AWAITING BALANCE

Read Isaiah 29 Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 29:19 Isaiah asked the people to consider what God had planned for them. They had turned things upside down, but God would one day turn everything around...

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POLITICALLY CORRECT

Read 1 Peter 2:13–25 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. 1 Peter 2:17 True Christians submit to authority because they are first of all submitted to Christ. They use their freedom as a tool to build with and not as a...

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A SERVANT’S REWARD

Read Philippians 2:22–30 Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. Philippians 2:22–23 Timothy knew the meaning of sacrifice and...

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WISDOM IN ACTION

Read James 1:5–11 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. Why do we need wisdom when we are going through trials? Why not...

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NEEDS AND GREEDS

Read Philippians 4:13–23 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 God has not promised to supply all of our “greeds.” When we are in the will of God, serving for the glory of God, then we will have every need met. Hudson Taylor often said,...

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THE MIRROR

Read James 1:23–27 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James 1:23–24 When we look into the mirror...

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PATIENTLY PLODDING

Read Isaiah 40:27—44:28 Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31 The word wait in the King James Version of Isaiah 40:31 means “to hope,”...

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GOOD BEGINNINGS

Read Colossians 1:1–2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. Colossians 1:2 Colosse probably would never have been mentioned in the New Testament had it not been for the church there. The city is never named in the...

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DISCIPLINE VERSUS DISOBEDIENCE

Read 1 Corinthians 4:14–21 The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 1 Corinthians 4:20 Pride is a terrible thing in the Christian life and in the church. The yeast of sin (5:6–8) had made the Corinthians “puffed up,” even to the point of saying...

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FOOLISH RULERS

Read Ecclesiastes 10:1–10 I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves. Ecclesiastes 10:7 If there is one person who needs wisdom, it is the ruler of a nation. Lyndon B. Johnson said, “A president’s hardest task is not to do what is right, but to...

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