Loving the View

Read Genesis 1:1 through 2:25; Matthew 1:1–25   Jonathan and his son, Michael, walked together along the shore. They were happy. Waves made sounds with regular rhythm. The splashing water kept Michael stepping away from the water, then back toward the water. It was almost night, but the view was amazing.   Sandy, Jonathan’s wife and Michael’s mother, probably had …

Always There

Read Haggai 1:1 through 2:23   Frank left at 5:00 a.m. for a 9:00 a.m. flight out of Los Angeles. “Surely the traffic won’t be bad that time of morning. I should get to the airport by seven o’clock easy,” he said to his wife.   The digital clock on the dashboard blinked 8:00 a.m. “Lord Jesus, help. Boarding starts …

Fresh Water for Life

Read Ezekiel 47:1 through 48:35; 1 Peter 1:1–25   Water plays a vital role in the life of the earth. God’s unique combination of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen meets many of mankind’s basic needs. The average adult human body is about 58 percent water. Without water, both plant and animal life suffer.   Ezekiel foresaw a time …

Christ Has Overcome

Read  Ezekiel 37:1 through 38:23   Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off (Ezekiel 37:11).   Have despair and hopelessness, those “twins” of darkness, ever gripped you so tightly you thought you couldn’t breathe?   Sometimes life can be ferocious, and not many escape its fury. An accident takes a spouse or child. …

Be a Wall Builder

Read Ezekiel 22:1 through 23:49   God looked for someone to stand in the gap in King Saul’s day and found David, who challenged Goliath and said, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” …

Stand Boldly

Read John 17:1 through 18:40   When Martin opened his locker at the fitness club, his Bible fell to the floor. Larry, who degraded Christians every time he got the chance, said to Martin, “I should’ve known you’re one of them.”   Martin was tempted to say he had opened the wrong locker. Instead, he looked Larry in the eye …

The Power of Testimony

Read Jeremiah 51:1–64   Mike nervously stood before his congregation to tell how God had healed him of severe joint pain. Afterward, his pastor asked him to pray for others who needed healing. An elderly woman moved slowly from her seat, in obvious pain.   Mike offered a quiet prayer. “How do you feel?” he asked cautiously.   The woman …

Persecution

Read Jeremiah 25:1 through 27:22   God gave Jeremiah the words to say and even told him where to stand as he preached. The result? He was arrested and put on trial.   But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized …

Faith Hangs On

Read John 6:1 through 7:53   Richard and Darlene had endured several excruciating years. Their business was failing, and they scrambled to pay bills as their utilities were repeatedly shut off. They tried to find other jobs, but it seemed as if God closed every door they knocked on.   The situation kept getting worse. They endured health problems, car …

Incoming Message

Read Nahum 1:1 through 3:19   “Yes, Quinn, we had telephones when I was your age.” Grandmother smiled as she answered her small grandson’s question. “But when we talked to someone far away it was very expensive, so we didn’t do it very often. Also, when you got a long distance call it was usually very important news—and often bad.” …