READ: PSALM 90:4; JAMES 4:13-14; 2 PETER 3:8 Have you ever heard the saying, “Life is short, and then you die”? That saying certainly applies to cicadas. Cicadas are big, noisy bugs that look kind of like grasshoppers. And every seventeen years, a certain type of cicada shows up from underground in a massive swarm [...]

READ: EPHESIANS 4:22–5:2; HEBREWS 12:1-3; 2 PETER 1:3-9 Do you have vivid dreams? I dream vividly almost every night. Once, I had a hilarious dream about a team of ostriches flying, pulling me on a sleigh in the sky. We landed in a parking lot so they could take a break and join an exercise [...]

READ: PSALM 139:13-16; ISAIAH 49:15; ROMANS 5:1-11 Have you ever felt undervalued? You try to speak and state your views, but people disregard them, ignoring your ideas or even ridiculing them. Perhaps you have been overlooked in the planning or details of an event. In situations like these, it would be easy, and only human, [...]

READ: PSALM 10:4; MATTHEW 11:28-30; PHILIPPIANS 2:5-13; 1 PETER 5:5-7 One of the things that gives me the greatest anxiety in life is thinking about what others think of me. I worry about what the other shoppers think of me when I’m in the store, and I worry about what my family thinks of me [...]

READ: PSALM 19:9-10; JOHN 1:1-5, 15; LUKE 4:14-21; HEBREWS 4:12 Of all the things I learned at Bible college, the most important thing I learned was from Dr. Kroeze. In every class, Dr. Kroeze’s excitement for the Bible was contagious. As he talked about the Scriptures, he would bounce up and down on his toes, [...]

READ: MATTHEW 7:1-5; ROMANS 8:1; JAMES 3 Yesterday, we talked about how the little habits we maintain as Christians can make a big difference. I shared the story of how I forgot to post information online prior to an important meeting at work—a responsibility that previously hadn’t felt all that important. After the meeting, I [...]

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:55-58; HEBREWS 10:24-25; JAMES 2:14-26 Do you have a responsibility that feels like it doesn’t matter? Part of my job is updating the township’s website. When we have public meetings, I upload what are called agendas (which describe the meeting’s subject matter) to the website. Not a big deal, right? Well one [...]

READ: LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32 Life can be tough, and we all make mistakes, but one thing that remains constant is God’s mercy. In moments of doubt, fear, or guilt, we often forget just how merciful our heavenly Father is. So, let’s dive into this wonderful aspect of God’s character and reflect on the question: Isn’t [...]

READ: EPHESIANS 4:20-24; COLOSSIANS 3:8-14; HEBREWS 10:10-14 Have you ever seen a lizard shed their skin? Chameleons, for example, shed their skin whenever they get too big for it. Unlike humans, their skin doesn’t grow with them. So, when they get too big, they need to shed their smaller, ill-fitting skin and grow new skin. [...]

READ: LUKE 7:47; JOHN 15:9-15; 1 JOHN 4:19 I don’t know if anyone knows how difficult life is for me, living at the edge of our village. I lost my family long ago and all I can do is spend each day looking for some argoine—the substance we must eat to survive on this planet. [...]