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Read Isaiah 43 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you;...

Read Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.... Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done ... everything was meaningless. Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 Today's world is pleasure mad. Millions of people will pay almost any amount of money to buy experiences and temporarily escape the burdens of life. While there is nothing wrong with innocent fun, those who build their lives only on seeking pleasure are bound to be disappointed

Read Ephesians 1 Ephesians chapter one verse three, let these words soak in. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing the heavenly places. Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His will to the praise of His glorious grace with

Read Ephesians 2 Ephesians chapter two verse eight. "For by grace, you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing; it...

Read Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes 1:17-18 When Adam and Eve sinned, they did get an experiential knowledge of good and evil, but since they were alienated from God, this knowledge only added to their sorrow. It has been that way with people ever since. Whethe

Receive Today's passage: 1 Chronicles 29:10-20 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and on earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 Reflect Based upon the message of these verses, what should I view as my real home ... my true treasure? Do I live my everyday life as if

Read 2 Corinthians 1:6-7 Our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:7 One of my favorite preachers was Dr. George W. Truett, who pastored First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, for nearly fifty years. In one of his sermons, he told about an unbelieving couple whose baby died suddenly. Dr. Truett conducted the funeral and later had the joy of seeing both parents trust Jesus Christ. Many

Read Galatians 1 Galatians 1:6-8 are critical, not just for this entire book and understanding this Bible book, but for every one of our lives. Paul writes, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we are an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to

Read Job 9-10 "Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy." Job 9:15 In Job 9 and 10, Job asks three questions: (1) "How can I be righteous before God?" (9:1-13); (2) "How can I meet God in court?" (vv.14-35); and (3) "Why was I born?" (10:1-22). You can see how these questions connect. Job is righteous, but he has to prove it. How can a mortal man prove himself righteous before God? Can he take God to court? But if God doesn't

Read Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. Ecclesiastes 1:10 A young man approached me at a conference and asked if he could share some new ideas for youth ministry. He was very enthusiastic as he outlined his program, but the longer I listened, the more familiar his ideas became. I encouraged him to put his ideas into practice but then told him that we had done a

Read Hebrews 5:7-8 During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered. Hebrews 5:7-8 Every Old Testament high priest had to minister to people who were "ignorant and ... going astray" (v. 2). God made no provision but judgment for the high-handed sins of rebellion. B

Read Ecclesiastes 1:2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity of vanities," lamented Solomon, "all is vanity!" (According to the KJV of v. 2). Solomon liked that word "vanity"; he used it in some form thirty-eight times in Ecclesiastes as he wrote about everyday life. The word means emptiness, futility, vapor, that which vanishes quickly and leaves nothing behind. From the human point of view ("u

Read That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!" Solomon replied, "You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. "Now, O LORD my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child wh

Read Matthew 13 Matthew 13:44 . "Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." What a great verse. What a great picture. So imagine this man walking into a field, he discovers a treasure there that nobody else knows is there, and so what does he do? He buries it, covers it up, and he goes away, and he starts selling everything he has. Everything he

Read 2 Corinthians 2:1-11 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven--if there was anything to forgive--I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 I have often quoted an anonymous rhyme that perfectly describes one of the most frequent problems we have as the people of God: To live above with saints we love, will certainly be glory! To live below with saints we know, well, that

Read Matthew 4 Matthew chapter 4 verse 19. Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." This was Jesus' initial invitation to four disciples. Simon, also called Peter, Andrew, his brother, and then after that James, and John. Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And in this picture we see Jesus' invitation to every single one of us. He has invited us to follow Him, which is pure mercy from the start, that Jesus would, just like He did with the

Read Job 1:1-5 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. Job 1:1 Lord Byron was on target when he wrote: "Truth is always strange; stranger than fiction." The book of Job is not religious fiction. Job was a real person, not an imaginary character; both Ezekiel (14:14, 20) and James (5:11) attest to that fact. Because he was a real man who had real experiences, he can tell us what we need to kno

Read Galatians 6 Galatians 6:14 , Paul says, "But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world." What a statement. Paul saying that he has one boast in this life and it's nothing in the world, it's only in Christ and specifically the cross of Christ. For at the cross, I see I am dead to the world and the world is dead to me. That this world has nothing for me. Christ is everything to me

Read James 5:11 You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James 5:11 Many people have heard about Job and his trials, but not many people understand what those trials were all about and what God was trying to accomplish through them. Nor do they realize that Job suffered as he did so that God's people today might learn from his experiences how to be patient in suffering and endure to the

Read Job 12-14 "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face." Job 13:15 Job 13:13-17 is one of the greatest declarations of faith found anywhere in Scripture, but it must be understood in its context. In it Job is saying to his friends, "I will take my case directly to God and prove my integrity. I know I am taking my life in my hands in approaching God, because He is able to slay me. But if He doesn't slay me, it is proof that I am n

Read Malachi 4 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.  Malachi 4:2-3, ESV Reflect What healing touch do I need from the Lord? Can I envision a time when I will be entirely free from the bondage of sin? What do I imagine that kind of e

Read Ephesians 3 Ephesians 3:14-21 is one of these places in the Bible where we actually see a spirit-inspired prayer, meaning in the...

Read 2 Corinthians 1:8-24 In our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:9 God permits trials to come. In the Greek language, there are ten basic words for suffering, and Paul used five of them in this letter. There are some sufferings that we endure simply because we are human and subject to pain; but there are other sufferings that come because we are God's people and want

Read Genesis 3 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...