Dig deeper! 

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

• Identify one FACT that stands out to you from the reading.
• Consider how you REACT to this fact.  What is God saying to you specifically?  How do you think or feel about it?  Personalize the truth to your own life.
• What is God calling you to ACT upon?  How can you put God’s Word into practice in your own life?  What will you do about this truth today?

Mark 6:30-56

³⁰The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.

³¹Then, 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.”

³²So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

³³But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.

³⁴When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

³⁵By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late.

³⁶Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take eight months of a man’s wages ! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

³⁸“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five–and two fish.”

³⁹Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.

⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.

⁴¹Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.

⁴²They all ate and were satisfied,

⁴³and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.

⁴⁴The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

⁴⁵Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.

⁴⁶After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

⁴⁷When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.

⁴⁸He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them,

⁴⁹but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out,

⁵⁰because they all saw him and were terrified.

⁵¹Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed,

⁵²for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

⁵³When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.

⁵⁴As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus.

⁵⁵They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.

⁵⁶And wherever he went–into villages, towns or countryside–they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

During 2024, we will focus on reading through the New Testament together as a church family. We are challenged throughout the Scriptures to rely on the precious truths found therein; one such verse is Hebrews 4:12, “ For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword…” And we believe that studying the Bible it is critical to our growth as followers of Jesus.  

Dig deeper! 

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

• Identify one FACT that stands out to you from the reading.
• Consider how you REACT to this fact.  What is God saying to you specifically?  How do you think or feel about it?  Personalize the truth to your own life.
• What is God calling you to ACT upon?  How can you put God’s Word into practice in your own life?  What will you do about this truth today?

Matthew 10:1-23

He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

⁴Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.

⁶Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

⁷As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’

⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

⁹Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts;

¹⁰take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.

¹¹“Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave.

¹²As you enter the home, give it your greeting.

¹³If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.

¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

¹⁵I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

¹⁶I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

¹⁷“Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.

¹⁸On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.

¹⁹But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,

²⁰for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.

²²All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

²³When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Dig deeper! 

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

• Identify one FACT that stands out to you from the reading.
• Consider how you REACT to this fact.  What is God saying to you specifically?  How do you think or feel about it?  Personalize the truth to your own life.
• What is God calling you to ACT upon?  How can you put God’s Word into practice in your own life?  What will you do about this truth today?

Luke 17:20-37

²⁰Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,

²¹nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

²²Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.

²³Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.

²⁴For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.

²⁵But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

²⁶“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.

²⁷People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

²⁹But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

³¹On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.

³²Remember Lot’s wife!

³³Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

³⁴I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.

³⁵Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

³⁷“Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”

Dig deeper! 

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

• Identify one FACT that stands out to you from the reading.
• Consider how you REACT to this fact.  What is God saying to you specifically?  How do you think or feel about it?  Personalize the truth to your own life.
• What is God calling you to ACT upon?  How can you put God’s Word into practice in your own life?  What will you do about this truth today?

Luke 17:1-19

Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.

²It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.

³So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

⁴If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

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

⁶He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

⁷“Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?

⁸Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?

⁹Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?

¹⁰So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ “

¹¹Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.

¹²As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance

¹³and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

¹⁴When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.

¹⁶He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him–and he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?

¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

¹⁹Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Dig deeper! 

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

• Identify one FACT that stands out to you from the reading.
• Consider how you REACT to this fact.  What is God saying to you specifically?  How do you think or feel about it?  Personalize the truth to your own life.
• What is God calling you to ACT upon?  How can you put God’s Word into practice in your own life?  What will you do about this truth today?

Luke 16:19-31

¹⁹“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.

²⁰At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores

²¹and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²²“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.

²³In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

²⁴So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

²⁵“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

²⁶And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

²⁷“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house,

²⁸for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

³⁰” ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

³¹“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ “

Dig deeper! 

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

• Identify one FACT that stands out to you from the reading.
• Consider how you REACT to this fact.  What is God saying to you specifically?  How do you think or feel about it?  Personalize the truth to your own life.
• What is God calling you to ACT upon?  How can you put God’s Word into practice in your own life?  What will you do about this truth today?

Luke 16:1-18

Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

²So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

³“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg–

⁴I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

⁵“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

⁶” ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

⁷“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ” ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

⁸“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.

⁹I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

¹⁰“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

¹¹So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

¹²And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

¹³“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

¹⁴The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.

¹⁵He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.

¹⁶“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

¹⁷It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

¹⁸“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Dig deeper! 

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

• Identify one FACT that stands out to you from the reading.
• Consider how you REACT to this fact.  What is God saying to you specifically?  How do you think or feel about it?  Personalize the truth to your own life.
• What is God calling you to ACT upon?  How can you put God’s Word into practice in your own life?  What will you do about this truth today?

Luke 15:11-32

¹¹Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.

¹²The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.

¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.

¹⁶He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!

¹⁸I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’

²⁰So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. ‘

²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.

²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.

²⁶So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.

²⁷‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.

²⁹But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.

³⁰But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹” ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.

³²But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ “

Dig deeper! 

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

• Identify one FACT that stands out to you from the reading.
• Consider how you REACT to this fact.  What is God saying to you specifically?  How do you think or feel about it?  Personalize the truth to your own life.
• What is God calling you to ACT upon?  How can you put God’s Word into practice in your own life?  What will you do about this truth today?

Luke 15:1-10

Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him.

²But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³Then Jesus told them this parable:

⁴“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

⁵And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders

⁶and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

⁸“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

⁹And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’

¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Dig deeper! 

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

• Identify one FACT that stands out to you from the reading.
• Consider how you REACT to this fact.  What is God saying to you specifically?  How do you think or feel about it?  Personalize the truth to your own life.
• What is God calling you to ACT upon?  How can you put God’s Word into practice in your own life?  What will you do about this truth today?

Luke 14:25-35

²⁵Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:

²⁶“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple.

²⁷And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

²⁸“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?

²⁹For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,

³⁰saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

³¹“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

³²If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

³³In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

³⁴“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

³⁵It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Dig deeper! 

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

• Identify one FACT that stands out to you from the reading.
• Consider how you REACT to this fact.  What is God saying to you specifically?  How do you think or feel about it?  Personalize the truth to your own life.
• What is God calling you to ACT upon?  How can you put God’s Word into practice in your own life?  What will you do about this truth today?

Luke 14:1-24

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.

²There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy.

³Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

⁴But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.

⁵Then he asked them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?”

⁶And they had nothing to say.

⁷When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable:

⁸“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.

⁹If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.

¹⁰But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.

¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹²Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.

¹³But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,

¹⁴and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹⁵When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁶Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.

¹⁷At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

¹⁸“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

¹⁹“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

²⁰“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

²¹“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

²²” ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

²³“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.

²⁴I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ “