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Romans 12:12 (NIV)  Be joyful in hope,  patient in affliction,  faithful in prayer.  Affliction (trouble- NLT; hard times-The Message; tribulation-KJVS) will come.  Don’t be surprised by trials.  They can do something within us—create growth.  The good news about the hard things of life is that,  if we respond to them correctly,  something very good can come out of them.  Each day there is a lesson in the trial:  learning to praise rather than complain;  learning to live in gratitude for…

Exodus 16:4a (NIV)  Then the Lord said to Moses,  “I will rain down bread from heaven for you…”  Throughout scripture we see a theme of PORTION.  God provided for the Israelites in the Wilderness by sending them food one day at a time.  They had to learn to trust God,  not hoard the food,  but know that their portion would come in the morning and just in time.  Jesus prayed,  “Give us this day our daily bread”—again,  PORTION that is…

Jeremiah 17:8 (NLT)  They are like trees planted along a riverbank,  with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.  Their leaves stay green,  and they never stop producing fruit.  We are to be like these trees.  When a storm comes along,  the tree sways but has everything it needs because it has grown deep roots to sustain it.  It is equipped.  And it keeps bearing…

Jeremiah 17:7 (NLT)  Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.  The past six months have been grueling on us in body,  soul,  and spirit.  Who knew that in August we would still be dealing with the pandemic?  (The Lord knew.)  How are we doing life these days?  Are we self-feeding in God’s Word?  Are we protecting ourselves from idolatries that take us off track from mission and calling?  This is…

Hebrews 12:2 (KJV)  …for the joy that was set before Him,  (Jesus)  endured the cross…  We live out of many different lanes,  (business,  personal life,  etc.),  but not all of them evoke the same feelings or outcomes.  When one lane becomes especially difficult,  (i.e.  health or job),  and we experience a season of high stress,  we need to make sure we are attending to other,  less-stressful lanes  (i.e. grandchildren or hobbies).  Jesus endured the cross because He kept an eye…

John 4:34 (NIV)  “My food,”  said Jesus,  “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.” Jesus loved his interactions with people.  He was energized in doing His Father’s work of bringing healing and wholeness to humanity.  What do you love to do that glorifies God and edifies people?  Know your energizers.  Fill your week with 20% of energizing activities.  They are the activities that put a smile on your face at the end…

Mark 6:31 (MSG)  Jesus said,  “Come off by yourselves;  let’s take a break and get a little rest.”  For there was constant coming and going.  They didn’t even have time to eat.  Jesus knew the importance of including times of rest and recovery in his busy schedule.  He led his disciples to quiet places for physical,  mental,  and spiritual renewal.  Have you built recovery times into your busy lifestyle?  Do you take hard breaks between high-stress seasons?  Do you purposefully…

II Corinthians 12:9a (NIV)  …”My grace is sufficient for you,  for my power is made perfect in weakness.”   This has played out in my life on multiple occasions:  when standing in the pulpit in another country dazed from jet lag and somehow able to preach with a heavy anointing;  when my schedule on a day that ended in teaching was so full that I had no time to do a final run-though of my lesson,  and somehow I was…

Matthew 8:34 (MSG)  (Jesus said)  “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now,  and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.  God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”  John Maxwell said:  “The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.”  Are we being faithful to our God-given mission each and every day?  Do we take time to sit with Christ in the…

Hebrews 11:1-2 (MSG)  The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God,  this faith,  is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living.  It’s our handle on what we can’t see.  The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors,  set them above the crowd.   Crisis is common to man.  We live in a fallen world and face challenges every day both small and large.  But followers of Jesus have been given an instruction book…

Romans 5:1 (NIV)  Therefore,  since we have been justified through faith,  we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus taught His disciples:  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).  The kind of peace that we crave is available only through the Prince of Peace,  Jesus Christ.  We can enjoy fully-satisfied lives as we  “grow in grace,  and in…

Psalm 131:2 (NIV)  But I have stilled and quieted my soul;  like a weaned child with its mother,  like a weaned child is my soul within me.  Few skills are more essential than the ability to still and quiet ourselves.  If you can settle your heart by going to God’s throne and accessing His peace,  then you are more likely to be calm,  alert,  and fully present no matter what is going on around you.  Being at peace enables you…

James 3:18 (NIV)  Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.  (James 1:20) – The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  Paul told Timothy:  “Keep your head in all situations,  endure hardship,  do the work of an evangelist” (II Tim. 4:5).  Through  “faith and patience we inherit the promises”  (Heb 6:12).  We do not progress through hateful attitudes,  actions and words.  We must  “keep our heads”  and sow in peace.  We do our battles…

Galatians 5:22 (NIV)  But the fruit of the Spirit is love,  joy,  peace,  patience,  kindness,  goodness,  faithfulness. . . How much of this fruit is growing in your life?  How patient are you with yourself,  with others,  with God?  It takes a lifetime to learn that nobody is perfect but Jesus.  People change and progress just one step at a time.  There is no jumping ahead in life,  only lots of learning curves.  So we must learn to be patient…

Colossians 3:15  (NIV)  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,  since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.  What do you let rule in your heart?  Do you keep watch every day so that bitterness,  anger,  and wrath doesn’t find its way in?  Do you review your soul every evening with the Lord to let Him show you things during the day that happened that you otherwise would not notice without His…

Romans 15:13 (NIV)  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,  so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.   We serve the  “God of hope,”  and no matter what diagnosis or news report or opposition or disturbance comes our way,  we must fix our  eyes on the Lord and the truth that He gives to us in His Word.  Each day we must choose…

Daniel 2:14 (NIV)  When Arioch,  the commander of the king’s guard,  had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon,  Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact.  Daniel and his friends provide a model for a faithful testimony under the threat of torture and death.  “Although relatively few believers are required to face this ultimate test,  those who do are consistently given the highest honor in the heavenly rolls” (see Heb. 11:33-34).  When speaking to antagonists, …

Daniel 10:11 (MSG)  And he said unto me,  “O Daniel,  a man greatly beloved,  understand the words that I speak unto thee. . .”  The context of this passage  “points out the intercessory role Daniel had during this time.  In his intercession,  he was warring against great spiritual forces.  With faithful response to his task,  Daniel was finally able to realize the answer to his prayer.  However,  it did not come without struggle in the heavenlies.  Because he persisted,  Daniel…

Daniel 9:5 (MSG)  “We have sinned in every way imaginable.  We’ve done evil things,  rebelled,  dodged,  and taken detours around your clearly marked paths. . . (v. 9) Compassion is our only hope. . .    God is calling us to intercessory prayer before His throne.  Like Daniel,  we must identify with the sins of those for whom we pray.  Are you praying for our country during these difficult days?  And are you praying for our missionaries who are laboring…

Daniel 2:20-23(MSG)  Blessed be the name of God,  forever and ever.  He knows all,  does all:  He changes the seasons and guides history.  He raises up kings and also brings them down,  He provides both intelligence and discernment.  Fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ live with a bedrock belief in God’s sovereignty and seek to glorify Him in every situation.  Even when circumstances are strongly adverse to them,  they believe that God will equip them to prevail.  Have you found…

Daniel 3:17  (NIV)  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,  the God we serve is able to save us from it,  and he will rescue us from your hand,  O king.  But even if he does not,  we want you to know,  O king,  that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.  “Godly living requires that we exhibit faith during times of adversity and want,  as well as during times…

Daniel 1:8 (MSG)  But Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king’s food or drinking the wine,  so he asked the head of the palace staff to exempt him from the royal diet.  How well do you stand firm for your righteous standards,  in spite of pressure to sin? When you see our culture’s  “diet,”  the focus on the lust of the flesh,  the lust of the eyes,  and the pride of life  (I John 2:16), …

I John 3:1 (The Passion Translation)  Look with wonder at the depth of the Father’s marvelous love that He has lavished on us! “Coming to know and trust God’s love is a lifelong process.  Making this knowledge the foundation of our identity—or better,  allowing our identity to be re-formed around this most basic face of our existence—will also never happen instantly.  Both lie at the core of the spiritual transformation that is the intended outcome of Christ-following.  The more you…

I John 4:19 (NIV)  We love because he first loved us.  How does God feel about you?  He is crazy in love with you!  His divine love is absolutely unconditional,  unlimited and unimaginably extravagant and it has nothing to do with your behavior  (although bad behavior does reap bad consequences).  “For God’s love to be truly transformational,  it must become the basis of our identity”—an identity grounded in God’s love.  Think how that would reshape your self-concept and free you…

Psalm 139:7 (The Passion Translation)  Where could I go from your Spirit?  Where could I run and hide from your face?   God is omnipresent and His company cannot be evaded.  He is a God who is alert to us every moment of our lives.  Why do we try to hide from Him?  Why do we fear transparency?  Every day He invites us to sit with Him for a  “daily examen”—a review,  an awareness of God in the events of…

Psalm 119:12 (MSG)  Be blessed,  God;  train me in your ways of wise living.  Can you discern the Divine Presence in daily experiences?  “Changing life situations—some desirable and others definitely less so—provide important opportunities to better know both God and ourselves.  Each gives us a chance to examine where God is in that experience and what gifts God is offering for our growth.”  God wants to meet us in the mundane and familiar parts of regular life.  We must learn…

Psalm 86:11 (The Passion Translation)  Teach me more about you,  how you work and how you move,  so that I can walk onward in your truth until everything within me brings honor to your name.  When we spend extended time meditating on the gospel accounts of Jesus,  trying to visualize them,  trying to see ourselves in the story,  and focusing on how Jesus interacted with people in each situation,  we begin to see how human He was.  He becomes more…

Mark 10:17-22 (MSG) FOCUS VERSE 21–  Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him!  He said,  “there’s one thing left.  Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor.  All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth.  And come follow me.”   Do you meditate on the life of Christ?  Is your relationship with God based more on what you believe than on what you experience?  Do you have lots of information about God,  but long to…

Isaiah 49:16 (NLT)  See,  I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;  your walls are ever before me.  Jerusalem’s walls were in ruins but God had not forgotten His people.  When you study Nehemiah,  you learn that those walls around Jerusalem had to be rebuilt to secure the people from enemy invasion.  It was a long and costly process.  In a similar way,  we have a spiritual enemy who is determined to tear down our walls and ravage…

Mark 13:13 (MSG)  (Jesus said), “That’s why I tell stories:  to create readiness,  to nudge the people toward receptive insight.  In their present state,  they can stare till doomsday and not see it,  listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it.  Physicians tell us that one of the symptoms of Covid is that a person loses their ability to taste and smell.  Jesus knew that many people in the crowds that followed Him were unable to  “taste…

Galatians 6:9 (MSG)  So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good.  At the right time, we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up or quit.  Have you felt fatigued,  exhausted,  and weary lately?  We have an enemy who knows we are on the cusp of a great revival and who is doing his best to resist it.  But revival is coming like a huge wave and we must refuse exhaustion.  When God’s people pray,  the…

Psalm 97:1 (NIV)  The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice!  Let the farthest coastlands be glad.  The Lord reigns.  He is not confused or schizophrenic.  His word is not filled with mixed messages or opposing opinions.  God still has an agenda for this earth and it will come to pass.  The Lord reigns.  He is King.  Anxiety is not king,  fatigue is not king,  confusion is not king.  Only Jesus is King–so stop the drama,  join with the multitudes…

Genesis 2:7 (MSG)  God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life.  The Man came alive—a living soul.  Are you having trouble  “breathing”  these days?  Does the news take your breath away with reports about Covid,  rioting,  lawlessness?  We must not get caught up in all the doom and gloom and lose heart.  Jesus said,  “Don’t let your hearts be troubled…” (John 14:1).  God’s got this.  We need to receive His…

1 Peter 5:7-8a (Amplified)  Casting all your cares  (all your anxieties,  all your worries,  and all your concerns,  once and for all)  on Him,  for He cares about you  (with deepest affection,  and watches over you very carefully).  Be sober  (well balanced and self-disciplined),  be alert and cautious at all times.  This is a season of extremes:  extreme opinions,  extreme actions.  And if we are not careful,  we will get out of balance and sucked into the tornadic winds of…

James 2:26 (NLT)  Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.  Here is the cry of James’ heart:  showing respect for all people and living out our faith by serving and demonstrating care and compassion.  Genuine faith stirs up faith-filled actions.  We must love people without partiality.  “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers and sisters,  this is not right (James 3:10).  Our faith is demonstrated in word…

James 1:19 (NLT)  Understand this,  my dear brothers and sisters:  You must all be quick to listen,  slow to speak,  and slow to get angry.  Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.  Our speech and our actions must be consistent with what we believe and know to be true in God’s Word.  Wisdom lies in learning to listen carefully,  speaking only after much thought,  and resisting the human tendency to act out of anger.  A tsunami of images…

James 1:13 (NIV)  And remember,  when you are being tempted,  do not say,  “God is tempting me.”  God is never tempted to do wrong,  and He never tempts anyone else.  James firmly addresses the subject of temptation:  God does not tempt us.  He has no malicious intent towards us.  I Corinthians 10:13 tells us  “God is faithful.”  The Apostle Paul tells us that God always provides a way of escape.  It is our responsibility to look for that way out…

James 1:3-4 (NLT)  For you know that when your faith is tested,  your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow,  for when your endurance is fully developed,  you will be perfect and complete,  needing nothing.  Trials come to every follower of Jesus Christ.  It’s not a matter of  “if”  but  “when”.  James teaches us the benefit that is possible from such difficulties if we will learn to believe God,  believe and not doubt (vs. 6 NIV),  in…

Ephesians 6:18 (MSG)  In the same way,  prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare.  Pray hard and long.  Pray for your brothers and sisters.  Keep your eyes open.  Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.  We can usually take a hit and get back up;  but when we are hit repeatedly  (like in Job’s story)  and when it continues over a long period of time,  it becomes easy to get discouraged and overwhelmed. …

James 1:12 (NIV)  Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial,  because when they have stood the test,  they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.  The half-brother of Jesus wrote this book (Gal. 1:19) sometime between A.D. 48 and 62.  He was an unbeliever during the ministry of Jesus (John 7:3-5),  but a post-Resurrection appearance of Christ to him (I Cor. 15:7) probably led to his conversion because he is numbered…