“Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other.” (Colossians 3:16a NLT)

Mission — Every day you teach people about God. You may teach Truth or you may teach mythology; either way you teach. You teach others that God is faithful or that he can’t be trusted, and you do that by reflecting faith in God, or by behaving as if he can’t be trusted.

As if.

Some of us carry a myth in our minds that the only people who can teach are the gifted or the professional, yet the Apostle Paul says, “I know that you have all the knowledge you need and that you are able to teach each other.” (Romans 15:14b NCV)

Certainly teaching includes unpacking Bible stories and giving theological insight, but we also teach as we model biblical behavior when it comes to the stuff of life, such as how to love/respect your spouse, how to make godly decisions, how to keep our thought-life pure, or how to get out of debt.

That means we become teachers when we tell, show, reflect how God is working in our lives, and we become teachers when we respond, act, walk as if Jesus himself were living through us (and he is – Romans 8:9-11). By watching you, others will see what “Christ in you” looks like in another human being. (Colossians 1:27 NIV)

So what?

· Being a living teacher makes you wise – Paul says, “Let the words of Christ live in your heart.” You need to know God’s Word before you can teach it through study or by living it. By hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the words of Christ, they’ll take root in your heart, and this will make you wise. (Romans 15:14b NCV)

· God’s wisdom over conventional wisdom – Too often we look to the world’s conventional wisdom when we’re seeking answers, yet the Truth is found only in God’s wisdom.

Question: What wisdom has the Lord blessed you with that you can share with others?

About this Author: Jon Walker

Creating Quality Time With Your Kids
The Bible says that children are a reward from the Lord, and blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them (Psalm 127:4-5a). I have certainly found that to be true. But I’ve also found that the fuller my quiver gets (I’ve got five beautiful arrows), the harder it is to find the time to give each child the attention they need and deserve. Can you relate? If so, here are ten things I do to develop my relationships with my kids, in spite of a hectic schedule. Read the full article.

Take action: Learn to have better relationships with others by strengthening your relationship with God. Try our online interactive study series Discovering the One Who Listens.

You said it: This week Tarah shared on the Glue, Photos & Coffee women’s devotional, saying “I am a single 27 year old newly transplanted to Boston. I have moved around since I was 18 due to serving 8 years in the military. I have a few women in my life who have stuck close but presently we have grown apart due to changes in life and distance. … Reading your article and the comments that followed I hope it instills in me a new light of hope. Because I need hope.” Join the conversation on TheLife.com Devotional for Men and TheLife.com Devotional for Women, each updated daily!

Experience TheLife Blog: Teaching Youth about God
Do you think your church does an effective job teaching its young people? And what role should the church play and parents play in creating disciples? Discuss on the Experience Blog! Read more

Devotional: Stand Still
Some days it feels like there is no way out! Israel had a mountain on each side, the Red Sea in front, and an army coming up behind … but Moses’ word to them was “Stand still.” Read more

Coming up next week: One of the topics of our upcoming online chats is “Right Living in an Immoral World” Join us in the chat room August 18th 2009 @ 4:00pm EST for this chat or see also our full chat calendar for other upcoming topics.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:1-7

In His teaching about the vine and the branches, Jesus explained that our relationship with Him is to be characterized by dependence. Branches do not produce good fruit on their own. Their role is to remain connected to the vine and to let its sap, which is its life, run through them to produce fruit. We who are believers are to “abide” in the Lord, allowing His life to run in and through us to bring forth spiritual fruit. (Galatians 5:22-23) It is the Holy Spirit who brings the life of Christ to us as well as from us to others.

This abiding life is exactly the same as the Spirit-filled life that Paul talked about in Ephesians 5:18. The word “abiding” emphasizes our position – the branch remaining in the vine. Paul, on the other hand, concentrated on the Spirit’s role in our lives and His authority as the One in charge. Frequently we try to be the “vine,” deciding for ourselves what would please God and what would be best for other people. The end result is often frustrating or disappointing since we have relied on human ideas and energy instead of being Spirit-led. The solution is to become a true branch. There is real freedom when we relinquish control.

Our heavenly Father plans for us to experience spiritual peace and joy as we triumph in adversity and gain victory over sin. In order to accomplish this, He has given us His Holy Spirit to direct our lives. To experience God’s best, it is necessary that we yield to the Spirit’s authority and obey His direction. Take time now to do just that.

Question: What does “abiding in Christ” mean to you? How have you been doing so lately?

About this Author: Charles Stanley

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.

If you had asked me my plan for my life, it would not have included being a newlywed at the age of 40!  I was marrying for the first time.  I had been in ministry with women for years and I had heard a lot of teaching on marriage and relationships.  However, the best advice I received was just before I married Allan in 2001.

The advice came through a friend of a friend.  Here is what I was told.  My friend’s friend, used to stand at her kitchen sink every night doing dishes.  She would think over the day and begin to make a list of all the things her husband did or didn’t do that drove her crazy.  Then, he would enter the kitchen and she would turn around with daggers in her eyes.  He would be completely taken off guard and wonder what he had done that had upset her so much.  It wasn’t just one thing – it was everything!!

Then the Lord spoke to this woman’s heart and challenged her to stop keeping a record or being like a prosecutor and building a “defense” against her husband.  She began to thank God for the great qualities she saw in him and her life and relationship changed.

That was the advice I was given and I have put it into practice.  There is ample opportunity in any marriage to “build a case” against your spouse in your mind.  Whenever you begin down that road, stop yourself.  Begin to think in the opposite direction.  It will save needless arguments.  Instead, appreciate the qualities you see and look for the good and not the bad.

That is the best advice I have ever received for marriage.  It is biblical.  In 1 Corinthians 13:5b it says “it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”  The “it” is love.  You will never be able to love your spouse if you are constantly keeping a record of wrongs.

Father, thank you for my spouse.  Thank you for the gift he is to me and for all of the good qualities I see in him (be specific).  Lord, I ask You to bless him.  I ask that You will grant him favor, courage, strength, Your peace, the fruit of Your Spirit flowing from within him.  Lord, help me to be the best wife I can be to him.  Father, please help me not to even go down the road of “building a case” or “making a list”.  Help me to be grateful, thankful, and a cheerleader in his life.  In Jesus’ holy and precious name I pray, Amen.

Questions: What happens to your attitude when you begin to “make a list” or “build a case” in your heart against your spouse?  The next time you have an opportunity to “make a list” or “build a case”, what can you do to stop yourself from going down that road?

About the Author Donna Mitchell

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Thine is the Kingdom…, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

I am not by nature a people person. I grew up in the country as an only child who loved walking alone in the fields surrounding our home, or reading under the over hanging branches of a cedar tree that grew on the one windowless side of our house. (My mother couldn’t see me there!) Even today my favorite times are like the ones experienced as I write these words—sitting at a small, scarred wooden table in my favorite café, looking out the paned window at sporadic traffic soundlessly passing by. The café owners are generous toward moles like me—their nearby kitchen conversations are muted and they keep my coffee cup filled.

So what am I doing in a life that is normally filled with people—with teaching, organizing, counseling? A life far removed from meandering through fields or sequestered under pine boughs?

A night over 50 years ago is burned into my memory. It was the night I felt God saying “…so send I you.” The years since that night have been saturated with challenge, joy, sorrow, adventure and fulfillment. At times I have complained, insisting that I am not only inadequate for His task but I just plain do not like the path He has chosen. But the one who called has gone with me, refreshed, encouraged and taught me. How tragic it would have been to insist only on walking in fields and sitting under trees.

Thank you for your patience with me, Father, and for choosing me to be your servant.

Questions: How has God called you in the past? What new paths is He calling you to?

About the Author Marilyn Ehle

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, The Sacred and Profane, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Engaging the Da Vinci Code
Although Dan Brown’s latest movie, Angels & Demons, will be released in theaters soon, the hype surrounding it is considerably less than his first book-to-movie adaption, The Da Vinci Code. What was The Da Vinci Code all about, and why was it so controversial? What claims does it make about life, faith, and Jesus himself, and are they true? If we want to respect Jesus, we want to talk truthfully about him. This article briefly examines the claims of The Da Vinci Code. Read more

Take action: If you missed our Da Vinci Code Blog, you may want to check it out! When the movie was released, we received 100’s of comments on some of the posts! Read & add your own thoughts!

You said it: This week, kimu commented on The Reluctant Trekkie, saying “i watched this most recent installment of the star trek movies on opening night, and was not disappointed, despite all the hype. in fact, i found it quite entertaining!” Agree? Disagree? Have your say on this post!

Video: Free Speech (& world peace!)
Miss California Carrie Prejean’s comments on gay marriage at the recent Miss USA pageant incensed judge Perez Hilton. Is there an appropriate time and place for exercising free speech? Should Prejean be stripped of her title? Read more

Blog: Teaching is a Tough Job
Teacher Appreciation Week is a time to pay tribute to the hardworking individuals who have dedicated their lives to educating children. Read more

Coming up next week: One of the topics of our upcoming online chats is “Honoring Parents” Join us in the chat room May 16^th 2009 @ 12:15pm EST for this chat or see also our full chat calendar for other upcoming topics.

“Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” Psalm 25:4 & 5

Father in Heaven,

Thank you for the promise and hope of Your word. Thank you that You can be counted on to guide me through my day. Today I need to walk in the hope that only You can give. My way is unclear, my path sometimes feels like it twists and turns in confusing and busy ways as I wind my way along my journey.

Show me Your ways, Lord. Show me how You would walk in these places. Teach me Your paths of grace and mercy and integrity and love. Help me to grasp Your ways so I can walk securely in them even in insecure places. I need Your perspective today.

Guide me in Your truth, Lord. With out Your Word active in my heart and mind I cannot know Your truth. Help me to make time to read my Bible. Help me to take time to think on it and let it penetrate my heart. Lord, Your Word will guide me as a beacon and a light. I need Your word to guide me. Forgive me when I have left it on the shelf or have simply grabbed a verse and run off for the day, quickly forgetting what I read.

Thank you that You promise to guide me and teach me as I let Your truth impact my heart and my mind.

Oh Lord, You are my Savior, my rescuer and my redeemer. You alone are the One who restores and renews my spirit and brings meaning to my life. You bless me. May my heart overflow with thanksgiving to You for Your hand in my life.

I will put my hope in you today, all day long. Remind me by Your Holy Spirit to look to You to guide me. Call me into Your quiet presence to think on Your truths and may I not be distracted. This is the oxygen of my soul. Thank you that You  give the hope and help and peace I need today. Thank you that You never cease to call me to Yourself. Help me to respond afresh to Your presence in my life. In Jesus’ strong name I pray, amen.

About this Author: Gail Rodgers

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” Deuteronomy 8:3

It isn’t fun to be humbled, to have our faults pointed out; to have our failures and shortcomings displayed for everyone to see; to have broadcasted to anyone watching that we are incapable of providing for ourselves.

Yet it is an essential part of the learning process.

In Deuteronomy, Moses reminded the people of Israel that “[God] humbled you … to teach you.”

In the same way, God humbles us to teach us.

As long as we think we can handle the situation, as long as we are convinced we know what we’re doing, as long as we depend on our own strength rather than relying on God’s, we will remain proud.

We must be humble to hear God. We must be humble to learn.

Only in humility can we understand God’s message to us that “man does not live on bread alone”. There is more to life than meets the eye. Beyond our daily physical needs are our profound spiritual needs. No matter how competent we are, we are powerless to provide for these deepest needs.

If we are humble we realize that we are dependent on God for everything, from each breath we inhale to the glorious salvation He offers.

Questions: What is something you have learned when you have been humbled? Why is humility essential for learning?

About this Author: Suzanne Benner