Paul writes in Hebrews 11:1, “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.” TLB

There is a scene in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where Indiana Jones is standing on the edge of a gorge. He is looking at a diagram in an ancient book that indicates a bridge should be there, but there is no bridge. After studying the ancient document, he believes he has it figured out, that the only way to find the bridge is to step into the abyss, and the bridge will appear. Without seeing, he must act.

In the same way, Jesus’ teachings in the Bible are our ancient map, and in order to see the support God promises us is to step forward in faith.

Dear Lord, often it is very difficult for us to take that first step of faith we know you want us to take, whether it is volunteering in our church, inviting a friend to worship, witnessing to someone in need, or putting our tithe in the offering plate, we all have a step we could be taking. Give us the courage to take the step and experience the joy of trusting you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Have you ever noticed that with the right tool every project seems to go smoother and get better results. Rotating your tires if you have a couple floor jacks and an air wrench makes the project take less than half the time, having two ovens when cooking for a big party at home, a hand truck (dolly) when moving appliances around, the right paintbrush for those tough to paint moldings, and for those of us in the north, a snowblower! Sometimes a task is impossible without the right tool.

In John 15 Jesus talks about being the vine and us being the branches. He expects us to bear fruit, to go and do his work, spread the gospel, make disciples. In verses 7-8 Jesus says ” If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples..”

So when we come to the difficult projects of doing God’s will, like witnessing, teaching, praying, trusting, he will give us any tool we need for the job, all we need to do is ask.

Dear Lord, when we come to those tough projects in being a Christian, help us ask for the tool we need, whether it is money, faith, determination, love, forgiveness or wisdom, and take on the project rather than seeing it as impossible. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Did you know that there is more evidence for the Bible’s authenticity than any other ancient text. We have copies of New Testament manuscripts that were hand written within 100 years of the events, and have over 20,000 copies of original ancient texts. They have been found in Africa, Europe and the Middle East with very little variation (99.5% consistency). In contrast, there are less than 1000 copies of Homer’s Illiad, and they were written over 500 years after Homer wrote it. No other ancient text is anywhere close. Over 100 million Bibles are sold each year, and it is estimated over 5 billion have been printed.

Paul wrote the letter to Timothy that we read as 2 Timothy around 67 AD while Paul was in prison in Rome. He said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone.” What a great gift the Bible is for us.

Dear Lord, thank you for giving us the Bible to guide, inspire, motivate, and educate us. Help us to read it regularly to help bring us closer to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Sometimes it is difficult to have freedom, because freedom requires discipline.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “‘I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.” NIV In order to handle the freedom that we have, we need to have boundaries of what is “beneficial” and “constructive” as Paul describes, then we need to stay within those boundaries. Having boundaries and staying within them is “discipline.”

When we are children, we need our parents to do this for us, but as we mature, we build self discipline, so that we keep ourselves within the boundaries and do not need to be “disciplined”. The bible tells us that God also disciplines us on occasion. Sometimes the difficulties we face in life are actually God’s challenges to help us build our own discipline.

Proverbs 3:11,12 writes, “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” And in Hebrews 12:7, Paul writes, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children.”

Dear Lord, It is difficult for us to accept challenges in our lives as learning experiences that you are using to help us set boundaries, or stay within boundaries we know we should. Help us endure these challenges to come out with better Christians. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

How often we get trapped in feeling sorry for ourselves, sour mood and attitude, mad at God or other people because we don’t have what we want. The antidote for this is written in 1 John 2:7-8, “and as we obey this commandment, to love one another, the darkness in our lives disappears and the new light of life in Christ shines in.”

By turning our attention away from ourselves and toward others, we are living the way Jesus did. Verse 6 says, ” Anyone who says he is a Christian should live as Christ did.”

Dear Lord, Help us overcome our focus only on ourselves, and focus on sharing your love with others. We will then realize the peace and joy this provides. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.