Daily Archives: July 26, 2026

Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – The Narrow Gate

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Read Matthew 7:13–14

The narrow gate and the narrow way are vividly visualized in John Bunyan’s classic The Pilgrim’s Progress. The main character, Christian, meets others who climb over the fence instead of passing through the narrow gate, and some who choose an easier path. At times he’s tempted off the right path himself but nothing good ever happens in these cases. Christian learns his lesson, but other would-be pilgrims fail spectacularly.

The Sermon on the Mount some-what resembles wisdom literature, in that topics can change quickly. There’s not always a direct connection from one topic to the next. That’s the case throughout much of Matthew 7.

The idea of two spiritual paths is a common metaphor in Scripture, often seen, for example, in Psalms and Proverbs. The wrong path is wide and broad, which leads to destruction, that is, hell (v. 13). The right path is the small gate and narrow road. These lead to life, that is, heaven (v. 14). This is not the same as seeing the world in black-and-white. Wisdom, after all, is contextual. Rather, the metaphor of two paths contrasts two ways of life or two trajectories of choices over time. Most translations also contain the idea that the broad road is easy, and the narrow one is difficult. Our tendency is to choose the easier way, but God’s intention is in the other direction.

Jesus’ teaching is simple: Take one way and not the other. It will be simple to tell the difference. One will be easy and the other hard. One will be taken by many, the other by few. The New English Translation even makes verse 14 an exclamation: “How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it!”

Go Deeper

How can we effectively and winsomely share the gospel with someone this week? And if you aren’t on the narrow path, we invite you to follow Jesus today! Go to moodybible.org/knowing-christ.

Pray with Us

Walking the narrow path on this earth is not always easy, God. Thank You for being with us as we seek to follow You. Give us the strength to choose the hard way.

Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.Matthew 7:14

 

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Living Water of Christ

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Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. John 4:14

Today’s Scripture

John 4:7-8, 13-18, 21, 23-26

Listen to Today’s Devotion

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Today’s Devotion

As I gazed at the intricate etching Christ and the Woman of Samaria by Dutch artist Rembrandt, two interesting details caught my eye. The first was Jesus’ humble pose—leaning over, with His hand over His heart—as he addressed the Samaritan woman. Due to centuries of hostilities between the two groups, Jews typically didn’t “associate with Samaritans” (John 4:9). Yet Jesus reached out with respect and dignity to a woman considered an outcast (vv. 17-18).

Jesus knew the woman’s struggles and offered “living water” (v. 10) to satisfy her deepest need—the gift of cleansing and life-giving grace available through a restored relationship with God.

The second detail that caught my eye was the dark shadow covering the woman’s face, symbolizing her initial struggle to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, or Israel’s promised rescuer. When the woman told Jesus, “I know that Messiah is coming” (v. 25) and He responded, “I am he” (v. 26), her eyes and heart were opened (v. 29).

As we encounter people who are spiritually thirsty, Jesus’ example reminds me to speak with humility and kindness, praying for God to remove the shadow that “has blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 4:4) so they can fully understand Christ’s life-changing offer of living water.

Reflect & Pray

How did you first experience Christ’s “living water”? Who can you pray for that needs Jesus’ gift of living water?

Heavenly Father, with Your kindness and humility, please help me share with the hurting Your offer of living, life-transforming water.

Today’s Insights

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman is remarkable on two counts. When He asked her for water, she responded, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (John 4:9). Jews had no dealings with Samaritans because they were a people of mixed-race (see 2 Kings 17:24-41). The woman was also likely surprised that Christ, a man, would speak to her as a woman, for that rarely happened in a public setting. In both cases, Jesus displayed kindness that overruled man-made boundaries. As we encounter people today, God can help us share His love with humility and kindness.

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – BURNOUT: Reorienting our disorientation

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“Burnout” is a term common to Western Civilization’s vernacular. An AI Overview indicates that Google Search displays 150-200 million general web results (News, blogs, and resources) for “burnout”. Google Scholar indexes over 1.9 million academic studies and scholarly publications on the subject, and Google News offers hundreds of continuously updated articles on burnout across a variety of workplaces and lifestyles.

Often associated with endeavors requiring daily discipline, diligence, redundancy, long hours, and measurable production, this pervasive buzzword and endemic condition seemingly expresses itself in every facet of society and has become the catalyst for all of life’s stress, exhaustion, and dissatisfaction. It has become so prevalent that even the World Health Organization (WHO, 2019) has seen the need to classify the term not as a medical condition but as an occupational phenomenon.

Not even the faith community is exempt. With the tendency of the Western church to “baptize” as her own the popular trends and maladies of the day, even clergy now utilize the term with great frequency.

Continue reading Denison Forum – BURNOUT: Reorienting our disorientation →

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – His Precious Blood

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by John D. Morris, Ph.D.

“But the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them . . . . Then Samuel took a stone . . . and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.” (1 Samuel 7:10–12)

The Philistines had stolen the Ark of the Covenant, given to Israel by God. In a battle to take it back, the Lord miraculously intervened, routed the Philistines, and retrieved the Ark. Samuel, the spiritual leader of Israel, ordered the people to erect a lasting “stone of remembrance,” an ebenezer, to commemorate God’s deliverance of them from their enemies. This scene is reflected in the hymn “Come Thou Fount.”

Here I raise my Ebenezer,
hither by thy help I come;
And I hope by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
interposed His precious blood.

The great “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11 extols many Bible heroes for their great works of faith and mentions those who would overcome deadly trials after Bible times. Some survived, some were killed, some wandered to find their dwelling place, but all needed rescue through the shed blood of Jesus. For you “know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18–19), “which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:6). Come quickly, Thou Fount. JDM

 

 

 

https://www.icr.org/articles/type/6

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Christ Is Your Strength

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..How can you speak good things when you are evil (wicked)? For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks.

Matthew 12:34 (AMPC)

The Bible says that out of the heart the mouth speaks. We can learn a lot about ourselves by listening to ourselves. Do your thoughts and words reflect your complete dependence on God, realizing that His abilities (not your own) empower you to do anything you need to do in life?

I had to examine my own thoughts and words and ask myself if I portrayed a person who had faith in God, and I encourage you to do the same. I didn’t like all of my answers, but the exercise in self-examination did open my eyes to understanding that I needed to make some changes. Realizing we are wrong in an area is never a problem. The problem comes when we refuse to face truth and continue making excuses.

Be willing to face anything God wants to show you and ask Him to change you. If you are trusting in your own strength, begin to trust God instead. If you are trying to do things out of your own human abilities and growing frustrated, tell God you want Him to work through you and let His sufficiency be your sufficiency (Phil. 4:13).

When challenges arise, I encourage you to develop a habit of immediately saying, “I can do whatever I need to do through Christ Who is my strength.” Remember that words are containers for power, and when you say the right thing, it will help you do the right thing. Don’t fill your containers, (words) with things that disable you, for truly you are able to do all things through Christ. God will ask you to do things you’d never be able to do in your own strength, but He will give you His strength to do them.

As you meditate over and over on the thought, I can do whatever I need to do in life through Christ, you will find that you are not as easily overwhelmed by situations that arise. Each time you roll that thought over in your mind or speak it, you are developing a healthy mindset that enables you to be victorious.

Prayer of the Day: God, help me trust Your strength instead of my own. Show me areas where I need to grow and teach me to depend fully on You.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org