Exodus 2:2–3 When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. Read the context Moses' parents faced an impossible situation — Pharaoh wanted the child dead. In the middle of a dark world, they trusted God. When you see darkness in the world around you, it's frustrating when you don't...
2 days ago • 1 min read
1 John 2:9–11 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. Read the context The number of times I've tripped in the middle of the night is... embarrassing. Light...
3 days ago • 1 min read
Exodus 1:16–17 Pharaoh said... “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth... if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Read the context Pharaoh's plan was terrible and dark. He wanted control so badly that he was willing to kill babies to make it happen. But God is more powerful. By faith, the midwives did what was right in...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Matthew 4:18–20 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Read the context The Olympic torch is en-route to the start of the games. The light gets passed from person to person until it reaches the finish line. As Jesus calls fishermen to...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Matthew 4:16–17 "The people living in darkness have seen a great light;on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Read the context It was a place not all that different from where you live — confused and hurting people... darkened hearts... hopeless lives. And it was exactly where Jesus needed to be. As Jesus begins his ministry, he goes the places of hurt and fear, and...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Psalm 1:1–4 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, — but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Read the context A gust of wind blows through...
7 days ago • 1 min read
2 Cor. 1:3–5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. Read the context Can you care for someone else when you haven't been cared for? It isn't recommended. Showing kindness from emptiness is...
8 days ago • 1 min read
James 1:2–4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Read the context The basketball team runs wind sprints after an embarrassing loss. It isn't punishment, it's physical and mental training for the next battle. Trials — persecution or temptation — can look like undo hardship. But God...
9 days ago • 1 min read
Deut. 10:12–13 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? Read the context There are moments when you hate rules... especially overbearing ones. But you can't deny the fact that rules can be good — they create order and safety. God's law is more...
10 days ago • 1 min read