5+ Ways To Find Inspiration For Bible Studies This New Year

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."// Isaiah 14:27 "For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?"

Let's start the new year strong with God! Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Our relationship with God should continue or grow to be number one, always. God gave us life and we should live our life for Him and in a way that glorifies Him. Maybe you haven't had the best relationship with God this year and life distracted you from the ultimate goal. Instead of continuing to let distractions lead you, let God lead you instead. Maybe this year your resolution is to have a better prayer life with God, to study more often, or to memorize more Bible verses for use on your path with God. Either way, these are all things I'll be touching on while I give ideas to find inspiration this new year.

The first thing I would recommend is Pinterest. You can find many Christian blogs to read, Bible reading plans, Bible verses, etc. on this site. I love reading others' Christian blogs and what others have to say. Writers have a way with words, and Christian blogs are one place I see that. This inspires me to write more Bible studies, but I also think about God's Word as I read it. It's also a source of encouragement when knowing that others love God and are striving to follow Him like me too. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."// Hebrews 10:24 "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works..."

Another thing I have seen is something called a 'War Room'. Make a place just for God and you. You can get a curtain and set up a little place in the corner of a room. You can clean out your closet and make that your place. You can have a shelf in your kitchen or dining room dedicated to your Bible study things; while you eat your breakfast or drink your coffee in the morning, your Bible things are conveniently right there for you. You can make post-it notes of your favorite verses and decorate your space with them. You can also hang up Bible plans, goals, or quotes that inspire you to read your Bible more often. I haven't yet made my spot yet, since my family and I are about to move; but I plan on reserving a spot in my future room or just making my War Room the space around my bed. Ephesians 6:14-15 "Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace..."

Bible reading plans inspire me and are good to search for when gathering study topics. There are many different ones you can find. Anything from reading the Bible in a year to monthly scripture writing plans. Some plans have one certain topic that is discussed throughout the month like loneliness, worry, or fearlessness. I think you get the point... basically, there are so many to choose from! You can even create your own if you want and share it with others. I'm currently trying to read the Bible in a year. It may take me longer, though, because I'm doing my own studies and my devotional book! Some ideas from me to you for Bible plans: read the bible in chronological order, Psalms and Proverbs, people in the Bible, and major events in the Bible. (You can just search on the internet and there might be a plan already made that you can follow along and do.) Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."// Romans 15:4 "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."// 2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."// John 15:7 "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."

This one I do constantly: make a list of all the topics I want to study or write on. I have this list on my phone since it is with me most of the time. Whenever I have a question or something I want an in depth answer on, I write it down. I sometimes even add controversial topics. I'll share a few off my list, in case you are interested in some of these: translated words from the Bible (example: 'amen' means 'so be it'), how to avoid being a stumbling block, anxiety, confidence, encouragement, contentment, forgiving others, gossip, and women and their works at church. Some of these will be topics I will later post. Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."// 1 Corinthians 16:13 "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. "

Bible journaling is another idea that excites me just to think about it. You can buy a Bible just for Bible journaling. What you do is illustrate a verse of the Bible on the page of the Bible from which it comes. You can use pastels, colored pencils, crayons, watercolor, or pretty much anything to decorate the page. Now if you don't want to buy a Bible journaling Bible then I have another idea. You could get a piece of paper and illustrate on that instead. You could cut the paper down to fit inside your Bible as a bookmark too. There are also Bible journaling printables online that you could print off. They are basically coloring pages, but still something that can help inspire you and make you think of the Bible as you are coloring it. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

This last one is a pretty obvious one, but still needs to be on this little list. Church can always be a place for inspiration. Look in the newsletter or bulletin your church provides to find topics you may want to further study. Also, the sermons and lessons from church can help give you more to study on later for yourself. During the sermons and lessons you can write down the verse's book and chapter, then the next day study on the sermon or lesson you had attended. This is so important to study what your preachers and teachers are saying. God has said in the Bible to be wary of false prophets, so take your soul in your hands and don't trust whatever any man says. Remember that your soul is the most wonderful gift God has given you, and you should keep it dear to your heart. Proverbs 28:26 "Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered."//

Hate Sin & Love Sinners

     A problem I have seen first hand in my generation is some people who call themselves Christian telling people that aren't following God that they are going to hell. James 1:26 - If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain. They may indeed be in a lost state, but are those words loving? No! And love is supposed to be the center of Christianity. This goes for any sin: adultery, drug abuse, drunkenness, fornication, homosexuality, gossip, murder, and lying. God sees all sin as equal. As humans, we like to categorize or scale things; we see a difference between gossip and murder, when God may not.

     My Christian brothers and sisters, please think about your words and how it affects someone before you say them! Does saying, "You are going to hell for this" glorify God and bring others to church? No! Proverbs 15:1 - A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. -- 1 Thessalonians 2:12 - That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. Remember that it is not our place to say "you're going to hell" or "you're not going to hell". We are not all knowing, we are not the judge, and we sure are NOT God. James 4:12 - There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? We are not perfect, therefore, have no right to tell someone that they are going to hell. When we say something like that - it IS hateful. Even if you mean well - there is no possible positive way that can be taken. Now it isn't wrong to say and judge that sin is wrong and bad, but we shouldn't pick out a person that we know struggles with that sin and judge them by saying they are going to hell. All of us are capable of repenting and once again being accepted by God just as we are all capable of giving in to temptation and losing our salvation. The only way we can bring others to Christ is with LOVE. If I had made a mistake and had someone come up to me and tell me I'm going to hell - I would NOT want to go to whatever church they went to, and it would make me so upset to have someone tell me that basically I'll burn in hell for eternity for a mistake I made. We do not know the hearts of people. Maybe they are trying to fix their life, maybe not, maybe they don't know what to do - but that doesn't mean it is okay to say they are going to hell. 1 Corinthians 2:11 - For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God.

     Some people these days confuse hating sin and hating the sinner. There is a BIG difference. We should make an effort to see everyone as equals. We should know that we are all in the same fight, maybe fighting different sins, but still fighting in the same world. We also need to know that good people make mistakes sometimes, and we should try to continue loving everyone like Jesus did. Jesus died for sinners. He died for people he had never really met. John 3:16  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. We should all strive for such compassion and love, even though we can't meet the depth of love that Jesus has for us. John 13:34-35 - A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. We should strive for a love that we see everyone as worthy enough to be brought to God because EVERYONE is worthy enough to try. Jesus/God proved this when Jesus died on the cross for us.  2 Thessalonians 1:11 - Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power...

     When we may say something like "you are going to hell" we are sinning! Proverbs 10:19 - In the multitude of words there wants not sin: but he that refrains his lips is wise. -- James 3:10 - Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. We should make sure our words are something God will be proud of. Even staying quiet and not saying anything makes God proud, in situations like these. Lastly is one more verse that we should remember before we speak. 1 Corinthians 16:14 - Let all your things be done with charity. By loving others and saying only loving words, we are showing our soul to God.

Love, Emily.

Miracles V. God's Providence

Today I'll be studying miracles and God's providence. The first thing to note is what miracles are and what God's providence is. Miracles are like people coming back from the dead or God literally speaking to someone. An example of God's providence is a child that has no more cancer even though all the doctors said there was no way or someone living through a car wreck that should have killed them. The word 'providence' means foresight or making provision beforehand. For example, God made something happen through natural means, or gave it the ability to happen. Maybe in the car wreck, the car hit the tree just right so that the man didn't die. Maybe the child with cancer had something happen in her body that caused the cancer cells to die. Now, we can't just throw those explanations out. There are some things that science cannot explain even things that are within the laws of nature. For example, if a man and woman had the same life-threatening injury, the woman would have the better chances of survival. Things happen in the human body that we just don't understand.

Just because something is hard to believe or understand does not make it a miracle. Miracles are things that only God can do. Things that are beyond the laws of nature. It isn't a miracle that a woman showed up at the right moment after the man hit the tree, and was able to pull him out of the car before it lit on fire. That is God's providence; a chain reaction of events that led the woman to be there at the right time. In this day and age, the word 'miracle' is thrown around way too easily. I looked up examples of modern day miracles and it boggles my mind that these people think that God's providence is actually a miracle. No! People are mixing them up!

There are people out there that claim to be 'healers' and that would be considered a miracle - if miracles still happened today (and they don't). I read something about a man that expected to live the rest of his life in a wheelchair, and that no surgeries had fixed him. He met a 'healer' and was supposedly healed. Psychology! Think about this: why do placebo groups exist? To see if peoples' conditions get better even though they aren't really taking the medicine. They think they are, so they believe, and they get better like the doctors said the medicine would make them, too. It's the same with this so called 'healer'. Maybe the man in the wheelchair believed so strongly that he'd be okay and would walk again - so he did. Something happened in the mind and body to make it possible. That is not a miracle.

Another thing that is called a miracle but is God's providence, is the safe landing of the plane on the Hudson with the pilot, Sully. He was able to safely land the plane and people called this a miracle. Can you believe that? No! This man had the experience of planes and tried his best to save these people's lives and he did. But just because its amazing that something like this happened doesn't make it a miracle. Remember: Miracles happen only from the hand of God Himself and are beyond the laws of nature. One last example of a 'miracle' is the 33 Chilean miners. Yes just like the one before, it was amazing thing that happened and that they all lived but that does not make it a miracle. God's providence made it possible for them to all figure out together how to survive, and then to be rescued. Dramatic or unexplainable events are often given the label of miracles, but this just isn't true.

God has said he will answer our prayers, and just because He does, doesn't make it a miracle. It is Him fulfilling His promise. Matthew 7:7  “Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Mark 11:24  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 9:29 "And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” Philippians 4:6-7 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." God already knows what will happen, and what is best. It happens because He lets it be so.

God's providence can be noted in one verse that I have found: 2 Peter 1:3 “Seeing that His divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue.” It is GOD who gives us life and allows us to keep living. It is GOD who gives us good things and allows the setting up of the chain of events that change our lives. Another verse about God's providence and will is Hebrews 2: 3-4 “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard; God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will.” Again, note how God has said 'His own will'.

Now, to explain why modern miracles do not exist... Look at 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues." Now look at the next chapter verse eight mostly (1 Corinthians 13:8-13) "Charity never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abides faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." God has said that there will be no more of these miracles as mentioned in the previous chapter. Yet, God's will and God's providence still exist.

Hebrews 13:20-21 "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." I think God here is saying that He makes a way for people to do His will. Like the example I said in the beginning, God made it to where the woman would be there to pull the man out of the car before it was lit on fire. Maybe that man had something God needed him to fulfill, like giving the gospel to someone that may bring more good to the world. It is all because of God and HIS WILL. God's providence is something different than miracles. Proverbs 3: 5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." Remember that just because we do not understand what or why something or how something happened, just know God knows and it was God's will. Acknowledge that God directs the paths and is all-knowing.

Love, Emily.

5 Favorite Bible Verses

     1: Psalm 133:1 "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" I just have always loved this. I first noticed this verse in eighth grade or in high school. I had always felt out of place when I wasn't at church or at one amazing and uplifting Christian camp (that this summer I'll probably talk about more). To me this verse meant so much because I know how great and how free my soul felt when around so many other people that loved God and tried their best to follow His word.

     2: Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee wherever you go." This verse is so comforting to me to know that God is with me everywhere and all the time. I have to try my best to be what God wants me to be: strong, courageous, and fearless are three of those things. God doesn't want me to be worried because He will be with me. With God there is nothing to fear. With God I have strength. With God I can be courageous.

     3: Colossians 3:2 "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." This is a good reminder that we have things in heaven waiting for us after we follow our path with God. All the things we must go through in this life; persecution, struggles, and trials are all worth it.


4: James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." The blessings that we have, all that we have in our lives, are from God. All the little happy things is our life are from God. He blesses us constantly and loves us so much.

5: Isaiah 43:2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you." When we are going through trying times, God will be with us. When we are feeling like we are drowning with all the stressful things in life, He is there to help lift us out. When we feel overwhelmed with anything, He is there to protect us.


Love, Emily.

The Christian Woman & The Outward Appearance

      In the world today, girls are unfortunately growing up seeing immodesty as the norm. As we grow up in a world filled with immodesty, it can be a temptation to want to wear those 'pretty' clothes you see a model wearing on the runway or on the magazine cover. It may be the norm, and more 'acceptable' in society's view, to wear super skin tight and revealing clothing, but what does God say about this? I will be talking about outward appearances and modesty in the general sense today. I'm young (19) and new to writing things like this; so I may be jumping around, but hang in there!

1 Peter 3:3-4 says, "(3) Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; (4) But let it be the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." I feel like this verse is saying that your clothes, money, and accessories are not you. Your inside beauty is what makes you beautiful. Your heart is more than gold to God. God cares about our hearts, and as a Christian we should treat others the way Jesus would. We shouldn't care about the outward appearances of others but the inward and love them. We are beautiful to God without money with which to adorn our bodies. That sounded a bit odd, huh, but what I mean is we shouldn't worry about having money to 'fit in'. Let's not fit into the world and others but to God and Christianity.

1 Samuel 16:7 says, ".... For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." This is another verse in the Bible that says that God looks at our heart. We don't have to be rich to be His. We don't have to have the nicest, fanciest clothes (and like I said before, those things do not matter). God cares about who we really are. We are not the clothes on our body but the soul within our body.

By saying these things, I don't mean to say that God doesn't care what we wear. He most certainly DOES care about what we wear. What we wear should bring honor to God AND ourselves. Our bodies have been given to us by God and we should wear clothes that God approves. One thing I hear all the time is 'flaunt it if you got it'. How about let's not! We shouldn't 'flaunt it if we got it'. In 1 Thessalonians 2:5 it says, "In fact, you know that we never used flattering speech or put on any false front with greedy motives; God is witness!"

1 Timothy 2:9-10 says, "(9) In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; (10) But (which becomes women professing godliness) with good works." We shouldn't be crazy about buying all the latest or best clothes that are expensive. We should dress ourselves in clothes that do not bring lustful attention to us. We wouldn't want to lead someone astray, would we? We should be more worried about doing good works for God than the new clothes that are being sold at the mall. I think that in this verse it's saying that by wearing modest apparel we are professing godliness.

Now back to what I just said about leading others astray... I've heard many women, even in the church, claim that it is the man's fault if he is tempted or has impure thoughts due to the clothes a woman wears. To me this is just illogical. If what we are wearing causes someone to be led astray, we should change this! Throw that outfit into the trash. It is our fault if we are a stumbling block by wearing skirts too high or shirts too low cut or clothing that is too tight. Most men wouldn't have had those thoughts if the clothing we wore weren't so revealing. Romans 13:14 says "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Now we can't put all the blame of impure thoughts on the man, when we have been the one that led him to have those thoughts. Lust exists and we should wear clothes of which God would approve.

The men are supposed to guard themselves from impure thoughts. In Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." The men should try to distract themselves from these impure thoughts. The same goes with a woman if she has impure thoughts. God is saying that we should try to think of good and godly things to keep our minds from straying. Proverbs 7 talks about a woman "with the attire of an harlot, and subtle of heart". She talks to this man trying to persuade him to go with her. It says "He goes after her straightway, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks...". At the end of Proverbs 7 it says "Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death." As women, we should wear clothes that are godly and act godly, and not tempt a man in any way with what we wear or the way we act.

A good example of immodesty and what it can do is the story of David. In 2 Samuel 11:2 it says, "And it came to pass in the evening, that David arose from his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon." Now in this story there are two faults. The woman was naked for anyone's view! She didn't think of what her actions would cause but they caught David's eye. She was in the wrong for putting herself in a situation to be lusted upon. But David was in the wrong too for continuing to look at her (and later act upon his impure thoughts).

In closing, I'll share two more verses. Proverbs 31:25 says, "Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come." Colossians 3:12 says, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Remember that we should show dignity by our clothing, and respect the gift of our body that God has given us.

Love, Emily.