READ: ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12; ROMANS 12:15; HEBREWS 10:23-25 When my closest cousin, Jeanna, was barely a young woman, she lost her fight with cancer. I mourned her death with daily tears longer than I expected to. Then I learned of a way to honor Jeanna and others who were battling a cancer diagnosis. I signed up [...]

READ: 1 SAMUEL 17:34-36; PSALM 23:1-6; EZEKIEL 34:11-12, 22 One of Jesus’s names is the Good Shepherd. Throughout the Bible, we find glimpses of what this means, and in John 10:11, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” I’ve heard teachers illustrate what Jesus does [...]

READ: MICAH 4:1-7; JOHN 10:11-18; REVELATION 21:1-5 In the book of the Bible called Micah, the prophet Micah speaks of God’s coming judgment against the nation of Israel: the impending invasion from the nation of Assyria. The book begins with an image of God coming down and bringing judgement. The vivid imagery describes mountains melting [...]

READ: EPHESIANS 1:7-9; 2:1-10; 3:14-21 When I was young, I didn’t realize the extent of God’s grace. As a child, I prayed over and over asking God to forgive me for my sins. I thought maybe it took a special kind of prayer to be saved from sin and death, and I wanted to make [...]

READ: PSALM 62; MATTHEW 7:24-29; JOHN 16:31-33 Perhaps you know how it feels to seek shelter from the storms of life. I know I do. We often look for safety and security in anything we can, like sailors trying to cast an anchor. But it soon becomes clear that “everything is futile,” or empty—like vapor [...]

READ: ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12; JOHN 15:9-17 I used to own a rock tumbler, a machine that takes ordinary rocks and transforms them into polished, gemlike stones. The process would last for days, and the tumbler was so loud I had to keep it in the garage! After I put rocks and grit into the barrel with [...]

READ: MATTHEW 11:25–12:14; 18:1-17; JAMES 3:1-2 I’m a big rule-follower, but I was more so when I was younger. I really didn’t want to make waves or question anyone who was in charge. It’s something I’m still not really comfortable with to this day. But sometimes the rules we’re asked to follow do not align [...]

READ: 1 JOHN 2:1-29 Recently, I was buying some pizzas, and when I handed the cashier my money she did something that made me freeze: she held up the dollar bills to the light, examining them closely. She was trying to see if they were authentic. At that moment, I thought to myself, Oh great. [...]

READ: PSALM 63; JOHN 14:1-6; PHILIPPIANS 3:7-9 A lot of people think money is what makes you rich, but let’s take a closer look at the concept of riches. No matter how much money a person has, it never feels like enough. Just ask any wealthy person! Money won’t bring true satisfaction—and it doesn’t last. [...]

READ: ISAIAH 33:5-6; MATTHEW 6:19-34; 1 TIMOTHY 6:17-19 Kellen knew that asteroid mining was a risky business. There were hazardous pockets of gas and metals too tough for the drill. For Kellen, though, the money to be made was worth the work. The material in this asteroid alone would fuel his entire home planet for [...]