Tuesday, June 30th
Written by Kyle Shultz

2 Corinthians 12:7b-9
there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Why did God say no to Paul? Paul wasn’t doing anything wrong, as a matter of fact this was something that was brought on for being in the right. You may have heard the saying, “this is my cross to bear” referring to some form of struggle. In all honesty, when we choose to follow God with our lives, there will be difficulties that don’t make any sense to us. Jesus said that in order to follow Him, we had to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. You will carry one of two burdens in this life. You will either carry the weight of the world on your back trying to live for yourself only to be crushed in the end, or you will accept the hard road that brings scars that shine God’s glory in living for Him. Now the thing about carrying your cross, when you choose to take steps in obedience you find out that it’s not you that’s walking. You’ll find this burden much lighter than you first thought. You thought you were carrying this on your own to find out Jesus was carrying you the whole time.

Extra time in the Word 2 Corinthians 12

Monday, June 29th
Written by Michael Williams

1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

I am so tired of hearing Christians talk about how worthless and unworthy they are. How they are nothing and no one. Yes, compared to God, WE ARE NOTHING. But we need not insult God by telling Him, or attempting to remind Him that He created garbage. He made something great, we screwed it up, HE fixed it. Now let us thank Him for it. We are not worthless, we are valued so much that God, HIMSELF… DIED… FOR US! We are not useless. Through us God reveals His glory to the world. We are no longer to blame for our sins, setbacks, and shortcomings. Jesus took all of those upon Himself on the Cross. DO NOT LET your failures redefine you as worthless or useless. Do not insult God by acting as though His sacrifice on the cross was not enough to fix you, redeem you, or make you worthy to be called His. Don’t you dare go another day without acknowledging the magnificent work of art He began when He made you. With every breath you take, God takes another stroke with His brush on the canvas of your soul; with everyday that goes by God is making you more and more like everything He intended for you to be. You are beautifully and wonderfully made. Now start acting like it.

Extra time in the Word 1 Peter 2

Sunday, June 28th
Written by Kyle Shultz

Hebrews 12:6,12
For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees

If we were to be honest with ourselves, we would have to say that we deal with sin on a regular basis. There’s no way around it. This chapter in Hebrews even goes as far to say that there’s a particular sin that everyone especially deals with. What we can be sure of as believers is when it comes to this is that (1) God will prompt in our hearts that it’s wrong when we do it, and (2) we will face consequences for our choice. When we look at this, it’s very easy to look down at ourselves, and that is not the reason for the Lord’s correction. He corrects us from the wrong that would take us down a road of more severe consequences than we could ever imagine. When we look down at ourselves, it’s a form of pride, just like someone who thinks better of themselves than what they really are. The opposite of pride is humility, and humility is not even looking at yourself. You might think, “How is that possible?” The answer is found in Psalm 118:1, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” We need to remember that God has made us His children, our identity comes from Him. He is always at work in our lives and is always showing us His love. In response to that we must choose to give Him thanks (strengthen our hands as verse 12 today says) and focus on Him. When we do, He aligns our heart with His and enables us with His strength that is greater than our sin. So don’t loose heart, thank God now for His what He has already done for you and is doing for you and allow Him to give you strength beyond your struggle.

Extra time in the Word Hebrews 12

Saturday, June 27th
Written by Janet Scott

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

It is good to have friends and to be known as a good friend. Everyone has tough days and times where life has us down. It is good when you have that close Godly friend that can come alongside you and help pull you back up! It is even better when you can be that friend. I remember being in High School and seeing a girl that had no one and how it broke my heart to see that no one had even tried to reach out to her. Worst of all was when I did some of my friends had the nerve to ask me why! I was not happy to think that the friends I had could even ask why I would reach out to someone hurting just because she wasn’t “popular” and her family was extremely poor! If we cannot show the love of God to people who are hurting no matter who it is or what our “friends” may think we are really missing out! Be thankful for the good friends you have and be all you can be to be the friend you need to be not just for them but also for the ones who have no one to help lift them up!

Extra time in the Word Ecclesiastes 4

Friday, June 25th
Written by Kyle Shultz

Psalm 116:6
The Lord protects the simple-hearted; when I was in great need, He saved me.

Has anyone ever accused you of being gullible? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Some people are just that way by nature, and others can be caught off guard once in a while. I don’t think it’s good to take advantage of a gullible person to either hurt them or make a complete fool of them, but I do find it fun to just tease them when the opportunity arises. What makes it fun is that the person just doesn’t see it coming.

If you look at the meaning of the Hebrews word for simple-hearted you’ll find it means “silly, foolish, easily swayed.” Take a look at what’s happening today. Our economy is crumbling and people who we thought had secure jobs are being laid off left and right. Divorces happen to over half of today’s marriages. We deal with health issues, loss of loved ones, and countless other difficulties. Truth is, life is really hard and we don’t know what’s around the corner, we are simple-hearted when it comes to handling life. God is our Safe Place. He never keeps the hard times from coming to us, but He protects us through those hard times. He doesn’t expect us to understand everything that’s going on because we can’t. All He wants us to do is look to Him. When He shows us something He wants us to obey, that’s because it’s a step we are required to take to freedom. If it’s not a step we are required to take, He will stand as our protection.

Extra time in the Word Psalm 116

Thursday, June 25th
Written by Janet Scott

Psalm 101:3
I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.

In this chapter of Psalms David sets his mind for how he will talk and behave and what he will allow himself to even look at. Sin is something we don’t “fall” into we walk into it! We have choices to make every day; what we will say, what our attitude is, what we will look at, how we treat others, etc. If we do not determine in our hearts and minds each day how we will walk and talk it is so much easier for Satan to get the advantage. It is so important to start your day out in the Word of God and end your day with the Word of God, even if it is just a verse or two. It takes determination to do the right things on a regular basis, to develop the habits you need to be all you are called to be in Christ. I would encourage you to set your priorities and set your mind to not allow yourself to be in a situation that you know will tempt you to do something you know you shouldn’t do. It will get easier the more you do it. It is amazing how much easier it is to pick up a bad habit vs the determination it sometimes takes to add a good habit, but you can do it if you f.r.o.g (fully rely on God)!

Extra time in the Word Psalm 101

Wednesday, June 24th
Written by Kyle Shultz

Psalm 114:1-2
When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue, Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.

It is so easy, if you read through God’s Word cover to cover, to see the story of God delivering Israel from Egypt and gloss over it. I’ve done it. The Psalms especially seem to focus on their deliverance. Why is it this way? Why is it so important for Israel to remember their deliverance from Egypt? I believe the key is in two words in today’s passage; sanctuary and dominion. The word sanctuary comes from the word that gives the idea of being uniquely set apart and dominion has to do with one’s realm of ownership. When Israel stepped away from their old identity as a people of slaves and followed God’s promised plan, they took on the identity of being God’s people. They had the promises for many years, but now they were at a point where they were ready and took ownership bearing God’s name as a chosen people. As a result, seas parted, the courage of enemies left, water gushed from rocks, and all creation literally got out of the way as Israel stood as a people bearing the name of God to the whole world. Brothers and sisters, you are living chosen vessels for Christ. You have been bought with the Christ’s precious life and made fit for His plan just for Him. When you submit to God for Who He is and stand on who He has made you, nothing will stand in your way. Choose to set your mind and heart on what Christ has for you today and go out and live it.

Extra time in the Word Psalm 114

Tuesday, June 23rd
Written by Kyle Shultz

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Do you ever wake up in the morning and you just know it’s going to be a rough day? Then you go through the day and it turns out to be alright. Or maybe you wake up singing your favorite “happy song” and your day turns out to be a nightmare. It’s easy to think, “Shouldn’t I be having more consistent days if I’m a Christian and God is supposed to love me? Shouldn’t He have better things for me?” The truth is that He does. We miss the mark when we forget to exercise our minds to remember how God has called us to walk. On the outside, we want to live by how we feel, but we are called to live by faith. Faith is the standard by which we are measured in our walk with God. This verse gives us good criteria by which we can see if we are exercising faith. It starts by realizing that God is God. We find from His Word that means He is the Creator of everything, He is in complete control. But faith also includes that He loves us dearly. When we accepted Christ into our lives we became His children, He made us a new creation, and we are to live for His plan for our lives. He gives us grace to endure the hard times in life and freedom to enjoy the good things with Him at the center. When we choose to get past our feelings and surrender to Him in faith, then we find the consistency and enjoyment of living our days in His strength.

Extra time in the Word Hebrews 11

Monday, June 22nd
Written by Michael Williams

2 Corinthians 7:10-13
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore we are comforted.

It is important to establish a clear difference between good conviction and destructive guilt and self pity. When it has been made clear to you that you have made a mistake, focus on resolving the issue. Good conviction is the passion that fuels change. Destructive Guilt is to focus on the past and the insufficiencies that lead to the mistake. You should not focus on the fact that you made the mistake, you should focus on not making that mistake again.

Extra time in the Word 2 Corinthians 7

Sunday, June 21st
Written by Kyle Shultz

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Paul shows us in this passage how Christ wants us to live in this life. It says to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That word transformed comes from the word meaning renovation. Christ has given you a new life, and complimenting that He’s given you a new mind that He wants refreshed continually. Hebrews 10:16 says that God has written His word in our minds and on our hearts. He’s given it all to us right now. But He gives us the responsibility to search the Scriptures, allow Him to open our eyes to His truth, and make that truth a reality by how we live. This is what Paul is saying by working out your salvation. God has placed it in us, we must choose to focus on Him and when He shows us what to put into practice, we must grab hold of that and move forward with it.

Oswald Chambers said that we read the Word to get in touch with the Living Word. God’s Word is the tool that leads us to that living relationship with Jesus. When we are in touch with Jesus like that, we’ll know what it is to live in God’s will. Philippians 2:12-13 says that God works in you to will and do His good pleasure. You’ll want to do what God has for you when you’re connected with Jesus. You’ll be living in God’s will.

Extra time in the Word Romans 13