Bible in a Year:

• Ezekiel 14–15
• James 2

A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Proverbs 17:22

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Proverbs 17:12–22

On every school day for three years, Colleen has been dressing up in a different costume or mask to greet her children as they exit the school bus each afternoon. It brightens the day of everyone on the bus—including the bus driver: “[She] bring[s] so much joy to the kids on my bus, it’s amazing. I love that.” Colleen’s children agree.

It all started when Colleen began fostering children. Knowing how difficult it was to be separated from parents and to attend a new school, she began greeting the kids in a costume. After three days of doing so, the kids didn’t want her to stop. So Colleen continued. It was an investment of time and money at thrift shops, but, as reporter Meredith TerHaar describes, it brought a “priceless result: happiness.”

One little verse amid a book of wise and witty advice, largely by King Solomon to his son, sums up the results of this mom’s antics: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). By bringing cheer to all her kids (biological, adopted, and foster), she hoped to prevent crushed spirits.

The source of true and lasting joy is God through the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21; Galatians 5:22). The Spirit enables us to shine God’s light as we strive to bring joy to others, a joy that offers hope and strength to face trials.

By:  Alyson Kieda

Reflect & Pray

When has someone done something to bring you joy? What was the result?

Dear Father, thank You for giving me joy. Help me to spread it to others.

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Bible in a Year:

• Ezekiel 5–7
• Hebrews 12

In him we were also chosen . . . that we . . . might be for the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:11–12

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Ephesians 1:3–14

“Christianity is not for me. It’s boring. One of my values I hold on to is adventure. That’s life to me,” a young woman told me. It saddened me that she hadn’t yet learned the incredible joy and excitement that comes with following Jesus—an adventure like no other. I excitedly shared with her about Jesus and how real life is found in Him.

Mere words are inadequate to describe the adventure of knowing and walking with Jesus, God’s Son. But in Ephesians 1, the apostle Paul gives us a small but powerful glimpse of life with Him. God gives us spiritual blessings directly from heaven (v. 3), holiness and blamelessness in God’s eyes (v. 4), and adoption as His own into the King’s royal family (v. 5). He blesses us with the lavish gift of His forgiveness and grace (vv. 7–8), understanding of the mystery of His will (v. 9), and a new purpose of living “for the praise of his glory” (v. 12). The Holy Spirit comes to live in us to empower and lead us (v. 13), and He guarantees eternity in God’s presence forever (v. 14).

When Jesus Christ enters our life, we discover that getting to know Him more and following Him closely is the greatest of adventures. Seek Him now and every day for real life.

By:  Anne Cetas

Reflect & Pray

How would you describe the life of knowing and walking with Jesus? Who might God want you to share this with?

Dear Jesus, thank You for loving me and always walking by my side. You’ve given me more than I could have imagined. I love being known and loved by You and sharing You with others.

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Bible in a Year:

• Lamentations 3–5
• Hebrews 10:19–39

I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

Jeremiah 31:34

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Jeremiah 31:27–34

I never saw the ice. But I felt it. The back end of the pickup I was driving—my grandfather’s—fishtailed. One swerve, two, three—and I was airborne, flying off a fifteen-foot embankment. I remember thinking, This would be awesome if I wasn’t going to die. A moment later, the truck crunched into the steep slope and rolled to the bottom. I crawled out of the crushed cab, unscathed.

The truck was utterly totaled that December morning in 1992. God had spared me. But what about my grandfather? What would he say? In fact, he never said a single word about the truck. Not one. There was no scolding, no repayment plan, nothing. Just forgiveness. And a grandfather’s smile that I was okay.

My grandfather’s grace reminds me of God’s grace in Jeremiah 31. There, despite their tremendous failings, God promises a restored relationship with His people, saying, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (v. 34).

I’m sure my grandfather never forgot that I’d wrecked his truck. But he acted just like God does here, not remembering it, not shaming me, not making me work to repay the debt I rightfully owed. Just as God says He’ll do, my grandfather chose to remember it no more, as if the destructive thing I’d done had never happened.

By:  Adam Holz

Reflect & Pray

How should God’s forgiveness affect how you see your failures? How can you show others grace?

Father, thank You for Your forgiveness. When I cling to my shame, help me to recall that, in Christ, You remember my sins no more.

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Bible in a Year:

• Lamentations 1–2
• Hebrews 10:1–18

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord.

2 Kings 20:2

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

2 Kings 20:1–7

The recently widowed woman was growing concerned. To collect some vital funds from an insurance policy, she needed key information about the accident that had taken her husband’s life. She had talked to a police officer who said he’d help her, but then she lost his business card. So she prayed, pleading with God for help. A short time later, she was at her church when she walked by a window and saw a card—the policeman’s card—on a windowsill. She had no idea how it got there, but she knew why.

She took prayer seriously. And why not? Scripture says that God is listening for our requests. “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,” Peter wrote, “and his ears are attentive to their prayer” (1 Peter 3:12).

The Bible gives us examples of how God responded to prayer. One is Hezekiah, the king of Judah, who became ill. He’d even received word from Isaiah, a prophet, saying he was going to die. The king knew what to do: he “prayed to the Lord” (2 Kings 20:2). Immediately, God told Isaiah to give the king this message from Him: “I have heard your prayer” (v. 5). Hezekiah was granted fifteen more years of life.

God doesn’t always answer prayers with things like a card on a windowsill, but He assures us that when difficult situations arise, we don’t face them alone. God sees us, and He’s with us—attentive to our prayers.

By:  Dave Branon

Reflect & Pray

What tops your list of concerns? How can you give them to God, asking for His guidance and help?

Father, thank You for being there and hearing my prayers.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 48–49
• Hebrews 7

Pray for those who mistreat you.

Luke 6:28

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Luke 6:27–31

For years, John had been somewhat of an irritant at church. He was bad-tempered, demanding, and often rude. He complained constantly about not being “served” well, and about volunteers and staff not doing their job. He was, honestly, hard to love.

So when I heard that he’d been diagnosed with cancer, I found it difficult to pray for him. Memories of his harsh words and unpleasant character filled my mind. But remembering Jesus’ call to love, I was drawn to say a simple prayer for John each day. A few days later, I found myself beginning to think a bit less often about his unlikeable qualities. He must be really hurting, I thought. Perhaps he’s feeling really lost now.

Prayer, I realize, opens ourselves, our feelings, and our relationships with others to God, allowing Him to enter and bring His perspective into it all. The act of submitting our will and feelings to Him in prayer allows the Holy Spirit to change our hearts, slowly but surely. No wonder Jesus’ call to love our enemies is bound up tightly with a call to prayer: “Pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:28).

I have to admit, I still struggle to think well of John. But with the Spirit’s help, I’m learning to see him through God’s eyes and heart—as a person to be forgiven and loved. 

By:  Leslie Koh

Reflect & Pray

Why is it important to pray for even the difficult people in your life? What can you pray for them?

Loving God, You know how I feel about those who’ve hurt or irritated me. Please give me Your heart of grace and compassion to pray for them, for You love them.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 46–47
• Hebrews 6

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes . . . and they were defeated.

2 Chronicles 20:22

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

2 Chronicles 20:15–22

At some military camps across Europe during World War II, an unusual type of supply was air-dropped for homesick soldiers—upright pianos. They were specially manufactured to contain only 10 percent of the normal amount of metal, and they received special water-resistant glue and anti-insect treatments. The pianos were rugged and simple but provided hours of spirit-lifting entertainment for soldiers who gathered around to sing familiar songs of home.

Singing—especially songs of praise—is one way that believers in Jesus can find peace in the battle too. King Jehoshaphat found this to be true when he faced vast invading armies (2 Chronicles 20). Terrified, the king called all the people together for prayer and fasting (vv. 3–4). In response, God told him to lead out soldiers to meet the enemy, promising that they’d “not have to fight this battle” (v. 17). Jehoshaphat believed God and acted in faith. He appointed singers to go ahead of the soldiers and sing praise to God for the victory they believed they would see (v. 21). And as their music began, He miraculously defeated their enemies and saved His people (v. 22).

Victory doesn’t always come when and how we want it to. But we can always proclaim Jesus’ ultimate victory over sin and death that’s already been won for us. We can choose to rest in a spirit of worship even in the middle of a war zone.

By:  Karen Pimpo

Reflect & Pray

How can you praise God right where you are today? How can you press into the victory that Jesus has won for you?

You’re stronger than my enemies, dear God. I lift up Your name in faith today.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 43–45
• Hebrews 5

His sheep follow him because they know his voice.

John 10:4

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

John 10:1–10

When I was a boy living on a ranch in Tennessee, I spent glorious afternoons roaming with my best friend. We’d hike into the woods, ride ponies, visit the rodeo arena, and venture into the barn to watch the cowboys work the horses. But whenever I heard my dad’s whistle—that clear sound slicing through the wind and all the other clatter—I’d immediately drop whatever I was doing and head home. The signal was unmistakable, and I knew I was being called by my father. Decades later, I’d still recognize that whistle.

Jesus told His disciples that He was the Shepherd, and His followers were the sheep. “The sheep listen to [the shepherd’s] voice,” He said. “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3). In a time when numerous leaders and teachers sought to confuse Christ’s disciples by asserting their authority, He declared that His loving voice could still be heard clearly, more distinctly than all the others. “His sheep follow [the shepherd], because they know his voice” (v. 4).

May we be careful as we listen for Jesus’ voice and avoid foolishly dismissing it, for the fundamental truth remains: The Shepherd speaks clearly, and His sheep hear His voice. Perhaps through a verse of Scripture, the words of a believing friend, or the nudge of the Spirit—Jesus speaks, and we do hear.

By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

How do you think you’ve complicated hearing God’s voice? What’s the Shepherd saying to you today?

Dear God, I need to be reminded that You’re speaking, and that I do hear You. Help me pay attention. Help me to listen and respond.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 40–42
• Hebrews 4

The Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:9

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Genesis 3:1–10

“The baby birds will fly tomorrow!” My wife, Cari, was elated about the progress a family of wrens was making in a hanging basket on our front porch. She’d watched them daily, taking pictures as the mother brought food to the nest.

Cari got up early the next morning to look in on them. She moved some of the greenery aside covering the nest but instead of seeing baby birds, the narrow eyes of a serpent met hers. The snake had scaled a vertical wall, slithered into the nest, and devoured them all.

Cari was heartbroken and angry. I was out of town, so she called a friend to remove the snake. But the damage was done.

Scripture tells of another serpent who left destruction in his path. The serpent in the garden of Eden deceived Eve about the tree God had warned her against eating from: “You will not certainly die,” he lied, “for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4–5).

Sin and death entered the world as a result of Eve and Adam’s disobedience to God, and the deception wrought by “that ancient serpent, who is the devil” continues (Revelation 20:2). But Jesus came “to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8), and through Him we’re restored to relationship with God. One day, He’ll make “everything new” (Revelation 21:5).

By:  James Banks

Reflect & Pray

How has Jesus destroyed the devil’s work in your heart and life? What do you look forward to in Him?

Please deliver me, Jesus, from the devil’s deception. Saving God, give me grace to live for You!

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 37–39
• Hebrews 3

Let us not become weary in doing good.

Galatians 6:9

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Galatians 6:2–10

At age twelve, Ibrahim arrived in Italy from West Africa, not knowing a word of Italian, struggling with a stutter, and forced to face anti-immigrant putdowns. None of that stopped the hardworking young man who, in his twenties, opened a pizza shop in Trento, Italy. His little business won over doubters to be listed as one of the top fifty pizzerias in the world.

His hope was then to help feed hungry children on Italian streets. So he launched a “pizza charity” by expanding a Neapolitan tradition—buy an extra coffee (caffè sospeso) or pizza (pizza sospesa) for those in need. He also urges immigrant children to look past prejudice and not give up.

Such persistence recalls Paul’s lessons to the Galatians on continually doing good to all. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). Paul continued, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (v. 10).

Ibrahim, an immigrant who faced prejudice and language barriers, created an opportunity to do good. Food became “a bridge” leading to tolerance and understanding. Inspired by such persistence, we too can look for opportunities to do good. God, then, gets the glory as He works through our steady trying.

By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

How does your persistence glorify God? In your life, what deserves more godly persistence and loving charity from you?

When I consider giving up, dear God, inspire me to endure in You.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 30–31
• Philemon

You are the light of the world.

Matthew 5:14

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Matthew 5:14–16

After I had a conflict with my mother, she finally agreed to meet with me more than an hour away from my home. But upon arriving, I discovered she’d left before I got there. In my anger, I wrote her a note. But I revised it after I felt God nudging me to respond in love. After my mother read my revised message, she called me. “You’ve changed,” she said. God used my note to lead my mom to ask about Jesus and, eventually, receive Him as her personal Savior.

In Matthew 5, Jesus affirms that His disciples are the light of the world (v. 14). He said, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (v. 16). As soon as we receive Christ as our Savior, we receive the power of the Holy Spirit. He transforms us so we can be radiant testimonies of God’s truth and love wherever we go.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be joyful lights of hope and peace who look more and more like Jesus every day. Every good thing we do then becomes an act of grateful worship, which looks attractive to others and can be perceived as vibrant faith. Surrendered to the Holy Spirit, we can give honor to the Father by reflecting the Light of the Son—Jesus.

By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

When have you noticed the light of Jesus shining through another person? How has someone else’s good deeds prompted you to praise God?

Dear Jesus, please shine Your vibrant light of love in and through my life so I can give honor to the Father and encourage others to put their trust in You.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 24–26
• Titus 2

Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

Luke 14:33

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Luke 14:25–33

Ronit came from a religious but non-Christian family. Their discussions about spiritual matters were dry and academic. “I kept praying all the prayers,” she said, “but I wasn’t hearing [from God].”

She began to study the Bible. Slowly, steadily, she inched toward faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Ronit describes the defining moment: “I heard a clear voice in my heart saying, ‘You’ve heard enough. You’ve seen enough. It’s time to just believe.’ ” But Ronit faced a problem: her father. “My dad responded as if Mount Vesuvius erupted,” she recalls.

When Jesus walked this earth, crowds followed Him (Luke 14:25). We don’t know exactly what they were looking for, but He was looking for disciples. And that comes with a cost. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple,” Jesus said (v. 26). He told a story about building a tower. “Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost . . . ?” He asked (v. 28). Jesus’ point wasn’t that we’re to literally hate family; rather, it’s that we must choose Him over everything else. He said, “You who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples” (v. 33).

Ronit loves her family deeply, yet she concluded, “Whatever the cost, I figured it’s worth it.” What might you need to give up to follow Jesus as He guides you?

By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

What’s your story of the moment Jesus became real to you? What has it cost you to follow Him?

Father, please help me choose Your Son over everything this world has to offer.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 22–23
• Titus 1

I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.

Psalm 61:4

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Psalm 61

There are several Canada goose families with baby geese at the pond near our apartment complex. The little goslings are so fluffy and cute; it’s hard not to watch them when I go for a walk or run around the pond. But I’ve learned to avoid eye contact and give the geese a wide berth—otherwise, I risk a protective goose parent suspecting a threat and hissing and chasing me!

The image of a bird protecting her young is one that Scripture uses to describe God’s tender, protective love for His children (Psalm 91:4). In Psalm 61, David seems to be struggling to experience God’s care in this way. He’d experienced God as his “refuge, a strong tower” (v. 3), but now he called desperately “from the ends of the earth,” pleading, “lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (v. 2). He longed to once more “take refuge in the shelter of [God’s] wings” (v. 4).

And in bringing his pain and longing for healing to God, David took comfort in knowing that He’d heard him (v. 5). Because of God’s faithfulness, he knew he would “ever sing in praise of [His] name” (v. 8).

Like the psalmist, when we feel distant from God’s love, we can run back to His arms to be assured that even in our pain, He’s with us, protecting and caring for us as fiercely as a mother bird guards her young.

By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

How does it encourage you to remember God’s protective care for you? How have you experienced His care?

Dear God, thank You for Your fierce, protective love for me. Help me to rest securely in Your tender care.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 20–21
• 2 Timothy 4

The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Exodus 34:6

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Exodus 34:1–8

Was the driver late with your food? You can use your phone to give him a one-star rating. Did the shopkeeper treat you curtly? You can write her a critical review. While smartphones enable us to shop, keep up with friends, and more, they have also given us the power to publicly rate each other. And this can be a problem.

Rating each other this way is problematic because judgments can be made without context. The driver gets rated poorly for a late delivery due to circumstances out of his control. The shopkeeper gets a negative review when she’d been up all night with a sick child. How can we avoid rating others unfairly like this?

By imitating God’s character. In Exodus 34:6–7, God describes Himself as “compassionate and gracious”—meaning He wouldn’t judge our failures without context; “slow to anger”—meaning He wouldn’t post a negative review after one bad experience; “abounding in love”—meaning His correctives are for our good, not to get revenge; and “forgiving [of] sin”—meaning our lives don’t have to be defined by our one-star days. Since God’s character is to be the basis of ours (Matthew 6:33), we can avoid the harshness smartphones enable by using ours as He would.

In the online age, we can all rate others harshly. May the Holy Spirit empower us to bring a little compassion today.

By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

How can you show more compassion to others? What characteristic of God do you most need to imitate when online?

Holy Spirit, please grow the fruit of godly character in me today, especially when I’m online.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 12–14
• 2 Timothy 1

His people made no funeral fire in his honor, as they had for his predecessors.

2 Chronicles 21:19

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

2 Chronicles 21:4–7, 16–20

In the hit musical Hamilton, England’s King George III is humorously portrayed as a cartoonish, deranged villain. However, a new biography on King George said he was not the tyrant described in Hamilton or America’s Declaration of Independence. If George had been the brutal despot that Americans said he was, he would have stopped their drive for independence with extreme, scorched-earth measures. But he was restrained by his “civilized, good-natured” temperament.

Who knows if King George died with regret? Would his reign have been more successful if he’d been harsher with his subjects?

Not necessarily. In the Bible we read of King Jehoram, who solidified his throne by putting “all his brothers to the sword along with some of the officials of Israel” (2 Chronicles 21:4). Jehoram “did evil in the eyes of the Lord” (v. 6). His ruthless reign alienated his people, who neither wept for his gruesome death nor made a “funeral fire in his honor” (v. 19).

Historians may debate whether George was too soft; Jehoram was surely too harsh. A better way is that of King Jesus, who is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Christ’s expectations are firm (He demands truth), yet He embraces those who fail (He extends grace). Jesus calls us who believe in Him to follow His lead. Then, through the leading of His Holy Spirit, He empowers us to do so.

By:  Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray

Who are you responsible to lead? How might you show both grace and truth to them?  

Dear Jesus, I aim to lead others by following You.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 9–11
• 1 Timothy 6

The Lord has anointed me . . . to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes.

Isaiah 61:1, 3

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Isaiah 61:1–4

In the aftermath of the Marshall Fire, the most destructive fire in Colorado history, one ministry offered to help families search through the ashes for valuable items. Family members mentioned precious objects they hoped were still preserved. Very little was. One man spoke tenderly of his wedding ring. He’d placed it on his dresser in the upstairs bedroom. The house now gone, its contents had charred or melted into a single layer of debris at the basement level. Searchers looked for the ring in that same corner where the bedroom had been—without success.

The prophet Isaiah wrote mournfully of the impending destruction of Jerusalem, which would be leveled. Likewise, there are times we feel the life we’ve built has been reduced to ashes. We feel we have nothing left, emotionally and spiritually. But Isaiah offers hope: “He [God] has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted . . . to comfort all who mourn” (Isaiah 61:1–2). God converts our tragedy into glory: “[He will] bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes” (v. 3). He promises to “rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated” (v. 4).

At that Marshall Fire site, one woman searched the ashes on the opposite side. There, still in its case, she unearthed the husband’s wedding ring. In your despair, God reaches into your ashes and pulls out the one truly precious thing. You.

By:  Kenneth Petersen

Reflect & Pray

What experience in your life made you feel you had lost everything? How did God pull you out of the difficulty?

Dear God, please turn my ashes into beauty.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 6–8
• 1 Timothy 5

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:13

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Romans 10:8–13

The protocols at the restaurant in my childhood neighborhood were consistent with social and racial dynamics in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The kitchen helpers—Mary, the cook, and dishwashers like me—were Black; however, the in-restaurant patrons were White. Black customers could order food, but they had to pick it up at the back door. Such policies reinforced the unequal treatment of Blacks in that era. Though we’ve come a long way since then, we still have room for growth in how we relate to each other as people made in the image of God.

Passages of Scripture like Romans 10:8–13 help us to see that all are welcome in the family of God; there’s no back door. All enter the same way—through belief in Jesus’ death for cleansing and forgiveness. The biblical word for this transformative experience is saved (vv. 9, 13). Your social situation or racial status or that of others doesn’t factor into the equation. “As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him” (vv. 11–12). Do you believe in your heart the Bible’s message about Jesus? Welcome to the family!

By:  Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray

What evidence is there in your life that you’ve believed the Bible’s message about forgiveness through Jesus? Who do you know that needs to hear the good news about Christ?

Father, my heart rejoices that You so loved the world that You sent Jesus.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 3–5
• 1 Timothy 4

We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

2 Corinthians 4:16–18

I don’t remember a time when my mom Dorothy was in good health. For many years as a brittle diabetic, her blood sugar was wildly erratic. Complications developed and her damaged kidneys necessitated permanent dialysis. Neuropathy and broken bones resulted in the use of a wheelchair. Her eyesight began to regress toward blindness.

But as her body failed her, Mom’s prayer life grew more vigorous. She spent hours praying for others to know and experience the love of God. Precious words of Scripture grew sweeter to her. Before her eyesight faded, she wrote a letter to her sister Marjorie including words from 2 Corinthians 4: “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (v. 16).

The apostle Paul knew how easy it is to “lose heart.” He describes his life as one of danger, pain, and deprivation (2 Corinthians 11:23–29). Yet he viewed those “troubles” as temporary. And he encouraged us to think not only about what we see but also about what we can’t see—that which is eternal (4:17–18).

Despite what’s happening to us, our loving Father is continuing our inner renewal every day. His presence with us is sure. Through the gift of prayer, He’s only a breath away. And His promises to strengthen us and give us hope and joy remain true.

By:  Cindy Hess Kasper

Reflect & Pray

What’s causing you to be discouraged or “lose heart”? Which Scriptures are especially encouraging to you?

Precious Father, thank You for Your faithful love for me and the assurance of Your presence.

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Bible in a Year:

• Jeremiah 1–2
• 1 Timothy 3

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this.

Psalm 37:5

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Psalm 37:1–6

God doesn’t help those who help themselves; He helps those who trust in and rely on Him. Jonathan Roumie—the actor who plays Jesus in the successful TV series The Chosen, which is based on the Gospels—realized this in May 2018. Roumie had been living in Los Angeles for eight years, was nearly broke, had enough food just for the day, and had no work in sight. Not knowing how he would make it, the actor poured out his heart and surrendered his career to God. “I literally [prayed] the words, ‘I surrender. I surrender.’ ” Later that day, he found four checks in the mail and three months later, he was cast for the role of Jesus in The Chosen. Roumie found that God will help those who trust in Him.

Rather than being envious of and fretting over those “who are evil” (Psalm 37:1), the psalmist invites us to surrender everything to God. When we center our daily activities on Him, “trust in [Him] and do good,” “take delight in [Him]” (vv. 3–4), and surrender to Him all our desires, problems, anxieties, and the daily events of our lives, God will direct us and give us peace (vv. 5–6). As believers in Jesus, it’s vital for us to let Him determine what our lives should be.

Let’s surrender and trust God. As we do, He’ll take action and do what’s necessary and best.

By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What parts of your life are off limits to God these days? What will it mean for you to surrender your life to Him today?

Dear God, please help me to surrender to You freely today and experience Your life and peace.

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Bible in a Year:

• Isaiah 59–61
• 2 Thessalonians 3

The Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

Genesis 2:8

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Genesis 2:8–9; 3:16–19

My dad loved being outdoors in God’s creation camping, fishing, and rock-hunting. He also enjoyed working in his yard and garden. But it took lots of work! He spent hours pruning, hoeing, planting seeds or flowers, pulling weeds, mowing the lawn, and watering the yard and garden. The results were worth it—a landscaped lawn, tasty tomatoes, and beautiful peace roses. Every year he pruned the roses close to the ground, and every year they grew back—filling the senses with their fragrance and beauty.

In Genesis, we read of the garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived, thrived, and walked with God. There, God “made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food” (Genesis 2:9). I imagine that perfect garden also included beautiful, sweet-smelling flowers—perhaps even roses minus the thorns!

After Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God, they were expelled from the garden and needed to plant and care for their own gardens, which meant breaking up hard ground, battling with thorns, and other challenges (3:17–19, 23–24). Yet God continued to provide for them (v. 21). And He didn’t leave humanity without the beauty of creation to draw us to Him (Romans 1:20). The flowers in the garden remind us of God’s continued love and promise of a renewed creation—symbols of hope and comfort!

By:  Alyson Kieda

Reflect & Pray

When has creation drawn you to praise the Creator? How do you see God in creation?

Dear God, thank You for the many reminders of You in Your creation. Thank You for beauty among thorns.

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