with her...the loss of her daughter, but the story of a...