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Published 5/1/19 Read John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Reflect • Do you believe that Christ paid the penalty for your sins? • Do you believe that you can have eternal life through Him? • What steps can you take to grow closer to Jesus? Someone who is willing to die for us is certainly someone we can be confident in. Fact: if you were the only person on the entire earth, God s

Published 4/30/19 Read Luke 6:35-36 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." Reflect • Do you believe that Christ has forgiven your sins? • Do you believe that He wants a relationship with you? • Do you believe that the Lord is merciful and freely offers His grace and forgiveness

Published 4/29/19 Read Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Reflect • How can you learn more about God? • Do you believe what the Bible says about the Lord? • What steps can you take to grow closer to Him? It's hard to trust someone we don't know. So the first step in trusting God is getting to know Him. So, who is God? He is our Crea

Published 4/26/19 Read Luke 24:45-49 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power fro

Published 4/25/19 Read Luke 24:30-32 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" Reflect • Why did Jesus choose to "open the Scriptures" as He joined the two disciples on the road to Emmaus? (Why not just in

Published 4/24/19 Read John 21:15-17 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was griev

Published 4/23/19 Read John 21:5-6 Jesus said to them, "Children, do you have any fish?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. Reflect • Christ has done the miraculous for you. Do you believe it? Have you accepted it? • Is your commitment to Christ strong when the pressure hits ... or do you crumble? • Like Peter

Published 4/22/19 Read Matthew 28:5-7 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." Reflect • "He has risen!" How do those three words make you feel? • Does God's free gift of g

Published 4/19/19 Read Mark 15:33-34 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Reflect • In what ways do you want Jesus to heal you? Do you believe that He can do it? (Explain.) • What kinds of "internal junk" is weighing you down? (Be honest.) • What steps can you take right now t

Published 4/18/19 Read Luke 23:32-34 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments. Reflect • C.S. Lewis describes pride as "spiritual cancer." Have you--or someone you know--been infected by it?

Published 4/17/19 Read John 19:14-16 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" They cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. Reflect • What sins are clouding your judgment? • Think about a time when you sold out to something t

Published 4/16/19 Read Matthew 26:63-64 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." Reflect · Consider how your own disobedience is like a "slap in the face" to our Holy Lord. What must we all do to nurture a right

Published 4/15/19 Read M ark 14:44-46 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard." And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. Reflect · Are you committed to Jesus? Do you know Him? · Are you relying on Christ's power? · Do you believe He has the power to transform your life? (What's blocking the change?) The horror o

Published 4/12/19 Read Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Reflect · Do you tend to walk more on the broad road or the narrow one? (Be honest and explain your answer.) · What makes the narrow gate so hard to find? · How can engaging the Bible help us find the narrow way? Is Jesus ho

Published 4/11/19 Read Matthew 5:1-2 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. Reflect · Of the Beatitudes Jesus shares, which ones do you want to develop in your life? · How would you describe Christ's light in your life--a flickering candle, a crackling campfire, or a blazing furnace? What can you do to stoke the fire? · Of Christ's teachings, which ones are the hardest for you to follow?

Published 4/10/19 Read Luke 6:13-16 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Reflect · Do you need to let go of your tight grip on circumstances in your life--or even a relationship? · What

Published 4/9/19 Read Mark 2:13-14 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. Reflect · When the Lord gives you an assignment, do you accept it with a trusting heart ... or do you shrink back and tell Him that you are unqualified for the job? · How does it make you feel, knowing t

Published 4/8/19 Read M ark 2:3-7 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak like that? He is

Published 4/5/19 Read Mark 1:40-42 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. Reflect · Whenever you've given in to temptation and sin, have you taken action and repented? (Please explain your answer.) · Are you humble enough to recognize the depth of your si

Published 4/4/19 Read Luke 6:1-2 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" Reflect · Does your faith often feel stuck--bogged down by rituals and rules? · How do we get eternal life? Jesus makes that clear, and it sounds deceptively simple, doesn't it? (Hint: Know God, know Jesus., the e

Published 4/3/19 Read Matthew 4:19-20 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. Reflect · Think about modern-day outcasts: the handicapped person who is often overlooked or the loner who doesn't have many friends. Would Jesus visit these people? · Would He know their names, care about them, tell them stories? · Should you follow Christ's example? (Explain your answer.) John and his brother chose to f

Published 4/2/19 Read Matthew 4:10-11 Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. Reflect · The Lord has armed every Christian with spiritual weapons packed with "divine power": (1) the sword of the Spirit--the Holy Bible--and (2) prayer. How will you use these weapons to win the battle over temptation in your li

Published 4/1/19 Read M ark 1:9-11 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." Reflect · Are you pursuing God's design for your life--or are you following your own agenda? · Now ask yourself two fundamental questions:

Published 3/29/19 Read Ephesians 2:19-22 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. Reflect · What are your expectati