READ: MATTHEW 6:25-33; EPHESIANS 3:14-21; 1 PETER 5:7 Have you ever been walking or driving along and noticed a cluster of colorful flowers just off the road? No one planted them there, but they’re just as beautiful as any of the flowers planted on purpose. Wildflowers come up in the most random places, even between [...]

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13; 2 TIMOTHY 2:22; JAMES 1:12-15; 4:7 What sins do you struggle with the most? In other words, in what situations do you find it’s harder to love God and your neighbors through your words, thoughts, and actions? In Matthew 22:37-40, we see that the life Jesus invites us into is one [...]

READ: ROMANS 12:1-13; JAMES 4:6-10 I genuinely wanted to figure this out on my own. But I couldn’t. It was time to ask for help. I’d been in Romania just a few weeks. Wanting to acclimate to my new city, I took a tram to shop for groceries one afternoon. I needed to return for [...]

READ: MATTHEW 10:29-31; ROMANS 8:28-29; 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9; HEBREWS 13:5 Are you going through a stressful time? Is life really hard? In every hard time, we are seen. We are known, and we are loved. And the One doing all of this caring is God Himself. Jesus understands suffering. He suffered and died for you. [...]

READ: GENESIS 16:1-13; PSALM 139; HEBREWS 13:5 If there was a list of all the people in the Bible who had a reason to feel invisible, Hagar would no doubt be near the top. As Sarai’s Egyptian slave, Hagar likely had no choice but to cooperate when she was suddenly thrown into the middle of [...]

READ: JOHN 13:31-38; 15:1-17; 1 JOHN 3:16-18; 4:19 Have you ever heard the expression, “They talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk”? It’s a way of saying that people’s actions don’t match their words. For example, if somebody talks all about how important recycling is but constantly throws their plastic water bottles into the [...]

READ: GENESIS 1:26-27; JOHN 3:16-17; REVELATION 5:9; 7:9-10 Have you ever watched a florist arrange different flowers into a bouquet? It’s fascinating to see all those blooms come together into a unified composition. And a florist’s creativity points to our Creator God, who designed the stunning variety of flowers we find all around the world. [...]

READ: ROMANS 5:1-5; 12:15 BOOM! A clap of thunder shook the rounded windows of Habitation Enclosure 150 in the Tuuli province of the planet Terra. “That sounded awfully close,” said Lillah with a shiver. “I hate storms.” “I know,” said Phlox, Lillah’s roommate and the area botanist. “It feels safer when we don’t have to [...]

READ: EXODUS 14:14; PSALMS 23:1-3; 127:2; MATTHEW 11:25-30 Are you, like me, constantly asking God to move and work and make your life different? There are things I’ve prayed about over and over again, asking God to step in and bring about change. I’ve begged Him to make things better. As I pray to Him, [...]

READ: DEUTERONOMY 6:4-9; LUKE 11:1-13 In the churches I’ve grown up in, prayers were almost always made up on the spot. And these prayers are great! But lately, I’ve also been appreciating pre-written prayers. And I’m not the only one! In the early church, it wasn’t uncommon for Christians to pray the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew [...]