Your Daily Bible

Jonah Runs from the Lord God’s word comes to Jonah, the prophet, but he decides to flee in the opposite direction. Instead of going to Nineveh, he travels to Tarshish.  People run from God for various reasons. Maybe you are like Jonah in some sense. We tend to run from God in specific ways. It could be because of sin, habits, resentment, bitterness or anything that the Bible forbids but we hold on...

Don’t let fear stop you. Chances are, you have a lot of big things coming up. Graduation. College. A career. Adult stuff. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed—in fact, you might not feel like you know what you’re doing!   Joshua was in the same boat. In the Bible, Moses was the only real leader the Israelites had ever had. He was the GOAT, basically. Joshua was Moses’ assistant. Then, Moses dies, and the...

What happens when we don’t see God’s plan?   In the Old Testament, Jeremiah was a prophet delivering a message from God to His people who had been exiled to Babylon. This certainly isn’t where they wanted to be. It wasn’t the plan. Instead of God rescuing them right away, He tells them to “build homes, and plan to stay” (Jeremiah 29:5 NLT) and to “work for the peace … of the city where I sent you...

How do you discover God’s plan for your life?  If you’ve ever run a race, you know it’s important to keep the right pace. If you go too slow, you’ll easily get behind and people will pass you. If you go too fast, however, you might get exhausted quickly and not have the strength to even finish the race.  Finding the right pace while running a race can be challenging. Fortunately, when it comes to...

What should I do?  You’ve probably asked that question a lot, especially if you have a major life decision to face, like where to go to college or what career to pick, or if He or She really is the one to marry.  It’s a similar question a religious leader asked Jesus in the Bible: “Which is the most important commandment of the Law?” (Matthew 22:36) In other words: what should I do? In the next ve...

Are you excited about your life? Or do you feel as if you’re merely existing, drifting along from day to day without any sense of purpose or direction? Through the years, I’ve met countless people who’re living what I call a “settled-for-life.” Somewhere along their journey, they became complacent and content in their circumstances. They settled for what they believed was adequate or satisfactory...

In every season of our life—whether as a new parent, a student pursuing a degree, or as empty-nesters— we are invited to live with intentionality. Some of these seasons seem bursting with opportunity while others feel less important. It’s important to remember that purpose does not start or stop at certain points in our life. Every moment we have is ripe for purpose-filled living. Support the show

For many of us, disappointment, setbacks, and discouragement can make us feel like our purpose is out of reach. When we look at the path of our life, it often does not match the upward and onward vision of what we thought pursuing our purpose would look like.  It’s natural to want to avoid the setbacks and detours we experience in life, but the truth is that most of us will experience them. It may...

One of the biggest stumbling blocks in realizing God’s intended purpose for our life is when we feel that our purpose has been put on hold. In our culture that values instant gratification, we can easily forget that development in the Kingdom of God does not run on our timeline—it’s often a much more gradual process than we would like.  Support the show

One of the best parts of our individual purpose is that it is unique to us. God is not looking for you or me to become carbon copies of the people around us. Do you know the unique role God has called you to play?   Support the show

What we believe about who we are has a massive impact on how our purpose is lived out. Stop for a minute and ask yourself what makes you, you? When you meet someone for the first time, how do you introduce and describe yourself?  Our identity is very important to the heart of God. So much so, that he fills the Bible with stories that affirm our new identity in Christ. We can enter into an identity...

Have you ever known someone who could complicate even the simplest task? Christians are some of the best at this.    When God provides simple, clear instructions, it seems too good to be true. So we add on more and more rules and requirements until following God seems impossible to do. Then, when we’re challenged to do something Scripture clearly commands, we find we’re too busy, too tired, and st...

Imagine you had nothing to eat for weeks. Your hunger would be so overwhelming that it would consume all of your thoughts. If you saw the food your belly ached for, what are the chances you would share it with an equally famished person? Paul is thinking along those lines when he warns us not to “bite and devour” one another ( Galatians 5:15 ). When we are empty spiritually, we see people and thin...

The human body is complex. Our 78 organs work individually and collectively. A dozen distinct systems coexist seamlessly.    God created every part of our body for a specific purpose. Hands pick up objects, write letters, and steer the car. Feet take us down the street, up the stairs. Our hearts ensure that blood gets to every inch of our bodies, and our brains supervise and regulate bodily activi...

Jesus washed smelly, dirty, calloused feet with His own holy hands. At this point, the disciples are prepared for Jesus to become the military and political leader of Israel.   Had Jesus wanted, He could have easily impressed the disciples with His resume. Creator, Sustainer, Sovereign Lord, King, and Messiah are a few of the titles Jesus held as God’s Son. Men like Peter, James, and John sat besi...

“In God We Trust” is in our pledge of allegiance, our national anthem, and on our money. It's easy to say, easy to sing about, and easy to read. But, it's not always easy to live. What happens when you get a grim medical diagnosis or your boss says your position is being eliminated? What happens when Covid19 numbers are spiking and there is so much uncertainty. Will you still trust God i...

Too often, we take the same attitude to sin that celebrities take to blending in. In our desire to do what we want, to be our own gods, we put our sunglasses on and pretend no one is watching. But deep down, we all know this is foolishness. We can't hide from God, and no amount of disguise stops God from seeing us as we really are ( Psalm 53:2-3 ).  Support the show

"I'm sorry, but...[insert excuse here]."   How many times have you heard an empty apology? "I'm sorry" means nothing unless it comes from a repentant heart.   Support the show

We all share the need to feel safe. When we don't feel safe, we stop growing. Instead, we put all of our energy into managing fear and protecting ourselves.   Ancient cities protected their citizens by building large surrounding walls, which created a fortress that kept chaos out. The walls’ constant presence in people's lives created a safe atmosphere where communities could thrive. Sup...

You enjoy your home, and the car is nice, but the payments are a burden. Maybe, there is the student loan and some credit card debt added to the mix. You work hard to stay ahead of the obligations, but the interest grows and you feel the weight of the debt hanging over your head like a great stone suspended by a mere thread. It’s easy to feel that way about our sin as well, but unlike these financ...

Society teaches us to rely on ourselves and find our answers within. We take pride in not needing others and being self-sufficient. And if we're not careful, we can take that same attitude into our relationship with God.  Support the show

Has the weight of guilt ever made you sick? It did for King David, the author of Psalm 32 . Salvation makes it possible for us to have a relationship with God. But even after we commit to following Jesus, we don't always get it right.  Support the show

Have you ever tried to talk to someone who wouldn’t listen, teach someone who didn’t want to learn, or correct someone who preferred doing wrong? Maybe you've been the one who was unwilling to listen, learn, or make a change.  Either way, the effect on the relationship was probably the same. It either stagnated or ended because where there is no humility, there can be no intimacy. Support the...

Sometimes life spirals out of control, and no one seems to be there to help. When our earthly support system disappears, it can often feel like God has abandoned us, too. Being in the midst of a storm is hard, and feeling alone in that storm is even harder. In Psalm 22 , David voices his frustrations about not feeling God in a moment of need. He also acknowledges that even though he feels abandone...

Trust makes or breaks relationships. You can’t see it or touch it, but it’s obvious whether or not it exists between two people. Trust will determine the success or failure of all of our relationships — with our friends, spouses, children, and even with God. All of our behaviors and attitudes will be governed by whether or not we trust God’s character. Support the show