..Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8We’ve asked Jesus to help us become new, to renew our minds and to begin renovating us from the inside out.There’s another place in Scripture where Paul gives good advice about how to be made new. Pa...  Read More

Titus 2:1-10But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.  Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.  Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children...  Read More

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. - Romans 12:2aOften, Jesus makes us new slowly. For most of us, it’s going to feel like choosing to trust Jesus everyday. But here’s the good news: Jesus will continue to make us new each day, if we ask Him.In Scripture, there was a church leader named Paul. He had a radical life change (read Acts 9 for h...  Read More

“I am making everything new!” - Revelation 21:5Have you ever wished you were different? Is there a part of your life that you wish you could change? Can you become more of the person you long to be?There is something in all of us that longs to be different than who we currently are. We want to be more confident, to be braver, and to stand up for what’s right. We want to be free from the shame that...  Read More

he Lions' DenWe sometimes think that if we’re doing it God’s way, we’ll never get into trouble or difficult situations.WRONG!Daniel was a powerful man of fasting and prayer, committed to God to the extreme. Yet today you’ll read that his enemies set him up to be destroyed by the very thing that set him apart: his devotion to God. Daniel was doing it right, serving God with everything he had—and it...  Read More

Play OffenseToday is a total setup.You’ve been doing your Daniel thing, hitting your reading plan, and making room for God persistently in prayer by praying three times a day—and those very things are going to cause your enemies to show their face.I am, of course, describing the life of Daniel. You’re about to read how Daniel’s enemies created a setup, and he walked right into it. They’re getting ...  Read More

God is God All the TimeI bet you’ve heard the story of Jonah—how he ran from God, got swallowed by a whale (or fish, depending on your translation of the story), spent three nights in it’s belly on the Red Eye to Nineveh, and then preached repentance to those crazy pagans.But have you ever seen why Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh? It was because he hated them, and he wanted to see them burn. Th...  Read More

Widow PowerBe honest—have you ever thought God was holding out on you by not answering a prayer the way you wanted? If you’ve ever felt this way, you’re not alone. We’ve all felt this way at some point in our lives, and it’s no surprise to God (whether or not you admit it, He already knows)!Instead of pretending that you don’t feel this way, what if you admitted and confronted it? Because however ...  Read More

PersistentAsk & Keep on Asking Even if it wasn’t your kid, I’m sure you’ve at least heard this in a store: “Can I have that? Please? Pllleeeeaaaaaase?” And if the parent doesn’t respond, you hear it again, and again!It’s irritating, right? Why do kids do that?Because it works.Today, we start learning about being Persistent. Sometimes people pray about something one time, and they think that should...  Read More

Lord, Help!James writes that we do not have what we ask for because we don’t ask God for it. But do you sometimes feel like you don’t even know what to ask for? Believe me, I’ve been there!When you’re in that situation, the answer is actually simple: humble yourself, resist the devil, and draw near to God. While drawing close to Him in fasting and prayer, ask Him what to pray.Sometimes it’s as sim...  Read More

Define Your Victory  What does “victory” look like for you? Have you ever stopped to think about what success would look like specifically in your current situation? Today you’re going to read that for Daniel, success was staying alive—or was it more than that?The king had a dream, and no one could tell him what it meant. He decided that if his “wise men” couldn’t tell him what he’d dreamed and wh...  Read More

RelationshipsWhen we get to midlife, we start to understand what is important in life. We have spent so much time becoming, and now we are learning how to be. One of the last pieces of Scripture we get from Paul before he dies is the one where he talks a lot about relationships. And at the end of the day, that is what really matters: our relationship with God, with our spouse, with our kids, with ...  Read More