Archive for quiet time

God is light 600

Podcast 88 – God is light, and what it means for your family!

Posted by Carey 
· Wednesday, September 10th, 2014 

God is Light: A lesson for Christian families

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Or if you are using a “podcatcher” here is the feed address: https://christianhomeandfamily.com/feed/podcast/

God seems to love illustrations and symbols. The scriptures are full of them: sheep, goats, seeds, plants, vines, brides and bridegrooms, light, darkness – you get the idea.

This episode uses the biblical illustration of light to show you a fun and effective way that you can use light to teach your family that God is light, and what that means for their lives.

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30 day bible saturation

Podcast 87 – 30 day Bible saturation for spiritual growth

Posted by Carey 
· Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014 

30 day Bible saturation for spiritual growth

Christian Home and Family subscribe on Stitcher! Miro Video Player listen on player.fm

Or if you are using a “podcatcher” here is the feed address: https://christianhomeandfamily.com/feed/podcast/

There are a million different ways you could get into the scriptures and get the scriptures into you. But here’s one that’s honestly new to me, taught to me by my daughter. I call it the 30 day Bible saturation, and it’s really a cool way to get yourself immersed in some of the main themes of scripture in a very contextual way.

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ep74cover - quiet time

Podcast 74 – Teach your kids personal quiet time habits (2nd of 2 parts)

Posted by Carey 
· Wednesday, May 28th, 2014 

God is faithful to do His work in our children, as we are faithful to teach them how to seek Him through quiet time practices…

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Or if you are using a “podcatcher” here is the feed address: https://christianhomeandfamily.com/feed/podcast/ LEAVE FEEDBACK AND A REVIEW ON I-TUNES

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This podcast is part 2 of a conversation I had with my children 2 years ago about how the LORD has faithfully led them to seek Him through the habit of personal quiet time. As you’ll hear, none of them are perfect at it, and none of them feels they have a walk with the LORD totally wired. But each of them has their own genuine relationship with Christ and loves that they do. My prayer (and theirs) is that you’ll be blessed and better equipped to help your children grow into a genuine, vibrant relationship with Jesus that will fuel their lives for the equipping of the next generation.

Your kids can learn to have their own quiet time with God… and you can help them get there!

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I’m available for speaking on this and other topics. Find out more at http://www.ChristianHomeandFamily.com/speaking

I also provide life coaching, spiritual coaching services. Find out more at http://www.ChristianHomeandFamily.com/coaching

Find products from Christian Home and Family at http://www.ChristianHomeandFamily.com/store

Christian Home and Family subscribe on Stitcher! Miro Video Player listen on player.fm

Or if you are using a “podcatcher” here is the feed address: https://christianhomeandfamily.com/feed/podcast/ LEAVE FEEDBACK AND A REVIEW ON I-TUNES

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How kids can develop their own personal time with God

Podcast 73 – How kids can have their own personal time with God

Posted by Carey 
· Wednesday, May 21st, 2014 

In this episode of the podcast, I’m having a conversation with 3 teens about how they developed their own personal devotional time with God

Christian Home and Family subscribe on Stitcher! Miro Video Player listen on player.fm

Or if you are using a “podcatcher” here is the feed address: https://christianhomeandfamily.com/feed/podcast/ LEAVE FEEDBACK AND A REVIEW ON I-TUNES

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Every Christian parent I know wants their children to learn how to walk closely with the LORD. We know how important it is to maintain a vibrant relationship with God as an adult, and want it for our kids too.

In this episode of the Christian Home and Family podcast, which is quite a bit longer than my normal episodes… I’m going to be having a conversation with three great young folks – my three oldest kids, Aaron, Melinda, and Madeline. This conversation was recorded almost two years ago, and is a “repeat performance” of the Christian Home and Family podcast (originally aired as episode 4). The reason I’m doing a repeat episode is because this is one of the most downloaded and listened to episodes in the history of the podcast, and I have many new listeners since the time it originally aired. I want everyone to benefit from the great work God has done in these three kids… and I pray it will be a great blessing to you! Hear the story of three great teens about how they developed the habit of personal time with God.

Your kids can learn to have their own time with God… and you can help them get there!

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I’m available for speaking on this and other topics. Find out more at http://www.ChristianHomeandFamily.com/speaking

I also provide life coaching, spiritual coaching services. Find out more at http://www.ChristianHomeandFamily.com/coaching

Find products from Christian Home and Family at http://www.ChristianHomeandFamily.com/store

Christian Home and Family subscribe on Stitcher! Miro Video Player listen on player.fm

Or if you are using a “podcatcher” here is the feed address: https://christianhomeandfamily.com/feed/podcast/ LEAVE FEEDBACK AND A REVIEW ON I-TUNES

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distration to devotion

From distraction to devotion

Posted by Carey 
· Friday, May 2nd, 2014 

One of the biggest frustrations of my Christian walk has been my own prone-ness to distraction…

I wrote a post about this a bit ago, but thought I’d touch on it again.

I want to be wholly devoted. I want to be “all for Jesus,” as so many in the history of Christianity seem to have been.

But I find in myself a bent toward distraction, even in the very moments I’m kneeling to pray, intentionally taking time to read the scriptures, or stopping to ponder a significant life issue in light of God’s truth.

Distraction is both a natural part of life AND an indication of the state of my needy heart.

I am human, therefore I am distracted… and it’s exactly BECAUSE I am human, that I am in need. The distraction shows me that fact, and by God’s grace, drives me toward devotion to Christ.

Paul’s example and teaching are powerful here…

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

What was happening in Paul’s life makes his words all the more powerful…

  • Like few people in history, Paul had been given what he calls “surpassing greatness of… revelation.”

What does that mean? God had directly revealed mind-blowing spiritual truths to him. He had a taste of heavenly knowledge, given to him personally.

  • Because of that privilege, the LORD Himself determined that Paul needed something to keep him from becoming conceited.

Don’t cluck your tongue just yet. It’s in our nature (yours and mine, as well as Paul’s) to think much of ourselves when we’re given an honored position or special perk. It’s not only a tendency, it’s a danger. Pride is a killer, and we like Paul could easily be killed by it if we were singled-out and given such amazing revelations of God’s truth.

  • So God provided Paul with an unusual gift… a “messenger of Satan” to “harass” him.

There’s all kinds of debate whether this was an actual demonic messenger, a physical malady that Paul characterized as a demon, or something else. But all of that misses the point.

God helped Paul out by giving him this thing, this unsettling, humbling thing that kept him from becoming conceited.

I wonder if our “distraction” problem is serving the same purpose?

from distraction to devotion

Let’s go back to Paul’s story to glean some helpful attitudes along that line…

  • Paul pleaded three times for the LORD to take away the messenger of Satan, the “thorn in his flesh.”

How often have YOU cried out to God about your distraction? Me? At least 50 times. Probably more. I have cursed it, asked God to take it, prayed for greater ability to focus, stay on track, and keep my heart set on Him. But my distraction problem remains.

  • God told Paul to get used to it, because his “thorn” wasn’t going anywhere. It was there on purpose, to serve him, to keep him from exalting himself.

God gives good gifts, even when they don’t look “good” to us. They are good FOR us, maybe like a vaccination… painful at first, but working a greater, more long-term good that we don’t even realize we need. Could the tendency toward distraction be that for us?

  • Paul implemented an attitude shift, based on the reality that his “thorn” was actually a gift.

When Paul realized that at the very point of his weakness, God would pour His strength into his life, everything changed. No longer was the thorn a curse, it was a blessing.

Wow. That’s a mind-blower. The frustrating distractions we deal with day after day in our efforts to be devoted to God are actually blessings directly from His hand.

Why would we try to free ourselves from something that God Himself says is a blessing? Can you see your proneness toward distraction as a blessing, rather than a curse? Can you see that it could be God’s gift to you, to keep you dependent on Him?

  • The power of Christ rested on Paul when he was able to accept the blessing of his own weakness.
It’s in our weakness that we realize our need for God to be our strength.

It’s in our weakness that Christ is seen as ultimately strong.

It’s in our weakness that Christ does what only He can do, in us, and through us.

Paul as our model

The Apostle Paul is one of the primary heroes of the New Testament. Most every Christian I know wishes they could be like Paul.

But do we really mean that?

Are we willing to submit ourselves to the things that MADE Paul the man of God that he was? Paul knew that for Christ to work powerfully in his life, he had to accept all that Christ brought into his life. That is humility. It’s what brings us low, but lifts Christ high. It’s what brings the power of God on-line in our lives.

For the sake of your family and the legacy of faith you want to build…

are you willing to become humble before God (1 Peter 5:5-6)? Are you willing to take on the attitude of a servant, ready to bless, willing to give, prepared to serve lives instead of insisting that they serve yours?

Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God… accept His gifts of distraction and difficulty and struggle. Rest under its weight. He will lift you up in due time. John Piper speaks well to the issue… and gives us some great thoughts to ponder…

What thoughts do you have on this subject? I’d love to interact with you in the comments below…

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daily devotional mind hacks

Daily devotional mind hacks you might not have considered

Posted by Carey 
· Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 

Most Christ-followers intuitively feel that daily devotional time is something that should be part of their every day life…

But it’s not that easy, is it? There’s a ton of truly important things that compete for your time…

  • Work & career demands
  • School schedules & homework
  • Household responsibilities (meal prep, laundry, vacuuming, etc.)
  • Family relationships
  • Church attendance & service
  • Extra-curricular activities at school
  • Friendships
  • and the list goes on, and on, and on…

In a legitimately busy life, how do you make time for Quiet time (daily devotional)? And once you make the time, how do you make it count?

It begins with mindsets

As someone once told me,

Every one of us makes time for what we believe is truly important.

Let that sink in. I believe it’s true.

You see it proved true over and over again in the “normal” course of life:

  • If sports is important to you, you’ll make sure you’re schedule is clear so that you can watch the game. You might even make sure your kids are involved in sports, too.
  • If fishing is important to you, you’ll plan and carry out fishing trips on a fairly regular basis.
  • If work is important to you, you’ll be on time, diligent, and possibly even work more and later than you should.

You get the point, because it’s true. The same holds true for your daily devotional time…

If your daily devotional time with God were truly important to you, you’d make sure you didn’t miss it.

Why is your daily devotional not that important?

Much of this post comes from my book RECHARGE

Recharge
EBOOK: Here PAPERBACK: Here

In 20 years of pastoral ministry, and continued marriage & family coaching, I’ve come to see one main reason Christ-followers don’t devote themselves to daily time with the LORD:

They don’t see the vital benefits that daily devotional time with the LORD provides.

Daily time with Jesus is indispensable, because He IS your life. Did you hear that? Jesus IS your life!

When Christ, who is your life, appears, you also shall appear with Him in glory. – Colossians 3:4

This responsibility-packed rat race you call life, is NOT your life. It’s the things you do with your life. Jesus is your life. His essence, His person is what comprises all that you are and are to be. Does it make much sense to neglect the very thing that will give you life?

I don’t care how busy your life (or my life) truly is, you cannot survive a day (in a God honoring way) without communing with Jesus. I know, that’s an extreme statement, but I believe it with all my heart. We, as sin-stained people, are unable to live the kind of life we need to live, day in and day out, without the enlivening power of Jesus, and we’ll be unable to tap into that power, if we are not daily drawing near to Him. Jesus said it best…

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.John 15:5

Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Our lives amount to ZERO without us “abiding” in Him.

What does that word “abide” mean:

a·bide [uh-bahyd] v. – to remain; continue; stay

Daily devotional time is not about practicing:

  • Bible reading
  • prayer
  • meditation
  • other spiritual disciplines

Daily devotional time is about abiding… making a connection with Jesus that goes with you throughout the day.

Bible reading, prayer, meditation, etc. may be the means you use to draw near to Jesus (and most times, should be), but they are not the goal you should be aiming for. Your goal, in every daily devotional time, should be to draw near to your Savior, who is your life (Colossians 3:4).

Mindsets to help you abide

START WITH PRAYER

To get started, I’d suggest that you always, always, ALWAYS begin your daily study time with prayer.

I don’t mean that you need to take out your prayer list and pray for everyone from your spouse to your co-worker’s Aunt Ethel. I’m talking about an introductory prayer, to set your mind in the right place (Remember how important the mind is?)

My insistence that you start here is based on two scriptural principles that go together. You can think of it as connecting the dots…

  • God Himself is eager to have a genuine relationship with you. He’s proved it through the gift of His Son, Jesus. (John 3:16, Romans 5:8)
  • God has promised that if you ask for anything He wants, He will give it. (1 John 5:14-15)

So… If God wants a relationship with you even more than you do (the first point), and if He has promised to give you the things He wants when you ask Him for them (the second point), then it makes perfect, divine, powerful sense that the most important thing you can do to establish a consistent and meaningful time with the LORD is to ask Him for it each day as you begin seeking Him.

Plead – Beg – Ask – Seek – Knock – Pursue – Beseech (there’s a King James word for you) – and don’t do it in a “wishful” sort of way (I sure wish this would happen…). No, do it with CONFIDENCE! Jesus has made the way for you to go boldly before God’s throne to ask Him for the help you need…

In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.Ephesians 3:12

So start out by asking God to help you every day.

SLOW DOWN

Your daily devotional time with the LORD is not a race, a project, or a task where you get points for finishing early. It’s the exact opposite. You get more out of God’s truth the longer you marinate in it. Human beings can marinate… it’s called meditation. You need to take time to make that happen.

When you study the Bible you need to be taking time to understand:

  • the intricacies of the situations it describes
  • the logic in the arguments it makes
  • the deep spiritual truths that underlie the verbiage and sentences
  • the application it has to your life and relationships.

That means it may take you a few days to digest only one passage or story. It may require that you write the key verses on a card and read and ponder them throughout the day (highly recommended!). All of that is perfectly O.K. Really. You need to get out of the “get er done” mindset. It’s not important how fast you finish your scriptural meal, it’s important how much nourishment you get from it!

That means you may have to do something practical (gasp!). Make sure you schedule enough time to actually get something out of the meal. Five minutes won’t do it. Ten minutes probably won’t either.

God is worth it. Make enough time.

REMEMBER THE BIBLE IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER BOOK

You can’t simply read the Bible and “get it” immediately. You need the LORD to reveal His will and ways to you as you consider the scriptures. His thoughts are much higher than yours, as are His ways.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.Isaiah 55:8-9

There’s no hope of grasping the eternal and unfathomable riches that are recorded in scriptures unless you lean on Him in childlike dependence. That ties in nicely with the prayer I mentioned previously. Only now I’m suggesting that you make it an ongoing practice as you read the scriptures.

  • When you come to something you don’t get… ask God to explain it.
  • When you are confused or unsettled by something… ask Him to give you insight and comfort.

Interact with God as you read the scriptures. You need His help because the book He’s given you is unlike any book you’ve ever read. You’ll find Him more than willing to help you understand.

REMEMBER THAT YOU’RE DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP

Any relationship takes time and effort, and none of them happen naturally or easily. The same is true of your relationship with the LORD. It IS a relationship… you know that, don’t you?

Your daily time with the LORD is not…

  • a religious act
  • a ritual
  • an obligation
  • a box to be checked each day…

It’s a way that you engage in relationship with God, and it needs care and intentional attention.

It’s a time to:

  • share
  • listen
  • interact
  • and engage

because it’s part of developing a relationship… but with the living God of the universe!

MAKE IT AN APPOINTMENT

There have been a handful of times in the course of my marriage that our family has had more month than money. Does that sound familiar?

During two different seasons when we were tight financially, I took a job delivering papers early in the morning. I can remember I had to rise at 3:30 in the morning, drive 30 miles to pick up the papers, and then deliver them house to house. Because I’m pretty conscientious about work related things, I would pop out of bed when the alarm went off. It was a responsibility, and I tend to take work responsibilities pretty seriously. I was never late picking up the papers. I made it a priority. I set my mind before going to bed and when the alarm went off, I had already decided I would get out of bed.

One morning as I was out delivering papers, a new thought came to me about the struggle I’d been having in staying consistent in my daily quiet time. It went something like this…

Why is it that I am so quick to get out of bed for a job, but can’t do the same thing to meet the King of the universe?

It was a powerful question, prompted by the Holy Spirit that helped me understand the priority that my daily time with the LORD needed to be. It was a question that radically changed my thinking (remember the power of right thinking?). I intentionally began to think of my daily time with the LORD like I did work. It was something that I could not allow myself to miss.

What about you? Would a mind-shift of that kind be helpful?

You can train yourself to think of each day’s time with the LORD as an appointment, one that’s important to you. Like a business related meeting or meeting with a friend for coffee. Whatever meetings or rendezvous are important to you, realize that your daily time with God is far, FAR more important and DECIDE that you are going to treat it with the importance it deserves.

You just might be amazed at the impact it has…

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This post is partially excerpted from my book “RECHARGE,” which is available in Kindle and Paperback versions.

 

 

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quiet-time-habit

The #1 Quiet Time habit that most Christians miss

Posted by Carey 
· Monday, April 8th, 2013 

If you have made any attempt at a regular, meaningful quiet time with the LORD, you’ve struggled – at least at times.

Can we honestly admit that?

Any relationship takes time and effort, and none of them happen naturally or easily. The same is true of your relationship with the LORD.

It IS a relationship… you know that, don’t you?

Your daily time with the LORD is not…

  • a religious act
  • a ritual
  • a obligation

It’s a relationship that needs care and intentional attention.

The #1 quiet time habit that most Christians miss is…

quiet-time-habit

STARTING WITH A PRAYER OF HUMBLE DEPENDENCE

Sounds too simple, but hear me out.

This bold statement is built entirely on a few scriptural truths… promises given to you by God, who cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18).

1. God Himself, is eager to have a genuine relationship with you. He’s proved it through the gift of His Son, Jesus. (John 3:16, Romans 5:8)

2. He has promised that if you ask for anything He wants, He will give it. (1 John 5:14-15)

So, if God wants a relationship with you even more than you do (#1), and if He has promised to give you the things He wants when you ask Him for them (#2), then it makes perfect, divine, powerful sense that the most important thing you can do to establish a consistent and meaningful time with the LORD is to ask Him for it each day as you begin seeking Him.

  • Plead
  • Beg
  • Ask
  • Seek
  • Knock
  • Pursue
  • Beseech (there’s a King James word for you)

And don’t do it in a “wishful” sort of way (I sure wish this would happen…) but with CONFIDENCE!

God Himself has made promises that you can count on!

What does this have to do with the Christian Home and Family?

My focus in this website, podcast, and all related activities is to help you make Christ the center of your home, so that you can build a legacy of faith in your family for generations to come.

That

will

not

happen

if you are not first experiencing a genuinely vibrant relationship with the LORD.

Your marriage will not thrive as it should, if you are not walking with the LORD honestly and daily.

Your kids will not catch that kind of faith or listen to you talk about it, if they don’t see evidence of it being real in your life first.

You’ve got to believe that, because it’s true.

This post is an effort to spur you on, to equip you, to prompt you toward a greater sense of urgency about the importance of your relationship with the LORD.

Take this quiet time habit of heartfelt prayer and add to it your own good works, because

faith without works is dead (James 2:17).

Ask God to meet you each day.

Express your desperation for His presence and guidance.

Plead with Him to reveal Himself and His ways to you personally and powerfully.

Then engage in your pursuit of Him as if He’s going to answer you… because He is.

CALL TO ACTION:

DO something about it…

  • Make a note to remind yourself to start off each day’s pursuit of God with a heartfelt prayer of dependence.
  • Then engage in your pursuit of Him with all you are.

What will YOU do to ramp up your time with the LORD? Share your commitment below…

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30 day bible reading

30 day Bible Reading plan – quiet time tips #9

Posted by Carey 
· Monday, February 25th, 2013 

The 30 day Bible reading plan can change your life!

That’s not an over-exaggeration either! If you will dedicate yourself to this method… making the time everyday to carry it out… you’ll see yourself growing in…

  • Knowledge of God’s word
  • Understanding of God’s ways
  • And deep knowledge of His heart

Sound too good to be true? Keep reading (and give it a try) and you’ll see.

This is a method of Bible study that my daughter Mel brought home from college.

It’s a method so simple, yet so profound I am amazed that I’ve never heard of it before.

One of her instructors at school encouraged the students to follow this method, and Mel has loved it!

HOW TO DO IT:

  • Choose a reliable Bible translation (KJV, ESV, NKJV, NIV, NASB)30 day bible reading
  • Choose a book of the Bible you want to use for your Bible reading for the next 30 days.
  • HINT: This method works better with smaller books, like the epistles.
  • Do your daily Bible reading by reading the ENTIRE book every day.
  • Jot down notes about things the LORD shows you.

And that’s it.

Pretty simple, but can you see how powerful it could be?

Saturating yourself in a single book of the Bible for a prolonged period of time, you’ll be soaking up the benefits and blessings of what God has to say in that particular book.

Your daily Bible reading will come alive in ways you never considered.

Have you tried this method before? What ways do you see it being beneficial? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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bible study questions

Bible study questions method – Quiet Time Tips #8

Posted by Carey 
· Friday, February 22nd, 2013 
I’m doing this series of posts because I believe that in order to center your home around Christ, you have to first get your OWN spiritual life on track. These posts are for your benefit, to help you find tools that will enable  you to do that!

Other posts in this series

#1, #2, #3, #4

#5, #6, #7,

The Bible study questions method

This method of Bible study is actually a part of all the other methods, but deserves to be addressed all on its own because of how useful it can be when you focus on it more intently.

The Bible study questions method is exactly what it sounds like.

You ask a series of questions about the passage you are considering to help you better understand the context and meaning.

bible study questions

BENEFITS

  • This method will open up new doors of understanding for you.
  • It’s so easy, anyone can do it.
  • It will force you to look at the context carefully so you can get a more complete understanding of the passage.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

  • A trustworthy Bible translation (ESV, NIV, NASB, NKJV, KJV, RSV).
  • A journal or notebook (optional).

HOW TO DO IT

  • Read the passage you’ve chosen.
  • Begin to ask questions about the passage:

WHO is speaking?
WHO are they speaking to?
WHAT are they saying?
WHY are they saying it?
WHAT importance does it have?
WHAT is the main point of what is being said?
WHEN was this said (in history, in the story, etc.)?
WHAT is being said about behaviors, attitudes, or heart motives?
WHAT does it say to me, my situations, my life?
WHAT is happening in me as I begin to understand this truth?
DOES the passage reveal God’s thinking or heart about a subject?
DOES it show me something I should change in my life?
AND ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THAT COME TO MIND…

  • Write down the answers to the questions you ask (optional).

Do you get the point? (Another question there… get it?)

These are only suggested questions; you could ask thousands of questions about every passage you read.

Feel free to make up your own!

You’ll find that you understand the passage to a much greater degree as you ask and answer questions about it.

How do you see the Bible study questions method being helpful? Leave your comments below!

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topical bible study

Topical Bible Study – Quiet Time Tips #6

Posted by Carey 
· Friday, February 8th, 2013 

Topical Bible Study – a deeper path into God’s word

This is the 6th post in my series on “Quiet Time Tips.” Find the others here – (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5).

I’ve been writing about Quiet Time tips because you need to be leading yourself spiritually before you’ll be able to lead your family spiritually.

It’s the logical first step.

So check out the series to find a plan that fits you… and get started. There’s no time to lose!

Topical Bible study methods have been around…

…for as long s the scriptures have been compiled into one book.

It’s an in-depth way of discovering what the scriptures say about any subject…

topical bible study

  • faith
  • love
  • hope
  • joy
  • perseverance
  • anger
  • holiness

The Bible contains wisdom about these subjects and thousand more.

If you are looking for an in-depth way of studying a specific subject, the topical bible study method is for you.

BENEFITS OF TOPICAL BIBLE STUDY

  • You’ll gain a very comprehensive knowledge of a specific biblical topic.
  • You’ll become familiar with a large portion of scripture, in bite-sized pieces.

TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

  • An Exhaustive Concordance for your Bible version or
  • Decent Bible Software (E-sword is a good one, and it’s free)
  • A notebook or journal

HOW TO DO THE TOPICAL BIBLE STUDY METHOD

  • Choose your topic.
  • Look up the topic in your concordance or with Bible software (a concordance in the back of a study Bible will only give you the most important verses where the subject is addressed. To find every instance of a subject, you’ll need to use an Exhaustive Concordance or Bible software).
  • In your Bible, look up the first verse you find about the subject. Read it. Seek to understand the situation and verses surrounding it. Finally, what is being said about your topic? Write down what you discover.
  • Move on to the next verse in your list and do the same.
  • Continue through the list.
  • As you go, you might find it helpful to categorize the ways the topic is spoken of, so that you can keep them separated in your mind.

The topical method can’t be finished in one sitting. Depending on what subject you choose and how much time you devote to it in a given day, it could take a very long time.

But the insights and wisdom you’ll gain are well worth the effort.

Have you ever done a topical Bible study? Tell me your experience in the comments below…

This post is reworked from my book, “RECHARGE“

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quiet time road blocks

Quiet time tips – #2: Watch out for these 5 roadblocks

Posted by Carey 
· Friday, January 11th, 2013 

Quiet time tips, #2 – Watch out for these 5 roadblocks

In pursuing a quiet time with God, you are going to have to be on your guard, because as mentioned before, you have an enemy who would do almost anything to keep you from finding freedom and power in your relationship with God.

Because of that very real fact, you should watch out for these 5 roadblocks to your quiet time with the Lord…

ROADBLOCK #1: No Plan

My first post in this series beat this drum thoroughly – but I want to pound out that rhythm once more.

If you don’t have a specific, structured plan for how you are going to go about meeting with the LORD regularly, it won’t happen. It’s that simple.

ROADBLOCK #2: Dependence on Emotions

There are 4 ways this roadblock could be seen…

1. You won’t wake up each morning enthused and excited about spending time with the LORD. Sometimes the bed will be more inviting, other times you’ll be eager to get started with work, jobs around the house… whatever. The point is, you’re just not feeling it.

Does that mean you shouldn’t do it?

quiet time road blocks

Giving in to those kinds of feelings is disastrous. You need that time with the LORD every day. Your day will be worse if you miss it, and your ability to honor the LORD with your life will be compromised – guaranteed.

Your desire or lack of desire to consistently carve out that vital time with the LORD has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you should do it.

You need it, so depend on Him to help you, and do it.

2. The time you spend with the LORD each day may sometimes “feel” good while other times it “feels” pretty dry.

Does that mean you didn’t really spend time with God?

Does it mean that something is wrong?

Does it mean that you aren’t “doing it right?”

Your emotions are likely to tell you a very loud “Yes” to every one of those questions. While there may be some truth there to consider, it’s not necessarily true all the time. You need to know that your feelings won’t always line up with what is really happening between you and God… and that’s O.K.

Your diligence and consistency will go a long way to overcome those negative feelings.

3. When you do have an emotional experience with the LORD, make sure that you take your experience to the scriptures for evaluation.

Your enemy the devil will be happy to give you all kinds of emotional experiences if they will detract you from living and acting according to God’s truth.

I’m not saying emotional experiences are bad or wrong – far from it. I’m just cautioning you to keep the truth of God, as revealed in His word, alongside any experiences you may have. Let the word of God interpret, guide, and regulate what you conclude and believe about those kinds of feelings.

4. When you have sinned, your feelings will try to convince you that you are “too guilty” to go to God.

Are you guilty? As sin.

But does that mean God doesn’t want you to come to Him?

Remember David’s example in Psalm 51… God will not despise a broken and contrite heart over sin.

Go to Him in spite of what you feel… in brokenness and repentance. He will receive you, forgive you, and restore you.

ROADBLOCK #3: Legalism

Legalism is believing that you can actually do something to gain God’s favor, when the truth is that you can’t. How does legalism become a roadblock to your daily time with God?

Legalism hampers the effectiveness of your time with the LORD because you are believing something that is not true.

For example: You might be prone to spending a certain amount of time in Bible study, or a certain minimum amount of time in prayer before you “feel right” about making requests of the Lord.

Let’s analyze that… are you trying to butter God up with some “good” actions before you ask Him for what is really on your heart? That’s legalism, alive and well in your devotional life.

God doesn’t want your religious actions, He wants your heart… Matthew 15:8 –

This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

It matters more to God that you are honest when you come to Him than whether or not you do all the things you think He expects.

ROADBLOCK #4: Laziness

You knew this was coming, didn’t you?

We don’t like to face up to it, but it’s the sad truth about all of us from time to time. Sometimes we simply don’t want to put in the effort it takes to get what we need from our time with the Lord. We want microwave, fast-food spirituality. Add water and stir.

But like physical health, a good marriage, competence in your job, and a thousand other things in life that are important, it takes diligent effort to achieve what is needed in your spiritual life.

What should you do if laziness is at the root of your problem?

The answer to laziness is self-control. You have to be able to control your self.

But stop a second and realize that true self-control comes from the Spirit of God. Galatians 5:22-23…

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

If you will turn to the Holy Spirit in an attitude of dependence and ask Him to give you self-control, He will give it.

But as a family friends says,

You can sit naked on the bed all day long and God won’t dress you.

Once you’ve asked the Holy Spirit for self-control, your faith has to go to work! If you really believe that He will answer your prayer, then begin doing what the Spirit would have you do as a self-controlled person.

You’ll find that in the doing, He will provide the self-control you need. Remember, “as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. – James 2:26.

ROADBLOCK #5: A Wandering Mind

For years I beat myself up over this one. I’d be as little as 5 or 10 minutes into my daily time with the Lord and something completely unrelated would come to mind. Something I had to do at work that day… a conversation I had with my wife the night before… a website I remembered I wanted to check out… the hole in my sock (no joke)… and the list goes on!

I’d scold myself for being such a flake, failure, and baby Christian. Somehow I expected that I should be able to control my thoughts to the point that they would not wander.

You know what I came to realize? Having a distracted mind was not the problem. The problem was that I wasn’t doing anything to manage the distractions that were sure to come.

Here’s how I took care of the problem once and for all… it’s very, very simple. Are you ready?

A note pad and a pencil.

Seriously.

When the inevitable “to do” task invades your quiet time with the LORD, jot it down on your trusty pad with your trusty pencil, so you can get to it later. Then you turn back toward what you were doing with the Lord.

It really works. I still have a wandering mind, but it doesn’t wander completely away now, because I’ve learned to off-load those stray thoughts in a way that I’m confident that nothing important will go undone.

Give it a try, I’m pretty sure it will be of help to you too!

Can you share other roadblocks and how you’ve overcome them

This post is reworked from my book, RECHARGE

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quiet time

Quiet Time Tips – #1, Make a Plan

Posted by Carey 
· Monday, January 7th, 2013 

Quiet Time Tips (a series) – TIP #1: MAKE A PLAN!

One of the three main areas of focus for my teaching is the realm of Christian health and growth. Parents have to be living out a vibrant, vital relationship with the LORD before they have any hope of having a Christ-centered marriage, or passing along a generational legacy of faith to their kids.

So I’m beginning a series of posts to help you start getting your own spiritual life on track. And today we start from square #1.

Make a plan

Nothing that you really want to do or need to do happens by accident. You have to do it purposely, intentionally.

Drawing close to the LORD through a quiet time with Him is no exception. With His help, you will have to make it happen.

And you can’t do that without a plan. To some people planning may sound unspiritual, but it’s not.

In fact, Paul said that one of the wonderful things the Holy Spirit produces in the life of the believer is “self control.” (Galatians 5:23) Why self control? Because we need it in order to actually do what we need to do in growing closer to Jesus!

We also need to control self, so that we can do what is needed in order to live as the Lord Jesus desires. The discipline we need in order to consistently me

quiet time

et in a quiet time with the LORD requires the Spirit’s fruit of self-control.

First, you need to plan a time for your quiet time with the LORD.

Don’t expect that you’ll somehow “fit it in” from day to day. You won’t. Believe me… you won’t.

  • The urgent demands of life will overwhelm your schedule and press out the truly important things like time with the LORD.
  • On top of that, you have an enemy (Satan) who will do everything he can to distract, detract from, and demolish your day so that you will not have time to spend with the LORD.

Don’t give yourself any excuses… you need to plan your quiet time if you are going to get tight with the LORD.

And might I suggest you make it a daily appointment?

In my experience, if I don’t shoot for time with the LORD every day, my week will wind up with more days where I did not meet with Him than days where I did.

Consistency is your ally. That’s how you build good habits in action and thinking.

Your body will even get into the act as you set a regular time for quiet with the LORD. You will become used to that time of study, and you will make good use of it as a result.

Don’t let your week slip away… make a plan to spend time with the LORD daily.

I also strongly encourage you to organize your quiet time with the LORD.

Too often Christians pick up their Bibles without any idea of what they are going to read or study. They resort to an old favorite, or flop open their Bible and read wherever the pages separate.

If you approach it that way, let me ask you two questions:

  1. Doesn’t the Lord deserve a more diligent effort than that?
  2. Don’t you need something a bit more specific to your life?

You need a plan that guides you through some kind of systematic study and meaningful prayer time. Relationships take work and intentionality, and your relationship with the LORD is no different.

Get started

While there are no magic formulas that will guarantee that you have a deeply meaningful quiet time every day, in future posts I’m going to suggest many different methods you can use to head in that direction.

But it’s up to you to make the time and to organize a plan.

And it’s up to you to stick with it. A wonderful plan that you don’t follow won’t do you any good.

Have you planned a time to meet with the LORD daily? If not, why not?

This post is reworked from my book, “The Elder Improvement Project“

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children with anxiety

Do your emotions rule your daily time with the LORD?

Posted by Carey 
· Monday, July 16th, 2012 

Do your emotions rule your daily time with the LORD?

daily time with the LORDI wouldn’t say I’m an overly emotional guy… but I did cry the first time I watched “Cinderella Man.” OK, I cry every time I watch it.

I tell you that so you will understand that I’m not one of those Christians who’s “anti-emotion.” I agree with Johnathan Edwards that the “affections” (emotions) can at times be a wonderful benefit to our Christian life. (affliate link)

BUT… I have come to recognize that emotions are responders – they react to to the stimulus they receive (through information, circumstance, or hormones). Because of that fact, they can’t always be trusted. That can become problematic when your emotions are too dominant in relation to your daily time with the LORD.

Truth VS Emotion

God’s word is truth (John 17:17)… and it’s important that you have that truth firmly rooted in the depths of your being. Why? Because your emotions won’t always line up with that truth.When they do, they can be an enriching blessing. When they don’t… you have a battle on our hands.

In order to be a consistent example and leader in your home, you must learn to base your beliefs and actions on the truth of the word of God, in spite of what you may feel to the contrary.
 
Emotional hurdles you might face

PROBLEM: You won’t wake up each morning enthused and excited about spending time with the Lord. Sometimes the bed will be more inviting, other times you’ll be eager to get started with work, jobs around the house… whatever. The point is, you’re just not feeling it. Does that mean you shouldn’t do it? If you say “yes” or “maybe” – your emotions are ruling.

SOLUTION: Learn to bring your emotions into submission to the Holy Spirit, who lives inside you (Galatians 5:16).  HE will provide the self-control you need (Galatians 5:22-23).

PROBLEM: The time you devote to being with the LORD may sometimes feel pretty dry. Does that mean you didn’t spend quality time with God? Does it mean that something is wrong? Does it mean that you aren’t “doing it right?” Your emotions are likely to tell you a very loud, “Yes” to every one of those questions… and if you listen, then they are ruling.

SOLUTION: You must learn to rely on the truth of God’s word, that He IS drawing near to you as you draw near to Him (James 4:8) – despite what your emotions may be telling you.

PROBLEM: When you have sinned, your emotions will try to convince you that you are “too guilty” to go to God. Are you guilty? As sin. But does that mean God will reject you if you come to Him? If you think it does… then your emotions are ruling.

SOLUTION: The truth is that Jesus has already done everything needed to make it possible for you to be in intimate and confident relationship with God (Hebrews 4:16; Hebrews 10:22). Your sin, though serious, is more than covered by the gracious gift of Jesus’ death on the cross, and Jesus is your Advocate before the Father (1 John 2:1).

Emotions can be a great bonus to your relationship with the LORD – but be careful to let the truth of scripture serve as their guide.


daily time with the LORD

Q: Do any of the scenarios above feel familiar?

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