READ: PSALM 13:1-6 How long, God? Why is it taking forever for things to get better? Why can’t my life turn around and be all that I hoped for? Why do you feel so far from me? How long, God, is it going to feel like this? How long can I survive like this? You [...]

READ: GENESIS 28:15; DEUTERONOMY 31:1-13; PROVERBS 3:26 Have you ever read Deuteronomy 31:8? It says, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” The book of Deuteronomy consists of messages that Moses gave the Israelites about [...]

READ: PSALMS 19:1-4; 148:1-14; ISAIAH 55:12 A silver moon,a single star,shining in the morning dark.Waves are gentlyrolling in,riding on the restless wind.Sleek and smooth,sands lie fresh,washed by the ocean’s salty breath.Daybreak beamssoft and bright,rejoicing in the coming light!So may we,with hope revived—praise Him with the morning tide. Today’s poem was inspired by a moment when [...]

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:20, 35-38, 42-44, 54-57 Have you ever read verses in the Bible that talk about how we’ll be raised from the dead like Jesus was? It’s one thing to picture Jesus being raised from the dead after only three days, but it can be harder to imagine how bodies that have been [...]

READ: 1 SAMUEL 17; 2 TIMOTHY 1:9-10 Dear Mother, Grandfather’s stories are true. The giant smells. Now his stories feel like mine. But I suppose that’s the purpose of a story. To let you know you’re not alone. It might be the giant’s breath or body, but we could smell it from a mile away. [...]

READ: ROMANS 8:31-39; 1 PETER 5:6-11 I have many tactics that I use to try to deal with anxiety, and it seems like I am always trying something new. Recently, I was thinking about how I tend to try to push aside the worst-case scenarios that come into my head and stress me out, and [...]

READ: MATTHEW 5:43-47; JOHN 16:29-33 My brother was selected to participate in his middle school’s play, so my family gladly showed up to watch the performance. While we sat in the audience, some unknown person crept into the parking lot and broke into our minivan. Although the would-be thief found nothing to steal, this individual [...]

READ: MARK 14:66-72; LUKE 19:1-10; ACTS 3:18-22; ROMANS 2:4 What do you do after you sin? That probably wasn’t the question you were expecting. We all know that we sin, but do we like to think about that? I certainly don’t. After we sin, sometimes we think we can just forget about it, pretend it [...]

READ: JOHN 15:12-17; ROMANS 5:10-11 When you look around at school or at church, how can you tell which people are friends with each other? It’s pretty easy, right? They hang out together. They choose to sit near each other, they talk and laugh and update each other on their lives. They might do things [...]

READ: PSALM 107:1, 23-32; MATTHEW 8:23-27 My life lately has been more like a ship tossed around on a stormy sea than a little canoe making its way across a peaceful pond. Relationship issues have come up and I have dealt with loss. As much as I want peace, it is hard to find. Nothing [...]