Bible Reading Plan by

The women of Proverbs 31 Ministries understand what it means to search for encouragement and perspective during

the everyday moments in life.

Now you can uncover God’s truth on good days or hard days, in the car pool line or the doctor’s office with devotions designed

to meet you where you are.

This 14 day reading plan is built from the NIV Real-Life Devotional Bible for Women by Zondervan.

14 Day Reading

Plan

Copyright Zondervan. All rights reserved

Table of Contents

Day 1:Day 2:Day 3:Day 4:Day 5:Day 6:Day 7:Day 8:Day 9:Day 10:Day 11:Day 12:Day 13:Day 14:

Slow It DownA Grace PlaceAm I Scared to Pray BoldlyRemember, the Lord RemembersThe Happy FileBelittledWordsWhen People Let You DownDeep GriefWhat If I Let God DownDon’t Send Me to AfricaPraying for the ImpossiblePlease Interrupt MeNo One Is Beyond the Reach of Truth

Day 1: Slow It DownEveryone knows morning comes first, and then evening. Right? So I was surprised to read in Genesis 1:5 that the order was, in fact, reversed: “And there was evening, and there was morning.” God started with evening, a time of rest, and a day followed, in which he continued to create.

We live in a culture where we work all day, and then eventually we might take time to rest. To order our days the way God does—with rest as a priority—is a challenge.I learned to prioritize God’s way when, at age 32, I was diagnosed with cancer. I told the doctor I didn’t have time for cancer, but cancer didn’t consult my schedule.

My life changed while going through treatment as I put aside activities that previously had seemed vital. Out of that difficult time came a new list of priorities. At the top of the list: to balance my life.

I learned to climb between the sheets and put aside my worries—to rest my body and mind. To slow down when life became crazy and assess what is important. I began to see evening as the first part of my day.

This concept changed my life, physically and spiritually. Recently I had two speaking events sandwiched together. As the dates approached, time with my heavenly Father became “evening.” In preparation for my events, I listened to the heart of my Father instead of going over my notes. Out of that rest sprang fruitful ministry during the day.

Learning to live with evening, or rest, as a top priority is an ongoing process. Many times I ask God to help me reprioritize, make time for physical rest and put “evening” back where it belongs.

By T. Suzanne Elle

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Day 1 Scripture:Genesis 1:5

God called the light “day” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day.

Exodus 20:11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is

in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Psalm 91:1Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will ret in the shadow of the

Almighty

Mark 6:30-31The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and

taught.31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Day 2: A Grace PlaceI once wondered if God ever got tired of my issues, those recurring failings and sins I couldn’t ever seem to conquer. Throughout my lifelong struggle with emotional eating, I worried I was going to use up all my grace with God.

That is until I read the “first story” of God’s grace with fresh eyes.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the forbidden tree, and they ushered sin into the world. God handed down the consequences of their actions, which included banishment from the Garden of Eden.

Whenever I’d read that story, I’d thought they had to leave paradise because God was tired of them. But I was wrong. Their relocation was not a place of abandonment; it was a place of grace.

You see, there were two special trees in the Garden of Eden. One was the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” This tree was the one with the forbidden fruit. The other tree was the “tree of life.” This was the tree that gave Adam and Eve perpetual life.

And this tree of life is why they had to leave. For if they’d been allowed to stay, they would have eaten from the tree of life and lived forever (see Genesis 3:22)—wallowing in sin, wallowing in all the brokenness sin brings with it. And God couldn’t stand that for the people he loved.

So it was his love that made them leave. And allowed them to die. So that they could experience the resurrected life his Son would one day provide.

God did not run out of grace at the dawn of humankind. And, he will not run out of grace for you or for me.

Taken in part from Lysa TerKeurst’s book, Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire With God, Not Food

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Day 2 Scripture:Genesis 3:24

After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

John 1:16Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

Romans 5:15But the gift is not like the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s

grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

Ephesians 2:4-5But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive

with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Day 3: Am I Scared to Pray Boldly?Sometimes I’m scared to pray boldly in the way King Hezekiah did when the Assyrian army was knocking on Jerusalem’s gate.

It’s not that I don’t believe God can do anything. I do. I’m a wild-about-Jesus girl. Wild in my obedience. Wild in my adventures with God. After all, I think Jesus would rather rein in a wild stallion than kick a dead mule.

So my hesitation isn’t rooted in doubt about God. Instead, it’s rooted in doubt about my ability to discern the will of God. If his will is no while I am boldly praying for a yes, then I worry my prayers will get me off track.

Because I desperately want to stay in the will of God, I find myself praying at times with timidity: “God please heal my friend, if it’s your will.” I wonder why I don’t just boldly pray, “God, please heal my friend.” Then believe, whatever the outcome, that my prayers were not in vain.

I’m realizing prayer isn’t just about getting an answer from God. It’s also about changing me. It opens my spiritual eyes to see things I can’t see on my own and to see God in a fresh way. Praying boldly boots me out of a stale place of religious habit into authentic connection with God.

So prayer does make a difference—a life-changing and earth-rattling difference. We can kneel confidently and know the tremors of a simple Jesus girl’s prayers extend far and wide. This truth snuffs out the flickers of hesitation in my prayers.

What do you need to pray boldly about today? Go ahead and ask. Not so your prayers cause God to move, but so you can be in a position to see Jesus move in any which way he pleases.

By Lysa TerKeurst

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Day 3 Scripture:1 Kings 19:19

So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him

Luke 17:5The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

Acts 4:23-31On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests

and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:“‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’

27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

James 5:16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you cay be healed. The

prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Day 4: Remember, the Lord RemembersI’ve been waiting a long, long time for some things to happen: for a walk down the aisle … a cradle and arms filled with softness … and for hearts of loved ones to turn to Jesus.

The funny thing about waiting is it can be all consuming. It inhales my attention, chews my focus and swallows my thoughts, leaving me in a place of uncertainty and doubt. Yet when I remember God’s faithfulness in Scripture, I trust his faithfulness in my own situation.

When dust and debris threaten to replace passions, dreams and callings, remember God’s promise to Noah and “all living creatures” in Genesis 9:15: “I will remember my covenant between me and you.”

When there’s no pitter-patter of little feet, remember Genesis 30:22: “Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive.”

When fear, worry, doubt and anxiety enslave, remember Exodus 2:23–25: “The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and … God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant … and was concerned about them.”

When guilt consumes and you fear God will never forget your sins, remember Isaiah 43:25: “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

When hope is scarce, remember Luke 24:6–7: “He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, … ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”

When your marriage is on the brink of despair, remember Deuteronomy 8:2: “Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness.”

Recalling these accounts in Scripture helps me remember his goodness in my own life. When I can’t see how he is moving on my behalf, I choose to remember that he promises to be just as present and faithful to me and you today as he was for others in the past.

By Samantha Reed

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Day 4 Scripture:

1 Chronicles 16:14-15He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.15 He remembers[a] his covenant

forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations,

Joshua 4:17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.

Psalm 115:12The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of

Aaron

Isaiah 46:9Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there

is none like me

Day 5: The Happy File

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It wasn’t what some would call a perfect day, but to her it was special. We had spent the day together just hanging out around the house. Simple things like eating lunch on the deck, soaking up the sunshine and giggling over funny memories traced the outlines of our shared moments. That’s when she whispered a few words as if she were telling herself a secret, “This day is going in my Happy File.”

She explained that her Happy File was a record kept of God’s simple blessings, those moments in time with a little extra spark. You know the ones. Times that no one else would get, but when you recall them, you smile and remember God’s goodness. Her collection was spilling over the top.

She found the Happy File helpful when darkness crept into her life. Satan loves to fill our minds with negative thoughts. A stash of happiness works like a flashlight in the middle of the night. The evil one can cloud our world with gloom, but when we open the file that holds God’s blessings, the shadows are shattered.

So what are you choosing to keep on file? Here is the deal: Start a collection of Happy Files! God’s fingerprints are all over each day. Look for them! Record them! Recall them!

Next, pull out those old musty files that have collected guilty dust and shameful mildew. As each one comes to mind plunge it into God’s thought-shredder, taking it captive to the obedience of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). Then replace that thought with a happy one.

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can begin daily to rid your mind of the garbage Satan has dumped on you and replace it with Happy Files. Then you can be numbered among God’s faithful people who rejoice in his goodness (see 2 Chronicles 6:41).

By Luann Prater

Day 5 Scripture:

2 Chronicles 6:41Now arise, LORD God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your

priests, LORD God, be clothed with salvation, may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.

Psalm 68:3But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in

Christ Jesus.

Day 6: Belittled

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Trapped like a firefly in a mason jar. Stifled, I peered out, watching others’ dreams, hopes and joys twinkle and fly by my stagnant ones. My own desires sat dusty in my valley of pain.

Extinguished. Exhausted. Expectant no longer.

“I’m so sorry your dreams are dashed,” my friend offered. “I wish I had known sooner how painful this disappointment has been. It would been an honor to walk it out with you.”

“Thanks. But a broken heart is silly. Especially in light of others’ pain.” Who was I to be sad about a mere breakup?

Silenced by self-doubt. Belittled by unworthiness. I diminished my pain, fearing it insignificant. In the process I belittled God’s care about my pain. Healing had been offered, yet I walked away, thinking it not worth his trouble.

My friend took my hand, and we journeyed back to when she had lost two children.

Someone then had told her to check her pain at the door. Keep it in perspective to others’ pain.

We journeyed back to another time when pain was acknowledged, not tucked in a dark corner. Then she turned to the Lord, who administered healing from the grief of empty arms and empty cribs.

My friend took my hand again and we journeyed forward. “Don’t belittle your grief. Your pain is genuine. This valley is real. You must acknowledge the Lord is near and accept his help to get out.”

My friend granted me permission to feel my ache and loss. Drastically different than her own, yet no less honest. In that moment I realized I’d held my pain at a distance. Yet truth resonated in her words. No one loves us or offers healing like God does.

Perhaps it is time to acknowledge the pain, like Job did in Job 7:11. To become aware of the Lord’s care—an “always there” presence. No matter what other voices have said, your pain is valid. God cares deeply and longs to heal you. No pain is too great … or too small. Often we just need someone to remind us that God longs to remove the lid on our mason jar and fly next to us, out of the valley.

By Samantha Reed

Day 6 Scripture:Job 7:11

Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

Psalm 31:9 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and

body with grief.

Proverbs 17:18One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge and puts up security for a neighbor.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all

comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

Day 7: Words

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“Growth opportunity” is the phrase our family uses for a fight, and two of my children were experiencing a big opportunity to grow one day.

Hand on my hip, I preached to them: “Outside this house, people may or may not be kind. But inside this house, before you speak, you must ask yourself: ‘Are my words kind, necessary and true?’ If the answer to all three parts of that question is yes … proceed; but if the answer to any part of that question is no … remain silent. Does that mean we don’t address hard issues? No. But it will be done with respect and honesty.”

Then I ushered these precious teens outside, instructing them to figure out their issues together. Thank you very much. Have a nice time on this warm little bench on this warm little day.

After that particular growth opportunity, I considered writing some Bible verses on the palm of my hand. Think of how handy it would be to just flash my palm up with this verse in bold ink: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (James 3:9–10).

Later, that same chapter of James reads, “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice” (verse 16).

I do not want disorder and every evil practice in my home. And if envy and selfish ambition (which are where ugly words come from) are the keys that open the door to that evil mess, then I will do everything to tame tongues, including my own, in my home.

By Lysa TerKeurst

Day 7 Scripture:Job 27:4

My lips will not say anything wicked, and my tongue will not utter lies.

Psalm 19:14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my

Rock and my Redeemer

Philippians 2:5In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

James 3:7-8All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by

mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Day 8: When People Let You Down

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Disappointment feels like a heavy rock sinking to the bottom of my spirit—especially when others disappoint or deceive me. Often I ignore my disappointment, shut it in a box and hope the lid holds. Sometimes I gloss it over with a quick, “People will let you down, but God never will.” True, but does this really help me process the hurt?

One morning, I poured out my sadness, anger and disappointment to God about a close relationship. As the tears slipped down my face, I begged for an answer: What do I do with this? Show me. I’ll do it because what I’ve been doing is not working.

In my spirit, Jesus said, “Grieve.”

Really? I questioned. I remembered that Jesus knew disappointment—Peter’s denial, Judas’s betrayal and the disciples falling asleep during his anguish before his crucifixion (see Matthew 26). Jesus understood my pain.

So I cried, feeling every ounce of the disappointment. I told God all the things I wished were different, all the things I thought this person had done wrong, and what I wished this person would change.

After the winds of grief subsided, I was done. Grieving was the bridge I had to cross to move beyond the disappointment. On the other side, I could embrace the relationship for what it was, not what it wasn’t.

Only after we’ve allowed ourselves to grieve will we know how to respond in the way God wants. We may need to talk to the person who disappointed us or get godly counsel.

We may need healthy boundaries or to just let it go.

Once we’ve completed those steps, the words “People will let you down, but God never will” will be comforting, not empty.

By Melanie Chitwood

Day 8 Scripture:Psalm 10:14

But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of

love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

Psalm 62:8Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all

comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

Day 9: Deep Grief

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I stood at the side of a casket too small to accept. Pink roses were draped everywhere. And I watched my mom as she lay across the casket. Within that casket laid part of her heart, so quiet and so still. Her little girl was gone.

It was the type of loss that cuts a heart so viciously it forever defines you. A loss called “deep grief.”

I remember standing paralyzed at the funeral. Just days before we were doing everyday things; suddenly it all stopped. People were everywhere. Soft chatter filled in the gaps of our stunned silence. Eventually people went back to their own lives, and we carried on with ours, bound in deep grief.

I desperately longed for God to fix things. To take away my bloodshot eyes. To take away my anger toward him. To take away my guilt for being the one that lived. I felt I didn’t deserve to be happy, ever again.

This is the reality of deep grief. Even when you love God and believe in his promises, healing takes time.

It takes wading through an ocean of tears.

It takes discovering one day that the sun still shines and it’s okay to smile.

It takes prayer, and a decision to stop asking for answers and start asking for perspective.

Then one day you take off the blanket of deep grief. You fold it neatly and tuck it away. You no longer hate it or resist it. For underneath it, wondrous things have happened. Things that can only come about when Divine hope intersects with a broken world.

And finally you can see years stretching before you once again. You look up, blow a kiss, wipe a tear and find it’s still possible to dance.

By Lysa TerKeurst

Day 9 Scripture:Psalm 30:11

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.

Psalm 56:8 Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll — are they not in your record?

Isaiah 49:13Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For

the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all

comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Day 10: What if I Let God Down

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Have you felt like a failure in an area of your life? I did. For many years I struggled with my weight. It was a physical struggle that I kept separate from my spiritual life. It was one thing to let myself down with every diet failure. Why in heavens would I risk letting God down too?

But here’s the problem: My weight issues were dragging me down physically and spiritually, whether I admitted it or not. When I don’t have peace physically, I don’t have peace spiritually. I can’t separate the two. Nor should I. I need spiritual motivation to step in where my physical determination falls short.

So I started reading the Bible from the perspective of someone struggling with food issues. Though I had read the Bible many times and have even taught Bible studies for years, I’d missed how much God cares about and talks about this issue.

I wept as God’s truth started changing my heart. Those changes in my heart helped me make lasting changes in my habits. And what about my concerns with letting God down?My pastor put that to rest one day with a simple but very profound truth: “How can you let God down when you aren’t ever holding him up?”

I had to choose to operate in the assurance of God’s love, the remembrance of God’s grace and the reality of God’s power. And according to Psalm 37:24, God’s the one holding me up, not the other way around.

Taken in part from Lysa TerKeurst’s book Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire With God, Not Food

Day 10 Scripture:Psalm 37:23-24

The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

Psalm 94:18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, LORD, supported me.

Micah 7:7-8But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Do not

gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.

John 10:27-30My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they

shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Day 11: Don’t Send Me to Africa

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Since I was a little girl, I’ve had a heart for the people of Africa. To be honest, though, I didn’t want to live in a hut, eat fried grubs or wear tribal headdresses. So while I prayed for Africa, I added, “But Lord, don’t send me there.”

I imagine God smiling and saying, “Really, Princess? You don’t want to go to Africa … fine. Then I’ll send Africa to you.”

And that’s exactly what he did. One night while attending a concert by the Liberian Boys Choir, God clearly spoke to my heart and told me two of those boys were mine. I tried to ignore him, but to no avail. After the concert, two boys walked straight to me and called me “Mom.” After months of prayer and piles of paperwork, Mark and Jackson joined our family … Africa had arrived.

No longer was the plight of the starving orphans just a story on television. They were precious children who deserved a second chance. Not only did we think so, but the people of my church soon felt moved to also adopt children from Liberia.

This is the way the body of Christ is supposed to work. God speaks, we listen, he confirms, we obey and he gives us the strength to do amazing things.

Many shrug and make excuses. But one jumps up and in complete abandon says, “Me, Lord! Me! Pick me! I am willing!” God smiles, scoops her up, brings her into his loving embrace, and whispers back, “Well done my child … I am so pleased. I will give you the strength to do this. Do not be afraid, I will be with you.”

By Lysa TerKeurst

Day 11 Scripture:Isaiah 6:8

 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Psalm 86:9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your

name.

Matthew 25:34-40Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your

inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

1 Corinthians 9:16For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not

preach the gospel!

Day 12: Praying for the Impossible

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I sat beside my youngest sister and listened as she boldly rejected my views of God. She’s always been a free spirit, much too unconventional for traditional religion.“Good thing I’m not into religion,” I gently replied.

She twisted her face and took exception, “But you are religious.”

I laid my head against the back of the lounge chair, closed my eyes to the sun now washing over me and simply replied, “Nope.”

When she asked me to clarify, I explained that I follow God, not a list of rules. I am passionate about getting into the Bible—God’s teachings—and I let my feelings and experiences be evaluated in light of God’s Word.

I took my sister’s hand and told her I’d be praying for God to mess with her in ways too bold for her to deny.

Fast-forward five years. My sister walked into her professor’s office and saw one of my books. And it messed with her.

She went home, poked around my blog and listened to my testimony. God’s Word messed with her so much that she let the possibility that God exists slip into her heart.A few days later she went and had Jeremiah 29:11 tattooed on the back of her neck. And she called, wanting to talk to me about life, tattoos and God.

Then one day, I stood in the middle of the Atlanta airport praying for this precious girl. She called. She asked. That’s the miracle of our Jesus. He is the God of the impossible.Let’s dare to ask God for the impossible a little more often.

By Lysa TerKeurst

Day 12 Scripture:Matthew 19:25-26

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Genesis 18:14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year,and Sarah will

have a son.”

Numbers 11:23The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I

say will come true for you.”

1 Timothy 2:1-4I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people

— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Day 13: Please Interrupt Me

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I wonder if the greatest witnessing tool available to us Christians is often pushed aside because of our busyness. Just like our stuff, our time is a resource with which we can be tightfisted or openhanded. But when Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, he showed us what it means to put our own interests aside and spend our time on others, especially “others” not in our own circle,

The other day I was focused on all the items on my seemingly never-ending to-do list. I was sitting at a stoplight when a friend called and started lamenting that her son had forgotten his lunch and his belt required by the school’s uniform policy. She was stressed and trying to get in touch with her husband, who had just dropped her son off at school. She was at home with a new baby, feeling groggy from a sleepless night and overwhelmed by her situation.

As I sat at the stoplight listening to my friend, I looked at the store to my right. That store had belts. That store had lunch food. Could I help? Would I help? That day I wouldn’t let busyness take precedence over the blessing of divine interruptions. So I helped.

I don’t know this for sure, but I suspect my friend had been asking Jesus to please help her. It’s hard when you need help but feel like everyone is so busy you don’t want to bother them.

I’m a task-oriented person, so it doesn’t come naturally for me to look for ways to be interrupted in the midst of my busyness. But sitting at that stoplight, I realized the power of pausing. Pausing just long enough for Jesus to tap on the edge of my heart and say, “Could you? Would you? Will you do this as if it’s the most important part of your day and not an unwelcome interruption?”

How many times have I missed loving my “neighbor”? How many times have I missed the joy of pausing to live and love and light the world for Jesus?

By Lysa TerKeurst

Day 13 Scripture:

Luke 10:27He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your

strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Proverbs 14:21 It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.

Matthew 9:18-19While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has

just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

James 2:26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Day 14: No One is Beyond the Reach of Truth

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I am convinced that people don’t care to hear about our Jesus until they meet the reality of Jesus in our lives. Our history with Jesus and what he has done in our lives is the most effective salvation message we can share with others. Our history is “his story.”

Truth lived out is the best sermon.

One evening after I spoke at a pregnancy care center, a board member came forward to close in prayer. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw this board member was a guy I’d known in high school.

Well, let me clarify. I knew who he was. He didn’t have a clue who I was. He had been in the über popular crowd. He was a star athlete who dated the beautiful girls. I was easy to miss.

After we chatted for a few minutes, he got a very serious look on his face. Then he said something I won’t forget.

“You know what is really odd, Lysa? All those years of high school and college, I was a very visible person, had lots of friends and received a college basketball scholarship at a major university, yet no one—no family member, peer, girlfriend, teacher, coach, professor, fan—not one person ever told me about Jesus. All those years, all those people, and not one time did someone try to tell me the truth. Finally, when I was 21, someone shared how they met Jesus, and it radically changed my life.”

His statement startled me. I hope it startles me for the rest of my life. No one is beyond the reach of truth.

Who in your life needs to hear his story in you? Jesus will handle all the details. We obey. God brings results.

By Lysa TerKeurst

Day 14 Scripture:Romans 15:18

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—

Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to

me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Romans 10:14-15How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one

of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

2 Corinthians 5:17-20Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All

this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

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