READ: JOB 2:11-13; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-7; 1 PETER 1:3-9 Have you ever tried to cheer someone up, only to accidentally make them more upset? I’ve had times when I wanted to help someone who wasn’t doing well mentally or physically, but when I tried to say something, I felt like I only made the situation [...]

READ: ACTS 9:1-31; COLOSSIANS 1:9-14 That person will never change. I just know they won’t. Have you ever had this thought? Sometimes, there are certain people in our lives who seem unchangeable, like they’ve just always been the way they are. They might be angry, mean, or just apathetic. We may long for them to [...]

READ: PSALMS 9:7-10; 33:4-5; MICAH 6:8 He almost made it. My friend Cliff had almost sat all the way down in his desk when the tardy bell rang. But still, our ninth-grade civics teacher counted my friend late, and this carried a punishment: a 1000-word essay due the next day. Like most of us in [...]

READ: GENESIS 8:22; PSALM 46:1-7; 104:19; HEBREWS 13:5-8 Today is an equinox! On two different days every year, day and night are the same length. All around the world, the day lasts twelve hours and so does the night. We call those days equinoxes. There are two different types of equinoxes: vernal and autumnal—one for [...]

READ: MATTHEW 3:1-17; 4:12-17; JOHN 4:13-14; ACTS 3:19-21 I thought this would quench my thirst I’ve felt so empty And this promised to fulfill But something is wrong I’m so caught up I barely hear the whisper “Repent,” You say I stop in my tracks Realize what I’m doing hurts others Hurts You I feel [...]

READ: GENESIS 1:27, 31; EPHESIANS 1:2-10; 3:14-19 You might not believe you are good enough, but to the God who created the universe and every human on earth, you are enough. You might find it difficult to believe you are capable or attractive or talented or special, but the God who made every colorful flower, [...]

READ: ACTS 2:42-47; EPHESIANS 2:13-22; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:11 When God created Adam, He said that people shouldn’t be alone. And so, God created Eve. From the beginning, God created people for community. God designed Adam and Eve to thrive in fellowship—in companionship and intimacy with one another (Genesis 1-2). But then, Adam and Eve disobeyed [...]

READ: ROMANS 12:15; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-14, 25-27; GALATIANS 6:2 Have you ever had a really bad ear infection? For such a small part of the body, the ear really makes a big difference! If your ear is infected, your entire body feels bad. In addition to your ear hurting, you might have trouble sleeping—not to [...]

READ: MATTHEW 5:13-16; COLOSSIANS 4:2-6 In Matthew 5:13-16 and Colossians 4:2-6, we read that Christians are like salt. But what does that mean? What does salt do in practical terms? And how does this apply to our everyday lives? First, salt adds flavor. As Christians, we can add flavor to the lives of the people [...]

READ: MATTHEW 5:43-47; LUKE 21:9-11; JOHN 14:1; 1 JOHN 4:19 War. Terrorism. Violence of all kinds. In a world that’s broken by sin where these terrible events are the reality—and in an age of unending information in which we constantly hear about them—what are we as Christians to do? First, let’s remember why these terrible [...]