Tag Archives: Bible study

You Don’t (Necessarily) Have to Stay in Your Lane (Guest Post)

On a table sit an open laptop, a leather-bound book with a smartphone on top, and a tablet in the background. A woman's hands are typing on the laptop's keyboard. — Image by Bartek Zakrzewski from Pixabay

You Don’t (Necessarily) Have to Stay in Your Lane

by Steph Beth Nickel

As a writer, you’ve likely heard the advice to “stay in your lane.”

This is conventional wisdom that encourages us to write only one genre of novel, stick with nonfiction on a single topic—or clearly related topics, become known as an expert in our field, etc.

However, despite the fact that there are good reasons to do so, it is not the best advice for all writers.

While it may be more difficult to develop my readership or earn a significant amount of money from my writing, I could never see myself staying in my lane.

With that in mind, I am posting twice a week on Substack: chapters of my YA manuscript on Mondays and devotionals based on those first written for HopeStreamRadio on Fridays. If you would like to subscribe, I’d love to have you join me on my (for now) two-lane highway. [See the link at the end of this post]

I’ve included one of the posts from my devotional/Bible study below and will share the first post from my YA manuscript next month.

Day 1 of Nurture and Inspire Love: A Study of Jesus’s Commands in the Gospel of John

In the introduction to Nurture and Inspire Love, we learned some of the reasons Jesus has the right to require our obedience. Amazingly, He does not do so from a position of comfort and privilege. Philippians 2:1-8 gives us a glimpse of what He gave up for us—and what He did to redeem us.

We all want to be loved, and no matter how many wonderful people are in our lives, none can compare to our great God and the love He has for us.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 provides a glimpse of just how much God loves us. And according to 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.”

And as Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

The first commandments we read in the Gospel of John are in chapter 1, verses 39 and 43: “Come and you will see” and “Follow me.”

John the Baptist was an amazing man. In Matthew 11:11, Jesus declared that “among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.”

One of the most amazing things about John was his humility. He freely admitted that Jesus had to increase and he had to decrease. Because John made this declaration, when two of his disciples heard him say of Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God” (found in John 1:36), they immediately left John and followed the Lord.

Jesus asked them what they were seeking. They simply asked where He was staying, and the Lord responded, “Come and see.”

Grammatically speaking, it’s a command, but it sounds more like an invitation. After accepting the invitation and spending the day with Jesus, Andrew sought out his brother, Simon Peter, and informed him they had found the Messiah. It only took a day (at most) for him to come to that conclusion and look for an opportunity to spread the word.

The next day Jesus found Phillip and commanded him to follow Him. Immediately, Phillip did so. And before long, he shared with Nathanael that they had found “him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote” (John 1:45).

Being in Jesus’s presence for only a short time convinced these men of the truth and inspired them to share their discovery with others—though, of course, they wouldn’t fully understand what the Messiah had come to accomplish until years later.

I want to be like John the Baptist, willing to do my part to make Jesus known and then fade into the background as the bridegroom takes centerstage (see John 3:29). I want to be like those first disciples, who were immediately obedient to His call to follow and eager to invite others to “come and see.”

Just how can we come and see? We must study the Scriptures, read and revel in the stories of Jesus’s earthly ministry. We must rightly handle the Word of Truth, as it says in 2 Timothy 2:15. When we fellowship with Him, as did John’s former disciples, we too will become convinced of the obvious truth: Jesus was—and is—the Savior.

The same will be true if we heed the call to follow Him. We will soon learn that God Himself invites us to fellowship with Him and get to know Him. What an invitation!

Nurture and Inspire Love

Have you spent time with Jesus today? In what ways?

Did it motivate you to make Him known to others? If you find this challenging, what do you think is holding you back?

What one thing will you do to share the gospel today?

Recommended passage for study: Philippians 2:1-11

If you would like to subscribe to Substack for FREE to read more, you can do so here: Steph Beth Nickel | Substack

Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

As an editor, Steph Beth Nickel has the honour of coming alongside writers to help them polish their work. As the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’s memoirs, Steph has been blessed to work with this amazing woman. And as a future self-published author, with the Lord’s help, Steph has taken brave steps toward publication.

If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at stephbethnickelediting@gmail.com.

You’re invited to visit her website: http://stephbethnickeleditor.com/.

You can join her Editing Tips Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/418423519384351.

Half Right is Half Wrong

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But how could he be [the Messiah]? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.
John 7:27, NLT*

The common people thought Jesus would just “appear” – they wouldn’t know where He came from. John 7:41-42 shows that the religious leaders knew He’d be born in Bethlehem, which is why they had so much trouble with His coming from Nazareth.

I wonder if any of them thought to ask Him where He’d been born.

Today’s verse highlights the importance of spending time in God’s Word and in prayerful study to know what it really says. (Remember the Bereans, when Paul told them about Jesus? They looked into the holy writings for themselves instead of believing or disbelieving based on his word alone. Acts 17:11.)

The religious leaders’ response later in the chapter stresses the equal importance of realizing we may still not have the full picture, no matter how much head knowledge we have. We can’t assume we know it all. (Leaders like Nicodemus went to Jesus in an honest search for understanding. John 3:1-21.)

Seekers after God’s truth need to do three things:

We can’t rely on hearsay and assumptions – we need to learn for ourselves.
Ask honest questions, in prayer and of those who believe.
Live daily in trust and obedience, keeping close to God and growing closer.

We don’t want to have it half right and miss the Saviour.

Awesome and holy God, although Jesus came as “God with skin on,” there’s so much more to You than we can grasp. Yet You do reveal Yourself to us as we spend time with You and surrender our lives to Your care. Give us a hunger to know You better, and hearts to love and obey You. Where we have misconceptions or false assumptions, open our eyes to the truth.

∞

Our song this week is Third Day‘s “Who is This King of Glory?”

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

There’s Always Something New to Learn

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There’s Always Something New to Learn, by Steph Beth Nickel

I have the privilege of writing and recording five devotionals for HopeStreamRadio each week. I have been working my way through the book of John, my favourite gospel. And although I’ve read it many times before, I am still amazed by new discoveries—and rediscoveries.

The following are among those things that stood out to me as I worked on the series I call “If You Love Me”:

I was reminded just how impetuous and impulsive Peter was—and how very much I’m like him.

I discovered a new depth to the fact that Mary Magdalene recognized the resurrected Jesus only after He spoke her name. He must speak to each of us personally before we will recognize the One standing before us.

The incredible fact that Jesus’ last act on His mother’s behalf was to meet her practical needs by commissioning John, the disciple He loved, to take her as his mother and care for her struck me in a powerful way.

Anyone who knows the story may very well be quick to judge Pilate harshly, and yet, as I studied the passage in greater depth, I realized just how much effort he put forward trying to set Jesus free. I saw the sign he had placed on Jesus’ cross as a final defiance of the chief priests. Upon their objections, he said, “What I have written, I have written.” He knew that Jesus was, indeed, the King of the Jews. (And no, this didn’t absolve him of his responsibility, but I found it very interesting.)

As I looked at the familiar passage in which the Jews demand that Barabbas, a thief, be released rather than Jesus, I realized too often I don’t choose Jesus. I choose busyness, family, leisure, and many other things instead. Are these things wrong in and of themselves? No. But I must carefully and honestly examine my motivation. Above all else, I must choose Jesus.

Although I knew it happened, I was taken aback by the sad irony of the fact that the religious leaders sought not only to kill Jesus but also Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. If they’d had eyes to see, they would have recognized that Lazarus could have pointed them to the One who was the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I was again challenged by Lazarus’ sister’s extravagant love poured out when she anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume worth an entire year’s wages and wiped His feet with her hair. Do I love Him that extravagantly? Am I willing to pour out my greatest treasure as an expression of love for Him?

These are only a few of the realizations that “hit me upside the head.”

We must take time to dig into God’s Word. We must prayerfully consider what new insights the Lord wants to give us as we slow our hectic pace and listen, really listen, to the Living Word.

What new truths have you learned lately?
[Leave your thoughts below!]

Steph Beth Nickel
(Picture by Sarah Grace Photography)

Stephanie is a freelance writer and editor. She writes under the pen name Steph Beth Nickel. She co-authored Paralympian Deborah L. Willows’ memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances. Among other places, it is available from Castle Quay Books and Amazon. Steph has been blogging since 2010 and is a regular guest on Kimberley Payne’s site (fitness tips) and Christian Editing Services (writing tips). She will also be writing and recording regularly for the newly-formed Hope Stream Radio. Stephanie is an active member of The Word Guild and InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship

Steph invites you to pop by for a visit on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephbethnickel or https://www.facebook.com/stephbnickel?ref=hl

You can also look her up on Twitter @StephBethNickel; her blog: http://stephseclecticinterests.wordpress.com; or her website (still a work in progress): http://stephbethnickel.com

Rational Worship

5 Online Writing Courses, Plus a Bonus

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Online courses mean we can more easily fit lessons into our schedule, and we can learn in our favourite jammies.

Here are some that come highly recommended:

→Donna Fawcett offers a one-on-one creative writing course consisting of ten online lessons on the basic elements of creating a manuscript, preparing it for publication and approaching the market in the correct manner. Technical aspects include creating characters, scenes and plots; practical applications include creating the query letter, dealing with scam agents and facing editing.

→Elsie Montgomery offers a one-on-one course on How to Write Bible Studies. It’s an eight unit course, extensive, personalized instruction on writing the Bible study of your choice. Click here for syllabus (She also has intro booklets on writing non-fiction and Bible studies.)

→Edie Melson offers one-on-one coaching on social networking. I’m in her ACFW class this month (see below) and can tell you she’s a great coach and gifted at communicating with people of all skill levels.

→Lawson Writing Academy offers monthly group courses with Margie Lawson and other faculty. The one I took (Empowering Character Emotions) felt like a university-level workload. But did we learn!

→One of the benefits of membership in ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers – but they accept international members too) is the free monthly group courses on various aspects of fiction and marketing. Worth the annual membership fee!

For more, here’s an article by Joanne Sher that recaps what she learned through a Lawson Academy course as well as from some quality publications.

Review: The Names of God Bible

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The Names of God Bible, Ann Spangler, General Editor (Revell/Baker Publishing Group, 2011)

Throughout the Bible, God is referred to by various names which reveal aspects of His character. The more we know Him, the better we can trust Him.

In The Names of God Bible, the most significant of those names are restored in the Old Testament text to their original Hebrew (but rendered in our alphabet). In the New Testament, other than referring to Jesus by the Hebrew Yeshua, His names and titles remain in English.

This Bible makes a great study tool for those wanting to understand more about the names and character of God. There’s a list of names, meanings and pronunciations at the beginning, as well as a reading path that allows you to trace the usage of a particular name through the complete text.

There are also focus pages for many of the names of God, with insights, devotionals, and promises related to the names. Standard features include Bible reading plans and introductions to each book.

The introductions are very helpful, giving an overview of each book’s events and theme and putting it in the wider context of the whole Bible (eg the introduction to Jeremiah gives where the book falls in Israel’s history, what was happening at the time, as well as the prophet’s message and effects, and it suggests other readings to place the content in context.)

Unfortunately, the first introduction I read was for Genesis, and it includes the line “… Noah, who commandeered a ship through a world-destroying flood.” (He commanded the ship, but he hardly commandeered it.)

The Names of God Bible is printed in the GOD’S WORD® translation (GW), which is new to me but has been around since 1995, ©God’s Word to the Nations Missions Society. The single-column layout is easy to read, and I like how any explanations of names are done within the text using brackets. It feels more natural than footnotes. Here’s an example:

So your name will no longer be Abram [Exalted Father], but Abraham [Father of Many] because I have made you a father of many nations.” Genesis 17:5, GW

The GOD’S WORD® translation is designed for clear readability, with shorter sentences and explanations of terms such as yoke and cornerstone making it ideal for those new to the faith or new to the English language. Contractions make the text flow easily although I prefer reading God’s own dialogue without them.

More information on the details and philosophy of this translation can be found at the GOD’S WORD® translation website.

General Editor Ann Spangler is well-equipped to head up this task, after researching and writing the books Praying the Names of God and Praying the Names of Jesus. For an interview with Ann Spangler and a deeper overview of The Names of God Bible see the Baker Publishing Group website. You can also view a sample chapter of The Names of God Bible.

[Unlike ordinary reviews where I read the entire book before reviewing, here I’ve sampled various selections and passages, introductions and focus pages. Bible has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller or from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.]

Friday Friends: Grace Fox Blog Tour

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Interview with Grace Fox

Has fear kept you awake at night? Has it hindered you from saying yes to a new opportunity? Has it caused you to make impulsive choices you later regretted? If so, you’re not alone! Fear is a big deal for many women. If left unchecked, it can prevent us from fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. So, what’s the answer? How can we move beyond fear into freedom?

Author Grace Fox has partnered with Stonecroft Ministries to write a small group resource titled Moving from Fear to Freedom: A Woman-to-Woman Conversation. This resource addresses women’s common fears and gives biblical and practical strategies to move beyond them.

Q: Fear seems to be an ever-present theme throughout the Bible. Describe the difference between healthy and unhealthy fear.

A: Healthy fear steers us toward wise decisions and actions. It promotes self-preservation. For example, we look both ways before crossing the street for fear of getting hit by a car. In contrast, unhealthy fear hinders our ability to fully embrace life because it consumes us with negative thinking and what-ifs. The effects can literally make us sick.

Q: How does destructive fear stunt our emotional or spiritual growth?

A: Destructive fear—the fear of rejection, for instance—might keep us from admitting to someone that we’ve been physically or sexually abused. Without receiving the help we need to deal with those issues, we never experience freedom. Our struggles might seriously hamper our ability to truly love and receive love in a marital relationship. This is just one example among many of how our emotional growth is affected.

Spiritually, fear can cause us to say no to God-given dreams or assignments because we’re afraid of personal inadequacy or financial insecurity. If we never step out in faith, then we never experience God’s ability to equip and provide in amazing ways. Spiritual growth comes when we say yes to God and “do it afraid.”

Q: You suggest we need to place our focus on God and not on fear. In practical terms, how do we do this?

A: Several strategies that I’ve found helpful…

Memorize Scripture promises and meditate on them throughout the day and as we fall asleep at night. We are transformed as our mind is renewed.
Fill our homes with praise and worship music.
Spend time in God’s word on a regular basis, not just when we’re in a panic. The more we do so, the more familiar we become with His promises and the better prepared we are to face frightening circumstances when they come.
Talk to the Lord throughout the day. Invite Him into the mundane. Practice His presence. The more we get to know Him, the more we’re able to trust Him in the face of fear.

Q: Most of us feel inadequate at times. You suggest we cannot use our inadequacies as an excuse for not participating with God’s purposes. How do we get past this?

A: We get past our fear of inadequacy by admitting we have it. Then we need to retrain our thinking to focus on God’s adequacies rather than our inadequacies.

Tell God how we feel. “Help! I don’t think I can do such-and-such.”
Tell a trusted friend and ask her to pray for us.
Move forward. Do it afraid and expect God to equip us.

Q: Describe this resource and how participants can receive the greatest benefit as they use it.

A: It’s a seven-week study filled with biblical teaching and personal anecdotes that can be used easily by either a small group of friends in a private home setting or a large women’s ministry. Each session begins by viewing a 25-30 minute teaching video. When the video ends, participants follow suggested Table Talk questions for about 15 minutes. Then they do the Bible study questions together. Each participant uses her own guide book so she can take notes and write answers. Facilitator’s notes are included. The study covers these topics:

an overview of fear
fear for our loved ones’ well-being
fear of personal inadequacy
fear of rejection
fear of facing the ghosts of our past
fear of the storms of life
fear of the unknown future

Q: Where can I buy this study?

It’s available through your local Christian book store, on Amazon, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.christianbooks.com, www.stl-distribution.com, www.winepressbooks.com, and of course, on Grace’s website, where group discounts apply. Visit Grace’s website for more information about her other books and speaking ministry.

For opportunities for a FREE copy of this DVD & Study Guide set of MOVING FROM FEAR TO FREEDOM, please follow this CSS Virtual Book Tour on Twitter (@Christianspkrs) or Facebook.)

Here’s a brief video trailer of the Moving From Fear to Freedom study guide: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eu3hx8b2DM&feature=youtu.be]

[I was given a complimentary copy of this DVD & Study Guide set from the author in exchange for posting the author’s interview on my blog. This blog tour is managed by Christian Speaker Services (www.ChristianSpeakerServices.com).]

Review: LEAP for Faith, by Gary Cox

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LEAP for Faith, by Gary Cox (Bryler Publications, 2011)

The Christian life is a journey, which Eugene Peterson has dubbed “a long obedience in the same direction.” Believers need to grow spiritually. We also need to respectfully and responsibly share our faith with family, friends and co-workers. In-their-face agendas build walls, not relationships.

So how do we grow? And how to we encourage those who are spiritually interested but not ready to make a full commitment to a God they’re only beginning to suspect may exist?

Part Bible study, part spiritual workbook and part novel, LEAP for Faith takes a fresh look at these perennial questions.

Canadian author Gary Cox addresses spiritual growth in the form of LEAP: Look and Listen, Explore and Examine, Acknowledge and Accept, Practice and Pray. And as Nick, one of the book’s main characters, says, it’s not a one-time sequence:

“P is both the last and the first step. With prayer you go back to looking and listening for God at work in your life. Seeking to discover what he wants to teach you. It’s a cycle, and each cycle expands your understanding and deepens your relationship with the Lord.” (p. 246)

The book contains 27 short chapters that follow the fictional case study of Troy, a man beginning to wonder about God, and Nick, his Christian friend. Each chapter ends with personal-application discussion questions and with Scripture passages to consider.

For new Christians or those considering the faith, there’s a helpful section at the beginning called “My Bible” that demystifies the process of looking up Scriptural references and offers suggestions on Bible reading and accessible translations.

Older-in-the-faith Christians will find Nick’s gentle model of teaching an encouragement, and the simple but logical LEAP system is easy not only to share but to apply in our personal devotions.

I found it a helpful book, easy to read and to follow. Troy and Nick are fictional examples illustrating how the LEAP process might play out in real life. It would dilute the focus of the book to bring a fully-featured novel into play with subplots, detailed characterization and the traditional conflict and plot arc. Allowing their journey to follow a straight path makes an easier teaching tool.

The only negative I found in the book was the need for more copyediting. My husband and I bought four Bryler Publications books at the same time, and the three we’ve read to date all had editing/formatting errors (one was missing an entire chapter) so I’m thinking this is a publisher issue.

LEAP for Faith can be used in private study or in a six-week group setting. Additional resources and videos for groups and group leaders are available on the LEAP for Faith website. The first two chapters are available for preview here.

[Review copy from my personal library. Disclosure: the author is a personal friend.]

Willing to Give

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The people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning…[until] the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
Exodus 36:3b, 6b, 7 NIV*

These are the Israelites in the wilderness, being led and sustained by God. The God who has now instructed Moses in the making of a tabernacle where He will dwell with His people. Moses has asked all who are willing and able to give materials, and this is the people’s response.

As God has provided manna each morning for the people, now that they have the opportunity to give back they do it the same way: morning by morning until the workers have more than enough.

I’m working through Beth Moore’s study, A Woman’s Heart, God’s Dwelling Place (updated version), and along with this passage she asks readers to discover what freewill offerings we give to the Lord—or hold back from Him.

He’s been prompting me for the past few months about an open heart, about stepping out through the self-constructed wall. I’m cooperating as best as I can, but it’s a real “step forward, step back” experience. After all, it’s familiar behind the wall… comfortable.

But I meant it when I told Him I’d obey, and when I realize I’ve retreated again, I get up and move out. Again.

Reading how the Israelites brought more offerings each day made my efforts look useless. I can’t even seem to bring one thing and let it stay there. Like the manna, it doesn’t “keep”. But then I realized, so what? As long as I faithfully bring my heart each time it sneaks home to roost, I’m doing the best I can. One of these days that heart may even stay where it’s put.

Father, my freewill offering is an open heart, but it keeps closing up again. As You remind me, I will open it and bring it to You again and again, like the Israelites kept bringing fresh treasures to You. I pray You’ll count it as obedience, and complete the work You’ve begun.

∞

Third Day’s “Offering” is one of those rare songs that rooted in my heart on a first hearing. It’s a fitting one for today.

Review: Moving from Fear to Freedom, by Grace Fox

Janet Sketchley

Writing Christian Mysteries & Suspense