Lord, have mercy on me; all day long the enemy troops press in. So many are proud to fight against me, how they long to conquer me. But when I am afraid, I will put my confidence in you. Yes, I will trust the promises of God. Psalms 56: 1-3 (TLB) Dawn Rachel Carrington lives in South Carolina. As the tornado warning appeared on her television screen, her legs began to shake. She didn't have a shelter or even a place inside her home where she could stand against a powerful st

O Jacob, O Israel, how can you say that the Lord doesn't see your troubles and isn't being fair? Don't you yet understand? Don't you know by now that the everlasting God, the Creator of the farthest parts of the earth, never grows faint or weary? No one can fathom the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the tired and worn out, and strength to the weak. Even the youths shall be exhausted, and young men will all give up. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew t

Read 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 It's like this: when I was a child I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I became a man my thoughts grew far beyond those of my childhood, and now I have put away the childish things. 1 Corinthians 13:11 (TLB) "Who do you want to be when you grow up?" Dori H. Gorman's father asked her that question throughout her childhood. Her six-year-old self responded, "I want to be a veterinarian." "No," her dad would say. "That's what you

Show me the path where I should go, O Lord; point out the right road for me to walk. Lead me; teach me, for you are the God who gives me salvation. I have no hope except in you. Overlook my youthful sins, O Lord! Look at me instead through eyes of mercy and forgiveness, through eyes of everlasting love and kindness. The Lord is good and glad to teach the proper path to all who go astray; he will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to him. And when

If you will humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will lift you up. Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you. Be careful - watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart. Stand firm when he attacks. Trust the Lord; and remember that other Christians all around the world are going t

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer

Read Psalm 103: 1-12 Bless the Lord, O my soul. and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits - who forgives all your inequity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psalm 103: 1-5 (NRSV) Like a parent feels compassion for their children - that's how the Lord feels compassion for those who honor

Read Joshua 1:1-9 Joshua becomes leader after Moses dies. The Lord is my light and my salvation, he protects me from danger - whom shall I fear? Psalms 27:1 (TLB) Martha Knobel Maxham lives in Maryland. Their church decided to embark on a new ministry program teaching English as a second language. Martha's job was to interview prospective students. After asking them where they had come from, she asked what they missed about their home country. Martha will never forget speakin

"Remember to observe the Sabbath as a holy day. Six days a week are for your daily duties and your regular work, but the seventh day is a day of Sabbath rest before the Lord your God. On that day you are to do no work of ant kind, nor shall your son, daughter, or slaves - whether men or women - or your cattle or your house guests. For in six days the Lord made the heaven, earth, and sea, and everything in them, and rested the seventh day; so he blessed the Sabbath day and set

Open the gates of the Temple - I will go in and give him my thanks. Those gates are the way into the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there. O Lord, thank you so much for answering my prayer and saving me. The stone rejected by the builders has now become the capstone of the arch! this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous to see! This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118: 19-24 (TLB) Kitty Espiritu-Ricafort lives in Manila,