Unlocked Archives
March 18, 2024
READ: MATTHEW 7:1-5; GALATIANS 6:1-10 "What are they doing?” I grumbled to myself, watching a bright orange pickup truck in my rearview mirror weave in and out of traffic behind me. The driver apparently wanted to go faster than the cars in front of them, and kept tailgating the other cars and zooming over to [...]
March 4, 2024
READ: JOHN 15:1-17; 1 CORINTHIANS 3:5-11; PHILIPPIANS 2:1-13 If you’ve been part of a church, you’ve probably been told that, as Christians, we are called to serve others, help the hurting, and bring about justice (Micah 6:8; Matthew 25:35-40). That’s part of how we participate in the kingdom of God. And we also know that [...]
February 15, 2024
READ: ROMANS 8:18-39; REVELATION 21:1-7 Some days, I end up not eating breakfast. I’m not saying this is something everyone should do, but sometimes it’s what happens to me. I may not eat anything till noon. All morning, my stomach groans and grumbles, communicating its annoyance. And when I finally do eat, I find a [...]
January 18, 2024
READ: PSALM 139 Have you ever had a moment when you realized that someone really knows you? I had a moment like this with my housemate recently, and it made me feel so loved. I had been feeling overwhelmed and depressed for a few days. My husband took our kids to run some errands so [...]
November 20, 2023
READ: PSALMS 13:1-6; 23:4 Feeling sad is the worst. It makes me feel helpless, small, and weak. So I try to avoid it. I distract myself, tell myself everything is fine, find something to be angry about instead, or simply ignore it. But one way or another, sadness always comes back—usually stronger than before. So [...]
October 25, 2023
READ: MATTHEW 11:28-30; 1 PETER 4:10-11 Do you know what I hate? Limits. I hate that I’m a finite being and I can’t do everything. I hate that I can’t have all the skills, all the energy, and all the knowledge. I can’t do all the things, and I can’t be all the things. And [...]
September 29, 2023
READ: MATTHEW 5:38-42; MARK 15:33-37; PHILIPPIANS 2:1-11 I was reading about different ways Christians have prayed throughout history, and I came across something that struck me. Christians in the early church used several different poses to pray, and each pose was connected to a different type of prayer: lying face-down on the ground was often [...]
September 6, 2023
READ: COLOSSIANS 4:2-6; TITUS 3:1-9 I love Jesus, and I love talking to people about Jesus. I always have. But I’ve definitely made some mistakes in how I tell non-Christians about Him. So, I’m going to confess some of these mistakes—and what God has taught me through them. Often, I would spend a lot of [...]
August 31, 2023
READ: GENESIS 1:26-31; MICAH 6:8; 1 CORINTHIANS 10:31 I love food. It’s a wonderful way God sustains us, as well as a source of joy, and it often provides opportunities for community. But sometimes I get bogged down wondering about my food. I’ll pull a bell pepper out of its plastic bag, put the bag [...]
August 25, 2023
READ: PSALM 1; JOHN 1:1-14; ROMANS 15:4 Trying to understand the Bible can be…overwhelming. The more I learn about it, the more I realize I don’t know. And I find myself wondering if I’ll ever truly know the Bible—and the God it reveals. If you’ve ever felt this way too, take heart. The Lord is [...]