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New Beginnings Set Free, 824 North 19th Street, Billings, MT (2026)

06/19/2025

Is Anything Too Hard?

This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?”Jeremiah 32:26-27

Have you lived with a difficult situation that remained unchanged no matter how fervently you prayed? If so, you may have begun to doubt God’s ability to intervene. Have you wondered if your problems were beyond God’s power to help your difficult marriage? out-of -control finances? failing health? a wayward child? God’s Word to Jeremiah is a powerful declaration of who God is and what he is able to do. He is the one true God, the sovereign ruler over all the earth. The rhetorical question “Is anything too hard for me?” is actually a statement of God’s supreme power in all circumstances. If anything were too difficult for him, he would not be God. If God is not sovereign over all, he is not sovereign at all!

Because nothing is too hard for God, we can rest assured that nothing in our lives is outside of God’s purposeful control. We may not understand why God hasn’t answered our prayers as we wish, but we do know that greater difficulties are opportunities to draw closer to him. We can have peace in all circumstances when we have absolute confidence that nothing is too hard for God.

THANK YOU, LORD, that nothing in my life is beyond your reach; nothing is too large or difficult for your powerful hand. Help me to remember that you display your power best in my impossible situations. Give me greater understanding of who you are so that my trust in you will be complete.

No prayer is too hard for him to answer, no need too great for him to supply, no passion too strong for him to subdue; no temptation too powerful for him to deliver from, no misery too deep for him to relieve.

06/10/2025

The Depth of God’s Love

May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.Ephesians 3:17-19

This prayer is not asking God for more head knowledge about his love but that we would understand and comprehend it—that it would really sink in and go from being head knowledge to heart knowledge about how very much he loves us. Most of all, it asks that we would experience for ourselves the love of Christ. Knowledge isn’t enough. Great speeches or sermons won’t suffice, neither will hearing what the Lord did in someone else’s life. It takes God’s Spirit imparting power to each of us to fathom the depth and length and width, the incomparable nature, of God’s amazing love for us in Christ Jesus. Just as Paul was praying earnestly for the Ephesian Christians, we are to ask that our roots would go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And as we continually pray this life-transforming prayer, we will drink deeply of God’s love. When we receive and experience the love of Christ in our own hearts, his love can flow through us to others.

LORD JESUS, I want to understand and experience your love in a deeper way than I ever have before. May your love be my anchor as your Spirit causes my roots to sink deeper in you. Grant me the power to understand the limitless extent of your love. Be the center of my life and reveal yourself to me today!

05/13/2025

Shoot Straight with Me

Read Proverbs 13:1-25

People who despise advice are asking for trouble; those who respect a command will succeed. The instruction of the wise is like a life-giving fountain; those who accept it avoid the snares of death. A person with good sense is respected; a treacherous person is headed for destruction. Wise people think before they act; fools don’t—and even brag about their foolishness. An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble, but a reliable messenger brings healing. If you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace; if you accept correction, you will be honored. It is pleasant to see dreams come true, but fools refuse to turn from evil to attain them. Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. Trouble chases sinners, while blessings reward the righteous.Proverbs 13:13-21

What kind of advice do you get from your friends? Are you satisfied with it? Do you sometimes sense that some of your problems baffle your friends, leaving them unable to offer wise and insightful counsel? You may even wonder where you would turn if you ever needed counseling for a true problem.

Proverbs 13 contains many helpful words of advice about choosing friends and how to benefit from the people who walk the same path. You’re right if you’ve been thinking you need some wise friends, friends who can guide you along the way. Here’s how to get them.

There’s much more here on several other subjects, including ways to benefit from your words; the benefits of being poor and the hazards of having wealth; a warning about pride; and the importance of disciplining children.

When seeking friends, most people look for those who make them feel good about themselves. But that’s not the most important ingredient in friendship. In fact, people who make us feel good about ourselves may not be the best influence on us, and they may not have our best interests at heart.

Our friends help determine the direction that our lives take. If our friends are wise, we will be too. If they are fools, so will we be (Proverbs 13:20). Thus, we need to choose our friends very carefully. We should seek out friends who can advise us, set an example for us, and help us stay on the right track. Some of them should be older, and the best ones should be wiser.

Seek out wise people who have experienced life—and have succeeded. Seek out friends who are not afraid to tell you the truth, who will move you in God’s direction.

05/04/2025

Encouraging Success

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deacon in the church in Cenchrea. Welcome her in the Lord as one who is worthy of honor among God’s people. Help her in whatever she needs, for she has been helpful to many, and especially to me.Romans 16:1-2

Encouraging words often make the difference between success and failure. For example, imagine that your spouse expresses the desire to lose weight. How you respond can be either encouraging or discouraging. If you say, “Well, I hope you don’t try one of those expensive weight-loss programs or join a pricey gym. We can’t afford that,” then you have discouraged your spouse. Chances are, he or she will drop the idea and make no effort to lose weight.

On the other hand, consider this response: “Well, one thing I know. If you decide to lose weight, you will, because you have the discipline to do it. That’s one of the things I admire about you.” Wow! Your spouse is encouraged and will likely take action immediately.

At the end of the book of Romans, Paul writes a number of personal greetings, many of them including affirmations. In the verses above, he mentions a woman named Phoebe, who is “worthy of honor” and “helpful.” Later in the chapter, he mentions several others by name and lists their contribution to his work. Imagine being praised in Paul’s letter! The specifics he included give impact to his encouraging words.

When you have a chance to respond to your spouse, think before you speak. Ask yourself, What can I say that would affirm and encourage my spouse to reach his or her goals? Most of us are motivated when we hear encouraging words.

Lord Jesus, I pray that you would help me to think before I respond to my spouse. Show me how best to be an encouragement. I don’t want to stand in the way of my loved one’s goals, so please help me develop a pattern of encouragement and specific affirmation. I know that will strengthen our relationship.

04/20/2025

Wanted: More Faith!

You know them . . . the people who just seem to have it together spiritually. From the way they talk, you can tell they live with a deep faith. Maybe there’s someone like that in your life— parents, pastor, youth leader. And sometimes you find yourself thinking, I want a stronger faith like that.

Some people are just naturally more trusting. For others, faith is more difficult. But guess what? You don’t need a lot of faith. Jesus compares how much we need to the size of a mustard seed, which is almost microscopic.

The fact that you’re a Christian and have trusted God to forgive your sins proves you have faith. And there are some things you can do to increase the little bit of faith you have.

Read your Bible consistently.
Pray daily.
If you’re not used to doing these two things, start by setting a small goal for yourself—something you know you can reach. For instance, say, “I’m going to read the Bible and pray for one minute every day.” You’ll easily meet your goal, and after a few weeks you’ll probably want to increase it to two minutes, then three or five. Be realistic and set a goal you know you can easily reach.

Surround yourself with other Christians.
Get involved in your local church.
You may be thinking, If I surround myself with a bunch of Christians, I won’t have anyone to share my faith with. Yes, you will. God isn’t going to take you out of the world. You don’t have to exclude the non-Christian people in your life in order to surround yourself with Christians. But the reason it’s important to be around other Christians is because they can encourage and challenge you in your spiritual walk.

And what’s the big deal about going to church? A church body provides spiritual growth through preaching, teaching, and accountability. Corporate worship is essential to mature faith.

If you’re already doing all these things, watch the person whose spiritual life you admire. What is she doing that you’re not? Ask her. Close friends should be able to share their spiritual highs and lows. Ask her to pray with you about your concerns.

04/09/2025

Boundless Love

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.John 3:16-17

It is a marvelous and profound truth that although God loves the whole world generally, he also loves us personally and individually so much that Christ died for each of us as if there were only one of us. Because of his love for us, he poured out his life on the cross while we were still sinners. He didn’t wait for us to get our lives all cleaned up and fixed up first—we couldn’t have anyway. Instead, he demonstrated his grace in saving us even though we didn’t deserve it. That would be amazing enough, yet this gift of love isn’t for just a few. It’s not just for me or a select group of people, for those in particular families, denominations, or nationalities—but for those from every tribe and tongue, people, group, and nation. We can hardly conceive of such a limitless, boundless love! But we can rejoice in the truth of John 3:16—everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will not perish but will have eternal life.

FATHER, thank you for loving me even beyond what I could ever imagine. It amazes me that you would love me—even when I didn’t love you—and would send your Son to pay the ultimate price so that I could know you and experience eternal life. Let your love flow through me so that even more people may experience your boundless love.

God’s love is measureless. It is more: it is boundless. It has no bounds because it is not a thing but a facet of the essential nature of God. His love is something he is, and because he is infinite, that love can enfold the whole created world in itself and have room for ten thousand times ten thousand worlds beside.

04/07/2025

The Peace of Forgiveness
Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!”

Matthew 18:21-22

It’s an early morning in October, and a mother is busy preparing for the day ahead—making breakfast and getting her children ready for school. As she kisses each child good-bye, she has no idea of the tragedy that looms. Later that day a man will break into her daughter’s school just after morning recess. This man will leave behind a su***de note explaining his anger at God at the death of his infant daughter, perhaps as a twisted explanation for the crimes he is about to commit.

Dismissing the boys, along with some others who are visiting the school, he orders the remaining children—ten girls between the ages of six and thirteen—to lie facedown on the floor of the schoolroom. Then he binds their ankles with wire and plastic ties. According to a surviving younger sister, the oldest girl asks the gunman to shoot her first, hoping he will spare the others. At 11:07 a.m. he begins shooting. When it is all over, Charles Carl Roberts IV has killed himself and five young girls.

Here’s how the deputy coroner of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, described the mayhem inside that school: “There was not one desk, not one chair, in the whole schoolroom that was not splattered with either blood or glass. There were bullet holes everywhere, everywhere.”

What would you or I do if we had been the mother of a child who had been murdered at the Old Order Amish West Nickel Mines School? I might have responded with bitterness or a desire for vengeance. But one mother shocked the world by joining others in her community in forgiving the murderer and extending grace to his family. To make it real, she attended his funeral and sent meals and flowers to his widow.

Where does a mother get the grace and courage to do something like that? At the foot of the cross of the extraordinary man who said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Father, please give me grace to forgive even as I have been forgiven. As I do, grant me your peace.

04/02/2025

Victory over Compromise

Instead of praying that God will help you not to get caught cheating, or that someone won’t know you lied, pray about these things instead:

Wisdom to know the difference. Maybe you’re not sure if this specific thing will compromise your relationship with God or not. Seek his wisdom. He’s more than ready to give you solid direction when you ask.
Discernment. Discernment is honed wisdom. It allows you to be more than just “generally wise.” Discernment helps you assess specific situations and know from the inside out whether or not it’s right.
Knowledge. If you are rationalizing something and it’s not right in God’s eyes, you want to know about it! So pray for that knowledge. That’s why daily time spent with God in prayer and Bible reading is so important—it gives you a chance to ask God if there’s anything in your life that’s not right. Then it’s his responsibility to help you know what it is. And when he brings it to your mind—when you have knowledge of it—seek his forgiveness and commit it to him. So go ahead. Let him look underneath your cot and inside your closet. Give him your locker and your diary. Surrender your relationships and your heart. Commit to him your will and your desires.
If you’re serious about wanting to avoid compromise in your walk with God, consider praying the following:

Lord, sometimes I move so fast, I forget to stop and think about if what I’m doing is really okay in your sight. I hurry to keep up with my friends, . . . when I should be hurrying to keep myself saturated in your Word.

I don’t want to compromise, Father. My desire is to live a life that’s pleasing to you. I need your discernment, your wisdom, and your strength. Help me to discipline myself daily to establish those attributes in my life. Help me to work at them—practice them—until they become part of my lifestyle. I want to live with integrity, never compromising. Never rationalizing.

Help me to be like Joshua—standing strong when the pressure rises. I don’t want to buckle when I feel the tension. But “as for me and my house . . . I WILL serve the Lord.” Amen.

New Beginnings Set Free

06/19/2025

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