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February 18, 2003 Inseparable Twins Read: Ephesians 4:1-16. . . speaking the truth in love, [we are to] grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ. —Ephesians 4:15 Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 7-9 A seminary student got into a heated debate with his landlord. They were discussing the teachings of a theologian whom the landlord thought was a heretic. The student, on the other hand, considered himself a follower of the man and his doctrines. With an attitude of superiority, the young man showed his landlord a well-marked copy of a theology book written by this...

February 17, 2003 "Joy Stealers" Read: Philippians 1:1-11He who has begun a good work in you will complete it. —Philippians 1:6 Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 4-6 Why do many Christians fail to experience real joy, which is listed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22? In his book Laugh Again, Charles Swindoll suggests three common "joy stealers"—worry, stress, and fear. He defines worry as "an inordinate anxiety about something that may or may not occur." (And it usually doesn't.) Stress, says the author, is "intense strain over a situation we can't change or control." (But God...

February 12, 2003 Being Realistic Read: Psalm 27Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. —Psalm 56:3 Bible In One Year: Numbers 25-27 Few of us are traveling to heaven in a state of freedom from all fear. Who can honestly testify that they always practice this verse: "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid"? (Psalm 56:11). We do trust, and yet we may be troubled at times by gnawing worries. Our common experience is that our trust in God is mingled with episodes of worry. Even the apostle Paul, who wrote many of...

February 11, 2003 He's Been Faithful Read: Psalm 119:89-96Your faithfulness endures to all generations. —Psalm 119:90 Bible In One Year: Numbers 21-24 Jim and Carol Cymbala prayed and praised and preached their way through a personal 2-year nightmare. Their teenage daughter Chrissy had turned her back on the God they loved and served so faithfully. Although their hearts were breaking, Jim and Carol continued ministering to the people of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City. Some people think that Carol wrote the song "He's Been Faithful" after her daughter's dramatic return to God, but she didn't. She wrote it...

February 10, 2003 Thoughts Of Heaven Read: Revelation 21:1-5Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. —Revelation 21:3 Bible In One Year: Numbers 18-20 Cartoonists often depict those who have gone to heaven as white-robed, ghostly forms floating among the clouds or sitting on golden stairs playing harps. What a far cry from the picture we find in the Bible! In 1 Corinthians 15, we read that our resurrection bodies, although not subject to death, will be real and tangible—not mere apparitions. And Revelation 21:1-5 tells us that...

February 9, 2003 Desert Of Diversion Read: Revelation 2:1-7You have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen. —Revelation 2:4-5 Bible In One Year: Numbers 15-17 Muynak was once a thriving fishing port on the Aral Sea. But today Muynak sits on the edge of a bitter, salty desert. Sand dunes are strewn with the rusted, hollow hulls of a fishing fleet that once sailed high above on the surface of Central Asia's fountain of life. Things began changing around 1960 when Soviet government planners began diverting the Aral's water source to irrigate the world's largest cotton...

February 8, 2003 The Devil's Bait Read: 1 John 2:15-17Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. —1 John 2:15 Bible In One Year: Numbers 11-14 I once read about an interesting method used by people in North Africa to catch monkeys. A hunter hollows out a gourd and makes a hole in its side just large enough for a monkey to insert his open hand. The gourd is then filled with nuts and tied to a tree. The curious monkey is attracted...

February 7, 2003 Who's Got Your Tongue? Read: Proverbs 12:17-25The tongue of the wise promotes health. —Proverbs 12:18 Bible In One Year: Numbers 7-10 It's been estimated that a talkative person may speak 30,000 words a day! But the important question is, how do our words, whether many or few, affect others? A Greek philosopher asked his servant to cook the best dish possible. The servant, who was very wise, prepared a dish of tongue, saying, "It's the best of all dishes, for it reminds us that we may use the tongue to bless and express happiness, dispel sorrow, remove...

February 6, 2003 Roll 'em Up Read: James 2:14-26Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. —James 2:18 Bible In One Year: Numbers 4-6 When Dave Thomas died in early 2002, he left behind more than just thousands of Wendy's restaurants. He also left a legacy of being a practical, hard-working man who was respected for his down-to-earth values. Among the pieces of good advice that have outlived the smiling entrepreneur is his view of what Christians should be doing with their lives. Thomas, who as a youngster was influenced for...

February 5, 2003 Midnight Encouragement Read: Judges 7:1-23 Your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp. —Judges 7:11 Bible In One Year: Numbers 1-3 The Midianites and their allies had invaded Israel. It was the time of the judges, and Gideon could muster only 32,000 men against an army "as numerous as locusts" (Judges 7:12). Then God cut the army down to 300 (vv.2-7). Gideon was afraid, so God sent him into the enemy camp at night. Crouching behind cover, the Israelite captain heard one soldier tell another about a dream (vv.13-14). A loaf of barley bread...

February 4, 2003 The Ways Of God Read: 2 Samuel 24:1-17The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works. —Psalm 145:17 Bible In One Year: Leviticus 24-27 Have you ever puzzled over statements in the Bible that seem to contradict each other? For example, 1 Chronicles 21:1 states that the one who "moved David to number Israel" was Satan, but 2 Samuel 24:1 says it was the Lord. How do we explain this? We know that God never tempts anyone to sin (James 1:13). The answer lies in the way the Old Testament writers expressed the...

February 3, 2003 No Lie Read: Colossians 3:9-17Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds. —Colossians 3:9 Bible In One Year: Leviticus 20-23 A college football coach resigns after admitting he falsified his academic and athletic credentials. A career military officer confesses to wearing combat decorations he did not earn. A job applicant acknowledges that her stated experience in "food and beverage oversight" was actually making coffee each morning at the office. Within each of us is a tendency to embellish the truth in order to impress others. Whether on a...

Language Choices: Request Your Personal Copy Download To Your PDA About Our Writers Monthly Calendar Archives Topical Index Using keywords or passages, you can search through our online readings. Here are some helpful tips to improve your results. RBC Home Bible Gateway™ Gospelcom's searchable online Bible in multiple languages and translations Passage (eg. John 3:16): Search word(s) (eg. saved): February 2, 2003 Tough Trees Read: Romans 5:1-5Tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. —Romans 5:3-4 Bible In One Year: Leviticus 17-19 Bristlecone pines are the world's oldest living trees. Several are estimated to be 3,000 to 4,000...

February 1, 2003 True Greatness Read: Mark 10:35-45Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. —Mark 10:43 Bible In One Year: Leviticus 14-16 Some people feel like a small pebble lost in the immensity of the Grand Canyon. But no matter how insignificant we judge ourselves to be, we can be greatly used by God. In a sermon early in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. quoted Jesus' words from Mark 10 about servanthood. Then he said, "Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have...

January 31, 2003 The Judge's Compassion Read: Romans 5:1-11Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. —1 Peter 3:18 Bible In One Year: Leviticus 11-13 During his years as mayor of New York City, Fiorello La Guardia sometimes presided as judge in a night court. In one case, a man was found guilty of stealing a loaf of bread. He pleaded that he had committed that theft to feed his starving family. "The law is the law," La Guardia declared. "I must therefore fine you $10." When the man sadly...

January 30, 2003 Building A Life Read: John 20:11-18To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. —Philippians 1:21 Bible In One Year: Leviticus 8-10 It was a sunny, sad day in 1982—the day after my husband's funeral. I had gone alone to Bill's grave, hardly knowing why. As with Mary Magdalene who visited Jesus' tomb, the risen Lord was waiting for me. He impressed the words of Philippians 1:21 on my mind, still numbed by Bill's untimely death from cancer. I wove my prayer around the words of that verse: "Lord, how often I've heard Bill testify,...

January 29, 2003 Who Is Jabez? Read: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. —1 Chronicles 4:9 Bible In One Year: Leviticus 5-7 Chinese New Year celebrations are fun for children. When relatives and friends get together, it's the custom for adults to give children small, red envelopes containing token sums of money. Children often rip open their packets just to get the money, and their parents have to remind them that the giver is more important than the gift. Similarly, when we study the prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, it is important to remember that...

January 28, 2003 Be Careful! Read: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. —1 Corinthians 10:12 Bible In One Year: Leviticus 1-4 Several years ago my wife Carolyn and I were hiking on Mount Rainier in Washington when we came to a swollen, glacial stream. Someone had flattened one side of a log and dropped it across the river to form a crude bridge, but there was no handrail and the log was slippery. The prospect of walking on the wet log was frightening, and Carolyn didn't want to cross. But she found the...

January 27, 2003 The Reason And The Risk Read: 2 Timothy 2:1-13I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ. —2 Timothy 2:10 Bible In One Year: Exodus 38-40 It was the kind of moment that people have nightmares about. A tanker truck filled with 2,500 gallons of propane gas caught fire while parked at a fuel storage warehouse. The flames shot 30 to 40 feet out of the back of the truck and quickly spread to a loading dock. Several large tanks nearby were in danger of...

January 26, 2003 The Value Of A Life Read: 2 Samuel 9Mephibosheth . . . shall eat at my table like one of the king's sons. —2 Samuel 9:11 Bible In One Year: Exodus 35-37 A British factory worker and his wife were excited when, after many years of marriage, they discovered they were going to have their first child. According to author Jill Briscoe, who told this true story, the man eagerly relayed the good news to his fellow workers. He told them God had answered his prayers. But they made fun of him for asking God for a...