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God, I know that You are good and wise. Even still, it can be hard for me to trust Your plan over my own. Please help me! Take control of my anxious thoughts and fill me with Your wisdom. Thank You for going before me and leading me down the right paths. Give me the courage to follow You. in Jesus' name, Amen.

God, all glory, honor, and praise belong to You alone! You are worthy of all my adoration. You alone formed the world, and called what You created "good". Thank You for being g who You are. Thank You for creating me in Your likeness. Today, I just want to worship You! Let my life be for You and Your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen.

PSALMS 55:22 Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

What concerns do you need to surrender today? Name those concerns and imagine literally handing them over to God.

JOHN 7:18 Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies.

What would it look like for your to honor God through what you say? Spend a few moments asking God how you can apply this verse to your life.

DAILY BIBLE READING: DEUTERONOMY 30-31 MARK 15:1-25 A CALL TO RETURN TO THE LORD the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you. the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. Then he will make you even more prosperous. 6“The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live! The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate and persecute you. 8Then you will again obey the Lord and keep all his commands that I am giving you today. “The Lord your God will then make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests, for the Lord will again delight in being good to you. if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. THE CHOICE OF LIFE OR DEATH “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long JOSHUA BECOMES ISRAEL'S LEADER he Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” PUBLIC READING OF THE BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS ISRAEL'S DISOBEDIENCE PREDICTED After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them. “So write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel. Help them learn it, so it may serve as a witness for me against them. And when great disasters come down on them, this song will stand as evidence against them, for it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know the intentions of these people, even now before they have entered the land I swore to give them.” THE SONG OF MOSES JESUS' TRIAL BEFORE PILATE Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.” Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” 5But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise. to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. THE SOLDIERS MOCK JESUS dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified. THE CRUCIFIXION They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it. the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice. It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.

JOHN 6:35, 41-51 JESUS, THE BREAD OF LIFE Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. “Stop complaining about what I said. 44For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 45As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46(Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.) 47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48Yes, I am the bread of life! 49Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.” INSIGHT The events in John 6:35-51 occur the day after Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand with only five loaves of bread and two small fish (vv. 5-14). Because of this astonishing miracle, the crowd “intended to come and make him king by force,” but Christ eluded them (v. 15). When the crowd caught up with Him the next day (v. 25), Jesus knew they were there because of the multiplied loaves of bread. He said, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (v. 27). True satisfaction and spiritual nourishment are found only in Christ.

By: Tim Gustafson

JESUS-FOOD FOR THE SOUL In the African American home I was raised in, meals often included scrumptious “soul food.” The term originated in the mid-1960s when “soul” was a common term used to describe African American culture. Soul food menu items included fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, greens, sweet potatoes, corn bread, and more. Desserts were a bonus; the “tastebud-tickling” peach cobbler was the most satisfying to me. What a feast!

Feasting in different cultures looks different, but because food is essential for life, Jesus’ words in John 6:35 are significant for all people: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Such claims as these would be outrageous if they were made by a mere human being. But Jesus, the Christ, could make such astounding claims because He’s the very Son of God. He told “sign-seekers”—those seeking immediate, short-term benefit (see vv. 2, 14, 26, 30)—that satisfaction of physical hunger wasn’t enough. As the Son of God, Jesus is the source of true life (14:6) and the sustainer of life. All those who believe in Him for the forgiveness of sins through His death and resurrection (11:25-26) share His life. Jesus is the essential food for the soul. Life, nourishment, and true satisfaction are found in Him alone.

By: Arthur Jackson

REFLECT AND PRAY How does Jesus nourish and satisfy you? What’s keeping you from seeking the one who says, “I am the bread of life”?

Dear Jesus, You’re the giver and sustainer of life. May I find satisfaction in You. in Jesus' name, Amen.

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN DO YOU WANT TO BE WELL? Imagine you've been paralyzed for 38 years, living by the side of a swimming pool, surrounded by suffering, utterly forsaken by friends and family. Then imagine a complete stranger walks up to you and asks, "Do you want to be well?" This seems like cruel question—"Do you want to be healed?" "No, I love it here; hopefully I'll die here. Thanks for bringing it up!" So why does Jesus ask? Because Jesus is a perfect gentleman. He will never fix anything against your will. He will never be where He's not wanted. Jesus is saying, "Do you want to let me touch your life?" It's a question of desire, but the man responds with an answer of ability. "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." It's a yes or no question and the man says, "I can't." But that's not what Jesus asked.

This is so important.

Jesus isn’t asking, "How come you weren't able to get there yourself?" but rather "Do you want to get there?" He's not frustrated with this man for never winning the race; He doesn't expect him to have done it. The lame man thinks Jesus is disappointed, asking because he should be faster, better, closer. Jesus is asking because He is willing to do it for him.

Why do we so often feel like God expects us to have it all together––to be perfect? We are robbed of quiet times, from open relationship with Him, from church involvement, and Christian service because we feel like God expects us to be whole on our own and we have our laundry list of reasons why we're not there yet. God sees us in our endless cycles of struggling, vowing never to do it again, stumbling, feeling hopeless and as though we will never conquer it. In the back of our minds we think God is disappointed, but all the while, He is saying, "Do you desire to be made well?" I've tried! I can't! "Do you desire to be made well? Just come to me."

God desires to do what you can't. He knows exactly what your abilities are; He said “without me you can do nothing…” But you can do all things through Him who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). God is interested in our desire, not our ability. He's looking for faith. "Jesus said to him, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk.'" What seems impossible in your life? Jesus never calls you to do something He is not prepared to enable you to do.

Remember: God is interested in our desire, not our ability.