Fruitfulness
Read: John 15:1-5 Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (v. 5) Fruitfulness is something I think about a lot, although I sometimes call it something different, like productivity or impact. Life feels short and it’s tempting to get ahead […]
Secrets with God
Read: Matthew 6:5-15 Pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (v. 6) There are public rewards, and there are private ones. It’s easy to want and chase the former, and to allow their glory to be the only glory we seek. How different to make […]
A Promise of Provision
Read: Matthew 6:31-34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (v. 34 NIV) Worry is like a ravenous wolf. It gobbles at sleep. It consumes our focus, stealing attention from what is really important right now. It robs us of joy. It tears […]
Careful of the Backstory
Read: Jeremiah 29:10-23 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (v. 11) Context is important. If someone shows up in the ER clutching his leg, screaming, the team needs to know if it’s a broken bone […]
Bringing His Word to Fruition
Read: Joshua 23:8-16 You know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. (v. 14) Each of us has known and loved many people over our lives; some of us have been blessed with spouses and children, […]
Measuring God’s Promises
Read: 2 Corinthians 1:17-22 For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” (v. 20 NLT) A new year. It used to seem so exciting to start over again. To turn a page and see a clean, blank slate to fill. My hope quotient turned over like a car trip meter—push […]
Growing in the Word
Read: Colossians 3:12-17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (v. 16) The last day of the year is an appropriate time for reflection. The year that is ending has brought challenges […]
One in Christ
Read: Galatians 3:23-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (v. 28) In remote Indian villages, the traditional Hindu caste system separates people. Those at the top receive the most wealth and power, and those at the […]
Peaceful and Secure
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (v. 1) Rachel is a Christian, living in Kalimantan, Indonesia. She belongs to a thriving listener community there—a group of Christians who […]