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Lord Jesus, thank You for making us one in You. Help me to see every believer through Your eyes- not as "other", but as family. Heal division in Your Church and use me as a peacemaker. Make us a people who reflect Your unity to a divided world. In Jesus' name, Amen.

1 JOHN 3:20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.

What words or phrases capture your attention? Spend some time reflecting on this passage and worshipping God.

ISAIAH 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

When worries start to overwhelm you. Imagine lifting up your eyes and seeing Jesus standing over you. Nothing is too hard for Him to handle.

Give Him whatever concerns come to mind right now.

God, thank You for being my help in times of trouble. Right now, there are things going on around me that are outside of my control. Please protect me, help me, and strengthen me. Show me how to cling to You, give me the rest that my soul desperately needs. In Jesus' name, Amen.

As you reflect on your prayer time, what do you need to let go of? And what do you need to press into more? Sit with those things for a few minutes. Don't leave this time until you're ready.

DAILY BIBLE READING: PROVERBS 30-31 2 CORINTHIANS 11:1-15 THE WORDS OF AGUR I am weary, O God, and worn out. Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. 3I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; 26 the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; 27the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; 28the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces. If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth. THE WORDS OF KING LEMUEL Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. THE WOMAN WHO FEARS THE LORD PAUL AND FALSE APOSTLES I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. 10As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. 12And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

JOB 41:1-5, 10-14 1 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord? 2Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? 3Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words? 4Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever? 5Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls? 10No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me? 11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. 12“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame. 13Who can strip off his outer garment? Who would come near him with a bridle? 14Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror. INSIGHT Job 41 represents part of the lengthy discourse—which began in Job 40:6—between God and His struggling servant Job about His authority and power proven by the things He’s created. After many chapters of defending his innocence and righteousness, Job can’t maintain his own personal goodness when confronted by the greatness of God, and he responds to His speech with true brokenness and repentance (42:1-6). There can be no question that Job was a good man, but confronted by the God of the universe, Isaiah’s comparison is clear: “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Creation reminds us of the greatness of God. It reveals our smallness before Him and our deep dependence on Him.

By: Bill Crowder

OF MEGALODONS AND LEVIATHANS Years ago, a lumpy package arrived in my mailbox. I noticed my best friend’s return address on it and smiled. Joe sometimes sends me unexpected things. This package qualified: Inside was a dark brown shark’s tooth—five inches long.

Joe’s letter explained it was a fossilized tooth from a prehistoric shark, a megalodon, many times bigger than a great white shark. I tried to fathom how big a fish’s jaw would have to be to contain rows of such teeth. Scientists offer a speculative answer: nine by eleven feet. What a sight these creatures must have been!

Scripture doesn’t mention megalodons. But in the book of Job, God describes a sea beast called Leviathan. Job 41 details its impressive frame. “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form,” God tells Job (v. 12). “Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth?” (v. 14).

The answer? Only Leviathan’s creator. And here, God reminds Job that as great as this beast might be, it’s nothing compared to its Creator: “Everything under heaven belongs to me” (v. 11).

That meg tooth sits on my desk, a visual token of our Creator’s majesty and creativity. And that unlikely reminder of God’s character comforts me when it feels like the world might eat me up and spit me out.

By: Adam Holz

REFLECT AND PRAY How do certain aspects of creation remind you of God’s powerful, creative nature? How does His work in creation encourage you?

Dear Father, Your creation speaks of Your splendor and power. Please help me trust You when life feels overwhelming. in Jesus' name, Amen.

SABBATH IN THE PSALMS LOOKING UPWARD FOR STRENGTH What do you do when your heart is faint? Where do you turn? Rather than settling in the lowlands of worry, anxiety, or insecurity, you can seek the higher place of security in God. This is the gentle, confronting whisper of Sabbath—the Lord is listening to His people, even from the ends of the Earth, so when you call on Him, He is ready to respond. Do not be dismayed if you feel you have slipped away from God's security or that life's circumstances are looming and you cannot find your way back to resting in Him. Like David, cry out to God to help guide you back to Himself, the Rock. He is your refuge and your strong tower against anything that may threaten to come against you. REFLECT AND APPLY Look up at the Rock that is higher than your current circumstances. Take some time to reflect on what you might need to let go of today to anchor your heart in the refuge and strong tower that is God. PRAYER God, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. Let not my circumstances and feelings take me away from You, but steer me once more to your strong refuge. in Jesus' name, Amen.