Why do we try "joy substitutes" when we have full joy? Good question.

We let joy “substitutes” crowd out our Savior. That’s why we go from one to another. They don’t satisfy for long. Jesus said, “that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” When I hear him saying that to me, I picture joy as a seed waiting to grow. Jesus’ joy is inside me, but it only grows when nourished.

Let's explore that today.

Key Passage: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:9-11).

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

“Guilty.” That’s what the judge pronounced at the end of the trial. When the word rang in Susan’s ears, she stood there in shock. She was convinced she would be cleared of the charges. Never in a million years did she think she’d be sent to prison. But that was about to become her new reality.

Susan was sentenced to five years for her crime, soon to be separated from her husband and two young children. Her freedom was about to be snatched away. No friends, no luxuries, not even the chance to see her kids’ school programs. She wouldn’t enter her home for half a decade.

Our story is much like Susan's. Find out why in today's audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

1 John 2:1-2 NIV

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

One of the greatest “light” statements in the Bible was announced by Jesus himself: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12 NIV). Jesus doesn’t shine the light. He is the light. Hang around him and you’ll have enough insight and clarity to take the next step, no matter what you’re facing. Today, we'll center in on Jesus the Light of the world.

KEY PASSAGE:

John 3:19-21

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

Jesus my Savior. Jesus your Savior. We throw that word around casually. “Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” is a term we hear and use often, to the point that it becomes ho-hum. It has lost its significance.
Without Jesus, we’d be separated from God forever. No connection. No relationship. Spiritual death. Eternity in darkness. In Satan’s kingdom and under his rule. Hell is very real and that would be our destiny.

In today's audio devotional, we'll stop and take a fresh look at the significance of Jesus as our Savior.

KEY PASSAGE:

Acts 4:10-12

Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

I’m sure you’ve been on the receiving and giving ends of insincere offers for prayer. “I’ll pray for you” is the Christian thing to say. Actually, praying is the Christian thing to do.

Jesus is praying for you.

“Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:34 NIV).

“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them" (Hebrews 7:25 NIV).

That should encourage the socks off you. It does for me. Let's center on this today in our audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Romans 8:31-39

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, k neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

We can go into prayer two ways. The first is with our needs in the spotlight. The second is with Jesus in the spotlight. There are times when we should lead with our needs, especially when they’re urgent or heavy on our heart. God wants us to come to him openly, for he is our Father.

When your prayer life is Christ-centered, there will be a marked difference in how you come away from your encounters with God. Let's talk about that today.

KEY PASSAGE:

Colossians 3:15-20

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

I’m so thankful that I don’t need to beg God when I come to him in prayer. Instead, I approach God this way: “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 NIV).

I need that refreshing perspective. Don’t you? In today's audio devotional, we'll consider five reasons you can approach God with confidence.

KEY PASSAGE:

Hebrews 4:14-16

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 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.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Our home has several crawl spaces that are accessible on the second floor. Small doors open to a secret world kids love to explore. As adults, we know these spaces as the attic. Our grandchildren are ready to crawl and walk through this secret world without reservation. In fact, one of our grandsons said, “Grandpa, you live in a castle!”

As for me, I enter these spaces cautiously. For some reason, I don’t trust the plywood and massive joists to hold me up. I envision falling through to the floor below. My fear is unfounded, but real.

All my grandchildren are less fearful that I am! They’ll play in the attic with no reservation at all while I’m afraid to go in. How’s that for being humbled?

In my walk with God, I wish I had the faith of a five-year-old. Today, we'll explore how we can!

KEY VERSE:

Revelation 1:8 (NIV)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty”

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.