JUNE 26 – The Choice That Shapes Your Future
3-Year-Bible Reading: Proverbs 18:22; 1 Samuel 28
//3-Year Bible Devotional Book (Year Two) Available on Amazon
//
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“He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” — Proverbs 18:22 (ESV)
“Saul died because he did not seek the Lord, but consulted a medium instead, and the Lord turned away from him.” — 1 Samuel 28:6, 19 (paraphrased ESV)
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Sometimes life feels like a series of choices that can either lead to blessing or trouble. In Proverbs 18:22, we see that choosing well—like finding a godly partner—is a way to receive God’s favor. On the other hand, 1 Samuel 28 tells the story of King Saul, who, in desperation, turned away from God and sought answers in the wrong place. Instead of waiting on God, he made choices that led to loss and regret.
Teen life is full of decisions—who you spend time with, how you handle peer pressure, and even what you believe about yourself and God. Choosing wisely doesn’t mean life will be perfect, but it does mean you’re walking in God’s favor and protection. When we seek God first and trust Him, our paths are guided, and we avoid the pitfalls that come from taking shortcuts or listening to the wrong voices.
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THINK ABOUT IT
1. Seek God First: Are there areas in your life where you’re tempted to make a quick decision instead of trusting God’s timing?
2. Choose Wisely: How do your friendships, hobbies, and daily habits reflect the kind of life you want to build with God’s guidance?
3. Avoid Shortcuts: Like Saul, what are some “shortcuts” or easy solutions you’re tempted to take that could pull you away from God?
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BOTTOM LINE
The choices you make today—big or small—can bring God’s favor or lead to regret; seek Him first in every decision.
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PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank You for guiding me in the choices I make. Help me to seek You first, make decisions that honor You, and avoid paths that lead to regret. Give me wisdom, patience, and courage to follow Your ways, trusting that Your plan is best. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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Welcome to Bible Chat, where we
have devotional conversations
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rooted in Scripture and relevant
for today, June 26th.
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The choice that shapes your
future life is full of forks in
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the road.
Some of them are obvious big
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decisions with clear stakes, but
most of them are small, quiet,
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daily choices that seem
insignificant in the moment and
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yet over time define the
direction of your whole life.
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Where you end up five years from
now will be largely determined
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by the small choices you’re
making right now.
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Proverbs chapter 18, verse 22
says he who finds a wife finds a
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good thing and obtains favor
from the Lord.
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Now in context, this is
affirming something profound.
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The right relationships, once
built on godly wisdom and
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genuine character, carry God’s
favor.
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This isn’t just about marriage.
It’s about the principle that
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choosing well in your close
relationships, in what you’re
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building toward, and in who
you’re becoming, these things
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invite blessing into your life.
But First Samuel chapter 28
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shows us the devastating
alternative.
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Saul, who was once chosen and
anointed by God, had spent years
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making choices that moved him
further from God rather than
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closer.
And when he finally faced a
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crisis that terrified him, the
Philistines gathered for battle.
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God was silent.
He had pushed God to the margins
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so consistently that when the
moment came when he needed him
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most, Saul found himself
reaching into forbidden
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territory.
He consulted a medium.
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He sought answers from the dead
rather than from the living God
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who had once spoken to him.
Clearly, the summary of Saul’s
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choices is heartbreaking.
He didn’t seek the Lord.
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He consulted sources that were
completely outside of God’s
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will, and the consequences that
followed were devastating, not
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just for him, but for his family
and his legacy.
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Here’s the thing about Saul’s
story that we need to sit with
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for a moment.
It didn’t happen all at once.
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The drift from God was gradual.
Each individual compromise
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seemed manageable.
Each shortcut seemed justified.
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Each moment of impatience with
God’s timing led to another and
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another, until Saul found
himself so far from where he
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started that he no longer even
recognized the distance.
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Teen and young adult life is
full of these same kinds of
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gradual drift moments.
Who you spend your time with
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slowly shapes your values.
The content you consistently
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consume slowly shapes how you
see the world.
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The habits you form right now of
prayer, of reading God’s Word,
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of seeking wise counsel, or the
absence of those habits are
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quietly building the person
you’re becoming.
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God’s favor is real.
Blessing is real, but it flows
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toward lives that consistently
choose to seek Him.
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Not perfectly but persistently,
not without mistakes, but with a
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heart that keeps returning.
Don’t wait for a crisis to seek
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God.
Don’t wait until you’re
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desperate to make the choice to
turn toward Him.
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Make that choice today in the
small things, in the daily
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habits, in the decisions that
seem too ordinary to matter.
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They are not ordinary.
They are the architecture of
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your future.
Let’s pray.
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Heavenly Father, thank You for
guiding us in every choice we
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face.
Forgive us for the times we’ve
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taken shortcuts or sought
answers in the wrong places when
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we should have sought You.
Help us to build daily habits of
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seeking You not just in crisis,
but in the quiet, ordinary
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moments.
We trust that Your plan for our
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lives is better than anything we
could choose for ourselves, and
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we choose to walk in it today.
In Jesus name, Amen.
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What if the night was never
meant to be ruled by fear, but
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covered by the presence and
authority of God?
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Command Your Night is a
prophetic prayer script series
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created for believers who want
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sleep, stand firm in spiritual
warfare and invite divine
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covering over every hour of
darkness.
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These prayers help you quiet
anxiety, guard your home, resist
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oppression, sanctify your
dreams, cover your family, and
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recognize sacred moments when
God may be calling you to
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intercede in the night watches.
From peaceful sleep to midnight
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breakthrough, this series gently
strengthens your faith and
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reminds you that no night season
is beyond God’s power,
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protection, and voice.
Order now on Amazon or visit
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Now I invite you to spend time
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with God in today’s three-year
Bible reading plan.
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Proverbs chapter 18 Verse 22
World English Bible Whoever
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finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor of Yahweh.
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First Samuel chapter 28 World
English Bible In those days the
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Philistines gathered their
armies together for warfare to
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fight with Israel.
Achish said to David, Know
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assuredly that you will go out
with me in the army, you and
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your men.
David said to Achish.
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Therefore you will know what
your servant can do, a chish
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said to David.
Therefore I will make you my
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bodyguard forever.
Now Samuel was dead, and all
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Israel had mourned for him and
buried him in Rama.
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Even in his own city Saul had
sent away those who had familiar
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spirits and the Wizards out of
the land.
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The Philistines gathered
themselves together and came and
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encamped in Shunam.
And Saul gathered all Israel
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together, and they encamped in
Gilboa.
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When Saul saw the army of the
Philistines, he was afraid, and
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his heart trembled greatly.
When Saul inquired of Yahweh,
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Yahweh didn’t answer him by
dreams, by Urim, or by prophets.
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Then Saul said to his servants,
Seek for me a woman who has a
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familiar spirit, that I may go
to her and inquire of her.
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His servant said to him, Behold,
there is a woman who has a
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familiar spirit at Endor.
Saul disguised himself and put
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on other clothing, and went he
and two men with him, and they
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came to the woman by night.
Then he said, Please consult for
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me by the familiar spirit, and
bring me up whomever I shall
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name to you.
The woman said to him, Behold,
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you know what Saul has done, how
he has cut off those who have
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familiar spirits and the Wizards
out of the land.
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Why then do you lay a snare for
my life to cause me to die?
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Saul swore to her by Yahweh,
saying, As Yahweh lives, no
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punishment will happen to you
for this thing.
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Then the woman said, Whom shall
I bring up to you?
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He said, bring Samuel up for me.
When the woman saw Samuel she
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cried with a loud voice.
And the woman spoke to Saul
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saying, Why have you deceived
me, for you are Saul.
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The king said to her, Don’t be
afraid, what do you see?
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The woman said to Saul, I see a
God coming up out of the earth.
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He said to her, What does he
look like?
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She said, an old man comes up,
he is covered with a robe.
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Saul perceived that it was
Samuel, and he bowed with his
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face to the ground and showed
respect.
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Samuel said to Saul, Why have
you disturbed me to bring me up?
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Saul answered, I am very
distressed, for the Philistines
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make war against me, and God has
departed from me and answers me
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no more by profits or by dreams.
Therefore I have called you that
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you may make known to me what I
shall do.
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Samuel said.
Why then do you ask me, since
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Yahweh has departed from you and
has become your adversary,
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Yahweh has done to you as he
spoke by me.
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Yahweh has torn the Kingdom out
of your hand and given it to
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your neighbor, even to David,
because you didn’t obey Yahweh’s
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voice and didn’t execute His
fierce wrath on a Malek.
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Therefore Yahweh has done this
thing to you today.
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Moreover, Yahweh will deliver
Israel also with you into the
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hand of the Philistines, and
tomorrow you and your sons will
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be with me.
Yahweh will deliver the army of
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Israel also into the hand of the
Philistines.
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Then Saul fell immediately his
full length on the earth, and
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was terrified because of
Samuel’s words.
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There was no strength in him,
for he had eaten no bread all
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day long or all night long.
The woman came to Saul and saw
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that he was very troubled, and
said to him, Behold, your
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servant has listened to your
voice, and I have put my life in
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my hand, and have listened to
your words, which you spoke to
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me.
Now, therefore, please listen
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also to the voice of your
servant, and let me set a morsel
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of bread before you eat, that
you may have strength when you
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go on your way.
But he refused, and said, I will
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not eat.
But his servants, together with
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the woman, constrained him, and
he listened to their voice.
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So he arose from the earth and
sat on the bed.
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The woman had a fattened calf in
the house.
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She hurried and killed it, and
she took flour and kneaded it,
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and baked unleavened bread of
it.
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She brought it before Saul and
before his servants, and they
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ate.
Then they rose up and went away
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that night.
Thanks for joining us on Bible
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Chat, where Scripture meets
everyday life.
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If today’s devotional encouraged
you, share it with a friend and
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be sure to follow the podcast so
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conversation.
Until next time, stay rooted in
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truth, anchored in hope, and
walking daily with Jesus.

