Zondervan - Daily Guideposts 2016: A Spirit-Lifting Devotional

ZONDERVAN

Daily Guideposts 2016

Copyright 2015 by Guideposts. All rights reserved.

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ePub Edition October 2015: ISBN 978-0-310-34639-5

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Acknowledgments

Every attempt has been made to credit the sources of copyrighted material used in this book. If any such acknowledgment has been inadvertently omitted or miscredited, receipt of such information would be appreciated.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible. Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. Scripture quotations marked ASV are taken from American Standard Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations marked CEB are taken from the Common English Bible. Copyright 2011 by Common English Bible. Scripture quotations marked CEV are taken from Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version. Copyright 1995 American Bible Society. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked GNB are taken from the Good News Bible 1994 published by the Bible Societies/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. UK, Good News Bible American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992. Used with permission. Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from the Good News Translation. Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Scripture quotations marked GW are taken from Gods Word Translation. Copyright 1995 by Gods Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked JPS are taken from the 1917 or 1985 edition of Tanakh: A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures according to the Traditional Hebrew Text. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Scripture quotations marked NAS are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com Scripture quotations marked NJB are taken from New Jerusalem Bible. Copyright 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd and Les Editions du Cerf. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible. Copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked TEV are taken from Todays English Version of the Bible. Copyright by American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1979 (Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha), 1992; Anglicizations British and Foreign Bible Society 1994. Scripture quotations marked TIB are taken from The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation. Copyright 2007 by Priests for Equality. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked TL) are taken from The Living Bible. Copyright 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. All rights reserved.

Andrew Attaway photo by Doug Snyder; Evelyn Bence photo by David Singer; Brian Doyle photo by Hob Osterlund; Rick Hamlin photo by Julie Brown; Jim Hinch photo by Martin Klimek; Debbie Macomber photo by Dane Gregory Meyer; Erin MacPherson photo by bloomaustin.com; Roberta Messner photo by Craig Cunningham; Ginger Rue photo by Sherwood Cox; Gail Thorell Schilling photo by Doug Schwarz; Elizabeth Sherrill photo by Shawn G. Henry; Stephanie Thompson photo by Shevaun Williams; Marion Bond West photo by Michael A. Schwarz.

Cover and interior design by Mllerhaus

Cover and monthly page opener photos by Shutterstock

Indexed by Patricia Woodruff

Typeset by Aptara

First printing August 2015

CONTENTS

Hello, friend.

When we decided the theme for Daily Guideposts 2016 would be Abide in Me, I had no idea how deeply meaningful those words of Jesus would become in my own life. Im a wife and mother, raising two young boys in New York City. Needless to say, life is hectic... and often overwhelming. One particular night this past winter, as I sat in the ER with my one-year-old who was fighting a terrible stomach bug, I felt very alone and very tired. As my son leaned on me, I remembered a Daily Guideposts devotional by Erin MacPherson Id just read that day. She, too, was sitting in the hospital with her son, whod crashed his bike and dislocated his jaw. She found peace in remembering that when she leaned on God and His strength, she could face anything. Her reminder to rest in the Lord soothed my spirit as I held my little boy. I could feel my worry fade. Soon my son got the treatment he needed and we were able to go home.

As Ive read through these 366 devotions, each one giving a peek into the writers struggles and triumphs, Im reminded over and over again what it means to truly abide in God. Its only in abiding that I am able to pause in the midst of the daily chaos, find rest, peace, and joy and offer these gifts to those in my life.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.... As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love (John 15:4, 9, ESV). This Scripture offers the promise that God is sustaining you and me. No matter how weighty our problems or how overburdened we feel, God is always with us, offering life, grace, strength, and love.

This year marks the fortieth edition of Daily Guideposts, and its pages are bursting with vibrant and honest reflections on living faithfully. Catch up with longtime friends Penney Schwab, Daniel Schantz, Carol Knapp, Rick Hamlin, and Pam Kidd. Connect with younger folks Ashley Kappel, Erin MacPherson, and Sam Adriance. Welcome back Debbie Macomber and embrace newcomer Logan Eliasen. Each one offers discoveries on what it means to abide in Gods love.

We said good-bye to Shari Smyth, Joshua Sundquist, Linda Neukrug, Brigitte Weeks, and Ashley Wiersma, who are pursuing other things in life right now.

Youll enjoy traveling with Karen Barber to the land where Jesus walked in the series A Prayerful Lent. During Advent and Christmas, revel with Bill Giovannetti in The Gift of Small Moments. Every month, learn What the Saints Have Taught Me with Elizabeth Sherrill. Journey throughout the year with Marion Bond West as she finds joy in Making Marriage Work and with Marci Alborghetti in Finding Rest. One week in May, join Roberta Messner in A Quest for Beauty.