Kristi Burchfiel

VERSE: Micah 3:11–Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, her priests instruct for a price, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord saying, “Is not the Lord in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us.” TRUTH: In Micah’s time, there was corruption and hypocrisy in all areas of government. People were able to buy justice and favor and then they would ask God to bless what they were doing. Do we follow God’s commands, or just do whatever we want and then ask God to bless it? RESPONSE: Lord, I want my whole life to be a blessing to You, not just a mockery…

VERSE: Micah 2:3–Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am planning against this family a calamity from which you cannot remove your necks. And you will not walk haughtily, for it will be an evil time.” TRUTH: When people act evil toward themselves, others, and God, we must remember that God is watching. He sees what is done and He will repay the evil that He has seen others do. Even when we feel like things are not fair and those who do evil things seem to be getting away with it, God sees and knows and He will make everything just and right in the end. RESPONSE: Lord, I…

VERSE: Micah 1:2–Hear, O peoples, all of you; Listen, O earth and all it contains, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple. TRUTH: When we do things, are we realizing that God is there? No matter where we go, or what we do, God sees us. He knows the very thoughts of our mind. The people Micah was speaking to thought they could hide their sins from God. Do we think the same? We must be open and honest with Him and ask for repentance. He sees and knows all we’ve done anyway.RESPONSE: Lord, help me to be honest with You…

VERSE: Jonah 4:2–He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was this not what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I know that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.” TRUTH: Jonah was mad because God heard the request for forgiveness from the people of Ninevah and He forgave them. Jonah didn’t want them to be forgiven, He wanted them to be destroyed by God’s wrath. Are there people we won’t share with because we don’t want God to forgive them?…

VERSE: Jonah 3:2–“Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” TRUTH: Jonah had repented and God had restored him to where Jonah was before. Now God gave Jonah the exact same command that had caused Jonah to run in the first place. When we’ve been disobedient to God and then ask for forgiveness, God will restore us, but typically the first choice we will face will be extremely similar to the one where we were disobedient before. It’s an opportunity to show others what we’ve learned. When we ask forgiveness and repent, did we mean it? Or will…

VERSE: Jonah 2:7–While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. TRUTH: After three days inside the great fish, Jonah must have realized that God wasn’t going to let him die so easily. Jonah finally repented for being disobedient. God hears and acknowledges our prayer from anywhere and sometimes, He has to allow us to get to the very end of our rope, the very bottom of our self-made pit, so that we remember Him.The moment we turn to Him, no matter where we are, He is there ready and waiting to bring us back. RESPONSE: Father, than You for…

VERSE: Jonah 1:12–He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” TRUTH: Jonah was being disobedient to God and because of it, other people were feeling the effects. However, when he was confronted by them, instead of repenting and asking God to forgive him, Jonah decided that he’d rather die than do what God had told him to do. When we’re doing something wrong and are confronted about it by others, do we repent and commit to follow God or do we just…

VERSE: Titus 3:3–For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. TRUTH: What’s the difference between a follower of Jesus Christ and the most vile and evil sinner? One has accepted Jesus Christ’s gift of mercy and the other has not. That’s the only difference. Occasionally Christians can get a “holier than you” attitude when comparing themselves with non-Christians, forgetting that the one decision to follow Jesus Christ and receive His forgiveness is truly the only thing separating us from them. RESPONSE: Lord, help me never lose sight of Your mercy in my…

VERSE: Titus 2:1–But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. TRUTH: What words come out of our mouths? In today’s technology age, it seems that everything is reduced down to a sound byte and short clips. If someone were recording you, what would be the sound bytes that would characterize your daily life? Would they be reflective of God’s sound doctrine? Could they be used to teach Godly principles to others? RESPONSE: Lord, I say so many words throughout the day. I want my words to be guided by You so that no matter who hears what I say, they will be drawn to You.

VERSE: Titus 1:16–They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed. TRUTH: Reading this verse, often the first things that come to mind are the names of other people we know that we feel this verse describes. While there may be truth in our assessment of others, we have not truly dealt with the verse until we examine ourselves. Do any of our own deeds throughout the day deny Christ? Since we are all sinners, the answer is yes. We must be on our guard and be focused on Jesus so that we see ourselves in comparison to…