Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”—John 4:10 (NIV)
Like the Samaritan woman at the well, there may be times when you feel marginalized or judged. Remember that Jesus accepts and loves you as you are. His love offers you acceptance and salvation.
Lord, help me to accept others as they are, and to show Your love to them.
Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand. Jeremiah 18:6
Today’s Scripture
Listen to Today’s Devotional
Today’s Insights
It’s a dangerous misconception that the God of the Old Testament is angry and judgmental, while the God of the New Testament is loving, merciful, gracious, and forgiving. We see abundant evidence of God’s grace and mercy throughout the Old Testament. God said through His prophet Jeremiah, “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be . . . destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent” (18:7-8). The book of Jonah demonstrates this. When Jonah brought his message of repentance to the degenerate city of Nineveh, its citizens heeded God’s warning and were spared (3:4-10). In Jeremiah, God offers a similar opportunity to Judah (18:11). These are just two examples of God’s love and mercy in the Old Testament. God’s character is consistent. He loves His children too much to permit them to persist in sin.
Today’s Devotional
Dan Les, a lifelong potter, creates decorative vessels and sculptures. His award-winning designs are inspired by the town in Romania where he lives. Having learned the craft from his father, he made this comment about his work: “[Clay needs to] ferment for a year, to have rain fall on it, to freeze and thaw out [so that] . . . you can shape it and feel through your hands that it is listening to you.”
What happens when clay “listens”? It’s willing to yield to the artisan’s touch. The prophet Jeremiah observed this when he visited a potter’s house. He watched as the craftsman struggled with a vessel and finally reshaped it into something new (Jeremiah 18:4). God said to Jeremiah, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand” (v. 6).
God has the ability to build us up or bring us down, yet His ultimate purpose isn’t to overpower or destroy us (vv. 7-10). Rather, He’s like a skilled craftsman who can identify what isn’t working and reshape the same lump of clay into something beautiful and useful.
Listening clay doesn’t have much to say about this. When prodded, it moves in the desired direction. When molded, it stays in place. The question for us is this: are we willing to “humble [ourselves] under God’s mighty hand” (1 Peter 5:6) so He can shape our lives into what He wants them to be?
Reflect & Pray
How are you listening to God today? What do you think His purpose is for refining you through your life’s experiences?
Dear God, please help me to trust You. I want to submit my life to You.
The children of Your servants shall dwell safely and continue, and their descendants shall be established before You.
Psalm 102:28 (AMPC)
One of the keys to success is to continue believing God. Even though we may not sense any change after we’ve prayed about something, it is vitally important that we continue believing in God’s promise to deliver and help us.
When the Holy Spirit is walking me into freedom in any area, I often say that I am free from a thing even while I am still experiencing no freedom at all. By doing this, I am declaring my belief that God and His promise are greater than my problem and it is only a matter of time before I experience the fullness of His freedom.
Joy is released in our lives through believing. Once we choose to believe God’s Word, we receive joy and peace, and that helps us enjoy life while we are waiting for the fullness of God’s promises to manifest themselves.
Prayer of the Day: Lord, I choose to believe Your promises, trusting in Your timing. Help me to walk in faith, even when I don’t see anything changing. I know freedom is coming, amen.
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, wrote an article Monday titled, “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans.” In summary, he reports that he was inadvertently included in a group chat with high-ranking Trump administration officials via the messaging app Signal. Their discussion regarded military strikes in Yemen that took place on March 15, among other geopolitical issues.
In an interview last night, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz assumed “full responsibility” for the leaked group chat. “It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it,” he said.
“Politics is downstream from culture”
Response to Mr. Goldberg’s report was immediate and continues this morning.
Democrats castigated the administration as “complete amateurs” who “texted out war plans like invites to a frat party.” Several called for Mr. Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resign.
Many Republicans, by contrast, were less concerned. One called it a “mistake” that “is not going to lead to the apocalypse.” Another said, “This is what the leftist media is reduced to . . . now we’re griping about who’s on a text message and who’s not.” In an interview yesterday, President Trump said he still had confidence in Mr. Waltz, stating that his inclusion of Mr. Goldberg had “no impact” on the military strikes in Yemen.
We should not be surprised by these partisan responses. In a pragmatic society, truth is what works for us. Capitalistic consumerism defines truth as what we want it to be. In the case of partisan politics (is there any other kind today?) our party is our “tribe” and the other party is evil. We don’t shoot at our friends, only our enemies.
Since “politics is downstream from culture,” we should expect a similar approach to truth in our relativistic society. With no true north on our moral compass, secular people go where their fallen nature takes them. (For examples drawn from the immorality of popular culture, see my latest website article, “Why ‘Anora’ and ‘The White Lotus’ are making headlines.”)
There is a better way. You and I can actually partner with the God of the universe in finding the healing we need for our hurting souls and broken society.
To do so, we need to answer one of the most overlooked questions in Scripture.
“Do you want to be healed?”
John 5 tells us about a man lying beside the pool of Bethesda who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years before Jesus healed him. When speaking to tour groups at this site over the years, I focused on a subtle question embedded in the story: “When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be healed?’” (v. 6).
We might wonder why Jesus asked such a question. Of course a paralyzed man would want to be healed, we think.
But, as the verse states, this man had “already been there a long time.” Invalids often congregated around public places like this pool to seek alms from religious people passing by (cf. Acts 3:2). Historians believe that the pool of Bethesda served as a mikveh, a place of ritual cleansing for worshipers on their way into the temple. Since almsgiving (tzedakah in Hebrew) was a core duty in Judaism, this man likely lived off such generosity.
If Jesus healed him, he would then have to get a job to support himself. But he was at least thirty-eight years old, which was longer than many people lived in his day. Due to his infirmity, he likely had not learned a trade. At his age, what employment could he find? How would he survive?
As a result, Jesus would not force the man to accept the gift of healing against his will. The man made clear his desire to be made well (v. 7), but our Lord still required his permission and engagement in his healing: “Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk’” (v. 8).
Two stages were involved: the man was to “get up” for the first time in four decades, then he was to pick up his bed and walk. Verse 9 tells us, “At once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.” It seems that he was healed “at once” when he tried by faith to “get up,” then he subsequently “took up his bed and walked.”
“Let down your nets for a catch”
From this discussion, it is clear that Jesus honors the free will he gives us, inviting us to partner with him in his redemptive work. When we do what we can do, he does what only he can do.
As we work, God works.
We find this divine-human partnership all through Scripture:
Do you see the pattern?
Do you want to be healed?
“Covered in the dust of your rabbi”
When we choose to live by biblical truth, rejecting the consumerism and immorality of our broken society and staking our lives on God’s word and will, we position ourselves to experience what he can give only to those who trust him for his best. Like a patient who trusts her surgeon or a client his lawyer, we place ourselves unconditionally in his hands and at his disposal.
Then, as we do what we can do in prayer, Bible study, worship, and biblical obedience, God does what only he can do.
The key is to follow the living Lord Jesus so closely that, as the Jews said, we are “covered in the dust of your rabbi.” As John Mark Comer explains, this meant to sit at his feet or to walk closely by him on the path. Either way, the dust produced by his feet covers us.
I’ll ask again: Do you want to be healed?
The author Chris Cruz summarizes our theme:
“If we’re not intentionally choosing to be discipled by Jesus, we’re being unintentionally discipled by the world.”
Which will be true for you today?
Quote for the day:
“Let your house be a meeting place for the rabbis, and cover yourself in the dust of their feet, and drink in their words thirstily.” —attributed to Yose ben Yoezer, second century BC, quoted by John Mark Comer in Practicing the Way
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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.
“Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.” (1 Corinthians 14:20)
The Christian life is entered by the new birth so that everyone who is genuinely born again must begin as a spiritual babe. “Except ye be converted, and become as little children,” said the Lord Jesus, “ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
Furthermore, they should continue to be as innocent children insofar as “malice” (Greek kakia, literally meaning “wickedness” or “evil”) is concerned. This is an attribute that should diminish, not grow, in a believer.
The sad truth, however, is that many born-again Christians remain spiritual babes in attributes that should characterize strong men and women of God. Paul equated the term “babes in Christ” with carnality, characterized by “envying, and strife, and divisions” (1 Corinthians 3:1, 3). Paul also speaks of those Christians as “children” who are “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). He urges each one to be “speaking the truth in love,” so that we “may grow up into him [Christ] in all things” (Ephesians 4:15).
Spiritual growth, of course, can come only through spiritual food and spiritual exercise. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14).
Christians should become mature, both in understanding and in behavior. The last reference to growth in the Bible applies to each Christian: “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). HMM
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. — Matthew 5:8
Purity is not innocence; it is much more. Purity is the outcome of sustained spiritual closeness with God. We have to grow in purity. Our private life with God may be healthy, and our inner purity may be unsullied, and still, every now and again, the bloom on the outside may become tarnished.
God doesn’t shield us from this possibility. When we go astray in some outward expression or action, we realize just how necessary outward purity is to maintaining our vision of God. Spiritual understanding becomes blurred the instant we go astray in our external lives. When we notice that the outward bloom of our life with God has been damaged, even to a tiny degree, we must stop everything and correct it. The inner sanctuary and the outer rooms must be brought into perfect agreement.
God makes us pure by his sovereign grace, but we also have something we must take care of: our bodily lives. Our bodily lives bring us into contact with other people and other points of view, and if we are not careful these external influences can tarnish our purity. If we are going to keep in personal contact with Jesus, there are some things we must refuse to do or touch or think, even things which seem worthy and legitimate to others. A practical way of maintaining personal purity around other people is to say to yourself, “That man, that woman: perfect in Christ Jesus! That friend, that relative: perfect in Christ Jesus!”
Remember that spiritual vision depends on character: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Wisdom from Oswald
God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances. Not Knowing Whither, 900 L
. . . light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light . . .
—John 3:19
The world’s difficulty is summed up in the words, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness understood it not.” The light of Easter is shining, but men refuse to turn to its healing rays for forgiveness, redemption, and salvation. Thus Christ is being rejected by the overwhelming majority of humanity today. As a result, men stumble on in spiritual darkness blindly toward destruction, judgment, and hell.
In the midst of the darkness and “void” at the creation of the world, God said, “Let there be light.” In your own mind-darkened, will-paralyzed, conscience-dulled soul, God can make the light penetrate and turn the darkness of your own life into day, if you will let Him. Many of you are living in spiritual darkness, confused, frustrated, disturbed, and fearful. Let the Light come into your heart by faith.
Prayer for the day
At Easter time, as nature breaks through into glorious re-creation, I am reminded of the glory of Your resurrection! I praise You, Lord Jesus, for Your light which shines through the dimness of my soul.
The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.”—Luke 22:61–62 (NIV)
Even when you falter and deny your faith in moments of fear, like Peter during Jesus’ trial, remember that God’s grace is abundant. His forgiveness is not based on your perfection, but on His love for you. Embrace His grace, seek His forgiveness and let it transform you.
Lord, help me to learn from my failures, seek Your forgiveness and embrace Your grace, just like Peter did.
The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Romans 8:7
Days of Praise – Seeds of Doubt
by Daryl Robbins
“He [Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
Satan loves to plant seeds of doubt into the minds of both believers and nonbelievers alike. Jesus warns in today’s passage that Satan is an old pro at lying, so to speak. He has been at it “from the beginning.”
The first example we see in the Bible of Satan’s lying is in Genesis 3:4. When tempting Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he says, “Ye shall not surely die.” Going back one chapter to Genesis 2:17, we see God’s original command concerning the tree: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
Notice that Satan removed the “not” from “thou shall not eat of it” and inserted it into “thou shalt surely die.” That change was enough to plant seeds of doubt into the minds of Adam and Eve, damaging their relationship with God and ultimately bringing about the Curse of the Fall on the earth and all mankind who would come after them.
Since we have the benefit of recorded Scripture to study and learn from, let’s be aware of Satan’s tactics to spread lies. We know one of Satan’s devices is to attack the validity of God’s Word. “Did God really say…?” seems to be the approach taken in this instance. Satan may also attack the accuracy of God’s Word, adding or removing words from the Holy Scripture to advance his deadly agenda.
Let’s be “vigilant” (1 Peter 5:8) and informed about the ways Satan attacks so we can stand strong in the faith, “for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11). DWR
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality), how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.
Matthew 5:13 (AMPC)
I think it’s safe to say that most of what the world offers is tasteless—and I’m not talking about food. For example, most of the movies Hollywood produces and the way people treat each other in the world today are tasteless. Usually when we see any type of behavior that is in poor taste, we are quick to blame “the world.” We might say something like, “What is the world coming to?” Yet the phrase “the world” merely means the people who live in the world. If the world has lost its flavor, it is because people have become tasteless in their attitudes and actions. Jesus said we are the salt of the earth (see Matt. 5:13). He also said we are the light of the world and should not hide our light (see Matt. 5:14).
Think of it this way: Each day as you leave your home, you can add God’s light and flavor to any environment. You can bring joy to your workplace by being determined to consistently have a godly attitude, and through simple things like being thankful, patient, merciful, quick to forgive offenses, kind, and encouraging. Even simply smiling and being friendly is a way to bring flavor into a tasteless society.
Without love and all its magnificent qualities, life is tasteless and not worth living. I want you to try an experiment. Just think: I am going to go out into the world today and spice things up. Get your mind set before you ever walk out the door that you are going out as God’s ambassador, and that your goal is to be a giver, to love people, and to add good flavor to their lives. The question each of us must answer is, “What have I done today to make someone else’s life better?”
Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me be a source of light and flavor in this world. Guide me to show love, kindness, and encouragement, and bring Your light into every place I go, amen.
“Someone will read somewhere that George Foreman put God first”
George Foreman, the two-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world, died Friday night at the age of seventy-six. If this was all you knew about him, you didn’t know what mattered most to him.
Note the priorities of his life as described by his family at his death:
A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father and a proud grand- and great-grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose. A humanitarian, an Olympian and two-time heavyweight champion of the world, he was deeply respected.
However, few would have imagined such a life and legacy when he was growing up in my hometown of Houston.
“I don’t want your money, I want you”
By his own admission, Foreman was a troubled youth. He dropped out of school at the age of fifteen and spent time as a mugger. The next year, he had a change of heart and convinced his mother to sign him up for Job Corps after seeing an ad for the Corps on television. He earned his GED and tried to become a carpenter and bricklayer before finding boxing.
Foreman won a gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games and said later this was the achievement of which he was most proud in his boxing career. He went on to defeat Joe Frazier to become the world heavyweight boxing champion.
I was one of millions who watched his shocking loss to Muhammad Ali on television the next year. Most people thought he would win easily, but the aging Ali’s now-famous “rope-a-dope” strategy depleted Foreman’s formidable power and led to his defeat. Many assumed his boxing career was effectively over.
After a few more fights, Foreman lost a bout in Puerto Rico. Suffering from exhaustion and heatstroke, he stated later that he had a near-death experience.
He spoke of being in a terrifying place of nothingness and despair and pled with God to help him. He said he heard a voice in his dressing room that asked, “Do you believe in God? Why are you ready to die?”
He responded, “Look, I am George Foreman. I can give money to charity and for cancer.” But the voice answered, “I don’t want your money; I want you.” In that moment, Foreman gave his life to Christ and said, “I never was the same man. My life changed.”
Foreman left boxing to become a minister. He went to prisons and hospitals to tell his story, then started a youth center.
Ten years later, in need of money for his ministry, he returned to boxing. Seven years later, he shocked the boxing world by knocking out Michael Moorer, nineteen years his junior, and regaining his world title. Foreman’s twenty years between titles is easily the longest gap in boxing history.
“George Foreman put God first”
Foreman started a church in Houston he led for three decades. He made millions from the George Foreman Grill, but said he was especially proud of the way it helped people lose weight and improve their health: “Success cannot be measured with money when you’re talking about this.”
He starred briefly in a sitcom called “George” in the 1990s and even appeared on the reality singing competition The Masked Singer in 2022. A biographical movie based on his life was released the next year.
He was especially grateful for his wife Mary. “When I speak, they ask me what I consider my most crowning achievement,” he said. “I raise up my left hand and show them my wedding band.”
When a reporter asked him what aspect of his life he hoped would stand out most, he replied:
Most importantly, that someone will read somewhere that George Foreman put God first. I had that experience in Puerto Rico all those years back and it is just as real and fresh as if it happened to me yesterday. People know if you sit down long enough with me, “Oh, he’s going to start talking religion.” And that’s what I really want people to know about me, that I was a church member, and I give my life to Jesus Christ.
“The world is full of people who want to play it safe”
When I “start talking religion,” secular people can easily dismiss my words as coming from a “paid Christian” who is simply doing his job. When you start sharing your faith, however, they have no such recourse. If you use your cultural influence for Christ, others “see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
George Foreman touched millions of people who will never know my name. But I have the privilege of knowing people who don’t know his.
So do you.
The Holy Spirit is at work today preparing the heart of someone he intends you to influence tomorrow. The key, in the words of my wise mentor, is to stay obedient to the last word we heard from God and open to the next. We cannot measure the eternal significance of present faithfulness.
When George Foreman met Jesus in a dressing room in Puerto Rico, he could not know I would be writing about his experience decades later or that you would be reading my words. You cannot know how God will use your obedience tomorrow to touch souls for decades to come (if the Lord tarries).
Here’s the key: If we have a genuine, daily relationship with the living Lord Jesus, we cannot be the same. Nor can the lives we touch.
Our secularized culture sees Jesus as a figure of the past akin to Buddha, Muhammad, and Confucius. But Foreman experienced Jesus as a living, present-tense reality. His life was transformed not by religion but by a personal experience with our transforming Lord. He spent the rest of his life encouraging others to meet the One who changed his life.
Now you and I are invited to follow his example.
In his book Knockout Entrepreneur, George Foreman wrote:
The world is full of people who want to play it safe, people who have tremendous potential but never use it. Somewhere deep inside them, they know that they could do more in life, be more, and have more—if only they were willing to take a few risks.
What risks will you take for Jesus today?
by Daryl Robbins
“He [Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
Satan loves to plant seeds of doubt into the minds of both believers and nonbelievers alike. Jesus warns in today’s passage that Satan is an old pro at lying, so to speak. He has been at it “from the beginning.”
The first example we see in the Bible of Satan’s lying is in Genesis 3:4. When tempting Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he says, “Ye shall not surely die.” Going back one chapter to Genesis 2:17, we see God’s original command concerning the tree: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
Notice that Satan removed the “not” from “thou shall not eat of it” and inserted it into “thou shalt surely die.” That change was enough to plant seeds of doubt into the minds of Adam and Eve, damaging their relationship with God and ultimately bringing about the Curse of the Fall on the earth and all mankind who would come after them.
Since we have the benefit of recorded Scripture to study and learn from, let’s be aware of Satan’s tactics to spread lies. We know one of Satan’s devices is to attack the validity of God’s Word. “Did God really say…?” seems to be the approach taken in this instance. Satan may also attack the accuracy of God’s Word, adding or removing words from the Holy Scripture to advance his deadly agenda.
Let’s be “vigilant” (1 Peter 5:8) and informed about the ways Satan attacks so we can stand strong in the faith, “for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11). DWR
The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him. — John 3:29
Goodness and purity should never attract attention to themselves; they should be magnets that draw attention to Jesus Christ. If my holiness isn’t drawing people to him, it isn’t holiness of the right order; it’s an influence that will spark misplaced affection and lead souls astray. A talented and virtuous preacher may be an obstacle if, instead of preaching Jesus Christ, he preaches only what Jesus Christ has done for him. People will come away saying, “That preacher has a fine character!” when they should be coming away with Jesus himself. If my face is growing brighter while Jesus’s fades, I’m not being a true friend of the bridegroom (John 3:30).
In order to maintain a loyal friendship with Jesus, we have to be careful with our moral and vital relationship to him—more careful than we are with anything else, even our obedience to God. Sometimes, the only thing we need to do is maintain this vital connection. Occasionally, when we are faced with a crisis, we have to seek knowledge of God’s will so that we can act in obedience. But most of life doesn’t require this kind of conscious obedience; it requires the maintenance of this relationship, our friendship with the bridegroom.
Beware of allowing anything to come between you and Jesus Christ. Too often, Christian work provides the perfect excuse for breaking our soul’s concentration on him. Instead of being friends of the bridegroom, we may end up working against him.
Wisdom from Oswald
Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
If a person isn’t loving and kind, it shows that he doesn’t know God—for God is love.
—1 John 4:8 (TLB)
Jesus wept tears of compassion at the graveside of a friend. He mourned over Jerusalem because as a city it had lost its appreciation of the things of the Spirit. His great heart was sensitive to the needs of others. To emphasize the importance of man’s love for men, He revised an old commandment to make it read, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart . . . and thy neighbor as thyself.” This generation is rough and tough. I heard a little boy boasting one day about how tough he was. He said, “On the street I live on, the farther out you go the tougher they get, and I live in the last house.” Until you have learned the value of compassionately sharing others’ sorrow, distress, and misfortune, you cannot know real happiness.
Prayer for the day
Lord Jesus, sensitize my heart with Your compassion so that I may truly love.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.—Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
Right now is the most important moment. Time moves forward, reminding us to treasure each experience. As each of us navigates different circumstances, remember that in God’s eyes, we are all under the same sky, sharing the same time in His presence.
Lord, each moment is a gift, and I will treasure every experience.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11
Today’s Scripture
Listen to Today’s Devotional
Today’s Insights
Matthew 28:19-20 is referred to as the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” This evangelism mandate appears in varying forms in the New Testament: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:47). “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21). “You will be my witnesses . . . to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
The Great Commission is more than proclaiming that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. We carry out the mandate to “go and make disciples” when we baptize believers, teach them to obey the Scriptures, and encourage them to follow Christ as their master.
Today’s Devotional
George Verwer’s life changed dramatically when he became a believer in Jesus during a Billy Graham crusade in 1957. Soon after his conversion, he began Operation Mobilization (OM), and in 1963 the mission sent two thousand missionaries to Europe. OM went on to become one of the largest mission organizations of the twentieth century, sending out thousands each year. At the time of George’s death in 2023, the mission had more than 3,000 workers from 134 countries working in 147 countries, and nearly 300 other mission agencies had been established as a result of contact with OM.
Like the apostle Paul, George had a passion to bring people to saving faith in Christ. After Paul’s dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, he became a zealous missionary for God, fervently following Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). In his missionary journeys, he also trained Timothy and others to go out and do the same.
Because of Paul’s Spirit-inspired writings, people throughout the centuries have been emboldened to share the gospel. He knew the vital importance of Jesus’ Great Commission (vv. 19-20). That’s why, in Romans 12, he reminds us: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (v. 11). When we have the Holy Spirit living inside us, He makes us zealous to tell others about Christ.
Reflect & Pray
Who has inspired you in your faith journey? How can you prepare to share your faith with others?
Dear God, please help me be a bold witness for You.
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)
Fear is a spirit that produces feelings. When God told Joshua to not be afraid, He was not commanding him to not “feel” fear; He was commanding him to not give in to the fear he was facing.
I often encourage people to “do it afraid.” That basically means when fear attacks you, you need to go ahead and do whatever God is telling you to do anyway. You may do it with your knees shaking or your palms sweating but do it anyway. That’s what it means to “fear not.”
We can be thankful we have Scripture to meditate on when we feel afraid. God’s promises strengthen us to keep pressing forward, no matter how we feel. The Word of God will give you the faith you need to overcome any feeling of fear.
Prayer of the Day: Thank You, Father, that I don’t have to give in to a feeling of fear. With Your help, I can press forward and do what You have called me to do regardless of my feelings. Thank You, Father, that I can do it afraid.
Why you are alive at this moment in history
If you’re among the millions who are afraid of flying these days, here’s fodder for your fears: the shutdown of London’s Heathrow Airport last Friday not only exposed issues with “creaking infrastructure” at Britain’s airports, but British reporters are now speculating about the dire consequences if Russia was behind it.
The fire that engulfed a nearby substation Thursday evening caused Europe’s busiest airport to shut down the next day, disrupting more than 1,300 flights and 200,000 passengers. A British official said Friday that there is “no indication of Russian involvement” in the fire, but intelligence experts state that the inferno had “all the hallmarks” of Russian sabotage.
The shutdown came as Russia’s disruption and sabotage operations in the West are continuing to escalate. A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies showed that transportation and critical infrastructure are some of the primary targets of Russian attacks, which have often utilized explosives.
Whether Russia or another actor was behind the power outage, the fact remains that such a crisis could be the work of terrorists in the future. In a world as interconnected as ours, a single act of sabotage could affect millions or more.
Add China’s deep-sea cable cutter that “could reset the world order” and renewed fighting in Lebanon and Gaza over the weekend (more on both in tomorrow’s Daily Article), and we could be forgiven for wishing we had been born in a different century. However, when confronting massive challenges, we can find hope in this fact: if God could not use us effectively at this moment in history, we would not be alive at this moment in history.
Vetting before I went to East Malaysia
Despite what secularists say, you are not here by chance. You are alive today by the creative act of your Creator. It is by his providence that you were not alive a hundred years ago or a hundred years from now (if the Lord tarries).
And God makes no mistakes.
I spent the summer before my senior year of college serving as a missionary in East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Before I was selected for this assignment, mission officials put me through rigorous vetting to be sure I had the requisite capacities for the assignment. They did not want to send me where I could not be effective, and they knew much more about the position than I did.
Our omniscient Father is far better at employing his children than humans could ever be. If you did not have the requisite capacities to be assigned this moment in history, you would not be living in this moment of history.
Of course, this fact can feel like a compliment we’d rather not receive. Mother Teresa admitted: “I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that he didn’t trust me so much.” You might feel the same way today.
“If you had been here, my brother would not have died”
If so, let’s consider a familiar story with a surprising insight.
In John 11 we read that Lazarus had fallen sick and his sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill” (v. 3). Verse 5 emphasizes the depth of their relationship: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”
Then comes the surprise: “So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was” (v. 6, my emphasis). So translates a Greek word meaning “therefore” or “consequently.”
How can it be that Jesus stayed where he was because he loved Lazarus and his sisters?
Martha had the same question when he eventually arrived: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21). As did her sister Mary, who repeated the assertion verbatim (v. 32), perhaps indicating that they had discussed their confusion.
“The reason why the crowd went to meet him”
Jesus’ delay ensured that he would arrive in Bethany four days after Lazarus’ death (v. 17). Here’s why this matters: Rabbis taught that the soul hovers over the body of the deceased person for the first three days. If Jesus had raised Lazarus earlier than he did, this could have been seen as a resuscitation rather than a resurrection.
By delaying, Jesus showed himself to be not just a miraculous healer of the sick (cf. v. 37) but one with the power over death itself (vv. 43–44).
As a result, “Many of the Jews” who saw what he did “believed in him” (v. 45). Later we read that a “large crowd of the Jews” came to Jerusalem “not only on account of [Jesus] but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead” (John 12:9).
In fact, “on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus” (v. 11). The next day, they met Jesus as he came into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday, greeting him with “branches of palm trees” and shouting hosannas of praise (v. 13). John adds: “The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign” (vv. 17–18, my emphasis).
Here’s the point: Jesus’ delay in responding to Lazarus’ sickness, which made no sense to Lazarus’ sisters at the time, led to a providential miracle that changed history and demonstrated his divine status for all time.
It is always too soon to give up on God
This story is preserved in the Bible because it is as relevant today as when it first occurred. Our secularized society views Jesus as a figure of the past, but he is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Anything he has ever done, he can still do.
Our broken culture desperately needs the witness of lives transformed by the living Lord Jesus. So, where do you need his life-giving power today? If you name your need, give it to your Lord, and trust his timing, you’ll experience his providence in ways that will mark your life and empower your influence.
It is always too soon to give up on God. Max Lucado reminded us:
“Peter was in a storm before he walked on water. Lazarus was in a grave before he came out of it. The demoniac was possessed before he was a preacher, and the paralytic was on a stretcher before he was in your Bible.”
What “grave” will you trust to your Lord today?
Quote for the day:
“Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love, and the future to God’s providence.” —St. Augustine
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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)
There are three wonderful figures in the New Testament that depict the relationship of the individual believer to all other believers and to Christ Himself. Christians are like stones in a great building of which He is the foundation and cornerstone. They are little branches in the great vine, which is Christ. They are all members of the great body of which He is the head. In each case, they have been placed “with Christ,” and they derive all life and meaning from Him.
As a stone lying alone on the ground is useless and ugly, so would be a professing Christian who is not truly in Christ. But we, “as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5) as “the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22).
Similarly, a branch without its vine and roots is lifeless. Jesus said: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).
The members of a body are functionless without the head to direct them. “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him” (1 Corinthians 12:18), and it is intended that we “may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together…maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16).
Outside of Christ, we are useless, lifeless, and without direction. In Him, we become a beautiful temple, a fruitful vine, and a strong body. HMM
He must become greater; I must become less. — John 3:30
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, your great responsibility is to be a friend of the bridegroom, following the example set by John the Baptist: “The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him” (John 3:29). The bridegroom’s friend never takes the central role away from Jesus or becomes a necessity to another person’s soul. If you find, in your relationships with others, that you have stolen the spotlight away from Christ, then you know that you are out of God’s established order for his disciples. You’ll know your influence over others has taken the right direction when you see their souls gripped by the claims of Jesus Christ.
Never interfere when another person’s soul has been gripped by Christ. However painful it may appear to you from the outside, pray that the pain grows ten times stronger, until there is no power on earth or in hell that can keep that soul away from the Lord. You may often see Jesus Christ wreck a life before he saves it. Never mind what havoc the bridegroom causes, what crumblings of health and wealth. Rejoice with divine hilarity when his voice is heard.
Over and over again, we turn ourselves into amateur providences, trying to prevent suffering by stopping God. In the end, our sympathy costs other people dearly. One day, they’ll accuse us of being thieves, of stealing their affections away from their bridegroom and causing them to lose their vision of him. We must beware of rejoicing with a soul in the wrong thing, but we must make sure to rejoice in the right thing. The bridegroom’s friend “is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:29–30). John the Baptist is describing the absolute effacement of the disciple; he will never be thought of again. But he acknowledges this with joy, not sadness.
Wisdom from Oswald
The Bible is the only Book that gives us any indication of the true nature of sin, and where it came from.The Philosophy of Sin, 1107 R
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