“ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” ~John 15:4 Before astronauts leave the ship, they tether themselves before they do what's called a spacewalk. As they emerge into the cold, quiet space, they can rest assured as long as the astronauts stay tethered to the station, they'll be okay. But if their lifeline breaks…they will likely stray very far from the sourc

"One day the trees went out to anoint a king over themselves. So they said to the olive tree, 'Reign over us." ~Judges 9:8 The book of Judges is fraught with God's people struggling with an identity crisis; do they stick with their LORD as their leader or finagle their way into having an earthly king hand down his dictates? Instead of getting a King, they were commanded by numerous Judges, some good, some bad. Because the people of Israel wanted to be like every other nation

"if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." ~Matthew 18:19-20 Back in grade school, I never really liked working on group projects. I don't know why I recoiled when the teacher assigned partners. Maybe because I expected not everyone would pull their own weight. I expected working together would be more of a

"Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan" ~Numbers 13:2 Quick, say reconnoiter five times fast! Could you do it? Neither could I. The word comes from the early 18th century: from the obsolete French 'reconnoître,' which came from the Latin 'recognoscere' meaning to 'know again.' It's where we get our modern-day word reconnaissance from. Why does the All-Knowing God command princes to scout out their new home when He already knows what's there? These leaders of the 12 tribe

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" ~ Matthew 13:44 What does this parable teach us about the value of the Kingdom of Heaven? It shows us that the Kingdom is worth more than anything else; it is a priceless gift God offers us through his grace and mercy. But how do we find this treasure? Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you wi

"I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not." ~ Matthew 11:25 Have you ever felt like the Israelites in this passage? Have you ever complained to God about your situation or wished things were different? Have you ever doubted God's provision or plan for your life? Of course, you have; we all have! The Israelites were God's chosen p

"for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike" ~ Matthew 11:25 God's wisdom is not something we can figure out by our own intelligence or education. It is a gift that He gives to those who are humble and trust Him like children. Children are curious, open, and eager to learn. They don't rely on their own understanding, but they ask questions and listen to their parents. That's how God wants us to approach Him

"Indeed, the whole world came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, for famine had gripped the whole world." ~Genesis 41:57 We've all heard the phrase 'ready or not.' Typically it accompanies the game hide and seek. The seeker, the one who will be looking for the hiders, is the one that says this phrase to give them a heads up that he has finished counting and hopefully will find them soon. God always gives his people a heads-up in both the Old and New Testaments and beyond. In th

"Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so," he added, "shall your descendants be." ~Genesis 15:5 Roughly 3,800 years after Abram (who was later renamed Abraham), was given a tremendous promise by God, another Abraham, our 16th President of the United States, kept his promise to end slavery in all Confederate-held territory. On the new year of January 1, 1863, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all enslaved people in the Confederacy. It's

“I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” ~2 Timothy 4:7 My mind wandered more and more each day as the time ticked away to the end of the school year and the beginning of summer. While I was a straight-A student, there was a tempting freedom that summer held to distract me from giving my best effort. When the end of the semester drew near, my dad always encouraged me to "Finish strong." As a young student, I had little else to worry about aside

“your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” ~Matthew 6:18 As Christians, we're not supposed to have a secret life. We're supposed to live morally in all we do, no matter who we're dealing with or who is looking. But what if Jesus told us to do certain things in secret? In Matthew 6:6, Jesus instructs his followers to "pray to your Father in secret." Why would he do so when in Luke 12:3, he says, "Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the li

“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” ~2 Corinthians 3:5 When was the last time you took credit for an accomplishment, whether it be great or small? A few days ago, my wife was listening to a medley of Disney songs, and I could call out the movies they were from as soon as I heard them. She was impressed I knew which movies they were from without looking them up or even thinking about it. I gladly took t

“the hope that is in you” ~1 Peter 3:15 Yesterday, Arnold Schwarzenegger told PEOPLE magazine that “When people talk about, ‘I will see them again in heaven,’ it sounds so good, but the reality is that we won’t see each other again after we’re gone. That’s the sad part.” He went on to call Heaven a fantasy. “I will miss everything,” he concluded. The sad part isn’t that Heaven isn’t real in his mind…the sad part is that he has no hope. If he has no hope, then what is he livi

"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" ~James 4:8 As I was praying this morning, an image of myself as a child holding the Father's hand came to my mind. I realized God was never going to let me go. When a parent and child walk through a busy crowd, the parent holds the child's hand to guide them and keep them safe. The connection is severed only when the child breaks away to run off after something that catches his eye. Like a child in the crowd, He always holds my

"Taste and see that the LORD is good" ~Psalm 34:8 "The written word of God describes itself less as something to be studied objectively; than as something to be experienced subjectively. Tasted. Savored. Absorbed into our very beings." -Pete Greig In Pete Greig's third lesson from The Lectio, he teaches about meditating on the word of God. If we are to truly absorb the word of God into our lives, we have to go beyond simply reading it. He offers three keys to Biblical medit

"The LORD has made everything for its own purpose" ~Proverbs 16:4 When architects design a structure, whether a house or building, they use diazo paper coated with a light-sensitive solution that reacts to ammonia gas. When the blueprint is exposed to light, the solution turns blue and creates the lines and text on the paper. The architect creates multiple phases of the structure and overlays them over one another to create a complete design that can only be seen once the s

"unless it remains on the vine..." ~John 15:4 In John 15:1-8, Jesus says He is the true vine, and we are the branches. This powerful and encouraging passage shows us how much God loves us and wants us to grow in Him. Jesus tells us that He is our life's source and fruitfulness. He says that if we remain in Him and He in us, we will bear much fruit. But if we don't, we will wither and be useless. He also says that if we remain in Him and His words remain in us, we can ask what

"I am reminding you..." ~1 Corinthians 15:1 My "trash day" is every Thursday morning, but I have the bin down to the curb every Wednesday afternoon. The neighbors might think I need to learn how to read a calendar; regardless, my awareness of what day it is (the day before trash day) enables me to never be stuck with excess garbage. I have a reminder on my phone that I must check off before I can turn in for the evening. Without this reminder, life's daily toils would likely

"whoever comes to me will never hunger." ~John 6:35 In John 6:35-40 Jesus declares that He is the bread of life and that whoever comes to Him will never be hungry or thirsty. He also promises to raise up those who believe in Him on the last day. What does this mean for us? It means that Jesus is our ultimate source of satisfaction and security. He is the one who can fill our deepest needs and desires. He is the one who can give us eternal life and hope. He is the one who can

"the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison." ~Acts 5:19 In Acts 5:17-26, we see how God miraculously delivered the apostles from prison and sent them back to preach the gospel. It is an incredible passage I encourage you to read. No earthly or spiritual power could prevent them from preaching the truth! There are three main takeaways we should think about: -God is sovereign over all situations. He can open any door and set free any captive. He can protect His serv