When we wake up in the morning, we may want to plan our agenda for the day. Whether we’re young, middle age or an older adult, we have things in mind for how we want our day to go. Whatever we have going on, God wants to partner with us and use us to serve others and shine His light.

Questions for further thought:

1. What are some things God has been calling you to do lately?
2. What has your response been? 

Challenge: Tell God you want to partner with Him today and see where the Holy Spirit leads.

The definition of comfort is a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. Comfort includes pleasure, relaxation and coziness. Our country seems to thrive on comfort - so much so that it often becomes an idol. There are certain things we need to survive, but the pursuit of comfort shouldn’t get in the way of serving God. 

Questions for further thought:

1. How does seeking comfort get in the way of God’s will for me and you?
2. If comfort is an idol, what steps will you take to rid it from your life?  

Challenge: Pray and ask God to reveal if comfort is one of your idols. If it is, repent and ask Him for forgiveness and help to remove this stronghold. 

When the Holy Spirit awakens us with the Gospel, He changes the desires of the heart so that we now have the power to “put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires” (Eph. 4:22). Christians are not people who have simply started living with new behaviors. At the most fundamental level, they are people who have been given a new heart. So how do we foster this “new heart” and its requirement for growth? Paul gives us, as he describes to Timothy, his method of endurance that will require Timothy to give close attention to the Scriptures. He charges him to “continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.” The Bible is the key to understanding Jesus and His Gospel. The fact that these Gospel-testifying Scriptures are “breathed out by God” gives us confidence that Scripture is trustworthy and authoritative for our lives. It is the truth by which we stand! Rejection of God’s truth as demonstrated in His Word must fall!

Questions for further thought:
1. In a typical week, how much time do I spend communing with God through reading His Word? 
2. In what ways could I look to improve this?

Challenge: Make a conscious effort to read the Scriptures every day. (See 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

​David was young and somewhat green when it came to life’s experiences, or so that is what it appears. However, David had something that far exceeded the value of life experience. He had an unwavering, unapologetic faith in His Lord that He was going to protect him at every turn. He willingly walked into the ring with the Ivan Drago (Rocky 4) of his time. He was just a young boy and Goliath was a proven and seasoned champion. How could David prevail? That’s the point; He couldn’t, but God could! God prepared and pointed David toward victory; His victory! David simply entered into the equation as an extremely trusting individual in God’s sovereignty and His will. David was the recipient of God’s amazing grace as he slung the stone that killed the Philistine and gave God the glory He so richly deserves. Rejection of trust in God and His Word must fall!

Questions for further thought:
1. How do I see my faith in Christ when I compare it to David’s trust in God? 
2. How have you seen God work in the insurmountable events in your life? 

Challenge: Take some time to think about David’s unwavering faith in God and His promises. How can I look to emulate that pattern in my own life?

Before we received the Good News about Jesus (the Gospel), we could not do God’s will freely nor please Him fully. We were by nature His enemy and had a proclivity towards rejection of Him. But now, through the power of the Holy Spirit, believers are given new affections and the power to turn away from sinful behavior (although it proves very difficult at times). God’s Spirit leads us and prompts us to call out to God as our “Father.” Through faith in Jesus, God is not our stern judge, but our friend and helper who has graciously adopted us as His own. For the Christian, the Holy Spirit provides an inward sense that we are now the children of God. The way of the cross is the only path to the glory awaiting those who will be “heirs with Christ.”  Rejection of the Holy Spirit’s leading in our daily lives must fall!

Questions for further thought:
1. In what ways have I rejected the Holy Spirit’s leading in my day to day life? How can that be changed?
2. If you are God’s child through faith in Jesus Christ, how will you let that permeate your thoughts and actions this week?

Challenge: Take time to consider specific difficulties you are presently facing and ask God to give you strength and fortitude to stand strong for Him.

I have often wondered what God is like, I mean really like. As it turns out, we don’t have to wonder incessantly as is sometimes believed. Jesus said plainly that those who see Him see God Himself, because He is God. By studying the person and words of Jesus, we get a clearer picture of what God is really like. The purpose of Jesus’ first coming was not to judge or reject people, but to show them the way to find salvation and eternal life through Him. We must also try to use this blueprint as we talk to a lost and dying world. However, when He comes again, His main purpose will be to judge people for how they lived on earth and how they responded to Him. On the day of judgment, those who received Jesus Christ by faith and lived His way will be raised to eternal life and those who rejected Jesus and lived their own way will face eternal punishment. Decide now which side you’ll be on, for the consequences of your decision last forever. Let us not reject Jesus and others by proclaiming the Good News of salvation found alone in Jesus Christ! Rejection of this type must fall!

Questions for further thought:
1. In what ways have I rejected others by not telling them the Good News of Jesus Christ?
2. How can I become more aware that temptation to not speak up about my faith in Jesus? How will I react when that temptation reappears?

​Challenge: Re-read the passage for today paying close attention to Jesus’ words. How do they impact you to change?

The book of Ephesians was addressed to the believers in the church in Ephesus. These believers were being bombarded with false teaching from some of the influential elders in the church. (As seems to be the case in most of Paul’s epistles) Ephesians is primarily written as a letter of encouragement and admonition, written to remind believers of their immeasurable blessings in Jesus Christ; and not only to be thankful for those blessings, but also to live in a manner worthy of them.  In the reading, you may notice a recurring phrase repeated throughout the chapter. The “In Him” to which Paul is referring is a wonderful, gracious gift of mercy given by the Father. “In Him” we are made acceptable and worthy to the Father by faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the gift above all gifts. So let me ask you….  Are you “In Him”?? Rejection and refusal to be “In Him” must fall! 

Questions for further thought:
1. Have I taken steps to receive the gracious gift God has offered me in Jesus Christ? If not, why?
2. Do I have the “Inheritance” that Paul speaks of in verse 11?  How is this divine inheritance different than one I might receive on earth?

Challenge: Read and meditate on this passage today and ponder the implications of Paul’s words. Could it be calling you to a relationship with the Savior?