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Published 9/4/19 Read Matthew 20:26-28 "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve." Reflect • Do you strive to be a servant leader? As popular author Henry T. Blackaby points out, "He will take whatever time is necessary to grow your character to match His assignment for you. . . . Character-building can be long and painful. It took 25 years b

Published 9/3/19 Read Luke 15:20, 22-24 "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. . . . 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' " Reflect • Do you sense Go

Published 9/2/19 Read Colossians 3:15-17 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Published 8/30/19 Read Job 27:2-6 "As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days." Reflect

Published 8/29/19 Read Job 26:14 "Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?" Reflect • What help will you boldly ask God for? • Difficult situations can wear us down and can convince us that we can't do anything to make things better. Why is this untrue? (Please explain.) • Focusing on God's majesty and past miracles soothes feelings of helplessness. How do you think this help

Published 8/28/19 Read Job 25:4 " How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure?" Reflect • How will accepting yourself as you are help you overcome your hurt? • The myth of perfection assumes God's grace depends on us and traps us in a cycle of anxiety and guilt. What steps can you take to work through this way of thinking? • We must never forget that God's grace is a free gift through Jesus. What are some ways that you can remind you

Published 8/27/19 Read Job 24:23-24 (NLT) " They may be allowed to live in security, but God is always watching them. And though they are great now, in a moment they will be gone like all others, cut off like heads of grain." Reflect • How do you keep from being discouraged when evil goes unpunished? • Healing is difficult when evildoers seem secure in their evil. Are you able to release these issues to God? Why or why not? (Please explain.) • As Christ-followers, we know th

Published 8/26/19 Read Job 23:10 " But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold ." Reflect • How do you know God is still there when you can't "feel" him? • Most Christ-followers experience times when they are spiritually stuck and feel far from God's presence. What kinds of circumstances triggers these feelings for you? • When we're stuck, we must remind ourselves that feelings are not the foundation of our faith. How do you think this c

Published 8/23/19 Read Job 22:21-22 "Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart." Reflect • How should a Christ-follower respond to false accusations? • False accusations from others can compound our pain. What should you do during these moments? • When we feel attacked, we must slow down and carefully choose a response that honors God. Sometimes that will be no response at all. Why

Published 8/22/19 Read Job 21:23-26 "One dies in his full vigor, being wholly at ease and secure, his pails full of milk and the marrow of his bones moist. Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of prosperity. They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them." Reflect • Human logic, anecdotes, and the limitations of time are little help in making sense out of the senseless. What actually works for you during these moments? • Where do you turn when yo

Published 8/21/19 Read Job 20:20 " Because he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him. " Reflect • Is discontentment pulling you down? • Discontentment diverts our energies to things that are here today and gone tomorrow. What are some steps you can take to move through it? • True contentment comes from inside as the Holy Spirit transforms us to be more like Jesus. What can you do that will enable the Lord to work in your l

Published 8/20/19 Read Job 19:25 " For I know that my redeemer lives, and in the end he will stand on the earth." Reflect • How does knowing God is always with you provide comfort when others abandon you? • Some people will turn away from you when you are hurting. The reasons vary but often have little to do with you. What can you do to cope with the rejection? • Even when friends and family walk away, your Redeemer remains with you. Does this truth comfort you? (Please exp

Published 8/19/19 Read Job 18:16-21 "His roots dry up beneath, and his branches wither above. His memory perishes from the earth, and he has no name in the street. He is thrust from light into darkness, and driven out of the world. He has no posterity or progeny among his people, and no survivor where he used to live. They of the west are appalled at his day, and horror seizes them of the east. Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, such is the place of him who k

Published 8/16/19 Read Job 17:1-5 "My spirit is broken; my days are extinct; the graveyard is ready for me. Surely there are mockers about me, and my eye dwells on their provocation. "Lay down a pledge for me with you; who is there who will put up security for me? Since you have closed their hearts to understanding, therefore you will not let them triumph. He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property--the eyes of his children will fail." Reflect • C

Published 8/15/19 Read Job 16:18-22 "Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never be laid to rest! Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend." Reflect • Do you believe that accepting our brokenness is the first step toward healing? • When we accept that all are broken, we can put away all the junk that gets in the way--our efforts

Published 8/14/19 Read Job 15:2-6 "Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? Should he argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which he can do no good? But you are doing away with the fear of God and hindering meditation before God. For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you." Reflect • What are some steps you can ta

Published 8/13/19 Read Job 14:1-2 "Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not." Reflect • In spite of life's troubles, are you able to put your trust in God? • Jesus knows there will be hardships and times when we wish we could go back to "safer" ground. During those moments, do you remind yourself that He is there for us? (Please explain.) • Do you believe that He'll help u

Published 8/12/19 Read Job 13:26-28 "For you write bitter things against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. You put my feet in the stocks and watch all my paths; you set a limit for the soles of my feet. Man wastes away like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten." Reflect • Are you taking everything personally? • Pain tests the faith of even mature believers. What are some things we can do to cope? • We must not let the graffiti and noise of this

Published 8/9/19 Read Job 12:13 "With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding." Reflect • Where do you seek wisdom? • Understanding that God is all-wise frees us to seek the answers to our questions from only Him. Why is this important? • Trusting God's wisdom in the midst of our pain helps us to heal and grow. Why do you think this is so? A few years ago, scientist Dr. Martin Hilbert at the University of South Carolina calculated how much information th

Published 8/8/19 Read Job 11:13-15 "If you prepare your heart, you will stretch out your hands toward him. If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents. Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure and will not fear." Reflect • Can you work your way to an easy life? • The desire of health, comfort, and prosperity can fuel a perfectionistic attitude. Why do you think this is so? • Looking for perfection

Published 8/7/19 Read Job 10:18-19 "Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave." Reflect • How is your pain blinding you to the joys in your life? • Job's pain prompted him to plead with God for understanding. It also blinded him to any of the joy he had experienced in the past or that might come in the future. Can you relate? (Please explain.) •We can help ot

Published 8/6/19 Read Job 9:2-7 "Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right before God? If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand times. He is wise in heart and mighty in strength--who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?--he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger, who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; who commands the sun, and it does not

Published 8/5/19 Read Job 8:20-22 "Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting. Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more." Reflect • If bad things will happen anyway, why still follow God? • The temptation to turn away from God may be especially strong when we are hurting. Has this been true for you? Why or why not? (Please

Published 8/2/19 Read Job 7:1-3 "Do not mortals have hard service on earth? Are not their days like those of hired laborers? Like a...