WHEN THE GROUND GIVES WAY: With the almost unrelenting despair and judgement in the early chapters of Ezekiel, we need the hope given in articles like this one from Marshall Segal. “God is ever present, but his presence suddenly can feel more real, even tangible, when trials come. Why else would the psalmist say, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’? Not just present, but very present — especially present, lovingly present, relentlessly present. When the earth beneath us begins to give way, he draws even nearer.”

HOW DO I STUDY THE BIBLE WITH OTHERS? Here's more application from our recent disciple-making series, where Glenna Marshall explains how she studies the Bible with others. If you’ve thought of it but haven’t know what to do, this may be the practical guide you need. "Nothing has aided my personal growth like a weekly discussion of the Scriptures I am studying daily. It’s what the church is for, you know? The more I study God’s Word in community, the more I am carried down the path of faithfulness and obedience. We were meant to live as a family with one another, so while we should be reading the Word and praying individually, that practice can be enriched and deepened when we bring others into it through a group discussion and encouragement."

PRAYERLESSNESS SPRINGS FROM PRIDE: There are some valuable insights on why many struggle to pray in this article by Ryan Higginbottom. "Pride is a sneaky, pervasive, elemental sin. Pride gives birth to many sins and obstructs many godly pursuits. In this article, we’ll consider the ways our pride disrupts our prayer life..."

LOVE PEOPLE, NOT THE IDEA OF PEOPLE: Ronnie Kurtz takes an exchange from the novel The Brothers Karamazov by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, and uses it as a challenging illustration on showing love to others. Ivan Karamazov tells his younger brother, “I never could understand how it’s possible to love one’s neighbors. In my opinion, it is precisely one’s neighbors that one cannot possibly love. Perhaps if they weren’t so nigh.” He says later, “It’s still possible to love one’s neighbor abstractly, and even occasionally from a distance, but hardly ever up close.”