NEWS, ARTICLES, DEVOTIONS AND MORE FROM BttB...

Published 10/8/19 Read "After some time Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let's go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.' Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus." Act

Published 10/7/19 Read "Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of--infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes." Ephesians 3:20 (TLB) Reflect Is God's power at work in your life? Do you believe that He is able to do far more than you could ever dream possible? Conner had been dating her boyfriend for almost two years. Without any warning, he declared he wanted

Published 10/4/19 Read "Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.' But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord." Jonah 1:1-3 Reflect Have you ever felt like runni

Published 10/3/19 Read "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths." Genesis 3:6-7 Reflect Why do you suppose sin often looks so attractiv

Published 10/2/19 Read "And Sarai said to Abram, 'May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!' But Abram said to Sarai, 'Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.' Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her." Genesis 16:5-6 Reflect What holds you back from giving all to God? Sarai probably didn't wai

Published 10/1/19 Read "Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, 'Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.' And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her hus

Published 9/30/19 Read "Dear brothers, I have been talking to you as though you were still just babies in the Christian life who are not following the Lord but your own desires; I cannot talk to you as I would to healthy Christians who are filled with the Spirit. I have had to feed you with milk and not with solid food because you couldn't digest anything stronger. And even now you still have to be fed on milk. For you are still only baby Christians, controlled by your own

Published 9/27/19 Read "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominio

Published 9/26/19 Read "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22 Reflect Describe your church exp

Published 9/25/19 Read "So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' " John 8:31-32 Reflect Is your vision a bit fuzzy? Have you been deceived by worldly philosophies? Are you willing to be set free by the truth? A hush falls over the synagogue as a fiery Jew stands before the crowd. Today's speaker: a powerful Pharisee named Saul--the persecutor. It's no

Published 9/24/19 Read "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and fille

Published 9/23/19 Read "A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, 'If you are willing, you can make me clean.' Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed." Mark 1:40-42 Reflect What healing touch do you need in your life? "I am willing--be clean!" These are some of the greatest words spoken in the Bible. Through Jesus, people can have peace with

Published 9/20/19 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...

Published 9/19/19 Read 1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has...

Published 9/18/19 Read Psalm 71:1-3 “In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! In your righteousness deliver...

Published 9/17/19 Read Psalm 27:4-5 “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the...

Published 9/16/19 Read 1 Samuel 12:24 “Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things...

Published 9/13/19 Read Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Reflect • How can we know the plans God has for us? With movies and novels, we know how long the conflict will last, right? All we have to do is glance at our watch or check the number of pages left in the book. But life is not like this. The real world doesn't always provide us with a last-minute so

Published 9/12/19 Read Isaiah 45:3 "I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Reflect • What's the key to following God's will? Imagine receiving the "riches stored in secret places"! Does God tell you secrets? Has He ever whispered knowledge into your spiritual ear--a secret that gives you special wisdom about a situation? Perhaps He has spoken to your hea

Published 9/11/19 Read Proverbs 16:1-9 "To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue. All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works out everything for his own ends--even the wicked for a day of disaster. The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. Through love and faithfulness sin is

Published 9/10/19 Read James 4:13-17 "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows

Published 9/9/19 Read Hebrews 12:1-3 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposit

Published 9/6/19 Read 2 Corinthians 7:1 "Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." Reflect • How can you perfect holiness in your life? Holiness. It's one of those words that conjures up images of uptight church ladies in floral dresses. It even brings to mind a long list of rigid, narrow-minded rules that are out of touch with reality--not to mentio

Published 9/5/19 Read Matthew 25:34-36 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' " Reflect