Guard Your Hunger—Two2Grow, Saturday, August 8 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.” Matthew 5:6 The MessageThere is always more of God for us to have. Our walk with God is meant to move us deeper and deeper into His presence. God never says, “Stop, no further,” in our pursuit of Him.Rather, He beckons us by the Holy S...  Read More

Obey God Rather Than Human Beings —Two2Grow, Friday, August 7 “Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than human beings!’” Acts 5:29 NIVHad Emelie and I let what others thought we should or shouldn’t do govern our lives, we would have missed the will of God. In fact, we would not even have gotten married, since some of Emelie’s friends thought that I wasn’t a suitable match...  Read More

Set Apart for a Divine Purpose—Two2Grow, Thursday, August 6 Guest post by Colleen Kumar, Impact India Did you know that your life has a Holy Purpose?God has a divine plan and a purpose for each and every one of us.Ephesians 1:18 describes Paul saying to the church in Ephesus, “that you may know what is the hope of his calling.”At the age of 17, I had a radical encounter with the Lord that marked m...  Read More

Come Boldly—Two2Grow, Wednesday, August 5 “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIVI grew up in a church where you had to whisper in the sanctuary and metaphorically tiptoe into the presence of God. You always had a sense that you were unworthy and always started prayer by confessing yo...  Read More

The Sure Foundation for Our Times—Two2Grow, Tuesday, August 4 “He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.” Isaiah 33:6 NIVThe world around us is changing very quickly. As we watch the news, we can see that social values we thought were "givens" aren't anymore. There are wars and economic turmo...  Read More

Faith That Doesn’t Give Up—Two2Grow, Monday, August 3 “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Hebrews 6:12 NIVMost of us don’t like to wait. We live in a culture of instant gratification. We want things to happen quickly, and if we’re not careful, that mindset can creep into our walk with God.As we study Scripture, we...  Read More

Filled with the Word—Two2Grow, Sunday, August 2 “Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.” Ezekiel 3:3 NIVGoing without food isn’t healthy. We get weak, hangry, and easily lose focus. It’s easy to make poor choices when we’re hungry. I’ve learned to avoid grocery shopping on an empty s...  Read More

Truth Builds Trust—Two2Grow, Saturday, August 1 “An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.”  Proverbs 24:26 NIVWe are living in an era of lies. It is hard to know what is real and what is fake, who is genuine and who is a deceiver.Several years ago, I was overseeing a ministry, and the man I relied on the most to keep things running, oversee the finances, and so on turned out to be a pathologic...  Read More

Suffering’s Reward—Two2Grow, Friday, July 31 “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.” 1 Peter 4:12 NLTWhen I was growing up, I got the impression that a person of faith would never suffer hardship or experience problems in life. I thought that problems and suffering were the result of a lack of faith. So the moment...  Read More

Led by the Holy Spirit—Two2Grow, Thursday, July 30 “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” Romans 8:14 NIVWhen Emelie and I were young, we wanted to spend a weekend in London, England, before Christmas. We had watched movies that made it look so picturesque and wonderful. We imagined Christmas shopping under the lights of London, stopping for high tea, and enjoying al...  Read More

When You Don’t Know What to Do—Two2Grow, Wednesday, July 29 “You came near when I called You, and You said, ‘Do not fear.’” Lamentations 3:57 NIVHave you ever lost your footing, found yourself in chaos, and not known where to turn or what to do? I have.Today's verse comes from the book of Lamentations. It is a cry to the Lord after Judah's enemies, the Babylonians, captured Jerusalem and destroyed...  Read More

Not Even a Smell of Smoke—Two2Grow, Tuesday, July 28 “Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!” Daniel 3:27 NIVThe book of Daniel tells the famous story of three Israelite friends who refused to bow before the statue of an ungodly king. Their punishment was to be thrown into a blazing furnace so hot that the guards who cast them in...  Read More