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

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...

Published 10/16/19 Read “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us....

Published 10/15/19 Read “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,...

Published 10/14/19 Read “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy...

Published 10/11/19 Read "Is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete." James 1:2-4 (TLB) Reflect What can help us to be happy in spite of life's difficulties and temptations? Last summer--right after she ca

Published 10/10/19 Read "In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem." 2 Samuel 11:1 Reflect What can happen when we're in the wrong place and the wrong time? What can happen when we have too much idle time on our hands? Perhaps that's where the problem began. David wasn't where he was supposed to be. The scrip

Published 10/9/19 Read "But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, 'Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.' And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to th

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