'karar verdim; sabah helva kavuracağım. içimde fazladan yaşayan duyguları gömmeye niyetliyim, yarın cenazemiz var. yoksa böyle yaşanmaz; hissiyatlılığım yüzünden tükeniyorum resmen.
bu arada, ben helvayı gerçekten yaptım. tüm duygularımın, umutlarımın helvasını.. sonra kendim hariç herkese yedirdim; komşularım bayıldı, ailem sevdi. ben yemedim. kendi helvamdı ne de olsa, olmazdı.
MARCH 1, 2026, SUNDAY
Entry: 2:03pm, Commonwealth QC
VERSE OF THE DAY:
2 PETER 3:9
The Lord isn't being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
God's Heart For All People
JOHN 3:16
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
The verse above is the essence of the Gospel. The Gospel means good news, and it's God's plan to save us from eternal separation from Him.
Our sin separated us from God's perfection. And because of that, we could not have a personal relationship with Him. Knowing that we could not get to Him on our own, God sent Jesus to us to make things right. Jesus did what no one else could do-He lived a perfect life, He died for us, and then He conquered death by coming back to life. It's His resurrection that led to our reconciliation with God-and that's good news!
Here are three key things to remember about the Gospel:
God loves Everyone
JOHN 3:16 doesn't say that God loves some of the people in the world. It says He loves the world…that means everyone who inhabits it. God's heart is for all people. The Gospel is for everyone.
God Wants Everyone
"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."
2 PETER 3:9
Jesus has promised to come back for His people, and God always keeps His promises. We might grow impatient waiting for Him to return, but we can take comfort in knowing that His waiting is for our own benefit. He wants to give everyone an opportunity to know Him personally
God sends everyone
The last thing Jesus told His followers before He returned to heaven was to go and make disciples everywhere. We aren't all called to other countries, but we are called to share His good news with everyone we know.
There are people who need the love and hope we have in Jesus. So if Jesus is our Savior, then let's live like it. Let's offer our praise to God for who He is, and worship Him through the way we live out lives. Let's ask Him to help us see how much He loves everyone.
As we patiently wait for God to return, let us purposefully live each day for His glory.
That's why we're here.
BE ENCOURAGED
God's timing is on God's hands. You can trust His timeline!
SHARE YOUR FAITH
In God's perfect timing, Jesus is coming back. So today, tell someone about His character, His love, and His heart to save the lost!
God, Your timing is perfect. Thank You for being so patient and gracious with me. You alone are my source of strength, joy, and peace. Today, I repent of focusing on momentary things instead of placing You first in my life. Draw me close to You. And as I wait on You to return, please use me to love and encourage this broken world. in Jesus' name, Amen.
DAILY BIBLE READING:
NUMBERS 23-25
MARK 7:14-37
BALAAM BLESSES ISRAEL
Balaam replied, “I will speak only the message that the Lord puts in my mouth.”
BALAAM'S SECOND MESSAGE
9God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Listen, I received a command to bless;
God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!
No misfortune is in his plan for Jacob;
no trouble is in store for Israel.
For the Lord their God is with them;
he has been proclaimed their king.
BALAAM'S THIRD MESSAGE
He devours all the nations that oppose him,
breaking their bones in pieces,
shooting them with arrows.
9Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down;
like a lioness, who dares to arouse her?
Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel,
and cursed is everyone who curses you.”
BALAAM'S FINAL MESSAGES
MOAB SEDUCES ISRAEL
JESUS TEACHES ABOUT INNER PURITY
“All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 15It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.” Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)
THE FAITH OF A GENTILE WOMAN
She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”
29 “Good answer!” he said. “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” 30And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.
JESUS HEALS A DEAF MAN
Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. 34Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” 35Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!
ROMAN 10:12-15
SALVATION IS FOR EVERYONE
2Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
INSIGHT
Romans 9-11 have presented a challenge to Bible scholars, as these chapters don’t seem to fit into the flow of Paul’s argument for the gospel of God’s grace. The Bible Knowledge Commentary offers helpful insight on the apostle’s purpose in writing this section: “Paul here discussed God’s sovereign choice because of a practical problem. The Jews gloried in the fact that as Israelites they were God’s Chosen People. But now in God’s program of salvation in the church, Jewish involvement was decreasing while Gentile participation was becoming dominant. Had God, then, abandoned the Jewish people?” The apostle answers this question directly in chapter 11: “I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means!” (v. 1). Romans 9-11 celebrate God’s sovereignty and perfect wisdom, concluding with the doxology in chapter 11 (vv. 33-36). We may not always understand God’s ways, but we can join in His purposes by sharing the gospel with others and looking for ways to show them God’s love.
GO AND TELL OF JESUS
As our bus traveled higher and higher on the narrow road along the Andes Mountains, my teammates were busy laughing and singing. I was staring out my window—aghast that there weren’t any guardrails between us and the abyss to our right. I was feeling a bit fearful and anxious as we kept going up and up and up, and I started to wonder why our short-term mission team had come to this remote part of Ecuador. Then it dawned on me: God must really love these people if He would send His own Son to die for them. Surely I could get through a scary bus ride to express that love with them.
It ended up being such a joy to do short Bible lessons, share our testimonies, and pray with the people who welcomed us in the various towns we visited each day.
The apostle Paul was committed to telling others about Jesus so they too could put their trust in Him. In Romans 10:13 he says that all who call on Jesus “will be saved.” But “how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15).
There are people all around us who don’t know Christ. Let’s ask God for the courage to share the good news of Jesus with others, pray with them, and invite them to a church service or activity.
By: Nancy Gavilanes
REFLECT AND PRAY
How can you share the message of Christ with those who don’t know Him? What tangible things can you do this week to show someone that you care?
Dear God, please help me to share Jesus. In Jesus' name, Amen.
DARING TO IMAGINE
Because you can’t see God, you have to use imagination to practice your faith. Hebrews 11 is the great chapter of heroes of the faith. In Hebrews 11 we have God’s Hall of Fame. You know there’s a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a Baseball Hall of Fame. God’s Hall of Fame lists all the people who are the real heroes in God’s book. People like Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Rahab, and Gideon stepped out in faith to confidently follow the vision God gave them.
Hebrews 11 begins by defining faith as the “confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT).
Faith is a way of seeing. God says whatever you hope for — whatever you think might happen — when you believe that it will actually happen, that’s faith. It’s the evidence, or confidence, of things we cannot yet see.
God gave you two ways of seeing. First, you can see through your physical eyes. And second, you can see through the imagination in your mind. You can picture things in your mind, you dream them, you visualize them. When you can’t see something physically you can imagine it in your mind.
The Bible says you need to focus on the things that will last — those things that you can’t actually see with your eyes. In order to do that you have to imagine them. Imagination shapes your life and is essential to living by faith.
PRAY:
Dear God, help me to practice my faith by using my imagination. I want my thoughts to reflect the confident assurance I have that what I hope for is going to happen. I set my eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. Help me in my unbelief. I choose to hope in your promises for me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
HEBREWS 11:1
1Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:18
18So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
