Read: Philippians 4:10–19 I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Philippians 4:11 Mary was widowed and facing serious health challenges when her daughter invited her to move into the new “granny apartment” attached to her home. Although it would involve leaving friends and the rest of her family...

Read: James 3:1–12 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. James 3:9 When my grandmother came to Mexico as a missionary, she had a hard time learning Spanish. One day she went to the...

Read: 2 Peter 1:1–10 [God’s] divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life. 2 Peter 1:3 In a field on the English countryside, G. K. Chesterton stood up from where he had been sitting and exploded with laughter. His outburst was so sudden and so loud...

Read: Matthew 7:12–23 I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 When a British scholar called on the world’s religions to work together for worldwide unity, people everywhere applauded. Pointing out that the major religions share a...

Read: Deuteronomy 6:1–12 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Deuteronomy 6:6 Anthropologist Anthony Graesch says that the outside of a refrigerator reveals what’s important to people. During a research study of families in Los Angeles, Graesch and his colleagues noted an average of...

Read: 1 Timothy 4:6–11 It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace. Hebrews 13:9 The neighborhood fitness center where I have worked out for years closed down last month, and I had to join a new gym. The former place was a warm, friendly facility, patronized by...

Read: Exodus 17:8–16 Aaron and Hur held [Moses’s] hands up—one on one side, one on the other. Exodus 17:12 Her thirty classmates and their parents watched as Mi’Asya nervously walked to the podium to speak at her fifth grade graduation ceremony. When the principal adjusted the microphone to Mi’Asya’s height,...

Read: Psalm 122:6–9 I urge . . . that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. 1 Timothy 2:1 A women’s prayer group in my country holds regular monthly prayer sessions for Ghana and other African countries. When asked why they pray so incessantly for the nations,...

Read: 2 Peter 3:8–15 [The Lord] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 I was sitting with a group of passengers on an airport shuttle heading to our connecting flight when the bus driver was told to “hold in...

Read: Luke 19:1–9 Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. Luke 19:5 When I was a kid, our family made a monthly excursion from Ohio to West Virginia to visit my maternal grandparents. Every time we arrived at the door of their farmhouse, Grandma Lester would...

Read: Job 11:7–20 To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. Job 12:13 In desperation, a woman called the housing assistance center where I worked. A heating problem had turned her rental home into a freezer with furniture. Panicked, she asked me how she would care for...

Read: John 10:1–11 He calls his own sheep by name. John 10:3 When I first meet a new group of students in the college composition class I teach, I already know their names. I take the time to familiarize myself with their names and photos on my student roster, so...