He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”—Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
Slow down and appreciate the wonders of God’s creation. As you observe the snow-covered landscapes and the peaceful silence of nature, reflect on God’s presence. Allow the tranquility of winter’s beauty to draw you closer to God, finding strength in His loving embrace.
Lord, thank You for the beauty of winter and the stillness it brings.
Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. ––Luke 22:31-32
God’s man faces responsibility and duty head on. He tackles life’s problems instead of running away from them.
We see this principle played out on the Great Plains, in the contrast between the cow and the American bison—North America’s largest land animal. Anyone who has spent any time around cattle knows that when a storm hits, they scatter in panic. Bison, on the other hand, will come together as a herd, the females and calves in the middle, the bulls on the outside. But here’s the interesting part: the herd will run into the storm. Across the millennia that these great beasts have roamed the Plains, they’ve learned that the best way to survive a storm is to face it head on as one herd.
When the stress of life starts to drown out joy, or when a crisis hits, do you respond like a cow, or like a buffalo? Facing the storms of life doesn’t mean we have to like it. When Jesus was in the Garden and at one of His lowest moments, He said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Jesus being all man and all God, knew the horror of Roman crucifixion. But instead of running from His destiny, He prayed into the storm. Luke 22:44 says, “Being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Hematohidrosis—sweating blood—is a real but rare condition when a person is under extreme stress.
Jesus’ battle with Satan was won in the Garden, not on the Cross. He faced the demons, and overcame. We can too. But don’t do it alone. Be like the bison: find your herd and run into the storm. Together.
Father, help me to ask for help when a storm hits, and band with my brothers to face it together.
I am the Lord, who makes them holy. Leviticus 22:9
Today’s Scripture
Listen to Today’s Devotional
Today’s Insights
The book of Leviticus is so named in English because it focuses largely on the work and duties of the Israelite priesthood. These priests were from the tribe of Levi. Aaron, a Levite, was Israel’s first high priest. These words were given while the people of Israel camped at the base of Mount Sinai, and the Levitical law formed the structure and foundation for the practices and worship of Judaism for centuries to come.
Today’s Devotional
After viewing world-class ceramic sculptures at an art museum, I was invited to create my own “pinch pot” from air-dry clay. I spent two hours shaping a little bowl, engraving patterns, and painting. The result of all my hard work was underwhelming: a tiny, misshapen pot with uneven color. It wasn’t going to end up in a museum anytime soon.
Living up to a high standard can be daunting. The Israelite priests experienced this as they tried to follow God’s commands to be ceremonially clean (Leviticus 22:1-8) plus additional instructions regarding the sacrifices (vv. 10-33). The priests’ work was supposed to be holy—set apart—but despite their best efforts, they often fell short. That’s why God ultimately placed the responsibility for their righteousness on His own shoulders: “I am the Lord, who makes [the priests] holy,” He told Moses repeatedly (22:9, 16, 32).
Jesus is our perfect High Priest and He alone provided the pure, acceptable sacrifice for sin through His death on the cross. He prayed, “I give myself as a holy sacrifice for [my disciples] so they can be made holy by your truth” (John 17:19 nlt). When it feels like our attempts at living right are just amateur pinch pots, we can rest in the perfect work Jesus has already completed and rely on the Holy Spirit’s power to live for Him.
Reflect & Pray
Where’s your lack of holiness most frustrating to you? How has Jesus fulfilled that requirement for perfection?
I’m so thankful that my righteousness rests in You, Jesus! Thank You for making me holy.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Matthew 6:11 (AMPC)
God helps us as we put our trust in Him, not as we worry and fret about how we are going to solve our future problems. When we use today to worry about tomorrow, we end up wasting today. It is useless. Instead, we can come to God, trusting His provision, one day at a time.
Our walk with God is called a “daily walk” for a reason: We need His help every day.
We can get out of debt, exercise, lose weight, graduate from college, parent a special needs child, or be successful at anything we need to do if we will put our trust in God and take life one day at a time. Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow would have sufficient trouble of its own (see Matthew 6:34).
Prayer of the Day: Father, I trust You to grant me strength to face every difficulty I encounter. Help me keep a good attitude, filled with Your Holy Spirit, and always be thankful in every situation, amen.
The illusion of control and the power of grace
If you were to stack one trillion dollar bills together, the column would measure 67,866 miles high, more than a fourth of the way from Earth to the moon. That’s how much of the stock market’s value was wiped out Monday. Nearly $600 billion was lost by just one company, the biggest one-day fall in US history. While the markets largely recovered yesterday, the reverberations are continuing. At the heart of the crisis: Chinese AI model DeepSeek was released last week.
DeepSeek appeared to perform on par with counterparts from OpenAI, the US firm at the heart of the AI boom, but with far less computing power or money invested. This means AI models of the future might not need as many high-end chips from leading producer Nvidia. As the Wall Street Journal reported, this “turned tech and Wall Street upside down,” causing Nvidia’s stock to plunge more than $590 billion and tech stocks across the board to plummet.
In other scary news, the “Doomsday Clock” moved closer to midnight yesterday than ever before. This means atomic scientists think humanity is closer than we have ever been to destroying ourselves, whether through nuclear war, climate change, biological threats, and/or advances in disruptive technologies.
A culture built on the illusion of control is understandably shaken by events beyond our ability to forecast or manage. So much of what we are enticed to buy offers to help us control our appearance, health, finances, relationships, and happiness. The current Burger King ads end accordingly: “Have it your way. You rule!”
But we don’t.
And that’s the good news of the day.
When the world was magical
From Monday’s earthquake off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire, to the private bathhouse discovered recently in Pompeii that was destroyed along with the city by the Vesuvius eruption, to yesterday’s somber anniversary of the Challenger explosion, the news reminds us daily of our finitude.
There was a time when we would not have been shocked.
Humans used to live in a world where most was outside our agency, and we knew it. Devastating storms could not be predicted. Criminals and animals of prey threatened our daily lives. A broken bone could lead to a fatal infection.
So we prayed to God or the gods who could do what we could not, then we tried to live in ways that they would bless and protect. From Christianity’s invitation to “ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7), to Islam’s five pillars, to Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path, to Hindu rituals of purification such as the massive festival happening this week in India, to the worship of the various gods of the Greek and Roman pantheon, human experience was rife with supernaturalism in hopes of protection and prosperity.
In a way, this is magical thinking: Whatever the religion, the practitioner asks their deity to do what they are unable to do. We can neither understand nor duplicate their work on our behalf. But their miraculous “magic” was vital to our flourishing and thus became part of the fabric of our lives.
That was then—this is now.
Praying to our cell phones
Darwin debunked the “myth” of divine creation for millions; Marx derided religion as an “opiate” used to enslave the masses; Freud explained our faith in God as “wish fulfillment”; postmodern thinkers convinced us that all truth (including that of the Bible) is personal and subjective; the sexual revolution “liberated” us from the constraints of outdated biblical morality.
As a consequence, the triumph of secularism and decline of religion are now established facts in the minds of millions in our culture.
In a way, the science of our day is magic for most of us. When we ask our cell phones to make calls, give directions, or answer questions, the slab of glass in our hand responds in ways that previous generations would have considered magical if not miraculous. It’s almost as if we were praying to our devices and they were answering as gods. It is the same with airplanes, cars, and much of the technology we experience every day.
Along the way, we persuade ourselves that since these are our possessions, we possess the “magic” they produce, making us masters of the universe we inhabit. But in fact, we are not.
In truth, “You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). What is the solution? “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that’” (v. 15).
Why should we make this wise choice each day?
The baptism of Lola Sheen
Humanity is a tale of two gardens.
Now we must choose which example to follow. If we understand that the God who “is” love can only want our best (1 John 4:8; Romans 12:2), we no longer need to ask for anything other than that his will be done. As missionary Jim Elliot said,
“God always gives his best to those who leave the choice with him.”
Let’s close with an example.
Lola Sheen is the daughter of actors Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. The nineteen-year-old recently shared a video of her January 3 baptism, then explained the reasons behind her decision:
When I was in my deepest depression, there was a moment where I realized I hit rock bottom. I felt so lost and hopeless, and was just doing my best to make it to the next day. I just accepted my life was going to be like that forever and thought I would genuinely never laugh again. Until I met not only my Savior but my best friend, Jesus.
I can’t really explain it other than it was supernatural, but Jesus met me exactly where I was, and he forever became my sun. I began to trust Jesus with my life, when he chose me when no one else did and loved me when I didn’t feel worthy of love. He gave me a light when I couldn’t find my own and rescued me from the darkness. . . .
Jesus is the only reason why I’m here today and made my life worth living. I chose to get baptized at the beginning of this year because I made it through this year only by the strength of Jesus, and I am so happy to go into this next year after publicly declaring Jesus as my Savior. I am forever saved by his grace, through faith.
Lola testified, “I began to trust Jesus with my life,” and that made all the difference.
It always does.
Our latest website articles:
Quote for the day:
“There is no failure in God’s will, and no future outside of God’s will.” —George W. Truett
by John D. Morris, Ph.D.
“And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.” (Genesis 7:16)
Many stirring books have been written on the general subject of the names of God. Most of the names make use of one or two of the three primary names. The first is Elohim, meaning “mighty one.” It is a uniplural name—plural in form but singular in meaning and verb usage—suggesting the uniplural nature of the triune Godhead and appearing in most English translations as “God.” It most often is used when worldwide events or attributes are discussed, including creation, judgment, sovereignty, transcendence, and salvation. The second is Jehovah, meaning “the self-existent one,” which appears as “LORD” in English translations. It stresses God’s holiness, nearness, concern for man (especially Israel), hatred of sin, love of sinners, and His revelatory nature and communication. The third is Adonai, a more general term meaning “master” and used of both men and God. It appears as “Lord” in English Bibles.
For example, the name Elohim, the transcendent, uniplural Creator God, is appropriately used exclusively in Genesis 1:1–2:4, the account of creation from God’s perspective. Throughout the rest of Genesis 2, the account of creation from man’s perspective, the combination name Jehovah-Elohim is used. Man was at this point without sin, in full accord with his Creator, and experiencing the fullness of His love and communication. The Curse, as related in chapter 3, changed things forever, and in chapter 4, Adam and his offspring, painfully aware that their sin has broken God-established relationships, relate better to Jehovah, the Savior. In our text for the day, we see Noah obeying the orders of Elohim, the sovereign Judge, to enter the Ark, but Jehovah, the loving Savior, makes them secure. JDM
Who are you, Lord? —Acts 26:15
Has the voice of God come to you directly? If it has, you cannot mistake the intimate insistence with which it has spoken. It comes to you in the language you know best, not through your ears but through your circumstances.
When we have gone astray, when we have grown too sure of ourselves, God has to come in and set us right. He has to destroy our determined confidence in our own convictions. In these moments, his voice is overwhelming. He speaks to us as he spoke to Isaiah, with a “strong hand,” revealing to us the depths of our ignorance (Isaiah 8:11). He tells us that we’ve been serving Jesus in a spirit that is not his, pushing his message in the spirit of the devil. The words we’ve been speaking might have sounded right, but our spirit was that of the enemy: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).
There is no escape when our Lord speaks. I must take his rebuke to heart: “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of” (Luke 9:55 KJV). Have I been persecuting Jesus by a zealous determination to serve him in my own way? To do God’s work in the Spirit of Jesus is to have the humble and gentle Spirit kindled inside me. If instead I am filled with self-satisfaction or a grim sense of having “done my duty,” I know that in fact I have not done it. We imagine that anything unpleasant is our duty! Is that at all like the Spirit of the Lord? “I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8 KJV).
Wisdom from Oswald
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.So Send I You, 1330 L
I will declare thy name unto my brethren . . .
—Psalm 22:22
There are those near you in your own community who need the regenerating power of Christ. You can call them by name. I suggest that you make a list and begin by spending time in prayer for them. Ask God to show you how to witness to them and how to win them. Their lives can be transformed by the message you give them. You are to share this Gospel you have received. If Christ has done anything for you, then share it. In so doing, you are showing mercy! As you have received the mercy of God by the forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life-thus you are to show mercy! And in showing mercy you will not only receive mercy but you will find a stimulating happiness!
Read More: 3 Keys to Sharing Your Faith
Prayer for the day
As I close my eyes in prayer, let me see the faces of those who need to know You, beloved Savior.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.—Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
You were created with a unique purpose, designed to fulfill the good works God has planned for you. As you seek His guidance, you will discover your life’s calling and how to serve Him. Embrace the gentle whisper of God’s voice as He leads you on a path of fulfillment.
Heavenly Father, I am ready to carry out the good works You have planned for me.
There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death.
––Proverbs 14:12
God is not very product oriented. That’s a bummer for most men, including me. We like to look at what we’ve done. In his classic devotional Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man, Walt Henrichsen puts it this way:
God is not as interested in how holy you are as in the degree that you are engaged in the process of application. If you are new in Christ with a great deal of carnal self still present in your life, but you eagerly seek to do his will, you are pleasing to God. If you have known Christ for years, but have ceased seeking to grow in Christ through the process of application, you are not pleasing to God.
When the timing and means are not what we would have them to be, or the results seem unjust and unacceptable, we tend to fight the process. While fighting an unjust process is not a bad thing, fighting God’s process of making you the man He created you to be is disastrous. Avoiding the sink hole takes guts and a belief that God is more capable at deciding what’s best for you at any given moment. Think back on decisions you’ve made without involving Him. How did those turn out?
For many years I trained myself to preempt or deny these growth opportunities in my life and I missed God’s process all together. He cornered me through circumstances until the pain exceeded my fear. Sure, once that tipping point was reached, all the tumblers fell into place like a complicated Rube Goldberg machine. But why take 50 steps—through the dominos, across the Hot Wheels track, down the PVC pipe, and into the basketball hoop—when God can do it in one?
Nothing good happens to your character unless it passes from God to you, and if it comes that way it comes with purpose—to make you like Christ.
Father, I will continue to pick up my cross and follow You. Your will, not mine.
He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge. Isaiah 33:6
Today’s Scripture
Today’s Insights
The Hebrew word Yeshu’ah (“salvation,” “deliverance,” “rescue”) is a key word in the book of Isaiah. Noun and verb forms appear numerous times. This word occurs in the prayer in Isaiah 33:2: “Be . . . our salvation in time of distress.” It’s also used in verse 6 as a pronouncement about God: “He will be . . . a rich store of salvation.” In his commentary Isaiah: God Saves Sinners, Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. summarizes the book’s message with these words: “God is announcing to us through Isaiah: The Lord, for all that he is, saves, for all that’s worth, sinners, for all that we need. This truth is better than we give it credit for.” Isaiah 33:22 captures this truth well. “The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.”
Today’s Devotional
With a crumbling kitchen and sagging floors, our house needed renovation. After large sections of it were demolished, builders began digging a new foundation. Then things got interesting.
As the builders dug, shovel loads of broken plates, 1850s-era soda bottles, even cutlery emerged. Were we built on an old garbage dump? Who knows, but as a result, our engineer said our foundations would need to be dug deeper or else cracks would appear in our walls.
Good foundations make for strong houses. The same is true of our lives. When the Israelites were shaken by their enemies, Isaiah prayed for them to stay strong (Isaiah 33:2-4). But their strength wouldn’t come from bravery or weapons, but by building their lives on God. “He will be the sure foundation for your times,” the prophet said, “a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge” (v. 6). Jesus said something similar, teaching that those who built their lives on His wisdom would withstand life’s storms (Matthew 7:24-25).
A sure sign our foundations need tending is when cracks like aggression, addiction, or marriage problems appear in our lives. When we seek security where it can’t be found or follow the wisdom of this age alone, we’ll be on shaky ground. But those who build their lives on God gain access to all His strength and treasures (Isaiah 33:6).
Reflect & Pray
What “cracks” in your life might reveal a faulty foundation? How is your foundation looking this week?
Father God, I praise You for being the surest foundation for my life.
Learn to set aside distractions with Discover the Word in order to focus on just “One Thing.”
“…In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]
John 16:33 (AMP)
Many people live lives far short of God’s best because they expect things to always be convenient or easy. But this false expectation will always cheat us out of the rewards God has for us simply because we want to avoid difficulty.
Jesus never promised things would be easy, but He did promise us victory, because He has overcome the world. If we don’t get weary of doing what is right, we will reap great benefits.
God is a loving Father, and He wants to bless you in so many ways. Sometimes you may go through difficulties first, but there are always blessings on the other side. Remember, you can always rely on His strength to see you through, because He has overcome the world.
If you refuse to give up, with God’s help, you’ll overcome every challenge and receive God’s best for your life.
Prayer of the Day: Father, anytime I feel discouraged or weary, help me remember that there is always hope for those who are diligent. Help me be filled with hope in You, knowing You have overcome the world, amen.
“When you don’t have faith, pray for the faith to have faith”
Teresa Regula arrived at Auschwitz as a sixteen-year-old. Once a healthy child, she contracted chickenpox, measles, and scarlet fever in the horrific Nazi concentration camp.
Speaking ahead of yesterday’s eightieth anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation by Soviet troops, she said: “When I returned (from the camp), I thought, ‘I’m never going to have children—ever.’ If they had to go through even a fraction of what I went through, I didn’t want that.”
Though she later married, she has remained childless all her life.
Having visited the Holocaust museum in Israel and several in US cities over the years, I know that I cannot begin to understand the horror of the atrocities inflicted on the Jewish people by the Nazis. A million of them were murdered in Auschwitz, six million in total. A fourth of the victims were children.
“I cry by day, but you do not answer”
I would imagine that many of Hitler’s Jewish victims knew Psalm 22, David’s famous prayer of lament. They of all people would have the right to pray its opening words:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest (vv. 1–2).
David goes on to describe his suffering in detail:
And yet, he refuses to abandon his belief in the goodness of his God: “You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them” (vv. 3–4).
Now comes the hard question: What do we do when God does not deliver us?
What would David say to the victims of Auschwitz?
Psalm 22 on the cross
One Jew in particular especially had the right to ask our question.
Jesus made David’s initial lament his own cry from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). His death on Calvary fulfilled Psalm 22’s descriptions in stunning detail:
Crucifixion was one of the worst forms of torture ever devised. And yet Jesus refused to drink even wine mixed with gall to dull his senses, choosing to experience the cross in all its excruciating pain (Matthew 27:34).
What’s more, his sinless soul was made to bear the sins of all of humanity across all time (Isaiah 53:6; 2 Corinthians 5:21). You and I have no possible way to imagine the horror, disgust, and grief this must have caused him. Even worse, the holy Father was forced in that moment to turn from his sin-bearing Son, causing Jesus to cry out in agony at having been “forsaken” by him.
In total, Jesus suffered physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual pain on a level no other human has ever experienced. And yet, somehow, he found the faith to pray at the end, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
How can we do the same?
I have no simple formulas to offer Holocaust survivors, or those devastated by the wildfires and now the floods and mudslides in California, or Ukrainians continuing to suffer from Russia’s immoral and illegal invasion, or anyone else facing the tragedy and pain of our fallen world.
However, I’ve made two discoveries over the years that I find deeply encouraging in my hardest days.
One: Faith in God is most needed when it is hardest.
When all is well, it is easy to trust in the God we credit for our success. When he answers our prayers in the ways we want him to, it’s easy to have faith in him. But when our days are painful beyond despair, when our suffering knows no release and our grieved questions have no answers, those are the times when we need an omnipotent Father the most.
But he cannot give what we do not have faith to receive. And so, it is when we find it hardest to trust him that we most need to trust him. It is when we are sickest that we most need a doctor.
Of course, it is in such times that faith can be hardest to choose, which leads to my second observation.
Two: My lack of faith is God’s invitation to seek the faith he alone can give.
One reason God allows us to come to the end of ourselves is so we can turn to him for the faith we cannot muster up ourselves, a faith that our circumstances can neither warrant nor produce. Then we can cry with the demoniac’s desperate father, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
I once heard a pastor say, “When you don’t have faith, pray for the faith to have faith.”
We can ask our Lord to help us believe that his omniscient ways are higher and better than ours (Isaiah 55:9); that the God who “is” love can only want our best (1 John 4:8); that the Father who redeems all he allows will redeem even this, whether we understand his redemption in this life or the next (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:12).
Carolyn Custis James observed,
“Joy isn’t grounded in our circumstances; it is grounded in the unchanging character of God.”
Will you choose joy today?
Our latest website articles:
Quote for the day:
“You don’t really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.” —Tim Keller
by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.
“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18)
The term “born again” has come into wide use—too wide and popular, in fact, for many who use it have little comprehension of its meaning. First of all, there can be no real Christian who is not a “born-again Christian.” Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God….Ye must be born again” (John 3:3, 7).
The Creator of the new birth is the Creator of the universe, as the text declares. He begat us as a kind of first fruits of His creatures. The new birth is not a new leaf or a new morality but a new creation! “Except a man be born of…the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
The miracle is accomplished through faith in Christ, believing the record of His saving work, as revealed by the Scriptures. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God” (1 John 5:1). “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23).
Those who are truly born again will inevitably exhibit the characteristics of a spiritual birth, just as those who are born physically exhibit signs of physical life. As one characteristic of the new birth, “whosoever is born of God doth not commit [i.e., ‘practice’] sin” (1 John 3:9). Another sign is that of true Christian love, for “every one that loveth is born of God” (1 John 4:7). Furthermore, “whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
The new birth is not a religious cliché but a miracle generating everlasting life. “According to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). HMM
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? —Acts 26:14
Are we determined to serve God in our own way, or in his? Until we undergo the baptism by fire of the Holy Spirit, we will always be tempted to put our own ambitions and interests first. We won’t understand that our self-will and stubbornness stab Jesus, that our insistence on our own dignity and rightness hurts him. Every time we stand on our right to ourselves and insist that this is what we intend to do, we persecute our Lord.
When we realize what we’ve been doing, it is the most crushing thing. We see that we’ve been lying, see that every time we went out into the world with the Lord’s name on our lips and selfishness in our hearts, we were persecuting Christ. We were preaching sanctification while exhibiting the spirit of Satan.
Is the word of God alive and true in me as I hand it on to you, or does my life prove the lie of what I say? That is the question we must ask ourselves. The Spirit of Jesus is conscious of one thing only: a perfect oneness with the Father. All we do should be founded on this oneness, not a prideful determination to “be godly.” “Learn from me,” Jesus said, “for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). If we are gentle and humble, it means that we can be easily taken advantage of, easily snubbed, and easily ignored. But if we submit to this treatment for his sake, we will prevent Jesus Christ being persecuted.
Exodus 19-20; Matthew 18:21-35
Wisdom from Oswald
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.Our Brilliant Heritage
. . . our Lord Jesus Christ . . . which hath loved us . . . comfort your hearts . . .
—2 Thessalonians 2:16,17
Christ is the answer to sorrow. When Harry Lauder, the great Scottish comedian, received word that his son had been killed in France, he said, “In a time like this, there are three courses open to man: He may give way to despair and become bitter. He may endeavor to drown his sorrow in drink or in a life of wickedness. Or he may turn to God.” In your sorrow, turn to God. There are thousands of people who have turned to God, but you may be still carrying your burdens. God begs of you, “Cast all your cares on me, for I care for you” (1 Peter 5:7). You who must go through the valley of the shadow of death, you who must say goodbye to those whom you have loved, you who suffer privation and misery, you who are unjustly persecuted for righteousness’ sake-take heart, take courage. Our Christ is more than adequate for sorrow.
Read more about coping with sorrow, grief and loss.
Prayer for the day
In sorrow, Jesus, Your comfort will take all the bitterness and longing away and give me courage to face the heartache. Your grace will console me and Your arms will support me. Thank You, dear Lord.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.—Romans 8:28 (NIV)
Challenging times offer opportunities for growth and a deeper understanding of God’s plan. Embrace these unexpected gifts, trusting that God is working for your good even when you can’t see it. Feel the gentle embrace of His love as He transforms your hardships into blessings, guiding you toward His perfect plan.
Heavenly Father, grant me the wisdom to embrace Your unexpected gifts.
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ––Exodus 3:2-5
Both Moses and Joshua were commanded by God to remove their sandals in His presence. For Moses, it happened at the burning bush when God called him back to Egypt to help free His people (see Exodus 3).
Joshua was commanded to remove his sandals on the eve of the battle of Jericho, when the Commander of the Lord’s army appeared before him (see Joshua 5). I believe it was Jesus Himself who stood before Joshua, because Joshua referred to Him in Joshua 6 as “the Lord.” Also, Joshua worshipped the Man, so he saw Him as a deity.
These holy encounters taught both Moses and Joshua a few things:
For God’s man, the equivalent of “taking off our shoes” in God’s presence is to practice the type of reverence and obedience that both Moses and Joshua displayed. Neither man had all the answers, but both trusted the Lord to bring deliverance.
Don’t take off your shoes for anyone and anything—sometimes we worship things that don’t deserve our reverence, or make idols of things that are not holy. Make it a habit each morning to surrender your day to His direction and to His will. When we place Him in a position of worship and reverence, we align our priorities and increase our capacity for God to work through us and use us.
Father, Your holiness and goodness overwhelm me; I worship You today and acknowledge Your power and love.
They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 2 Kings 4:5
Today’s Scripture
Listen to Today’s Devotional
Today’s Insights
Elisha was the disciple of the great prophet Elijah during the ninth century bc (853-798). He was plowing when Elijah “threw his cloak around him” (1 Kings 19:19)—a sign that God was calling him to continue Elijah’s ministry. Before Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2), Elisha asked, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit” (v. 9), a request to be his successor or heir. God granted Elisha’s request (vv. 10-12), likely because He knew his motive and that he longed to be used by Him. Like Elijah, Elisha prophesied in Israel against the idolatry and injustice of the nation. And like his predecessor, Elisha performed many miracles, including multiplying a widow’s oil (2 Kings 4:1-7), raising a woman’s son from the dead (vv. 8-37), and healing Naaman of leprosy (5:1-14). Elisha faithfully served as a prophet for more than fifty years.
Today’s Devotional
During my years as a journalist, I enjoyed telling other people’s stories, but I was trained to not share my own opinions. So years after I had felt God call me out of my journalism career, when I increasingly felt God directing me to write a blog and speak about Him, I was a little nervous about sharing my thoughts, especially about my faith. As I started blogging, I was afraid I’d run out of things to say. But week after week, I found encouraging words and insights to share. The more I wrote, the more ideas flowed. The same is still true now.
I have witnessed in my own life how God has filled me with more joy and inspiration when I’ve poured out my gifts and talents to serve others.
In 2 Kings, we read about a poor widow who went to the prophet Elisha for help. Her late husband’s creditor wanted to seize her two sons. All she had at home was a small jar of olive oil. The prophet instructed her to collect empty jars from her neighbors and to keep pouring oil into the containers. “They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring” (4:5). She kept pouring until all the jars were miraculously filled. She could pay her family’s debts with the extra oil.
God is faithful and always provides. He’s blessed us with gifts and talents and resources to be a blessing to others. Let’s not hide or dismiss our gifts but use them for His glory.
Reflect & Pray
What gifts and talents has God given you? How are you using your gifts to serve others?
Dear God, thank You for blessing me and making me a blessing.
God has blessed all with unique gifts. Learn more about the gifts of the Spirit here.
And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength.
Ephesians 1:19 (AMPC)
Do you ever hear people say, “I’m so tired,” or “I wish I had more energy”? This is not God’s best for us. God wants us to feel good and have the passion and energy we need to enjoy our lives.
Some people do suffer with conditions requiring medication or therapy due to things they could not avoid. But many times, our symptoms are simply a result of not taking good care of ourselves. You are valuable, and I urge you to invest time, energy, and finances in doing things that will keep you healthy. Whether you need to change your eating habits, sleep more, exercise more, reduce stress, or worry less—no matter what it takes—find out why you do not feel well and do something about it. Even if you feel good, you can avoid future problems by taking good care of yourself now!
Prayer of the Day: Father, I am grateful that You give me rest. Thank You for giving me the energy to do what I need to do, the desire to improve my health, and for the motivation to reduce stress and worry in my life, amen.
DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION 