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Published 2/6/20 Read Psalm 34:15-18 "The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Reflect During times of trouble, do you draw close to the Lord ... or do you run? God graciously brou

Published 2/5/20 Read Psalm 73:23-26 "Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Reflect In what ways is God the strength of your heart? (Please explain.) When challenges hit, how do you respond? Ins

Published 2/4/20 Read Genesis 16:13-14 "So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, 'You are a God of seeing,' for she said, 'Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.' Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;it lies between Kadesh and Bered." Reflect In what ways is the Lord the "God of seeing"? With tears streaming down her cheeks, my friend Terri shared how she'd reached the end of her rope: "I want to just run away--far from the tense moments at home,

Published 2/3/20 Read Psalm 23:1-3 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." Reflect In what ways is the Lord your shepherd? How do you perceive God? Is He a stern, unbending judge or policeman? Is He someone who, like your father, is looking to criticize your faults, or who might abandon you unless you straighten up and

Published 1/31/20 Read 1 John 4:13-17 "By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected w

Published 1/30/20 Read Philippians 2:5-8 "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Reflect How do these verses make you feel, knowing that Jesus took the

Published 1/29/20 Read 1 Corinthians 8:6 "Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." Reflect Is your perception of your Heavenly Father altered by that of your earthly father? (Please explain.) In realizing how my father filters had marred my picture of God (sort of like seeing Him through dark glasses), I began taking a hard look at father issue

Published 1/28/20 Read Matthew 28:18-20 "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.' " Reflect How can you be a missionary at work, at school, at church? Be a missionary and go confidentl

Published 1/27/20 Read John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." Reflect What is the Holy Spirit teaching you? We need to live expectantly, tuned in to the Spirit. When we seek God, we learn to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. We become sensitive to that prompting and are available when God calls us to witness His handiwork. We can find co

Published 1/24/20 Read Matthew 24:45-51 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant

Published 1/23/20 Read Luke 2:36-38 "There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." Reflect

Published 1/22/20 Read Luke 2:33-35 "The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: 'This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.'" Reflect What did Simeon mean when he said, "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising

Published 1/21/20 Read Luke 2:25-32 "Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms a

Published 1/20/20 Read Matthew 25:34-36 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'" Reflect What are some ways that you have encountered Christ in t

Published 1/17/20 Read John 12:25-26 "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." Reflect Why is serving others in God's name so important? How do you and I get a new glimpse of Jesus? Mother Teresa said it is Jesus we serve in the poor, so as we get closer to them and each other, w

Published 1/15/20 Read Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Reflect What steps do you take to rely on God's strength and not your own? Striving is doing things in our own strength, worrying about pleasing people with our performance. Working while resting is doing our pr

Published 1/14/20 Read Hebrews 6:10-12 "For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." Reflect What are some ways that you serve God? When we serve others, share the gosp

Published 1/14/20 Read John 6:9-12 " 'There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?' Jesus said, 'Have the people sit down.' Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, 'Gather up

Published 1/13/20 Read Isaiah 40:29-31 "He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Reflect Why is it important to wait on the Lord? How has the Lord strengthened you? Twentieth Century author and spe

Published 1/10/20 Read Psalm 144:9-11 "I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, who gives victory to kings, who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword. Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood." Reflect What does it mean to sing a new song to the Lord? Whether you are a single or married woman, the Bible says that your Redeemer, Jesus, the

Published 1/9/20 Read Psalm 145:14-20 "The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

Published 1/8/20 Read Exodus 20:1-7 "And God spoke all these words, saying, 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, vis

Published 1/7/20 Read 2 Corinthians 3:18 "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." Reflect What image are we being transformed into? How is Jesus changing your life? In spite of what you may have been told, Jesus is not a myth or irrelevant. And He is not a God of the past who spun the world into existence and then left mank

Published 1/6/20 Read John 1:1-5 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Reflect What is meant by "the Word was God"? How does the light shine in the darkness? Although I'd grown up in a mai