1 Peter 5

sacrifices Phil Ware and the Heartlight.org and verseoftheday.com and aYearwithJesus.com ask you to please see what you can do!

What about those who are not free to worship the Lord? We must pray for those facing persecution.

Called tech support lately? Let's go to God with our problems!

Do you know God's middle name? Russ Lawson reminds us that sometimes it takes a child to help us approach God personally and lovingly.

When does most awful mess become the opportunity for grace to capture our heart and give us confidence for the future? Lisa Mikitarian tells us a wonderful story about the Father's grace revealed in a young girl's fall with the cupcakes made to honor her beloved grandmother.

Will we trust him even if he doesn't live up to our expectations? Jesus doesn't live up to our expectations, because God has more planned for us than what we can imagine.

How in the world will you ever catch up? So often we get behind and don't know how to catch up; how about listening to God and what he tells us?

Would I have the courage to act in a situation so dangerous where eternity hangs in the balance? Phil Ware reminds us of the importance to act courageously for God, for good, and for grace even when it is dangerous because eternity hangs on our decision.

What happens if your best isn't good enough? Mike Barres reminds us that we all reach times in our lives when our best efforts are not enough, but God can do what needs to be done if we will persevere, fast, and pray.

Open mouth and insert foot or extend grace? Rubel Shelly writes about an embarrassing moment by a Washington insider and staffer and a 4-star General.

Have you ever thought how much God cares for you? A little girls interruptions become the occasion for seeing how much God loves and listens to us.

What would you do to find this beast in your kitchen? The Devil is a lion and we let him into our kitchens, our homes, by treating temptation as a little kitten rather than a roaring lion wanting to devour us.

Pride comes at a high price, my friend. Don’t pay it. Max Lucado reminds us of the high price of our pride.

When is anxiety helpful? Living life on edge—that is, under constant pressure, fear, or nervousness—is no way of living. I’m talking about anxiety,

He was nitroglycerin; if you bumped him the wrong way, he blew up. Max Lucado reminds of what is necessary when we have failed publicly and why it is necessary.

Look! A monster! It's hard for us to see things in the proper perspective, which is why we need to give all of our worries to God.

Would you rather have peace or worry? If I can learn to turn my worries over to God, he will give me his peace, that divine peace that defies all logic. I decide to give my cares to God, I pray about them, and I thank him for handling them. In return, he gives me peace.

How far are you going to let things slide? Mike Barres reminds us that taking moral shortcuts and fudging on things spiritually always end up in disaster and sin.

What was that we saw falling to earth? We can't really know anyone else's story without being able to view it from the perspective of God and God sheds a tear when we judge each other falsely.

What can you do when the rain falls and the floods come? Katha Winther reminds us that life can be full of periods of bad things and rainy days with floods, but God has not forsaken or abandoned us and will see us through.

So how do we obey these hard commands to not worry? Rubel Shelly reminds us that trust in God to act is not passive, but an active life that does what is required, trusting that our difficulties and challenges are problems for God to solve.

Where do you go when there is no place to go? God longs for us to come to him and receive his mercy and grace in our struggles and cast all our anxieties on him.

What is our source of peace? God can give you peace, but it is going to come through prayer.

How can we not be afraid in times like this? Russ Lawson reminds us that even during these troubling times that God is at work to take care of us.

How should you present yourself before God? You may be rich or powerful or beautiful or famous or extremely talented. But when you come to God, you take all that off. You humble yourself and say to him, “Have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Are you caught on the tracks and the train is coming? When we place things in God's hands, we don't have to agonize with worry about them.

Have you been slicked lately by the ads? Just like the fast food ads decieve us by making their product look too good to be true, so also satan deceives and tempts us.

Do spooky things scare you? There are scary things in this world, but we need not fear any of them. The one who is in us is greater than the powers of this world.

Are you putting off a confrontation with the enemy? We often try to deny or feel sorry about the attacks of Satan in our lives rather than resisting and fighting him with the spiritual power God has given us.

How can we live above it? Mike Barres reminds us that discouragements can leave an emotional residue and keep us from living as we should, but we can do some things to live as God would have us live!