DID YOU KNOW “For each tree is known by its own fruit.” Luke 6:44, ESV. Did you know that spiritual discernment begins with observing character, including our own? In Luke 6:39–45, Jesus brings together several pictures: a blind guide, a student becoming like a teacher, a beam obstructing someone’s vision, and a tree producing fruit.Continue reading “The Fruit That Tells the Truth”
Category Archives: Did You Know
God Came Near in Ways We Could Never Arrange
DID YOU KNOW Did you know that Luke presents the miraculous birth of Jesus within an account intended to strengthen confidence in what his readers had been taught? Luke begins his Gospel by explaining his purpose. He refers to earlier accounts, the testimony handed down by eyewitnesses, and his own careful attention to the material.Continue reading “God Came Near in Ways We Could Never Arrange”
You Have a Place Before God
DID YOU KNOW There are moments when we want to pray but hesitate. We remember a failure, feel overwhelmed by a struggle, or wonder how to approach a holy God with such an unsettled heart. Hebrews addresses that hesitation by directing us toward Jesus, our Great High Priest. The language of priesthood may seem distantContinue reading “You Have a Place Before God”
What Quietly Takes God’s Place
DID YOU KNOW An idol does not always announce itself. Sometimes it enters our lives as something useful, enjoyable, or reassuring. Work provides purpose. Entertainment offers rest. Money helps us meet responsibilities. Approval encourages us. Yet any of these can begin demanding the trust and devotion that belong to God. Today’s readings—Ezekiel 6:1–8:18, Revelation 2:12–29,Continue reading “What Quietly Takes God’s Place”
When Faithful Work Loses Its First Love
DID YOU KNOW We can become so occupied with the responsibilities of faith that we seldom pause to consider the love behind them. We prepare lessons, attend worship, defend biblical truth, help others, and keep going through difficult circumstances. These things matter. Yet Scripture asks a searching question: What is happening within the heart thatContinue reading “When Faithful Work Loses Its First Love”
There Is More Here Than You Can See
DID YOU KNOW Ezekiel 1:1–3:15; Revelation 1:1–20; Job 32:1–10 A difficult season can narrow our vision until trouble seems to fill the whole landscape. We see the closed door, the unanswered question, or the responsibility that keeps growing. Scripture invites us to look carefully at those circumstances while also attending to what God reveals aboutContinue reading “There Is More Here Than You Can See”
When Rebuilding Begins with Letting Go
DID YOU KNOW Rebuilding usually sounds hopeful. After a loss, we want to gather what remains, put the pieces back in place, and move forward. Scripture honors faithful restoration, but it also asks us to look closely at what we intend to restore. A structure can be rebuilt while the wrong that weakened it remainsContinue reading “When Rebuilding Begins with Letting Go”
The Story Keeps Moving
DID YOU KNOW After everything Paul endures in Acts, we might expect the book to close with a final account of his trial. Instead, Luke leaves him in Rome, receiving visitors and teaching about Jesus. The ending invites us to look beyond Paul’s fate to the message he carried. Read alongside Malachi and Job, itContinue reading “The Story Keeps Moving”
When the Witness Becomes an Invitation
DID YOU KNOW Paul stood before King Agrippa as a prisoner, yet his defense became an invitation to consider Jesus. That turn is easier to understand when we read it alongside Zechariah’s vision of mourning and cleansing and Job’s insistence that integrity matters even where others cannot see it. The settings differ, but each passageContinue reading “When the Witness Becomes an Invitation”
When the Shepherd Remembers Whose Flock It Is
DID YOU KNOW Leadership can begin with a sincere desire to help and slowly become a source of personal security. A person who once asked, “What do these people need?” may begin asking, “How do I keep my position?” Today’s readings in Zechariah 10:1–11:17, Acts 25:1–27, and Job 30:16–31 invite us to examine that change.Continue reading “When the Shepherd Remembers Whose Flock It Is”