READ: JAMES 5:13-20; 1 JOHN 5:13-15 As a freshman student attending college in the hub of Nashville, Tennessee, I took it upon myself to explore the best coffee stops in the area. One afternoon I happened to visit a small, rustic coffee shop run by a local church. Upon entering, the first thing that caught [...]

READ: MARK 10:13-16 Even though I would be one among a crowd of thousands, I was completely confident I could meet the President of the United States of America. As a child, I joined one of my classes in visiting a political rally. We drove a couple of hours to hear the current president speak [...]

READ: ESTHER 4:1-17; 1 CORINTHIANS 15:57 In the book of Esther, a young Jewish orphan named Esther is living in captivity in Persia, being raised by her older cousin, Mordecai. Esther is most likely a teenager when she becomes the wife of a powerful Persian king. She keeps her true identity a secret until Mordecai [...]

READ: ROMANS 8:16-17, 28-39; EPHESIANS 2:1-10; 1 PETER 5:8-11 I can’t do this. I’m worthless. I’m a failure. I’ll never be enough. Sometimes our minds can be our own worst enemy, telling us things that we know deep down aren’t true, yet we can’t help but believe them anyway. We may know the truth of [...]

READ: MATTHEW 6:31-34; 22:37-39; 28:18-20; 1 PETER 4:8-11 When I was in my final year of high school, I dreaded the moment when people asked me, “Do you know what you want to do?” It felt like something was wrong with me when I replied, “I don’t know.” There were so many different paths I [...]

READ: ROMANS 10:14-15; EPHESIANS 2:10; 2 TIMOTHY 4:2 In the year 1838, near Gainesville, Alabama, a girl named Maria Fearing was born into slavery. While she was still a kid, she heard her white master talking about the children in Africa who had never heard the gospel. This fact stuck in Maria’s mind for the [...]

READ: PSALM 9:9-10; JOHN 14:16-21; ROMANS 5:5-8; 8:16, 35-39 One morning, I rushed into my parents’ room to say, “Good morning.” Mom removed her wedding ring and shoved it to the bottom of her jewelry box. “Mommy, where’s Daddy?” “He’s not coming back,” she said. I returned to my room and wept in my closet. [...]

READ: EPHESIANS 2:4-9; 3:12-21 One of the things that bothered me about God while I was growing up was that I thought He just loved me because He had to. I learned that God loved the whole world (John 3:16), but I didn’t think He really loved me personally. I thought He just loved me [...]

READ: PSALMS 103:1-22; 139:7-12; JOHN 14:16-18 Have you ever heard someone say, “I really feel the Lord’s presence?” I hear this most often after or during a worship service. Whether it be a church service, youth group, or some other event, I’ve heard many people say they feel closest to God when worshipping through music. [...]

READ: JOHN 8:32; EPHESIANS 6:10-20 I participate in a unique physical therapy program for a spine condition I have. Before getting into a swimming pool, I snap on a wide, thick flotation belt, which makes my body very buoyant. With this big blue belt around my midsection, I go to the deep end and stay [...]