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Published 3/23/20 Read John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." Reflect What kind of peace does Jesus give us? This verse says it's not the kind the world gives. How is Christ's peace different? Jamie and her husband love having their three adult sons home for Easter. "Two of our boys live in the same state as we do, but our middle son lives on the East Co

Published 3/20/20 By Nat Crawford Read 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." Reflect How can we release anxiety and experience peace? In 2009, we welcomed our second son into this world. He was a healthy, beautiful baby until July 4, 2009. That was

Published 3/19/20 Read Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Reflect Who, or what, do you run to when the going gets tough? Most people can recall exactly where they were when they heard that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. Even though it was newsworthy, the story really caught the nation's attention when the second plane hit. All of a sudden, we were thrown into a cr

Published 3/18/20 Read Proverbs 3:5-8 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones." Reflect What does it mean to trust in the Lord with all your heart? Where are some places where your understanding and God's will conflict? For a detail

Published 3/17/20 Read Matthew 6:25-27 "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" (NIV) Reflect Is Jesus Christ the fo

Read Isaiah 43:1–5 “Now the Lord who created you … says, Don’t be afraid, for I have ransomed you; I have called you by name; you are...

Published 3/13/20 Read Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Reflect How do we run with endurance ? Dr. Henri

Published 3/12/20 Read John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. " Reflect What is meant by "the Word became flesh"? I'll never forget what a friend once asked, "Have you ever read the Bible all the way through?" I couldn't answer yes . Then she went on to say, "I'm a Christ-follower, yet I haven't made the Bible a daily part of my life ... and that's pathetic. What i

Published 3/11/20 Read Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' " Reflect Who was Jesus talking about in these vers

Published 3/10/20 Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." Reflect How do we become a new creation in Christ? Consid

Published 3/9/20 Read Genesis 2:18 "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.' " Reflect Why is it not good to be alone? Describe how relationship is at the foundation of God's nature. God designed us to bond relationally with Himself. As author Doug Banister points out, "All of us are on a lifelong quest to know Him more intimately. We must learn how to bond with Him if we are to become the people He has calle

Published 3/6/20 Read Psalm 63:1-4 "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands." Reflect What draws you closer to God ? The basics of the Christian fa

Published 3/5/20 Read Matthew 4:4 But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " Reflect In what ways do we hear Jesus through the Bible? In order to hear Jesus and have a two-way connection with Him, we need to slow down and engage the Bible. This means receiving God's Word in our mind and our heart . It means savoring and reflecting on His story. It means responding to what He has to say to our

Published 3/4/20 Read 2 Peter 3:17-18 "You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." Reflect How do you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord? Jesus must begin a painful work in us. It won't happen overnight--and it will come with a

Published 3/3/20 Read Romans 5:6-8 "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Reflect How does it make you feel, knowing that Christ died for you? After years of trying to live like the "model Christian," God was gone. What now? How can I resus

Published 3/2/20 Read Romans 12:11-13 "Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians, be inventive in hospitality" ( The Message ). Reflect What helps you grow spiritually? God wants our desire: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength' " (Mark 12:30). How about you? Does

Published 2/28/20 Read Hebrews 6:1-2 "Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment." Reflect What does it mean to " go on to maturity" ? What helps you to grow spiritually? And for that matter, exactly what does it mean? For some clues, we could bre

Published 2/27/20 Read Job 1:12 "And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.' So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord." Reflect How does the Holy Spirit help you resist temptation? We have hope in spite of our tendency to sin. And while the enemy is striving to veil our eyes, he is nothing more than an annoying mosquito compared to God's power. The Bible gives us some clues about Satan's limited

Published 2/26/20 Read Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Reflect How are we transformed by the renewal of our mind? Even though sin is not our master because we have the power of the Holy Spirit on our side, Paul also knew that another force is at work in our lives; it's a force that's seeking to destroy our relations

Published 2/25/20 Read Romans 6:13-14 "Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." Reflect How does it make you feel, knowing that sin has no dominion over you? Even though we still wrestle with sin in this life--and won't exper

Published 2/24/20 Read Philippians 3:20-21 " But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." Reflect What does Paul mean when he says, "our citizenship is in heaven"? While maintaining an accurate picture of his humanity, Paul made it his goal to live a changed life. While this is by no means easy, our r

Published 2/21/20 Read Philippians 3:13-14 "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Reflect How do you press on toward the goal? Paul recognized something that we all need to consider: He had never and would never attain perfection in this lifetime. He wrote, "Not that I have already ob

Published 2/20/20 Read 2 Timothy 1:6-7 "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." Reflect How does the Holy Spirit help you resist temptation? Whenever I examine my own behavior, I quickly realize that I, too, fight a win-lose battle with temptation. While I strive to live by the Spirit, there are moments when sin and self get

Published 2-19-20 Read 1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." Reflect How has God given you a "way of escape"? (Please explain.) Face it, we're all spiritually sick. (That's why some refer to God as the "Great Physician," right?) Yet as Christ is transforming and he