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Krista Jones

Is Your Ability to See God Blinded?

"Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things . . ." Isaiah 40:26

The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.

The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.

One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before experienced.

By Oswald Chambers, taken from "My Utmost For His Highest"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Rich Toward God

"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Luke 12:34

I watch the fluctuations of the stock market and reflect on the effects of fear and greed. A character in a 1980s movie had this philosophy: “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right! Greed works! . . . Greed [will] save . . . the USA!” What foolish thinking!

I think of that occasion when a man asked Jesus to serve as an arbiter and make his brother share their inheritance. Jesus refused the request but went on to do the man a greater kindness. He pointed out the motive behind the man’s request and its consequences: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15).

Then Jesus told a parable about a man who harvested a bumper crop and began to make plans to increase and enjoy his riches. He concluded: “God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (vv.20-21).

The trouble with greed is that ultimately our goods go. But worse—we go. Better to store up treasure in heaven, invest in spiritual riches, and become “rich toward God.” — David H. Roper

The treasures of earth do not last,
But God has prepared us a place
Where someday with Him we will dwell,
Enjoying the riches of grace. —Branon

Our real wealth is what we invest for eternity.

Taken from "Our Daily Bread"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Out of a Stump

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." Isaiah 11:1

Some of my midlife suffering came from tensions within my marriage. While (my husband) Sandy and I were away for a weekend at a lakeside cabin, the internal wrestling became intense. The pull to autonomy verses the pull to intimacy. Growth verses fallowness. Old wounds verses new healing. Freedom verses commitment. Choosing verses settling for. Leveling verses starting over. Hope verses despair. They were all there.

Early one morning we took a walk, moving through the shadows and listening to the crunch of pine cones beneath our shoes. The path wound uphill, getting steeper. I couldn't help but think how appropriate that was Marriage has its own steep hills.

On the pinnacle of the hill, I paused to catch my breath. Sandy wondered ahead, "Look!" he called. Standing twenty yards ahead he was pointing to a scarred tree stump. "Come closer."

I came closer. And there, growing in the center of the stump, was the green shoot of a new oak tree.

I don't know how long we stood side by side gazing at the new tree "hatching" from the old stump. All I know is that it seemed to me God was speaking eloquently once again and rebirth . . . a simple message about how life comes out of death and healing comes out of scars and wounds. The message said that rebuilding can happen after leaving. It said that hope is bigger than despair.

I looked at Sandy. Could we heal the wounds?

As we continued on the trail in the woods, I reached a "combustion point." I felt a firming inside me of the truth, as if the knowing had begun to congeal in my soul. And not just the knowing but the desire to unfold it, the strength to follow it. A little act of creation happened right then. A little birth. An "eastering."

I slipped my hand into Sandy's. "I love you," I whispered. It was the firs time in so long that I had said the words.

I felt his fingers tighten around mine. "I know. I love you too," he said.

By Sue Monk Kidd, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 1"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Going Higher

"For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo. O Lord, thou knowest in altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it." Psalm 139:4-6

Sometime ago I had the unique experience of conducting a Deeper Life Conference with teenagers at Mound Keswick in Minnesota. Each young person was already a believer in Jesus Christ. We were all there to go deeper. Or higher, as my dear friend, Dr. Walter Wilson, once corrected me.

In going "higher" we went deeply into the fact that only God, through the Holy Spirit, can re-form our unconscious depths. We spoke of the shadows and darkness and filth lurking there. And one young lady stopped listening at that point and came to me later trembling with fear at what might be in her subconscious!

She had shut her ears just when the glory part came.

Without the indwelling Holy Spirit at work in our depths, there is reason for panic. Psychiatry can bring up the twisted ugliness and just bringing it up "for air" relieves some tension and lessons the immediate danger. But the best psychiatry can do is to leave the complexes and neuroses there squirming on the table. Only the blood of Jesus Christ redeems. And there are no depths too dark nor too far down for His blood to cleanse.

These depths are unfathomable to the human mind. But not to God. He is there right now working in the depths of you and here working in the depths of me.

What a glorious relief! I can just go on. By faith.

By Eugenia Price, taken from "Share My Pleasant Stones"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Good Habits

"So let us go on to grown-up teaching. Let us not go back over the beginning lessons we learned about Christ." Hebrews 6:1

I like the story of the little boy who fell out of bed. When his Mom asked him what happened, he answered, "I don't know, I guess I stayed too close to where I got in."

Easy to do the same with our faith. It's tempting just to stay where we got in and never move.

Pick a time in the not-too-distant past. A year or two ago. Now ask yourself a few questions. How does your prayer life today compare with then? How about your giving? Have both the amount and the joy increased? What about your church loyalty? Can you tell you've grown? And Bible study? Are you learning to learn? . . .
Don't make the mistake of the little boy. Don't stay too close to where you go tin. It's risky resting on the edge.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Grace for the Moment"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

People in Community

"How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!" Psalm 133:1 - The Message

The psalm puts into song what is said and demonstrated throughout Scripture and church: community is essential. Scripture knows nothing of the solitary Christian. People of faith are always members of a community. Creation itself was not complete until there was community, Adam needing Eve before humanity was whole. God never works with individuals in isolation, but always with people in community.

By Eugene Peterson, taken from "God's Message For Each Day."

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

The God-Approved Man

"Regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 1:3-4

The argument of the apostles is that the man Jesus has been made higher than angels, higher than Moses and Aaron, higher than any creature in earth or heaven. And this exalted position He attained as a man. As God He already stood infinitely above all other beings. No argument was needed to prove the transcendence of the Godhead. The apostles were not declaring the preeminence of God, which would have been superfluous, but of a man, which was necessary.

Those first Christians believed that Jesus of Nazareth, a man they knew, had been raised to a position of Lordship over the universe. He was still their friend, still one of them, but had left them for a while to appear in the presence of God on their behalf. And the proof of this was the presence of the Holy Spirit among them.

One cause of our moral weakness today is an inadequate Christology. We think of Christ as God but fail to conceive of Him as a man glorified. To recapture the power of the Early Church we must believe what they believed. And they believed they had a God-approved man representing them in heaven.

Thought: The Risen Christ has not thrown aside His humanity. He is now the God Man and so intercedes for us. Our intercessor was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He fully understand our weakness.

By A.W. Tozer taken from "The Warfare of the Spirit"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Becoming the "Filth of the World"

"We have been made as the filth of the world . . ." 1 Corinthians 4:13

These words are not an exaggeration. The only reason they may not be true of us who call ourselves ministers of the gospel is not that Paul forgot or misunderstood the exact truth of them, but that we are too cautious and concerned about our own desires to allow ourselves to become the refuse or "filth of the world." "Fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . ." ( Colossians 1:24 ) is not the result of the holiness of sanctification, but the evidence of consecration-being "separated to the gospel of God . . ." ( Romans 1:1 ).

"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you . . ." (1 Peter 4:12). If we do think the things we encounter are strange, it is because we are fearful and cowardly. We pay such close attention to our own interests and desires that we stay out of the mire and say, "I won’t submit; I won’t bow or bend." And you don’t have to— you can be saved by the "skin of your teeth" if you like. You can refuse to let God count you as one who is "separated to the gospel . . . ." Or you can say, "I don’t care if I am treated like ’the filth of the world’ as long as the gospel is proclaimed." A true servant of Jesus Christ is one who is willing to experience martyrdom for the reality of the gospel of God. When a moral person is confronted with contempt, immorality, disloyalty, or dishonesty, he is so repulsed by the offense that he turns away and in despair closes his heart to the offender. But the miracle of the redemptive reality of God is that the worst and the vilest offender can never exhaust the depths of His love. Paul did not say that God separated him to show what a wonderful man He could make of him, but "to reveal His Son in me. . ." (Galatians 1:16 ).

By Oswald Chambers, taken from "My Utmost For His Highest"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

What Will I Do?

"Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." James 1:22

A man who has been my mentor and friend for many years often says that his goal in studying the Bible is always personal application. I appreciate his emphasis on putting learning into practice, because it’s too easy for those of us who study, discuss, teach, and write about the Bible to take a merely intellectual approach to the Word.

Oswald Chambers said: “There is a danger with the children of God of getting too familiar with sublime things. We talk so much about these wonderful realities, and forget that we have to exhibit them in our lives. It is perilously possible to mistake the exposition of the truth for the truth; to run away with the idea that because we are able to expound these things, we are living them too.”

James reminds us that the person “who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (1:25). The key issue is not what is preached or written, but what is done.

When I study God’s Word, my first question should not be, “What am I going to say about this?” but “What am I going to do about this?” — David C. McCasland

We take delight to teach God’s Word,
We say, “Amen, it’s true!”
But it’s of little use to us
Unless His will we do. —D. De Haan

One step forward in obedience is worth years of study about it. —Chambers

Taken from "Our Daily Bread"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Think Heaven

"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." Colossians 3:2

When I lose my cell phone, I will get another phone and dial my number in an attempt to find it, hoping it is not on mute. Then when I hear it ringing somewhere, I will go on a search to find it. It is a single-minded, active, and diligent investigation. That is what the apostle Paul was speaking of when he wrote, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2). That is how we should be looking at heaven.

Another way to translate this verse is, "Think heaven." In the original language, the verb is in the present tense, which could be translated, "Keep seeking heaven." So to put it all together, the apostle Paul was saying, "Constantly keep seeking and thinking about heaven."

So how can we be thinking about heaven? What is our point of reference? The problem is that we have a caricatured version of heaven in mind. We are not going to sit around on fluffy, white clouds, spending eternity in boredom. The Bible has a lot to specifically say about heaven.

That is why, when people write books about their alleged experiences of dying and going to heaven and returning to earth, it takes me to the pages of Scripture. It is not true if it contradicts Scripture. I know that I need a better source, a more authoritative source on heaven. I turn to Scripture so that I can know how to think when I think about heaven.

Even though our feet must be on earth, our minds should be in heaven. Yet many of us will go through a day, even a week, without a single thought of heaven. As Warren Wiersbe said, "For the Christian, heaven isn't a simply a destination; it's a motivation."

By Greg Laurie, taken from "Harvest Daily Devotional"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

He Freely Gives

"He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

If this is not a promise in form, it is in fact. Indeed, it is more than one promise, it is a conglomerate of promises. It is a mass of rubies, and emeralds, and diamonds, with a nugget of gold for their setting. It is a question which can never be answered so as to cause us any anxiety of heart. What can the LORD deny us after giving us Jesus? If we need all things in heaven and earth, He will grant them to us: for if there had been a limit anywhere, He would have kept back His own Son.

What do I want today? I have only to ask for it. I may seek earnestly, but not as if I had to use pressure and extort an unwilling gift from the LORD's hand; for He will give freely. Of His own He gave us His own Son. Certainly no one would have proposed such a gift to Him. No one would have ventured to ask for it. It would have been too presumptuous. He freely gave His Only-begotten, and, O my soul, canst thou not trust thy heavenly Father to give thee anything, to give thee everything? Thy poor prayer would have no force with Omnipotence if force were needed; but His love, like a spring, rises of itself and overflows for the supply of all thy needs.

By Charles Spurgeon, taken from "Faith's Checkbook"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Being Chosen

"'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.'" At once they left their nets and followed him (Matt 4:19-20).

Do you recall how good it felt when you were chosen to be on a team? It makes one feel special to be preferred over another.

During the time of Jesus rabbis' were well known in their community. Each rabbi had a following of students. Jesus was developing as a "superstar" rabbi. He was unlike the others. He did things differently. He often confronted the accepted thinking of other rabbis and Pharisees. The younger men had great respect for Jesus, the rabbi. To be selected by Jesus would be a great honor because most rabbis would usually select only the cream of the crop in the community as their disciples. By these standards, Peter and the other disciples would not have qualified. But Jesus had a purpose in mind for Peter and the disciples.

God is the one who calls people into relationship with Himself and to their calling in life. It is for His purposes, not ours. Jesus chose each of his disciples from the workplace instead of the rabbinical schools. They did not choose Jesus, Jesus chose them and it was deemed a great honor in their culture to be chosen by such a rabbi (Jn 15:16).

Jesus called you into relationship with Himself because His desire is for you to be a faithful priest in your work life, family, and city. "I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind." (1 Samuel 2:35). He desires that you be a willing participant in his agenda. He has not called you for your purposes, but His.

Sometimes we think it's all about us. It has to be all about Him in order for us to fulfill what is in His heart and mind for His overall plan for His Kingdom. He doesn't need us, but He has chosen to use us.

God has an agenda for planet earth. He has chosen you and me as the primary instrument for accomplishing His plan. Are you willing to be his faithful priest and king to do what is in His heart and mind? Why not say "yes" to His agenda.

By Os Hillman, taken from "Today God is First"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Quiet Time With God

"He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." Psalm 23:2

The word connected captures our contemporary experience of life. Many people rarely go anywhere without a cell phone, iPod, laptop, or pager. We have become accessible 24 hours a day. Some psychologists see this craving to stay connected as an addiction. Yet a growing number of people are deliberately limiting their use of technology. Being a “tech-no” is their way of preserving times of quiet, while limiting the flow of information into their lives.

Many followers of Christ find that a daily time of Bible reading and prayer is essential in their walk of faith. This “quiet time” is a disconnection from external distractions in order to connect with God. The “green pastures” and “still waters” of Psalm 23:2 are more than an idyllic country scene. They speak of our communion with God whereby He restores our souls and leads us in His paths (v.3).

All of us can make time to meet with God, but do we? In Robert Foster’s booklet “7 Minutes With God,” he suggests a way to begin: Start with a brief prayer for guidance, then read the Bible for a few minutes, and close with a short time of prayer that includes adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication for others. It’s vital to take time today to connect with the Lord, who is our life. — David C. McCasland

We need to set aside the time
To read God’s Word and pray,
And listen for the Spirit’s voice
To guide us in His way. —Sper

Time spent with God is time well spent.

Taken from "Our Daily Bread"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Limiting Christ's Lordship

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not what I say?" Luke 6:46

One of the most incredible phenomena in the world today is the immense and universal popularity of Jesus Christ.

Yet the teachings of Christ are wholly contrary to the beliefs of the modern world. The spiritual philosophy underlying the kingdom of God is radically opposed to that of civilized society. In short, the Christ of the New Testament and the world of mankind are so sharply opposed to each other as to amount to downright hostility. To achieve a compromise is impossible.

We can only conclude that Jesus is universally popular today because He is universally misunderstood.

Everyone admires Jesus, but almost no one takes Him seriously. He is considered a kindly idealist who loved babies and underprivileged persons. He is pictured as a gentle dreamer who was naïve enough to believe in human goodness and brave enough to die for His belief. The world thinks of Him as meek, selfless and loving, and values Him because He was what we all are at heart, or would be if things were not so tough and we had more time to cultivate our virtues. Or He is a sweet, holy symbol of something too fine, too beautiful, to be real, but something which we would not lose nevertheless from our treasure house of precious things.

Because the human mind has two compartments, the practical and the ideal, people are able to live comfortably with their dreamy, romantic conception of Jesus while paying no attention whatsoever to His words. It is this neat division between the fanciful and the real that enables countless thousands of persons to say "Lord, Lord" in all sincerity while living every moment in flat defiance of His authority.

Thought: Christ is only our Lord as we submit to His lordship. That means making Christ Lord of all areas of our life. Are we attempting to limit His lordship in our lives?

By A.W. Tozer, taken from "The Warfare of the Spirit"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Lessons from Daniel

I love Daniel. He was a man who followed God no matter what it cost him. We know that Daniel was born into a family of Judean nobility during Josiah's reign. We know that he and his friends were among the first young Jewish hostages taken into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. We know that three years of his youth he was trained in the wisdom of the Chaldeans and was given a new name, Belteshazzar.

Interesting facts: Daniel's name means, "God is (my) Judge." Belteschaar (a pagan deity) means, "Protect his life!" Now if I were Daniel I would a) not be happy to be taken away from my home and family and be forced to live under a pagan lifestyle. A lifestyle that forced me to learn things that really were worthless; and b) I would also balk at having my name changed to a pagan god's name. But, of course, I'm far from being a Daniel as he took things in stride understanding that God was with him. Daniel chose to make the best of his situation, go with the flow and trust that God would provide for his every need. Even the pagan god's name that was given to him indicates that God was protecting him as it means, "Protect his life!".

In Chapter 1 we read the account of Daniel and his friends being taken into Babylon and start their training. "Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king's court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans." (Daniel 1:3-4)

From the get-go we see that Daniel is very concerned about his faith and keeping God's commandments. He saw that choice food that was being served to them was contaminated because the first portion of it was offered to idols, the wine poured out on a pagan alter and ceremonially unclean animals were used not being properly prepared and slaughtered according to the law. "But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself." (Daniel 1:8)

He took a chance and made a proposition to the commander and asked if he and his friends could only have water and vegetables to eat instead of the choice food. Gutsy! And yet, because he was obeying God's commandments God protected him and caused him to find favor in the commander's eyes. And by the end of the chapter we know that Daniel and his friends were far more healthier, stronger and wiser then those who feasted on the choice food and wine. Because of this they were elevated into the king's service. "Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered into the king's personal service. As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm." (Daniel 1:18-20)

In Chapter 2 we see that the king has an undisclosed disturbing dream that no one can interpret. And because of this the king orders that if they could not help him that he would destroy them and their families. Again, we see that God continues to protect Daniel and his friends because they are lumped in with the others. Here, unlike Daniel, I would get my panties in a bunch and be annoyed that I was being lumped in with people I was nothing like. But thankfully, again, Daniel is far from who I am and he kept his cool trusting that God would continue to protect him. As he comes before the king he knows that he alone cannot interpret the dream but only through God's guidance can he do so. What does he do? Goes directly to God in prayer, "Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon." (Daniel 2:17-18).

I love the next few verses, "Daniel said, 'Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give you thanks and praise, for You have given me wisdom and power; even now You have made known to me what we requested of you, for You have made known to us the king's matter.'" (Daniel 2:20-23). Here Daniel is giving glory where glory is due. He takes nothing on himself but give all to God and makes it known to the king where the interpretation of the dream is really coming from - God and not he.

Lessons from Daniel - Always keep God in the front of you no matter what the circumstances. When difficulties arise run directly to God and submit all to Him in prayer. This requires lots of patience, understanding, trust and faith.

Krista Jones
9.15.08

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Opposing God's Leadership

"The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them" (Num 12:9)

Beware of trying to depose a leader that God has raised in your midst. Leaders are placed by God in business, government, churches - almost every place where leaders are required. When God places a person in position of authority, it is a grievous sin to go against that leadership. God Himself opposes those who come against His leadership.

God's leaders are not perfect. They make mistakes. That is why following a leader can require a faith that goes beyond faith in the leader. Our faith lies in the God who elevated the leader to his or her position.

Miriam and Aaron, the older brother and sister of Moses, had a family dispute about Moses' wife, who was an Ethiopian and Cushite. She most likely was a black woman. We do not know the nature of the dispute, but it was a typical family conflict.

However, the family conflict began to impact God's agenda for a nation. They were now meddling in God's business. And He did not like that in the least. God literally brought Aaron and Miriam into the switching house. He judged both Miriam and Aaron for their rebellion against His ordained leader. "Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" (Num 12:8).

Miriam was stricken with leprosy and had it not been for Moses' appeal on her behalf, she would have been cast out for good. God gave her a second chance but it required being cast away from the camp for seven days. Miriam and Aaron repented for their rebellion.
If you struggle with a leader that God has over you, pray for that leader. If God wants to remove that leader, He can do it. Think twice about conspiring to remove a leader whom God has not chosen to remove yet.

By Os Hillman, taken from "Today God Is First"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

We Are Becoming

"When the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled." I Cornithians 13:10 (The Message)

Not one of us, at this moment, is complete. In another hour, another day, we will have changed. We are in process of becoming either less or more. There are a million chemical and electrical interchanges going on in each of us this very moment. There are intricate moral decisions and spiritual transactions taking place. What are we becoming. Less or more?

By Eugene H. Peterson, taken from "God's Message for Each Day"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

He knows our thoughts

"You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know where I go and where I lie down. You know thoroughly everything I do." Psalm 139:3

Perhaps the reason that God doesn't always give us the answer to the whys of our existence is that He knows we haven't got the capacity to understand the answer. In learning to depend on God, we must accept that we may not know all the answers, but we know who knows the answers.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

February's Memory Verse

Romans 8:28

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Romans 8:28 (New American Standard Bible)

Last Month's Memory Verse:

John 3:16

Remember the key is to review review review. Always review the verses you've already memorized along with learning this month's verse.

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible