Genesis 12:1–2 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. Read the context The boxes are packed. The truck is loaded. You don't know a soul where you're going. Why would Abram choose to move? Because while he didn't know the place he was going to, he knew the one who promised. By faith he stepped out...
1 day ago • 1 min read
Matthew 4:1–4 [Nicodemus] came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Read the context Nicodemus was one of Israel's most educated men, and he still couldn't swim in the deep end. He couldn't understand who Jesus what his purpose was. But Jesus didn't meet...
2 days ago • 1 min read
Psalm 121:3–4 He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber;indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Read the context My days of pulling all-nighters are over. Even if I once thought I could be productive at 3AM... I never really was. Your God does not get drowsy. While you sleep, he's watching. While you're awake and anxious, he's still watching. He won't drift off and miss the moment you need him. God never rests... so you can. Whatever...
3 days ago • 1 min read
Romans 5:6–8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Read the context A friend can inconvenience you... but an enemy? You're not budging. We're hardly even willing to make small sacrifices for people that we like. The cross is the...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Romans 5:3–5 We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Read the context A little hardship isn't a bad thing. It's human to want to pain. But Paul says suffering actually produces something: perseverance... then character... then hope. It's not your's to seek out....
5 days ago • 1 min read
Romans 5:17–19 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Genesis 3:14–15 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals!You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Read the context The Bengals are taking on a local high school. Who do you think will win? Sometimes you don't need to see the battle to...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Genesis 3:1–3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” Read the context His tactics have never really changed. When the devil tempted Adam & Eve,...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Matthew 4:1–4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Read the context Experts always make it look easy. But that doesn't mean it was. Jesus' victory over temptation looks...
9 days ago • 1 min read