Pure Milk

Pure Milk

READ: PSALM 119:97-104; JOHN 1:1-5; 20:31; 1 PETER 2:2-3 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=PSALM%20119%3A97-104%3B%20JOHN%201%3A1-5%3B%2020%3A31%3B%201%20PETER%202%3A2-3&version=CSB] I love milk. A tall, cold glass of milk when I’m thirsty…a bowl of cereal…ice cream, cheese, yogurt. I’m in love with all of it. So I thought I understood 1 Peter 2:2: “Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation.” I wanted to love God’s Word as much as I love milk. But recently I had a baby, and I realized I didn’t understand anything about loving milk. This girl longs for pure milk. It’s the only thing she consumes. It provides all the nutrients she needs, and she desires it very strongly. She drinks milk about six times a day, and when she starts to get hungry, everyone knows. Her cute little face scrunches up and she screams until she’s bright red. When she’s really hungry, there’s almost no way to stop her crying other than to give her milk. She needs it to live, and when she feels the pain of hunger, she knows she must have it! Once she starts drinking her milk, all of her focus is on that task. If I interrupt her for any reason, including to make dinner, she instantly cries out again. When she’s done drinking, she leans back, closes her eyes, and rests. She’s totally satisfied. God’s Word (a term used for the Bible and for Jesus Himself) gives us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Through the Bible we learn the story of Jesus! I know His Word is valuable, but watching my daughter I wonder, “Do I really desire God’s Word like a newborn baby? May we be as hungry for God’s Word as my daughter is for milk. And when we get it, may we find ourselves satisfied. • Amy Glendinning • What do you love about God’s Word? • Newborn babies are designed to cry out insistently for what they need from their parents. As God’s children, we are designed to cry out to Him for all our needs. He is always attentive to our cries, and He wants to give us satisfaction in His life-giving presence. How could remembering that God is a loving Father help us cry out to Him? What do you need today? (Matthew 7:9-11) Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation. 1 Peter 2:2 (CSB)

Hamster Wheel Grind

READ: MATTHEW 6:9-13; 28:19-20; ROMANS 12:2; 1 JOHN 2:17 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=MATTHEW%206%3A9-13%3B%2028%3A19-20%3B%20ROMANS%2012%3A2%3B%201%20JOHN%202%3A17&version=NIV] Rat race. Hamster wheel. Grind. Eat, sleep, work, Repeat. This is on my mind. Lost in the mundane. Stuck in the chaos. A purpose will I find? Empty. Hollow. In frustration, I sigh. Your light. Your leading. Into the daily, it shines. Your will, Your way, My life, forever entwined. It’s easy to get caught up in the relentlessness of the grind. In everyday life, all the stress and minutia can make us lose sight of a more eternal purpose. “Soccer practice! Homework! Mom’s yelling! Should I go to college?! Why are my friends acting weird?!” In the midst of all this, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). As God the Son, He came into our broken world—experiencing the same difficult, mundane, painful things we do—so we could “have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Jesus empathizes with our struggles, and He died and rose again so we could be in relationship with the God of the universe, which is what we were made for! Once we know Jesus, God our Father invites us to be part of His good kingdom work (Proverbs 3:5-6; Ephesians 1:9; 2:10; Philippians 2:13). As we walk with Him through the everyday, we can rest in His love and hold on to His eternal purpose, continuing to pray in the words of our Savior, “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10; 26:39). • Dominique E. Miller • In what ways has your life felt hollow? How does Jesus free us from chasing after the things the world prioritizes? What are we free to pursue instead? (Matthew 6:25-34; 11:28-30) [Jesus said,] “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29 (NIV)

Following the One Who Heals

READ: JOHN 5:1-11; ACTS 5:29 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=JOHN%205%3A1-11%3B%20ACTS%205%3A29&version=NIV] “Stop. You can’t do that.” “Don’t do that, you’re embarrassing yourself.” “Come on, it’ll be fine.” We’ve all heard messages like these at some point. The people around us often have an idea of how they think we should be living. So who should we listen to? In John 5, Jesus takes the time to heal a man who was unable to walk. After giving the man the ability to get up, Jesus tells him to take his mat and go. The man stands up with his mat but is immediately met by those who accuse him of doing wrong. They tell him that he shouldn’t be carrying his mat on the Sabbath. What does the man do? Does he drop his mat and apologize? The man responds to his accusers by letting them know that he is going to listen to the one who healed him, rather than to them. God has done so much for us. Will we listen to Him or those around us? Will we listen to the one who healed us, who died for us, who has promised us eternal life? Or will we listen to those who tell us we need to act a certain way, do what the crowd is doing, or live a life free of embarrassment? May we all live like the man with the mat, listening first and foremost to the one who can heal, the one who has saved us. • Emily Acker • When someone tells you that you should be living a certain way—whether it’s a person you know, a speaker, an author, or someone online—how does it make you feel? • When we’re feeling pressured to do things we know aren’t good—whether that pressure is coming from Christians or non-Christians—Jesus invites us to come to Him for help. How might remembering that He loves us, more than anyone else ever could, help us follow Him? • Jesus calls us to listen to Him first and foremost, and yet one of the ways He often guides us and helps us grow is through advice from trustworthy people. In addition to talking to Jesus, who are trusted Christian friends and mentors you could talk to—people who can listen with compassion, offer wisdom and encouragement and prayer, and potentially help you get out of tricky situations? • If you want to dig deeper, read Proverbs 1:5; 9:9; 12:15; 15:31; Matthew 11:25–12:28; 17:1-9; Acts 3–5; James 1:19-27; 3:13-18. But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” John 5:11 (NIV)

Joseph Scriven: What a Friend

READ: PROVERBS 18:24; JOHN 15:9-17 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=PROVERBS%2018%3A24%3B%20JOHN%2015%3A9-17&version=NIV] Sometimes, when we walk through dark valleys, we can more fully grasp just how faithful a friend the Son of God is to frail humanity. Joseph Scriven left his mark on the church after tragedy had left its mark on his life. Born in Ireland in 1819, Joseph loved the Lord and was full of aspiration. He was engaged to a young lady he’d grown up with, and soon their long-awaited wedding ceremony was only a day away. But their dreams together were suddenly dashed when his fiancée was thrown from her horse and drowned in the River Bann. Overcome with sorrow, Joseph became a wanderer, eventually making his home in Canada. He quickly became a well-respected tutor and unexpectedly fell in love again around age twenty-five. But tragedy struck again, and pneumonia stole his fiancée from him shortly before their wedding. Utterly broken-hearted, Joseph sold everything and dedicated his life to helping the financially destitute and physically disabled. Later in life, a friend visited Joseph during a short illness and discovered a poem lying on the nightstand. Joseph admitted to being the author, having written the poem for his lonely mother in the hope of providing her some spiritual comfort. This poem has since become the well-beloved hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” It goes like this: “What a friend we have in Jesus / all our sins and griefs to bear! / What a privilege to carry / everything to God in prayer! / O what peace we often forfeit, / O what needless pain we bear, / all because we do not carry / everything to God in prayer!” The many tragic sorrows Joseph Scriven experienced in his life seemed to drive him closer to his dearest friend, the Lord Jesus. May we too draw nearer to our friend Jesus during our trials and temptations, seeking His peace during our pain. • Jaela Deming • Jesus cares about our pain, and He faced the deep pain of the cross to make the way for us to be with Him forever. Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can know He is always so very near to us. And He promises that when He returns, all our pain will be over. Can you think of a time you experienced the closeness, comfort, and peace of Jesus in the midst of a painful situation? • Consider taking a moment to look up all the lyrics to “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” or find a recording of the song. Which lines stick out to you today? One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 (NIV)

God Is with You When You Fear

READ: PSALM 94:16-19; MATTHEW 11:28-30; ROMANS 8:38-39; 1 PETER 5:7 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=PSALM%2094%3A16-19%3B%20MATTHEW%2011%3A28-30%3B%20ROMANS%208%3A38-39%3B%201%20PETER%205%3A7&version=NIV] What makes you worry? Some people fear being in crowds—afraid that something bad will happen to them when they’re in a large group of people. It’s understandable. A lot of horrible things happen in our broken world. But is there a peace we can find even when we’re in situations that make us nervous? Other people have faced health scares in their families. They’ve seen how bad things can get, so now they worry about every little sickness. It’s understandable for them to be nervous about health stuff because they’ve dealt with such serious issues in their lives before. What peace can we rest in— no matter what happens health-wise? This world is a scary place because it’s been broken by sin and its effects. In our lives, so many things can cause our hearts to beat fast. So what hope can we cling to? Because Jesus has come to save us, we can know that God is right here with us. When we’re worried, God invites us to tell Him our concerns. When we’re on edge, God stands with us. No matter what happens—good or bad—we have Jesus with us. We are never alone. • Emily Acker • We all feel worried or anxious from time to time, but God has so much compassion on us, and He wants to help us. Consider taking a moment to talk to God about any worries on your mind. • How could it be comforting to know that—because Jesus died and rose again for us—we can rely on His promises: to one day get rid of everything that is worrisome, and to be with us every day until then? (Matthew 28:20; Revelation 21:1-5) • Sometimes we experience thoughts and feelings that are too much for us to handle on our own, even by praying and reading the Bible. Thankfully, one of the ways God wants to help us is through other people, such as friends, parents, pastors, and medical and mental health professionals. If you find yourself feeling afraid, stressed, or worried a lot of the time, or if you’re finding it difficult to rest, who is a trusted adult you could talk to? • If you need someone to talk to, you can request a free conversation with Focus on the Family’s Counseling Department by calling 1-855-771-HELP (4357) weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Mountain Time). Please be prepared to leave your contact information for a counselor to return a call to you as soon as possible. In Canada, book your appointment by calling 1-800-661-9800 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) and ask to speak with the care associate. [Jesus said,] “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 (NIV)