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

Published 11/18/19 Read Hebrews 11:32-34 "And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets--who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight." Reflect What is faith? Is it the confident assurance t

Published 11/15/19 Read Ecclesiastes 5:10 "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity." Reflect Do you ever find yourself thinking more money would solve your problems? What does Solomon warn us about living only for wealth? Why do some people "look with sorrow on the past"? Is this ever you? There are two reasons people work: to get by, and to get ahead. People in the first group approach work grudgingly.

Published 11/14/19 Read Proverbs 1:1-6 "The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth-- Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles." R

Published 11/13/19 Read Judges 11:30-31 "And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, 'If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.'" Reflect What parts of your daily life do find it easy to worry about? Do you ever find yourself making little bargains with God for these things? Have you ever been in a tight

Published 11/12/19 Read Luke 14:26-27 "If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, more than your own life. Otherwise you cannot be my disciple. And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me." (NLT) Reflect Do you think it's too much for Jesus to demand this amount of love? Is following Jesus something you can do just on weekends? Who's the real judge as to

Published 11/11/19 Read Romans 10:9-10 "Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." Reflect The simple answer to the question "What does God expect from us?" is: nothing. How does this make you feel? Do you believe it? Tell me if you ever said this, or heard it said: "I'm a good person.

Published 11/8/19 Read Acts 15:8-9 "And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith." Reflect Read Acts 15:1-35 and answer the following questions: In verses 1-2, what were the "men of Judea" teaching the new gentile Christians? In verses 6-11, what evidence does Paul give that these Jewish traditions are unnecessary? There's never a t

Published 11/7/19 Read Psalm 139:17-18 "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you." Reflect How does it make you feel that God is always present? Why? What comfort is there in these verses? Joseph was a prisoner. If you asked him why, he'd say he was innocent just like everyone else. But Joseph was innocent. While serving in the household of an Egyptian officia

Read Genesis 50:20-21 "'As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.' Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." Reflect How has Joseph suffered? How has God provided for Joseph? Sin is essentially an act of pride, of selfishness. Rather than doing something God's way, acting sinfully is acting our own way. And ev

Published 11/6/19 Read Genesis 50:20-21 " 'As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.' Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." Reflect How has Joseph suffered? How has God provided for Joseph? Sin is essentially an act of pride, of selfishness. Rather than doing something God's way, acting sinfully is acting

Published 11/5/19 Read Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" Reflect Though Jesus was talking to people who didn't have enough, how can this apply to people who have too much? What worries prompt you to want to diet? Many people, when faced with dieting, feel as if dying might actually be easier. Th

Published 11/3/19 Read John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." Reflect What are some of the world's

Published 11/1/19 Read "From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view, even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,

Published 10/31/19 Read "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace." (NIV) Romans 6:13 Reflect Through Christ, we are no longer a slave to it. In fact, we have a new identity in Jesus. Do you believe thi

Published 10/30/19 Read "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be

Published 10/29/19 Read "One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, 'Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!' But the other rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.' And he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' And he said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will b

Published 10/28/19 Read "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." (ESV) Philippians 2:5-8 Reflect How can I better understand Jesus as both fully human a

Published 10/25/19 Read “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and...

Published 10/24/19 Read “I therefore looked for good to come. Evil came instead. I waited for the light. Darkness came. My heart is...

Published 10/23/19 Read “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...

Published 10/22/19 Read “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against...

Published 10/21/19 Read “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom...

Published 10/18/19 Read “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has...

Published 10/17/19 Read “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old...