I love sitting down with couples to lead pre-marital counseling. As we discuss all the opportunities and complexities that marriage brings, I will often ask, “So, tell me how you two handle conflict?” 

In some instances, they will look at each other in such a way that makes me think they were arguing on the drive over to meet me. In other scenarios, the couple will look at me and explain, “We really don’t fight with each other.” That statement tells me two things: 1) they don’t know each other that well yet, and 2) they are going to be unprepared on how to fight well when the conflict finally comes.

Whether you are married or on the path to marriage, it’s time to go the second mile in establishing fight rules for your relationship.

First-mile believers fight unfairly and brush the recurring conflicts under the rug. Second-mile disciples learn how to work through conflict in a biblical manner.

Imagine a time in which you were surrounded by danger. Forces were against you that literally threatened your very life. Someone comes up to you at the scariest moment and seeks to encourage you. Instead of providing personal counsel, this individual actually quotes a Bible verse to you. Recited from a beloved psalm, this verse reminds you that God will watch over you.

Does that sound comforting to you? It should until you realize who this mysterious Bible-quoter is. The psalm-toting individual is none other than the devil himself. This scenario isn’t imagination but history. Jesus was being tempted, and Satan tried to get him to bite on that temptation by taking a Bible verse out of context to fit his agenda. 

The scary thing is that many of us are guilty of the same tactic. It’s time to go the second mile in prioritizing biblical context.

First-mile believers find a verse out of context to fit their agenda. Second-mile disciples study the Bible in context to align with God’s agenda.

When it comes to reading Scripture, context is key. Too much of our current biblical study focuses on isolated verses and neglects the context of which the verses were originally written.

As a young Christian, people always told me about the importance of having a quiet time without anyone ever showing me how to have one. I tend to be a rather loud person anyway, so setting apart time to quiet myself seemed odd in the first place. What exactly am I supposed to do during that quiet time?

All the godly people that I esteemed all talked about what God taught them during that time. I would often feel guilty for not being consistent in my own practice. Maybe you feel the same way. Have you always known you need to have a quiet time but unsure what others actually do? It’s time to go the second mile in having a quiet time.

First mile believers will read the Bible and pray when times get difficult. Second mile disciples are those who are seeking the Lord through daily spiritual habits.

3 Daily Practices

We all know reading is supposed to help us, but many of us also feel as if we could be more dedicated readers. The reason many of us struggle is that we don't have a reading plan that has specific goals. If you ever wanted to become a more avid reader, it's time to go the second mile with our books.

How to Discipline Yourself to Love Reading

Our culture worships the Wiki God. We want ever so desperately to serve a deity whom we have the freedom and capability to edit. Many people are attempting to revise the Christian faith by cutting out what they don’t like, copying favorable ideas from other worldviews, and pasting them into some hopeless attempt at a hybrid faith. How do we reject our culture's desire to serve the Wiki God?

We all want change, but few of us were willing to do the work with one another to see that change happen. Discipleship happens within the context of intentional relationships. If you have gotten tired of spiritual stagnation, it’s time to go the 2nd mile with your small group.

6 Helpful Tips

Maybe you don’t consider yourself a theologian, but I would beg to differ. You have beliefs about God and you share them with others even if by default. You really are a theologian, the question is: are you a good one? It’s time to go the 2nd mile in our theology.

This episode explains the content of my new book, Wiki God, being released within a few days. I also read some sample content from it with the hope of inspiring you to develop your own theology from the Bible.

If you have ever desired to have meaningful Sunday worship experiences with your church, the process starts on Saturday. In fact, if you don't prepare well, your frantic pace on Sunday can rob you of meaningful interactions with God and with God's people.

In this episode of the 2nd mile podcast, I share 10 tips to ensure you have a great Sunday.

Biblical illiteracy is on the rise. Why are so many people without a thorough understanding of scriptural teaching? One of the main reasons is we are reading it in a different way from how it was written.

WARNINGS

ENCOURAGEMENTS

List of Average Reading Time for Each Book of the Bible

The reason we want to go the 2nd mile in our lives is because Jesus went the 2nd mile in his death.  It’s time to consider how Jesus went the 2nd mile to secure our forgiveness.

7 Quotes from the Cross