Where Has God Placed You as an Intercessor?

When you are called to serve God as an intercessor, and you say “Yes” to Him, don’t be surprised where He will place you for the purposes of intercession. Intercessors are called to affect the atmosphere around them, wherever that may be. God will allow them to see and hear circumstances and strategies for the …

Is Your Church Hurting for Money? 12 Ideas that Might Help

Many churches and ministries struggle to make ends meet. I know what it’s like for a ministry that lacks resources to pay the bills. And I’ve worked for a church as a full-time, unpaid staff member. Over the years I’ve spent time in prayer and in the Bible trying to understand how to live in …

Prayer for Individuals and Families Living in Poverty

In 2013 I was very blessed to be teaching an eight-week course to a church women's group. The focus of our course was on the challenges of poverty in the community and the church's response. We worked through a book on poverty. To use with their reading, I printed up and gave each woman a …

Writing While Growing: Some Tips for Christian Writers

A friend and I were talking this weekend about Christian writing. Our conversation touched on a common concern of Christian writers, the concern of writing something that will lead someone astray. I have often told writers (and prayer ministers) that as long as you have that healthy concern, I am not worried about you. You …

Don’t Let Commentaries Slow Your Christian Writing

When I teach Christian writing classes, I emphasize the importance of Bible study. Christian writers have an incredible privilege of inspiring and encouraging readers to draw closer to God and to dig deeper into His Word. That means writers need to know the Bible and have a solid foundation for presenting scripture in their writing. …

When God Prompts You to Write – Write

I can’t tell you how many times the enemy has planted seeds of doubt regarding my calling as a writer. I’ve also talked with so many writers who feel the same way. I’m writing this first of all to tell you - do not listen to the enemy. He lies! Secondly, if God has called …

10 Things Moses Has Taught Me about Intercession

I did an inductive Bible study of Exodus 32-34, looking especially at the role of Moses as intercessor between God and His people. Being an intercessor myself, I was curious what Moses could teach us today about intercession. Following are just a few of the takeaways I learned from studying this passage: Students of Inductive …

Zooming in on God’s Peace (A Review of “Contrast” in Inductive Bible Study)

In the previous lesson on Psalm 46, we looked at the structure of Interrogation. Now let's look at another structure in this psalm: Contrast. You may remember looking at Contrast in an earlier lesson. Feel free to review that here, if you'd like a refresher: Ever Notice All the Opposites in the Bible? In our …

Shalom: A Biblical Hebrew State of Being

"Shalom" (peace) is one of my favorite words in biblical Hebrew. I yearn for God's peace, especially in areas of my life where I don't have it. It's an interesting journey to look up "shalom" in the lexicon. I encourage you to try it, and use this opportunity also to pray for greater "shalom" in …

Devotional Writing: Two Ways to Begin

This lesson is taken from my online course, "Let's Write a Devotional." While a classic-style devotional begins with a Bible verse and is followed by a reflection (sometimes called a meditation, or story), that may not be the order in which the inspiration comes to you. Sometimes you will start with the Bible verse, and …