The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. – Genesis 7:1 (NIV)
Reading the Old Testament is really fun. Mostly because you see the awesome relationship God has with people. In story after story, we see God talking to people, leading them and helping them.
In today’s scripture, we see that God is speaking to Noah. He tells Noah to go into the ark.
Today’s Truth: God Wants Relationship With You
The great thing about this story is that not only did God speak to Noah and many of the people in the Old Testament, but that He still speaks today. God is interested in a deep and fulfilling relationship with you too!
He wants to speak to you about your future, about the things that concern you, and He wants to lead you.
So today, challenge yourself to spend time with God. Ask God to speak to you. Spend time thanking God for the blessings you have and begin to strengthen that relationship with Him.
So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. – Romans 10:17 (NLT)
Have you noticed how what you listen to is important? Imagine that you’re at school and your teacher is giving instructions about an assignment. Instead of listening, you are talking and laughing with your friends.
Later that night, when you start working on that assignment, you realize you don’t know what to do. Why? Because you didn’t listen when your teacher was explaining what to do. Instead you heard what your friends said instead of the teacher.
Hearing the right thing is important at school and when it comes to things of God too. What you listen to matters.
Today’s Truth: What You Listen To Matters
Today’s verse tells us that faith comes when we hear the good news about Christ. But, we can choose to listen to other things. We can listen to our mom talk about how she doesn’t have enough money to pay the bills. We can listen to the news tell us how bad and crazy our world is.
If we only listen to those things, we will have faith in the wrong thing. Instead, choose to listen to God’s word. Remind yourself of who God is and the good news of the gospel. Jesus died to provide us freedom. Choose to believe it and walk in it today.
For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. – Hebrews 4:2 (NLT)
God’s word offers us so many promises. Yet, we often don’t walk in the light of those promises. God promises us peace and yet many of us are upset and worried about the future.
The truth is, God promises us many good things, but they don’t do us any good if we don’t have faith in them and believe them.
Today’s Truth: What you hear will benefit you only if you believe it.
There are lots of things that can stop you from believing God. Maybe you saw a family member die and now you feel like God isn’t trustworthy. Perhaps you see suffering in the world and think how can that be?
Regardless of what it is, one of the best things you can do if you have trouble believing in God and His goodness is to start to spend time in the Bible.
The more you read the Bible, the more you realize who God is. You see how He loves His children and how He continually moves on the behalf of those who put their trust in Him.
So today, if you’ve allowed circumstances to shake your faith in God, determine to regain that trust. Spend time in the Bible and prayer and get to know God. Realize that He’s good and wants the best for your life. Then you’ll get the most benefit out of knowing Him.
So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. – Hebrews 2:1 (NLT)
Have you noticed how quickly things change? One year there’s a certain brand that everyone has to have at school. Then the next year, it’s something new.
With fashions and trends, things change quickly. It’s easy to leave one trend and move on to the next.
When it comes to hearing God’s word, it’s easy to do the same. It’s easy to forget what you’ve read in your Bible or heard your pastor at church talk about on Sunday. It’s easy to forget the truths you know and drift away from them.
Today’s Truth: Hold on To What You’ve Heard
It’s a challenge to hold on to the truths you’ve heard. But to keep steady in your faith, you’ve got to hear God’s word and then remind yourself of what you’ve heard.
It might be something simple like leaving a scripture by your bed so you read it each night and remember what God has been speaking to you. It could be putting a scripture in your wallet so you see it each time you go to pay for something.
Whatever it is, find ways to pay attention to God’s word so that you stay steady when trials and difficulties come.
Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God. – John 8:47 (NLT)
What you listen to is important. It’s easy to listen to bad news, bad circumstances, bad reports and allow those things to cause your heart to be troubled.
Today’s Bible verse helps us see the importance of listening to God’s word. In the Bible (God’s word) we find truth. We find the answers we look for. In the Bible we find the hope we need to get through tough and difficult times.
Today’s Truth: Listen to God’s Word, Not the World
It’s easy to listen to the things in the world and let the world’s voice speak louder than God’s voice. However, if we determine to listen to what God says, focus on that voice, we can be at peace.
So today, regardless of what is going on in your life. No matter what circumstances and situation you face, choose to listen to God’s word. Make God’s word your focus and you’ll find that your heart will be at peace.
But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. – Colossians 3:8 (NLT)
Have you ever been hanging out with your friends and behaved in a way that wasn’t godly? I remember one time I said something bad about another person in front of my friends just to get them to laugh. It’s really easy to let your flesh rule and behave in ungodly ways.
It takes work to get rid of those bad habits, and dirty language. But if God told us in the Bible to do it, then it’s something that we can do. It’s going to take some work and you’re not going to be perfect at it all the time, but with some effort, you can overcome habits of anger, slander, and dirty language.
Today’s Truth: Put Aside Bad Habits
So today, make the determination to put aside bad habits and pursue the things of God. Choose to react to situations and friends as Jesus would. Ask God to give you wisdom on how you can begin to live free of these habits. He will give you the strategy you need to overcome bad habits if you just ask Him.
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. – John 14:1 (NLT)
A while ago, I noticed that I was really becoming afraid. I had started watching a TV show that caused me to have a lot of fear. I wasn’t sleeping well at night and was very upset. After a while, I decided to stop watching that show. After a few days, I realized I was no longer as afraid.
Today’s Truth: You Choose Your Level of Peace By Your Focus
The truth is that you can choose your level of peace often by what you focus on. If your focus is all the bad things happening in the world, you will often find that you have little peace. However, if instead, you change your focus to be on Jesus, on the promises found in God’s word you’ll begin to see that you’re less afraid and more willing to do the things God is calling you to do.
So today choose to practice peace by making your focus God’s word and tuning out things that cause you to not be at peace. As you do, you’ll see that your level of peace will increase and fear will fade.
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. – Matthew 24:6 (NIV)
More than ever, our world seems scary. Fear is everywhere and if we’re not careful, living in fear can become so normal that you get used to it.
Maybe you’re concerned about the weather, tornados, or tsunamis. Perhaps wars, unrest, and the pandemic have you afraid and wondering what will happen.
With the current conditions going on in the world around us, it can be easy to begin to let our hearts be troubled and afraid. The truth from God’s word is this: regardless of the storm, we can find peace.
Today’s Truth: Peace Can Be Found Even in the Storm
Peace can be found by knowing who God is and how He desires the best for us. As we focus on God, on the truths in His word, it helps us remember that no matter what, God has our best interests and intentions at heart.
God doesn’t want us going through life troubled and afraid. Instead, God promises us peace and stability in the storm. So regardless of what troubles you today, know that God loves you, He has your best interests at heart and He will walk with you through the storm.
may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, – Ephesians 3:18 (NIV)
Do you ever wonder if God really cares about you? Is God too busy to really take time to listen to the little things that bug you each day? Does God care that you struggle in math or wish you made friends easier?
Today’s Truth: Your Small Things Are Big Things to God
So if you’ve begun to question whether God really cares about you, decide to get into God’s word. Find verses to help you realize His deep love for you. Choose to believe that love, regardless of how you feel. The truth is God does really love you, deeper than you can even comprehend.
