From childhood, one of my favorite verses was, and still is, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. I learned this as a song in a chapel service at a private christian elementary school I attended at the time, and it has always stuck with me.

Another one of my long time favorite verses is where God promises to give “peace…which transcends all understanding”.

And a verse I consistently recite to myself when I am in need of keeping my mind from sinful thoughts is, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things”…

“How can I grow in discernment? What does that actually mean? Is that different than wisdom?”

We talk about wisdom and discernment, but what do they mean? We may want to be wise and discerning but how do we do that? They are closely related, and we can grow in both, but before looking at how to grow, let’s define discernment and wisdom. In a devotional from the NIV Lifehacks Bible, wisdom is defined as “a capacity of the mind that allows us to understand life from God’s perspective.” Wisdom comes from a proper view of God…

One of our main goals at Impact is that you would be students of the Word of God. With that in mind, we want to equip you with tools to add to your arsenal for studying the Bible and learning from it. This week’s blog post is designed to get you to do just that. Let’s dig in and study God’s Word together!

Following the mountaintop experience of a weekend long retreat, your first week back at home might present challenges that you didn’t see coming. Maybe you’re feeling emotionally disconnected and lonely now that you’re not surrounded by Christian community 24/7. Maybe you’re doubting if your recommitment to Jesus was sincere. Maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed by the thought of opening your Bible on your own.

Since we learn best when we discover truth for ourselves, it is very important to have personal time in God’s word. So what are some practical tools to get started?