Should such a man as I flee?
Nehemiah 6:11

 Recommended Reading: Nehemiah 6:1-14

In the United States, Michigan and Minnesota are the states least likely to face natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes. But they’re also two of the coldest states in America, and, of course, there are no truly safe places on this earth. We never know when a disaster will strike our community. Sometimes we know immediately that a crisis is happening—we feel the earth shake or see the lightning strike. Other times we hear sirens, receive a phone call or text, or turn on the news and see a tragic event occurred.

Our first reaction is shock, but God’s children must quickly move into action mode. For two thousand years, Christians have been the ones running toward the need, toward the hurt, and toward the danger. When Nehemiah was threatened by his critics, he refused to flee. He stood his ground and continued the work that had to be done in the moment.

When times of crisis come to our neighborhoods, let’s look for ways to reach out and help others. God will provide us with the strength and ability to minister to those around us in ways large and small.

God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.
Billy Graham

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They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing.
Psalm 92:14

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 92

Springtime makes us feel fresh! Fresh flowers, fresh leaves on the trees, the fragrance of fresh air. It’s a kind of rebirth.

The same thing happens for the believer every single day. God gives us a fresh start as we awaken! Psalm 92 tells us to sing His praises and declare His lovingkindness every morning (verses 1-2). As we begin each day with worship, keeping our eyes on Him, the Lord keeps us fresh with a renewed spirit, an excited faith, a hopeful heart, and a smile. It’s a lifelong experience.

The ruts and routines of life have a way of dragging us into the zone of mediocrity. But remember: “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing” (verses 12-14).

Flourish in your faith today by keeping your eyes on Him.

Fresh faith is compelling. It’s clean and crisp like the beginning of a new day…. Freshness comes by staying whole with God…. Middle age and old age aren’t for complaining, but for proclaiming the goodness of God.
Boyd Bailey

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Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27

 Recommended Reading: Mark 4:37-39

One of the ironies of the naming of hurricanes and tropical storms is the fact that some are named Irene. There were tropical storms named Irene in 1947 and 1959, and hurricanes named Irene in 1971, 1981, 1999, 2005, and 2011. The irony? Irene comes from the Greek word eirene—the word for “peace.”

Jesus showed His disciples it is possible to experience peace in the face of a storm. When a squall came up as He and the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus “arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39). Storms and squalls of all kinds arise in our world. Jesus told His disciples that they would experience trouble in this world but assured them He had “overcome the world” (John 16:33). He tells us the same.

We can have peace and calm in this world knowing that Jesus gives us His peace and He has overcome the world.

Faith that goes no further than the head can never bring peace to the heart.
John Blanchard

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
1 Corinthians 9:22

 Recommended Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Danica McKellar, a star from The Wonder Years, recently used Instagram to surprise her fans with an announcement. After years of skepticism, she has embraced Jesus as her Savior. Her decision followed a conversation with a fellow actress who gave her a Bible and invited her to church. Though her spiritual journey is new, it’s already been spread to thousands.¹

Like every other channel of human communication and technology, Satan wants to dominate our modern laptops and phones, but the followers of Christ are to use every means available to share the Gospel and encourage others with the power of Scripture.

Technology has allowed our world to become smaller, making it easier to share the Gospel with people who haven’t heard the Good News. Should we take advantage of new technology and use it to share the Gospel with others? By all means!

How beautiful upon the web are the thumbs of him who shares good news, who publishes the peace of God in Christ, who shares the good news of our happiness and joy in him, and who publishes in his feeds: “God reigns!”
Tony Reinke
 

¹ Talia Wise, “‘Wonder Years’ Actress Closes 2022 Grateful for New Relationship With Jesus Christ: ‘It Feels Miraculous,’” CBN News, December 27, 2022.

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Now on the first day of the week…the disciples came together to break bread.
Acts 20:7

 Recommended Reading: Acts 20:7-12

Earlier this year, the American Enterprise Institute released a study showing that since the outbreak of COVID-19, a third of Americans who previously attended church have stopped going.¹ Another study last year by the Barna Group found the rate of burnout among pastors rose dramatically between 2021 and 2022.²

If these statistics seem discouraging to you, remember this—you can do something about it! You have a vital part to play. Fighting against the changing of culture can be difficult, but gathering with other believers allows us to encourage each other to stand strong for Christ. What a blessing to be part of the Body of Christ in times like these!

Go to church on Sunday. Get involved in a small group. Pray for your pastor and church staff. Invite someone to join you at church. Find a personal ministry to pursue. You’ll be following the great pattern anchored in the glorious pages of the book of Acts.

Christians cannot grow spiritually as they ought to in isolation from one another.
Gene Getz

¹ David Roach, “Church Attendance Dropped Among Young People, Singles, Liberals,” Christianity Today, January 9, 2023.

² Jeff Brumley, “Yet Another Study Confirms: Many Pastors Are Hanging on by a Thread,” Baptist News Global, April 28, 2022.

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If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Luke 9:23

 Recommended Reading: John 16:31-33

One of Jesus’ strongest admonitions to those who would be His disciples came when He told them to take up their cross daily (Luke 9:23). In the Roman world, the cross was a symbol of death. Jesus’ words were a warning: following Him might result in death.

Not until the night of Jesus’ arrest, when He was alone with His disciples for the Passover meal, did Jesus expand on His earlier words and provide them with comfort (John 14–16). He told them that the world would hate them when He was gone because they hated Him first. If they persecuted Him, they would persecute them (John 15:18-21). But He also told them, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). His peace—that is, the peace that comes from knowing and trusting Him (Philippians 4:6-7)—would be their peace in a world that would reject them. 

We don’t know exactly what the future holds for Christians. But we know who does know. We can trust Him to keep us “until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:12). 

Peace rules the day when Christ rules the mind. 
Unknown

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The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Proverbs 15:3

 Recommended Reading: 2 Chronicles 16:7-9

A number of years ago, two men in Iowa tried to disguise themselves before committing a robbery. They didn’t use ski masks or stockings. No, their hapless plan was to draw beards and masks on their faces using a black marker. No one was fooled, and their mug shots sent the police and public into hysterics.[1]

You might say that guilt was written all over their faces.

We can never disguise ourselves from God or hide our behavior from Him. Hebrews 4:13 says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Jeremiah 16:17 says, “For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes.”

We can’t hide from God; He is everywhere! But for us, this is a cause of restraint, for the knowledge that God is watching us can help us resist temptation, and for rejoicing, for we are never out of His sight for a moment.

You just can’t hide from God. And that’s a good thing. Because God isn’t just watching you; He’s watching over you.
Louie Giglio

[1] Mallory Simon, “They Make Their Mark in Mug Shot History,” CNN, October 30, 2009.

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I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Psalm 32:5

 Recommended Reading: John 6:61-64

Do ostriches really bury their heads in the sand to “hide” from predators—as if closing their eyes will make them invisible? No—they lay their eggs in the sand and occasionally stick their heads in to check on and rotate the eggs until they hatch. Even ostriches know they can’t hide from reality.

We sometimes think God can’t see us or our sin if we don’t encounter Him in prayer or worship. Like David of old, we avoid Him and our sin until our guilt becomes too much to bear (Psalm 32). But we can’t hide from God. He is all-seeing and all-knowing; He knows what is in the heart of man (John 2:25). So we may as well raise our eyes and meet His in honest confession and agree with Him about our sin. That’s what confession means—“to say the same as; to agree.” Thankfully, our sins have been forgiven (2 Corinthians 5:21). God asks only that we come to Him and receive His grace.

If there is something you need to confess to God, do it today and be forgiven (1 John 1:9).

We are not finished with the need of forgiveness when we become Christians.
G. B. Duncan

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
Psalm 143:10

 Recommended Reading: Proverbs 16:9

Life coaches often employ a tool called life mapping—drawing on paper from left to right a chronology of your life so far: high points, low points, major events, and so on. Recording the past is easy; recording the future is more challenging. We may not be certain of the future, but God is. And He can provide the direction we need.

The Bible is filled with verses and examples related to God providing directions for our life—directions based on God’s goodness and His love for us. Jesus even compared the goodness of earthly fathers to the goodness of God in providing what we need (Luke 11:11-13). God provides guidance and direction in a variety of ways. First is through Scripture, which is the basic roadmap for every Christian’s life. Then there are prayer, counsel from wise associates, discernment to evaluate circumstances, and the peace that comes when decisions are made in faith (Philippians 4:6-7). Because of who God is—good, loving, and faithful—we can rest knowing that His guidance will be best.

Do you need God’s direction today? Seek Him by faith and trust in the guidance He provides (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Men give advice; God gives guidance.
Leonard Ravenhill

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.
Psalm 86:15

 Recommended Reading: Matthew 18:21-22

Being a parent is perhaps the world’s best laboratory for learning patience. In fact, the younger the children, the greater the need for parental patience. Young children make the same bad choices over and over. Sometimes they forget; sometimes they willfully make the wrong choice; sometimes they are so young that they haven’t had time to learn. Whatever the reason(s) for the wrong choice, parents need lots of patience.

Compare that situation to our relationship with God. We are His children, all of us at varying levels of maturity (Romans 8:14). Sometimes we forget what our Father God desires; sometimes we choose to disobey; sometimes we haven’t learned what the Father’s will is. Whatever the reason(s) for our wrong choice, God has to exercise great patience with us as we grow spiritually. More often than not, patience requires forgiveness. Because Jesus told Peter not to count instances of forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-22), we can assume God doesn’t count either.

Depend on God’s patience and forgiveness when you make a wrong choice (1 John 1:9). His fatherly love is manifested by His patience.

There is no divine attribute more wonderful than the patience of God.
John Benton

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27

 Recommended Reading: Colossians 1:24-28

Nothing is as useless as a pair of gloves without hands. They may be made for either high fashion or hard work. But they are limp and idle without a pair of hands. Their very existence is pointless. But once fingers fill the fabric and a hand stuffs itself into the material, the glove can do anything that a hand can do. It can swing hammers, grip railings, open doors, and point out dangers or delights.

We are the gloves of God in this world, but we’re useless unless we are filled with Him. We don’t even have the strength to lift ourselves up. But when we are pervaded and permeated with His Spirit, we operate in His power, not our own.

When we try to serve the Lord in our own strength, we struggle and end up failing. We must yield ourselves to Him, surrender to His total occupancy of our personalities, and let His power sustain and strengthen us as we serve Him. Rely on your all-powerful God to empower your Christian life and labor. His love fits into your soul like hands in a glove.

Blessed Lord, teach us to surrender ourselves unreservedly to the Holy Spirit…. So we are in You, and You work through us.
Andrew Murray

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But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26

 Recommended Reading: Ephesians 1:18-22

You serve a God who can speak a syllable and bring stars into being. He can touch a leper and make his skin like a baby’s. With a word, He can calm a sea or summon a legion of angels. He can send fire from the sky, food from heaven, water from a rock, and frogs into Egypt. He can part the seas, stop the sun in the sky, make ax heads float, make a virgin conceive, and raise dead men to life. He can put coins in the mouths of fish and cast demons into the bodies of swine.

Our Lord gave us a Book filled with His miraculous power, and that same power is undiminished today. There’s nothing that He cannot do, nothing that is too hard for Him. When a situation seems impossible, remember God’s power—He can do the impossible.

Ask Him for the miracle you need, and trust Him to work in His own way and timing to bring about what He knows is best for you and yours.

[God] puts people in positions where they are desperate for his power, and then he shows his provision in ways that display his greatness.
David Platt

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 3:18

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 135:1-7

Most people go on reality TV shows to find love or win money. But twin sisters Emily and Molly, who recently competed on The Amazing Race, had another reason for being on the show. Born in South Korea and separated at birth, the sisters were both adopted by families in the United States. Thanks to DNA testing, they found each other at the age of 36. One year later, they were traveling the world together on The Amazing Race. As Molly said in an interview, “It was a really nice way to get to know each other in a very unconventional setting. We would have never gotten this close had we not been able to spend time without phones or away from family, just one-on-one together.”[1]

We might know about God, just as the sisters eventually knew about each other, but we should seek to know Him on a far deeper level. As we run the Christian race, are we looking to get to know God more, or are we distracted by our phones and the busyness of life? Take some time today to step away from the distractions of everyday life and spend time getting to know your Heavenly Father more.

We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it.
J. I. Packer

[1] Abigail Adams, “Identical Twin Sisters Who Met at Age 36 open Up About Fast-Paced Bonding on “The Amazing Race,'” People, September 28,2022.

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One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.
Psalm 27:4

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 27:1-5

It often happens over a holiday meal or at a birthday party. Family members begin reminiscing, and before you know it, children are hearing stories about their parents and grandparents that they’ve never heard before. Or adult children begin sharing some of the exploits from their childhood, and their parents learn what the kids “got away with” while they weren’t looking.

It seems as though no matter how well we know someone, even our own family members, there’s always more to learn about them. The same is true for our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Some of us have been learning about God since before we can remember. But there’s always more for us to learn about Him. Like David, we should desire to know our Father more, to become closer to Him. Begin studying a specific attribute of God or spend time slowly reading through the Gospels—seek to know Him better each day.

The longer you know Christ, and the nearer you come to him, still the more do you see of his glory.
John Flavel

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For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.
Deuteronomy 10:17

 Recommended Reading: Isaiah 44:6

The title “king of kings” goes back to the thirteenth-century B.C. Assyrian Empire. When city-states, ruled by kings, were conquered, the conquering king would become known as the “king of [all the other] kings.” It became a superlative phrase referring to preeminence—the most powerful king (Daniel 2:37).

The phrase became common throughout Mesopotamian and Middle Eastern cultures to describe the best of the best—as in the biblical book titled “Song of Songs.” It is even used to describe the God of Israel in various forms: “God of gods” and “Lord of lords” (Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 136:2-3), the “Lord of kings” (Daniel 2:47), and Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). When referring to our God, what does this ancient phrase mean for us today? It means God is ruler over all; He is in charge; He is King of the present and the future.

In a day when it is easy to wonder if anyone is in control, remember that there is only one “God of gods.” His will will be done on earth as well as in heaven.

How divinely supreme is our Lord above all others! 
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

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At one time we too were foolish, disobedient…. Being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us.
Titus 3:3-5, NIV

 Recommended Reading: Philippians 2:14-16

Christians are sometimes accused of hatred for their refusal to yield on biblical truth. We must never be what others accuse us of being. Though we must not compromise biblical truth, we can offer God’s Word as the only medicine for a sick world. If others refuse to believe, we can grieve over them, pray for them, share Christ with them, be kind to them, differ with them, ask God for patience with them, and when appropriate, avoid them.

But hatred?

The world can shout “hatred” all it wants, but we cannot let one red strand of a hateful attitude embroider its way into our personalities. Don’t let bitterness become rooted in your heart. It’s tempting to feel hatred for those who don’t agree with us, but there’s no room for that. “Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you” (Matthew 5:44).

Leave the rest to Jesus.

The followers of Jesus are children of God, and they should manifest the family likeness by doing good to all, even to those who deserve the opposite.
F. F. Bruce

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You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies.
Matthew 5:43-44

 Recommended Reading: Romans 12:14-21

A majority of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) concerns correcting false teaching that had crept into Jewish religious practice. For example, in Matthew 5, Jesus said, “You have heard. . . . But I say to you” (verses 21-22, 27-28, 31-32, 33-34, 38-39, 43-44). One of these six corrections concerned how to respond to enemies—those who persecute you.

In Leviticus 19:18, Moses wrote that the Jews were to love their neighbor. But the Jewish religious leaders in Jesus’ day added “and hate your enemy” (Matthew 5:43). Jesus corrected that false tradition by telling His audience that they should love their neighbor and their enemy. Why? Because God extends His grace—the blessings of nature—to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. And He said that there is no reward in loving only those who love you. Yes, loving one’s enemy is harder than loving those who love you. But we are to imitate God by loving those He loves (Matthew 5:48).

Thank God today that, even when we were His enemies, He sent His Son that we might be reconciled to Him (Romans 5:10).

Worst of all my foes, I fear the enemy within. 
John Wesley

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And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.
Esther 8:17

 Recommended Reading: Matthew 9:25-31

Scholars of missionary activity and evangelism use a term to describe how the Gospel spread in the Early Church: “gossiping the Gospel.” That means the Gospel message about Jesus spread from person to person based on eyewitness accounts from those who had received the Gospel and its benefits.

While many forms of evangelism can be effective, there is nothing like hearing from a “satisfied customer.” In Persia, where the efforts of Queen Esther saved the Jewish people from genocide, many non-Jews converted to Esther’s faith. Why? Because they saw how Esther’s God had moved the king to protect the Jews. This meant that Esther’s God was more powerful than the Persian king! As word of this spread, conversions followed. The same thing happened during and after Jesus’ ministry. Word of His miracles and teachings spread from person to person.

If you are looking for ways to influence unsaved friends for Christ, be open and bold about the way God’s power has been at work in your own life.

Witnessing is not something we do; it is something we are. 
Unknown

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For with God nothing will be impossible.
Luke 1:37

 Recommended Reading: Matthew 8:1-4

Imagine trying to explain to Thomas Jefferson and John Adams how instead of all the Constitutional Convention delegates traveling to Philadelphia for deliberations in 1787 they could connect by video chat over computers, tablets, or smartphones. “Why, that’s impossible!” they likely would have said. It’s amazing how many ways time has turned “impossible” into “possible.”

As many “miracles” as mankind has accomplished, not all things are possible where man is concerned. But where God is concerned, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). That’s what the angel Gabriel told Mary about the possibility of a virgin giving birth to a child: “For with God nothing will be impossible.” Notice the future orientation of those words: “will be.” Every time we think of something that is impossible, it’s a future event—and God knows the future.

If you are looking at a future event that seems impossible today, tell God your need. What looks impossible to man looks possible to God. His combination of love and power means nothing is impossible for Him where His children are concerned.

It is impossible for that man to despair who remembers that his Helper is omnipotent. 
Jeremy Taylor

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Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.”
Esther 7:3

 Recommended Reading: Nehemiah 2:1-6

In the battle for civil rights for African American citizens in America, three names stand out: Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr. Each, in their own way, stood out against racial prejudice and helped change the course of American history.

A young Jewish girl named Esther changed the world when she was made queen of Persia. A courtier of the king hatched a plan to kill all the Jews in Persia, and Esther risked her life by exposing the plan to the king, saving her people from certain genocide. She realized God had given her a voice, and she spoke up (Esther 4:14). Another example was Nehemiah who approached the Persian king (after the events of Esther) for permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city—another risky request, which was granted.

One person can change the course of history in a day. God has given you a place and a voice to stand for Him (2 Timothy 1:7). 

The man who kneels to God can stand up to anything. 
Louis H. Evans

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