Confidence in the Battle—Two2Grow, Thursday, August 13 ”Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.” Psalm 27:3 NIVI heard a story about a missionary couple who served in a very dangerous country that had a lot of gang violence. God used them to lead the son of a gang boss to the Lord. That didn’t make the gang dad happy. One d...  Read More

Writing Acts 29—Two2Grow, Wednesday, August 12 “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” Acts 1:1 NIVIn one of the churches where we served as pastors, there was an elder who, every time God moved, would come up to me and say, “Acts 29,” and then walk away. For those who are unfamiliar with the Book of Acts, that probably doesn’t say much. But the book...  Read More

Jesus Provides—Two2Grow, Tuesday, August 11 “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.” Luke 9:16 NIVI will never forget when Emelie and I sat around the kitchen table at the start of a new school year just a few years ago and said that unless the Lord performed a miracle, our fin...  Read More

Never Stop—Two2Grow, Monday, August 10 “Never stop praying.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLTIt is easy to feel frustrated after praying for something and not seeing any direct change. Many times, when we pray for someone or something, things can at first take a turn for the worse, and it can look even darker than before we prayed.Jesus encouraged us to keep at it. Walking with God is a test of perseveran...  Read More

God’s Ordinary Miracles—Two2Grow, Sunday, August 9 “I am very glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come here… They have been a wonderful encouragement to me.” 1 Corinthians 16:17–18a NLTHave you ever been down and didn’t know how to get back to a mental state of peace and hope, but after spending some time with good company, you realized that those dark clouds had disappeared? The ap...  Read More

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