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Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought. — Jeremiah 17:7-8 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Trust. Can we really trust in God? Is the LORD really faithful? While we may wish we had been alive when Jesus walked the earth or when Jeremiah spoke God's hard truth fearlessly, we are especially blessed to be alive today. We stand at the end of an incredible stream of God's redemptive work and faithfulness to his promises. We can look at history and know him to be profoundly faithful to his people. We see the Father honoring the Son's trust with great power demonstrated in Jesus' resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. This power is available to us through the Holy Spirit ( Acts 1:8 , 2:32-36 ). This same power is available to us today through ...

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. — 1 Peter 2:2-3 Thoughts on Today's Verse... A newborn child is a special treasure! Messy? Loud? But a special treasure, nonetheless. However, we know something is horribly wrong when a child does not grow and mature as he or she should. Arrested development in a physical child is the cause of great concern. The Holy Spirit also reminds us that stunted growth in our spiritual lives should not occur and should be a cause of even greater concern ( Hebrews 5:14 ; 6:1-3 ; 1 Corinthians 14:20 ). God does not want us to remain immature! He wants us to continue to grow and mature in the direction of Jesus' righteous character, gracious compassion, and faithful lovingkindness ( Colossians 1:28-29 ). Our Father wants us to crave what is good and what builds others up, and find ourselves growing to become like Jesus. So, what are you going to do...

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. — Galatians 5:22-23 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Many religious groups offer various ways to know whether you have the Holy Spirit. Jesus has one simple answer: "By their fruit you will know them" ( Matthew 7:16 ). Paul gives us the definition of God's holy fruit - LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL. These qualities come to life in us as good fruit that comes as a sign of the Spirit's work in our lives. Now, why not repeat them out loud and ask the LORD to make this fruit yours in full measure through the power of the Holy Spirit, the gift the Father gives to those who ask ( Luke 11:13 ). My Prayer... Abba Father, through the Spirit, I call upon you, knowing you are interceding for me, O Holy Spirit ( Romans 8:26-27 ). Please fulfill in me the character you posse...

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. — Romans 15:13 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Hope, joy, and peace sound terrific. The problem for us as mere mortals is that we live on a flawed planet with flawed people and with tendencies to go to war with each other. How are we going to find hope, joy, and peace? We for sure won't find them in the sloganeering, the sappy marketing version of hope, joy, and peace we hear from people with simplistic solutions that don't work in the real world. We need answers from someone who has lived with the grit of the real world, experienced the highs and lows that mortality brings, and yet still managed to live with hope, joy, and peace. That someone is Jesus, who loved deeply, gathered people to himself openly, blessed powerfully, and could calm raging seas or endure the worst kind of torture with grace and forgiveness! Two moves are vital for ...

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. — Psalm 23:1-3 Thoughts on Today's Verse... "He restores my soul." My, that sounds so good, doesn't it? But David's shepherd psalm ( Psalm 23:1-6 ) and Jesus' promises as our Good Shepherd ( John 10:14-15 ) are far more than sweet religious talk. When we've reached that point where we don't think we can continue, our Shepherd blesses us with the strength so that we can keep on walking. When we're in a struggle and things are tough, his power upholds us, so we run and not grow weary. When we're winning victories in his name, we can soar on wings like eagles because he supports and sustains ( Isaiah 40:28-31 ). God the Son is our good Shepherd who loves us, sustains us, nourishes us, stills us, and restores us. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he lead...

As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. — Colossians 3:12 Thoughts on Today's Verse... "I wonder what we should wear to that meeting?" This is an expected question when we are invited to an event or an occasion of great honor. In this passage, Paul reminds us to put on the set of clothing that is always in style, especially with God. We should clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience! We wear this clothing because we are special. We are God's chosen people who are holy and dearly loved. This clothing is from the Ultimate Designer's "Godly Character Collection." We should best wear it when with other people, and when we are alone by ourselves, and we think no one is looking. These qualities are hard to wear, but always a blessing to those who meet us when we're decked out in this wardrobe. Our prayer is that when we put on t...