A friend’s comforting embrace, the warmth of our beds, the safety of our homes–these are among the places we seek refuge when we’re bowled over by life. In that moment, we feel secure, loved, and protected, with the Big Bad Wolf of Life kept at bay.
July 14, 2022
READ: Psalm 46
Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
During a trip to the zoo, I stopped to rest near the sloth exhibit. The creature hung upside down. He seemed content being completely still. I sighed. Because of my health issues, I struggled with stillness and desperately wanted to move forward, to do something—anything. Resenting my limitations, I longed to stop feeling so weak. But while staring at the sloth, I observed how he stretched one arm, gripped a nearby branch, and stopped again. Being still required strength. If I wanted to be content with moving slowly or being as still as the sloth, I needed more than incredible muscle power. To trust God with every dragging moment of my life, I needed supernatural power.
In Psalm 46, the writer proclaims that God doesn’t just give us strength, He is our strength (v. 1). No matter what’s going on around us, the “
Like the sloth, our day-to-day adventures often require slow steps and extended periods of seemingly impossible stillness. When we rely on God’s unchanging character, we can depend on His strength no matter what plan and pace He determines is right for us.
Though we may continue to battle afflictions or struggle with waiting, God remains faithfully present. Even when we don’t feel strong, He’ll help us flex our faith muscles.
— Xochitl Dixon
How have you experienced God’s strength empowering you through a season of stillness? How can reflecting on His unchanging character help you persevere?
God Almighty, thank You for giving me opportunities to flex my faith muscles by trusting You to be my strength.
“It was a bit painful. I didn’t want to go back into my life and imagine things that I hadn’t understood so far.” Those words from Ian McKellen, the actor who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Gandalf in the movie trilogies The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, help explain why he cancelled a book contract for his autobiography.
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“Woe is me”, you mumble as you promptly decide to sulk in a corner, even though you know doing this will cause you to isolate yourself more.
Perhaps it’s because you find yourself being a victim of your circumstances, and life’s been unfair towards you.
July 13, 2022
READ: Mark 8:27–30
Who do people say I am? Mark 8:27
Who do people believe Jesus is? Some say He was a good teacher, but just a man. Author C. S. Lewis wrote, “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher.” These now-famous words from Mere Christianity propound that Jesus would not have been a great prophet if He falsely claimed to be God. That would be the ultimate heresy.
While talking with His disciples as they walked between villages, Jesus asked them, “Who do people say I am?” (Mark 8:27). Their answers included John the Baptist, Elijah, and one of the prophets (v. 28). But Jesus wanted to know what they believed: “Who do you say I am?” Peter got it right. “You are the Messiah” (v. 29), the Savior.
But who do we say Jesus is? Jesus could not have been a good teacher or prophet if what He said about Himself—that He and the Father (God) are “one” (John 10:30)—wasn’t true. His followers and even the demons declared His divinity as the Son of God (Matthew 8:29; 16:16; 1 John 5:20). Today, may we spread the word about who Christ is as He provides what we need.
— Alyson Kieda
Who do you say Jesus is? If you believe He’s the Son of God, then how can you share who He is with others?
Dear Jesus, thank You for being the way, the truth, and the life. I’m glad I can cling to You. Help me to share with others the good news of who You are.
Whenever I counsel couples considering divorce, I always start by asking them this question: What kind of relationship did your parents have? Children whose parents divorce are far more likely to do so themselves
July 12, 2022
READ: Proverbs 1:1–7
Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance. Proverbs 1:5
It has become sadly “normal” to attack not only the opinions of others but also the person holding the opinion. This can be true in academic circles as well. For this reason, I was stunned when scholar and theologian Richard B. Hays wrote a paper that forcefully took to task a work that he himself had written years earlier! In Reading with the Grain of Scripture, Hays demonstrated great humility of heart as he corrected his own past thinking, now fine-tuned by his lifelong commitment to learning.
As the book of Proverbs was being introduced, King Solomon listed the various intents of this collection of wise sayings. But in the midst of those purposes, he inserted this challenge, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance” (Proverbs 1:5). Like the apostle Paul, who claimed that, even after following Christ for decades, he continued to pursue knowing Jesus (Philippians 3:10), Solomon urged the wise to listen, to learn, and to continue to grow.
No one is ever hurt by maintaining a teachable spirit. As we seek to continue to grow and learn about the things of faith (and the things of life), may we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into truth (John 16:13), that we might better comprehend the wonders of our good and great God.
— Bill Crowder
In what areas of life or spiritual growth have you become stale or stunted? How can you become more teachable, allowing God to grow you beyond where you are at this moment?
Loving God, give me a humble, teachable spirit that I might continually be growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.
For further study, see Why Read the Bible?.<
I recently heard a speaker who had engaged in an immoral lifestyle in his younger years, but later received Jesus as his Savior. He now oversees a thriving ministry. In his talk, he described “three Cs” that should comprise intimate relationships.