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

Honest data reveals the Church’s comfort crisis and the surprising power of truth to reignite the Great Commission.

Asa leads our prayer today as we ask God for opportunities to be peacemakers.

As you turn the pages in your Bible from Malachi to Matthew, only a second passes. But for Israel, 400 years of silence pass. We'll take a brief look at these years and see how God was preparing the world for Jesus.

How can you tell if you’re in calm water, or if there’s turbulence ahead? Coach Mark Geist gives you pointers for discerning between true peace from God and confusion. Test every situation you are in and pray for discernment. If there is peace in your situations, rest and relax in that peace that God has provided for you. If there is no peace, pray for the wisdom to know how to help bring peace to it.

It's a sad but true fact of life that, if you're not worried about something, you're probably not alive. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but not much of one if we're honest with ourselves. But though worry may be inevitable, Donna is here to share some encouragement she found from the Bible; a solution to our worries.

STEP 1 - RECEIVE (Receive God's Word and Grow in Bible Knowledge) As you turn the pages in your Bible from Malachi to Matthew, only a second passes. But for Israel, 400 years of silence pass. We'll take a brief look at these years and see how God was preparing the world for Jesus. STEP 2 - REFLECT (How does this Scripture Apply to your life?) It's a sad but true fact of life that, if you're not worried about something, you're probably not alive. That's a bit of an exaggeratio

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 continues to remind me that when I am weak, then I am strong—not by my own power, but by His alone!

Read Galatians 3:15-18 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to his offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. Fo

Do things feel out of control in your life? Karmin is here to lead our daily prayer reminding us of the mighty God we serve. Join us as we pray for God's strength.

The prophets performed an important, and often unappreciated, role in Israel's history. Many of their writings have been preserved for us in the Old Testament. We'll take a brief look at the warnings and promises God sent to His beloved nation of Israel.

Does anger sometimes get the best of you? Today Spiritual Fitness Coach Jon Winkelman shares a biblical training plan to help you respond in a very practical, God-honoring way when you’re angry. The next time you feel yourself getting angry: Say nothing. Take ten deep breaths. Think before responding.

If you're prone to angry outbursts, you know that anger doesn't fight fair; it ambushes you and blows up in your face. Mark knows how hard it can be to spot approaching enemies, and is here to share some advice from God's Word to help you prepare in advance for anger's assault.

STEP 1 - RECEIVE (Receive God's Word and Grow in Bible Knowledge) The prophets performed an important, and often unappreciated, role in Israel's history. Many of their writings have been preserved for us in the Old Testament. We'll take a brief look at the warnings and promises God sent to His beloved nation of Israel. STEP 2 - REFLECT (How does this Scripture Apply to your life?) If you're prone to angry outbursts, you know that anger doesn't fight fair; it ambushes you and

By the time John wrote his letter, 1 John, in the late first century, he would have been one of the last living eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life and ministry. Through the work of Paul and the other Apostles, the Gospel of Jesus had been spread wide through the known world. But other voices were starting to muddy the clear message of Christ.    In this verse-by-verse study, we’ll read John’s encouragement to his readers to stand strong in the faith. He starts by reminding his reade

READ   1 John 1:1-2   1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.     The apostle John was an eye-witness of Jesus from His baptism by Joh

READ   1 John 1:3-4   3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.     The apostle John wanted to share with others what he had seen and heard concerning Jesus. Notice his reason for doing so: so they might have fellowship with him and the other eyewitnesses. The heart of this f

READ   1 John 1:5-6   5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.     The main message John conveyed was that “God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.” John is contrasting spiritual light with spiritual darkness. Before salvation, unbelievers live in spiritual

READ   1 John 1:7-8   7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.     How does one tell he or she is living in the light? It is evidenced by having fellowship with other believers who have experienced that Jesus’ blood has cleansed from all sin. Jesus was perfect, but no on

READ   1 John 1:9-10   9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.     Union is established in the family of God by believing in Jesus as Savior. When fellowship in the family is disrupted because of sin, the believer is to confess it to the Lord. 1 John 1:9 promises that when it is co

READ   1 John 2:1-2   1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.     John appeals to believers as a father with his children. His concern is that they not sin, but he knows they are not perfect so he tells the

READ   1 John 2:3-6   3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.     God knows whether someone has trusted in Jesus as Savior. The only way peop

READ   1 John 2:7-8   7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.     The commandment to which John referred was an old one in that it was known in the Old T

READ   1 John 2:9-11   9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.     Do you know of anyone who claims to be a believer in Jesus and yet hates

READ   1 John 2:12-13   12 I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus. 13 I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I am writing to you who are young in the faith because you have won your battle with the evil one.     John was writing to those who were mature in the faith and to those who were young in the faith. “Maturity” is a matter of degrees and is not refer