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God, thank You for the gift of salvation and for being the one true way. The world desperately needs Your truth and light. Guide my steps to be bold in sharing Your truth with those around me. Use my life to point other toward You, and bring me back to Your way and Your truth when I stray. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Slow down and take a few deep breaths. Release any tensions you're carrying. Give yourself permission to simply be with God, and enjoy His presence.

PSALMS 145:5 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.

This is a safe space. Let go of any distracting thoughts, and continue when you're ready.

JOHN 4:24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.

Think about what it means to worship God with all your hearts and mind. When you're ready, bring to God any concerns that might be keeping you from worshipping Him.

God, thank You for being a source of strength in times of trouble. You comfort and protect me when I feel overwhelmed or insecure. Thank You for choosing to go through life with me. No matter what I face- I am enevr alone. And today, I choose to remind myself of this. In Jesus' name, Amen.

DAILY BIBLE READING: NUMBERS 1-3 MARK 3 REGISTRATION OF ISRAEL'S TROOPS ORGANIZATION OF ISRAEL'S CAMP LEVITES APPOINTED FOR SERVICE REGISTRATION OF THE LEVITES REDEEMING THE FIRSTBORN SONS JESUS HEALS ON THE SABBATH CROWDS FOLLOW JESUS He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him. 11And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, “You are the Son of God!” 12But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was. JESUS CHOOSES THE TWELVE APOSTLES Jesus went up on a mountain and called out the ones he wanted to go with him. Then he appointed twelve of them and called them his apostles. They were to accompany him, and he would send them out to preach, 15giving them authority to cast out demons. JESUS AND THE PRINCE OF DEMONS 20One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat. 21When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said. “I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, 29but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.” THE TRUE FAMILY OF JESUS He looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. 35Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

PSALM 42:1-8 1As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. 2I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him? 3Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?” 4My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration! 5Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and 6my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you— even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar. 7I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. 8But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life. INSIGHT Psalm 42 is a song of ups and downs. The singer rises to crescendo (vv. 1-4) with a statement of praise and celebration, joining the throng in worship (presumably at the temple or tabernacle). The singer then expresses a deep emotional low, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (v. 5). This pattern follows in the remainder of the psalm by showing the psalmist’s trust in Him in verse 8 only to repeat his lament in verse 11. When he feels that He has forsaken him (vv. 9-10), he remembers to put his “hope in God” (v. 11). Today, when we find it difficult to move beyond our pain, it can provide comfort to remember that God is faithful.

By: Bill Crowder

REMEMBERING TO FORGET Author Richard Mouw tells of a Black theologian from South Africa who struggled with dark memories of life under apartheid. Mouw wrote, “He told a story about an African child whose teacher asked her to define ‘memory.’ After thinking about it, the child said, ‘Memory is that thing that helps me to forget.’ ” Out of the mouths of babes! Her past held much she didn’t want to recall, so she wanted to remember the good things.

Many carry the scars of terrible, seemingly unforgettable things. But that child’s wisdom offers hope. If we learn to remember better things, those memories can strengthen us to move forward from our painful past. In Psalm 42, the psalmist feels like a deer running for its life. However, he also says, “These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng” (v. 4).

The singer’s memories of worshiping God encouraged him to praise, even in the midst of pain. “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (v. 5). Remembering who our God is—and that we are His—can help us move beyond the painful past we can’t forget.

By: Bill Crowder

REFLECT AND PRAY What dark memories of struggles and pains haunt you? How will you allow the God of all hope to move you beyond them?

Dear Father, You know my scars and wounds, my anger and grief. Please wrap me in Your goodness and mercy; give me healing from hurts long past but not forgotten. in Jesus' name, Amen.

EMPATHY “Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2, NIV)

We can’t fix what’s going on in peoples lives and we aren’t actually supposed to, but we can care for them. We can also seek the Holy Spirit on who to come alongside and carry some of the burden.

We will also go through times when we need someone to remind us where our strength comes from, our help is found, and Who brings the victory. We all need friends who can carry us to Jesus when we are just too weary.

Let’s keep leading our feelings in Truth and remember no matter what we go through, God loves us so much, is always with us and will keep working through our circumstances; even if we don’t feel like it. After the Lord has done a healing work in us, we can be there for someone else.

It’s meant to be this way, taking turns carrying one another's burdens because we were never supposed to go through 'all the feels' alone.

ECCLESIASTES 4:9 9Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.