Jul 31 2024

Afternoon Bible Verse

For in him we live, and move, and have our being.

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God is the reason we exist. Our lives are in His hands. He created us with purpose, and without Him we will never live the abundant life He has called us to.

Whether or not we acknowledge Him, He is in control. Matthew Henry, a minister from the 1600s, said, "We have a necessary and constant dependence upon his providence, as the streams have upon the spring and the beams upon the sun." Everything depends on the Lord.

And God doesn't want just part of us. He wants us to live, and move, and have our being through Him.

The world needs to hear God's message of hope and love. When we share the Gospel, God uses our words to draw His creation back to Him. When we experience the life God has for us, and when we accept that He is the ruler of every area of our hearts, then we can't help but share that message with others.

We can ensure that we abide in God by stopping and connecting with Him throughout the day. By denying ourselves and choosing to live through Him, we discover God's true purpose for our lives.

Afternoon Prayer

Jesus, you are my Lord and Savior. Without you, I cannot do anything. I live and move and have my being in you. Jesus, You provided the way for me to live an abundant life through you when you came to earth and died for me. Thank you for your sacrifice, Jesus, that allows me to spend eternity with you. In your name, amen.

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Jul 30 2024

Yesterday Afternoon's Bible Verse

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. :

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Yesterday Afternoon's Bible study

In the average year, firefighters respond to nearly a half-million structure fires. These range from homes to commercial buildings to barns. The job of a firefighter is to rescue people from fires and extinguish the fire from doing further damage. Often, fires are caused by human error—a dropped cigarette, a child playing with matches, a candle left burning overnight, and so forth.

When a firefighter rescues a family caught in a fire, there is much rejoicing when everyone has escaped. Even if the fire was started by somebody's mistake, that is not the focus at the time of rescue. The overwhelming peace that everyone is okay outweighs the reason why it started.

When God sent Jesus into the world, humanity was in a place where we were doomed. We needed a Savior. God didn't send Jesus down to make us aware of all of the fires we had started and to reprimand us—He came to rescue us. There is much rejoicing when someone is saved from the results of their sin. The focus then becomes knowing God and growing closer to Him. The focus is not on the wrongs of the past.

This can be difficult to understand because our human nature wants retribution. We do something wrong and we are punished to the extent of the law. But God operates differently. He is aware of everything we have done but still offers us His unconditional love.

The next time we have the urge to condemn others for the bad choices they have made, we should remember the pain that we have been spared and the grace we received ... even when we were sinners.

Yesterday Afternoon's Prayer

Jesus, there was a time when I was starting a lot of fires in my life. Without your help, they would have burned out of control and destroyed me. Thank you for salvation. I'm so grateful that you offer grace without condemnation and love without hesitation. Help me to do the same even when I don't feel like others deserve it. Thank you for saving me, Jesus. In your name, amen.
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