Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada: Recent Episodes
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Read: Isaiah 41:17-20 | Bible in a Year: Job 11-13; Acts 9:1-21 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. Isaiah 41:18After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans worked to slowly rebuild. One of the most hard-hit areas was the Lower Ninth Ward, where for years after Katrina, residents lacked access to basic resources. Burnell Cotlon worked to change that. In November 2014, he opened the first grocery store in the Lower Ninth Ward after Katrina. “When I bought the building, everybody thought that I was crazy,” Cotlon recalled. But “the very first customer cried cuz she . . . never thought the [neighborhood] was coming back.” His mother said her son “saw something I didn’t see. I’m glad [he] . . . took that chance.”
God enabled the prophet Isaiah to see an unexpected future of hope in the face of devastation. Seeing “the poor and needy search for water, but there is none” (Isaiah 41:17), God promised to “turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs” (v. 18). When instead of hunger and thirst, His people experienced flourishing once more, they would know “the hand of the Lord has done this” (v. 20).
He’s still the author of restoration, at work bringing about a future when “creation itself will be liberated from its bondage” (Romans 8:21). As we trust in His goodness, He helps us see a future where hope is possible.
When have you witnessed renewal after devastation? How can you be a part of God’s restoring work?
Restoring God, please help my life be a witness to the hope I’ve found in You and the future You’re bringing.
INSIGHTAfter prophesying that God would use the Assyrians and Babylonians to judge an unrepentant Judah (Isaiah 1-39), the prophet comforts God’s people with the hope of future deliverance and restoration (chs. 40-66). Isaiah begins with affirming God’s sovereignty and majesty—He has the power and will certainly save and restore them (ch. 40). The prophet also assures the Israelites of His loving, providential care for them (ch. 41). They have a very special relationship with Him—they were sovereignly chosen to be His servant. His covenant with them is still in force (vv. 8-10). God assures them that He’ll bountifully provide for them, turning the desert into a land of flowing water, abundant and productive, so that the world would “see this miracle [and] understand . . . that it is the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it” (v. 20 nlt).
The post Seeing a Future of Hope appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Hebrews 11:13-16 | Bible in a Year: Job 8-10; Acts 8:26-40 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesInstead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Hebrews 11:16More than two hundred million people from a variety of faiths undertake a pilgrimage each year. For many throughout the ages, a pilgrim’s task has been to journey to a sacred place to receive some kind of blessing. It’s been all about reaching the temple, cathedral, shrine, or other destination where a blessing can be received.
Britain’s Celtic Christians, however, saw pilgrimage differently. They set out directionless into the wild or let their boats drift wherever the oceans took them—pilgrimage for them being about trusting God in unfamiliar territory. Any blessing was found not at the destination but along the journey.
Hebrews 11 was an important passage for the Celts. Since the life in Christ is about leaving the world’s ways behind and trekking like foreigners to the city of God (vv. 13-16), a pilgrimage echoed their life’s journey. By trusting God to provide along their difficult, untrodden path, the pilgrim grew the kind of faith lived by the heroes of old (vv. 1-12).
What a lesson to learn, whether we physically trek or not: for those who have trusted Jesus, life is a pilgrimage to God’s heavenly country, full of dark forests, dead ends, and trials. As we journey through, may we not miss the blessing of experiencing God’s provision along the way.
How can you be open today to receiving God’s gifts along life’s path? How can you remind yourself that this world, as it is now, isn’t your real home?
Dear God, thank You for showing me that life’s trials are opportunities for me to grow a deeper faith in You.
Learn more about gardens and the history of humanity.
INSIGHTThe story of the Bible chronicles the stories of waiting—of individuals, of a nation, and of the early church. Noah waited for the rain to begin and the floods to subside; Abraham and Sarah waited for a son; Joseph waited to be reunited with family; the Israelites waited to be freed from slavery, to enter the promised land, to be freed from exile, and for the Messiah to save them. Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, lists many individuals throughout biblical history who by faith waited but “did not receive the things promised,” only seeing “them from a distance” (v. 13). Today we wait for Christ’s return and an end to sorrow, pain, and death. We’re longing for “a better country”—heaven (v. 16). The author of Hebrews tells us to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (10:23).
The post Life’s Pilgrimage appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Ruth 2:11-12; 3:1-6 | Bible in a Year: Job 5-7; Acts 8:1-25 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. Ruth 2:11Years before Zoom was an accessible communication tool, a friend asked me to join her on a video call to discuss a project. Through the tone of my emails, she could tell I was baffled, so she suggested I find a teenager to help me figure out how to set up a video call.
Her suggestion points to the value of intergenerational relationships. It’s something observed in Ruth and Naomi’s story. Ruth is often celebrated for being a loyal daughter-in-law, deciding to leave her land to accompany Naomi back to Bethlehem (Ruth 1:16-17). When they arrived in the town, the younger woman said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain [for us]” (2:2). She helped the older woman, who then helped the younger woman marry Boaz. Naomi’s advice for Ruth prompted Boaz to take action in purchasing her deceased in-laws’ property and to take her “as [his] wife” (4:9-10).
We certainly respect the advice of those who share their seasoned wisdom with younger generations. But Ruth and Naomi remind us that the exchange can go both ways. There’s something to be learned from those younger than us as well as those who are older. Let’s seek to develop loving and loyal intergenerational relationships. It will bless us and others and help us learn something we don’t know.
What have you learned from someone younger? How might you reach out to someone of another generation today?
Dear God, thank You for the wisdom found in the young and in the old. Teach me to value intergenerational exchanges.
INSIGHTBoaz, Naomi’s relative (Ruth 2:1), noticed Ruth’s presence in his fields, inquired about her, and offered her protection (vv. 5-9). He praised her for her devotion to Naomi (2:11) and noted how she’d taken refuge under God’s wings (v. 12). In Psalm 91, using a similar metaphor of a chick under the wings of its mother, the psalmist celebrates the security and safety found in God: “The Lord . . . alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. . . . He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings” (vv. 2, 4 nlt). This endearing picture of God protecting those who take refuge in Him is also found in Psalms 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7.
The post Learning from Each Other appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Ephesians 1:15-23 | Bible in a Year: Job 3-4; Acts 7:44-60 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Ephesians 1:16They didn’t think Jørn, a tenant farming the land, would amount to much. Yet despite his weak vision and other physical limitations, he poured himself out for those in his village in Norway, praying the many nights when his pain kept him awake. In prayer he’d move from house to house, naming each person individually, even the children he hadn’t yet met. People loved his gentle spirit and would seek his wisdom and advice. If he couldn’t help them practically, they’d still feel blessed when they left, having received his love. And when Jørn died, his funeral was the biggest ever in that community, even though he had no family there. His prayers blossomed and brought forth fruit beyond what he could have imagined.
This humble man followed in the example of the apostle Paul, who loved those he served and prayed for them while confined. He wrote to those in Ephesus while he was likely imprisoned in Rome, praying that God would give them “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” and that the eyes of their hearts would be “enlightened” (Ephesians 1:17–18). He yearned that they would know Jesus and live with love and unity through the power of the Spirit.
Jørn and the apostle Paul poured themselves out to God, committing those they loved and served to Him in prayer. May we consider their examples in how we love and serve others today.
Who do you know who’s a gentle prayer warrior? How does that person reflect Christ’s heart?
Jesus, You served others and put their needs first. Please help me to love and serve You joyfully each day.
INSIGHTToday’s reading begins with the phrase “for this reason” (Ephesians 1:15). What reason? In verses 3-14, Paul wrote one continuous sentence (in the original Greek) praising “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 3) for a variety of things. God blessed us “with every spiritual blessing” (v. 3); “chose us” (v. 4); “predestined us for adoption” (v. 5); redeemed and forgave us (v. 7); and “made known to us the mystery of his will” (v. 9). Paul also notes that we’re “marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (vv. 13-14). Taken together, this passage provides us with one of the clearest presentations of the doctrine of the Trinity. The apostle prays, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ [the Son], the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (v. 17).
The post Humble Jørn appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Exodus 20:18-21 | Bible in a Year: Job 1-2; Acts 7:22-43 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDo not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you. Exodus 20:20A phobia is defined as the “irrational fear” of certain things or situations. Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders (though some might argue that’s a perfectly rational thing to be afraid of!). Then there’s globophobia and xocolatophobia. These and some four hundred other phobias are real and documented. It seems we can become afraid of most anything.
The Bible tells of the Israelites’ fear after receiving the Ten Commandments: “When the people saw the thunder and lightning . . . they trembled with fear” (Exodus 20:18). Moses comforted them, offering this most interesting statement: “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you” (v. 20). Moses seems to contradict himself: “Don’t be afraid but be afraid.” In fact, the Hebrew word for “fear” contains at least two meanings—a trembling terror of something or a reverent awe of God.
We may laugh to learn that globophobia is the fear of balloons and xocolatophobia is a fear of chocolate. The more serious bottom line about phobias is that we can be afraid of all kinds of things. Fears creep into our lives like spiders, and the world can be a scary place. As we struggle with phobias and fears, we do well to be reminded that our God is an awesome God, offering us His present comfort in the midst of darkness.
What in your life are you afraid of? How does God’s love help you overcome those fears?
Dear God, I find myself afraid of so many things. Please comfort my heart, and help me to rest in Your love.
INSIGHTTwo months after the Israelites left Egypt, they came to the wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 19:1-2). Mount Sinai, also called Mount Horeb (3:1; 33:6), was the place where Moses first got to know who God was at the burning bush (3:1-12). Now the whole nation would get to know the “I am” (vv. 14-15). Their arrival is a fulfillment of verse 12: “When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” It marked the beginning of their privileged status as God’s covenant people—“a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (19:6). It’s here that God gave them His laws—instructions for how to relate to God and worship Him (20:1-11) and how to live as His holy people (vv. 12-17). They camped at the foot of Mount Sinai for about a year (Numbers 10:11). Their stay in the Sinai wilderness is told in Exodus 19 through Numbers 10.
The post In Awe of God appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19 | Bible in a Year: Esther 9-10; Acts 7:1-21 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesCommand them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 1 Timothy 6:18After seven decades of hard work as a washerwoman—scrubbing, drying, and pressing clothes by hand—Oseola McCarty was finally ready to retire at the age of eighty-six. She had scrupulously saved her meager earnings all those years, and to the amazement of her community, Oseola donated $150,000 to the nearby university to create a scholarship fund for needy students. Inspired by her selfless gift, hundreds of people donated enough to triple her endowment.
Oseola understood the true value of her wealth was not in using it for her own gain, but to bless others. The apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to command those who are rich in this present world “to be rich in good deeds” (1 Timothy 6:18). Each of us has been given wealth to steward, whether it’s in the form of financial means or other resources. Instead of trusting in our resources, Paul cautions us to put our hope only in God (v. 17) and to lay up treasure in heaven by being “generous and willing to share” (v. 18).
In God’s economy, withholding and not being generous only leads to emptiness. Giving to others out of love is the way to fulfillment. To have both godliness and contentment with what we have, instead of striving for more, is great gain (v. 6). What would it look like for us to be generous with our resources, as Oseola was? Let us strive to be rich in good deeds today as God leads us.
What opportunity do you have to be generous today? How can sharing what you have lead to greater contentment?
Thank You for the resources I have, God. I surrender them to You today.
INSIGHTPaul’s teaching in 1 Timothy 6:6-19 calls to mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The concept of “laying up treasures” is common to both passages. Treasures on earth speak of investments of things that only have earthly value and usefulness, such as gifts or money. Treasures in heaven refer to earthly investments that have eternal value. Generous giving on earth stores up treasure in heaven. Thus, the need for cultivating contentment. Doing so makes us less susceptible to greed and better positioned for doing good deeds and thereby truly enriching ourselves in the process.
The post Rich in Good Deeds appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Exodus 26:30-27:8 | Bible in a Year: Esther 6-8; Acts 6 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesSet up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain. Exodus 26:30When Britain’s House of Commons was bombed in World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill told Parliament they must rebuild it according to its original design. It must be small, so debates would remain face-to-face. It must be oblong rather than semicircular, allowing politicians to “move around the center.” This preserved Britain’s party system, where Left and Right faced each other across the room, requiring careful thought before switching sides. Churchill concluded, “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.”
God seems to agree. Seven chapters in Exodus (chs. 25-31) give instructions on building the tabernacle, and six more (chs. 35-40) describe how Israel did it. God cared about their worship. When the people entered the courtyard, the gleaming gold and the tabernacle’s colorful curtains (26:1, 31-37) dazzled them. The altar of burnt offering (27:1-8) and water basin (30:17-21) reminded them of the cost of their forgiveness. The tabernacle contained a lampstand (25:31-40), bread table (25:23-30), altar of incense (30:1-6), and ark of the covenant (25:10-22). Each item held great significance.
God doesn’t give us detailed instructions for our worship space as He did with Israel, yet our worship is no less vital. Our very being is to be a tabernacle set apart for Him to dwell in. May everything we do remind us of who He is and what He does.
What does your worship teach you about God and His love for you? What changes might you want to make?
Father, You’re worthy of my best worship.
INSIGHTThe curtain described here (Exodus 26:31-33) separated the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle from the Holy Place. This is crucial because the Most Holy Place was only for the high priest (Aaron) to enter, and only under particular circumstances (Leviticus 16). Any violation would result in death. The letter to the Hebrews gives us remarkable insight into Jesus’ role as our high priest (see chs. 7-9). We may now “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” (4:16). The curtain to the Most Holy Place was “torn in two” when Christ was crucified (Matthew 27:51).
The post House of Worship appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 | Bible in a Year: Esther 3-5; Acts 5:22-42 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesLet the one who boasts boast in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:31James Morris was once described as “an illiterate but warmhearted layman,” but God used him to draw Augustus Toplady to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Toplady, the eighteenth-century author of the timeless hymn “Rock of Ages,” described hearing Morris preach: “Strange that I . . . should be brought nigh unto God . . . amidst a handful of God’s people met together in a barn, and under the ministry of one who could hardly spell his name. Surely this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous.”
Indeed, God does marvelous things in unlikely places and through those we may rank as “unqualified” or ordinary. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul reminded believers in Jesus that they were an unimpressive lot. “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth” (v. 26). Though the Corinthian believers were quite ordinary, by God’s grace they weren’t lacking in giftedness and usefulness (see v. 7). And God—who knows how to put boasters in their place (vv. 27-29)—was at work among them and through them.
Do you see yourself as “plain,” “ordinary,” or even “less than”? Don’t fret. If you have Jesus and are willing to be used by Him, you have enough. May your heart’s prayer be, “God, use me!”
Who comes to mind when you think of one who’s been quietly but effectively used by God? What can you do to help shift your focus from what you have or don’t have to what God can do through you?
Heavenly Father, please forgive me for focusing on myself and not enough on You. Use me where I am in Your holy service.
INSIGHTThe church in Corinth was established by Paul on his second missionary journey (around ad 50). Some four years later, at the end of his third missionary journey, he wrote to a troubled church characterized by congregational conflicts, abuse of liberty, lack of humility, immorality, and disunity. Paul deals with the source of their problems—their arrogant pride (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). He reminded them they weren’t the influential, powerful elites they assumed they were—wise philosophers, politically powerful, or materially wealthy. They were the opposite—foolish, weak, lowly, despised nobodies (vv. 27-28). Yet, God chose them to be His children based solely on His grace, not on their merits. Therefore, “no one may boast before him” (v. 29; see vv. 4-5). Elsewhere, Paul reminds us, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Unpack Paul’s letters to the church of Corinth.
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Read: Lamentations 3:19-26 | Bible in a Year: Esther 1-2; Acts 5:1-21 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHis compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Lamentations 3:22-23For three years, apart from household necessities, Susan didn’t buy anything for herself. The Covid-19 pandemic affected my friend’s income, and she embraced a simple lifestyle. “One day, while cleaning my apartment, I noticed how shabby and faded my things looked,” she shared. “That’s when I started to miss having new things—the sense of freshness and excitement. My surroundings seemed tired and stale. I felt as if there was nothing to look forward to.”
Susan found encouragement in an unlikely book in the Bible. Written by Jeremiah after Jerusalem fell to Babylon, Lamentations describes the open wound of grief suffered by the prophet and the people. In the midst of grief’s despair, however, lies sure ground for hope─God’s love. “His compassions never fail,” Jeremiah wrote. “They are new every morning” (3:22-23).
Susan was reminded that God’s deep love relentlessly breaks through anew each day. When circumstances make us feel there’s no longer anything to look forward to, we can call to mind His faithfulness and look forward to how He’ll provide for us. We can confidently hope in God, knowing our hoping is never in vain (vv. 24-25) because it’s secured in His steadfast love and compassion.
“God’s love is my ‘something new’ each day,” Susan says. “I can look ahead with hope.”
When have you felt unable to see any hope in your situation? How does the promise of God’s love as “new every morning” give you hope?
Thank You, dear God, because each day brings with it Your certain, steadfast love.
Deal head-on with pain and pressure in this study.
INSIGHTLamentations is one of the darkest books in the Bible; it’s Jeremiah’s heart cry for his violated nation. But here, at the center point of his poem, we find real hope. “The Lord’s . . . compassions never fail” (3:22). The book also concludes in hope, yet we still sense Jeremiah’s doubt. He proclaims, “You, Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation” (5:19). That’s how we might expect the book to end—in ultimate triumph. The prophet, however, asks God a pair of haunting questions: “Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long?” (v. 20). Although he asks God to “restore us to yourself” (v. 21), he doesn’t do so with unwavering confidence. Rather, he adds this caveat: “unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure” (v. 22). Jeremiah is a prophet who struggled mightily with the tragedy he saw.
The post New and Certain appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Exodus 3:1-10 | Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 12-13; Acts 4:23-37 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. Exodus 3:10President Abraham Lincoln had emancipated people held in slavery two-and-a half-years earlier and the Confederacy had surrendered, yet the state of Texas still hadn’t acknowledged the freedom of enslaved persons. However, on June 19, 1865, Union army general Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and demanded that all enslaved persons be released. Imagine the shock and joy as shackles fell off and those in bondage heard the pronouncement of freedom.
God sees the oppressed, and He’ll ultimately announce freedom for those under the weight of injustice. This is true now just as it was true in Moses’ day. God appeared to him from a burning bush with an urgent message: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt” (Exodus 3:7). He not only saw Egypt’s brutality against Israel—but He also planned to do something about it. “I have come down to rescue them,” God declared, “and to bring them . . . into a good and spacious land” (v. 8). He intended to declare freedom to Israel, and Moses would be the mouthpiece. “I am sending you to Pharaoh,” God told His servant, “to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (v. 10).
Though God’s timing may not happen as quickly as we hope, one day He’ll free us from all bondage and injustice. He gives hope and liberation to all who are oppressed.
How have you seen God work to help the oppressed? How does He invite you to participate in His work?
Dear God, there’s so much oppression in the story of our world. It’s easy to despair. Please help me stay attuned to Your intention to announce freedom.
INSIGHTMoses was one of the most significant leaders in the Bible. We can sometimes overlook, however, how God prepared him to lead. For four decades as a shepherd (Acts 7:30), he tended the flock of his father-in-law Jethro (Exodus 3:1; see 2:16-22). Like David (Psalm 78:70-71), God took Moses from caring for animals to caring for people. While it was the Great Shepherd who saw the misery, heard the cries, and was concerned about the suffering of His people (Exodus 3:7), His rescue plan called for a liberator in the flesh to function on His behalf: “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” (Psalm 77:20).
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Read: Psalm 68:3-6, 19 | Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 10-11; Acts 4:1-22 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesGod sets the lonely in families. Psalm 68:6Holly Cooke didn’t have one single friend when she moved to London for a job. Her weekends felt miserable. The city itself tops the list for feeling blue—with 55 percent of Londoners saying they’re lonely, according to a global survey, compared to just 10 percent of residents in neighborly Lisbon, Portugal.
For connection, Holly defied her fears and formed a social media group called The London Lonely Girls Club—and some thirty-five thousand have joined. Small-group meetups every few weeks offer park picnics, art lessons, jewelry workshops, dinners, and even outdoor exercise sessions with puppies.
The challenge of loneliness isn’t new, nor is the Healer of our feelings of isolation. Our eternal God, wrote David, “sets the lonely in families; he leads out the prisoners with singing” (Psalm 68:6). Asking God to point our way to Christlike friends is a holy privilege and, thus, a request we can freely take to Him. “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling” (v. 5), added David. “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (v. 19).
What a friend we have in Jesus! He grants us forever friends, starting with the glorious presence of Himself every moment. As Holly says, “Friend time is good for the soul.”
What do you enjoy about friendship with Jesus? What does He teach you about being a forever friend to others?
When my heart feels lonely, dear Jesus, please point me to a good friend—starting with You.
INSIGHTPsalm 68 begins with words similar to Numbers 10:35: “Rise up, Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.” Moses prayed this “whenever the ark set out” as the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness toward the promised land. Because of this, scholars say David wrote this psalm as he moved the ark from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem (1 Samuel 7:2; 2 Samuel 6). The Israelites probably sang it as a victory song in their subsequent battles against their enemies. The psalmist affirms that God fights on behalf of His people (Psalm 68:1-3; see Exodus 14:14; Deuteronomy 1:30). He celebrates God’s presence, power, protection, provision, and providential care for Israel, recalling how He led them safely through the wilderness into their inheritance. To show how much He cares for them, David highlights His compassion and care for the helpless—orphans, widows, the oppressed—people whom society ignores (Psalm 68:5-6).
The post Friend to the Lonely appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Deuteronomy 24:17-22 | Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 7-9; Acts 3 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhen you are harvesting in your field . . . leave [some] for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Deuteronomy 24:19A few years ago, our church was invited to host refugees fleeing their country after a tumultuous change in political leadership. Entire families came with only what they could fit in a small bag. Several of our church families opened their homes, including some who had little room to spare.
Their gracious hospitality reflects God’s triple command to the Israelites when they entered the promised land (Deuteronomy 24:19-21). As an agricultural society, they understood the importance of the harvest. The crops were essential to get them through until next year. This makes God’s command to “leave [some] for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow” (v. 19) also a request to trust Him. The Israelites were to practice generosity not by giving only when they knew they had enough but giving out of a heart that trusts God’s provision.
Such hospitality was also a reminder “that [they] were slaves in Egypt” (vv. 18, 22). They were once oppressed and destitute. Their generosity was a reminder of God’s graciousness to them in freeing them from bondage.
Believers in Jesus are similarly urged to be generous. Paul reminds us, “Though [Christ] was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). We give because He gave to us.
When has someone helped you when you were in need? How will you give to others while trusting God’s provision for you?
Dear Father, please open my eyes to the needs of the marginalized in my community.
INSIGHTThe laws for Israel in Deuteronomy 24:17-22 occur in a series of laws on how to live in the promised land. The point of the section is clear: provide for the poor, the needy, and the foreigner. An interesting corollary occurs, however, at the end of the previous chapter. Deuteronomy 23:24-25 permitted anyone—not merely the needy—to eat whatever they wished from a neighbor’s field. One day, Jesus’ disciples availed themselves of this provision (Matthew 12:1). Immediately, the Pharisees accused them of “doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath” (v. 2)—that is, “working.” Christ defended His disciples, saying, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (v. 8). They ate the grain merely because they “were hungry” (v. 1). Jesus noted that His Father desires “mercy” (feeding the hungry) over “sacrifice.” The Pharisees adhered to a legalistic interpretation of the law, in the process missing the generous Spirit who gave it.
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Read: John 5:1-9 | Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 4-6; Acts 2:22-47 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAt once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. John 5:9A new cause for hope has emerged for people paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. German researchers have discovered a way to stimulate nerve growth to reconnect the neural pathways between the muscles and the brain. The regrowth has enabled paralyzed mice to walk again, and testing will continue to determine whether the therapy is safe and effective for humans.
What science seeks to achieve on behalf of those who suffer paralysis, Jesus did through miracles. When he visited the pool at Bethesda, a place where many who ailed lingered in hopes of healing, Jesus sought out a man among them who “had been an invalid for thirty-eight years” (John 5:5). After confirming that the man did, indeed, wish to be healed, Christ instructed him to stand up and walk. “At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked” (v. 9).
We’re not promised that all our physical ailments will be healed by God—there were others at the pool who weren’t healed by Jesus that day. But those who put their trust in Him can experience the healing He brings—from despair to hope, bitterness to grace, hatred to love, accusation to a willingness to forgive. No scientific discovery (or pool of water) can offer us such healing; it only comes by faith.
Where are you tempted to look for spiritual healing other than in God? How are you encouraged knowing that one day believers in Jesus will experience complete physical healing as well?
Thank You, dear God, for curing my greatest ailment—the plague of sin—and restoring my spiritual health through Jesus.
INSIGHTBecause Jesus healed on the Sabbath, “the Jewish leaders began to persecute him” (John 5:16). In response, He told them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (v. 17). This so incensed them that “they tried all the more to kill him” (v. 18). In their eyes, Christ deserved death because He wasn’t only breaking the Sabbath but blaspheming by calling God His Father. This Sabbath miracle wasn’t the only one that had the leaders up in arms. He also drove out a demon (Mark 1:21-28), healed a shriveled hand (Matthew 12:9-13), a crippled woman (Luke 13:10-17), and a man “whose arms and legs were swollen” (14:2 nlt). The Jewish leaders were also angry because Jesus’ disciples picked grain on the Sabbath. He told them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28).
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Read: Galatians 5:13-18 | Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 1-3; Acts 2:1-21 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDo not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13When my “uncle” Emory passed away, the tributes were many and varied. Yet all those honors carried a consistent theme—Emory showed his love for God by serving others. Nowhere was this more exemplified than during his World War II military service, where he served as a corpsman—a medic who went into battle without a weapon. He received high military honors for his bravery, but Emory was most remembered for his compassionate service, both during and after the war.
Emory’s selflessness lived out Paul’s challenge to the Galatians. He wrote, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13). But how? In our brokenness, we’re hardwired to put self first, rather than others, so where does this unnatural selflessness come from?
In Philippians 2:5, Paul offers this encouragement: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” Paul describes Christ’s willingness to even experience death on a cross out of His great love for us. Only as His Spirit produces the mind of Christ in us are we set apart and enabled to sacrifice for others—reflecting the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made when He gave Himself for us. May we yield to the Spirit’s work in us.
When has someone sacrificially served you? How can you serve others, perhaps beginning with your own family?
Loving Father, thank You for the perfect example of Jesus and His sacrifice for me. Please help me to have the mindset of Jesus.
For further study listen to The Compassion of Jesus.
INSIGHTBeing led by the Spirit is about freedom with responsibility. Galatians 5:13 states, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” We have freedom in Christ, but it’s not freedom to gratify self at the expense of others. Rather, it’s the freedom of not being enslaved to our own desires and being liberated to genuinely care for others. The contrast is found in verse 16: “walk by the Spirit” or “gratify the desires of the flesh.” In verse 17, we see the actual conflict: “The Spirit [desires] what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” The Spirit enables us to rise above the flesh and do what pleases God and not ourselves.
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Read: Mark 5:21-34 | Bible in a Year: Ezra 9-10; Acts 1 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDaughter, your faith has healed you. Mark 5:34During a Saturday morning Bible study, a father was perplexed because his beloved, wayward daughter had returned to the city, but he was uncomfortable with her in his home because of her behavior. Another attendee was not well in her body because the physical effects of long-term disease and aging had taken their toll. Numerous visits to numerous doctors had yielded minimal progress. She was discouraged. By divine design, Mark chapter 5 was the Bible passage they studied that day. And when the study was over, hope and joy were palpable.
In Mark 5:23, Jairus, a father with a sick child, exclaimed, “My little daughter is dying.” On His way to visit the girl, Jesus healed an unnamed woman of her long-term health issue, saying, “Daughter, your faith has healed you” (v. 34). Jairus and the woman, compelled by faith in Jesus, sought Him out and they weren’t disappointed. But in both cases, prior to meeting Jesus, things had progressed from “bad to worse” before getting better.
Life’s dilemmas don’t discriminate. Regardless of gender or age, race or class, we all face situations that perplex us and send us searching for answers. Rather than allowing challenges to keep us from Jesus, let’s strive to have them stir us to deeper faith in the One who feels it when we touch Him (v. 30) and who can make us well.
What current situation compels you to seek Jesus? What’s your heartfelt prayer today?
Dear Jesus, You know each painful situation in my life. Please make me strong in faith even when things go from bad to worse.
Uncover how we can work through life’s pain.
INSIGHTThe four gospels include multiple miracles Jesus performed during His earthly ministry. Mark is often called the “action gospel” because of its focus on Christ’s deeds. Mark contains more miracles proportionately than the other gospel accounts. Mark 5 shows Jesus’ authority over demons (vv. 1-20), death (vv. 21-24, 35-43), and disease (vv. 25-34). His miracles also revealed His authority over nature and disabilities. John wrote, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21:25).
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Read: Matthew 24:36-44 | Bible in a Year: Ezra 6-8; John 21 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesYou also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24:44My friend Paul was awaiting the arrival of a technician to repair his refrigerator when he saw a text on his phone from the appliance company. It read: “Jesus is on his way and is expected to arrive at approximately 11:35 a.m.” Paul soon discovered the technician’s name was indeed Jesús (hay-SOOS).
But when can we expect Jesus the Son of God to arrive? When He came as a man two thousand years ago and suffered the penalty of our sin, He said that He’d be back—but only the Father knew the precise “day or hour” of His return (Matthew 24:36). What difference might it make in our day-to-day priorities if we did know the moment our Savior is coming back to earth? (John 14:1-3).
Jesus cautioned us to be ready for His return: “the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:44). He reminded us to “keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (v. 42).
On the day of Christ’s return, we won’t get an alert on our phone to give us a heads-up. So, through the power of the Spirit working through us, let’s live each day with a perspective of eternity, serving God and taking advantage of every opportunity to share His message of love and hope with others.
How are you motivated by Jesus’ imminent return? What can you expect when He comes again?
Father, as I patiently wait, please help me to obey You, pursue holiness, and to live in expectation of Christ’s return.
INSIGHTJesus addressed the topic of His return in Matthew 24, where He makes two points. First, it will be unexpected. It will be “as it was in the days of Noah. . . . They knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (vv. 37, 39). People will be “eating and drinking [and] marrying” (v. 38) and engaged in the mundane activities of life—working in a field or grinding at a mill (vv. 40-41). Second, because Jesus’ return will be unexpected, we’re to “keep watch” (v. 42). This isn’t a watchfulness that expects something to happen in the immediate future; rather, it’s being prepared for whatever may come. It’s the same watchfulness—being awake and alert—that Jesus asked of His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane: “Keep watch with me” (26:38, 40; see 43-46).
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Read: Psalm 139:13-18 | Bible in a Year: Ezra 3-5; John 20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. Psalm 139:14Although neuroscience has made great progress in understanding how the brain works, scientists admit they’re still in the early stages of understanding it. They understand brain architecture, some aspects of its function, and regions that respond to environment, activate our senses, generate movements, and contain emotions. But they still can’t figure out how all these interactions contribute to behavior, perception, and memory. God’s incredibly complex, created masterpiece—humanity—is still mysterious.
David acknowledged the marvels of the human body. Using figurative language, he celebrated God’s power, evidenced by His sovereign control over the entire natural process of being “knit . . . together in [his] mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). He wrote, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful” (v. 14). The ancients viewed the development of a child inside the mother’s womb as a great mystery (see Ecclesiastes 11:5). Even with limited knowledge of the marvelous complexities of the human body, David still stood in awe and wonder of God’s amazing work and presence (Psalm 139:17-18).
The marvelous and wonderful complexity of the human body reflects the power and sovereignty of our great God. Our only responses can be praise, awe, and wonder!
How does the intricate design of your body lead you to praise God? In what creative ways could you thank Him today?
Dear God, I praise You for making me so fearfully and wonderfully complex. What an amazing Creator You are!
Learn more about What Is Worship? Living in Response to God.
INSIGHTLike a potter, God shaped man from clay (Isaiah 64:8) and breathed into him the breath of life (Genesis 2:7; Job 12:10). Humans are the only creatures privileged to be created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), setting us apart from other creatures. Each person is a unique individual, possessing the mental, emotional, and spiritual consciousness of our Creator and the capacity to have a personal relationship with Him. The Old Testament patriarch Job may be the first person to acknowledge that “[God’s] hands shaped me and made me. . . . [You clothed] me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews” (Job 10:8, 11). David, celebrating himself as one of God’s masterpieces, says that he’s been “fearfully and wonderfully made” by God (Psalm 139:14).
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Read: Isaiah 22:15–24 | Bible in a Year: Ezra 1-2; John 19:23-42 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBlessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Revelation 14:13Irish poet W. B. Yeats wanted to be buried “Under Ben Bulben,” a stately flat-topped mountain after which he titled one of his last poems. The poem’s final line is etched onto his gravestone: “Cast a cold eye / On life, on death. / Horseman, pass by!”
Much speculation has taken place over what this means. Perhaps it’s the poet’s acknowledgment of the reality of both life and death. Regardless, Yeats got his wish about where he was buried and what his gravestone would say. But the cold truth is that life goes on without us, indifferent to our departure.
During a dire time in Judah’s history, Shebna, a “palace administrator,” made a tomb for himself to ensure his legacy after death. But God, through His prophet Isaiah, told him, “Who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock?” (Isaiah 22:16). The prophet told him, “[God] will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw you into a large country. There you will die” (v. 18).
Shebna had missed the point. What matters isn’t where we’re buried; what matters is who we serve. Those who serve Jesus have this immeasurable comfort: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord” (Revelation 14:13). We serve a God who’s never indifferent to our “departure.” He anticipates our arrival and welcomes us home!
What does your life say about who you’re serving? How do you want to be remembered?
Father in heaven, please help me live my life anticipating the time I’ll be with You in eternity.
INSIGHTIsaiah 22 contains a warning against Shebna, the palace administrator, because he believed he was self-sufficient (vv. 17-19). God said He’d replace him with someone who would rely on Him instead: “I will depose you from your office, and you will be ousted from your position. . . . I will summon my servant, Eliakim . . . . I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him” (vv. 19-21). When we meet these two individuals again, Eliakim is identified as the palace administrator and Shebna is called the secretary (36:3, 22; 37:2).
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Read: 2 Timothy 4:1-8 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 34-36; John 19:1-22 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesKeep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist. 2 Timothy 4:5When the Titanic hit an iceberg in April 1912, Pastor John Harper secured a spot for his six-year-old daughter in one of the limited number of lifeboats. He gave his life-vest to a fellow passenger and shared the gospel with anyone who would listen. As the vessel sank and hundreds of people awaited an unlikely rescue, Harper swam from one person to another and said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31 kjv).
During a meeting for survivors of the Titanic in Ontario, Canada, one man referred to himself as “the last convert of John Harper.” Having rejected Harper’s first invitation, the man received Christ when the preacher asked him again. He watched as Harper devoted the last moments of his life to sharing Jesus before succumbing to hypothermia and sinking below the surface of the icy water.
In his charge to Timothy, the apostle Paul encourages a similar urgency and dedication to selfless evangelism. Affirming God’s constant presence and the inevitable return of Jesus, Paul charges Timothy to preach with patience and precision (2 Timothy 4:1-2). The apostle reminds the young preacher to remain focused, though some people will reject Jesus (vv. 3-5).
Our days are limited, so every moment counts. We can be confident that our Father secured our spot in heaven as we proclaim, “Jesus saves!”
How does knowing your days are limited increase your urgency to share the good news of Jesus’ love? How will you reach out to others today?
Jesus, please give me opportunities to share Your love with others.
INSIGHTPaul’s counsel to Timothy in the final chapter of his second letter is a remarkable essay on finishing strong. It begins with a weighty charge for Timothy to fulfill the ministry that had been entrusted to him (2 Timothy 4:1-2). He continues by warning him of the dangerous—even antibiblical—perspectives of the culture around him, calling him to stand firm in the midst of that culture (vv. 3-5). The aged and no doubt weary apostle then expresses the drive and commitment that pushed him to faithful service since he came to faith in Christ (vv. 6-7). The church planter, missionary, and Scripture writer then closes this section by stating the hope he has of what would happen when his inevitable execution took place and he entered the presence of his Savior (v. 8). What an inspirational essay! May God likewise enable us to be faithful to the end in service for Him.
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Read: 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 32-33; John 18:19-40 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesEach of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. 2 Corinthians 9:7At the after-school Bible club where my wife Sue serves once a week, the kids were asked to donate money to help children in the war-torn country of Ukraine. About a week after Sue told our eleven-year-old granddaughter Maggie about the project, we got an envelope in the mail from her. It contained $3.45, along with a note: “This is all I have for the kids in Ukraine. I’ll send more later.”
Sue hadn’t suggested to Maggie that she should help, but perhaps the Spirit prompted her. And Maggie, who loves Jesus and seeks to live for Him, responded.
We can learn a lot as we think of this small gift from a big heart. It mirrors some instructions about giving provided by Paul in 2 Corinthians 9. First, the apostle suggested that we should sow “generously” (v. 6). A gift of “all I have” is certainly a generous one. Paul also wrote that our gifts should be given cheerfully as God leads and as we’re able, not because we’re “under compulsion” (v. 7). And he mentioned the value of “gifts to the poor” (v. 9) by quoting Psalm 112:9.
When an opportunity to give presents itself, let’s ask how God wants us to respond. When we’re generous and cheerful in directing our gifts to those in need as He leads us, we give in a way that “will result in thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11). That’s big-hearted giving.
What motivates you to generously give to others? How do you strive to meet their true needs?
Dear God, please guide me to be the kind of generous giver that You want me to be—reflecting Your generous heart.
INSIGHTThe context for Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 9 is fascinating. More than a year earlier, the apostle had begun the process of taking up a collection to support the struggling church in Jerusalem. The Corinthians at the time had been exceptionally eager (8:10), and Paul had leveraged that enthusiasm to encourage the Macedonian churches to also give eagerly and generously (9:1-2).
But despite their enthusiasm, the people had lagged in their preparation for the gift, and the apostle was increasingly concerned that they wouldn’t follow through on their commitment. As a result, he encouraged them with the promise of Psalm 112:9 that God is more than capable of increasing their resources and enabling generous giving (2 Corinthians 9:8-11). For Paul, it was important that believers in Jesus carry out their promises with the same enthusiasm they started with. And they could trust that God would equip them to do so.
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Read: Genesis 35:1-5 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 30-31; John 18:1-18 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThrow away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord. Joshua 24:23The men in the Bible study group were nearly eighty years old, so I was surprised to learn they struggled with lust. A battle that had begun in their youth lingered still. Each day they pledged to follow Jesus in this area and asked forgiveness for the moments they failed.
It may surprise us that godly men still fight against base temptations at a late stage in life, but maybe it shouldn’t. An idol is anything that threatens to take the place of God in our lives, and such things can show up long after we assume they’re gone.
In the Bible, Jacob had been rescued from his uncle Laban and his brother Esau. He was returning to Bethel to worship God and celebrate His many blessings, yet his family still kept foreign gods that Jacob had to bury (Genesis 35:2-4). At the end of the book of Joshua, after Israel had defeated their enemies and settled in Canaan, Joshua still had to urge them to “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord” (Joshua 24:23). And King David’s wife Michal apparently kept idols, for she put one in his bed to deceive the soldiers who came to kill him (1 Samuel 19:11-16).
Idols are more common than we think, and God is more patient than we deserve. Temptations to turn to them will come, but God’s forgiveness is greater. May we be set apart for Jesus—turning from our sins and finding forgiveness in Him.
What sin are you most tempted by? What steps might you take to destroy this idol?
Father, I confess my sin, and I gratefully receive Your forgiveness through Jesus.
INSIGHTIn the Old Testament, idolatry was rampant in Israel. This was one of the primary things God warned the Israelites about before they were brought to their new homeland, for the surrounding nations were deep into idol worship: “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. . . . Do not make any idols” (Exodus 34:14, 17; see Leviticus 19:4). Included among those idols were Asherim (also known as Astarte), Baal (a weather god), Dagon (half-fish, half-man), and many more. Years after Israel entered the land of promise, Isaiah offered great insight about idols: “[The carpenter] makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, ‘Save me! You are my god!’ They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand” (Isaiah 44:17-18). Such strong words show the folly of idol worship.
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Read: Acts 20:17-24, 34-35 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 28-29; John 17 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIt is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35When Keri’s young son was going through yet another surgery related to muscular dystrophy, she wanted to take her mind off her family’s situation by doing something for someone else. So she rounded up her son’s outgrown but gently used shoes and donated them to a ministry. Her giving prompted friends and family members and even neighbors to join in, and soon more than two hundred pairs of shoes were donated!
Although the shoe drive was meant to bless others, Keri feels her family was blessed more. “The whole experience really lifted our spirits and helped us to focus outward.”
Paul understood how important it was for followers of Jesus to give generously. On his way to Jerusalem, the apostle Paul stopped in Ephesus. He knew it would likely be his last visit with the people of the church he’d founded there. In his farewell address to the church elders, he reminded them how he’d worked diligently in service to God (Acts 20:17-20) and encouraged them to do the same. Then he concluded with Jesus’ words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (v. 35).
Jesus wants us to freely and humbly give of ourselves (Luke 6:38). When we trust Him to guide us, He’ll provide opportunities for us to do so. Like Keri’s family, we may be surprised by the joy we experience as a result.
In what way might God be calling you to give of yourself to another? When have you been the beneficiary of someone’s generosity?
Dear Father, please help me to freely give of my time and resources to others.
INSIGHTJoyful giving for believers in Jesus should be wholehearted and wholistic. Paul’s ministry in Ephesus demonstrates this. His ministry included passionate, bold preaching and teaching that touched the souls of his hearers: “You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house” (Acts 20:20). Paul’s ministry didn’t stop with speaking, however. He also labored physically for himself and others (v. 34). Through such self-giving, Paul mimicked the model of Christ who taught that, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (v. 35).
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Read: Luke 24:28–35 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 25-27; John 16 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhen he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Luke 24:30My friend hurried from her stressful job at the hospital, wondering what she would prepare for dinner before her husband returned from his equally demanding job. She had made chicken on Sunday and served leftovers on Monday. Then, they had yet another round of chicken—this time baked—on Tuesday. She found two pieces of fish in the freezer, but she knew the fillets weren’t her husband’s favorite. Not finding anything else she could prepare in just a few minutes, she decided the fish would have to do.
As she placed the dish on the table, she said somewhat apologetically to her husband who had just arrived home: “I know this isn’t your favorite.” Her husband looked up and said, “Honey, I’m just happy we have food on the table.”
His attitude reminds me of the importance of being grateful and thankful for our daily provisions from God—whatever they are. Giving thanks for our daily bread, or meals, models Jesus’ example. When He ate with two disciples after His resurrection, Christ “took bread, gave thanks, [and] broke it” (Luke 24:30). He thanked His Father as He had earlier when He’d fed the five thousand with five “loaves and two small fish” (John 6:9). When we give thanks for our daily meals and for other provisions, our gratitude reflects Jesus’ ways and honors our heavenly Father. Let’s give thanks to God today.
How often do you show your thanks to Jesus? How does it honor Him to do so?
God of all, thank You for my daily bread and all the other needs You meet for me.
INSIGHTLuke 24:31 says, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” Why didn’t these believers in Jesus know who He was when He first joined them on their journey (vv. 15-16)? The situation calls to mind Mary Magdalene’s visit to the empty tomb earlier that same day (John 20:15). Similarly, when the disciples went fishing all night, they didn’t initially recognize Christ (21:1-4). In those two cases, we might readily explain their inability. Mary’s vision may have been clouded by tears, and the distance and early-morning light might have kept the disciples from recognizing Jesus at Galilee. But on the road to Emmaus, those explanations aren’t plausible. The key may be in Luke 24:16, which says, “They were kept from recognizing him.” Jesus may have purposely prevented them from recognizing Him so that the process of instructing them (vv. 17-27) would yield a more powerful effect.
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Read: Jeremiah 1:1-10 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 23-24; John 15 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBefore I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. Jeremiah 1:5It feels like “likes”—you know, that little thumbs-up on Facebook—have always been with us. But it turns out that this virtual symbol of affirmation has only been around since 2009.
The “like” designer, Justin Rosenstein, said he wanted to help create “a world in which people uplift each other rather than tear each other down.” But Rosenstein came to lament how his invention might have enabled users’ unhealthy addiction to social media.
I think Rosenstein’s creation speaks to our hardwired need for affirmation and connection. We want to know that others know us, notice us—and, yes, like us. The “like” is fairly new. But our hunger to know and be known is as old as God’s creation of man.
Still, the like button doesn’t quite get the job done, does it? Thankfully, we serve a God whose love goes so much deeper than a digital nod. In Jeremiah 1:5, we witness His profoundly purposeful connection with a prophet whom He called to Himself. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”
God knew the prophet even before conception and designed him for a life of meaning and mission (vv. 8-10). And He invites us too into a purposeful life as we come to know this Father who so intimately knows, loves, and likes us.
How does knowing God intimately affect how you relate to others? How can living with purpose bring peace?
Father, help me to rest in Your love and calling on my life, to know that You care for me intimately as You shape me for each of the days You’ve planned for me.
Discover how to live out your purpose.
INSIGHTIn Jeremiah 1:4-5, we see God’s call on Jeremiah. His reply, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young” (v. 6) is reminiscent of Moses’ response to God’s call in Exodus 4:10: “I have never been eloquent . . . . I am slow of speech and tongue.” Gideon’s response to the angel is similar: “Pardon me, my lord, . . . but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family” (Judges 6:15). God’s answer to all is the loving reassurance that He’s with us and will give us the words to speak. We need not fear (Jeremiah 1:8-9).
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Read: Psalm 42:1-5 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 21-22; John 14 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAs the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. Psalm 42:1Two friends and I were checking off a bucket list item—hiking the Grand Canyon. We wondered if we had enough water as we started out our hike, and it ran out fast. We were completely out of water with still a ways to go to reach the rim. Panting, mixed with praying, set in. Then we rounded a corner and what we maintain as a miracle happened. We spotted three water bottles tucked in a cleft in the rock with a note: “Knew you’d need this. Enjoy!” We looked at each other in disbelief, whispered a thank-you to God, took a couple of much-needed sips, and then set out on the last stretch. I’ve never been so thirsty—and thankful—in my life.
The psalmist didn’t have a Grand Canyon experience, but it’s clear he knew how a deer acts when thirsty and possibly scared. The deer “pants” (Psalm 42:1), a word that brings to mind thirst and hunger, to the point where if something doesn’t change, you’re afraid you might die. The psalmist equates the deer’s degree of thirst to his desire for God: “so my soul pants for you, my God” (v. 1).
Like much-needed water, God is our ever-present help. We pant for Him because He brings renewed strength and refreshment to our weary lives, equipping us for whatever the day’s journey holds.
When have you been intensely thirsty or hungry, and scared? Why should you be longing for God’s presence?
Loving God, thank You for the renewed strength I experience as You fill my life. Forgive me for looking to any other source but You.
INSIGHTPsalm 42 is the first of eleven psalms attributed to the sons of Korah (also Psalms 44-49; 84-85; 87-88). But who were they? The word sons here means descendants—not direct sons—of a man named Korah, who was part of a conspiracy to overthrow Moses’ leadership in the wilderness wanderings of the Exodus. Korah (of the tribe of Levi), Dathan, Abiram, and On—along with 250 respected community leaders—joined together in this conspiracy (Numbers 16:1-3). How ironic that years later, Korah’s descendants would follow the intended path of the Levites (see ch. 18) to be among the worship leaders of the nation. For a voice of dissension to pave the way for voices of worship is a beautifully redemptive story.
The post Thirsty and Thankful appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 1 John 1:5-10 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 19-20; John 13:21-38 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHe is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us. 1 John 1:9My first short-term missions trip was to the Amazon jungle in Brazil to help build a church by the river. One afternoon, we visited one of the few homes in the area that had a water filter. When our host poured murky well water into the top of the contraption, within minutes all the impurities were removed, and clean, clear drinking water appeared. Right there in the man’s living room, I saw a reflection of what it means to be cleansed by Christ.
When we first come to Jesus with our guilt and shame and ask Him to forgive us and we receive Him as our Savior, He cleanses us from our sins and makes us new. We’re purified just like the murky water was transformed into clean drinking water. What a joy it is to know we are in right standing with God because of Jesus’ sacrifice (2 Corinthians 5:21) and to know God removes our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
But the apostle John reminds us that this doesn’t mean we’ll never sin again. When we do sin, we can be assured by the image of a water filter and be comforted by knowing that as “we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Let’s live confidently knowing that we’re continually being cleansed by Christ.
Why is it vital to ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins? How does it feel to know you don’t have to be a prisoner of sin?
Dear God, thank You that You’re faithful and just to forgive me if I confess my sins to You.
Learn more about having a personal relationship with God.
INSIGHTVerses 6-10 of 1 John 1 all begin with a conditional statement: “If we . . . .” In verse 6, John uses a phrase unique to him: “[we] do not live out the truth.” It could literally be translated as “we do not do the truth.” This phrase is also found in John 3:21: “Whoever lives by the truth [literally, does the truth] comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” In both instances, “doing the truth” is connected to one’s relationship with God. Since God can’t lie (see 1 Samuel 15:29; Titus 1:2), those who do not “do the truth,” are, by implication, liars and can have no “fellowship with Him” (1 John 1:6). In contrast, if we “do the truth”—“walk in the light”—Jesus’ blood “purifies us from all sin” and “we have fellowship with one another” (v. 7).
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Read: Psalm 112 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 17-18; John 13:1-20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesGood will come to those who are generous and lend freely. Psalm 112:5When my wife, Cari, and I finished our higher education, we had several thousand dollars in debt that we needed to consolidate through a lower interest rate. We applied for a loan at the local bank but were turned down because we hadn’t lived or worked in that city for long. A few days later, I shared what had happened with my friend Ming, who was an elder in our church. “I’d like to mention this to my wife,” he said on the way out the door.
A few hours later, the phone rang. It was Ming: “Ann and I would like to loan you the money you need, interest free,” he offered. I didn’t know what to say, so I responded, “I can’t ask that of you.” “You’re not asking!” Ming answered jovially. They kindly gave us the loan, and Cari and I paid them back as quickly as we could.
I believe Ming and Ann were generous because of their love for God. As Scripture tells us, “Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice” (Psalm 112:5). Those who trust in God can have “steadfast” hearts that “are secure” (vv. 7-8), understanding that He’s the source of everything good in their lives.
God has been generous with us, giving us life and forgiveness. Let’s be generous in sharing His love and our resources with those in need.
How has God been generous to you? How can you share His kindness and generosity with someone in need today?
Thank You, loving Father, for giving me the gift of life and for providing for me every day. Help me to trust You and have a generous heart like Yours.
INSIGHTPsalm 112 begins in much the same way as Psalm 1, but instead of focusing on what the “blessed” person doesn’t do (see Psalm 1:1), it describes what those who fear God do. Much like the repeated theme of Psalm 119, the first verses of Psalm 112 focus on the blessings that come to those who love God’s law. And here we find still more allusion to the promises of God in Deuteronomy 6:1-3, that in loving God and keeping His commandments, the people of God will enjoy His promises.
For the Israelites, that meant earthly prosperity. For believers in Jesus today, we also claim God’s promises as we love and follow Him. But as Peter points out in his second letter, God has given us “everything we need” through Jesus to live a life that honors Him (2 Peter 1:3) and that the blessing is enjoying Him forever (v. 4).
The post Generously Given and Shared appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Timothy 1:6-10 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 15-16; John 12:27-50 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHe has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. 2 Timothy 1:9As a child, my daughter loved playing with her Swiss cheese at lunch. She’d place the pastel yellow square on her face like a mask, saying, “Look, Mom,” her sparkly green eyes peeking out from two holes in the cheese. As a young mom, that Swiss-cheese mask summed up my feelings about my efforts—genuinely offered, full of love, but so very imperfect. Holey, not holy.
Oh, how we long to live a holy life—a life set apart for God and characterized by being like Jesus. But day after day, holiness seems out of reach. In its place, our “holeyness” remains.
In 2 Timothy 1:6-7, Paul writes to his protégé Timothy, urging him to live up to his holy calling. The apostle then clarified that “[God] has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace” (v. 9). This life is possible not because of our character, but because of God’s grace. Paul continues, “This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (v. 9). Can we accept God’s grace and live from the platform of power it provides?
Whether in parenting, marriage, work, or loving our neighbor, God calls us to a holy life—made possible not because of our efforts to be perfect but because of His grace.
How do you view personal holiness? In what ways will you ask God to remind you of His all-surpassing grace that brings about His holiness in your life?
Dear God, please help me to lean into Your grace and not my efforts to live a holy life.
For further study, read Why Would Anyone Want to Be Holy?
INSIGHTPaul and Timothy had a wonderful relationship as mentor and mentee—one that Paul felt had risen to the level of a father and son (see 2 Timothy 1:2; 2:1). Though there were a number of men and women that Paul discipled and trained for ministry (including Titus, Tychicus, Aristarchus, Aquila and Priscilla, and others), there seems to be a distinctly different relationship with Timothy. In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul introduces him to the believers at Corinth this way: “For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord.” This is unusually strong language for Paul and clearly speaks to a depth of relationship. No wonder in some of his final words he appeals to Timothy to join him: “Do your best to come to me quickly” (2 Timothy 4:9).
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Read: Jude 1:17-23 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 13-14; John 12:1-26 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBe merciful to those who doubt. Jude 1:22The invitation for dinner from my church leader Harold and his wife, Pam, warmed my heart, but also made me nervous. I’d joined a college Bible study group that taught ideas that contradicted some of the teachings in the Bible. Would they lecture me about that?
Over pizza, they shared about their family and asked about mine. They listened as I talked about homework, my dog Buchi, and the guy I had a crush on. Only later did they gently caution me about the group I was attending and explain what was wrong with its teachings.
Their warning took me away from the lies presented in the Bible study and close to the truths of Scripture. In his letter, Jude uses strong language about false teachers, urging believers to “contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3). He reminded them that “in the last times there will be scoffers . . . who divide you . . . and do not have the Spirit” (vv. 18-19). However, Jude also calls on believers to “be merciful to those who doubt” (v. 22) by coming alongside them, showing compassion without compromising the truth.
Harold and Pam knew I wasn’t firmly grounded in my faith, but instead of judging me, they first offered their friendship and then their wisdom. May God give us this same love and patience, using wisdom and compassion as we interact with those who have doubts.
Who can you reach who’s struggling with their faith? How can you lovingly guide them to the truths of Scripture?
Father, I need Your wisdom and guidance to help those who are being affected by false teaching. Please give me the words to say.
INSIGHTJude’s original intent in writing his letter was to teach about the truth of the gospel. However, he felt compelled to shift that purpose to addressing false teachers. He says, “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (v. 3). He goes on to say that those teachers “pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (v. 4). He made further accusations in verses 8 and 12 but closed by encouraging the children of God to remain faithful (vv. 17-23) and assured them of God’s help: “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy” (v. 24).
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Read: Luke 6:43-45 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 10-12; John 11:30-57 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesA good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart. Luke 6:45 nltHow do you eliminate foul language? A high school chose to institute a “no foul language” promise. The students took an oath, saying: “I do solemnly promise not to use profanities of any kind within the walls and properties of [our school].” This was a noble effort, but, according to Jesus, no external rule or pledge can ever cover the odor of foul speech.
Removing the stench of the words that come from our mouths begins with renewing our hearts. Just as people recognize the kind of tree by the fruit it bears (Luke 6:43-44), Jesus said that our speech is a convincing indicator of whether our hearts are in tune with Him and His ways or not. Fruit stands for a person’s speech, “for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (v. 45). Christ was pointing out that if we really want to change what’s coming out of our mouths, we first have to focus on changing our hearts as He helps us.
External promises are useless to curb the foul language that comes forth from an untransformed heart. We can only eliminate foul speech by first believing in Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:3) and then inviting the Holy Spirit to fill us (Ephesians 5:18). He works within us to inspire and help us to continually offer thanks to God (v. 20) and to speak encouraging and edifying words to others (4:15, 29; Colossians 4:6).
What do your words and speech say about your heart? How are you inviting the Holy Spirit to transform your speech these days?
Dear Jesus, please help me speak words that honor You and edify others.
For further study, read Words Matter: Speaking with Wisdom in an Age of Outrage.
INSIGHTJesus’ words in Luke 6:17-49 mirror the discourse He gave in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Yet there are differences in the two settings. Matthew says “Jesus . . . went up on a mountainside and sat down” (5:1). Luke tells us that after spending the night on a mountainside praying with His disciples (6:12), “He went down with them and stood on a level place” (v. 17). Today’s Scripture reading is from this “sermon on the level place.” It shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus would share His transformational teaching at different locales. Most of His audience would be new and hadn’t yet heard His message. This section of Luke (6:43-45) loosely parallels Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:15-20, where He warns that we’ll know false prophets by their fruit. In Luke, however, Jesus focuses not on false teachers but on us. Our words reveal the kind of fruit we’re bearing.
The post Words Reflect Our Heart appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Ephesians 4:29-32 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 7-9; John 11:1-29 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBe kind and compassionate to one another. Ephesians 4:32“What do I regret?” That was the question New York Times bestselling writer George Saunders answered in his 2013 commencement speech at Syracuse University. His approach was that of an older person (Saunders) who shared one or two regrets he’d had in life with the younger people (graduates) who could learn something from his examples. He listed a few things people might assume he regretted, like being poor and working terrible jobs. But Saunders said he really didn’t regret those at all. What he did regret, however, were failures of kindness—those opportunities he had to be kind to someone, and he let them pass.
The apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Ephesus answering this question: What does the Christian life look like? It’s tempting to rush in with our answers, like possessing a particular political view, avoiding certain books or films, worshiping in a particular manner. But Paul’s approach didn’t limit him to contemporary issues. He does mention abstaining from “unwholesome talk” (Ephesians 4:29) and ridding ourselves of things like bitterness and anger (v. 31). Then to conclude his “speech,” in essence, he says to the Ephesians as well as to us, “Don’t fail to be kind” (v. 32). And the reason behind that is because in Christ, God has been kind to you.
Of all the things we believe the life in Jesus to be, one of them, surely, is to be kind.
Where have you recently failed to be kind? What’s one way you can succeed in kindness today?
Dear Jesus, as You’ve been kind to me, let me be kind to others.
INSIGHTPaul admonishes the Ephesian believers in Jesus to “not let any unwholesome talk come out of [their] mouths” (4:29). The word for “unwholesome” is sapros, which means “rotten” or “worthless.” The same word is used to describe bad or spoiled produce (“a bad tree bears bad fruit,” Matthew 7:17) or decaying meat and fish (they “threw the bad [fish] away,” 13:48). It indicates something is of poor quality or unfit for use. The apostle is telling the Ephesians that in the same way that one wouldn’t put rotten food into their mouths, they shouldn’t let anything rotten come out. This teaching is reminiscent of what Jesus said in Mark 7:20-23: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
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Read: Acts 16:16-26 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 4-6; John 10:24-42 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAbout midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Acts 16:25During a short-term missions trip to Ethiopia, our team accompanied another team from a local ministry on an outreach to a group of young men who’d hit hard times and were living in shacks in a literal junkyard. They were such a delight to meet! We shared testimonies, encouraging words, and prayers together. One of my favorite moments that evening was when a local team member played his guitar and we got to worship with our new friends under the radiant moon. What a sacred moment! Despite their desperate situation, these men had hope and joy that can only be found in Jesus.
In Acts 16, we read about another impromptu praise time. This one broke out in a jail in the city of Philippi. Paul and Silas had been arrested, beaten, flogged, and imprisoned while serving Jesus. Instead of giving in to despair, they worshiped God by “praying and singing” in their jail cell. “Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once, all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose” (vv. 25-26).
The jailer’s first thought was to end his life, but when he realized the prisoners hadn’t escaped, he was in awe of God, and salvation came to his family (vv. 27-34).
God delights in hearing us praise Him. Let’s worship Him during both the highs and lows of life.
How has God enabled you to praise and worship Him even in the bad times? How has He revealed Himself in remarkable ways when you’ve done so?
Dear God, please help me to praise You no matter what I’m facing.
INSIGHTThis incident with the fortune-telling female slave occurred in the city of Philippi (Acts 16:12). After Paul cast a demon out of the girl, her owners were angry over the loss of their ability to exploit her (vv. 18-19). As they made their false allegations against Paul and Silas, they leveled a racially charged statement: “These men are Jews, and are . . . advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice” (vv. 20-21). Ironically, both Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, a fact that Paul leveraged as they were about to be released from prison (vv. 37-39).
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Read: 1 Peter 5:6-11 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 1-3; John 10:1-23 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesYour enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8When my friends Al and Kathy Schiffer flew their iconic, World War II–era airplane to airshows, it was the reactions of the elderly war veterans that meant the most to them. They would come by so they could talk about the wars they served in and the airplanes they flew. Most of their battle stories were told with tears in their eyes. Many have said that the best news they received while serving their country were the words, “The war is over, boys. It’s time to go home.”
These words from an earlier generation relate to the war believers in Jesus are engaged in—our good fight of faith against the devil, the enemy of our souls. The apostle Peter warned us: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” He tempts us in various ways and uses discouragement in suffering and persecution to try to draw us away from our faith in Jesus. Peter challenged his first readers and us today to “be alert and of sober mind” (1 Peter 5:8). We depend on the Holy Spirit so we won’t let the enemy cause us to surrender the fight and bring us down.
We know that one day Jesus will return. When He comes, His words will have an effect similar to that felt by wartime soldiers, bringing tears to our eyes and joy to our hearts: “The war is over, children. It’s time to go Home.”
What help do you need from God to resist the devil’s schemes? How could your fellow believers help you?
Almighty God, You’re far greater than anyone or anything that stands against me. Please help me to rely on Your strength and power.
For further study, read Know the Enemy: Revealing Truths about Satan.
INSIGHTWhat does the New Testament tell us about our “enemy the devil” (1 Peter 5:8)? First, it gives him a variety of names: “Satan,” which means “accuser” or “adversary” (Revelation 12:9-10); “Beelzebul, the prince of demons” (Matthew 12:24); “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4); “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Ephesians 2:2); “the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3); “the great dragon” (Revelation 12:9); and the “ancient serpent” (Revelation 20:2; see 2 Corinthians 11:3).
Second, Satan’s mission is “to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He’s opposed to God and seeks to drive a wedge between humans and God. Thus, he’s an especially dangerous foe to believers in Jesus. He hopes to tear down our confidence and trust in God and deter us from our mission of spreading the gospel. He also controls those opposed to God who resist the gospel.
The post When It’s Time appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Isaiah 61:1-3 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 28-29; John 9:24-41 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Isaiah 61:3One evening, I noticed neat rows of soil in a vacant lot near my home. Each row contained small green leaves with tiny buds peeking out. The next morning, I stopped in my tracks when I saw a patch of beautiful red tulips sprouting in the lot.
The previous fall, a group had planted one hundred thousand bulbs in empty lots throughout the South Side of Chicago. They chose red to symbolize how redlining (lending discrimination by banks) had impacted neighborhoods where primarily minorities lived. The tulips symbolized the houses that could have been in those lots.
God’s people have endured many challenges—from being exiled from their homelands to discrimination like redlining. Yet, we can still find hope. Isaiah reminds Israel during a time of exile that God would not leave them. He’d give them a “crown of beauty” in place of ashes. Even the poor would receive “good news” (61:1). God promised to exchange despairing spirits with a “garment of praise.” All of these images evoke His splendor and would bring joy to the people, who would now be “oaks of righteousness” instead of dejected exiles (v. 3).
Those tulips also show that God can create splendor from dirt and discrimination. I look forward to seeing the tulips each spring, and more importantly renewed hope in my neighborhood and other communities.
Where in your community have you seen beauty replace despair? How can you help create beauty in places of despair?
Thank You, God, for the beauty You allow me to see even when my circumstances seem dire.
INSIGHTThe beautiful truth of Isaiah 61:1-3 is that it was intended to prepare the people of Israel for their Messiah. How do we know that? Because when Jesus—the Messiah—came, He used this text to announce His arrival and ministry to the people of Nazareth, His hometown. Following Christ’s season of temptation in the wilderness, He went home (Luke 4:14). When He stepped into the synagogue, He read from the scroll of Isaiah. The great promise of Isaiah was to “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Isaiah 61:2), and with Jesus’ arrival that time had come. How did the people respond? At first, they were amazed at His “gracious words” (Luke 4:22), but that shifted when He explained His ministry to the gentiles (vv. 24-27). The people became “furious” with Him and sought to kill Him (vv. 28-29).
The post Beauty in Place of Soil appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:12-21 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 25-27; John 9:1-23 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWe are therefore Christ’s ambassadors . . . . We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20My college friend Bill Tobias has served as a missionary on a Pacific island for many years. He tells the story about a young man who left his hometown to seek his fortune. But a friend took him to church where he heard the good news Jesus offers, and he trusted Christ as his Savior.
The young man wanted to take the gospel to his people who were “steeped in sorcery,” so he looked for a missionary to reach them. But the missionary told him to simply “go tell them what God did for you” (see Mark 5:19). And that’s what he did. Several people in his hometown received Jesus, but the biggest breakthrough came when the town’s witch doctor realized that Christ was “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). After he put his faith in Jesus, he told the whole town about Him. Within four years, the witness of one young man had led to the establishment of seven churches in the region.
In 2 Corinthians, Paul sets forth a clear plan for introducing the gospel to those who don’t yet know Christ—and it aligns with what that missionary told the young believer in Jesus. We are to be “Christ’s ambassadors”—His representatives “as though God were making his appeal through us” (5:20). Every believer has a unique story to tell of how Jesus made them “a new creation . . . who reconciled” them to God (vv. 17-18 nasb). Let’s tell others what He’s done for us.
What does salvation in Jesus mean to you? How can you be better prepared to share your story with others?
Dear God, please help me share my faith story with others.
INSIGHTPaul’s conversion on the road to Damascus is described in Acts 9. One of the ways the apostle talks about his conversion is that he once regarded Christ “from a worldly point of view” (2 Corinthians 5:16). This would include the Messiah offering salvation to the gentiles; coming as a servant, not a king; and dying a criminal’s death at the hand of religious leaders. Viewing Christ from a worldly perspective still happens today when He’s viewed as merely a good man or moral teacher but not as Savior and God Himself.
The post Tell Them What God Did appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Hebrews 12:4-11 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 22-24; John 8:28-59 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesGod disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. Hebrews 12:10In his parable The Wise Woman, George MacDonald tells the story of two girls, whose selfishness brings misery to all, including themselves, until a wise woman puts them through a series of tests to help them become “lovely” again.
After the girls fail each test and suffer shame and isolation, one of them, Rosamond, finally realizes she can’t change herself. “Couldn’t you help me?” she asks the wise woman. “Perhaps I could,” the woman replied, “now that you ask me.” And with the divine help symbolized by the wise woman, Rosamond begins to change. She then asks if the woman would forgive all the trouble she’s caused. “If I had not forgiven you,” the woman says, “I would never have taken the trouble to punish you.”
There are times when God disciplines us. It’s important to understand why. His correction isn’t driven by retribution but by a fatherly concern for our welfare (Hebrews 12:6). He also desires that we may “share in his holiness,” enjoying a harvest of “righteousness and peace” (vv. 10-11). Selfishness brings misery, but holiness makes us whole, joyful, and “lovely” like Him.
Rosamond asks the wise woman how she can love a selfish girl like her. Stooping to kiss her, the woman replies, “I saw what you were going to be.” God’s correction too comes with love and a desire to make us who we’re meant to be.
How have you understood God’s discipline in the past? How might He have disciplined you recently in order to make you more lovely?
Father God, thank You for Your correction, as painful as it can be. You bring it for my good.
INSIGHTThe writer of Hebrews quotes Proverbs 3:11-12 in the explanation of God’s loving discipline (Hebrews 12:5-6). Proverbs 3 is well known for verses 5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
When we’re going through difficult experiences, it can be easy to think that we don’t deserve them, and that God has stepped into our lives just to discipline us. But the context of Proverbs 3 paints a picture of walking alongside our heavenly Father. Sometimes, like wandering children, we stray from God’s side, especially when we trust in our own understanding. His discipline brings us back—not just to correct behavior but to a close relationship with Him. Our kind Father loves us and wants us on the right path. After all, that’s where He is too.
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Read: Psalm 19:1-9 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 19-21; John 8:1-27 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe heavens declare the glory of God. Psalm 19:1Alex Smalley wants everyone to wake up earlier—or perhaps pause more at day’s end. Why? To gaze at sunrises and sunsets. Those fleeting moments are the most beautiful, awe-inspiring times of the day, according to Smalley, the lead researcher of a British study on awe-inducing weather effects. Even more than blue skies or glittering nightscapes, a stunning sunrise or sunset can improve mood, increase positive emotions, and decrease stress. Smalley says, “When you see something vast and overwhelming or something that produces this feeling of awe, your own problems can feel diminished and so you don’t worry so much about them.”
His findings on wonder echo those of the prophet Jeremiah: “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17).
King David also beheld God’s creation, declaring, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2). As for the sun, “It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth” (v. 6). God’s glorious creation reflects the all-powerful Creator. Why not take time today to look to the skies and marvel in Him!
Where is your favorite place to view a sunrise or sunset? When you behold the heavens, what do you discover about God?
In Your glorious heavens, Father, You show me the wonder of Your power.
INSIGHTPsalm 19:1-6 is David’s ode to God as Creator. In the verses that follow, however, his focus shifts to how he views the Scriptures (vv. 7-13). This abrupt shift has caused some scholars to question if these are two separate psalms. But God revealed Himself both in creation and in the Scriptures and both are powerful expressions of who He is. Theologians refer to these two ideas as general revelation (creation) and special revelation (Scripture). They describe how God makes Himself known—but the ultimate revelation of Himself is in Christ, the living Word. As Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” The author of Hebrews describes Jesus as “the exact representation of [God’s] being” (v. 3).
The post Look to the Skies appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Chronicles 16:1-9 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 16-18; John 7:28-53 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9The Rocky movies tell the story of a raw boxer, fueled by never-say-die determination, who overcomes improbable odds to become heavyweight champion. In Rocky III, a now successful Rocky becomes impressed with his own achievements. Television commercials disrupt his time in the gym. The champ grows soft, and he’s knocked out by a challenger. The rest of the movie is Rocky’s attempt to regain his fighting edge.
In a spiritual sense, King Asa of Judah lost his fighting edge. Early in his reign, he relied on God in the face of daunting odds. As the mighty Cushites prepared to attack, Asa prayed, “Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army” (2 Chronicles 14:11). God answered his prayer, and Judah struck down and scattered their enemies (vv. 12-15).
Years later, Judah was threatened again. This time a complacent Asa ignored God and instead asked the king of Aram for help (16:2-3). It seemed to work. But God wasn’t pleased. The prophet Hanani told Asa that he’d stopped trusting God (vv. 7-8). Why hadn’t he relied on God now as he had then?
Our God is unfailingly reliable. His eyes “range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (v. 9). When we keep our spiritual edge—fully depending on God—we’ll experience His power.
As you age, is it easier or harder to trust your heavenly Father? Why do you think that is? How might God strengthen your faith?
Dear Jesus, may I rest in You more each day.
INSIGHTBefore Israel entered the promised land, God gave specific instructions for their kings. In Deuteronomy 17:14-17, Yahweh prohibited Israel’s rulers from gathering horses from Egypt, marrying many wives, and accruing much gold. It’s an odd list of prohibitions, but they were methods foreign kings used to protect their land. Horses for war, foreign wives to form treaties, and gold to buy off enemies.
But Asa went further. He didn’t just buy off Ben-Hadad with his own gold; he emptied the temple storehouse of silver and gold (2 Chronicles 16:2-3). He’d stopped trusting that God—not gold—would protect his people.
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Read: Genesis 33:1-11 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 13-15; John 7:1-27 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesEsau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. Genesis 33:4Kindness or revenge? Isaiah had just been hit in the head by a wild pitch during a Little League regional championship baseball game. He dropped to the ground holding his head. Thankfully, his helmet protected him from serious injury. As play resumed, Isaiah noticed the pitcher was visibly shaken by his unintentional error. In that moment, Isaiah did something so extraordinary that the video of his response went viral. He walked over to the pitcher, gave him a comforting hug, and made sure the pitcher knew he was all right. In a situation that could have resulted in a brawl, Isaiah chose kindness.
In the Old Testament, we see Esau make a similar, though far more difficult, choice to abandon any long-harbored plans for revenge against his deceiving twin brother Jacob. As Jacob returned home after twenty years in exile, Esau chose kindness and forgiveness instead of vengeance for the ways Jacob had wronged him. When Esau saw Jacob, he “ran to meet [him] and embraced him” (Genesis 33:4). Esau accepted Jacob’s apology and let him know he was all right (vv. 9-11).
When someone demonstrates remorse for wrongs committed against us, we have a choice: kindness or revenge. Choosing to embrace them in kindness follows Jesus’ example (Romans 5:8) and is a pathway toward reconciliation.
When have you been met by kindness after acknowledging a wrong? How might you show kindness to someone else?
Dear Jesus, please help me to follow Your example and extend kindness when I’ve been wronged.
Find out how forgiveness can save your relationships.
INSIGHTJacob was one of the twin sons of Isaac, along with his brother Esau. The name Jacob means “heel grabber” and describes someone who trips others up, presumably for his own benefit. We see this as Jacob tripped up Esau to take his birthright (Genesis 25), then tripped up their father, Isaac, to take Esau’s blessing (ch. 27). The result of Jacob’s scheming was that he ended up in exile for decades.
The post Extending Christ’s Kindness appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Jeremiah 29:8-14 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 10-12; John 6:45-71 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. Jeremiah 29:10It had been years since we left the Oregon town where we raised our family. We’d made great memories there, and the recent visit reminded me of moments I’d forgotten: our girls’ soccer games, our old home, church gatherings, and our friends’ Mexican restaurant. The town had changed, but there was enough of the familiar to spark my desire to return for a visit.
When the Israelites went into exile in Babylon, they missed the familiarity of people, landmarks, and culture. They forgot they’d been exiled for rebelling against God. When false prophets told the exiles they’d return home within two years (Jeremiah 28:2-4; 29:8-9), they found a receptive audience. It was easy to listen to the slick words of false prophets who promised a return home soon.
God didn’t take kindly to these peddlers of the past and their false promises. “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you,” He said (29:8). He had plans for His people, “plans to give [them] hope and a future” (v. 11). The situation was challenging, difficult, and new, but God was with them. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart,” He told them (v. 13). God would bring them “back to the place from which I carried you into exile” (v. 14), but in His timing.
Nostalgia plays tricks on the mind, making it easy to long for what once was. Don’t miss what God is doing right now. He will fulfill His promises.
What difficulty are you facing today? How is God showing Himself faithful?
Father, may I continue to look for You in the present and not long for the past.
INSIGHTThe prophet Jeremiah ministered during the reign of Judah’s last five kings: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoichin, and Zedekiah (about 640–586 bc). This was a time when false prophets abounded. Jeremiah foretold doom to the unrepentant nation, while his contemporaries assured the people of peace. These false prophets prophesied lies in God’s name. Yet God had “not sent them or appointed them” (Jeremiah 14:14). They spoke “visions from their own minds” (23:16), saying what the people longed to hear (see 2 Timothy 4:3). Jeremiah passionately delivered God’s message despite suffering greatly for it. He was thrown into prison (ch. 37) and a cistern or well (ch. 38). He was rejected by his family, friends, neighbors, false priests and prophets, and kings. Because the people didn’t listen to God’s words to turn back to Him, spoken through Jeremiah, they were captured by the Babylonians in 586 bc and were exiled for seventy years.
The post God in the Past and Present appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Revelation 7:9-12 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 7-9; John 6:22-44 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesSalvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. Revelation 7:10A love for God and for people undergirds Kathryn’s Bible translating work. She rejoices when women in India come to a deeper understanding of Scripture, reading it in their mother tongue. She remarks that when they do, “They often start cheering or clapping. They read about Jesus, and they say, ‘Oh, wonderful!’ ”
Kathryn longs for more people to read the Scriptures in their own language. In this desire, she holds close to her heart the vision of the aging disciple John on the island of Patmos. Through the Spirit, God ushered him into the throne room of heaven, where he saw “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9). All together they worshiped God, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God” (v. 10).
God continues to add to the great number of people praising Him. He uses not only the work of Bible translators and those praying for them, but also those who reach out to their neighbors in love with the good news of Jesus. We can rejoice in this joyful mission, marveling at how God will spark more people to join with the angels in saying, “Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever” (v. 12).
How do you see God spurring on people to praise and honor Him? How might He invite you to join in His mission of spreading the good news of Jesus?
Saving God, thank You for the gift of Jesus. Please help me to share Your wonderful love with others.
INSIGHTThe book of Revelation (in Greek apokalypsis) is considered apocalyptic literature—a term which today is often used to describe literature that portrays the end of the world. This is due to the graphic imagery of the prophecies contained in Revelation. However, apokalypsis means “to reveal, to unveil something that has been hidden.” Primarily, the book of Revelation isn’t about the end of the world; it’s about Jesus, who’s referred to as “the Lamb” (see 5:6-13; 7:9-17). This description also appears in John’s gospel: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (1:29); “Look, the Lamb of God!” (v. 36).
The post Making God Known appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Exodus 31:1-11 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 4-6; John 6:1-21 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom . . . and with all kinds of skills. Exodus 31:3“Your job for the international book expo,” my boss informed me, “is to organize an onsite radio broadcast.” I felt fear because this was new territory for me. God, I’ve never done anything like this, I prayed. Please help me.
God provided resources and people to guide me: experienced technicians and broadcasters, plus reminders during the expo of details I’d overlooked. In retrospect, I know that the broadcast went well because He knew what was needed and prompted me to use the skills He’d already given me.
When God calls us to a task, He also equips us for it. When He assigned Bezalel to work on the tabernacle, Bezalel was already a skilled craftsman. God further equipped him by filling him with His Spirit and with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all kinds of skills (Exodus 31:3). God also gave him an assistant in Oholiab, as well as a skilled workforce (v. 6). With His enablement, the team designed and made the tent, its furnishings, and the priests’ garments. These were instrumental in the Israelites’ proper worship of God (vv. 7-11).
Bezalel means “in the shadow [protection] of God.” The craftsman worked on the project of a lifetime under God’s protection, power, and provision. Let’s courageously obey His prompting as we carry out a task to completion. He knows what we need, and how and when to give it.
What task is God calling you to carry out? In what areas can you pray for His guidance?
Father, thank You for equipping me with all that I need.
INSIGHTExodus 35–38 gives specific instructions for the construction of the tabernacle and all its furnishings. In today’s passage (31:1-11), we read that God equipped specific people to carry out this important and detailed work. God filled Bezalel with “the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills” (v. 3). He also equipped Oholiab to assist him (v. 6). In addition to being given technical skills, Bezalel and Oholiab were to teach others how to do the work (35:30-35). God equipped all with what was needed to accomplish the task (36:1).
The post Called and Equipped by God appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 1-3; John 5:25-47 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWe . . . would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8My friend Joann passed away from a stroke just as the coronavirus began to spread in 2020. At first her family published that her memorial service would be at her church, but then it was determined it was best to hold it at a funeral home to control the size of the group attending. The new notice online read: Joann Warners—Changed Venue.
Yes, her venue had changed! She’d gone from the venue of earth to the venue of heaven. God changed her life years before, and she lovingly served Him for nearly fifty years. Even while she lay near death in the hospital, she asked about others she loved who were struggling. Now she’s present with Him; she has changed venues.
The apostle Paul had the desire to be with Christ in another venue (2 Corinthians 5:8), but he also felt it would be better for the people he served for him to remain on earth. He wrote to the Philippians, “It is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Philippians 1:24). When we grieve for someone like Joann, we may cry out to God something similar: They’re needed here by me and many others they loved and served. But God knows the best timing for their change of venue and our own.
In the Spirit’s strength, we now “make it our goal to please [God]” (2 Corinthians 5:9) until we see Him face-to-face—which will be far better.
In what ways are you revealing your love for God and others where you are right now? How might you serve Him today?
I give myself anew to You, God. Please fill me with Your Spirit of love and make my life count for You.
INSIGHTHeaven (2 Corinthians 5:1) is the destination of “those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27), those who by faith have received Jesus as their Savior. In that wonderful place, there will be no more tears, death, mourning, crying, or pain (v. 4). Heaven is where God dwells (1 Kings 8:39, 43, 49; Psalm 33:13-14). When He was on earth, Jesus confirmed this to be true. He stated He came from heaven (John 3:13; 6:33, 51) and would return there (14:2), where He would be seated at the right hand of God (Luke 22:69; Hebrews 12:2). After He ascended, two angels reminded His disciples that Christ would one day return to earth from heaven (Acts 1:6-11). When believers die, they’re eternally in the presence of God!
The post A Change of Venue appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 8 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 24-25; John 5:1-24 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHow majestic is your name in all the earth. Psalm 8:1On July 12, 2022, scientists awaited the first images of deepest space from the new James Webb Space Telescope. The state-of-the-art telescope can look farther into the universe than mankind has ever looked before. Suddenly a breathtaking image emerges: a color space-scape of the Carina Nebula, never before seen like this. One NASA astronomer quoted Carl Sagan, a noted atheist: “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting.”
Sometimes people can look God in the eye and not see Him. But the psalmist David looked into the sky and knew exactly what he was seeing: “You have set your glory in the heavens” (Psalm 8:1). Sagan was right in saying that “something incredible is waiting,” but he failed to acknowledge what David clearly perceived: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them” (vv. 3-4).
When we see images of deepest space, we’re amazed, not so much because of technology, but because we’re witnessing the handiwork of God. We marvel because in the vastness of creation, God has made us “rulers over the works of [his] hands” (v. 6). Indeed, “something incredible is waiting”—God, waiting to bring believers in Jesus to Him when He returns. That’s the most breathtaking image of all.
What thoughts do you have as you look at images of deep space? How do you experience God in them?
Creator God, I’m amazed at the glory of the heavens and the beauty of Your handiwork. Thank You for caring for me in the midst of Your wondrous creation!
INSIGHTThe superscription of Psalm 8 tells us that David wrote this hymn to be sung in temple worship (“For the director of music” and “According to gittith.”) The gittith (see also Psalms 81 and 84) is most likely a kind of stringed instrument (like the guitar) or a musical arrangement. Scholars suggest that as a shepherd boy tending sheep in the open fields, David was inspired by the stars in the night sky to write this praise song. That would explain why there’s no mention of the sun or clouds. Psalm 8 celebrates the majesty and glory of God as Creator (vv. 2-4) and the dignity and significance of human beings as the crown of God’s creation (vv. 5-8).
The post God’s Handiwork appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: John 8:31-32, 36, 42-47 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 22-23; John 4:31-54Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunes[Satan] is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44
Adolf Hitler believed big lies were more powerful than small ones, and, tragically, he tested his theory successfully. Early in his political career, he claimed he was content to support others’ aspirations. When he came to power, he said his party didn’t intend to persecute anyone. Later, he used the media to portray himself as a father figure and moral leader.
Satan uses lies to gain power in our lives. Whenever possible, he provokes fear, anger, and despair because he’s “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satan can’t tell the truth because, as Jesus said, he doesn’t have any truth inside of him.
Here are a few of the enemy’s lies. First, our prayers don’t matter. Not true. The Bible says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). Second, when we’re in trouble, there’s no way out. Wrong again. “All things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27), and “he will also provide a way out” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Third, God doesn’t love us. That’s false. Nothing can “separate us” from God’s love through Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).
God’s truth is more powerful than lies. If we obey Jesus’ teaching in His strength, then we “will know the truth,” reject what’s false, and “the truth will set [us] free” (John 8:31-32).
What are some lies you’re likely to believe? How might God want you to refresh your mind with His truth?
Dear Jesus, You’re the way, the truth, and the life. Please show me lies I’ve believed and help me to cling to the truth I read in the Bible.
INSIGHTIn today’s passage, Jesus unequivocally declares that Satan is “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satan (also known as the devil, the enemy, the thief, the evil one, the tempter) is in direct opposition to Jesus, “the truth” who sets us free (v. 32). Satan has “no truth in him” (v. 44), but Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (14:6). In the last hours before His crucifixion, as Jesus stood before Pilate, He stated: “The reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth” (18:37). Jesus came to earth to declare the truth about Himself, to explain the Father to us, and to expose the truth about ourselves, as He did with the Samaritan woman at the well (ch. 4). While Satan “[came] only to steal and kill and destroy” (10:10) and was “a murderer from the beginning” (8:44), Jesus brings life eternal (3:16).
The post Lies and Truth appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Ecclesiastes 8:14-17 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 19-21; John 4:1-30 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Ecclesiastes 8:15Sweetly fragrant cherry tree blossoms flood Japan with exquisite pale and vibrant pinks every spring, delighting the senses of residents and tourists alike. The short-lived nature of the blossoms cultivates a keen awareness in the Japanese to savor the beauty and scent while they linger: the very brevity of the experience heightens the poignancy of it. They call this deliberate enjoyment of something that will change quickly “mono-no-aware.”
As humans, it’s understandable that we’d want to seek and prolong feelings of joy. Yet the reality that life is riddled with hardship means we must cultivate the ability to view both pain and pleasure through a lens of faith in a loving God. We needn’t be overly pessimistic, nor should we fashion ourselves an unrealistically sunny outlook on life.
The book of Ecclesiastes offers a helpful model for us. Though this book is sometimes thought to be a catalog of negative statements, the same King Solomon who wrote that “everything is meaningless” (1:2) also encouraged his readers to find joy in the simple things in life saying, “There is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad” (8:15).
Joy comes when we ask God to help us “know wisdom” and learn to observe “all that God has done” (vv. 16-17) in both beautiful seasons and in difficult ones (3:11-14; 7:13-14), knowing that neither is permanent on this side of heaven.
What kind of “season” are you currently in? How can you find joy in it?
Dear Father, thank You for being the source of beauty and joy in my life.
INSIGHTThe author of Ecclesiastes, which scholars say is Solomon, identifies himself as “the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes 1:1). He shows us what life is like without God and how He must fit into it. The Teacher makes his observations on the unjust realities of life in a fallen world: “Good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good” (8:14 nlt). Instead of being weighed down by such unfairness, however, Solomon encourages us to enjoy life (3:22; 5:19; 9:9) so we “will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives [us] under the sun” (8:15 nlt). At the close of his book, the author reminds us: “When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days” (11:8 nlt).
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Read: 2 Chronicles 18:9-16 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 17-18; John 3:19-36 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAs surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says. 2 Chronicles 18:13After the Paris Peace Conference that concluded World War I, French Marshall Ferdinand Foch bitterly observed, “This is not peace. It is an armistice for twenty years.” Foch’s view contradicted the popular opinion that the horrifying conflict would be the “war to end all wars.” Twenty years and two months later, World War II erupted. Foch was right.
Long ago, Micaiah, the lone true prophet of God present at the time, consistently prophesied dire military results for Israel (2 Chronicles 18:7). In contrast, four hundred of King Ahab’s false prophets foretold victory: “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king,” a court official told Micaiah. “Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably” (v. 12).
Micaiah responded, “I can tell him only what my God says” (v. 13). He prophesied how Israel would be “scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd” (v. 16). Micaiah was right. The Arameans killed Ahab and his army fled (vv. 33-34; 1 Kings 22:35-36).
Like Micaiah, we who follow Jesus share a message that contradicts popular opinion. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Many don’t like that message because it seems harshly narrow. Too exclusive, people say. Yet Christ brings a comforting message that’s inclusive. He welcomes everyone who turns to Him.
When the Spirit leads you to say or do something, how will you do so in love? When have your own assumptions needed to be challenged by God?
Father, please give me the wisdom to discern Your truth.
INSIGHTA similar battle between true and false prophets that’s recorded in 2 Chronicles 18 is also seen in Jeremiah 27-28. The prophet Jeremiah is the solitary voice for truth amid a chorus of false hope (27:9-15) and confronts the lies of the false prophet Hananiah (ch. 28).
In the New Testament, Paul also warned against false prophets and of the day when people “will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3). Every believer in Jesus needs to be discerning and boldly speak truth, even where there are those who itch for something else.
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Read: 2 Timothy 1:3-5 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 15-16; John 3:1-18 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice. 2 Timothy 1:5As teens, my sister and I didn’t understand my mom’s decision to receive Jesus as her Savior, but we couldn’t deny the changes we saw in her. She had more peace and joy and began faithfully serving at church. She had such a hunger for studying the Bible that she attended and graduated from seminary. A few years after my mom’s decision, my sister accepted Christ and started serving Him. And a few years after that, I also placed my trust in Jesus and started serving Him. Many years later, my father joined us in believing in Him as well. My mom’s decision for Christ created a life-changing ripple effect among our immediate and extended family.
When the apostle Paul wrote his final letter to Timothy and encouraged him to persevere in his faith in Jesus, he noted Timothy’s spiritual heritage. “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5).
Moms and grandmoms, your decisions can affect generations.
How beautiful that Timothy’s mom and grandmom helped nurture his faith so he could become the man God was calling him to be.
On this Mother’s Day and beyond, let’s honor mothers who’ve made a decision to follow Jesus.
Let’s also leave a spiritual legacy for our loved ones.
Which godly women can you honor today? What kind of spiritual legacy would you like to leave for others?
Father God, thank You for godly mothers. Please help me to also leave a spiritual legacy for others.
INSIGHTThough Paul affectionately called Timothy “my true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2; see 2 Timothy 1:2), he wasn’t the one who taught him about Jesus. It was his own mother Eunice and grandmother Lois (2 Timothy 1:5) who “taught [him] the holy Scriptures from childhood, and . . . [gave him] the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus” (3:15 nlt). Timothy was of mixed parentage—a gentile father and Jewish mother. When Paul first met him, Timothy was already a leader and “the believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him” (Acts 16:2). He became Paul’s intern, traveling companion, and trusted protégé (vv. 3-4; Philippians 2:19-22). That the apostle sent Timothy to deal with the troublesome Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 4:17) and to confront false teachers in the Ephesian church (1 Timothy 1:3) testify to this young man’s spiritual maturity and ministry leadership.
Learn more about the lesser-known women of the Bible.
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Read: 1 Samuel 28:3-10 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 13-14; John 2 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAll you need to say is simply “Yes” or “No”; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:37As Gandalf the Grey confronted Saruman the White, it became clear that the latter had turned from what he was supposed to be doing—helping to protect Middle-earth from the power of the evil being Sauron. What’s more, Saruman had allied with Sauron! In this scene from the film The Fellowship of the Ring, based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic work, the two former friends then engage in an epic good-versus-evil battle. If only Saruman had stayed the course and done what he knew was right!
King Saul also had trouble staying the course. In one account, he rightly “expelled the mediums and spiritists from [Israel]” (1 Samuel 28:3). Good move, for God had declared that dabbling in the occult was “detestable” (Deuteronomy 18:9-12). But when God didn’t answer the king’s plea—due to his prior failures—for how to deal with a massive Philistine army, Saul caved: “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her” (1 Samuel 28:7). Talk about a complete reversal! Saul failed once more as he went against his own decree—what he knew was right.
A millennium later, Jesus said to His disciples, “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37). In other words, if we’ve committed ourselves to obeying Christ, it’s vital that we keep our oaths and be truthful. Let’s stay the course in doing those things as God helps us.
What helps you keep your oaths? Why is it vital that you stay the course in being truthful?
Dear Jesus, please help me stay the course in following Your ways.
INSIGHTFirst Samuel 28:6 says, “[Saul] inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him.” The reason for God’s silence, as the prophet Samuel told him, is that “the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy” (v. 16). This was “because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites” (v. 18). The Amalekites were descendants of Esau (though they were distinct from his descendants the Edomites). They had a history of attacking Israel, including those who lagged behind during the exodus—in other words, Israel’s weakest citizens. God instructed Israel to annihilate Amalek (Deuteronomy 25:17-19), but Israel didn’t complete the task. Later, Haman, a descendant of Agag (probably King Agag the Amalekite, see 1 Samuel 15), would seek to commit genocide against God’s people, the Jews (Esther 3:5-14).
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Read: Ephesians 2:1-10 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 10-12; John 1:29-51 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIt is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8Many years ago, New York City launched a “Stay Safe. Stay Put” ad campaign to educate people on how to stay calm and be safe when trapped in an elevator. Experts reported that some trapped passengers had died when they tried to pry open the elevator doors or attempted exiting by some other means. The best plan of action is to simply use the alarm button to call for help and wait for emergency responders to arrive.
The apostle Paul spelled out a very different type of rescue plan—one to help those trapped in the downward pull of sin. He reminded the Ephesians of their utter spiritual helplessness—being truly “dead in [their] . . . sins” (Ephesians 2:1). They were trapped, obeying the devil (v. 2), and refusing to submit to God. This resulted in them being the subject of God’s wrath. But He didn’t leave them trapped in spiritual darkness. And those who believe in Jesus, the apostle wrote, “by grace . . . have been saved” (vv. 5, 8). A response to God’s rescue initiative results in faith. And faith means we’ll give up on trying to save ourselves and call on Jesus to rescue us.
By God’s grace, being rescued from sin’s trap doesn’t originate with us. It’s “the gift of God” through Jesus alone (v. 8).
Why can’t you save yourself from sin’s trap? How has God provided what you need to be saved?
Dear God, I’m so grateful that when I was trapped in sin and tried to save myself, You initiated my rescue and sent a Savior to free me.
Learn more about having a personal relationship with God.
INSIGHTA helpful acronym to describe the grace of God is GRACE—God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense. This phrase summarizes and magnifies the reality that salvation—rescue from our sin (forgiveness, being made right with God)—is the work of God to be received by faith, not something that we achieve. Another acronym that succinctly captures this truth is GFFG—God’s Favor Freely Given. The Greek word cháris, translated “grace,” is used broadly in the New Testament (twelve times in Ephesians) with a range of meanings, including “goodwill,” “lovingkindness,” and “favor.” Ephesians 2:7 describes “the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” It’s also used in this sense in Luke 1:30: “The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.’ ” God’s kindnesses are manifold for “the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people” (Titus 2:11).
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Read: Isaiah 35:1-7 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 7-9; John 1:1-28 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe desert will bloom with flowers. Isaiah 35:2 nirvA century ago, lush forest covered roughly 40 percent of Ethiopia, but today it’s around 4 percent. Clearing acreage for crops while failing to protect the trees has led to an ecological crisis. The vast majority of the remaining small patches of green are protected by churches. For centuries, local Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido churches have nurtured these oases in the midst of the barren desert. If you look at aerial images, you see verdant islands surrounded by brown sand. Church leaders insist that watching over the trees is part of their obedience to God as stewards of His creation.
The prophet Isaiah wrote to Israel, a people who lived in an arid land where bare desert and brutal droughts threatened. And Isaiah described the future God intended, where “the desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom” (Isaiah 35:1). God intends to heal His people, but He intends to heal the earth too. He’ll “create new heavens and a new earth” (65:17). In God’s renewed world, “the desert will bloom with flowers” (35:2 nirv).
God’s care for creation—including people—motivates us to care for it too. We can live in sync with His ultimate plan for a healed and whole world—being caretakers of what He’s made. We can join God in making all kinds of deserts bloom with life and beauty.
Where do you see some part of creation barren or suffering? How will you be part of seeing deserts bloom?
Creator God, please show me how to help heal and restore what’s broken in the world.
Click to discover God’s creative purpose for nature and a nation.
INSIGHTTo the Israelites, the “day of Lord” was the day when God would judge all the foreign nations who are Israel’s enemies (Isaiah 13; Jeremiah 46; Ezekiel 30; Joel 3:1-16). At that time, God would pour out His blessings on Israel as His covenant nation (Isaiah 61; Joel 2:18-32; 3:17-21). Isaiah 35:4 encapsulates this twin mindset: “Your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you” (nlt). Prophesying about God’s judgment against the nations, the prophet warned, “The Lord is angry with all nations . . . . He will totally destroy them” (34:2). Then Isaiah assured God’s people about the glories that would await them when He comes to rescue and restore them (35:3-7). Jesus referred to verses 5-6 when he confirmed His messianic identity to encourage a disheartened John the Baptist in prison (Luke 7:18-23).
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Read: 2 Kings 6:15-23 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 4-6; Luke 24:36-53 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesElisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” 2 Kings 6:17Joy was concerned for her relative Sandy, who for years had struggled with alcoholism and mental-health issues. When she went to Sandy’s apartment, the doors were locked, and it appeared vacant. As she and others planned their search for Sandy, Joy prayed, “God, help me to see what I’m not seeing.” As they were leaving, Joy looked back at Sandy’s apartment and saw the tiniest movement of a curtain. In that moment, she knew that Sandy was alive. Although it took emergency assistance to reach her, Joy rejoiced in this answered prayer.
The prophet Elisha knew the power of asking God to reveal to him His reality. When the Syrian army surrounded their city, Elisha’s servant shivered in fear. Not the man of God, however, for with God’s help he glimpsed the unseen. Elisha prayed that the servant too would see, and “the Lord opened the servant’s eyes” to see “the hills full of horses and chariots of fire” (2 Kings 6:17).
God lifted the veil between the spiritual and physical worlds for Elisha and his servant. Joy believes God helped her see the tiny flicker of the curtain, giving her hope. We too can ask Him to give us the spiritual vision to understand what’s happening around us, whether with our loved ones or in our communities. And we too can be agents of His love, truth, and compassion.
How could you ask God to open your eyes to His truth concerning situations that weigh you down? How has He revealed His reality to you previously?
Father of all mercies, please open my eyes to see Your love and grace that I might share it with others.
INSIGHTIn 2 Kings 5, Elisha’s servant Gehazi attempted to acquire clothing and silver from the Aramean commander Naaman by lying (vv. 19-24). Because of this, Gehazi was stricken with leprosy (v. 27). Because Mosaic law required those with contagious skin diseases to live apart from others to prevent the spread of illness (Leviticus 13:45-46), Gehazi would’ve had to leave. Therefore, unless God healed Gehazi, the servant in 2 Kings 6:15 was likely new and his alarm was understandable. He hadn’t yet had much opportunity to observe God’s power demonstrated through Elisha, whose prayers here had both spiritual and physical impact (vv. 17-20).
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Read: Romans 12:4-8 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 1-3; Luke 24:1-35 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWe have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. Romans 12:6Decades ago, I went to a college retreat where everyone was talking about a personality test. “I’m an ISTJ!” one said. “I’m an ENFP,” another chirped. I was mystified. “I’m an ABCXYZ,” I joked.
Since then, I’ve learned a lot about that test (the Myers-Briggs) and others such as the DiSC assessment. I find them fascinating because they can help us understand ourselves and others in helpful, revealing ways—shedding light on our preferences, strengths, and weaknesses. Provided we don’t overuse them, they can be a useful tool God uses to help us grow.
Scripture doesn’t offer us personality tests. But it does affirm each person’s uniqueness in God’s eyes (see Psalm 139:14-16; Jeremiah 1:5), and it shows us how God equips all of us with a unique personality and unique gifts to serve others in His kingdom. In Romans 12:6, Paul begins to unpack this idea, when he says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”
Those gifts, Paul explains, are not for us alone but for the purpose of serving God’s people, Christ’s body (v. 5). They’re an expression of His grace and goodness, working in and through all of us. They invite each of us to be a unique vessel in God’s service.
What gifts has God given you to serve others? If you’re not sure what your gifts are, who might help you get a better sense of those God-given gifts?
Father, thank You for the gifts You’ve given me. Please help me to embrace the ways You’ve equipped me to love and serve others in Your kingdom.
Find out how you can understand yourself and others.
INSIGHTRomans 12 marks a turning point in Paul’s letter. Previously, the apostle had been explaining the work of God in salvation, describing Jesus as the second Adam who came to redeem what had been lost through our first parents’ disobedience in Eden (5:12-20). Now he turns his attention to the way this salvation is to be lived out by those bought by Christ’s sacrifice. It starts with the redeemed becoming a “living sacrifice” (12:1), whose focus is on being useful to God in the lives of others. This is followed by a list of spiritual gifts to equip God’s children in service to others (vv. 3-8). Another list of spiritual gifts appears in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, and a list of leadership roles (gifts to the church) is found in Ephesians 4:11. Through these provisions, the Spirit enables us to fulfill our function in our spiritual service.
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Read: John 14:15-21 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 21-22; Luke 23:26-56 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThose who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. John 14:21 nltDuring our wedding ceremony, our minister said to me, “Do you promise to love, honor, and obey your husband, until death do you part?” Glancing at my fiancé, I whispered, “Obey?” We’d built our relationship on love and respect—not blind obedience, as the vows seemed to suggest. My husband’s father captured on film that wide-eyed moment when I processed the word obey and said, “I do.”
Over the years, God has shown me that my resistance to the word obey had nothing to do with the incredibly complex relationship between a husband and wife. I’d understood obey to mean “subjugated” or “forced submission,” which Scripture doesn’t support. Rather, the word obey in the Bible expresses the many ways we can love God. As my husband and I celebrate thirty years of marriage, through the power of the Holy Spirit we’re still learning to love Jesus and each other.
When Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15 nlt), He showed us that obedience to the Scriptures would be the result of an ongoing loving and intimate relationship with Him (vv. 16-21).
Jesus’ love is selfless, unconditional, and never forceful or abusive. As we follow and honor Him in all our relationships, the Holy Spirit can help us see obedience to Him as a wise and loving act of trust and worship.
How does seeing obedience to God as an act of love and trust change your view of His desire for obedience? How has God proven that you can trust Him?
Dear Jesus, please help me love You and others through obedience to the Scriptures.
INSIGHTJohn 13-17, known as the Upper Room Discourse, is theologically rich, contributing to our understanding of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. An example of this is seen in John 14:16-17 where Jesus, the Son, says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” Of note in this discourse is the teaching about the Holy Spirit (pneumatology). In verse 16, He’s referred to as “another advocate” (paraklētos). Other versions translate this word as “comforter.” What’s in view is someone who’s called to aid, assist, or help another. During Christ’s ministry on earth, He was the helper from heaven. In His absence, one just like Him, the Spirit, would function in that capacity. Because of this, Jesus could tell His followers, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (vv. 1, 27).
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Read: Jeremiah 31:3-9 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 19-20; Luke 23:1-25 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesTears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. Jeremiah 31:9 nltLeaving home one morning, Dean found some friends waiting with balloons. His friend Josh stepped forward. “We entered your poems in a competition,” he said, before handing Dean an envelope. Inside was a card that read “First Prize,” and soon everyone was crying tears of joy. Dean’s friends had done a beautiful thing, confirming his writing talent.
Weeping for joy is a paradoxical experience. Tears are normally a response to pain, not joy; and joy is normally expressed with laughter, not tears. Italian psychologists have noted that tears of joy come at times of deep personal meaning—like when we feel deeply loved or achieve a major goal. This led them to conclude that tears of joy are pointers to the meaning of our lives.
I imagine tears of joy erupting everywhere Jesus went. How could the parents of the man born blind not weep for joy when Jesus healed him (John 9:1-9), or Mary and Martha after He raised their brother from death (11:38-44)? When God’s people are brought into a restored world, “Tears of joy will stream down their faces,” God says, “and I will lead them home with great care” (Jeremiah 31:9 nlt).
If tears of joy show us the meaning of our lives, imagine that great day to come. As tears stream down our faces, we’ll know without doubt that the meaning of life has always been to live intimately with Him.
When was the last time you wept for joy? What do you think the meaning of life is?
Father God, thank You for the joy ahead for those who love You.
INSIGHTTwo themes dominate the Prophetic Books of the Bible—discipline and restoration. After the prophet Jeremiah warned the Israelites of God’s judgment and discipline due to their wickedness and sin (Jeremiah 1–29), he assured them that later God would also restore them (chs. 30–33). He would be their God and they would be His chosen nation once again (31:1). He would also bring them back to the promised land after the Babylonian exile (30:1-3; 31:8-9). Israel would be restored to enjoy the privileges and blessings as God’s “firstborn son” (31:9).
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Read: Psalm 56:1-4 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 16-18; Luke 22:47-71 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhen I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3A routine wellness check for little four-year-old Calvin revealed a few unexpected spots on his body. During the visit, he was given some shots, and the injection site was covered with a bandage. At home, when the time came to remove the small adhesive covering, Calvin whimpered with fear. Seeking to console his son, his father said, “Calvin, you know I’d never do anything to hurt you.” His father wanted his son to trust him more than fearing the removal of the bandage.
Four-year-olds aren’t the only ones who grow faint in the face of discomfort. Surgeries, separation from loved ones, mental or psychological challenges—and more—prompt our fears, sighs, cries, and groans.
One of David’s fear-filled moments was when he found himself in Philistine territory while fleeing a jealous King Saul. When he was recognized, he was anxious about what might happen to him (see 1 Samuel 21:10-11): “David . . . was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath” (v. 12). Reflecting on this uncomfortable situation, David wrote, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. . . . In God I trust and am not afraid” (Psalm 56:3-4).
What shall we do when life’s discomforts stir up our fears? We can put our trust in our heavenly Father.
What situation is presently making you fearful? How can you rest in His care as you bring your fears before your loving heavenly Father in prayer?
Dear God, in my humanity and frailty, I’m fearful. Help me to see and experience Your love and care even in the midst of my trials and discomfort.
INSIGHTThe psalmist David’s name appears on 73 of the 150 psalms. And New Testament references indicate he also wrote Psalms 2 and 95 (see Acts 4:25; Hebrews 4:7). Most of his psalms lack background information, but 13, including Psalm 56, give details on their setting. The superscription ascribes Psalm 56 to David and states: “When the Philistines had seized [David] in Gath.” He so feared King Saul that he entered enemy territory. There the servants of Achish, the king of Gath, recognized him and informed the king. Terrified, David “pretended to be insane in their presence; and . . . acted like a madman” (1 Samuel 21:13). It worked. He was released (vv. 14-15) and escaped to the cave of Adullam (22:1). Though fearful, he put his trust in God (Psalm 56:3).
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Read: 2 Kings 20:1-6 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 14-15; Luke 22:21-46 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. 2 Kings 20:5“Prayers for an upcoming brain scan.” “That my kids would come back to church.” “Comfort for Dave, who lost his wife.” Our card ministry team receives a weekly list of prayer requests like these so we can pray and send each person a handwritten note. The requests are overwhelming, and our efforts can feel small and unnoticed. That changed after I received a heartfelt thank-you card from Dave, the recently bereaved husband, with a copy of his beloved wife’s obituary. I realized anew that prayer matters.
Jesus modeled that we should pray earnestly, often, and with hopeful faith. His time on earth was limited, but He prioritized getting away by Himself to pray (Mark 1:35; 6:46; 14:32).
Hundreds of years earlier, the Israelite king Hezekiah learned this lesson too. He was told that an illness would soon take his life (2 Kings 20:1). In distress and weeping bitterly, Hezekiah “turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord” (v. 2). In this instance, God’s response was immediate. He healed Hezekiah’s sickness, added fifteen years to his life, and promised to rescue the kingdom from an adversary (vv. 5-6). God answered his prayer not because Hezekiah was living a good life, but “for [his] own honor and for the sake of [his] servant David” (v. 6 nlt). We may not always receive what we ask for, but we can be sure that God is working in and through every prayer.
Who in your life needs prayer today? How can you remind yourself to pause and pray more frequently?
Heavenly Father, thank You for listening to my prayers.
INSIGHTHezekiah witnessed the power of prayer when he cried out to God and He answered him (2 Kings 20:5-6). Prayer is also a prominent theme in the New Testament. Jesus encouraged it, and His life modeled it. The one who taught us to address God as “Father” in prayer (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2) did so Himself when He prayed: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth” (Matthew 11:25). Christ’s blueprint for prayer included prayer regarding temptation and protection from evil: “He fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’ ” (26:39). Jesus modeled praying for our enemies (Luke 6:28) and said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (23:34).
Witness the power of prayer in James Banks’ class.
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Read: John 3:10-17 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 12-13; Luke 22:1-20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesGod so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. John 3:16The “monster” in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one of the most widely known literary characters, captivating our cultural imagination. But close readers of the beloved novel know that a strong case can be made that Shelley actually portrays Victor Frankenstein, the delusional scientist who created the creature, as the real monster. After creating an intelligent creature, Victor denies him any guidance, companionship, or hope of happiness—seemingly guaranteeing the creature’s descent into desperation and rage. Confronting Victor, the creature laments, “You, my creator, would tear me to pieces and triumph.”
Scripture reveals how different the true Creator of all things is—with unchanging, tireless love for His creation. God didn’t create on a whim, but out of love created a beautiful, “very good” world (Genesis 1:31). And even when humanity turned from Him to choose monstrous evil instead, God’s commitment to and love for humanity didn’t change.
As Jesus explained to Nicodemus, God’s love for His creation was so great He was willing to give even what was most dear to Him—“his one and only Son” (John 3:16)—that the world might be saved. Jesus sacrificed Himself, bearing the consequences of our sin, so “that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” (v. 15).
We have a Creator we can trust with our hearts and lives.
How does God’s commitment to His creation impact you? How can you respond to His love for you?
Dear God, thank You for being a good Creator who I can trust.
INSIGHTIn John 3:10, we sense Jesus’ frustration with Nicodemus, who, as a well-educated Pharisee (“Israel’s teacher,” as Christ put it), should’ve understood the Scriptures better than he did. Nicodemus was also a member of the ruling council, the Sanhedrin (v. 1), which plotted to have Jesus arrested and executed. But we must give Nicodemus credit for several key points. First, he came to Christ with his questions (vv. 4, 9). Second, his dialogue with Jesus must have taken root in his heart, for later he spoke in defense of Christ when his colleagues were clamoring for His arrest (7:50-51). And third, he courageously identified with the Savior—at a time when the disciples had fled in fear—by joining Joseph of Arimathea to take Jesus’ body from the cross and give Him a respectful Jewish burial (19:38-42).
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Read: Matthew 28:16-20 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 10-11; Luke 21:20-38 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAll authority . . . has been given to me. Matthew 28:18Even after Jesus had set my son Geoff free from years of substance abuse, I still had worries. We’d been through much together and my focus sometimes remained on his difficult past instead of the future God had for him. Parents of addicts often worry about relapse, and one day at a family gathering, I pulled Geoff aside. “Remember,” I told him, “we have an adversary, and he’s powerful.” “I know, Dad,” he responded. “He has power, but he has no authority.”
In that moment, I was reminded of Jesus’ incomparable authority to rescue us from our sins and transform our lives as we look to Him. Immediately I thought of His words to the disciples shortly before He returned to His Father in heaven: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go . . .” (Matthew 28:18-19).
The crucified and risen Jesus has made a way for us to come to Him no matter what our past may be. He holds both our past and our future. Because He’s promised to be with us always (v. 20), we can be assured that He’ll accomplish His purposes and that our lives are in His unfailing hands. Jesus gives us unparalleled hope, a hope so good we can’t keep it to ourselves. The devil and the world may have some power for a little while, but “all authority” belongs to Jesus forever.
How does Jesus’ authority give you hope? What has He done for you that you can share with someone today?
Thank You, dear God, for calling me to You in love. Please lead me to someone I can share Your love with today.
For further study, read Hope: Discovering the One True Source.
INSIGHTIn the Gospels, Jesus is described as a man who “taught as one who had authority” (Matthew 7:29) and “has authority on earth to forgive sins” (9:6). The Greek word exousia carries the meaning of “authority, power, the right to control or govern; dominion, the area or sphere of jurisdiction.” Christ called twelve men, discipled them, and then “sent them out to preach” (Mark 3:14). He “gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases” and instructed them “to proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:1-2). As the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus has been given “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18), for God granted “him authority over all people” (John 17:2). We’re also armed with His authority—although ours is limited—to go into the world and tell others about Him and disciple them (Matthew 28:19-20).
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Read: 1 John 4:15-21 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 8-9; Luke 21:1-19 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWe love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19When my now-grown son, Xavier, was in kindergarten, he stretched his arms wide and said, “I love you this much.” I stretched my longer arms wide and said, “I love you this much.” Planting his fists on his hips, he said, “I loved you first.” I shook my head. “I loved you when God first put you in my womb.” Xavier’s eyes widened. “You win.” “We both win,” I said, “because Jesus loved both of us first.”
As Xavier prepares for the birth of his first child, I’m praying he’ll enjoy trying to out-love his son as they make sweet memories. But as I prepare to be a grandmother, I’m amazed at how much I loved my grandson from the moment Xavier and his wife told us they were expecting a baby.
The apostle John affirmed that Jesus’ love for us gives us the ability to love Him and others (1 John 4:19). Knowing He loves us gives us a sense of security that deepens our personal relationship with Him (vv. 15-17). As we realize the depth of His love for us (v. 19), we can grow in our love for Him and express love in other relationships (v. 20). Not only does Jesus empower us to love, but He also commands us to love: “And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (v. 21). When it comes to loving well, God always wins. No matter how hard we try, we can’t out-love God!
How has knowing God loves you helped you to love others? How can you show love to others this week?
Loving Savior, thank You for loving me first so I can love others.
INSIGHTThe books of John; 1, 2, and 3 John; and Revelation were all written by the apostle John (one of the “sons of thunder”; Mark 3:17), who refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26). But rather than boasting, John seems to point with assurance and perhaps amazement to the knowledge that Christ loved him despite his failings. In our text today, John declares: “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). Because of His perfect love, we need not fear our future or eternal destiny (vv. 17-18). By dying on the cross, Jesus made a way for us to be with Him (vv. 9-10; John 3:16). Nothing can separate believers in Christ from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39). In response, we’re called to love others (1 John 4:11, 20-21). Through the Spirit, we have assurance of His love and are empowered to love others (v. 13; Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22).
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Read: Ephesians 6:10-20 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 6-7; Luke 20:27-47 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesPray in the Spirit on all occasions . . . be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18When fighting spiritual battles, believers in Jesus should take prayer seriously. A Florida woman found out how dangerous it can be, however, to practice it unwisely. When she prayed, she closed her eyes. But while driving one day and praying (with eyes shut!), she failed to stop at a stop sign, flew through an intersection, and went offroad into a homeowner’s yard. She then tried unsuccessfully to back off the lawn. Though not injured, she was given a police citation for reckless driving and property damage. This prayer warrior missed a key part of Ephesians 6:18: be alert.
As part of the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul includes two final pieces. First, we should fight spiritual battles with prayer. This means praying in the Spirit—relying on His power. Also, resting in His guidance and responding to His promptings—praying all kinds of prayers on all occasions (v. 18). Second, Paul encouraged us to “be alert.” Spiritual alertness can aid us in being prepared for Jesus’ return (Mark 13:33), gaining victory over temptation (14:38), and interceding for other believers (Ephesians 6:18).
As we fight spiritual battles daily, let’s permeate our lives with a “pray and watch” approach—combating evil powers and piercing the darkness with the light of Christ.
How can having a “pray and watch” mindset help you fight spiritual battles? What does it mean for you to stay spiritually alert?
Dear God, please help me to watch and pray for myself and others.
INSIGHTPaul often uses military images to illustrate the life of the believer in Jesus (Romans 13:12; 1 Corinthians 9:7; 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 2:3-4). Paul reminds us that the believer is engaged in a spiritual battle against Satan and his evil forces (Ephesians 6:11-12). Just as physical armor protects the soldier in the battlefield, the armor of God protects us in our spiritual battle. Most of this armor is defensive, except for the “sword of the Spirit” (v. 17). Christ used the Scripture to overcome the devil (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:4-12). We too must use God’s truth to respond to the enemy’s attacks (John 17:17; Hebrews 4:12).
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Read: Exodus 23:20-26 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 3-5; Luke 20:1-26 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way. Exodus 23:20As medical test after medical test filled up Bev’s schedule, she grew overwhelmed and weary. Doctors alarmed her when they told her they were looking for cancer somewhere in her body. Each day God faithfully encouraged her with the promises of His presence and an abiding peace when she turned to Him or read the Bible. She battled with the uncertainties and frequently learned to roll the “what ifs” onto God’s shoulders. One morning, Bev came across a verse in Exodus 23 that popped out from the page to her heart before a serious surgery: “I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way” (v. 20).
Those words were spoken by God through Moses to His people, the Israelites. He was giving His laws for His people to follow and leading them to a new land (vv. 14-26). But in the middle of those instructions, He told them He would send an angel ahead of them “to guard [them] along the way” (v. 20). Even though this wasn’t Bev’s life’s situation, she remembered that the care of angels is mentioned elsewhere in Scripture too. Psalm 91:11 says, “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” And Hebrews 1:14 tells us God sends angels as “ministering spirits” to serve believers in Jesus.
If we know Christ, He’s got an angel or angels near us to minister to us as well.
What might God be doing for you through His angels? How does this encourage you?
I’m grateful, dear God, that You’re always near, and You also have Your angels watching over Your children.
For further study, read What Can We Learn from Angels?
INSIGHTExodus 20-23 contain legal requirements God demanded of His people Israel, including the Ten Commandments (20:1-17). In 23:20-26, He promised them His protection as they prepared to take the promised land. The specific angel mentioned is literal (23:20), but he’s also representative of God’s presence. God said, “My Name is in him” (v. 21). For the people of Israel, the protection was contingent upon their obedience. “Do not rebel against him,” God said (v. 21). He warned them not to be like the people currently occupying the promised land: “Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices” (v. 24). By contrast, worshiping God alone would bring His blessing (vv. 25-26). This promise isn’t directed to us, yet the principle holds true today.
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Read: Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 1-2; Luke 19:28-48 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunes[They hear] the word, but the worries of this life . . . choke the word. Matthew 13:22After burying a few seeds in a planter in my backyard, I waited to see the results. Reading that the seeds would sprout within ten to fourteen days, I checked often as I watered the soil. Soon I saw a few green leaves pushing their way out of the soil. But my bubble burst quickly when my husband told me those were weeds. He encouraged me to pull them quickly so that they wouldn’t choke the plants I was trying to grow.
Jesus also told of the importance of dealing with intruders that can impede our spiritual growth. He explained a portion of His parable this way: when a sower cast his seeds, some “fell among thorns . . . and choked the plants” (Matthew 13:7). Thorns, or weeds, will do just that to plants—stop their growth (v. 22). And worry will surely stunt our spiritual growth. Reading Scripture and praying are great ways to grow our faith, but I’ve found I need to watch out for the thorns of worry. They’ll “choke” the good word that has been planted in me, making me focus on what could go wrong.
The fruit of the Spirit, found in Scripture, includes such things as love, joy, peace (Galatians 5:22). But in order for us to bear that fruit, in God’s strength we need to pull any weeds of doubt or worry that may distract us and cause us to focus on anything other than Him.
How is God helping you grow the seeds He’s planted within you? How can you pull the weeds of worry?
Dear heavenly Father, please remind me to pull weeds often, discarding worry and deceitful thoughts so I may grow and bear fruit in You.
INSIGHTMatthew 13 contains eight parables: the parables of the sower (vv. 1-23), the seeds (vv. 24-30, 36-43), the mustard seed (vv. 31-32), the yeast (vv. 33-35), the hidden treasure (v. 44), the pearls (vv. 45-46), the net (vv. 47-50), and the house owner (vv. 51-52). They’re known as “kingdom” parables because they usually begin with the characteristic phrase, “The kingdom of heaven is like . . . ” (vv. 24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47, 52). Though the first parable is called the parable of the sower, its focus isn’t on the sower but on the soil upon which the seed falls.
Unlock more wisdom from the parables of Jesus.
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Read: Philippians 4:14-20 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 23-24; Luke 19:1-27 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesYou sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Philippians 4:16Rescue workers cooperated to help three men stranded on an island in Micronesia. Teamwork was necessary because a widespread health crisis required them to limit their exposure to each other. The pilot who first spotted the castaways radioed a nearby Australian Navy ship. The ship sent two helicopters which provided food, water, and medical care. Later, the US Coast Guard arrived to check on the men and deliver a radio. Finally, a Micronesian patrol boat taxied them to their destination.
We can accomplish a lot when we work together. The Philippian believers pooled their efforts to support the apostle Paul. Lydia and her family welcomed him into their home (Acts 16:13-15). Clement and even Euodia and Syntyche (who didn’t get along) all worked directly with the apostle to spread the good news (Philippians 4:2-3). Later, when Paul was imprisoned in Rome, the church gathered essentials for a care package and delivered it via Epaphroditus (vv. 14-18). Perhaps most importantly, the Philippians prayed for him throughout his ministry (1:19).
The examples of believers serving together in this ancient church can inspire us today. Cooperating with fellow believers to pray and serve others as God leads and empowers us accomplishes much more than we could ever do on our own. It has been said, “Individually, we are one drop. Together we are an ocean.”
When have you served well with other believers in Jesus? What’s the basis for the spiritual bond you share with them?
Dear God, please show me how to join with others who are serving You.
INSIGHTNamed for Philip II (father of Alexander the Great), the city of Philippi lay in Macedonia. The church in Macedonia received high praise from Paul. Not only were the Macedonians quick to respond to his needs, in this case they were the only church to do so (Philippians 4:15). Additionally, he notes, “You sent me aid more than once when I was in need” (v. 16). Indeed, in 2 Corinthians 8, Paul pointed to the economically poor Macedonian church as an example for the wealthy church in Corinth: “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (v. 2). This is the context in which the apostle writes the oft-quoted verse, “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
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Read: Joshua 14:6-12 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 21-22; Luke 18:24-43 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. Hebrews 13:6My friend Raleigh is sprinting toward his eighty-fifth birthday! Since my first conversation with him more than thirty-five years ago, he’s been a source of inspiration. When he recently mentioned that since retiring he’d completed a book manuscript and started another ministry initiative—I was intrigued but not surprised.
At eighty-five, Caleb in the Bible wasn’t ready to stop either. His faith and devotion to God had sustained him through decades of wilderness living and wars to secure the inheritance God had promised Israel. He said, “I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then” (Joshua 14:11). By what means would he conquer? Caleb declared that by “the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said” (v. 12).
Regardless of age, stage in life, or circumstances, God will help all who wholeheartedly trust Him. In Jesus, our Savior who helps us, God was made visible. The Gospel books inspire faith in God through what we see in Christ. He demonstrated God’s care and compassion for all who looked to Him for help. As the writer of Hebrews acknowledged, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid” (Hebrews 13:6). Young or old, weak or strong, bound or free, sprinting or limping—what’s keeping us from asking for His help today?
Who has inspired your faith in God? How do you see God as your source of help in all things?
Almighty God, please help me to see You as my source of help in all circumstances.
INSIGHTCaleb was one of the twelve spies Moses sent to explore Canaan. Based on the report of ten of the spies, the Israelites concluded that they couldn’t conquer the land (Numbers 13-14). Caleb challenged their lack of faith (13:30), and God took note of his faithfulness (Deuteronomy 1:34-36). Caleb is consistently described as one who “followed the Lord wholeheartedly” (v. 36; see Numbers 14:24; 32:12; Joshua 14:8, 9, 14). Caleb and Joshua were the only two living octogenarians who entered the promised land. Because of their unbelief, the rest of their generation aged twenty and above had all died in the desert (Numbers 14:29-30). Even Moses wasn’t permitted to enter Canaan (Deuteronomy 3:23-27).
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Read: 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 21-27 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 19-20; Luke 18:1-23 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesGod has placed the parts in the body . . . just as he wanted them to be. 1 Corinthians 12:18In his essay “Service and the Spectrum,” Professor Daniel Bowman Jr. writes of the difficulty of navigating decisions about how to serve his church as an autistic person. He explains, “Autistic people have to forge a new path forward every single time, a unique path that takes into account . . . mental, emotional, and physical energy . . . alone/recharging time; sensory inputs and comfort level . . . time of day; whether or not we’re being valued for our strengths and accommodated for our needs rather than excluded for perceived deficits; and much more.” For many people, Bowman writes, such decisions, “while reorienting people’s time and energy, likely will not undo them. Those same decisions might well undo me.”
Bowman believes that the vision of mutuality Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 12 could be a healing solution. There, in verses 4-6, Paul describes God uniquely gifting each of His people for “the common good” (v. 7). Each is an “indispensable” member of Christ’s body (v. 22). When churches come to understand each person’s unique, God-given wiring and gifting, instead of pressuring everyone to help in the same way, they can support their members to serve in ways that fit their giftings.
In this way, each person can find flourishing and wholeness and be secure in their valued place in Christ’s body (v. 26).
How have you been blessed by others’ unique gifts? How can churches encourage diverse ways to serve?
Dear God, thank You for creating us all uniquely. Please help me to value every member of Christ’s body.
INSIGHTPaul couldn’t have chosen a better metaphor for the harmonious working together of the church than the human body. Instinctively, the members of our bodies work together for useful, purposeful living. Before commenting about body parts functioning differently according to design (1 Corinthians 12:14-26), the apostle elaborated on what believers in Jesus have in common (vv. 4-13). The same trinitarian God (“Spirit,” v. 4; “Lord,” v. 5; “God,” v. 6) is at work in and through the dynamic but different kinds of gifts, services, and workings in the church. The same Spirit at work in those with speaking gifts (v. 8) sovereignly manifests Himself through other gifts (vv. 9-10). “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit” (v. 11). Understanding our “spiritual sameness” liberates us to love, accept, and serve others who are different.
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Read: John 16:25-33 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 16-18; Luke 17:20-37 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. John 16:33On December 30, 1862, the US Civil War raged. Union and Confederate troops camped seven hundred yards apart on opposing sides of Tennessee’s Stones River. As they warmed themselves around campfires, Union soldiers picked up their fiddles and harmonicas and began playing “Yankee Doodle.” In reply, the Confederate soldiers offered “Dixie.” Remarkably, both sides joined for a finale, playing “Home, Sweet Home” in unison. Sworn enemies shared music in the dark night, glimmers of an unimagined peace. The melodic truce was short-lived, however. The next morning, they put down their fiddles and picked up their rifles, and 24,645 soldiers died.
Our human efforts to create peace inevitably wear thin. Hostilities cease in one place, only to ignite somewhere else. One relational dispute finds harmony, only to be embroiled in distress again months later. The Scriptures tell us that God is our only trustworthy peacemaker. Jesus said it plainly, “In me you . . . have peace” (John 16:33). We have peace in Jesus. While we participate in His peacemaking mission, it’s God’s reconciliation and renewal that make real peace possible.
Christ tells us we can’t escape conflict. “In this world [we] will have trouble,” Jesus says. Strife abounds. “But take heart!” He adds, “I have overcome the world” (v. 33). While our efforts often prove futile, our loving God (v. 27) makes peace in this fractious world.
Where do you see humans working for peace? How is God’s peacemaking different?
Dear God, please show me the way of peace.
For further study, read Finding Peace in a Troubled World.
INSIGHTPreparing His disciples for His arrest and death, Jesus warned that they too would face difficult times and persecution (John 15:20; 16:2, 32). Christ comforted His distraught disciples with the provision of heaven, the promise of the Holy Spirit, and His abiding presence and peace (chs. 14-16). Jesus offered them and us the much-needed gift of peace: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27 nlt). Living in a world broken by sin and devastated by pain and suffering, we have God’s promised peace: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal” (Isaiah 26:3-4).
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Read: Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 14-15; Luke 17:1-19 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesA cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12“I knew that the only way to succeed was to forget about home and my wife, son, and daughter,” said Jordon. “I’ve found I can’t do that. They’re woven into the fabric of my heart and soul.” Alone in a remote area, Jordon was participating in a reality show where contestants are asked to survive outdoors with minimal supplies for as long as possible. What forced him to forfeit was not the grizzly bears, freezing temperatures, injury, or hunger, but an overwhelming loneliness and desire to be with his family.
We might have all the survival skills necessary for the wilderness, but separating ourselves from community is a sure way to fail. The wise author of Ecclesiastes said, “Two are better than one, because . . . one can help the other up” (4:9-10). Christ-honoring community, even with all its messiness, is essential to our thriving. We don’t stand a chance against the trials of this world if we try to tackle them on our own. Someone who toils alone, toils in vain (v. 8). Without community, we’re more susceptible to danger (vv. 11-12). Unlike a single thread, “a cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (v. 12). The gift of a loving, Christ-focused community is one that not only provides encouragement, but also gives us strength to thrive despite challenging situations. We need each other.
How can you commit to spending time with the family of believers? Who around you is isolated and in need?
Father, thank You for the gift of community! Open my heart to love and spend time with others today.
INSIGHTAlong with Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes is classified as one of the Wisdom books of Scripture. Wisdom books, which emphasize the supreme value of fearing God (Ecclesiastes 8:13; 12:13), help the reader navigate the good and not-so-good—the bitter and sweet of this life—from God’s perspective and to trust Him. Given Wisdom Literature’s goal—to help its readers to “live skillfully”—it shouldn’t surprise us to find numerous occurrences in the book of Ecclesiastes of the word better or the phrase better than. The comparative value of wisdom is stressed in passages such as “Wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness” (2:13); “Wisdom is better than strength” (9:16); “Wisdom is better than weapons of war” (9:18). We also see this emphasis in Proverbs: “For she [wisdom] is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold” (3:14).
Discover the life-changing wisdom of Ecclesiastes.
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Read: Proverbs 20:11-17 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 12-13; Luke 16 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesFood gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel. Proverbs 20:17Thieves in Germany stole a truck’s refrigerated trailer filled with more than twenty tons of chocolate. The estimated worth of the stolen sweetness was $80,000. Local police asked anyone who was offered large quantities of chocolate via unconventional channels to report it immediately. Surely those who stole the massive amount of sweets will be facing bitter and unsatisfying consequences if they’re caught and prosecuted!
Proverbs confirms this principle: “Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel” (20:17). Things we acquire deceptively or wrongfully may seem to be sweet at first—seasoned with excitement and temporary enjoyment. But the flavor will eventually wear off and our deception will lead to our being left wanting and in trouble. The bitter consequences of guilt, fear, and sin can end up ruining our lives and reputations. “Even small children are known by their actions, [if] their conduct [is] really pure and upright” (v. 11). May our words and actions reveal a pure heart for God—not the bitterness of selfish desires.
When we’re tempted, let’s ask God to strengthen us and help us remain faithful to Him. He can help us look behind the short-term “sweetness” of giving in to temptation and guide us to carefully consider the long-term consequences of our choices.
When has temptation led to bitter consequences for you? How can you remain faithful to God?
Dear God, I need Your strength to fight temptation and remain faithful to You.
INSIGHTIt might seem difficult to detect a theme to the proverbs in chapter 20, but theologian John E. Goldingay identifies one. Noting the difficulty of finding good examples of individual integrity, he points out that “openness is not common (v. 5), . . . and human evasiveness is difficult to penetrate (v. 15).” We must keep in mind that the Proverbs don’t always tell us how to live; sometimes they’re observations about life—for instance, “the buyer” who considers a product yet disparages its value in order to bargain for a lower price (v. 14). Solomon, who wrote many of the Proverbs, isn’t advising us to imitate this dishonest bartering tactic; rather, this is his observation of human nature. Goldingay suggests that verse 5 is key to understanding the chapter: “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”
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Read: Hebrews 12:14-17 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 9-11; Luke 15:11-32 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesMake every effort to live in peace with everyone. Hebrews 12:14My sister, brother, and I flew from our separate states to our uncle’s funeral and stopped to see our ninety-year-old grandmother. She’d been paralyzed by a stroke, had lost the ability to speak, and had only the use of her right hand. As we stood around her bed, she reached out that hand and took each of our hands, placing one atop another over her heart and patted them in place. With this wordless gesture, my grandmother spoke into what had been our somewhat broken and distant sibling relationship. “Family matters.”
In God’s family, the church, we can grow apart as well. We might allow bitterness to separate us from each other. The writer of Hebrews references the bitterness that separated Esau from his brother (Hebrews 12:16) and challenges us as brothers and sisters to hold on to each other in God’s family. “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone” (v. 14). Here the words every effort convey a deliberate and decisive investment in peacemaking with our brothers and sisters in God’s family. Every such effort is then applied to everyone. Every. One.
Family matters. Both our earthly families and God’s family of believers. Might we all invest the efforts needed to hold on to each other?
What would it mean for you to “make every effort to live in peace with everyone” in God’s family? Is there a particular person you might need to approach for reconciliation?
Dear God, thank You for drawing me to Yourself. Help me to make every effort to live at peace with everyone in Your family.
INSIGHTIn Hebrews 12:14, the phrase “make every effort” translates one Greek word: diōkō. The range of meaning includes ideas such as “to pursue” good or not-so-good things (see 2 Timothy 2:22); “to press on”; “to persecute” so as to harass or mistreat (see 3:12 [persecuted]). Three times in Philippians 3 diōkō is used when Paul shares his personal testimony: “as for zeal, persecuting the church” (v. 6); “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (v. 12); “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (v. 14). The English Standard Version’s rendering of Hebrews 12:14 highlights a twofold pursuit: “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” As it concerns our relationships with others, harmony and holiness are worthy of our pursuit and prayers—even when such efforts aren’t reciprocated.
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Read: 2 Chronicles 20:21-26 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 6-8; Luke 15:1-10 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesOn the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah. 2 Chronicles 20:26Poet William Cowper struggled with depression much of his life. After a suicide attempt, he was committed to an asylum. But it was there through the care of a Christian physician that Cowper came to a warm, vital faith in Jesus. Soon afterwards, Cowper became acquainted with pastor and hymnwriter John Newton, who encouraged him to collaborate on a hymnal for their church. Among the hymns Cowper wrote was “God Moves in a Mysterious Way,” which contains these words pressed from the crucible of experience: “You fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds you so much dread, are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head.”
Like Cowper, the people of Judah also met God’s kindness unexpectedly. As an alliance of armies invaded their nation, King Jehoshaphat gathered the people for prayer. As Judah’s army marched out, men in the front ranks praised God (2 Chronicles 20:21). The invading armies turned on themselves, and “no one . . . escaped. . . . There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it” (vv. 24-25).
On the fourth day, the very place where a hostile invading force gathered against God’s people was dubbed the Valley of Berakah (v. 26)—literally, “the valley of praise” or “blessing.” What a change! God’s mercy can turn even our most difficult valleys into places of praise as we give them to Him.
How have you seen God bring good out of difficulty in your life? What can you thank Him for today?
I praise You, loving God, that no valley is deeper than Your love.
INSIGHTMilitarily threatened by a large enemy coalition (2 Chronicles 20:1-2), Jehoshaphat turned to God for help (vv. 3-13). God assured His people, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s” (v. 15). Soon after God had delivered the Israelites from Egypt—with the Egyptian army in pursuit—Moses encouraged a terrified people, “Do not be afraid. . . . The Lord will fight for you” (Exodus 14:13-14). This promise, however, was contingent on their obedience and faithfulness. They were “to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all [their] heart and . . . soul” (Joshua 22:5; see 23:6-13). Jehoshaphat exhorted the people: “have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld” (2 Chronicles 20:20).
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Read: Hosea 11:1-4 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 3-5; Luke 14:25-35 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesTo them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek. Hosea 11:4A 2017 video of a dad comforting his two-month-old son while the baby received his routine vaccinations garnered international attention for the way it captured a dad’s love for his child. After the nurse finished administering the vaccinations, the dad tenderly held his son close to his cheek, and the boy stopped sobbing within seconds. There’s almost nothing more reassuring than the tender care of a loving parent.
In Scripture, there are many beautiful descriptions of God as a loving parent, images that invoke God’s deep love for His children. Old Testament prophet Hosea was given a message to deliver to the Israelites living in the Northern Kingdom during the time of the divided kingdom. He called them to return to a relationship with God. Hosea reminded the Israelites of God’s love for them as he pictured God as a gentle Father: “when Israel was a child, I loved him” (Hosea 11:1) and “to them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek” (v. 4).
This same reassuring promise of God’s loving care is true for us. Whether we seek His tender care after a season where we’ve rejected His love or because of pain and suffering in our lives, He calls us His children (1 John 3:1) and His comforting arms are open to receive us (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
How have you experienced the love of God as a caring Father? What concerns might you bring to Him today?
Heavenly Father, thank You that You call me Your child and provide tender care when I run to You.
INSIGHTGiven Hosea’s assignment to demonstrate love, it should be no surprise that he’s been called “John (the apostle of love) of the Old Testament.” God told Hosea to “go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods” (Hosea 3:1). Descriptors for this kind of love include words like relentless, ceaseless, loyal, unconditional. It’s a pursuing love; one that releases one from slavery and bondage (11:1), pursues those who stray (v. 2), and accompanies its objects in various stages of development because they’re loved (vv. 3-4). Believers in Jesus are no strangers to God’s tender love. The one who “demonstrate[ed] his own love for us . . . while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8) is the one who loves us enough to pursue us when we stray (see Hebrews 12:5-6).
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As thousands of Ukrainian women and children arrived at Berlin’s railway station fleeing war, they were met with a surprise—German families holding handmade signs offering refuge in their homes. “Can host two people!” one sign read. “Big room [available],” read another. Asked why she offered such hospitality to strangers, one woman said her mother had needed refuge while fleeing the Nazis, and she wanted to help others in such need.
In Deuteronomy, God calls the Israelites to care for those far from their homelands. Why? Because He’s the defender of the fatherless, the widow, and the foreigner (10:18), and because the Israelites knew what such vulnerability felt like: “for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt” (v. 19). Empathy was to motivate their care.
But there’s a flip side to this too. When the widow at Zarephath welcomed the foreigner Elijah into her home, she was the one blessed (1 Kings 17:9–24), just as Abraham was blessed by his three foreign visitors (Genesis 18:1–15). God often uses hospitality to bless the host, not just the guest.
Welcoming strangers into your home is hard, but those German families may be the real beneficiaries. As we too respond to the vulnerable with God’s empathy, we may be surprised at the gifts He gives us through them.
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After I’d gotten settled into the chamber, my body floating comfortably above the water, the room went dark and the gentle music that had been playing in the background went silent. I’d read that isolation tanks were therapeutic, offering relief for stress and anxiety. But this was like nothing I’d ever encountered. It felt like the chaos of the world had stopped, and I could clearly hear my innermost thoughts. I left the experience balanced and rejuvenated, reminded that there is power in stillness.
We can rest most comfortably in the stillness of the presence of God, who renews our strength and grants us the wisdom we need to tackle the challenges we face each day. When we’re still, silencing the noise and removing distractions in our lives, God strengthens us so we can hear His gentle voice more clearly (Psalms 37:7).
While sensory deprivation chambers are certainly one form of stillness, God offers us a simpler way to spend uninterrupted time with Him. He says, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father” (Matthew 6:6). God will guide our steps and allow His righteousness to shine brightly through us when we seek the answers to life’s challenges in the stillness of His magnificent presence (Psalm 37:5–6).
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Just before Easter 2018, a terrorist entered a supermarket in Trèbes, France, killing two people and taking a third woman hostage. When efforts to free the woman failed, policeman Arnaud Beltrame made the terrorist an offer: release the woman and take him instead.
Arnaud’s offer was shocking because it went against the popular wisdom of our day. You can always tell a culture’s “wisdom” by the sayings it celebrates, like the celebrity quotes that get posted on social media. “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams,” one popular quote reads. “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line,” says another. “Do what you have to do, for you,” states a third. Had Arnaud followed such advice, he’d have put himself first and run.
The apostle James says there are two kinds of wisdom in the world: one “earthly,” another “heavenly.” The first is marked by selfish ambition and disorder (James 3:14–16); the second, by humility, submission, and peacemaking (vv. 13, 17–18). Earthly wisdom puts self first. Heavenly wisdom favors others, leading to a life of humble deeds (v. 13).
The terrorist accepted Arnaud’s offer. The hostage was released, Arnaud was shot, and that Easter the world witnessed an innocent man dying for someone else.
Heavenly wisdom leads to humble deeds because it places God above self (Proverbs 9:10). Which wisdom are you following today?
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Each summer when I was a child, I would travel two hundred miles to enjoy a week with my grandparents. I wasn’t aware until later how much wisdom I soaked up from those two people I loved. Their life experiences and walk with God had given them perspectives that my young mind couldn’t yet imagine. Conversations with them about the faithfulness of God assured me that God is trustworthy and fulfills every promise He makes.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a teenager when an angel visited her. The incredible news brought by Gabriel must have been overwhelming, yet she willingly accepted the task with grace (Luke 1:38). But perhaps her visit with her elderly relative Elizabeth—who was also in the midst of a miraculous pregnancy (some scholars believe she may have been sixty years old)—brought her comfort as Elizabeth enthusiastically confirmed Gabriel’s words that she was the mother of the promised Messiah (vv. 39–45).
As we grow and mature in Christ, as my grandparents did, we learn that He keeps his promises. He kept His promise of a child for Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah (vv. 57–58). And that son, John the Baptist, became the harbinger of a promise made hundreds of years before—one that would change the course of humanity’s future. The promised Messiah—the Savior of the world—was coming! (Matthew 1:21–23).
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The air smelled of leather and oats as we stood in the barn where my friend Michelle was teaching my daughter to ride a horse. Michelle’s white pony opened its mouth as she demonstrated how to place the metal bit behind its teeth. As she pulled the bridle over its ears, Michelle explained that the bit was important because it allowed the rider to slow the horse and steer it to the left or right.
A horse’s bit, like the human tongue, is small but important. Both have great influence over something big and powerful—for the bit, it’s the horse. For the tongue, it’s our words (James 3:3, 5).
Our words can run in different directions. “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings” (v. 9). Unfortunately, the Bible warns that it’s very hard to control our speech because words spring from our hearts (Luke 6:45). Thankfully, God’s Spirit, Who indwells every believer, constantly helps us grow in patience, goodness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). As we cooperate with the Spirit, our hearts change and so do our words. Profanity turns to praise. Lying gives way to the power of truth. Criticism transforms into encouragement.
Taming the tongue isn’t just about training ourselves to say the right things at the right time. It’s about accepting the Holy Spirit’s guidance, as a horse responds to a bit, so that our words generate the kindness and encouragement our world needs.
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The convention center darkened, and thousands of us university students bowed our heads as the speaker led us in a prayer of commitment. As he welcomed those to stand who felt called to serve in overseas missions, I could feel my friend Lynette leave her seat and knew she was promising to live and serve in the Philippines. Yet I felt no urge to stand. Seeing the needs in the United States, I wanted to share God’s love in my native land. But a decade later I would make my home in Britain, seeking to serve God among the people He gave me as my neighbors. My ideas about how I would live my life changed when I realized that God invited me on an adventure different from what I had anticipated.
Jesus often surprised those He met, including the fishermen He called to follow Him. When Christ gave them a new mission to fish for people, Peter and Andrew left their nets “at once” and followed Him (Matthew 4:20), and James and John “immediately” left their boat (v. 22). They set off on this new adventure with Jesus, trusting Him yet not knowing where they were going.
God, of course, calls many people to serve Him right where they are! Whether staying or going, we can all look to Him expectantly to surprise us with wonderful experiences and opportunities to live for Him in ways we might never have dreamed possible.
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Months after suffering a miscarriage, Valerie decided to have a garage sale. Gerald, a neighbor craftsman a few miles away, eagerly bought the baby crib she was selling. While there, his wife talked with Valerie and learned about her loss. After hearing of her situation on the way home, Gerald decided to use the crib to craft a keepsake for Valerie. A week later he tearfully presented her with a beautiful bench. “There’s good people out there, and here’s proof,” Valerie said.
Like Valerie, Ruth and Naomi suffered great loss. Naomi’s husband and two sons had died. And now she and her bereft daughter-in-law Ruth had no heirs and no one to provide for them (Ruth 1:1–5). That’s where Boaz stepped in. When Ruth went to a field to pick up leftover grain, Boaz—the owner—asked about her. When he learned who she was, he was kind to her (2:5–9). Amazed, Ruth asked, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes?” (v. 10). He replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband” (v. 11).
Boaz later married Ruth and provided for Naomi (chap. 4). Through their marriage, a forefather of David—and of Jesus—was born. As God used Gerald and Boaz to help transform another’s grief, He can work through us to show kindness and empathy to others in pain.
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In a poem that begins, “I’m nobody! Who are you?” Emily Dickinson playfully challenges all the effort people tend to put into being “somebody,” advocating instead for the joyful freedom of blissful anonymity. For “How dreary – to be – Somebody! How public – like a Frog – / To tell one’s name – the livelong June / To an admiring Bog!”
Finding freedom in letting go of the need to be “somebody” in some ways echoes the testimony of the apostle Paul. Before he met Christ, Paul had a long list of seemingly impressive religious credentials and achievements, apparent “reasons to put confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:4).
But encountering Jesus changed everything. When Paul saw how hollow his religious fervor and achievements were in light of Christ’s sacrificial love, he confessed, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. . . I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him” (vv. 8–9). His only remaining ambition was “to know Christ . . . the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (v. 10).
It’s dreary, indeed, to attempt on our own to become “somebody.” But as Paul discovered, to know Jesus, to lose ourselves in His self-giving love and life, is to find ourselves again (v. 9), finally free and whole.
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“This morning I thought I was worth a great deal of money, now I don’t know that I have a dollar.” Former US president Ulysses S. Grant said those words the day he was swindled out of his life’s savings by a business partner. Months later Grant was diagnosed with incurable cancer. Concerned about providing for his family, he accepted an offer from author Mark Twain to publish his memoirs, which he completed a week before he died.
The Bible tells us of another person who faced grave hardships. Jacob believed his son Joseph had been “torn to pieces” by a “ferocious animal” (Genesis 37:33). Then his son Simeon was held captive in a foreign country, and Jacob feared his son Benjamin would be taken from him as well. Overcome, he cried out, “Everything is against me!” (42:36).
But it wasn’t. Little did Jacob know that his son Joseph was very much alive, and that God was at work “behind the scenes” to restore his family. Their story illustrates how God can be trusted even when we can’t see His hand in our circumstances.
Grant’s memoirs proved to be a great success and his family was well cared for. Though he didn’t live to see it, his believing wife did. Our vision is limited, but God’s isn’t. And with Jesus as our hope, “if God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). May we place our trust in Him today.
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Fast-food restaurant worker Kevin Ford hadn’t missed a shift in twenty-seven years. After a video surfaced showing his humble gratitude for a modest gift he received to commemorate his decades of service, thousands of people rallied together to show kindness to him. “It’s like a dream, a dream come true, that nobody can even think of
this,” he said when a fundraising effort brought in $250,000 in just over a week. Jehoiachin, the exiled king of Judah, was also the recipient of extreme kindness. He’d been incarcerated for thirty-seven years before the benevolence of the Babylonian king resulted in his release. “[The king] freed him from prison. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon” (Jeremiah 52:31–32). Jehoiachin was given a new position, new clothes, and a new residence. His new life was fully funded by the king.
This story pictures what happens spiritually when, out of no contributions from themselves or others, believers in Jesus’ death and resurrection are rescued from their estrangement from God. They’re brought from darkness and death into light and life; they’re brought into the family of God because of the extreme kindness of God.
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As the mask mandate requirements during the pandemic loosened, I struggled to remember to keep a mask handy for where they were still required—like my daughter’s school. One day when I needed a mask, I found just one in my car: the one I avoided wearing because it had “BLESSED” written across the front.
I prefer to wear masks without messages, and I believe that the word on the mask I found is overused. But I had no choice, so I reluctantly put the mask on. And when I nearly showed my annoyance with a new receptionist at the school, I caught myself partly because of the word on my mask. I didn’t want to look like a hypocrite, walking around with “BLESSED” scrawled across my mouth while showing impatience to a person trying to figure out a complicated system.
Though the letters on my mask reminded me of my witness for Christ, the words of Scripture in my heart should be a true reminder to be patient with others. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “You are a letter from Christ, . . . written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:3). The Holy Spirit who “gives life” (v. 6), can help us live out “love, joy, peace” and, yes, “patience” (Galatians 5:22). We are truly blessed by His presence within us!
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In the late 1700s, a young man discovered a mysterious depression on Nova Scotia’s Oak Island. Guessing that pirates—perhaps even Captain Kidd himself—had buried treasure there, he and a couple of companions started digging. They never found any treasure, but the rumor took on a life of its own. Over the centuries, others continued digging at the site—expending a great amount of time and expense. The hole is now more than 100 feet (30 meters) deep.
Such obsessions betray the emptiness in the human heart. A story in the Bible shows how one man’s behavior revealed just such a void in his heart. Gehazi had long been a reliable servant of the great prophet Elisha. But when Elisha declined the lavish gifts of a military commander whom God had healed of leprosy, Gehazi concocted a story to get some of the loot (2 Kings 5:22). When Gehazi returned home, he lied to the prophet (v. 25). But Elisha knew. He asked him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you?” (v. 26). In the end, Gehazi got what he wanted, but lost what was important (v. 27).
Jesus taught us not to pursue this world’s treasures and to instead “store up . . . treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20).
Beware of any shortcuts to your heart’s desires. Following Jesus is the way to fill the emptiness with something real.
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Following the Sunday morning worship service, my Moscow host took me to lunch at a restaurant outside the Kremlin. Upon arrival, we noticed a line of newlywed couples in wedding garb approaching the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin wall. The happiness of their wedding day intentionally included remembering the sacrifices others had made to help make such a day possible. It was a sobering sight as the couples took pictures by the memorial before laying wedding flowers at its base.
All of us have cause to be thankful for others who, in one way or another, made sacrifices to bring a measure of fullness to our lives. None of those sacrifices are unimportant, but neither are those sacrifices the most important. It’s only at the foot of the cross where we see the sacrifice Jesus made for us and begin to understand how thoroughly our lives are indebted to the Savior.
To that end, coming to the Lord’s Table to take communion reminds us of Jesus’ sacrifice—pictured in the bread and cup. Paul wrote, “whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). May our times at His table remind us to live every day in remembrance and gratitude of all that Jesus’ sacrifice has done in us and for us.
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As a traveling executive, Shawn Seipler wrestled with an odd question. What happens to leftover soap in hotel rooms? Thrown out as trash for landfills, millions of soap bars could instead find new life, Seipler believed. So he launched Clean the World, a recycling venture that has helped more than eight thousand hotels, cruise lines, and resorts turn millions of pounds of discarded soap into sterilized, newly molded soap bars. Sent to people in need in more than one hundred countries, the recycled soap helps prevent countless hygiene-related illnesses and deaths.
As Seipler said, “I know it sounds funny, but that little bar of soap on the counter in your hotel room can literally save a life.”
The gathering up of something used or dirty to give it new life is also one of the most loving traits of our Savior, Jesus. In that manner, after He fed a crowd of five thousand with five small barley loaves and two small fish, He still said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted” (John 6:12).
In our lives, when we feel “washed up,” God sees us not as wasted lives but as His miracles. Never throwaways in His sight, we have divine potential for new kingdom work. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). What makes us new? Christ within us.
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The seemingly impossible happened when hurricane-force winds changed the flow of the mighty Mississippi River. In August 2021, Hurricane Ida came ashore on the coast of Louisiana, and the astonishing result was a “negative flow,” meaning water actually flowed upriver for several hours.
Experts estimate that over its life cycle a hurricane can expend energy equivalent to 10,000 nuclear bombs! Such incredible power to change the course of flowing water helps me understand the Israelites’ response to a far more significant “negative flow” recorded in Exodus.
While fleeing the Egyptians who’d enslaved them for centuries, the Israelites came to the edge of the Red Sea. In front of them was a wide body of water and behind them was the heavily armored Egyptian army. In that seemingly impossible situation, “the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land . . . and the Israelites went through the sea” (Exodus 14:21–22). Rescued in that incredible display of power, “the people feared the Lord” (v. 31).
Responding with awe is natural after experiencing the immensity of God’s power. But it didn’t end there; the Israelites also “put their trust” in God (v. 31).
As we experience God’s power in creation, we too can stand in awe of His might and place our trust in Him.
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When Pastor Bob suffered an injury that affected his voice, he entered fifteen years of crisis and depression. What, he wondered, does a pastor do who can’t talk? He struggled with this question, pouring out his grief and confusion to God. He reflected, “I only knew one thing to do—to go after the Word of God.” As he spent time reading the Bible, his love for God grew: “I’ve devoted my life to absorbing and immersing myself in the Scripture because faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God.”
We find his phrase “faith comes from hearing” in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul longed for all of his fellow Jewish people to believe in Christ and be saved (Romans 10:9). How would they believe? Through the faith that “comes from hearing the message . . . through the word about Christ” (v. 17).
Pastor Bob seeks to receive and believe in Christ’s message, especially as he reads the Bible. He can only speak for an hour a day and has constant pain when he does so, but he continues to find peace and contentment from God through his immersion in Scripture. So too we can trust that Jesus will reveal Himself to us in our struggles. He will increase our faith as we hear His message, whatever challenges we face.
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A dozen teams, each including three people standing shoulder to shoulder, prepared for the four-legged race. Bound to the person in the middle by colorful rags at their ankles and knees, each trio locked their eyes on the finish line. When the whistle blew, the teams lunged forward. Most of them fell and struggled to regain their footing. A few groups chose to hop instead of walk. Some gave up. But one team delayed their start, confirmed their plan, and communicated as they moved forward. They stumbled along the way but pressed on and soon passed all the teams. Their willingness to cooperate, step-by-step, enabled them to cross the finish line together.
Living for God within the community of believers in Jesus often feels as frustrating as trying to move forward during a four-legged race. We often stumble when interacting with people who hold different opinions from us. Frequently, we push forward when others aren’t with us on the same page.
Peter speaks of prayer, hospitality, and using our gifts to align ourselves in unity for life ahead. He urges believers in Jesus to “love each other deeply” (1 Peter 4:8) to be hospitable without complaining, and to “serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (v. 10). When we ask God to help us communicate and cooperate, we can lead the race in showing the world how to celebrate differences and live together in unity.
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The summer after my sophomore year of college, a classmate died unexpectedly. I’d seen him just a few days prior and he looked fine. We and our classmates were young and in what we thought was the prime of our lives, having just become sisters and brothers after pledging our respective sorority and fraternity.
But what I remember most about my classmate’s death was witnessing my fraternity friends live out what James calls true religion. The men in his fraternity became like brothers of the sister of the deceased. They attended her wedding and traveled to her baby shower years after her brother’s death. One even gifted her a cell phone to contact him whenever she needed to call.
The “brothers” remind of what James calls “genuine religion” (James 1:27 nlt): “to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (v. 27). While my friend’s sister wasn’t an orphan in the literal sense, she no longer had her brother. Her new “brothers” filled in the gap.
And that’s what all of us who want to practice true and pure life in Jesus can do—“do what [Scripture] says” (v. 22), including caring for those in need (2:14–17). Our faith in Him prompts us to look after the vulnerable as we keep ourselves from the negative influences of the world as He helps us. After all, it’s the only true religion God accepts.
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In Texas, where I grew up, there were festive parades and picnics in Black communities every June 19. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I learned the heartbreaking significance of Juneteenth (a word combining “June” and “nineteenth”) celebrations. Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas learned that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation giving them their freedom—two-and-a-half years earlier. Enslaved people in Texas kept living in slavery because they didn’t know they had been freed.
It's possible to be free and yet live as slaves. In Galatians, Paul wrote about another kind of slavery: living life under the crushing demands of religious rules. In this pivotal verse, Paul encouraged his readers that “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves by burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). Believers in Jesus had been set free from external regulations including what to eat and who to befriend. Many, however, still lived as if they were enslaved.
Unfortunately, we can do the same thing today. But the reality is that Jesus set us free from living in fear of man-made religious standards the moment we trusted in Him. Freedom has been proclaimed. Let’s live it out in His power.
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The garage of my childhood home holds many memories. On Saturday mornings, my dad would roll our car down the driveway so we had room to work—with my favorite project being a broken go-kart we’d found. On that garage floor, we gave it new wheels, attached a sporty, plastic windshield, and—with Dad on the street looking out for traffic—I would race down the driveway with such excitement! Looking back, I see more was going on in that garage than simply fixing go-karts. Instead, a young boy was being shaped by his dad—and getting a glimpse of God in the process.
Human beings have been patterned on God’s own nature (Genesis 1:27–28). Human parenting has its origin in God too, for He is “the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name” (Ephesians 3:14–15). Just as parents imitate God’s life-giving abilities by bringing children into the world, when they nurture and protect their kids, they express qualities not sourced in themselves but in Father God. He is the model all parenting is based on.
My father wasn’t perfect. Like every father and mother, his parenting sometimes failed to imitate heaven’s. But when it so often did imitate God, it gave me a glimpse of God’s own nurture and protection—right there, as we fixed go-karts on the garage floor.
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The most powerful orators in history are often those leaders who have used their voices to bring about positive change. Consider Frederick Douglass, whose speeches on abolition and liberty spurred a movement that helped lead to the end of slavery in the United States. What if he’d chosen to be silent? We all possess the capacity to use our voice to inspire and help others, but the fear of speaking out can be paralyzing. In the moments when we feel overwhelmed by this fear, we can look to God, our source of divine wisdom and encouragement.
When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations, he immediately began to doubt his own abilities. He cried out, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young” (Jeremiah 1:6). But God wouldn’t allow Jeremiah’s fear to get in the way of his divine calling to inspire a generation through his voice. Instead, He instructed the prophet to simply trust God by saying and doing whatever He commanded (v. 7). In addition to affirming Jeremiah, He also equipped him. “I have put my words in your mouth” (v. 9), He assured him.
When we ask God to show us how He wants to use us, He’ll equip us to carry out our purpose. With His help, we can boldly use our voice to make a positive impact on those around us.
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A man owned more than $400 million in bitcoin, but he couldn’t access a cent of it. He lost the password for the device storing his funds, and disaster loomed: after ten password attempts, the device would self-destruct. A fortune lost forever. For a decade, the man had agonized, desperately trying to recall the password to his life-altering investment. He tried eight passwords and failed eight times. In 2021, he lamented that he had just two more chances before it all went up in smoke.
We’re a forgetful people. Sometimes we forget small things (where we placed our keys), and sometimes we forget massive things (a password that unlocks millions). Thankfully, God isn’t like us. He never forgets the things or people that are dear to Him. In times of distress, Israel feared that God had forgotten them. “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me” (Isaiah 49:14). Isaiah assured them, however, that their God always remembers. “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast?” the prophet asks. Of course, a mother will not forget her suckling child. Still, even if a mother were to commit such an absurdity, we know God will never forget us (v. 15).
“See,” God says, “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (v. 16). God has etched our names into His own being. Let’s remember that He can’t forget us—the ones He loves.
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While our family quarantined due to the global pandemic, we took on an ambitious project—an 18,000-piece puzzle! Even though we worked on it almost daily, often we felt like we weren’t making much progress. Five months after we began, we finally celebrated adding the final piece to the nine feet long and six feet wide puzzle that covered our dining room floor.
Sometimes my life feels a bit like a giant puzzle—many pieces in place, but a whole lot more still lying in a jumble on the floor. While I know that God is at work transforming me to be more and more like Jesus, sometimes it can be hard to see much progress.
I take great comfort in Paul’s encouragement in his letter to the Philippians when he said he prayed for them with joy because of the good work they were doing (1:3–4). But his confidence came not in their abilities but in God, believing that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (v. 6).
God has promised to finish His work in us. Like a puzzle, there may be sections that still need our attention, and there are times when we don’t seem to make much progress. But we can have confidence that our faithful God is still putting the pieces together.
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Jimmy hadn’t allowed the reality of social unrest, danger, and discomfort to keep him from traveling to one of the poorest countries in the world to encourage ministry couples. The steady stream of text messages to our team back home revealed the challenges he encountered. “Okay, boys, activate the prayer line. We’ve gone ten miles in the last two hours. . . . Car has overheated a dozen times.” Transportation setbacks meant that he arrived just before midnight to preach to those who’d waited for five hours. Later we received a text with a different tone. “Amazing, sweet time of fellowship. . . . About a dozen people came forward for prayer. It was a powerful night!”
Faithfully serving God can be challenging. The exemplars of faith listed in Hebrews 11 would agree. Compelled by their faith in God, ordinary men and women faced uncomfortable and unfathomable circumstances. ”Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment” (v. 36). Their faith compelled them to take risks and rely on God for the outcome. The same is true for us. Living out our faith may not take us to risky places far away, but it may well take us across the street or across the campus or to an empty seat in a lunchroom or boardroom. Risky? Perhaps. But the rewards, now or later, will be well worth the risks as God helps us.
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My brothers and our families spent the day moving our parents’ belongings from our childhood home. Late in the afternoon we went back for one last pickup and, knowing this would be our final time in our family home, posed for a picture on the back porch. I was fighting tears when my mom turned to me and said, “It’s all empty now.” That pushed me over the edge. The house that holds fifty-four years of memories is empty now. I try not to think of it.
The ache in my heart resonates with Jeremiah’s first words of Lamentations: “How deserted lies the city, once so full of people!” (1:1). An important difference is that Jerusalem was empty “because of her many sins” (v. 5). God exiled His people into Babylon because they rebelled against Him and refused to repent (v. 18). My parents weren’t moving because of sin, at least not directly. But ever since Adam’s sin in the garden of Eden, each person’s health has declined over their lifetime. As we age, it’s not unusual for us to downsize into homes that are easier to maintain.
I’m thankful for the memories that made our modest home special. Pain is the price of love. I know the next goodbye won’t be to my parents’ home but to my parents themselves. And I cry. I cry out to Jesus to come, put an end to goodbyes, and restore all things. My hope is in Him.
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The look on the young teen’s face reflected angst and shame. Heading into the 2022 Winter Olympics her success as a figure skater was unparalleled—a string of championships had made her a lock to win a gold medal. But then a test result revealed a banned substance in her system. With the immense weight of expectations and condemnation pressing down on her, she fell multiple times during her free-skate program and didn’t stand on the victors’ platform—no medal. She’d displayed artistic freedom and creativity on the ice prior to the scandal, but now an accusation of a broken rule bound her to crushed dreams.
From the early days of humanity, God has revealed the importance of obedience as we exercise our free will. Disobedience led to devasting effects for Adam, Eve, and all of us as sin brought brokenness and death to our world (Genesis 3:6–19). It didn’t have to be that way. God had told the two, “You are free to eat from any tree” but one (2:16–17). Thinking their “eyes [would] be opened, and [they would] be like God,” they ate of the banned “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (3:5–7). Sin, shame, and death followed.
God graciously provides freedom and so many good things for us to enjoy (John 10:10). In love, He also calls us to obey Him for our good. May He help us choose obedience and find life full of joy and free of shame.
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A reminder of the beauty and brevity of life grows outside my front door. Last spring my wife planted moonflower vines, so named because of their large and round white blooms that resemble a full moon. Each flower opens for one night and then withers in the bright sun the following morning, never to bloom again. But the plant is prolific, and every evening presents a fresh parade of flowers. We love watching it as we come and go each day, wondering what new beauty will greet us when we return.
These fragile flowers call to mind a vital truth from Scripture. The apostle Peter, recalling the words of the prophet Isaiah, wrote, “You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall’” but God keeps His promises forever! (1 Peter 1:23–25).
Like flowers in a garden, our lives on Earth are short when compared with eternity. But God has spoken beauty into our brevity. Through the good news of Jesus, we make a fresh beginning with God and trust His promise of unlimited life in His loving presence. When Earth’s sun and moon are but a memory, we will praise Him still.
The post God’s Garden appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
As I prepared to ride a zip-line from the highest point of a rainforest on the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia, fear welled up inside me. Seconds before I jumped from the platform, thoughts of everything that could go wrong filled my mind. But with all the courage I could muster (and few options for turning back), I released. Dropping from the pinnacle of the forest, I whizzed through the lush green trees, wind flowing through my hair and my worries slowly fading. As I moved through the air allowing gravity to carry me, my view of the next platform became clearer and, with a gentle stop, I knew I’d arrived safely.
My time on the zip line pictured for me the times God has us undertake new, challenging endeavors. Scripture teaches us to put our trust in God and “lean not on [our] own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). when we feel doubt and uncertainty. When our minds are filled with fear and doubt, our paths can be unclear and distorted. But once we’ve made the decision to step out in faith by submitting our way to God, “He will make [our] paths straight” (v. 6). We become more confident taking leaps of faith by learning who God is through spending time in prayer and the Scriptures.
We can find freedom and tranquility even in life’s challenges as we hang on to God and allow Him to guide us through the changes in our lives.
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Retired teacher Debbie Stephens Browder is on a mission to convince as many people as possible to plant trees. The reason? Heat. Extreme heat in the United States is the number-one weather-related cause of death. In response, Stephens Browder says, “I’m starting with trees.” The canopy of heat protection that trees provide is one significant way to protect communities. Stephens Browder explains, “It’s life or death. It’s not just about beautifying the community. It’s about saving lives.”
The fact that shade isn’t just refreshing but potentially life-saving would have been well known to the psalmist who wrote Psalm 121; in the Middle East, the risk of sunstroke is constant. This reality adds depth to the psalm’s vivid description of God as our surest place of safety, the One in whose care “the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night” (v. 6).
This verse can’t mean that believers in Jesus are somehow immune to pain or loss in this life (or that heat isn’t dangerous!). After all, Christ tells us, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). But this metaphor of God as our shade does vividly reassure us that, whatever comes our way, our lives are held in His watchful care (Psalm 121:7–8). There we can find rest through trusting Him, knowing that nothing can separate us from His love (John 10:28; Romans 8:39).
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The memories flooded back when I rustled through some envelopes and glimpsed a sticker that said, “I’ve had an eye test.” In my mind I saw my four-year-old son proudly wearing the sticker after enduring stinging eyedrops. Because of weak eye muscles, he had to wear a patch for hours each day over his strong eye—thereby forcing the weaker eye to develop. He also needed surgery. He met these challenges one by one, looking to us as his parents for comfort and depending on God with childlike faith. Through these challenges he developed resilience.
People who endure trials and suffering are often changed by the experience. But the apostle Paul went further and said to “glory in our sufferings” because through them we develop perseverance. With perseverance comes character; and with character, hope (Romans 5:3–4). Paul certainly knew trials—not only shipwrecks but imprisonment for his faith. Yet he wrote to the believers in Rome that “hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (v. 5). He recognized that God’s Spirit keeps our hope in Jesus alive when we put our trust in Him.
Whatever hardships you face, know that God will pour out His grace and mercy on you. He loves you.
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In 2010, a tsunami struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing more than four hundred people. But the deaths could have been prevented or minimized had the tsunami warning system been working properly. The tsunami detection networks (buoys) had become detached and drifted away.
Jesus said His disciples had a responsibility to warn fellow disciples to things that could harm them spiritually—including unrepentant sin. He outlined a process in which a believer who’s been sinned against by another can humbly, privately, and prayerfully “point out” the sin to the offending believer (Matthew 18:15). If the person repents, then the conflict can be resolved and relationship restored. If the believer refuses to repent, then “one or two others” can help resolve the conflict (v. 16). If the sinning person still doesn’t repent, then the issue is to be brought before “the church” (v. 17). If the offender still won’t repent, the individual is to be removed from assembly fellowship, but he or she can certainly still be prayed for and shown Christ’s love.
As believers in Jesus, let’s pray for the wisdom and courage we need to care for one another enough to lovingly warn others of the dangers of unrepentant sin and of the joys of restoration to our heavenly Father and other believers. Jesus will be “there . . . with [us]” as we do (v. 20).
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Read: Exodus 20:1–6 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 25–27; John 16 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesYou shall not make for yourself an image. Exodus 20:4Here are some vacation tips: The next time you’re traveling through Middleton, Wisconsin, you might want to visit the National Mustard Museum. For those of us who feel that one mustard is plenty, this place amazes, featuring 6,090 different mustards from around the world. In McLean, Texas, you might be surprised to run across the Barbed Wire Museum—or more surprised there is such a passion for, well . . . fencing.
It’s telling what kinds of things we choose to make important. One writer says you could do worse than spend an afternoon at the Banana Museum (though we beg to differ).
We laugh in fun, yet it’s sobering to admit we maintain our own museums—places of the heart where we celebrate certain idols of our own making. God instructs us, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3) and “you shall not bow down to them or worship them” (v. 5). But we do anyway, creating our own graven gods, perhaps of wealth or lust or success—or of some other fill-in-the-blank “treasure” we worship in secret.
It’s easy to read this passage and miss the point. Yes, God holds us accountable for the museums of sin we create. But He also speaks of “showing love to a thousand generations of those who love [Him]” (v. 6). He knows how trivial our “museums” really are. He knows our true satisfaction lies only in our love for Him.
What is an area of sin that you keep secret? How will you give it to God?
Dear God, I want You to be at the center of my life. Help me rid myself of the idols I keep.
INSIGHTAlthough the wording is different, the New Testament reiterates the teaching of the first and second commandments—worship is reserved for God alone (Exodus 20:3–6). When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He replied, “The most important one . . . is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’ ” (Mark 12:29–30). Paul’s teaching is in the same vein: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1). Mercy from God is the basis for dedication to God. John’s teaching is succinct but sure: “keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).
The post Places of the Heart appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
I recently came across a helpful word: wintering. Just as winter is a time of slowing down in much of the natural world, author Katherine May uses this word to describe our need to rest and recuperate during life’s “cold” seasons. I found the analogy helpful after losing my father to cancer, which sapped me of energy for months. Resentful of this forced slowing down, I fought against my winter, praying summer’s life would return. But I had much to learn.
Ecclesiastes famously says there’s “a season for every activity under the heavens”—a time to plant and to harvest, to weep and to laugh, to mourn and to dance (3:1–4). I had read these words for years but only started to understand them in my wintering season. For though we have little control over them, each season is finite and will pass when its work is done. And while we can’t always fathom what it is, God is doing something significant in us through them (v. 11). My time of mourning wasn’t over. When it was, dancing would return. Just as plants and animals don’t fight winter, I needed to rest and let it do its renewing work.
“Lord,” a friend prayed, “would You do Your good work in Sheridan during this difficult season.” It was a better prayer than mine. For in God’s hands, seasons are purposeful things. Let’s submit to His renewing work in each one.
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Read: John 13:36–38; 21:18–19 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 21–22; John 14 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10:38In ad 155, the early church father Polycarp was threatened with death by fire for his faith in Christ. He replied, “For eighty and six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. And how can I now blaspheme my king who saved me?” Polycarp’s response can be an inspiration for us when we face extreme trial because of our faith in Jesus, our King.
Just hours before Jesus’ death, Peter boldly pledged his allegiance to Christ: “I will lay down my life for you” (John 13:37). Jesus, who knew Peter better than Peter knew himself, replied, “Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” (v. 38). However, after Jesus’ resurrection, the same one who’d denied Him began to serve Him courageously and would eventually glorify Him through his own death (see 21:16–19).
Are you a Polycarp or a Peter? Most of us, if we’re honest, are more of a Peter with a “courage outage”—a failure to speak or act honorably as a believer in Jesus. Such occasions—whether in a classroom, boardroom, or breakroom—needn’t indelibly define us. When those failures occur, we must prayerfully dust ourselves off and turn to Jesus, the One who died for us and lives for us. He’ll help us to be faithful to Him and courageously live for Him daily in difficult places.
When do you need extra doses of courage to stand for Jesus? What do you find helpful in your witness for Him?
Heavenly Father, forgive me when I shrink back in fear and betray You by my words or actions. I need Your strength to live boldly as a believer in Jesus.
INSIGHTPeter’s words to Jesus in John 13:37 show his misunderstanding of who his teacher really was. He sincerely intended to lay his life down for his king—but not if that king went willingly to his death. Peter was prepared to fight Roman oppressors, and he did. Or at least tried to.
In John 18—not long after Jesus had told Peter that he’d deny Him—they stood together in a garden surrounded by Roman soldiers. As if to prove his willingness to die for Jesus, Peter leapt into action, swinging a sword and attacking one of the men.
The disciples—and many believers in Jesus in the years since—didn’t understand His mission. He came not to gain power, dominance, and control but to set all those things aside. As John would write years later in the last book of the Bible, our King isn’t a conquering lion, but a slain lamb (Revelation 5:5–6).
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After an officer searched me, I stepped into the county jail, signed the visitor’s log, and sat in the crowded lobby. I prayed silently, watching adults fidgeting and sighing while young children complained about the wait. Over an hour later, an armed guard called a list of names including mine. He led my group into a room and motioned us to our assigned chairs. When my stepson sat in the chair on the other side of the thick glass window and picked up the telephone receiver, the depth of my helplessness overwhelmed me. But as I wept, God assured me that my stepson was still within His reach.
In Psalm 139, David said to the Lord, “You know me . . . you are familiar with all my ways” (vv. 1–3). His proclamation of an all-knowing God led to a celebration of His intimate care and protection (v. 5). Overwhelmed by the vastness of God’s knowledge and the depth of His personal touch, David asked two rhetorical questions: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” (v. 7).
When we or our loved ones are stuck in situations that leave us feeling hopeless and helpless, God’s hand remains strong and steady. Even when we believe we’ve strayed too far for God’s loving redemption, we’re always within His reach.
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Read: Isaiah 2:1–5 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 17–18; John 13:1–20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHe will judge between the nations. Isaiah 2:4The longest international border in the world is shared by the United States and Canada, covering an incredible 5,525 miles of land and water. Workers regularly cut down ten feet of trees on both sides of the boundary to make the border line unmistakable. This lengthy ribbon of cleared land, called “the Slash,” is dotted by more than eight thousand stone markers so visitors always know where the dividing line falls.
The physical deforestation of “the Slash” represents a separation of government and cultures. As believers in Jesus, we look forward to a time when God will reverse that and unite all nations across the world under His rule. The prophet Isaiah spoke of a future where His temple will be firmly established and exalted (Isaiah 2:2). People from all nations will gather to learn God’s ways and “walk in his paths” (v. 3). No longer will we rely on human efforts that fail to maintain peace. As our true King, God will judge between nations and settle all disputes (v. 4).
Can you imagine a world without division and conflict? That’s what God promises to bring! Regardless of the disunity around us, we can “walk in the light of the Lord” (v. 5) and choose to give Him our allegiance now. We know that God rules over all, and He will someday unite His people under one banner.
What disunity in the world is heavy on your heart today? How does looking forward to God’s eternal kingdom give you strength?
Dear God, I acknowledge Your sovereignty over every power in the world today! You reign above it all.
INSIGHTThe prophet Isaiah is well known for writing about two themes: the nature and work of the coming Messiah and prophetic writing that both warns the reader and offers encouragement through hope-filled visions of the days to come.
Today’s reading, Isaiah 2:1–5, falls under prophetic writing. Verse 2 begins with the phrase “in the last days,” or when God’s plan of salvation is about to reach its final fulfillment. Isaiah sets everything he’s about to discuss in a future context. In verses 3–5, three distinct ideas emerge: the supremacy of the mountain of the Lord (v. 3)—the Jerusalem temple—here a symbol for the power and presence of God; the desire of the nations to flock to that mountain to learn from God Himself (v. 3); and God’s relationship to the nations and their disputes (v. 4). Isaiah’s writing challenges the people to join in God’s work and be a part of what’s coming.
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Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:12–28 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 15–16; John 12:27–50 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24Turning eighteen ushered in a new era in my daughter’s life: legally an adult, she now had the right to vote in future elections and would soon embark on life after graduating from high school. This shift had instilled in me a sense of urgency—I would have precious little time with her under my roof to impart to her the wisdom she’d need to face the world on her own: how to manage finances, stay alert to world issues, and make sound decisions.
My sense of duty to equip my daughter to handle her life was understandable. After all, I loved her and desired for her to flourish. But I realized that while I had an important role, it wasn’t solely—or even primarily—my job. In Paul’s words to the Thessalonians—a group of people he considered his children in the faith because he’d taught them about Jesus—he urged them to help one another (1 Thessalonians 5:14–15), but ultimately he trusted their growth to God. He acknowledged that God would “sanctify [them] through and through” (v. 23).
Paul trusted God to do what he couldn’t: prepare them—“spirit, soul and body”—for the eventual return of Jesus (v. 23). Though his letters to the Thessalonians contained instructions, his trust in God for their well-being and preparedness teaches us that growth in the lives of those we care for is ultimately in His hands (1 Corinthians 3:6).
How have you observed God helping you to grow in Him? Whose growth do you need to entrust to Him?
Father, thank You for being the initiator and finisher of my spiritual growth. Please help me to trust You for that good work.
For further study, read Heart, Soul, and Mind: Raising Kids to Know and Love God.
INSIGHTThe church at Thessalonica was one that benefited from Paul’s personal ministry. Thessalonica was a major city made up primarily of local Greeks and transplanted Romans. There was also a substantial enough Jewish population to necessitate and support a synagogue there (Acts 17:1). As was often his practice, Paul began his gospel ministry in the synagogue—proclaiming Jesus as the promised Messiah (vv. 3–4). Those who responded in faith formed the nucleus of the new church family, apparently meeting in the home of a local man named Jason (vv. 5, 7). Opposition from some of the local Jewish population forced the apostle to leave Thessalonica and make his way from there to Berea and ultimately to Athens.
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Read: Ezra 3:8–13 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 13–14; John 12:1–26 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesNo one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping. Ezra 3:13Angela’s family reeled with sorrow as they experienced three bereavements in just four weeks. After the one involving the sudden death of their nephew, Angela and her two sisters gathered around the kitchen table for three days, only leaving to buy an urn, get takeout, and attend the funeral. As they wept over his death, they also rejoiced over the ultrasound photos of the new life growing within their youngest sister.
In time, Angela found comfort and hope from the Old Testament book of Ezra. It describes God’s people returning to Jerusalem after the Babylonians destroyed the temple and deported them from their beloved city (see Ezra 1). As Ezra watched the temple being rebuilt, he heard joyful praises to God (3:10–11). But he also listened to the weeping of those who remembered life before exile (v. 12).
One verse especially consoled Angela: “No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise” (v. 13). She realized that even if she was drenched in deep sorrow, joy could still appear.
We too might grieve the death of a loved one or mourn a different loss. If so, we can express our cries of pain along with our moments of rejoicing to God, knowing that He hears us and gathers us in His arms.
Why do you think you can experience both joy and sorrow at the same time? How can you cultivate joy today?
Loving God, in this world we experience pain and suffering. Spark joy in me as I look to You for hope and peace.
INSIGHTThe book of Ezra captures the return of the Jews from Babylonian exile. Ezra 1–6 tells of the first return of fifty thousand led by Zerubbabel (538 bc). They rebuilt the altar (ch. 3), reinstituted the sacrifices, and attempted to rebuild the temple (536 bc). But the temple work stalled for sixteen years because of strong opposition from enemies (chs. 4–5). Under the ministry of Haggai and Zechariah, the temple was eventually completed in 516 bc. Ezra 7–10 records the second return of five thousand Jews eighty years later, now led by Ezra himself (458 bc). The third return led by Nehemiah (444 bc) is recorded in the book of Nehemiah.
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Read: Ezekiel 37:4–14 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 10–12; John 11:30–57 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. Ezekiel 37:5On November 4, 1966, a disastrous flood swept through Florence, Italy, submerging Giorgio Vasari’s renowned work of art The Last Supper under a pool of mud, water, and heating oil for more than twelve hours. With its paint softened and its wooden frame significantly damaged, many believed that the piece was beyond repair. However, after a tedious fifty-year conservation effort, experts and volunteers were able to overcome monumental obstacles and restore the valuable painting.
When the Babylonians conquered Israel, the people felt hopeless—surrounded by death and destruction and in need of restoration (see Lamentations 1). During this period of turmoil, God took the prophet Ezekiel to a valley and gave him a vision where he was surrounded by dry bones. “Can these bones live?” God asked. Ezekiel responded, “Lord, you alone know” (Ezekiel 37:3). God then told him to prophesy over the bones so they might live again. “As I was prophesying,” Ezekiel recounted, “there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together” (v. 7). Through this vision, God revealed to Ezekiel that Israel’s restoration could only come through Him.
When we feel as if things in life have been broken and are beyond repair, God assures us He can rebuild our shattered pieces. He’ll give us new breath and new life.
What’s broken in your life? How might you rely on God to bring restoration?
Dear God, parts of my life seem like they’ll never be restored. I’ve tried to fix them on my own, but my only hope of restoration is found in You.
For further study, read Wounded in Worship.
INSIGHTWe don’t know specific details about the valley that Ezekiel describes he was transported to “by the Spirit of the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:1). It could have been a vision of a valley that was the scene of a major tragedy or battle because having so many unburied bones in one place suggests a battle. God tells Ezekiel that this valley of bones symbolizes the nation of Israel as a whole (v. 11). Even the despair and death they were experiencing could be reversed by God’s Spirit breathing new life into them (v. 6) and returning them to their land (v. 12).
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Read: Habakkuk 3:11–19 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 7–9; John 11:1–29 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:18“I know Daddy’s coming home because he sent me flowers.” Those were my seven-year-old sister’s words to our mother when Dad was missing in action during wartime. Before Dad left for his mission, he preordered flowers for my sister’s birthday, and they arrived while he was missing. But she was right: Dad did come home—after a harrowing combat situation. And decades later, she still keeps the vase that held the flowers as a reminder to always hold on to hope.
Sometimes holding on to hope isn’t easy in a broken, sinful world. Daddies don’t always come home, and children’s wishes sometimes go unfulfilled. But God gives hope in the most difficult circumstances. In another time of war, the prophet Habakkuk predicted the Babylonian invasion of Judah (Habakkuk 1:6; see 2 Kings 24) but still affirmed that God is always good (Habakkuk 1:12–13). Remembering God’s kindness to His people in the past, Habakkuk proclaimed: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (3:17–18).
Some commentators believe Habakkuk’s name means “to cling.” We can cling to God as our ultimate hope and joy even in trials because He holds on to us and will never let go.
How does rejoicing in God help you in difficult times? What can you do to praise Him today?
Father, thank You that come what may, my future is bright with You!
INSIGHTThe context of Habakkuk 3:11–19 is Habakkuk’s prayer in verse 2: “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.” The prophet implored God to perform such mighty acts once again. Included among these miracles for the benefit of God’s people are the plagues against Egypt (v. 5; see also Exodus 7–13), Gideon’s victory over Midian (Habakkuk 3:7; Judges 6–7), the stopping of the sun in the sky as Joshua’s army fought the Amorites (Habakkuk 3:11; Joshua 10:12–14), and the deliverance of the Israelites through the Red Sea (Habakkuk 3:15; Exodus 14). Habakkuk had an appropriate fear of his powerful God, and he knew he could trust Him to the end in any circumstance (Habakkuk 3:16–19).
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Read: Acts 2:1–13 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 4–6; John 10:24–42 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAll of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:4During the discussion of a book on the Holy Spirit written by a ninety-four-year-old German theologian named Jürgen Moltmann, an interviewer asked him: “How do you activate the Holy Spirit? Can you take a pill? Do the pharmaceutical companies [deliver the Spirit]?” Moltmann’s bushy eyebrows shot up. Shaking his head, he grinned, answering in accented English. “What can I do? Don’t do anything. Wait on the Spirit, and the Spirit will come.”
Moltmann highlighted our mistaken belief that our energy and expertise make things happen. Acts reveals that God makes things happen. At the start of the church, it had nothing to do with human strategy or impressive leadership. Rather, the Spirit arrived “like the blowing of a violent wind” into a room of frightened, helpless, and bewildered disciples (2:2). Next, the Spirit shattered all ethnic superiorities by gathering people who were at odds into one new community. The disciples were as shocked as anyone to see what God was doing within them. They didn’t make anything happen; “the Spirit enabled them” (v. 4).
The church—and our shared work in the world—isn’t defined by what we can do. We’re entirely dependent on what only the Spirit can do. This allows us to be both bold and restful. On this day—the day we celebrate Pentecost—may we wait for the Spirit and respond.
How are you tempted to rely on your own efforts or tenacity? Where do you need to wait for what the Spirit can do?
God, I’ve exhausted myself by believing that I must make things happen. Holy Spirit, come and help me.
INSIGHTPentecost, mentioned here in Acts 2:1, was always celebrated fifty days after the first Sunday following Passover. It served as a centerpiece of Jewish worship and occurred during the Festival of Weeks (see Leviticus 23:15–21). Elsewhere, it’s referred to as the “Festival of Harvest” (Exodus 23:16) and the “day of firstfruits” (Numbers 28:26). The Pentecost in Acts 2 occurred on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Jesus. It’s significant that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles on this Day of Pentecost. They were the “firstfruits” of the new covenant God was implementing through His Son, Jesus (see Romans 8:23). Pentecost is a prime example of how the Old Testament points to Jesus and His work in our behalf on the cross.
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Read: Zechariah 4:4–10 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 1–3; John 10:1–23 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWho dares despise the day of small things? Zechariah 4:10Will I make the Olympics? The college swimmer worried her speed was too slow. But when math professor Ken Ono studied her swim techniques, he saw how to improve her time by six full seconds—a substantial difference at that level of competition. Attaching sensors to the swimmer’s back, he didn’t identify major changes to improve her time. Instead, Ono identified tiny corrective actions that, if applied, could make the swimmer more efficient in the water, making the winning difference.
Small corrective actions in spiritual matters can make a big difference for us too. The prophet Zechariah taught a similar principle to a remnant of discouraged Jews struggling, along with their builder Zerubbabel, to rebuild God’s temple after their exile. But “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” the Lord Almighty told Zerubbabel (Zechariah 4:6).
As Zechariah declared, “Who dares despise the day of small things?” (v. 10). The exiles had worried that the temple wouldn’t match the one built during King Solomon’s reign. But just as Ono’s swimmer made the Olympics—winning a medal after surrendering to small corrections—Zerubbabel’s band of builders learned that even a small, right effort made with God’s help can bring victorious joy if our small acts glorify Him. In Him, small becomes great.
Where have big, splashy actions led you to spiritual frustration? What small changes have enhanced your spiritual life?
Point me to small, good actions, dear God, that make a big difference in me for You.
INSIGHTThe Old Testament records more than thirty men named Zechariah, a name that means “the Lord remembers.” However, none is more prominent than the prophet Zechariah who wrote the book that bears his name. Zechariah is the longest of the twelve prophetic books from Hosea to Malachi and is thus classified among the Minor Prophets because it’s relatively shorter than other prophetic books, such Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (Major Prophets). Zechariah was a postexilic prophet; his ministry took place after the Babylonian exile (after 538 bc). Information within the book helps to determine the time of his service. Zechariah 1:1 and 1:7 mention Zechariah receiving a message from God in the second year of Darius. Zechariah 7:1 mentions “the fourth year of King Darius,” who was the Persian king from 522 to 486 bc.
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Read: Daniel 3:15–28 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 28–29; John 9:24–41 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesLook! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods. Daniel 3:25The tale is told that after yet another stop on Albert Einstein’s lecture tour, his chauffeur mentioned that he’d heard enough of the speech that he could give it. Einstein suggested they switch places at the next college, as no one there had seen his picture. The chauffer agreed and delivered a fine lecture. Then came the question-and-answer period. To one aggressive inquirer, the chauffer replied, “I can see you’re a brilliant professor, but I’m surprised you would ask a question so simple that even my chauffeur could answer it.” Then his “chauffeur”—Albert Einstein himself—did answer it! So ends the fun but fictional story.
Daniel’s courageous three friends were truly on the hot seat. King Nebuchadnezzar threatened to throw them into a blazing furnace if they didn’t worship his idol. He asked, “What god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” (Daniel 3:15). The friends still refused to bow, so the king heated the furnace seven times hotter and had them tossed in.
They didn’t go alone. An “angel” (v. 28), perhaps Jesus Himself, joined them in the fire, keeping them from harm and providing an undeniable answer to the king’s question (vv. 24–25). Nebuchadnezzar praised the “God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego” and conceded that “no other god can save in this way” (vv. 28–29).
At times, we may feel in over our heads. But Jesus stands with those who serve Him. He’ll carry us.
What problem are you unable to solve? How might Jesus relieve the pressure that you feel to fix your challenge?
Jesus, You’re the answer when there’s no answer.
INSIGHTShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s “no compromise” commitment didn’t begin when they faced the fiery furnace. Their commitment to Jewish dietary protocols (Daniel 1) and their faithfulness to the God who’d prescribed them readied them for an even bigger test in Daniel 3. Indeed, the diet test prepared them for the death test. They passed with flying colors, thereby earning them a place in the annals of faith in Hebrews 11. Though not mentioned by name, Hebrews 11:34 most likely refers to these three, who through faith “quenched the fury of the flames.”
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Read: Colossians 3:15–24 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 25–27; John 9:1–23 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Colossians 3:17When Jeff was fourteen, his mom took him to see a famous singer. Like many musicians of his era, B. J. Thomas had gotten caught up in a self-destructive lifestyle while on music tours. But that was before he and his wife were introduced to Jesus. Their lives were radically changed when they became believers in Christ.
On the night of the concert, the singer began to entertain the enthusiastic crowd. But after performing a few of his well-known songs, one guy yelled out from the audience, “Hey, sing one for Jesus!” Without any hesitation, B. J. responded, “I just sang four songs for Jesus.”
It’s been a few decades since then, but Jeff still remembers that moment when he realized that everything we do should be for Jesus—even things that some might consider to be “nonreligious.”
We’re sometimes tempted to divvy up the things we do in life. Read the Bible. Share our story of coming to faith. Sing a hymn. Sacred stuff. Mow the lawn. Go for a run. Sing a country song. Secular stuff.
Colossians 3:16 reminds us that the message of Christ indwells us in activities like teaching, singing, and being thankful, but verse 17 goes even further. It emphasizes that as God’s children, “whatever [we] do, whether in word or deed, [we] do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
We do it all for Him.
How can you do all things in the name of Jesus? How might you allow God to use your actions and words for His glory?
Loving God, help me to surrender every one of my activities and words to You.
For further study, read God’s Expectations.
INSIGHTPaul wrote the book of Colossians to believers in Jesus whom he described as “God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ” (Colossians 1:2). His purpose was to correct false teaching about who Christ is—His divinity and ministry (chs. 1–2)—and to instruct readers on how to live godly lives (chs. 3–4), lives that would “always honor and please the Lord” and “produce every kind of good fruit” (1:10 nlt).
In Colossians 3, Paul taught them how to relate to one another in three key relationships: the spiritual family—the church (vv. 15–17), the natural family—husbands, wives, and children (vv. 18–21), and slaves and masters, which today pertains in principle to workers and employers (vv. 22–25; 4:1). In all these relationships, through the power of the Spirit believers are to display the character of Christ: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and unconditional love (3:12–14).
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Read: Ecclesiastes 2:17–26 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 22–24; John 8:28–59 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWithout [God], who can eat or find enjoyment? Ecclesiastes 2:25Watching the morning crowd pour onto the train, I felt the Monday blues kick in. From the sleepy, grumpy faces of those in the jam-packed cabin, I could tell no one looked forward to going to work. Frowns broke out as some jostled for space and more tried to squeeze in. Here we go again, another mundane day at the office.
Then, it struck me that just a year before, the trains would have been empty because COVID-19 lockdowns had thrown our daily routines into disarray. We couldn’t even go out for a meal, and some actually missed going to the office. But now we were almost back to normal, and many were going back to work—as usual. “Routine,” I realized, was good news, and “boring” was a blessing!
King Solomon came to a similar conclusion after reflecting on the seeming pointlessness of daily toil (Ecclesiastes 2:17–23). At times, it appeared endless, “meaningless,” and unrewarding (v. 21). But then he realized that simply being able to eat, drink, and work each day was a blessing from God (v. 24).
When we’re deprived of routine, we can see that these simple actions are a luxury. Let’s thank God that we can eat and drink and find satisfaction in all our toil, for this is His gift (3:13).
What simple blessings can you thank God for today? What can you do for someone who’s in need or is unable to enjoy life’s simple routines?
Dear God, thank You for my “usual” routines, no matter how boring they may seem at times. Help me to be grateful for Your every blessing in life.
INSIGHTIn Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon—who had everything—begins to despair. But he notes in chapter 3, “[God] has also set eternity in the human heart” (v. 11). He understood that we must look outside ourselves for the answers to our biggest questions. The story of the Bible shows how those answers are found in Jesus. As the apostle Paul reminded us, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Paul concluded, “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead” (v. 20). Jesus’ death and resurrection infuse our lives with meaning and purpose.
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Read: Acts 12:1–11 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 19–21; John 8:1–27 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Ephesians 5:14It’s like living in a dream you can’t wake up from. People who struggle with what’s sometimes called “derealization” or “depersonalization” often feel like nothing around them is quite real. While those who chronically have this feeling can be diagnosed with a disorder, it’s believed to be a common mental health struggle, especially during stressful times. But sometimes the feeling persists even when life is seemingly good. It’s as if our minds can’t trust that good things are really happening.
Scripture describes a similar struggle of God’s people at times to experience His power and deliverance as something real, not just a dream. In Acts 12, when an angel delivers Peter from prison—and possible execution (vv. 2, 4)—the apostle is described as being in a daze, not sure it was really happening (vv. 9–10). When the angel left him outside the jail, Peter finally “came to his senses” and realized it had all been real (v. 11 nlt).
In both bad times and good, it can be hard sometimes to fully believe or experience that God is really at work in our lives. But we can trust that as we wait on Him, His resurrection power will one day become undeniably, wonderfully real. God’s light will rouse us from our sleep into the reality of life with Him (Ephesians 5:14).
Why is it sometimes hard for you to feel God’s power and love? How can you experience His love more tangibly?
Dear God, thank You that in good times and bad, whether I can feel it or not, You’re real, creating new life and hope.
INSIGHTPeter, who’d been unjustly imprisoned by King Herod for eight days, was about to stand trial. Like James, his fellow apostle, he too would be executed (Acts 12:1–3). But Peter didn’t lose any sleep over his impending death: “the night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep” (v. 6 nlt). Peter experienced the peace Jesus promised: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14:27). We’re told “the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (Acts 12:5), and on this very night “many people had gathered and were praying” (v. 12).
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Read: 1 John 1:1–4 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 16–18; John 7:28–53 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWe proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. 1 John 1:3Robert Todd Lincoln, son of US president Abraham Lincoln, was present for three major events—the death of his own father as well as the assassinations of presidents James Garfield and William McKinley.
But consider that the apostle John was present at four of history’s most crucial events: the last supper of Jesus, Christ’s agony in Gethsemane, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. John knew that bearing witness to these events was the ultimate why behind his presence in these moments. In John 21:24, he wrote, “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.”
John reaffirmed this in his letter of 1 John. He wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim” (1:1). John felt a compelling duty to share his eyewitness account of Jesus. Why? “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,” he said, “so that you also may have fellowship with us” (v. 3).
The events of our lives may be surprising or mundane, but in either case God is orchestrating them so we can bear witness to Him. As we rest in the grace and wisdom of Christ, may we speak for Him in even life’s surprising moments.
What are some of the more surprising aspects of your faith story? How will you share your story with someone who needs to hear of God’s love?
Jesus, please help me be sensitive to those times when I can share with others how much You love us.
For further study, see Gospel Conversations: Sharing the Story of Jesus.
INSIGHTThe word fellowship, used four times in 1 John (1:3 [twice], 6, 7) is the translation of the Greek word koinōnia, which means “participation, sharing, having something in common with others.” Elsewhere in the New Testament, this word or related words are used to show that those who embraced the truths about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection also shared their lives in practical ways. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). In Philippians, Paul used several related words to acknowledge the believers’ participation in his ministry: “I thank my God every time I remember you . . . because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (1:3–5). Their partnership included some form of material support: “Not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only” (4:15).
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Read: Genesis 39:1–12 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 13–15; John 7:1–27 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBut he refused. Genesis 39:8A swimming instructor in New Jersey saw a car sinking into Newark Bay and heard the driver inside screaming “I can’t swim” as his SUV quickly sank into the murky waters. As a crowd watched from shore, Anthony ran to the rocks along the edge, removed his prosthetic leg, and jumped in to rescue the sixty-eight-year-old man and help him safely to shore. Thanks to Anthony’s decisive action, another man was saved.
Our choices matter. Consider the patriarch Jacob, the father of many sons, who openly favored his seventeen-year-old son Joseph. He foolishly made Joseph “an ornate robe” (Genesis 37:3). The result? Joseph’s brothers hated him (v. 4); and when the opportunity arose, they sold him into slavery (v. 28). Yet because Joseph ended up in Egypt, God used him to preserve Jacob’s family and many others during a seven-year famine—despite Joseph’s brothers’ intention to harm him (see 50:20). The choice that set it all in motion was Joseph’s decision to be honorable and run from Potiphar’s wife (39:1–12). The result was prison (39:20) and an eventual meeting with Pharaoh (ch. 41).
Anthony may have had the advantage of training, but he still had to make a choice. When we love God and seek to serve Him, He helps us make life-affirming and God-honoring choices. If we haven’t already, we can begin by trusting Jesus.
What was the result of a recent choice you’ve made? How has God’s Spirit led you to make wise choices?
Dear God, help me to make wise decisions that honor You.
INSIGHTWhen dealing with sexual temptation, Scripture calls for prompt, decisive action. Joseph “ran out of the house” (Genesis 39:12) when confronted by Potiphar’s wife. In the New Testament, Paul says to “put to death . . . whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust” (Colossians 3:5). He also says to “flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18). We’re to renounce all sexual sins because they directly attack our own bodies which “are temples of the Holy Spirit” (v. 19) and this violates the sacred sanctuary of God’s holy presence (vv. 19–20; see 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–4).
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Read: Matthew 6:5–9 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 10–12; John 6:45–71 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesPray to your Father. Matthew 6:6Madeleine L’Engle made it a habit to call her mother once a week. As her mother moved into her later years, the beloved spiritual writer called more frequently, “just to keep in touch.” In the same way, Madeleine liked her children to call and maintain that connection. Sometimes it was a lengthy conversation filled with significant questions and answers. Other times a call simply making sure the number was still valid was sufficient. As she wrote in her book Walking on Water, “It is good for the children to keep in touch. It is good for all of us children to keep in touch with our Father.”
Most of us are familiar with the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9–13. But the verses that precede it are just as important, for they set the tone for what follows. Our prayers aren’t to be showy, “to be seen by others” (v. 5). And while there’s no limit on how long our prayers need to be, “many words” (v. 7) doesn’t automatically equate to quality prayer. The emphasis seems to be on maintaining regular contact with our Father who knows our need “before [we] ask him” (v. 8). Jesus stresses how good it is for us to keep in touch with our Father. Then instructs us: “This, then, is how you should pray” (v. 9).
Prayer is a good, vital choice for it keeps us in touch with the God and Father of us all.
How can you better stay in touch with others? How have you experienced keeping in touch with the Father?
Father, thank You for knowing my needs before I even speak them.
INSIGHTIn Matthew 6:1–8, Jesus emphasizes that living for God should be done humbly, without seeking to draw attention to oneself or to gain praise. Believers in Jesus should have a humble attitude as they give to those in need (vv. 1–4) and as they pray (vv. 5–8). At first glance, this might seem to contradict 5:14–16, which emphasizes that the lives of Jesus’ disciples should shine brightly before others “that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (v. 16). There’s no contradiction, however, for when believers serve God humbly out of love for Him and others, it naturally results in His light shining in the world. When service and prayer is motivated by a desire for attention and praise, however, it can have the opposite effect, repulsing others who may detect self-serving, hypocritical motivations (6:5).
Learn more about prayer.
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Read: Psalm 116:1–7 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 7–9; John 6:22–44 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHe turned his ear to me. Psalm 116:2In the book Physics, Charles Riborg Mann and George Ransom Twiss ask: “When a tree falls in a lonely forest, and no animal is nearby to hear it, does it make a sound?” Over the years, this question has prompted philosophical and scientific discussions about sound, perception, and existence. A definitive answer, however, has yet to emerge.
One night, while feeling lonely and sad about a problem I hadn’t shared with anyone, I recalled this question. When no one hears my cry for help, I thought, does God hear?
Facing the threat of death and overcome by distress, the writer of Psalm 116 may have felt abandoned. So he called out to God—knowing He was listening and would help him. “He heard my voice,” the psalmist wrote, “he heard my cry for mercy. . . . [He] turned his ear to me” (vv. 1–2). When no one knows our pain, God knows. When no one hears our cries, God hears.
Knowing that God will show us His love and protection (vv. 5–6), we can be at rest in difficult times (v. 7). The Hebrew word translated “rest” (manoakh) describes a place of quiet and safety. We can be at peace, strengthened by the assurance of God’s presence and help.
The question posed by Mann and Twiss led to numerous answers. But the answer to the question, Does God hear? is simply yes.
What do you do when you’re feeling alone or abandoned? What will you ask God, who hears your every cry and cares for you?
Father, thank You for always hearing the cries of my heart. Your help and presence are my rest.
INSIGHTPsalm 116 is one of six praise songs (Psalms 113–118) collectively known as the “Egyptian Hallel.” The Hebrew root word halal means “to praise,” and “Egyptian” is a designation that these songs were sung during the Passover remembrance of their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. Psalms 113–114 are recited before the Passover meal and Psalms 115–118 afterward. The hymn that Jesus and the disciples sang after the Last Supper would probably be one of these psalms (Mark 14:26).
In Psalm 116, the author writes of his near-death experience (vv. 3–4) and celebrates his deliverance from the jaws of death (v. 8). In his musing about life and death, the psalmist assures us of God’s undying care and love, giving us precious comfort when facing death: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.” Or as one translation renders it, “The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die” (v. 15 nlt).
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Read: Zephaniah 3:17–20 | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 4–6; John 6:1–21 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHe will take great delight in you. Zephaniah 3:17Researchers at Emory University used MRI scans to study the brains of grandmothers. They measured empathetic responses to images that included their own grandchild, their own adult child, and one anonymous child. The study showed that grandmothers have a higher empathy toward their own grandchild than even their own adult child. This is attributed to what they call the “cute factor”—their own grandchild being more “adorable” than the adult.
Before we say, “Well, duh!” we might consider the words of James Rilling, who conducted the study: “If their grandchild is smiling, [the grandmother is] feeling the child’s joy. And if their grandchild is crying, they’re feeling the child’s pain and distress.”
One prophet paints an “MRI image” of God’s feelings as He looks upon His people: “He will take great delight in you; in his love he will . . . rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Some translate this to say, “You will make His heart full of joy, and He will sing loudly.” Like an empathetic grandmother, God feels our pain: “In all their distress he too was distressed” (Isaiah 63:9), and He feels our joy: “The Lord takes delight in his people” (Psalm 149:4).
When we feel discouraged, it’s good to remember that God has real feelings for us. He’s not a cold, far away God, but One who loves and delights in us. It’s time to draw close to Him, feel His smile—and listen to His singing.
How have you felt the pleasure of God? How does this make you feel?
Dear God, help me to feel Your smile upon me.
INSIGHTZephaniah’s message is predominantly one of judgment. Chapter 1 aims this harsh message at the whole world (vv. 2–3), but Jerusalem and Judah are singled out for their idolatry (vv. 4–6). Zephaniah 2 targets specific nations (vv. 4–15), and, again, Judah is included. The prophet calls them a “shameful nation” and makes a heartfelt appeal for them to repent “before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon [them]” (vv. 1–2). In Zephaniah 3:1–7, the prophet zeroes in on Jerusalem for its corrupt leadership. But verses 8–20 show how God’s eternal hope rises out of the ashes of judgment. “Wait for me,” God says (v. 8). After His judgment is complete, God will enable the people to call upon His name (v. 9). “Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,” He tells them through His prophet. “The Lord has taken away your punishment” (vv. 14–15).
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Read: Luke 1:1–4 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 4–6; Luke 24:36–53 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunes[Having] carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you. Luke 1:3A woman once told me about a disagreement that was tearing her church apart. “What’s the disagreement about?” I asked. “Whether the earth is flat,” she said. A few months later, news broke of a Christian man who’d burst into a restaurant, armed, to rescue children supposedly being abused in its back room. There was no back room, and the man was arrested. In both cases, the people involved were acting on conspiracy theories they’d read on the internet.
Believers in Jesus are called to be good citizens (Romans 13:1–7), and good citizens don’t spread misinformation. In Luke’s day, numerous stories circulated about Jesus (Luke 1:1), some of them were inaccurate. Instead of passing on everything he heard, Luke essentially became an investigative journalist, talking to eyewitnesses (v. 2), researching “everything from the beginning” (v. 3), and writing his findings into a gospel that contains names, quotes, and historical facts based on people with firsthand knowledge, not unverified claims.
We can do the same. Since false information can split churches and put lives at risk, checking facts is an act of loving our neighbor (10:27). When a sensational story comes our way, we can verify its claims with qualified, accountable experts, being truth seekers—not error spreaders. Such an act brings credibility to the gospel. After all, we worship the One who’s full of truth (John 1:14).
Why do you think conspiracy theories spread so quickly? How can you be a truth seeker?
Father, help me discern truth from error as Your Spirit guides me.
INSIGHTWhy do we have four gospels? Basically, each one presents a unique perspective on Jesus, and having more than one account adds to their credibility. The Holy Spirit inspired the writers to pen their accounts. Though the four books have many similarities, each author emphasizes a different theme for an intended audience. Matthew wrote mainly for Jews, emphasizing that Jesus, the son of David, was the Messiah for whom they were waiting. That’s why he began with a genealogy and includes multiple references to Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Jesus. Mark emphasizes Jesus as the Suffering Servant of God. This was especially relevant to believers in Jesus who were suffering for their faith. Luke was written to Theophilus, a gentile. Luke presents Jesus as the Son of Man and Savior of all people. John presents Christ as the Son of God and Creator of the world.
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Read: Isaiah 61:1–3 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 1–3; Luke 24:1–35 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHe has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. Isaiah 61:1Always a busy guy, Carson hunted, fished, rode dirt bikes, and skateboarded. He loved everything outdoors. But he was in a motorcycle accident and became paralyzed from the chest down. Soon depression sank in, and he didn’t see much of a future. Then one day some of his buddies got him to go hunting again. For a time he forgot about his injury as he enjoyed the beauty around him. This experience brought him inner healing and inspired a new purpose for his life—to provide the same experience for others like him through a nonprofit organization, Hunt 2 Heal. He says his accident was “a blessing in disguise. . . . Now I’m able to give back, which I’ve always wanted to do. I’m happy.” He’s excited about providing a place for those with severe mobility disabilities and their caregivers to find healing.
The prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of One who would bring healing for brokenness (Isaiah 61). He would “bind up the brokenhearted” and “comfort all who mourn” (vv. 1–2). After Jesus read this Scripture in His hometown synagogue, He said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Jesus came to save us and make us whole.
Are you in need of inner healing? Turn to Jesus and He’ll give you “a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:3).
In what ways do you need Jesus’ healing? Who can you tell about Him and the salvation and wholeness He offers?
Thank You, Jesus, for the healing You’ve brought to me and many others. I look forward to complete healing in heaven one day.
For further study, read New Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel.
INSIGHTThe book of Isaiah, the longest in the Old Testament aside from the book of Psalms, breaks down into two major sections. Chapters 1–33 declare judgment upon Judah and the nations, with the promise of restoration included in the “warning” section. Chapters 34–66 focus on the restoration of Israel in the kingdom of the Messiah. Because of Isaiah’s heavy emphasis on the person and role of the Messiah, it’s often quoted in the New Testament as having been fulfilled in Jesus. Some scholars even refer to Isaiah as the “fifth gospel.” The book of Isaiah is quoted or alluded to at least sixty-two times in the New Testament. Today’s reading was quoted by Jesus in His synagogue message at Nazareth (Luke 4:17–19) when He publicly announced His messiahship.
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Read: Luke 17:11–19 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 21–22; Luke 23:26–56 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHas no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner? Luke 17:18Hansle Parchment was in a predicament. He caught the bus to the wrong place for his semifinal in the Tokyo Olympics and was left stranded with little hope of getting to the stadium on time. But thankfully he met Trijana Stojkovic, a volunteer helping out at the games. She gave him some money to take a taxi. Parchment made it to the semifinal on time and eventually clinched the gold medal in the 110-meter hurdle. Later, he went back to find Stojkovic and thanked her for her kindness.
In Luke 17, we read of the Samaritan leper who came back to thank Jesus for healing him (vv. 15–16). Jesus had entered a village where He met ten lepers. All of them asked Jesus for healing, and all of them experienced His grace and power. Ten were happy that they’d been healed, but only one returned to express his gratitude. He “came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him” (vv. 15–16).
Every day, we experience God’s blessings in multiple ways. It could be as dramatic as an answered prayer to an extended time of suffering or receiving timely help from a stranger. Sometimes, His blessings can come in ordinary ways too, such as good weather to accomplish an outdoor task. Like the Samaritan leper, let’s remember to thank God for His kindness toward us.
What can you thank God for today? How can you cultivate a heart of gratitude?
Dear God, You’ve been so good to me. I give thanks to You today for __________________________.
INSIGHTLuke 17:15 notes that only one of the ten lepers healed by Jesus returned to give thanks, and he was a Samaritan—a foreigner (v. 18). The word translated “foreigner” (allogenḗs) is a compound word that means “from another race.” Though it’s used a number of times in the Greek version of the Old Testament (the Septuagint), it’s used only here in the New Testament (see OT passages like Genesis 17:27; Exodus 12:43; Leviticus 22:10). The Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament notes that this is “the same term that appears on the inscriptions found on the balustrades surrounding the temple warning that ‘no alien’. . . may go beyond this point and will suffer the penalty of death if they are caught doing so.” While restricted by religious protocols from specific areas of the temple, those who were considered outsiders weren’t barred from God’s saving and healing mercy.
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Read: Exodus 2:11–15 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 19–20; Luke 23:1–25 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesMoses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.” Exodus 2:14The crime was shocking, and the man who committed it was sentenced to life in prison. In the years that followed, the man—in solitary confinement—began a process of mental and spiritual healing. It led to repentance and a restored relationship with Jesus. These days he’s been allowed limited interactions with other inmates. And, by God’s grace, through his witness some fellow prisoners have received Christ as Savior—finding forgiveness in Him.
Moses, though now recognized as a great man of faith, also committed a shocking crime. After he witnessed “an Egyptian beating a Hebrew,” he looked “this way and that” and “killed the Egyptian” (Exodus 2:11–12). Despite this sin, God in His grace wasn’t done with His imperfect servant. Later, He chose Moses to free His people from their oppression (3:10). In Romans 5:14, we read, “Death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command.” But in the following verses Paul states that “God’s grace” makes it possible for us, regardless of our past sins, to be changed and made right with Him (vv. 15–16).
We might think that what we’ve done disqualifies us from knowing God’s forgiveness and being used for His honor. But because of His grace, in Jesus we can be changed and set free to help others be changed for eternity.
How has God and His grace changed you? What are the changes He’s calling you to make these days?
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your life-changing grace.
INSIGHTMoses, the son of Amram and Jochebed (Numbers 26:59), was born toward the end of the four-hundred-year captivity of the Israelites in Egypt. In Exodus 1, we read of the plight of Moses’ people under the cruel oppression of a “new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing” (v. 8). This Pharaoh saw how fruitful the Israelites were and out of fear increased the labor of the people and ordered the midwives to kill the baby boys they delivered (vv. 8–19). In our text, we read of Moses’ impulsive act of killing an Egyptian and his desperate flight into Midian, where he worked for forty years as a shepherd. In chapter 3, Moses received his call from God: “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (v. 10). Moses balked. Yet despite his flaws and reluctance, God used him to lead the Israelites to the doorstep of the promised land.
The post Grace and Change appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Chronicles 20:1–12 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 16–18; Luke 22:47–71 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesJehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 20:3When my son needed orthopedic surgery, I was grateful for the doctor who performed the operation. The doctor, who was nearing retirement, assured us he’d helped thousands of people with the same problem. Even so, before the procedure, he prayed and asked God to provide a good outcome. And I’m so grateful He did.
Jehoshaphat, an experienced national leader, prayed too during a crisis. Three nations had united against him, and they were coming to attack his people. Although he had more than two decades of experience, he decided to ask God what to do. He prayed, “[We] will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us” (2 Chronicles 20:9). He also asked for guidance, saying, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (v. 12).
Jehoshaphat’s humble approach to the challenge opened his heart to God’s involvement, which came in the form of encouragement and divine intervention (vv. 15–17, 22). No matter how much experience we have in certain areas, praying for help develops a holy reliance on God. It reminds us that He knows more than we do, and He’s ultimately in control. It puts us in a humble place—a place where He’s pleased to respond and support us, no matter what the outcome may be.
How has prayer helped you? What current challenge in your life might benefit from prayer?
Dear God, thank You for listening and responding to prayer. I worship You as the all-knowing, all-powerful God. Please help me in each challenge I face today.
Learn how to pray effectively.
INSIGHTWhen the people of ancient Israel thought about time, they reasoned that they couldn’t know the future, but they did know what had already happened and so reflected on God’s faithfulness in the past. That sense of time is key to understanding the way Jehoshaphat prayed in 2 Chronicles 20. He looked back at everything God did from Abraham until the present day (vv. 5–9). He recognized that the future wasn’t sure, but by setting “his face to seek the Lord” (v. 3 esv), he was looking to God’s salvation in the past as confidence in His ability to save again (v. 12).
The post Operating with Prayer appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Corinthians 4:16–5:5 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 14–15; Luke 22:21–46 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhile we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened. 2 Corinthians 5:4“The tent is tired!” Those were the words of my friend Paul, who pastors a church in Nairobi, Kenya. Since 2015, the congregation has worshiped in a tentlike structure. Now, Paul writes, “Our tent is worn out and it is leaking when it rains.”
My friend’s words about their tent’s structural weaknesses remind us of the apostle Paul’s words regarding the frailty of our human existence. “Outwardly we are wasting away . . . . While we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened” (2 Corinthians 4:16; 5:4).
Though the awareness of our fragile human existence happens relatively early in life, we become more conscious of it as we age. Indeed, time picks our pockets. The vitality of youth surrenders reluctantly to the reality of aging (see Ecclesiastes 12:1–7). Our bodies—our tents—get tired.
But tired tents need not equate to tired trust. Hope and heart needn’t fade as we age. “Therefore we do not lose heart,” the apostle says (2 Corinthians 4:16). The One who has made our bodies has made Himself at home there through His Spirit. And when this body can no longer serve us, we’ll have a dwelling not subject to breaks and aches—we’ll “have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven” (5:1).
How does it make you feel that Christ resides in you by His Spirit (5:5)? When you find yourself “groaning,” how does prayer help you?
Father, thank You for Your continual presence. When I’m physically uncomfortable, help me to trust You even as I anticipate an eternal dwelling that will last forever.
INSIGHTThe apostle Paul wrote four letters to the believers in Jesus at Corinth. The books known as 1 and 2 Corinthians are the second and fourth letters he wrote to the house churches there. Commenting on the background of 2 Corinthians, William Baker states: “Despite the fact that the earliest converts were Jewish (according to Acts 18:4–8), none of the issues Paul addresses in the letter appear to stem from Jewish-Christian controversies. Rather, all the issues derive from the Corinthian culture and society in which they lived.” Paul addressed issues that focused on what it means to live for Jesus within one’s own culture. He compared what Corinthian society did with how believers in Christ should live (see 1 Corinthians 6:12–13).
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Read: John 17:3–12 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 12–13; Luke 22:1–20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesNow this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3“Don’t be afraid of death, Winnie,” said Angus Tuck, “be afraid of the unlived life.” That quote from the book-turned-film Tuck Everlasting is made more interesting by the fact that it comes from a character who can’t die. In the story, the Tuck family has become immortal. Young Jesse Tuck, who falls in love with Winnie, begs her to seek immortality too so they can be together forever. But wise Angus understands that simply enduring forever doesn’t bring fulfillment.
Our culture tells us that if we could be healthy, young, and energetic forever, we would be truly happy. But that’s not where our fulfillment is found. Before He went to the cross, Jesus prayed for His disciples and for future believers. He said, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Our fulfillment in life comes from a relationship with God through faith in Jesus. He’s our hope for the future and joy for this present day.
Jesus prayed that His disciples would take on the patterns of new life: that they would obey God (v. 6), believe that Jesus was sent by God the Father (v. 8), and be united as one (v. 11). As believers in Christ, we look forward to a future eternal life with Him. But during these days we live on earth, we can live the “rich and satisfying life” (10:10 nlt) that He promised—right here, right now.
Where’s your joy and contentment found in this life? In what ways do you exhibit new life in Christ?
Jesus, help me take hold of the abundant life that You’ve given to me.
INSIGHTJesus’ prayer in John 17 echoes the theme stated at the beginning of the gospel: eternal life is experienced through Christ, the Word of God (1:1, 4; see 3:16). Throughout John’s gospel, we see that there’s an inseparable union between God and Jesus. To know Christ is to know God (1:14, 18). John 17:3 makes this connection clear: “This is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Through Christ, believers are drawn through the Spirit into experiencing the rich, joyous, and eternal life of the three-in-one God (Father, Son, and Spirit).
Learn more about Union with Christ.
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Read: 1 Peter 3:8–16 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 10–11; Luke 21:20–38 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAlways be prepared to give an answer . . . for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15Last spring, the night before our lawn was to be aerated, a violent windstorm blew the seeds off our maple tree in one fell swoop. So when the aerating machine broke up the compacted soil by pulling small “cores” out of the ground, it planted hundreds of maple seeds in my yard. Just two short weeks later, I had the beginnings of a maple forest growing up through my lawn!
As I (frustratedly) surveyed the misplaced foliage, I was struck by the prolific abundance of new life a single tree had spawned. Each of the miniature trees became a picture for me of the new life in Christ that I—as merely one person—can share with others. We each will have countless opportunities to “give the reason for the hope that [we] have” (1 Peter 3:15) in the course of our lives.
When we “suffer for what is right” with the hope of Jesus (v. 14), it’s visible to those around us and might just become a point of curiosity to those who don’t yet know God personally. If we’re ready when they ask, then we may share the seed through which God brings forth new life. We don’t have to share it with everyone all at once—in some kind of spiritual windstorm. Rather, we gently and respectfully drop the seed of faith into a heart ready to receive it.
Who in your life is sharing or asking about the reason for your hope? What will you share with them?
Jesus, thank You for growing the seed of faith in my life. Help me to share the reason for my hope—You—with those who ask and may they grow in their love for You.
Learn more about sharing and defending your faith.
INSIGHTPeter’s first letter was primarily written to believers in Jesus who’d been scattered among the five provinces of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), no doubt because of the persecution waged against the church at Jerusalem (see 1:1–2). However, it’s clear that the churches addressed were a mix of Jews and gentiles. The Bible Knowledge Commentary offers this insight: “This epistle could be understood as a handbook written for ambassadors to a hostile foreign land. The author, knowing persecution would arise, carefully prescribed conduct designed to bring honor to the One they represented. The purpose then of 1 Peter was to encourage believers to face persecution so that the true grace of Jesus Christ would be evidenced in them (5:12).” One of Peter’s major themes is that when believers in Christ suffer for Him, they’re to focus on the eternal and not on temporal suffering (3:8–4:19).
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Read: Proverbs 18:1–8 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 8–9; Luke 21:1–19 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe words of a gossip are like choice morsels. Proverbs 18:8The newspaper declared that Pep had taken the life of the cat belonging to the governor’s wife—but he didn’t do it. The only thing he may have been guilty of was chewing the sofa at the governor’s mansion.
Pep was a rambunctious young Labrador retriever owned by Pennsylvania’s governor Gifford Pinchot in the 1920s. The dog actually was sent to Eastern State Penitentiary, where his mug shot was taken with a prisoner identification number. When a newspaper reporter heard about it, he made up the cat story. Because his report appeared in the newspaper, many believed Pep really was a cat-killer.
Israel’s King Solomon knew well the power of misinformation. He wrote, “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts” (Proverbs 18:8). Sometimes our fallen human nature causes us to want to believe things about others that aren’t true.
Yet even when others believe untruths about us, God can still use us for good. In reality, the governor sent Pep to prison so he could be a friend to the inmates there—and he served for many years as a pioneer therapy dog.
God’s purposes for our lives still stand, regardless of what others say or think. When others gossip about us, remember that His opinion—and His love for us—is what matters most.
How does it encourage you to know that God isn’t affected by what someone may say or think about you? How will you celebrate His perfect love today?
Abba, Father, thank You for making me Your child. Help me to share Your love with others today.
INSIGHTUsing a food metaphor, Solomon describes the words of a gossip as “choice morsels” (Proverbs 18:8). This could literally be translated as “things greedily devoured,” a delicious treat. We love to hear and share gossip because it’s tasty and enjoyable. The Good News Translation describes it well: “Gossip is so tasty—how we love to swallow it!” Like food ingested into our inner organs, gossip is easily assimilated into our innermost thoughts. Thus, gossip is readily remembered and retained. Speaking of the damage gossip does to relationships, Solomon warns, “A gossip separates close friends” (16:28). Gossip is like fuel to a scorching fire that destroys everything in its path (26:20–21; James 3:5–6). Because “a gossip betrays a confidence,” we’re advised to “avoid anyone who talks too much” (Proverbs 20:19). For the person who gossips to you will likely gossip about you.
The post Wagging Tails and Tongues appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 145:9−13 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 6−7; Luke 20:27−47 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe Lord is trustworthy in all he promises. Psalm 145:13I’m a worrier. Early mornings are the worst because I’m alone with my thoughts. So I taped this quote from Hudson Taylor on my bathroom mirror, where I can see it when I’m feeling vulnerable: “There is a living God. He has spoken in the Bible. He means what He says and will do all He has promised.”
Taylor’s words came from years of walking with God and remind us of who He is and all He can do through our times of illness, poverty, loneliness, and grief. He didn’t merely know that God is trustworthy─he’d experienced His trustworthiness. And because he’d trusted God’s promises and obeyed Him, thousands of Chinese people gave their lives to Jesus.
Experiencing God and His ways helped David know that He’s trustworthy. He wrote Psalm 145, a song of praise to the God he’d experienced to be good, compassionate, and faithful to all His promises. When we trust and follow God, we realize (or understand better) that He is who He says He is and that He’s faithful to His word (v. 13). And, like David, we respond by praising Him and telling others about Him (vv. 10−12).
When we face worrisome times, God can help us not to falter in our walk with Him, for He is trustworthy (Hebrews 10:23).
What have you been worried about lately, and which of God’s promises can you hold on to? How does knowing that Hudson Taylor’s and King David’s faith wasn’t in vain encourage you and give you hope?
Dear God, thank You for being trustworthy and keeping Your promises to me. Please help me to remember Your faithfulness as I trust and obey You each day.
INSIGHTThe book of Psalms, the hymnbook of the Israelites, is a collection of 150 songs that were sung by God’s people as part of their personal and corporate worship. Psalm 145 is the last psalm in the final collection of songs penned by David (see Psalms 138–145). In this song of praise, he proclaims God as “my God the King” (145:1). David speaks of His “majesty” (v. 5) and “goodness” (v. 7). He exalts God in his greatness, mentioning His “mighty acts” (v. 4), “awesome works” and “great deeds” (v. 6), and “abundant goodness” and “righteousness” (v. 7). David also praises the King’s attributes: He’s “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. . . . He has compassion on all he has made” (vv. 8–9). He’s “trustworthy in all he promises” (v. 13) and “righteous in all his ways” (v. 17). Twice, David says God is “faithful in all he does” (vv. 13, 17).
The post Always Trustworthy appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Genesis 21:1–7 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 3–5; Luke 20:1–26 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesGod has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. Genesis 21:6Comedian John Branyan said, “We didn’t think up laughter; that wasn’t our idea. That was given to us by [God who] knew we were going to need it to get through life. [Because] He knew we were going to have hardship, He knew we were going to have struggles, He knew . . . stuff was going to happen. . . . Laughter is a gift.”
A quick look at the creatures God made can bring laughter, whether because of their oddities (such as duck-billed platypuses) or antics (such as playful otters). He made mammals that live in the ocean and long-legged birds that can’t fly. God clearly has a sense of humor; and because we’re created in His image, we too have the joy of laughter.
We first see the word laughter in the Bible in the story of Abraham and Sarah. God promised this elderly couple a child: “A son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir” (Genesis 15:4). And God had said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars . . . . So shall your offspring be” (v. 5). When Sarah finally gave birth at ninety, Abraham named their son Isaac, which means “laughter.” As Sarah exclaimed, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me” (21:6). It amazed her that she could nurse a child at her age! God transformed her skeptical laughter when she’d heard she’d give birth (18:12) into laughter of sheer joy.
Thank God for the gift of laughter!
When has laughter been “good medicine”? How can finding humor in your life help even in the most difficult times?
Dear God, thank You for giving me the gift of laughter.
INSIGHTGenesis 17:17 is the first time that laughter is mentioned in the book of Genesis when Abraham laughs at the idea that his wife could have a child at age ninety. Some commentators have argued that Abraham’s laughter was one of joy; others believe it was skeptical laughter. Sarah is also described as laughing at the idea after overhearing visitors sent from God prophesy that she and Abraham would have a son (18:12–15). Later, the same Hebrew word is used to express the reaction of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar. It’s translated “mocking” by the niv (21:9) but “laughing” in the esv, making the reason why Sarah reacted so angrily unclear and a matter of debate among scholars. Some have argued that Ishmael’s laughter was mocking or abusive behavior, while others suggest that Ishmael’s laughter was perceived by Sarah as Ishmael being a threat to Isaac’s role in the family.
The post Laughing Out Loud appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Galatians 5:13–26 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 1–2; Luke 19:28–48 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesSo I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16This spring, weeds attacked our backyard like something out of Jurassic Park. One got so big that when I tried to pull it out, I feared I might injure myself. Before I could find a spade to whack it down, I noticed that my daughter was actually pouring water on it. “Why are you watering the weeds?!” I exclaimed. “I want to see how big it will get!” she replied with an impish grin.
Weeds aren’t something we intentionally nourish. But as I thought about it, I realized that sometimes we do water the “weeds” in our spiritual lives, feeding desires that strangle our growth.
Paul writes about this in Galatians 5:13–26, where he contrasts living by the flesh with living by the Spirit. He says trying to follow the rules alone won’t establish the kind of “weed-free” life we long for. Instead, to avoid watering the weeds, he instructs us to “walk by the Spirit.” He adds that being in regular step with God is what frees us from the impulse to “gratify the desires of the flesh” (v. 16).
It’s a lifelong process to fully understand Paul’s teaching. But I love the simplicity of his guidance: instead of growing something unwanted by nourishing our own self-focused desires, when we’re cultivating our relationship with God, we grow fruit and reap the harvest of a godly life (vv. 22–25).
What areas of your spiritual life need some “weeding”? How can you surrender to God and walk with Him?
Father, sometimes I water the weeds in my life. Help me to instead experience being in step with You as You produce spiritual fruit in my life.
INSIGHTSeveral themes are evident in Galatians 5: freedom in Christ, living by love instead of the law, and the vital importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer in Jesus. Most critical of these is the role of the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit we can’t enjoy our freedom, nor will we love others. We’ll instead demand our rights and “bite and devour each other” (v. 15). How are we to spurn our selfish ways? “Walk by the Spirit,” says Paul (v. 16). “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (v. 18). This is true freedom.
The post Watering The Weeds appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 118:13–14, 22–29 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 23–24; Luke 19:1–27 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Psalm 118:22The young campus minister was troubled. But he looked conflicted when I dared to ask if he prays . . . for God’s direction . . . for His help. To pray, as Paul urged, without ceasing. In reply, the young man confessed, “I’m not sure I believe anymore in prayer.” He frowned. “Or believe that God is listening. Just look at the world.” That young leader was “building” a ministry in his own strength and, sadly, he was failing. Why? He was rejecting God.
Jesus, as the cornerstone of the church, has always been rejected—starting, in fact, with His own people (John 1:11). Many still reject Him today, struggling to build their lives, work, even churches on lesser foundations—their own schemes, dreams, and other unreliable ground. Yet, our good Savior alone is our strength and defense (Psalm 118:14). Indeed, “the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (v. 22).
Set at the vital corner of our lives, He provides the only right alignment for anything His believers seek to accomplish for Him. To Him, therefore, we pray, “Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success!” (v. 25). The result? “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (v. 26). May we give thanks to Him because He’s strong and good.
What dream or plans do you have as you build for God? How can you put Christ at the cornerstone of your plan, building it for Him?
I praise You, Jesus, for being the chief cornerstone. Only on You can Your church and my life stand.
INSIGHTWhat is a “cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22)? Since early times, it’s been the principal stone placed at the corner of a building that formed its base. Once it was set, it determined every measurement in the construction of the edifice. Everything was aligned to it. As the chief cornerstone, Jesus is the foundation on which the church is built, and His people are to align with Him. He’s “a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation” (Isaiah 28:16). With Him, we become “fellow citizens with God’s people” and “members of his household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” with Christ as our chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19–20). We’re His holy temple, and His Spirit lives in us (vv. 21–22). If we trust in Him, “we will never be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6).
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Read: Romans 13:11–14 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 21–22; Luke 18:24–43 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDo not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:14Augustine’s autobiographical Confessions describes his long and winding journey to Jesus. On one occasion, he was riding to the palace to give a flattering speech for the emperor. He was fretting over his deceptive applause lines when he noticed a drunken beggar “joking and laughing.” He realized the drunk already had whatever fleeting happiness his shifty career might bring, and with much less effort. So Augustine stopped striving for worldly success.
But he was still enslaved by lust. He knew he couldn’t turn to Jesus without turning from sin, and he still struggled with sexual immorality. So he prayed, “Grant me chastity . . . but not yet.”
Augustine stumbled along, torn between salvation and sin, until finally he had enough. Inspired by others who had turned to Jesus, he opened a Bible to Romans 13:13–14. “Let us behave decently . . . not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality . . . . Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
That did it. God used those inspired words to break Augustine’s chains of lust and brought him “into the kingdom of the Son . . . in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13–14). Augustine became a bishop who remained tempted by fame and lust, but he now knew whom to see when he sinned. He turned to Jesus. Have you?
What’s keeping you from giving your life to Jesus? How might your life change if you let it go?
Dear Father, let nothing come between me and You.
For further study, read Remade in the Image of Jesus at DiscoverySeries.org.
INSIGHTPaul’s warning here is a tacit acknowledgment of our propensity to sin even after we’ve come to Christ. That’s why he warns us to “put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12). The passage is reminiscent of another of Paul’s letters in which he refers to putting on armor. There he writes, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11). In both passages, the strong implication is that temptations will inevitably come, and we must supplant those sinful desires by following Jesus unreservedly and completely. “Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,” the apostle says, “and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh” (Romans 13:14). The only effective way to neutralize our obsession with sin is to replace our selfish desires with a craving for Christ.
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Read: Exodus 16:21–30 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 19–20; Luke 18:1–23 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI will rain down bread from heaven for you. Exodus 16:4Aunt Margaret’s frugality was legendary. After she passed away, her nieces began the nostalgically bittersweet task of sorting her belongings. In a drawer, neatly arrayed inside a small plastic bag, they discovered an assortment of small pieces of string. The label read: “String too short to use.”
What would motivate someone to keep and categorize something they knew to be of no use? Perhaps this person once knew extreme deprivation.
When the Israelites fled slavery in Egypt, they left behind a life of hardship. But they soon forgot God’s miraculous hand in their exodus and started complaining about the lack of food.
God wanted them to trust Him. He provided manna for their desert diet, telling Moses, “The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day” (Exodus 16:4). God also instructed them to gather twice as much on the sixth day, because on the Sabbath no manna would fall (vv. 5, 25). Some of the Israelites listened. Some didn’t, with predictable results (vv. 27–28).
In times of plenty and times of desperation, it’s tempting to try to cling, to hoard, in a desperate attempt at control. There’s no need to take everything into our own frantic hands. No need to “save scraps of string”—or to hoard anything at all. Our faith is in God, who has promised, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
In what ways do you sometimes take things into your own hands? How has God proven Himself to be faithful to you in the past?
Father, help me to take You at Your word and to trust You with everything.
INSIGHTAbout a month after the Israelites left Egypt (Exodus 16:1), they ran out of food (v. 3). God provided them with “bread from heaven” (v. 4) in the morning and “meat to eat in the evening” (v. 8). Not knowing what this bread was, they asked, “What is it?” (v. 15). They called it “manna” (v. 31) because it sounded like the Hebrew for “What is it?” Manna consisted of “thin flakes,” was “white like coriander seed” (an herb), and “tasted like wafers made with honey” (vv. 14, 31). Numbers 11:8 says that “it tasted like something made with olive oil.”
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Read: 1 John 3:11–18 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 16–18; Luke 17:20–37 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18While waiting for a train at a station in Atlanta, Georgia, a young man wearing dress pants and a button-down shirt sat on a bench. As he struggled with his tie, an older woman encouraged her husband to help. When the elderly man hunched over and began teaching the young man how to knot the tie, a stranger took a photo of the trio. When this photo went viral online, many viewers left comments about the power of random acts of kindness.
For believers in Jesus, kindness to others reflects the self-sacrificing care that He showed for people like us. It’s an expression of God’s love and what He desired His disciples to live out: “We should love one another” (1 John 3:11 emphasis added). John equates hating a brother or sister to murder (v. 15). Then he turns to Christ as an example of love in action (v. 16).
It doesn’t have to be an extravagant display of sacrifice. Selfless love simply requires us to acknowledge the value of all God’s image-bearers by placing their needs above our own . . . every day. Those seemingly ordinary moments when we care enough to notice the needs of others and do what we can to help are selfless when we’re motivated by love. When we see beyond our personal space, step out of our comfort zones to serve others, and give—especially when we don’t have to give—we’re loving like Jesus.
When have you experienced selfless love from someone? How can you love others selflessly this week?
Loving Father, please help me see people with a heart ready to extend compassion and selfless love wherever You send me.
INSIGHTJesus spoke a new commandment to “love one another” (John 13:34). This command is actually “an old one” (1 John 2:7), for God had commanded every Israelite to “love [their] neighbor as [themselves]” (Leviticus 19:18). The “new” commandment raised the bar to the highest standard of love: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). The apostle John here reminded believers to model this sacrificial love of Jesus—“Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). True love is sacrificial giving and spontaneous generosity (v. 17). John exhorts us to be loving in our speech and in our actions (v. 18). Such love is the clearest evidence that one has new life (v. 14) and “is a child of God” (4:7 nlt); anyone who “does not love does not know God, for God is love” (v. 8 nlt).
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Read: Matthew 18:23–35 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 14–15; Luke 17:1–19 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesYou, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. Psalm 86:5A 2021 news reports told of seventeen missionaries that had been kidnapped by a gang. The gang threatened to kill the group (including children) if their ransom demands weren’t met. Incredibly, all the missionaries were either released or escaped to freedom. On reaching safety, they sent a message to their captors: “Jesus taught us by word and by His own example that the power of forgiving love is stronger than the hate of violent force. Therefore, we extend forgiveness to you.”
Jesus made it clear that forgiveness is powerful. He said, “If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14). Later, in answering Peter, Christ told how often we should forgive: “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (18:22; see vv. 21–35). And on the cross, He demonstrated godly forgiveness when He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
Forgiveness at its fullest can be realized when both parties move toward healing and reconciliation. And while it doesn’t remove the effects of harm done or the need to be discerning in how to address painful or unhealthy relationships, it can lead to restored ones—testifying to God’s love and power. Let’s look for ways to “extend forgiveness” for His honor.
When is forgiveness hardest? How can you trust the Holy Spirit to help you forgive?
Jesus, help me to reach out to those who need me to forgive them as a testimony of Your power and goodness.
Learn more about how to forgive yourself and others.
INSIGHT“To err is human, to forgive, divine,” wrote poet Alexander Pope. Indeed, it is divine. We tend to fall into one of two traps with forgiveness. The first is the belief that what we do doesn’t matter because we can ask for forgiveness later. The second is that we limit God’s forgiveness. The point of the parable in Matthew 18:23–35 is that God forgives lavishly and infinitely, yet we must accept His forgiveness and behave accordingly. We’re to forgive others as we’ve been forgiven. True forgiveness is unnatural to us. Only through Jesus can we truly forgive.
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Read: Psalm 95:1–7 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 12–13; Luke 16 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIn his hand are the depths of the earth. Psalm 95:4Krubera-Voronja, in the Eurasian country of Georgia, is one of the deepest caves yet explored on planet Earth. A team of explorers have probed the dark and scary depths of its mostly vertical caverns to 2,197 meters—that’s 7,208 feet into the earth! Similar caves, around four hundred of them, exist in other parts of the country and across the globe. More caverns are being discovered all the time and new depth records are being set.
The mysteries of creation continue to unfold, changing and adding to our understanding of the universe we live in and causing us to wonder at the matchless creativity of God’s handiwork. The psalmist invites us all to “sing for joy” and “shout aloud” to the Lord because of His greatness (v. 1). God’s work of creation—all that it contains, whether we’ve yet discovered it or not—is cause for us to bow down in worship (v. 6).
He doesn’t just know the vast, physical places of His creation; He also knows the intimate depths of our hearts. And not unlike in the caverns of Georgia, we’ll go through dark and perhaps scary seasons in life. Yet we know that God holds even those times in His powerful yet tender care. In the words of the psalmist, we’re His people, the “flock under his care” (v. 7).
How has God guided you through dark places? In what new place or way is He inviting you to trust Him now?
Creator God, help me to trust in Your care for me even in the darkest places!
INSIGHTPsalm 95 together with Psalms 47, 93, and 96–99 are known as “enthronement or royal psalms” because they use the image of a king to denote God’s sovereign reign over all creation and over all history. Psalm 95:3 proclaims, “the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.” This psalm is easily outlined into two parts: a call to worship God as Creator and King (vv. 1–7a) and a warning not to reject God as King (vv. 7b–11). The Israelites viewed their national leaders as shepherds (see Ezekiel 34:1–2; Zechariah 10:3). They also spoke of God as their national leader, calling Him the “Shepherd of Israel” (Psalm 80:1), who “brought his people out like a flock; [leading] them like sheep through the wilderness” (78:52). Here in Psalm 95, His people sing in reverent worship, “He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care” (v. 7).
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Read: Philippians 3:12–16 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 9–11; Luke 15:11–32 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesForgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on. Philippians 3:13–14On a run in the forest, I tried to find a shortcut and went down an unfamiliar path. Wondering if I was lost, I asked a runner coming the other way if I was on the right track.
“Yup,” he replied confidently. Seeing my doubtful look, he quickly added: “Don’t worry, I’ve tried all the wrong routes! But that’s okay, it’s all part of the run.”
What an apt description of my spiritual journey! How many times have I strayed from God, given in to temptation, and been distracted by the things of life? Yet God has forgiven me each time and helped me to move on—knowing I will certainly stumble again. God knows our tendency to go down the wrong path. But He’s always ready to forgive, again and again, if we confess our sins and allow His Spirit to transform us.
Paul too knew this was all part of the faith journey. Fully aware of his sinful past and current weaknesses, he knew he had yet to obtain the Christlike perfection he desired (Philippians 3:12). “But one thing I do,” he added, “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on” (vv. 13–14). Stumbling is part of our walk with God: it’s through our mistakes that He refines us. His grace enables us to press on, as forgiven children.
What mistakes can you confess to God today? How can His assurance of forgiveness help you to press on in your walk of faith?
Thank You, God, for Your mercy. Help me to lead a life that pleases You, knowing that Your Spirit is working in me to transform me into Your Son’s likeness.
Explore classes to help you grow on your spiritual journey.
INSIGHTThe book of Philippians features several connections with Acts 16. In Acts 16, Paul was in a Philippian jail because of his witness for Jesus (vv. 19–24), but the apostle didn’t allow his imprisonment to stop his witness for Him (vv. 25–34). Philippians was written from a Roman jail and, once again, the gospel was advanced through Paul, the prisoner (Philippians 1:12–14). While the geographical venue was different, the situation was the same—jail time for speaking about Jesus. The apostle was transformed from a Pharisee and persecutor of Christ and His church (3:5–6) to one who wholeheartedly testified, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (1:21). Furthermore, Paul’s passionate pursuit of Jesus warranted the use of the athletic metaphor of an undistracted runner in pursuit of a prize (3:13–14). For Paul, Christ was the prize!
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Read: Ecclesiastes 4:7–12 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 6–8; Luke 15:1–10 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunes“For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” Ecclesiastes 4:8For many around the world, life is getting lonelier. The number of Americans who have no friends has quadrupled since 1990. Certain European countries have up to 20 percent of their population feeling lonely, while in Japan, some elderly folks have resorted to crime so they can have the companionship of inmates in jail.
Entrepreneurs have come up with a “solution” to this loneliness epidemic—rent-a-friend. Hired by the hour, these people will meet you in a café to talk or accompany you to a party. One such “friend” was asked who her clientele was. “Lonely, 30- to 40-year-old professionals,” she said, “who work long hours and don’t have time to make many friends.”
Ecclesiastes 4 describes a person who is all alone, without “son nor brother.” There’s “no end” to this worker’s toil, yet his success isn’t fulfilling (v. 8). “For whom am I toiling . . . ?” he asks, waking up to his plight. Far better to invest in relationships, which will make his workload lighter and provide help in trouble (vv. 9–12). Because, ultimately, success without friendship is “meaningless” (v. 8).
Ecclesiastes tells us that a cord of three strands isn’t quickly broken (v. 12). But neither is it quickly woven. Since true friends can’t be rented, let’s invest the time needed to form them, with God as our third strand, weaving us tightly together.
How are you investing time and effort into your friendships? Who could you welcome into your friendship group now?
Father, help me to be a good and loyal friend to others.
INSIGHTMost Bible scholars attribute the book of Ecclesiastes to King Solomon. The book begins: “The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem” (1:1). Those scholars who support Solomon as author date the book to his final years as king (around 940 bc), during what the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible says was the “golden era of Israelite wisdom.” The book demonstrates the meaninglessness or vanity of a worldview that doesn’t include God. The author concludes his book: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (12:13–14). Loving and obeying God is the goal and purpose of life. And as today’s passage demonstrates, when we have Him as our third strand in the cord that binds all our friendships and relationships, we can stand strong (4:12).
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Read: Jeremiah 32:37–44 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 3–5; Luke 14:25–35 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. Jeremiah 32:42Sara lost her mother when she was just fourteen years old. She and her siblings lost their house soon after and became homeless. Years later, Sara wanted to provide her future children with an inheritance that could be passed down from generation to generation. She worked hard to purchase a house, giving her family the stable home she never had.
Investing in a home for future generations is an act of faith toward a future you don’t yet see. God told the prophet Jeremiah to purchase land just before the violent siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (Jeremiah 32:6–12). To the prophet, God’s instructions didn’t make a lot of sense. Soon all their property and belongings would be confiscated.
But God gave Jeremiah this promise: “As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them” (v. 42). The prophet’s investment in property was a physical sign of God’s faithfulness to someday restore the Israelites to their homeland. Even in the midst of a terrible attack, God promised His people that peace would come again—homes and property would be bought and sold again (vv. 43–44).
Today we can put our trust in God’s faithfulness and choose to “invest” in faith. Although we may not see an earthly restoration of every situation, we have the assurance that He’ll someday make everything right.
What causes you to lose sight of God’s faithfulness? How can you “invest” in light of the restoration He promises?
Dear God, help me to invest today for the future I can’t yet see.
INSIGHTInterestingly, while Deuteronomy 6 commanded Israel to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (v. 5), in order that “it may go well with you” (v. 3), Jeremiah 32 describes God as lovingly caring for His people that way—“with all my heart and soul” (v. 41). Only God could give His people the “singleness of heart and action” to follow Him so that all would “go well for them” (v. 39). God’s “everlasting covenant”—God’s commitment to “never stop doing good to them” (v. 40)—was their only source of hope.
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Read: Isaiah 63:7–9 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 1–2; Luke 14:1–24 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord. Isaiah 63:7When our congregation built our first building, people wrote thankful reminders on the wall studs and concrete floors before the interior of the building was finished. Pull back the drywall from the studs and you’ll find them there. Verse after verse from Scripture, written beside prayers of praise like “You are so good!” We left them there as a witness to future generations that regardless of our challenges, God had been kind and taken care of us.
We need to remember what God has done for us and tell others about it. Isaiah exemplified this when he wrote, “I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us” (Isaiah 63:7). Later, the prophet also recounts God’s compassion for His people throughout history, even telling how “in all their distress he too was distressed” (v. 9). But if you keep reading the chapter, you’ll notice Israel is again in a time of trouble, and the prophet longs for God’s intervention.
Remembering God’s past kindnesses helps when times are hard. Challenging seasons come and go, but His faithful character never changes. As we turn to Him with grateful hearts in remembrance of all He’s done, we discover afresh that He’s always worthy of our praise.
What kindnesses has God shown you in the past? How does praising Him for them help you when you’re going through challenging times?
Father, You’re sovereign over all creation. I praise You because Your goodness doesn’t change, and You’re always with me.
For further study, read Worshipping God Means More than Singing.
INSIGHTIsaiah 63:7–9 form the first part of the prophet Isaiah’s prayer. It follows the pattern of thanksgiving, confession, and supplication (making a request of our heavenly Father). The thanksgiving portion recounts God’s history of caring for Israel. He’s done “many good things” and bestowed “many kindnesses” on them (v. 7). He calls them “my people, children who will be true to me” (v. 8). Verse 10 begins the confession segment of the prayer. “Yet they rebelled and grieved [God’s] Holy Spirit,” laments Isaiah, and he poetically wonders, “Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among [Israel] . . . who divided the waters before them, to gain for himself everlasting renown?” (vv. 11–12). All this is a prelude to Isaiah’s plea for God to again show Himself strong. “Look down from heaven and see,” he says (v. 15). “Return for the sake of your servants” (v. 17).
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Read: John 15:9–17 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 30–31; Luke 13:23–35 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesGreater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13Just days before Holy Week, when Christians around the world remember Jesus’ sacrifice and celebrate His resurrection, a terrorist stormed into a supermarket in southwest France opening fire and killing two. After negotiation, the terrorist released all but one hostage, whom he turned into a human shield. Knowing the danger, police officer Arnaud Beltrame did the unthinkable: he volunteered to take the woman’s place. The perpetrator released her, but in the ensuing scuffle Beltrame was injured and later died.
A minister who knew the police officer attributed his heroism to his faith in Jesus, pointing to His words in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Those were the words Christ spoke to His disciples after their last meal together. He told His friends to “Love each other as I have loved you” (v. 12) and that the greatest love is to lay down one’s life for another (v. 13). This is exactly what Jesus did the next day, when He went to the cross to save us from our sin—as only He could.
We may never be called to follow the heroism of this officer. But as we remain in God’s love, we can serve others sacrificially, laying down our own plans and desires as we seek to share the story of His great love.
How do you react to stories such as that of Arnaud Beltrame? How can you serve someone sacrificially today?
Dear Jesus, You died to give me life everlasting. May I live with gratitude for this gift and share it with those You put in my path.
INSIGHTTwo important themes in John 15 are remaining in Jesus and friendship with Jesus. Twice, Christ instructs us to “remain in [His] love” (vv. 9–10)—to continue in a personal, enduring, and endearing intimate relationship with Him. To remain in Jesus’ love is to “remain faithful to [His] teachings” (8:31 nlt) and obey His commands (15:10).
Jesus contrasted servants and friends (v. 15) to show the new level of intimacy that believers now have with Him. He proved this friendship by laying down His life for us (v. 13). Because Abraham was privileged to be called a “friend” of God (2 Chronicles 20:7; James 2:23), God revealed His plans to him (Genesis 18:17). He also spoke to Moses “as one speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33:11). Jesus likewise tells us “everything that [He] learned from [His] Father” (John 15:15) because we are His friends.
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Read: Ephesians 4:22–32 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 27–29; Luke 13:1–22 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBe kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32My sister and I clashed frequently when we were younger, but one time especially stands out in my memory. After a bout of yelling back and forth where we’d both said hurtful things, she said something that in the moment seemed unforgivable. Witnessing the animosity growing between us, my grandmother reminded us of our responsibility to love each other: “God gave you one sister in life. You’ve got to show each other a little grace,” she said. When we asked God to fill us with love and understanding, He helped us acknowledge how we’d hurt each other and to forgive one another.
It can be so easy to hold on to bitterness and anger, but God desires for us to experience the peace that can only come when we ask Him to help us release feelings of resentment (Ephesians 4:31). Instead of harboring these feelings, we can look to Christ’s example of forgiveness that comes from a place of love and grace, striving to be “kind and compassionate” and to “[forgive] each other, just as in Christ God forgave [us]” (v. 32). When we find it challenging to forgive, may we consider the grace that He extends to us each day. No matter how many times we fall short, His compassion never fails (Lamentations 3:22). God can help us remove bitterness from our hearts, so we’re free to remain hopeful and receptive to His love.
When has someone hurt you? What did you learn from that moment?
Heavenly Father, thank You for the people You’ve placed in my life. Help me to have a loving and forgiving spirit.
INSIGHTThere’s some debate among scholars as to the actual destination of the letter of Ephesians. In Ephesians 1:1, the words “in Ephesus” are absent in several ancient manuscripts—causing some to view this as an “encyclical letter”—a letter that was to be circulated among the various church gatherings in Asia Minor. Adding to this theory is that Paul addresses no individuals, which seems unusual, especially compared to Romans 16, where he mentions no less than twenty-six people by name while also referring to many others in that congregation. Many scholars, however, hold to the church at Ephesus as being the proper first destination, with the letter to be circulated to other churches from there. The circular nature of the letter perhaps explains its lack of personal address.
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Read: 2 Samuel 15:13–14, 23–26 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 25–26; Luke 12:32–59 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesLet him do to me whatever seems good to him. 2 Samuel 15:26Christina Rossetti, a poet and devotional writer, found that nothing came easily for her. She suffered from depression and various illnesses throughout her life and endured broken engagements. Eventually she died of cancer.
When David burst into Israel’s national consciousness, it was as a triumphant warrior. Yet throughout his life, David faced hardship. Late in his reign, his own son, along with his trusted advisor and much of the country, turned against him (2 Samuel 15:1–12). So David took the priests Abiathar and Zadok and the sacred ark of God with him and fled Jerusalem (vv. 14, 24).
After Abiathar had offered sacrifices to God, David told the priests, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again” (v. 25). Despite the uncertainty, David said, “If [God] says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ . . . let him do to me whatever seems good to him” (v. 26). He knew he could trust God.
Christina Rossetti trusted God too, and her life ended in hope. The road may indeed wind uphill all the way, but it leads to our heavenly Father, who awaits us with open arms.
In what ways has life seemed uphill and winding to you? How will you trust God to lead you on the road you’re traveling?
Dear God, this life seems so hard sometimes. Yet I trust You to do what’s right, for me and for everyone. Help me live in Your hope, anticipating the day I’ll be with You.
INSIGHTPsalm 3 is among a few psalms that include notes (superscriptions) that identify authors or other helpful information. The header reads: “A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.” This notation connects the psalm with 2 Samuel 15, where we see Absalom, the rival king, on the rise (vv. 1–12) and David, the rightful king, on the run (vv. 13–37). The rebellion of Absalom, along with other family challenges (see 2 Samuel 13), fulfilled the word of the prophet: “Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you” (12:11). Because the battered king didn’t equate the discipline of God with the abandonment of God, he could say, “But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain” (Psalm 3:3–4).
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Read: Psalm 30 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 22–24; Luke 12:1–31 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesSing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. Psalm 30:4Years ago, I cared for my mom as she was in hospice. I thanked God for the four months He allowed me to serve as her caregiver and asked Him to help me through the grieving process. I often struggled to praise God as I wrestled with my mixed emotions. But as my mom breathed her last breath and I wept uncontrollably, I whispered, “Hallelujah.” I felt guilty for praising God in that devastating moment until, years later, I took a closer look at Psalm 30.
In David’s song “for the dedication of the temple,” he worshiped God for His faithfulness and mercy (vv. 1–3). He encouraged others to “praise his holy name” (v. 4). Then David explored how intimately God entwines hardship and hope (v. 5). He acknowledged times of grief and rejoicing, times of feeling secure and being dismayed (vv. 6–7). His cries for help remained laced with confidence in God (vv. 7–10). The echo of his praise wove through David’s moments of wailing and dancing, grief and joy (v. 11). As if acknowledging the mystery and complexity of enduring affliction and anticipating God’s faithfulness, David proclaimed his endless devotion to God (v. 12).
Like David, we can sing, “Lord my God, I will praise you forever” (v. 12). Whether we’re happy or hurting, God can help us declare our trust in Him and lead us to worship Him with joyful shouts and tears of praise.
How has God helped you trust Him with your mixed emotions? How can you praise Him while still processing hardship?
Dear God, please help me trust You and praise You as I process my emotions.
INSIGHTThe book of Psalms is one of the most cited books of the Old Testament in the New Testament. Jesus Himself told His disciples that all Scripture anticipated His coming and specifically mentioned the book of Psalms (Luke 24:27, 44–45). Jesus’ words remind us that when we read the Psalms, we should always reflect on how a psalm might point to Him. After all, He’s the Good Shepherd (John 10:11; Psalm 23); He’s “God’s Anointed One” (Psalm 2:2; Hebrew for Messiah); He’s our divine warrior who defeats the spiritual powers by His death and resurrection (Ephesians 4:8, citing Psalm 68:18).
Adapted from Understanding the Bible: The Poetic Books..
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Read: 1 Samuel 3:3–10 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 19–21; Luke 11:29–54 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThen Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10I received a phone call from an unknown number. Often, I let those calls go to voicemail, but this time I picked up. The random caller asked politely if I had just a minute for him to share a short Bible passage. He quoted Revelation 21:3–5 about how God “will wipe every tear from their eyes.” He talked about Jesus, how he was our assurance and hope. I told him I already know Jesus as my personal Savior. But the caller wasn’t aiming to “witness” to me. Instead, he simply asked if he could pray with me. And he did, asking God to give me encouragement and strength.
That call reminded me of another “call” in Scripture—God called out to the young boy Samuel in the middle of the night (1 Samuel 3:4–10). Three times Samuel heard the voice, thinking it was the elderly priest Eli. The final time, following Eli’s instruction, Samuel realized that God was calling him: “Speak, for your servant is listening” (v. 10). Likewise, through our days and nights, God may be speaking to us. We need to “pick up,” which might mean spending more time in His presence and listening for His voice.
I then thought of “the call” in another way. What if we sometimes are the messenger of God’s words to someone else? We might feel we have no way of helping others. But as God guides us, we could phone a friend and ask, “Would it be okay if I just prayed with you today?”
What message of encouragement did someone recently share with you? Who might be encouraged by a phone call from you?
Dear God, prompt me to think of others whom I can encourage with Your wisdom.
INSIGHTEli was a priest in Israel and, as such, a valuable mentor to young Samuel. Unfortunately, Eli’s struggles as a dad are pictured in the failings of his sons Hophni and Phinehas. These men followed in their father’s footsteps as priests but defiled the sacrifices (1 Samuel 2:12–17) and even engaged in sexual acts with women at the very gate of the tabernacle—Israel’s tent of meeting and primary place of worship (v. 22). Verse 12 describes them as “scoundrels” and verse 17 adds that “this sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight.” So severe was their activity that a “man of God” later came to Eli and chastened him for honoring his sons more than God, pronouncing a verdict of judgment upon the house of Eli (vv. 27–36).
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Read: 2 Timothy 4:1–5 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 17–18; Luke 11:1–28 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDo the work of an evangelist. 2 Timothy 4:5While waiting to enter the university, twenty-year-old Shin Yi decided to commit three months of her break to serving in a youth mission organization. It seemed like an odd time to do this, given the COVID-19 restrictions that prevented face-to-face meetings. But Shin Yi soon found a way. “We couldn’t meet up with students on the streets, in shopping malls, or fast-food centers like we usually did,” she shared. “But we continued to keep in touch with the Christian students via Zoom to pray for one another and with the non-believers via phone calls.”
Shin Yi did what the apostle Paul encouraged Timothy to do: “Do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5). Paul warned that people would find teachers who would tell them what they wanted to hear and not what they needed to hear (vv. 3–4). Yet Timothy was called to take courage and “be prepared in season and out of season.” He was to “correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (v. 2).
Though not all of us are called to be evangelists or preachers, each one of us can play a part in sharing our faith with those around us. Unbelievers are perishing without Christ. Believers need strengthening and encouragement. With God’s help, let’s proclaim His good news whenever and wherever we can.
What discourages you from sharing your faith? How might remembering that Jesus is coming back help you to overcome your fear?
Dear Jesus, help me to seize every opportunity to share Your words with others that they may find hope and comfort in You.
INSIGHTPaul’s words to Timothy that he “be prepared in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2) might seem a bit odd. In context, Paul wants Timothy to carry out the task of preaching “the word” when it’s appropriate to his audience (in season) and also when that audience doesn’t want to hear it (out of season).
Then Paul points out that soon Timothy’s audience won’t tolerate the hard truths of following Jesus; instead, they will turn to “what their itching ears want to hear” (v. 3). Paul wanted Timothy to preach the gospel to people regardless of whether they felt up to denying themselves, caring for the poor, the widow, the orphan, or following Jesus into death. As a young church planter, Timothy faced a world that would hate his message as well as embrace it. And still, he preached “the word” (v. 2).
The post Seize the Opportunity appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Judges 7:1–9 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 15–16; Luke 10:25–42 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men.” Judges 7:2When my son was nearly three, I needed an operation that would require a month or more of recovery. Prior to the procedure, I imagined myself in bed while stacks of dirty dishes accumulated in the sink. I wasn’t sure how I’d take care of an active toddler and couldn’t picture myself standing in front of the stove to cook our meals. I dreaded the impact my weakness would have on the rhythm of our lives.
God intentionally weakened Gideon’s forces before his troops confronted the Midianites. First, those who were afraid were allowed to leave—twenty-two thousand men went home (Judges 7:3). Then, of the ten thousand who remained, only those who scooped water into their hands to drink could stay. Just three hundred men were left, but this disadvantage prevented the Israelites from relying on themselves (vv. 5–6). They couldn’t say, “My own strength has saved me” (v. 2).
Many of us experience times when we feel drained and powerless. When this happened to me, I realized how much I needed God. He encouraged me inwardly through His Spirit and outwardly through the helpfulness of friends and family. I had to let go of my independence for a while, but this taught me how to lean more fully on God. Because “[His] power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9), we can have hope when we can’t meet our needs on our own.
How have you experienced God’s power made perfect in your weakness? How could you help someone who’s experiencing weakness?
God, I want my life to display Your power, even in weakness. Help me to depend more on You each day, and to feel Your strength when I struggle.
INSIGHTSome scholars suggest that the reason God chose the three hundred soldiers who lapped water from their hands like dogs to defeat the Midianites (Judges 7) is because they were the ones who kept their eyes up. Those who knelt to drink had to put their faces directly into the water and thus couldn’t see around them. However, it was God who gave the victory. The way they drank water wasn’t necessarily important; it was the number of men that was significant (v. 2). If it had been the smaller number who had stuck their faces in the water to drink rather than lapping, God would likely have used them instead.
The post Strength in Weakness appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Isaiah 53:4–6 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 13–14; Luke 10:1–24 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBy his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5On Easter Sunday 2020, the famous Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was illuminated in a way that appeared to clothe Jesus in the attire of a physician. The poignant portrayal of Christ as a doctor was in tribute to the many frontline health-care workers battling the coronavirus pandemic. The imagery brings to life the common description of Jesus as our Great Physician (Mark 2:17).
Jesus healed many people of their physical afflictions during His earthly ministry: blind Bartimaeus (10:46–52), a leper (Luke 5:12–16), and a paralytic (Matthew 9:1–8), to name a few. His care for the health of those following Him was also demonstrated in providing for their hunger by multiplying a simple meal to feed the masses (John 6:1–13). Each of these miracles reveal both Jesus’ mighty power and His genuine love for people.
His greatest act of healing, however, came through His death and resurrection, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah. It is “by [Jesus’] wounds we are healed” of our worst affliction: our separation from God as a result of our sins (Isaiah 53:5). Though Jesus doesn’t heal all our health challenges, we can trust the cure for our deepest need: the healing He brings to our relationship with God.
How have you experienced the miraculous spiritual healing of God? How does your healed relationship through Jesus’ sacrifice help you bear up under your physical ailments?
Jesus, thank You for Your sacrifice that brings healing to my spiritual sickness. Help me to trust You in my physical challenges.
INSIGHTIsaiah 52:13–53:12 is called the “Suffering Servant” passage and is one of Isaiah’s best-known texts. In fact, The Bible Knowledge Commentary points out that this passage is repeatedly quoted in the New Testament, including Isaiah 52:15 in Romans 15:21; Isaiah 53:1 in John 12:38 and Romans 10:16; Isaiah 53:4 in Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:7–8 in Acts 8:32–33; Isaiah 53:9 in 1 Peter 2:22; and Isaiah 53:12 in Luke 22:37. The many citations from this text make sense when the “Suffering Servant” is seen as Jesus—whose great suffering would produce great glory. Others see the suffering servant as Isaiah himself, or perhaps Jeremiah. Jewish scholars often see the suffering servant as a picture of Israel. When matching up the descriptions of the sufferer in Isaiah’s text with the Gospels, it’s easy to see why so many believers in Jesus view this as a messianic prophecy.
The post Deeper Healing appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: John 20:1–10 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 10–12; Luke 9:37–62 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBoth were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. John 20:4On a trip to Paris, Ben and his friends found themselves at one of the renowned museums in the city. Though Ben wasn’t a student of art, he was in awe as he looked upon the painting titled The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection by Eugène Burnand. Without words, the looks on the faces of Peter and John and the position of their hands speak volumes, inviting onlookers to step into their shoes and share their adrenaline-charged emotions.
Based on John 20:1–10, the painting portrays the two running in the direction of the empty tomb of Jesus (v. 4). The masterpiece captures the intensity of the two emotionally conflicted disciples. Though at that juncture theirs wasn’t a fully formed faith, they were running in the right direction, and eventually the resurrected Jesus revealed Himself to them (vv. 19–29). Their search was not unlike that of Jesus seekers through the centuries. Although we may be removed from the experiences of an empty tomb or a brilliant piece of art, we can clearly see the good news. Scripture compels us to hope and seek and run in the direction of Jesus and His love—even with doubts, questions, and uncertainties. Tomorrow, as we celebrate Easter, may we remember Jesus’ words: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
If you don’t know Jesus, what will you do to begin running toward Him and His love? If you’re a believer, how will you share His love with others?
Dear Jesus, lead me into Your loving arms today.
INSIGHTWhen John wrote that the disciples “still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead” (John 20:9), what Scripture was he referring to? Similarly, Luke says, “ ‘Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (24:26–27). What passages did Jesus expound here? The answer to these questions is found in the preaching of the apostles in the book of Acts. Indeed, they’d experienced the resurrected Christ personally, but they also had Scripture to defend this crucial doctrine. The apostolic preaching of Peter in Acts 2 includes references to Psalm 16:8–11 (Acts 2:25–28) and Psalm 110:1 (Acts 2:34–35). Paul’s preaching in Acts 13 references Psalm 2:7 (Acts 13:33), Isaiah 55:3 (Acts 13:34), and Psalm 16:10 (Acts 13:35).
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Read: Luke 22:39–44 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 7–9; Luke 9:18–36 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHis sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke 22:44Walking through the Scottish National Gallery, I was drawn to the strong brushwork and vibrant colors of one of many Olive Trees paintings by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. Many historians believe the work was inspired by Jesus’ experience in the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. What especially caught my eye on the canvas of the painting were the small red splotches of paint among the ancient trees.
Known as the Mount of Olives because of all the olive trees located on the mountainside, Jesus went there to pray on the night that He predicted His disciple Judas would betray Him. Jesus was overwhelmed with anguish knowing the betrayal would result in His crucifixion. As He prayed, “his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Jesus’ agony was evident in the garden as He prepared for the pain and humiliation of a public execution that would result in the physical shedding of His blood on that Good Friday long ago.
The red paint on Van Gogh’s painting reminds us that Jesus had to “suffer many things and be rejected” (Mark 8:31). While suffering is part of His story, however, it no longer dominates the picture. Jesus’ victory over death transforms even our suffering, allowing it to become only a part of the beautiful landscape of our lives He’s creating.
Why is it important for you to remember Jesus’ suffering? How does His example help you when you suffer?
Jesus, thank You for being willing to suffer, even to death, so that I might receive eternal life.
Learn more about Jesus’ example for us.
INSIGHTAfter sharing Passover (the Last Supper) with His disciples (Matthew 26:17–30), Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray knowing He’d suffer and die a horrific death. Those closest to Him would desert Him, and Peter would deny Him three times (Luke 22:34, 54–62). Yet Jesus also knew that after three days He would rise again (Matthew 12:40; Mark 8:31).
The Mount of Olives, a ridge in the Judean mountains lying east of Jerusalem and the Kidron Valley, is first mentioned in the Old Testament when King David fled from his son Absalom (2 Samuel 15:30). Solomon later chose this mountain to build “a high place” for the “detestable” foreign gods of the Ammonites and Moabites (1 Kings 11:7). Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:9–12) and will return to the same place, fulfilling the vision of the prophet that the mount “will be split in two from east to west” (Zechariah 14:4).
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Read: John 13:3–15 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 4–6; Luke 9:1–17 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. Matthew 20:28Although just thirteen years old, DeAvion took up a challenge to serve others. He and his mom had heard a story about a man who called on kids to mow fifty lawns for free during their summer break. Their focus was to assist veterans, single moms, people with disabilities—or anyone who just needed help. The founder (who had mowed fifty lawns in fifty states) created the challenge to teach the importance of work ethic and giving back to the community. Despite the heat and the availability of other activities a teenager could pursue in the summer, DeAvion chose to serve others and completed the challenge.
The challenge to serve comes to believers in Jesus as well. The evening before He would die for all people, Jesus ate dinner with His friends (John 13:1–2). He was well aware of the suffering and death He would soon encounter, yet He got up from the meal, wrapped a towel around Himself, and began to wash His disciples’ feet (vv. 3–5). “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet,” He said (v. 14).
Jesus, the humble Servant and our example, cared for people: He healed the blind and sick, taught the good news of His kingdom, and gave His life for His friends. Because Christ loves you, ask Him who He wants you to serve this week.
What about God’s love and compassion means the most to you? How can you use your gifts and talents to serve others?
Dear God, show me how to love others with the same love You have for me.
INSIGHTIn biblical times, foot-washing was a task reserved for the most menial servant. For a superior to wash the feet of an inferior was virtually unheard of (John 13:6–8, 13–16).
But John begins his thirteenth chapter by saying Jesus loved His own—even to the end. Christ adopted the role of the servant to wash the very feet that would abandon Him just a few hours later (Mark 14:50). To love like Jesus means humbly serving even those who fail us. It is, after all, how He loves us.
The post The Challenge to Serve appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Matthew 16:21–28 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 1–3; Luke 8:26–56 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24We all leave a bit of ourselves behind when we move to a new place. But to become a long-term resident of Villas Las Estrellas, Antarctica, a cold and desolate place, leaving a piece of yourself behind is a literal thing. With the nearest hospital 625 miles away, a person will be in serious trouble if their appendix bursts. So every citizen must first undergo an appendectomy before moving there.
Drastic, right? But it’s not as drastic as becoming a resident of the kingdom of God. Because people want to follow Jesus on their own terms and not His (Matthew 16:25–27), He redefines what it means to be a disciple. He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (v. 24). This includes being prepared to let go of anything that competes with Him and His kingdom. And as we take up our cross, we declare a willingness to undergo social and political oppression and even death for the sake of devotion to Christ. Along with letting go and taking up, we’re also to take on a willingness to truly follow Him. This is a moment-by-moment posture of following His lead as He guides us into service and sacrifice.
Following Jesus means so much more than leaving a little piece of our lives behind. As He helps us, it’s about submitting and surrendering our whole lives—including our bodies—to Him alone.
What does it mean for you to follow Jesus? How is He asking you to sacrifice your life for Him?
Dear Jesus, help me give up anything that competes with You and Your kingdom.
INSIGHTMatthew 16:21–28 records the first of three times Jesus predicted His coming suffering. The timing of this revelation is significant because it follows Peter’s great confession of Christ’s identity at Caesarea Philippi, which seems to have occurred about midway through His public ministry. As such, it seems that the first half of Jesus’ ministry was to reveal to His followers who He was (and is), and the second half of His ministry was to reveal why He came—to suffer, die, and rise again. The second prediction is found in Matthew 17:22–23. The third is found in Matthew 20:17–19 and is the only one to specifically mention crucifixion. All three, however, state that Jesus would be raised on the third day.
The post More Than a Little Piece appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: John 15:1–11 | Bible in a Year: Ruth 1–4; Luke 8:1–25 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesRemain in me, as I also remain in you. John 15:4Several years ago, we brought home an adult black cat named Juno from the local animal shelter. Truthfully, I only wanted help thinning our mice population, but the rest of the family wanted a pet. The shelter gave us rigorous instructions on how to establish a feeding routine that first week so Juno would learn our house was his home, the place he belonged and where he’d always have food and safety. This way, even if Juno might roam, he would always eventually come home.
If we don’t know our true home, we’re forever tempted to roam in vain search for goodness, love, and meaning. If we want to find our true life, however, Jesus said, “Abide in me” (John 15:4 esv). Biblical scholar Frederick Dale Bruner highlights how abide (like a similar word abode) evokes a sense of family and home. So Bruner translates Jesus’ words this way: “Stay at home in me.”
To drive this idea home, Jesus used the illustration of branches attached to a vine. Branches, if they want to live, must always stay at home, tenaciously fixed (abiding) where they belong.
There are many voices beckoning us with hollow promises to fix our problems or provide us some new “wisdom” or exhilarating future. But if we’re to truly live, we must remain in Jesus. We must stay at home.
What pulls you away from your home in Jesus? How has Jesus shown Himself to be your true source of life?
Jesus, I like to roam. I’m pulled in all kinds of directions. But I want to stay at home with You. You’re my life. Help me to abide in You.
Learn more about abiding in Christ.
INSIGHTOne of the central emphases of the gospel of John is on the incarnation—God becoming human to be with us (John 1:14)—as a gift of God’s love (3:16–17).
While church tradition and other evidence suggests John the disciple was likely the author of this gospel, the author is intentional about being identified only as someone “whom Jesus loved” (21:20), whose testimony is trustworthy (v. 24). What’s most important is that the gospel points us to Jesus as the One through whom we can rest in God’s love (15:9).
The post At Home in Jesus appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 | Bible in a Year: Judges 19–21; Luke 7:31–50 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9Soccer player Christian Pulisic faced several injuries that influenced his career. After learning he wouldn’t be in the starting lineup of the Champions League semifinals game, he was disappointed, but he described how God had revealed Himself to him. “As always, I reach out to God, and He gives me strength,” he said. “I feel like I always have Someone who’s with me. I don’t know how I would do any of this without that feeling.” Pulisic ultimately made a momentous impact when he was substituted later in the game. He initiated a clever play that led to the game-winning shot and secured their spot in the championship. These experiences taught him a valuable lesson: we can always view our weaknesses as opportunities for God to reveal His immeasurable power.
The world teaches us to rely on our own strength when encountering problems. However, biblical wisdom teaches us that God’s grace and power give us strength in the most trying circumstances (2 Corinthians 12:9). Therefore, we can move in confidence, recognizing that we never face trials alone. Our “weaknesses” become opportunities for God to reveal His power, strengthening and supporting us (vv. 9–10). We can then use our struggles to offer praise to God, giving thanks for His goodness and sharing these encounters with others so that they can come to experience His love.
When have you tried to overcome a struggle on your own? How can you look to God for strength?
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for being the source of my strength and guiding me each day.
For further reading, check out this article: Christian Pulisic reaches out to God for strength with Chelsea in FA Cup, Champions League finals.
INSIGHTGod’s promise to Paul that “my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9) shouldn’t be surprising. Power in places least expected has been God’s way of doing things since Adam and Eve’s sin brought both judgment on all creation and the promise of redemption.
Jesus is the epitome of the unexpected. Not only did the Messiah come as a baby from Bethlehem (both of which were not unexpected), but the way He secured our salvation through His death and resurrection was completely unexpected. This picture finds its most dramatic expression in the book of Revelation. When John is told to turn and look at the victorious “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5), he sees not just a lamb but one that’s been sacrificed (see v. 6). Strength in the unexpected places is how God works.
The post Finding Strength in God appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Luke 19:37–42 | Bible in a Year: Judges 16–18; Luke 7:1–30 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI tell you, . . . if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out. Luke 19:40Bluestone is a fascinating variety of rock. When struck, certain bluestones will ring with a musical tone. Maenclochog, a Welsh village whose name means “bell” or “ringing stones,” used bluestones as church bells until the eighteenth century. Interestingly, the ruins of Stonehenge, in England, are built of bluestone, causing some to wonder if that landmark’s original purpose was musical. Some researchers claim that the bluestone at Stonehenge was brought from near Maenclochog, nearly two hundred miles away, because of their unique acoustic properties.
Musical ringing stones are yet another of the wonders of God’s great creation, and they remind us of something Jesus said during His Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem. As the people praised Jesus, the religious leaders demanded Him to rebuke them. “ ‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out’ ” (Luke 19:40).
If bluestone can make music, and if Jesus made mention of even the stones bearing witness to their Creator, how might we express our own praise to the One who made us, loves us, and rescued us? He is worthy of all worship. May the Holy Spirit stir us to give Him the honor He deserves. All of creation praises Him.
How many ways can you think of in which creation praises God? How can you join in daily worship of our Creator?
Creator God, You are deserving of all worship, praise, and gratitude. When my heart grows hard and I lose sight of Your worthiness, remind me that all creation sings Your praise.
For further study, read All Creation Sings.
INSIGHTWhen we think of Palm Sunday, we think of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to the joyful, loud shouts of the crowd who rejoiced for “all the miracles they had seen” (Luke 19:37). In their celebration, they sang Psalm 118:26, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” However, in Luke 19:41–42, we see different emotions expressed, ones we don’t normally associate with this day of celebration and welcome of Jesus. In verse 41, we have the image of Jesus lamenting: “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it” (see also 13:31–35). Celebration and lamentation, praising and weeping meet in Luke 19:37–42. While the crowds had seen the miracles and celebrated, what they hadn’t seen was the judgment that was to come because of the rejection of Jesus. Because of that, Jesus wept.
Learn more about our God who allows us to lament
The post Bluestone Church Bells appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 32 | Bible in a Year: Judges 13–15; Luke 6:27–49 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesOh, what joy for those . . . whose sin is put out of sight! Psalm 32:1 nltJosé, a young believer in Jesus, was visiting his brother’s church. As he entered the sanctuary prior to the service, his brother’s face fell when he saw him. José’s tattoos, covering both arms, were visible since he was wearing a T-shirt. His brother told him to go home and put on a long-sleeved shirt, for many of José’s tattoos reflected the ways of his past. José suddenly felt dirty. But another man overheard the brothers’ interaction and brought José to the pastor, telling him what had happened. The pastor smiled and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a large tattoo on his chest—something from his own past. He assured José that because God had made him pure from the inside out, he didn’t need to cover his arms.
David experienced the joy of being made pure by God. After confessing his sin to Him, the king wrote, “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!” (Psalm 32:1 nlt). He could now “shout for joy” with others “whose hearts are pure!” (v. 11 nlt). The apostle Paul later quoted Psalm 32:1–2 in Romans 4:7–8, a passage declaring that faith in Jesus leads to salvation and a pure standing before Him (see Romans 4:23–25).
Our purity in Jesus is much more than skin deep, for He knows and purifies our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7; 1 John 1:9). May we rejoice in His purifying work today.
What past sins have you struggled with? What does it mean to be transformed and purified by faith in Jesus?
Jesus, thank You for forgiving my sins and making me pure within.
For further study, read The Weight of Sin.
INSIGHTWhile some of David’s psalms contain information in the superscription about the historical context that birthed the song, Psalm 32 doesn’t. It merely ascribes authorship to David and adds: “A maskil” (a meditation). Despite this lack of information, some scholars dogmatically declare Psalm 32 to be a companion psalm to Psalm 51, which describes David’s repentance following his sin with Bathsheba. It’s clear that Psalm 32 contains elements of confession and repentance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s related to the Bathsheba incident. We need to be careful about making assumptions regarding the biblical text and say no more and no less than what the Bible says.
The post More Than Skin Deep appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Isaiah 26:1–6 | Bible in a Year: Judges 11–12; Luke 6:1–26 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesYou will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You. Isaiah 26:3Researchers in Fujian, China, wanted to help intensive care unit (ICU) patients sleep more soundly. They measured the effects of sleep aids on test subjects in a simulated ICU environment, complete with bright, hospital-grade lighting and audio recordings of machines beeping and nurses talking. Their research showed that tools like sleep masks and ear plugs improved their subjects’ rest. But they acknowledged that for truly sick patients in a real ICU, peaceful sleep would still be hard to come by.
When our world is troubled, how can we find rest? The Bible’s clear: there’s peace for those who trust in God, regardless of their circumstances. The prophet Isaiah wrote about a future time when the ancient Israelites would be restored after hardship. They would live securely in their city, because they knew that God made it safe (Isaiah 26:1). They would trust that He was actively working in the world around them to bring good—“He humbles those who dwell on high,” raising up the oppressed, and bringing justice (vv. 5–6). They would know that “the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal,” and they could trust Him forever (v. 4).
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast,” wrote Isaiah, “because they trust in you” (v. 3). God can provide peace and rest for us today as well. We can rest in the assurance of His love and power, no matter what’s going on around us.
What threatens to overwhelm you today? How can you remind yourself of God’s power and love?
Dear God, I trust You and choose to rest assured in Your love today.
For further study, read God Is Love.
INSIGHTIsaiah ministered to the Southern Kingdom of Judah during the reigns of King Ahaz (Isaiah 7–35) and his son Hezekiah (chs. 36–39), during which time Judah’s perennial enemies—Israel, Syria (Aram), Egypt, and Assyria, persistently attacked her (see 2 Chronicles 26–32). Ahaz was one of Judah’s worst kings, whereas Hezekiah was a godly king committed to reforming his kingdom. Isaiah challenged Ahaz and Hezekiah to look to God for deliverance. Ahaz refused to trust God (Isaiah 7:10–17; see 2 Chronicles 28). But Hezekiah did (Isaiah 37:14–21; see 2 Chronicles 32:1–23). Isaiah 26 is a song of trust, promising and celebrating God’s victory, salvation, restoration, safety, and “perfect peace” (v. 3; shalom, meaning peace, safety, prosperity, well-being, wholeness) for those who humble themselves and honor Him. God’s people can “trust in the Lord forever” because our God “the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal” (v. 4).
The post Rest Assured in God appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Romans 7:15–20 | Bible in a Year: Judges 9–10; Luke 5:17–39 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI do not do the good I want to do, . . . I keep on doing [evil]. Romans 7:19When I was a kid, a decommissioned World War II tank was put on display in a park near my home. Multiple signs warned of the danger of climbing on the vehicle, but a couple of my friends immediately scrambled up. Some of us were a bit reluctant, but eventually we did the same. One boy refused, pointing to the posted signs. Another jumped down quickly as an adult approached. The temptation to have fun outweighed our desire to follow rules.
There’s a heart of childish rebellion lurking within all of us. We don’t like being told what to do or not to do. Yet we read in James that when we know what is right and don’t do it—it is sin (4:17). In Romans, the apostle Paul wrote: “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (7:19–20).
As believers in Jesus, we may puzzle over our struggle with sin. But too often we depend solely on our own strength to do what’s right. One day, when this life is over, we’ll be truly dead to sinful impulses. Until then, however, we can rely on the power of the One whose death and resurrection won the victory over sin.
What sins are the biggest struggle for you? How can you rely more on God’s power to overcome their stronghold?
Loving God, please help me to choose to do what’s right. My heart’s desire is to reflect Your perfect character and holy ways.
For further study, read Crying for Us All: How Jesus Shares Our Grief.
INSIGHTRomans 7:14–25 has been a source of much debate in scholarship. Many have believed it describes Paul’s ongoing struggle with sin because it speaks in the present tense and uses the first person (“I”). However, it’s difficult to reconcile Romans 7’s description of being a “slave to sin” (v. 14) with the state of freedom from sin’s bondage described as a gift of the Spirit to all believers in chapters 6 and 8 (6:17–18; 8:1–2). Today, many scholars believe that Romans 7’s vivid description of doing “what I do not want to do” (v. 16) wasn’t describing Paul’s then-current personal struggle. Instead, he may have been using a literary technique of speaking in the present tense to dramatize the futility of seeking salvation through the law (8:3). It’s through the power of Christ’s Spirit that believers can experience freedom, life, and peace (vv. 1–3, 6, 10).
The post To Do or Not to Do appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Exodus 2:1–10 | Bible in a Year: Judges 7–8; Luke 5:1–16 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesPharaoh’s daughter . . . named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.” Exodus 2:10Their precise ages are unknown. One was found on the steps of a church; the other knew only that she’d been raised by nuns. Born in Poland during World War II, for nearly eighty years neither Halina nor Krystyna knew about each other. Then DNA test results revealed them to be sisters and led to a joyful reunion. It also revealed their Jewish heritage, explaining why they’d been abandoned. Evil people had marked the girls for death simply because of their identity.
Imagining a frightened mother who leaves her threatened children where they might be rescued calls to mind the story of Moses. As a Hebrew baby boy, he was marked for genocide (see Exodus 1:22). His mother strategically placed him in the Nile (2:3), giving him a chance for survival. God had a plan she couldn’t have dreamed of—to rescue His people through Moses.
The story of Moses points us to the story of Jesus. As Pharaoh had sought the murder of Hebrew boys, Herod ordered the slaughter of all the baby boys in Bethlehem (see Matthew 2:13–16).
Behind all such hatred—especially against children—is our enemy the devil. Such violence doesn’t take God by surprise. He had plans for Moses, and He has plans for you and me. And through His Son, Jesus, He’s revealed His biggest plan—to rescue and restore those who once were His enemies.
How do you see God’s plan at work in your life? In what ways has He rescued you?
Heavenly Father, there’s so much evil in the world. Thank You for Your rescue. Help me to trust Your perfect plan.
INSIGHTSimilar to the kindness of Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:6) is the compassion of the Hebrew midwives in the previous chapter. Pharaoh had commanded Shiphrah and Puah to kill any baby boys born to the Hebrew women (1:15–16). Were there only two midwives? We don’t know, but these two are singled out for their moral courage. The midwives “feared God” and so defied Pharaoh’s vile command (v. 17). When he confronted them, they lied about it (vv. 18–19). God blessed them for their fear of Him rather than Pharaoh, and for their actions in defense of vulnerable life (v. 21).
The post God Had Other Plans appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Philippians 4:4–8 | Bible in a Year: Judges 4–6; Luke 4:31–44 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDo not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6Moving ranks as one of the biggest stressors in life. We moved to our current home after I’d lived in my previous one for nearly twenty years. I’d lived alone in that first home for eight years before I got married. Then my husband moved in, along with all his things. Later, we added a child, and that meant even more stuff.
Our moving day to the new house wasn’t without incident. Five minutes before the movers arrived, I was still finishing up a book manuscript. And the new home had several sets of stairs, so it took double the time and twice as many movers as planned.
But I wasn’t feeling stressed out by the events of that day. Then it hit me: I’d spent many hours finishing writing a book—one chock-full with Scripture and biblical concepts. By God’s grace, I’d been poring over the Bible, praying, and writing to meet my deadline. So, I believe the key was my immersion in Scripture and in prayer.
Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). When we pray—and “rejoice in” God (v. 4)—we refocus our mind from the problem to our Provider. We may be asking God to help us deal with a stressor, but we’re also connecting with Him, which can provide a peace “which transcends all understanding” (v. 7).
What stressful situations do you need God to give you peace in today? How can praying with thanksgiving transform your mind?
Provider and Protector, I give my concerns to You. May Your peace guard my mind and heart.
INSIGHTPaul was “in chains for Christ” (Philippians 1:13) when he wrote to the Philippians. Because he mentioned the “palace guard” (v. 13) and “Caesar’s household” (4:22), he was probably imprisoned in Rome. Despite being in prison, Paul wrote this “joyful” letter (1:4, 25; 2:2, 29; 4:1), relentlessly encouraging the Philippian believers to “rejoice in the Lord always” (4:4). Some ten years earlier, during his second missionary journey, Paul had brought the gospel to this Roman colony, for which he was persecuted (Acts 16:11–40). Even though he was severely flogged and illegally imprisoned, Paul radiated joy and peace. For during adversity, “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” (v. 25). The apostle wrote, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace” (Philippians 4:6–7 nlt).
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Read: James 5:13–16 | Bible in a Year: Judges 1–3; Luke 4:1–30 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16Chuck, an actor and martial artist, honored his mother on her hundredth birthday by sharing how instrumental she’d been in his spiritual transformation. “Mom has been an example of perseverance and faith,” he wrote. She raised three boys on her own during the Great Depression; suffered the death of two spouses, a son, a stepson, and grandchildren; and endured many surgeries. “[She] has prayed for me all my life, through thick and thin.” He continued, “When nearly losing my soul to Hollywood, she was back home praying for my success and salvation.” He concluded, “I thank [my mom] for helping God to make me all I can and should be.”
The prayers of Chuck’s mother helped him to find salvation—and a godly wife. She prayed fervently for her son, and God heard her prayers. We don’t always get our prayers answered the way we’d like, so we cannot use prayer as a magic wand. However, James assures us that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (5:16). Like this mom, we’re to continue to pray for the sick and those in trouble (vv. 13–15). When, like her, we commune with God through prayer, we find encouragement and peace and the assurance that the Spirit is at work.
Does someone in your life need salvation or healing or help? Lift your prayers to God in faith. He’s listening.
When have you seen God answer your fervent prayers? Who continues to be in your prayers?
Dear Father, help me to continually be in prayer and not to give up. Thank You for Your love that helps me persevere.
INSIGHTThe words pray[ed] or prayer occur seven times in James 5:13–18 (niv), but they’re derived from three different Greek words. The word rendered “pray” in verse 13 (also vv. 14, 17, 18) is proseuchomai, to pray to God, to supplicate, worship. This is the word most often used in the New Testament in reference to prayer. The word translated “prayer” in verse 15 is euchē, which denotes a wish, expressed as a petition to God. The verb form of this word, euchomai, appears in verse 16: “pray for each other so that you may be healed.” The other word translated “prayer” in James 5 also appears in verse 16: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” The word here is deēsis, a petition, prayer, request, supplication. Prayers of various kinds find their way to the listening ear and caring heart of God.
The post God Is Listening appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 1 Samuel 18:1–4 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 22–24; Luke 3 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesJonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 1 Samuel 18:3Northern Spain produced a beautiful way of expressing communion and friendship. With the countryside full of handmade caves, after each harvest some farmers would sit in a room built above a cave and inventory their various foods. As time passed, the room became known as the “telling room”—a place of communion where friends and families would gather to share their stories, secrets, and dreams. If you needed the intimate company of safe friends, you would head for the telling room.
Had they lived in northern Spain, the deep friendship shared by Jonathan and David might have led them to create a telling room. When King Saul became so jealous that he wanted to kill David, Jonathan, Saul’s oldest son, protected and befriended him. The two became “one in spirit” (1 Samuel 18:1). And Jonathan “loved him as himself” (vv. 1, 3) and—though he was heir apparent to the throne—recognized David’s divine selection to be king. He gave David his robe, sword, bow, and belt (v. 4). Later, David declared that Jonathan’s deep love for him as a friend was wonderful (2 Samuel 1:26).
As believers in Jesus, may He help us build our own relational “telling rooms”—friendships that reflect Christlike love and care. Let’s take the time to linger with friends, open our hearts, and live in true communion with one another in Him.
What kinds of commitments have you made to your friends? How can you express your love to them this week?
Dear God, please help me to pursue vulnerable, loving, and authentic friendships.
For further study, read A Torrent of Justice: Building Relationships of Love and Kindness.
INSIGHTWe first read of Jonathan, King Saul’s oldest son, in 1 Samuel 13–14, 18–20. Jonathan was a valiant soldier. In a heroic move, Jonathan and his armorbearer went against the Philistines at Mikmash and singlehandedly killed twenty men. Saul and his men joined the battle, and God led the Israelites to victory (13:23–14:23). Earlier, Saul had made the rash oath, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” (14:24). So, his men went into battle hungry. But Jonathan hadn’t been around to hear the oath and had refreshed himself with honey while pursuing the enemy. Fortunately, the soldiers prevented Saul from carrying out his foolish oath (vv. 41–45). In today’s text, we learn of Jonathan and David’s friendship. Jonathan put David ahead of his own interests and saved him from Saul’s attempt to kill him (ch. 20).
The post The Telling Room appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Lamentations 3:16–33 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 19–21; Luke 2:25–52 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBecause of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22–23Over the last several decades, a new word has entered our movie vocabulary: reboot. In cinematic parlance, a reboot takes an old story and jumpstarts it. Some reboots retell a familiar tale, like a superhero story or a fairytale. Other reboots take a lesser-known story and retell it in a new way. But in each case, a reboot is a bit like a do-over. It’s a fresh start, a chance to breathe new life into the old.
There’s another story that involves reboots—the gospel story. In it, Jesus invites us to His offer of forgiveness, as well as abundant and eternal life (John 10:10). And in the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah reminds us that God’s love for us makes every day a “reboot” of sorts: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (3:22–23).
God’s grace invites us to embrace each day as a fresh opportunity to experience His faithfulness. Whether we’re struggling with the effects of our own mistakes or going through other hardships, God’s Spirit can breathe forgiveness, new life, and hope into each new day. Every day is a reboot of sorts, an opportunity to follow the lead of the great Director, who is weaving our story into His bigger one.
How do you think reflecting upon and remembering God’s faithfulness in the midst of trials changes your perspective on them? How has God’s forgiveness and grace brought a reboot to your life?
Father, thank You that Your grace and forgiveness invite me to start over, fresh, every morning.
INSIGHTThe writer of Lamentations is not named, but Jewish tradition identifies the prophet Jeremiah as its author. Consisting of five dirges or funeral laments, Jeremiah gives an emotionally charged eyewitness account of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Babylonians in 586 bc (see 2 Kings 25; Jeremiah 52). Yet amid the devastation and despair, Jeremiah also expressed great hope (Lamentations 3:19–21). God, who judged rightly their covenantal unfaithfulness, remained the God of unfailing love and compassion (vv. 22, 32–33), the God of faithfulness (v. 23), the God of hope (vv. 24–25), and the God of their salvation (v. 26).
The post The Reboot of Grace appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Acts 20:22–32 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 16–18; Luke 2:1–24 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Acts 20:32After years of research, scientists have learned that wolves have distinct voices that help them communicate with each other. Using a specific sound analysis code, one scientist realized that various volumes and pitches in a wolf’s howl enabled her to identify specific wolves with 100 percent accuracy.
The Bible provides many examples of God recognizing the distinct voices of His beloved creations. He called Moses by name and spoke to him directly (Exodus 3:4–6). The psalmist David proclaimed, “I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain” (Psalm 3:4). The apostle Paul also emphasized the value of God’s people recognizing His voice.
When bidding farewell to the Ephesian elders, Paul said the Spirit had “compelled” him to head to Jerusalem. He confirmed his commitment to follow God’s voice, though he didn’t know what to expect upon his arrival (Acts 20:22). The apostle warned that “savage wolves” would “arise and distort the truth,” even from within the church (vv. 29–30). Then, he encouraged the elders to remain diligent in discerning God’s truth (v. 31).
All believers in Jesus have the privilege of knowing that God hears and answers us. We also have the power of the Holy Spirit who helps us recognize God’s voice, which is always in alignment with the words of Scripture.
What false teaching has God helped you combat as you studied Scripture? When has He used the Bible to encourage you?
Dear God, when the noise of the world around me threatens to make me wander from You, please help me recognize and obey Your voice.
INSIGHTLuke, the author of Acts, describes Paul’s determination to follow the Spirit’s leading and go to Jerusalem in ways that seem to parallel Jesus’ own determination to go to the city. Jesus “resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51) despite knowing what awaited Him there. Paul said, “compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there” (Acts 20:22), despite being warned that this journey would result in suffering (v. 23). Paul’s single-minded purpose was to share the gospel by following Christ’s example of humility and love (vv. 19, 23–24; see also Philippians 2:3–5).
The post Recognizing God’s Voice appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 19:7–11 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 13–15; Luke 1:57–80 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. Psalm 19:7As I was helping my sixth-grade grandson, Logan, with some tough algebra-type homework, he told me of his dream of becoming an engineer. After we returned to figuring out what to do with the x’s and y’s in his assignment, he said, “When am I ever going to use this stuff?”
I couldn’t help but smile, saying, “Well, Logan, this is exactly the stuff you’ll use if you become an engineer!” He hadn’t realized the connection between algebra and his hoped-for future.
Sometimes we view Scripture that way. When we listen to sermons and read certain parts of the Bible, we may think, “When am I ever going to use this?” The psalmist David had some answers. He said God’s truths found in Scripture are effective for “refreshing the soul,” “making wise the simple,” and “giving joy to the heart” (Psalm 19:7–8). The wisdom of Scripture, found in the first five books of the Bible as referred to in Psalm 19 (as well as all of Scripture), helps us as we daily rely on the Spirit’s leading (Proverbs 2:6).
And without the Scriptures, we’d lack the vital way God has provided for us to experience Him and better know His love and ways. Why study the Bible? Because “the commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes” (Psalm 19:8).
Why is the wisdom found in Scripture relevant for you today? How can you grow in your understanding of it?
Loving God, please make Your Word a light to my path. Help me to use the wisdom of Scripture to direct my steps and grow to love You more.
INSIGHTWhile the specific occasion for writing Psalm 19 isn’t stated, it’s been suggested that as a shepherd boy tending sheep, David was awed by the immensity and beauty of the open skies. So inspired, the psalmist celebrates the splendor of creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (v. 1). He points us to the creator God who’s worthy of honor and worship. David reflects on how He has revealed Himself to humanity so that we can know Him. First, He reveals Himself through His created works (vv. 1–6). He also reveals Himself through the Scriptures (vv. 7–14). Speaking of God’s self-revelation, Bible expositor Warren Wiersbe writes: “The heavens declare God’s glory, and the Scriptures declare His grace.” In this passage, Scripture refreshes the soul, gives wisdom and joy, and enlightens those who would obey it, guiding them into godliness.
Learn more about the Christian worldview.
The post Why Do This? appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Genesis 1:31–2:2 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 10–12; Luke 1:39–56 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesGod had finished the work . . . so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Genesis 2:2We sat atop some beach boulders, my friend Soozi and I, watching the foam send up sea spray in arched curls. Looking at the incoming waves crashing one after another against the rocks, Soozi announced, “I love the ocean. It keeps moving so I don’t have to!”
Isn’t it interesting how some of us feel we need “permission” to pause from our work to rest? Well, that’s just what our good God offers us! For six days, God spun the earth into existence, creating light, land, vegetation, animals, and humans. Then on the seventh day, He rested (Genesis 1:31–2:2). In the Ten Commandments, God listed His rules for healthy living to honor Him (Exodus 20:3–17), including the command to remember the Sabbath as a day of rest (vv. 8–11). In the New Testament, we see Jesus healing all the sick of the town (Mark 1:29–34) and then early the next morning retreating to a solitary place to pray (v. 35). Purposefully, our God both worked and rested.
The rhythm of God’s provision in work and His invitation to rest reverberates around us. Spring’s planting yields growth in summer, harvest in autumn, and rest in winter. Morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night. God orders our lives for both work and rest, offering us permission to do both.
How would you assess the balance in your life between work and rest? When and how might you pause each day to reflect on God’s example of rhythm and rest?
Dear God, thank You that You made me to follow after Your heart, to both work and rest for Your glory and my good.
INSIGHTAll major ancient cultures have creation legends, and they often depict creation as taking place through some sort of sexual activity among the gods or through acts of violence. Genesis is startlingly different from these stories; it simply states that God spoke all things into existence (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24) and that He formed Adam “from the dust of the ground” (2:7; see 1:26). When these creative acts were completed, God established His Sabbath rest (2:2–3). This rest would later be implemented for God’s chosen people, the fledgling nation of Israel (Exodus 20:8–11). When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, He reminded the people, “In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (v. 11).
The post Permission to Rest appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 7–9; Luke 1:21–38 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThough outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16Chinese medicine has practiced pearl powder exfoliation for thousands of years, using ground pearls to scrub away dead cells resting at the top of the skin. In Romania, rejuvenating therapeutic mud has become a widely sought-after exfoliant that’s purported to make skin youthful and glowing. All over the world, people use body care practices they believe will renew even the dullest of skin.
The tools we’ve developed to maintain our physical bodies, however, can only bring us temporary satisfaction. What matters more is that we remain spiritually healthy and strong. As believers in Jesus, we’re given the gift of spiritual renewal through Him. The apostle Paul wrote, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). The challenges we face daily can weigh us down when we hold on to things like fear, hurt, and anxiety. Spiritual renewal comes when we “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen” (v. 18). We do this by turning our daily worries over to God and praying for the fruit of the Holy Spirit—including love, joy, and peace—to emerge anew in our lives (Galatians 5:22–23). When we release our troubles to God and allow His Spirit to radiate through us each day, He restores our souls.
How can you ask God to renew your spirit? How does the work of the Holy Spirit encourage you today?
Jesus, each day I face obstacles that try to break my spirit. Sometimes I feel defeated, but I know that through You my spirit can be renewed.
For further study, read A Story of a Life Led by the Spirit.
INSIGHTIn 2 Corinthians 4:16–18, Paul describes finding hope—despite earthly suffering—because of an inward renewal (v. 16) and the assurance that through our struggles God draws us toward an “eternal glory that far outweighs” (v. 17) all suffering. The ideas in this passage are closely echoed and developed in Romans 8. There Paul writes that believers, as coheirs with Christ, “share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (v. 17) and concludes that “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (v. 18)—a future when all of creation will be “liberated from its bondage to decay” (v. 21). And like the reminder of 2 Corinthians 4:18 which affirms that the believer’s hope is grounded in unseen, eternal realities, Romans 8 reminds us that “hope that is seen is no hope at all” (v. 24).
Learn more about why God allows suffering.
The post Spiritual Renewal appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 131 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 4–6; Luke 1:1–20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Psalm 131:2In a psychiatrist’s advice column, he responded to a reader named Brenda, who lamented that her ambitious pursuits had left her discontented. His words were blunt. Humans aren’t designed to be happy, he said, “only to survive and reproduce.” We’re cursed to chase the “teasing and elusive butterfly” of contentment, he added, “not always to capture it.”
I wonder how Brenda felt reading the psychiatrist’s nihilistic words and how different she may have felt had she read Psalm 131 instead. In its words, David gives us a guided reflection on how to find contentment. He begins in a posture of humility, putting his kingly ambitions aside, and while wrestling life’s big questions is important, he puts those aside too (v. 1). Then he quiets his heart before God (v. 2), entrusting the future into His hands (v. 3). The result is beautiful: “like a weaned child with its mother,” he says, “I am content” (v. 2).
In a broken world like ours, contentment will at times feel elusive. In Philippians 4:11–13, the apostle Paul said contentment is something to be learned. But if we believe we’re only designed to “survive and reproduce,” contentment will surely be an uncatchable butterfly. David shows us another way: catching contentment through quietly resting in God’s presence.
When do you most feel content? How could you set aside unhurried time to be quietly present with God today?
Dear God, I rest in You, the deepest well of my truest contentment.
INSIGHTPsalms 120–134 are known as the Songs of Ascents, so called because the fifteen psalms in the collection were sung by the ancient people of God as they journeyed up to Jerusalem for the annual feasts. Psalm 131 is among the shorter of these songs. Nineteenth-century preacher Charles Spurgeon noted that this psalm “is one of the shortest psalms to read but one of the longest to learn.” What makes it the longest to learn is that it challenges one of the most difficult aspects of our human behavior, our pride. In this psalm we hear the heartfelt prayers of one who’s renounced pride. The psalmist also expresses and encourages humble satisfaction with God by using the universally familiar image of a mother and child. Though weaned, the child’s contentment is found in the mother’s loving presence and not just in her nourishing provision.
The post Catching Contentment appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Acts 9:10–19 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 1–3; Mark 16 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesPlacing his hands on Saul, [Ananias] said, “Brother Saul, the Lord . . . has sent me.” Acts 9:17“Lord, please send me anywhere but there.” That was my prayer as a teenager before embarking on a year as a foreign exchange student. I didn’t know where I would be going, but I knew where I didn’t want to go. I didn’t speak that country’s language, and my mind was filled with prejudices against its customs and people. So I asked God to send me elsewhere.
But God in His infinite wisdom sent me precisely where I asked not to go. I’m so glad He did! Forty years later, I still have dear friends in that land. When I got married, my best man Stefan came from there. When he got married, I flew there to return the favor. And we’re planning another visit soon.
Beautiful things happen when God causes a change of heart! Such a transformation is illustrated by just two words: “Brother Saul” (Acts 9:17).
Those words were from Ananias, a believer God called to heal Saul’s sight immediately after his conversion (vv. 10–12). Ananias resisted at first because of Saul’s violent past, praying: “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people” (v. 13).
But Ananias was obedient and went. And because he had a change of heart, Ananias gained a new brother in faith, Saul became known as Paul, and the good news of Jesus spread with power. True change is always possible through Him!
How have you sensed God calling you to have a change of heart? How can you encourage a new believer today?
Jesus, thank You for changing my heart with Your love. Help me to extend it to others.
INSIGHTIn Acts 9:1–30, Luke tells of Paul’s dramatic conversion—how the persecutor of the church (8:3) became the propagator of the gospel of Jesus. Paul had the opportunity to retell his conversion testimony in Acts 22:1–21 and 26:1–29. He also made references to his conversion in his letters: 1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:8–10; Galatians 1:13–24; Philippians 3:4–7; 1 Timothy 1:12–16. Of Ananias (his name means “God is merciful”), Luke says he was a disciple of Jesus (Acts 9:10). Paul describes him as “a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus” (22:12 nlt).
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Read: 1 John 1:5–2:2 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 32–34; Mark 15:26–47 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIf we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins. 1 John 1:9When I noticed a sprig budding next to the garden hose by our porch, I ignored the seemingly harmless eyesore. How could a little weed possibly hurt our lawn? But as the weeks passed, that nuisance grew to be the size of a small bush and began taking over our yard. Its stray stalks arched over a portion of our walkway and sprouted up in other areas. Admitting its destructive existence, I asked my husband to help me dig out the wild weeds by the roots and then protect our yard with weed killer.
When we ignore or deny its presence, sin can invade our lives like unwanted overgrowth and darken our personal space. Our sinless God has no darkness in Him . . . at all. As His children, we’re equipped and charged to face sins head-on so we can “walk in the light, as he is in the light” (1 John 1:7). Through confession and repentance, we experience forgiveness and freedom from sin (vv. 8–10) because we have a great advocate—Jesus (2:1). He willingly paid the ultimate price for our sins—His lifeblood—and “not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (v. 2).
When our sin is brought to our attention by God, we can choose denial, avoidance, or deflection of responsibility. But when we confess and repent, He weeds out sins that harm our relationships with Him and others.
How does knowing your sins are offenses against God change your view about repentance? What sins have taken root and need to be weeded out of your life?
Loving Father, please uproot the sins from my life so I can grow closer to You and others.
INSIGHTThe apostle John reminds us that “God is light” (1 John 1:5) and encourages us to walk in fellowship with Him (vv. 6–7). Elsewhere, Paul reminds us that we “are not in darkness” but are “children of the light” (1 Thessalonians 5:4–5). In 1 John, the apostle challenges us to “not sin” (2:1). But because we’re still not perfected, we do continue to sin (1:8). John assures us that when we confess and repent, God will “forgive us our sins” (v. 9). Our “advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (2:1), “through the shedding of his blood” (Romans 3:25), is “the atoning sacrifice [propitiation] for our sins” (1 John 2:2; see 4:10). The NIV Zondervan Study Bible describes “atoning sacrifice” as what Jesus did on the cross in “removing guilt and purifying sinners (expiation) and appeasing God’s anger toward sinners (propitiation).”
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Read: Revelation 3:14–22 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 30–31; Mark 15:1–25 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI stand at the door and knock. Revelation 3:20In Fredric Brown’s short story thriller “Knock,” he wrote, “The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.” Yikes! Who could that be, and what do they want? What mysterious being has come for him? The man is not alone.
Neither are we.
The church in Laodicea heard a knock on their door (Revelation 3:20). What supernatural Being had come for them? His name was Jesus, “the First and the Last . . . the Living One” (1:17–18). His eyes blazed like fire, and His face “like the sun shining in all its brilliance” (v. 16). When His best friend, John, caught a glimpse of His glory, he “fell at his feet as though dead” (v. 17). Faith in Christ begins with the fear of God.
We’re not alone, and this is also comforting. Jesus “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3). Yet Christ uses His strength not to slay us but to love us. Hear His invitation, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20). Our faith begins with fear—Who is at the door?—and it ends in a welcome and strong embrace. Jesus promises to always stay with us, even if we’re the last person on earth. Thank God, we’re not alone.
Why can’t we separate Christ’s power from His love? Why are both vitally important?
Dear Jesus, I welcome You into my heart and life.
For further study, read Unknown Caller: Recognizing Jesus and the Kingdom.
INSIGHTThe letter to Laodicea (Revelation 3:14–22) is the only one to the seven churches in Asia Minor (see chs. 2–3) with no praise at all for the church. Regardless, we find comfort amid God’s warnings. The reference to “salve to put on your eyes” (3:18) has relevance for Laodicea because the region was known for its medicines, including an eye salve. But the Laodiceans’ vision problem wasn’t physical but spiritual. Their wealth had given them the illusion of self-sufficiency (vv. 15–17), prompting what seems like a threat from God: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline” (v. 19). Yet this signaled that God hadn’t abandoned the church. He loved them enough to correct them.
The post We’re Not Alone appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Timothy 3:1–9, 14–17 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 28–29; Mark 14:54–72 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAll Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16In the late 1800s, people in different places developed similar ministry resources at the same time. The first was in Montreal, Canada, in 1877. In 1898, another concept was launched in New York City. By 1922, some five thousand of these programs were active in North America each summer.
Thus began the early history of Vacation Bible School. The passion that fueled those VBS pioneers was a desire for young people to know the Bible.
Paul had a similar passion for his young protégé Timothy, writing that “Scripture is God-breathed” and equips us “for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). But this wasn’t just the benign suggestion that “it’s good to read your Bible.” Paul’s admonition follows the dire warning that “there will be terrible times in the last days” (v. 1), with false teachers who are “never able to come to a knowledge of the truth” (v. 7). It’s essential we protect ourselves with Scripture, for it immerses us in the knowledge of our Savior, making us “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (v. 15).
Studying the Bible isn’t just for kids; it’s for adults too. And it isn’t just for summer; it’s for every day. Paul wrote to Timothy, “from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures” (v. 15), but it’s never too late to begin. Whatever stage of life we’re in, the wisdom of the Bible connects us to Jesus. This is God’s VBS lesson to us all.
What are your favorite Scripture passages? How do they point to Christ?
Loving God, thank You for the gift of Scripture and how it helps me learn about Jesus.
Learn effective Bible study methods.
INSIGHTTimothy first appears on the pages of Scripture in Acts 16:1, where he joins Paul and Silas on their missionary journey. He’s described there as having a Greek father but a Jewish mother who was a believer in Jesus. This corresponds with Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 1:5, where he cites Timothy’s grandmother (Lois) and mother (Eunice) as being positive spiritual influences in his development. It seems that this is the influence to which the apostle refers in 2 Timothy 3:15, where Paul says that Timothy had been taught the Scriptures “from infancy.”
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Read: Psalm 46 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 26–27; Mark 14:27–53 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBe still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10The first photograph of a living person was taken by Louis Daguerre in 1838. The photo depicts a figure on an otherwise empty avenue in Paris in the middle of an afternoon. But there’s an apparent mystery about it; the street and sidewalks should have been bustling with the traffic of carriages and pedestrians at that time of day, yet none can be seen.
The man wasn’t alone. People and horses were there on the busy Boulevard du Temple, the popular area where the photo was taken. They just didn’t show up in the picture. The exposure time to process the photograph (known as a Daguerreotype) took seven minutes to capture an image, which had to be motionless during that time. It appears that the man on the sidewalk was the sole person photographed because he was the only one standing still—he was having his boots shined.
Sometimes stillness accomplishes what motion and effort can’t. God tells His people in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” Even when nations are “in uproar” (v. 6) and “the earth” shakes (v. 2), those who quietly trust in Him will discover in Him “an ever-present help in trouble” (v. 1).
The Hebrew verb rendered “be still” can also be translated “cease striving.” When we rest in God instead of relying on our limited efforts, we discover Him to be our unassailable “refuge and strength” (v. 1).
How will you “show up” for God by being still before Him today? Where do you need to trust Him more?
Heavenly Father, please help me to trust in You and to rest in the quiet awareness of Your unfailing love.
INSIGHTAccording to John Gill’s commentary, the words of Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God,” are not a call to cease activity and be silent and unconcerned. Instead, they’re words of great comfort. “Be still” is a call to God’s people to “not be fearful, nor fretful and impatient, or restless or tumultuous; but be quiet and easy, resigned to the will of God.” And “know” means to “own and acknowledge that he is God, a sovereign Being,” who is unchangeable, omnipotent (all-powerful and able to help and deliver), and omniscient (knows them and their troubles). He knows how and where “to hide them until the storm is over.” We can rest in the assurance that God “works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Charles Spurgeon called this psalm, “The Song of Holy Confidence.” God’s people are secure in Him.
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Read: Luke 6:27–31 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 23–25; Mark 14:1–26 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesLove your enemies. Luke 6:27The handshake spoke volumes. On a March night in 1963, two college basketball players—one Black, one White—defied the hate of segregationists and shook hands, marking the first time in Mississippi State’s history that its all-White men’s team played against an integrated team. To compete in the “game of change” against Loyola University Chicago in a national tournament, the Mississippi State squad avoided an injunction to stop them by using decoy players to leave their state. Loyola’s Black players, meantime, had endured racial slurs all season, getting pelted with popcorn and ice, and faced closed doors while traveling.
Yet the young men played. The Loyola Ramblers beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs 61–51, and Loyola eventually went on to win the NCAA national championship. But what really won that night? A move from hate toward love. As Jesus taught, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27).
God’s instruction was a life-changing concept. To love our enemies as Christ taught, we must obey His revolutionary mandate to change. As Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). But how does His new way in us defeat the old? With love. Then, in each other, we can finally see Him.
In your life, what leads you to see others as enemies? What changes can you make to confront hate with Jesus’ love?
Help me, loving God, to see others not as enemies, but as Your precious people to love like Jesus does.
INSIGHTThe challenging commands that Jesus gives in Luke 6:27–31 are clear: we’re to love, bless, and do good to others. By reading further, however, we see the rationale for these exhortations: “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (vv. 35–36). When followers of Jesus “flip the script” on hate, abuse, and selfishness, they demonstrate their kinship to their heavenly Father whose care is shared without discrimination. Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:1–2 carry the same sentiment: “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
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Read: Hebrews 11:39–12:3 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 20–22; Mark 13:21–37 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesLet us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1It was impossible not to tear up at my friend Ira’s status update. Posted in 2022 only days after she’d left her home in Kyiv, the besieged capital of Ukraine, she shared a past image of herself lifting her country’s flag after completing a running event. She wrote, “We are all running to the best of our abilities a marathon called life. Let’s run it these days even better than that. With something that never dies in our hearts.” In the following days, I saw the many ways my friend continued to run that race, as she kept us updated on how to pray for and support those suffering in her country.
Ira’s words brought new depth to the call in Hebrews 12 for believers to “run with perseverance” (v. 1). That call follows chapter 11’s moving account of the heroes of faith, the “great cloud of witnesses” (12:1) who’d lived with courageous, persistent faith—even at risk to their lives (11:33–38). Even though they “only saw . . . and welcomed [God’s promises] from a distance” (v. 13), they were living for something eternal, for something that never dies.
All believers in Jesus are called to live that same way because the shalom—the flourishing and peace—of God’s kingdom is worth giving our all for. Christ’s example and power is what sustains us (12:2–3).
What examples have you seen of courageous faith? How does Jesus’ example give you hope?
Dear God, words fail me when I see Your people’s faith and courage in heartbreaking circumstances. Give me the courage to follow You like that.
INSIGHTWhat’s the role of “the great cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12:1? We might think they’re to serve as our examples of being faithful to run the race God has called us to. However, after telling their stories and connecting their presence to the race of the Jewish believers in Jesus (and by extension to us; see ch. 11), we’re told to “run . . . [while] fixing our eyes on Jesus” (12:1–2) and to “consider him” when we’re tired and taxed by the race before us (v. 3). Our encouragement doesn’t come from those who’ve gone before us and modeled faith; we don’t look to those awaiting perfection to find courage and strength. We find our strength in Christ alone. A witness is someone who’s seen or heard or experienced something. The witnesses have already seen God’s faithfulness and testify to the need to focus on Jesus. They point us to Him.
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Read: Romans 12:17–21 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 17–19; Mark 13:1–20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIf it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18Scholar Kenneth E. Bailey told of the leader of an African nation who’d learned to maintain an unusual posture in the international community. He’d established a good relationship with both Israel and the nations surrounding it. When someone asked him how his nation maintained this fragile balance, he responded, “We choose our friends. We do not encourage our friends to choose our enemies [for us].”
That is wise—and genuinely practical. What that African country modeled on an international level is what Paul encouraged his readers to do on a personal level. In the midst of a lengthy description of the characteristics of a life changed by Christ, he wrote, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18). He goes on to reinforce the importance of our dealings with others by reminding us that even the way we treat our enemies (vv. 20–21) reflects our trust in and dependence upon God and His ultimate care.
To live in peace with everyone may not always be possible (after all, Paul does say “if”). But our responsibility as believers in Jesus is to allow His wisdom to guide our living (James 3:17–18) so that we engage those around us as peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). What better way could there be to honor the Prince of Peace?
Where do you struggle to live at peace? How could being an intentional peacemaker interject grace into that conflict?
Loving Father, I was Your enemy and You called me friend. Enable me to be a peacemaker so I can show that same grace to others.
For further study, read Knowing God Through Romans.
INSIGHTIt may seem odd that Paul tells his readers to “do what is right in the eyes of everyone” (Romans 12:17), especially since “everyone” includes unbelievers (vv. 14, 20). Paul is drawing from the teachings of Jesus, challenging us to treat all people well regardless of how they treat us (Matthew 5:39, 44).
But that involves being “careful,” as Paul puts it (Romans 12:17)—considering our actions carefully so as not to jeopardize the integrity and beauty of the gospel. Throughout his letters, Paul asks believers in Jesus to live well before the unbelieving world so that, in doing so, the changed lives of His followers can bear witness to His worthiness (2 Corinthians 8:21; 1 Timothy 3:7).
It may feel unnatural to repay evil with kindness, but in doing so we follow in the footsteps of Jesus Himself, who gave Himself in our place while we were still His enemies (Romans 5:8).
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Read: 1 Samuel 16:14–23 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 14–16; Mark 12:28–44 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDavid would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul. 1 Samuel 16:23When five-year-old Bella was hospitalized for cancer in North Dakota, she received music therapy as part of her treatment. Many people have experienced the powerful effect of music on mood without understanding exactly why, but researchers have recently documented a clinical benefit. Music is now being prescribed for cancer patients like Bella, and those suffering from Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and trauma.
King Saul reached for a musical prescription when he was feeling tormented. His attendants saw his lack of peace and suggested they find someone to play the lyre for him in the hope it would make him “feel better” (1 Samuel 16:16). They sent for Jesse’s son David, and Saul was pleased with him and asked that he “remain in [his] service” (v. 22). David played for Saul in his moments of unrest, bringing him relief from his anguish.
We may only just be discovering scientifically what God has known all along about how music can affect us. As the author and creator of both our bodies and music itself, He provided a prescription for our health that’s readily accessible to all, regardless of the era in which we live or how easy it is to visit a doctor. Even when there’s no way to listen, we can sing to God in the midst of our joys and struggles, making music of our own (Psalm 59:16; Acts 16:25).
How has God used music to soothe you? How can you bring music to someone as David did to Saul?
Father, thank You for creating music and using it to soothe my heart and mind during times of struggle.
INSIGHTIn the ancient Near East, it was common for court musicians to be hired for reasons such as entertainment or religious ceremonies. In the case of Saul in 1 Samuel 16, his attendants believed his mental torment would be eased by lyre music (v. 16). Since David was a skilled lyre player as well as a warrior (v. 18), he became both a musician and armor-bearer (the carrier of shield and weapons) for King Saul (vv. 21–23). David’s father, Jesse, sent gifts of food and wine with David (vv. 19–20), perhaps showing gratitude for the honor of having his son chosen to serve the king.
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Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:4–11 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 11–13; Mark 12:1–27 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesTherefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11I call it the “lean to green” miracle. It’s happened every spring for more than fifteen years. Coming out of the winter months, the grass in our yard is dusty and brown, so much so, a casual passerby might believe it’s dead. Colorado has snow in the mountains, but the climate on the plains—“the Front Range”—is dry, with most warmer months full of drought warnings. But every year around the end of May, I turn on the sprinklers—not huge amounts of water but simply small, consistent waterings. And in about two weeks, what was dry and brown builds up into something lush and green.
That green grass reminds me how vital encouragement is. Without it, our lives and our faith can resemble something almost lifeless. But it’s amazing what consistent encouragement can do to our hearts, minds, and souls. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians emphasizes this truth. The people were struggling with anxiety and fear. Paul saw he needed to bolster their faith. He urged them to keep up the good work of encouraging one another and building each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). He knew that without such refreshment, their faith could wither. Paul experienced this firsthand, for those very same Thessalonian believers had been an encouragement to him, building him up. You and I have the same opportunity to encourage—to help one another bloom and grow.
What’s the most recent encouragement you’ve received? Whose heart could you water today or this week?
Father, thank You for the encouragement I’ve received, and help me to encourage others.
INSIGHTIn his first letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul answered questions about Jesus’ second coming (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 5:1–11). He’d preached in the Jewish synagogue in the capital city of Macedonia over a period of three Sabbaths. As a result, many Jews and God-fearing gentiles believed (Acts 17:4). But the apostle’s time with the new converts was cut short when Jewish opponents dragged his host Jason and other Christians before city authorities and charged them with sedition against Caesar (vv. 5–9). Concerned, Paul sent Timothy a few months later (1 Thessalonians 3:1–2, 5). Timothy then met Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:5) and updated him (1 Thessalonians 3:6). The church was doing well but was discouraged because of the persecution they were suffering (vv. 3–4). Moreover, some of the new believers had since died and other church members were confused about Christ’s return (4:13).
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Read: Deuteronomy 6:4–9 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 8–10; Mark 11:19–33 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWrite [these commandments] on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:9As I scanned my social media feed in the aftermath of the 2016 flood in southern Louisiana, I came across a friend’s post. After realizing her home would have to be gutted and rebuilt, my friend’s mom encouraged her to look for God even in the heart-wrenching work of cleaning up. My friend later posted pictures of Bible verses she uncovered on the exposed door frames of the home, apparently written at the time the home had been built. Reading the Scriptures on the wooden planks gave her comfort.
The tradition of writing Bible verses on doorframes may stem from God’s command to Israel. God instructed the Israelites to post His commands on doorframes as a way of remembering who He is. By writing the commandments on their hearts (Deuteronomy 6:6), teaching them to their children (v. 7), using symbols and other means to recall what God commands (v. 8), and placing the words on doorframes and entry ways (v. 9), the Israelites had constant reminders of God’s words. They were encouraged to never forget what He had said or their covenant with Him.
Displaying God’s words in our homes as well as planting their meaning in our hearts can help us to build a foundation that relies on His faithfulness as revealed in Scripture. And He can use those words to bring us comfort even in the midst of tragedy or heart-wrenching loss.
When has Scripture comforted you the most? How are the truths of Scripture the foundation for your life?
Heavenly Father, thank You for Scripture that guides my path. Remind me to build my foundation on it.
Grow in your knowledge of the Scriptures.
INSIGHTThe Jewish tradition of the mezuzah is a literal response to the instruction of Deuteronomy 6:9, which reads: “Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” The word mezuzah literally means “doorpost.” A mezuzah is a parchment scroll inscribed with verses from the Torah, rolled up, and inserted into an ornamental case or tube that’s attached to the doorpost of a Jewish home. The verses contained in that holder would include Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21—texts that remind the Jewish people of their spiritual responsibilities toward God while declaring to the world that the residents are committed to living out the beliefs and practices of Judaism. Some mezuzahs are attached to the right-hand doorframe at a slant, a compromise between two ancient Jewish schools of thought regarding how the mezuzah was to be presented—an acknowledgement of the value of multiple perspectives in life.
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Read: Psalm 68:4–14 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 5–7; Mark 11:1–18 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe Lord announces the word, and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng. Psalm 68:11In 2020, celebrations marked the one hundredth anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. Old photographs show marchers with banners emblazoned with the words of Psalm 68:11: “The Lord giveth the word. The women that publish the tidings are a great host” (asv).
In Psalm 68, David describes God as the One who leads the oppressed from their captivity (v. 6), refreshing and renewing His weary people from His bountiful riches (vv. 9–10). In this psalm’s thirty-five verses, David references God forty-two times, revealing how He’s constantly been with them, at work to rescue them from injustice and suffering. And a mighty throng of women proclaim this truth (v. 11).
Whether the women who marched for voting rights fully understood all that Psalm 68 was declaring, their banners proclaimed a timeless truth. God, the “father to the fatherless” and “a defender of widows” (v. 5), goes out before His people leading them to places of blessing, refreshment, and joy.
Be encouraged today, remembering that God’s presence has always been with His people, and in a special way with the vulnerable and suffering. As in the past through His Spirit, God is still powerfully present with us today.
How have you experienced God’s care during a difficult struggle? What encouragement does that bring you?
Father, thank You for Your constant presence in my life, guiding me and fighting for me when I face suffering and injustice.
INSIGHTPsalm 68 is one of David’s psalms that doesn’t provide a historical context. As a result, scholars speculate as to what prompted him to pen its words. Some say it’s a song commemorating his conquering of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5)—the Jebusite city he would make his and Israel’s capital. Others see the language more symbolically, referring to when David brought the ark of the covenant—representing the presence of God, Israel’s true and great king—into Jerusalem (ch. 6). Clearly, the song’s lyrics speak of God’s repeated rescues of His people in the past and celebrates those deliverances (Psalm 68:20). Still other scholars see in these references a call to spiritual renewal and a return to walking with the God of their rescue. In the very least, the king is calling on the people to celebrate Israel’s God as their true king.
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Read: Luke 22:31–34, 54–62 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 3–4; Mark 10:32–52 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhen you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. Luke 22:32Raj had trusted Jesus as Savior in his youth, but soon afterward, he drifted from the faith and led a life apart from God. Then one day, he made the decision to renew his relationship with Jesus and go back to church—only to be scolded by a woman who berated him for being absent for all these years. The scolding added to Raj’s sense of shame and guilt for his years of drifting. Am I beyond hope? he wondered. Then he recalled how Christ had restored Simon Peter (John 21:15–17) even though he’d denied Him (Luke 22:34, 60–61).
Whatever scolding Peter might have expected, all he received was forgiveness and restoration. Jesus didn’t even mention Peter’s denial but instead gave him a chance to reaffirm his love for Christ and take care of His followers (John 21:15–17). Jesus’ words before Peter disowned Him were being fulfilled: “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32).
Raj asked God for that same forgiveness and restoration, and today he’s not only walking closely with Jesus but serving in a church and supporting other believers as well. No matter how far we’ve strayed from God, He’s always ready not only to forgive us and welcome us back but also to restore us so we can love, serve, and glorify Him. We’re never too far from God: His loving arms are wide open.
What fears might you have about turning back to God? How can knowing His heart of forgiveness help you to return to Him?
Father, thank You for Your endless mercy and patience with me. Thank You that I can trust in Your everlasting love.
For further study, read Walking Free: Overcoming What Keeps Us from Jesus.
INSIGHTJesus warned Peter that Satan had asked permission to test him and that he would falter in his faith (Luke 22:31–34). When Christ was arrested, all the disciples fled. But Peter and John had a change of heart and followed Jesus to the high priest’s house and were allowed to enter because John was “known to the high priest” (John 18:15–16). In the courtyard, Peter mingled with the high priest’s servants. There he crumbled under pressure and denied Jesus three times (Luke 22:54–61). Years later, Peter warned us: “Be alert . . . . Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
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Read: Genesis 21:9–19 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 1–2; Mark 10:1–31 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesGod heard the boy crying. Genesis 21:17Sue’s family was falling apart before her eyes. Her husband had suddenly left the home, and she and her children were confused and angry. She asked him to go for marriage counseling with her, but he wouldn’t because he claimed the problems were hers. Panic and hopelessness set in when she realized he might never come back. Would she be able to care for herself and her children alone?
Hagar, a servant of Abraham and Sarah, faced those thoughts as well. Impatient for God to give them a son as promised (Genesis 12, 15), Sarah gave Hagar to her husband, and Hagar gave birth to Ishmael (16:1–4, 15). However, when God fulfilled His promise and Sarah gave birth to Isaac, family tensions erupted such that Abraham sent Hagar away with their son Ishmael with just some water and food (21:–21). Can you imagine her desperation? Soon they ran out of provisions in the desert. Not knowing what to do and not wanting to see her son die, Hagar put Ishmael under a bush and walked a distance away. They both began to sob. But “God heard the boy crying” (v. 17). He heard their cries, provided for their needs, and was with them.
Times of desperation when we feel all alone cause us to cry out to God. What a comfort to know that during those moments and throughout our lives, He hears us, provides for us, and stays near to us.
How has God provided for you when you’ve felt alone? How have you responded to Him?
I’m grateful, God, that I never really walk alone. Help me in my desperation.
Learn more about communicating with God.
INSIGHTIn ancient times, the offspring of servants could be considered as one’s own child. Sarai (Sarah) had intended to raise a family through the offspring of her servant Hagar (see Genesis 16:1–2). When Ishmael was born to Hagar and Abraham, Abraham was eighty-six years old (v. 16). Sarah didn’t give birth to Isaac for another thirteen or fourteen years when Abraham was one hundred years old (21:5). Today’s passage (vv. 9–19) describes how Sarah treated Ishmael and Hagar on the day Isaac was weaned. The reader might wonder what the intervening years had been like between Sarah and Ishmael.
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Read: Jeremiah 12:1–3 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 34–36; Mark 9:30–50 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesYou know me, Lord. Jeremiah 12:3I recently saw a photograph of Michelangelo’s sculpture Moses, in which a close-up view showed a small bulging muscle on Moses’ right arm. This muscle is the extensor digiti minimi, and the contraction only appears when someone lifts their pinky. Michelangelo, known as a master of intricate details, paid close attention to the human bodies he sculpted, adding intimate features most everyone else would miss. Michelangelo knew the human body in ways few other sculptors have, but the details he carved into granite were his attempts to reveal something deeper—the soul, the interior life of human beings. And, of course, there Michelangelo always fell short.
Only God knows the deepest realities of the human heart. Whatever we see of one another, no matter how attentive or insightful it might be, is only a shadow of the truth. But God sees deeper than the shadows. “You know me, Lord,” the prophet Jeremiah said; “you see me” (12:3). God’s knowledge of us isn’t theoretical or cerebral. He doesn’t observe us from a distance. Rather, He peers into the hidden realities of who we are. God knows the depths of our interior lives, even those things we struggle to understand ourselves.
No matter our struggles or what’s going on in our hearts, God sees us and truly knows us.
What makes you feel alone, isolated, or unseen? How does it change things to realize that God knows you?
Dear God, this world can be a lonely place, but I’m astounded at how truly You know me. It fills me with wonder and joy.
INSIGHTJeremiah 1:1 reads, “The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.” This opening for the book gives us a surprising amount of information about this prophet—information we don’t receive about some other prophets in the Old Testament. He’s of the Levitical priestly line and starts his journey as a resident of Anathoth, a village a few miles northeast of Jerusalem—a city given to Aaron’s descendants (Joshua 21:15–19). His father, Hilkiah, was himself a priest who no doubt would’ve expected his son to follow in his footsteps. Jeremiah, however, pursued his calling as a prophet rather than following his father as a priest. The name Jeremiah can mean “Jehovah establishes or exalts” or “Jehovah hurls down.” That last option may in fact speak into the prophet’s message, which has to do with God’s judgment of Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
The post God Knows Us appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Chronicles 35:20–27 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 31–33; Mark 9:1–29 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunes[Josiah] would not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command. 2 Chronicles 35:22Back when I was driving to college and back home again, the road to our house in the desert seemed painfully dull. Because it was long and straight, I found myself driving faster than I should have more than once. First, I was given a warning from the highway patrol. Then I received a ticket. Then I was cited a second time in the very same place.
Refusing to listen can have unfortunate consequences. One tragic example of this is from the life of Josiah, a good and faithful king. When Necho, the king of Egypt, marched through Judah’s territory to help Assyria in battle against Babylon, Josiah went out to counter him. Necho sent messengers telling Josiah, “God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me” (2 Chronicles 35:21). God really did send Necho, but Josiah “would not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo” (v. 22). Josiah was fatally injured in the battle, “and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him” (v. 24).
Josiah, who loved God, discovered that insisting on his own way without taking the time to listen to Him or His wisdom through others never ends well. May God give us the humility we need to always check ourselves and take His wisdom to heart.
What do you need God’s wisdom for in your life? What will you do to listen to Him today?
Ever wise and loving God, help me to be humble and to listen for Your wisdom today. Thank You that when I ask for wisdom, You give “generously . . . without finding fault” (James 1:5).
Learn more lessons from the kings of Israel.
INSIGHTThe arrangement of the Old Testament books in our modern-day Bibles differs from the Hebrew Scriptures of the first century ad; the content, however, is the same. The book divisions in our Bibles are based on the type of literature (history, poetry, and prophecy). The Hebrew Scriptures in Jesus’ day were a compilation of twenty-four books (scrolls) that were divided into three major sections: the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings. The arrangement was essentially chronological. Second Chronicles was in the “Writings” section. It was the last book of the Hebrew Bible.
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Read: Romans 5:6−8 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 28–30; Mark 8:22–38 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8“I felt like the rug had been pulled from under me,” Jojie said. “The shock of the discovery was like a physical blow.” She’d found out that her fiancé was seeing someone else. Jojie’s previous relationship had ended similarly. So when she later heard about God’s love at a Bible study, she couldn’t help wondering: Is this another scam? Will I get hurt if I believe God when He says He loves me?
Like Jojie, we may have experienced troubled relationships that left us feeling wary—or even afraid—of trusting someone’s promise of love. We may even feel this way about God’s love, wondering where the catch is. There is, however, no catch. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
“Eventually, I realized God had already proven His love,” Jojie says, “by dying for me.” My friend discovered that since our sinful state separated us from God, He reached out to us by giving Jesus to die on our behalf (Romans 5:10; 1 John 2:2). Because of this, our sins are forgiven, and we can look forward to eternity with Him (John 3:16).
Whenever we wonder whether we can truly trust God’s love, let’s remember what Christ did for us on the cross. We can trust His promises of love, knowing that He’s faithful.
When or why have you found it difficult to trust God’s love? How can knowing Jesus died for you change your response?
Dear Jesus, thank You for the great love You showed me by dying for me. Let Your love change me, heal me, and direct my relationships.
INSIGHTReconciliation restores those who’ve been alienated. Paul uses the word reconcile more than any other New Testament author, often multiple times in a passage; for example, he uses it three times in Romans 5:10–11. He also uses it in Romans 11:15, 2 Corinthians 5:18–19, and 1 Corinthians 7:11 (related to human reconciliation).
Today’s passage highlights the necessity of Jesus’ death for our reconciliation to God. But that isn’t the end. Our reconciliation through His death leads to our salvation through His life. Paul writes, “How much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:10). Notice that there are two different tenses used: we have been reconciled and we shall be saved. Paul says that both the death of Jesus and His resurrected life are necessary to our salvation.
The post This Love Is Real appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 1 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 26–27; Mark 8:1–21 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBlessed is the one . . . who meditates on his law day and night. Psalm 1:1–2When Andrew and his family went on safari in Kenya, they had the pleasure of watching a variety of animals frequenting a small lake that appeared in the scrabbly landscape. Giraffes, wildebeests, hippopotamuses, and waterfowl all traveled to this life-giving source of water. As Andrew observed their comings and goings, he thought how the “Bible is like a divine watering hole”—not only is it a source of guidance and wisdom but it’s a refreshing oasis where people from all walks of life can quench their thirst.
Andrew’s observation echoed the psalmist who called people “blessed” when they delight in and meditate on God’s law, a term used in the Old Testament to describe His instruction and commandments. Those who meditate on the Scriptures are “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season” (Psalm 1:3). Just as a tree’s roots reach down into the soil to find the source of refreshment, people who truly believe in and love God will root themselves deeply in Scripture and find the strength they need.
Submitting ourselves to His wisdom will keep our foundations embedded in Him; we won’t be “like chaff that the wind blows away” (v. 4). When we ponder what God has given to us in the Bible, we gain nourishment that can lead to our bearing fruit that lasts.
How does the Bible provide a foundation for the way you live? What can help you meditate on Scripture throughout the day?
Loving God, You’ve given me the gift of Your words in the Bible. Help me to treasure them with gratitude and wonder.
INSIGHTPsalm 1 introduces the reader to the whole book of Psalms. It sets up the theme of God’s instruction (“law” or “torah,” v. 2), and it anticipates the twofold path before those who read or hear the Psalms: choose faithfulness to God and find life or choose wickedness and find judgment.
The two themes of righteousness and wickedness will unfold throughout the book. Some psalms explore the trustworthiness of God (Psalm 25), while others wrestle with how hard it is to trust Him when the wicked seem to win (Psalm 73). And the longest song of all, Psalm 119, explores the life-changing power of the words of God.
When we read the Psalms, we join believers in God throughout the ages in ascribing to Him glory, expressing our trust and doubts, and clinging to His promise that He’ll save His people.
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Read: Matthew 11:28–30 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 23–25; Mark 7:14–37 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesCome to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28The restless soul is never satisfied with wealth and success. A deceased country music icon could testify to this truth. He had nearly forty of his albums appear on Billboard’s country music top-ten charts and just as many number one singles. But he also had multiple marriages and spent time in prison. Even with all his achievements, he once lamented: “There’s a restlessness in my soul that I’ve never conquered, not with motion, marriages or meaning. . . . It’s still there to a degree. And it will be till the day I die.” Sadly, he could have found rest in his soul before his life ended.
Jesus invites all those, like this musician, who have become weary from toiling in sin and its consequences to come to Him personally: “Come to me,” He says. When we receive salvation in Jesus, He will take the burdens from us and “give [us] rest” (Matthew 11:28). The only requirements are to believe in Him and then to learn from Him how to live the abundant life He provides (John 10:10). Taking on the yoke of Jesus’ discipleship results in our finding “rest for [our] souls” (Matthew 11:29).
When we come to Jesus, He doesn’t abbreviate our accountability to God. He gives peace to our restless souls by providing us a new and less burdensome way to live in Him. He gives us true rest.
In what ways do you feel weary and burdened right now? What’s it like to experience the promised “rest” Jesus offers?
Jesus, let my restless soul find peace and rest in You alone.
For further study, read The Compassion of Jesus.
INSIGHTJesus’ words in Matthew 11:28–29 are among the most comforting in the Gospels. The thought of finding deep, soul-rest in Him is certainly appealing in our turbulent times. The context for these words, however, might be surprising. The chapter opens (vv. 1–6) with John the Baptist seeking confirmation that he’d rightly identified Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus affirms John’s previous confidence before telling the audience of the unique greatness John had displayed (vv. 7–19). Christ would then go on to declare a judgment (vv. 20–24) upon cities where His work hadn’t been received before then turning to the Father in prayer (vv. 25–26). This leads into Jesus’ offer of rest—perhaps the very kind of rest that John needed as he followed events from prison. Christ’s recognition of our personal fragility—even in one as profound as John—seems to be behind His powerful offer of true rest.
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Read: Numbers 22:21–31 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 20–22; Mark 7:1–13 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThen the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth. Numbers 22:28Jack knew how to put trains on the right track. In nine years of work, he never missed a track switch as locomotives drew near the Uitenhage, South Africa, station, indicating by their whistles the direction they were to go.
Jack was also a chacma baboon. He was cared for by railway signalman James Wide, and Jack in turn took care of James. Wide had lost both his legs in a fall between moving rail cars. He trained Jack to help him with tasks around the house and soon Jack assisted him at work also, learning how to respond to the incoming trains’ signals by pulling corresponding levers for their tracks.
The Bible tells of another animal that helped someone in a surprising way—Balaam’s donkey. Balaam was a pagan prophet serving a king who intended to harm Israel. As the prophet was riding his donkey en route to assist the king, “the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth” and it spoke to Balaam (Numbers 22:28). The donkey’s speech was part of the way God opened “Balaam’s eyes” (v. 31), warned him of imminent danger, and kept him from harming His people.
A railway baboon? A talking donkey? Why not? If God can use these amazing animals for good purposes, it’s not at all far-fetched to believe He can use you and me as well. Looking to Him and seeking His strength, we can accomplish more than we ever thought possible.
Whom have you seen God use unexpectedly? What will you do to make yourself available to Him today?
I want to serve You, God! Use my hands, my feet, my mouth, whatever You like! Help me to live for You today.
INSIGHTThe book of Numbers records the mercenary exploits of Balaam and how God hijacked his plan to curse His people (see Numbers 22–24). Through another Balaam-devised strategy, however, the children of Israel were led astray (see 31:16). Three times in the New Testament, Balaam’s waywardness and the consequences thereof are used to warn and divert believers in Jesus from unrighteousness. Second Peter 2:15 speaks of “the way of Balaam . . . who loved the wages of wickedness,” Jude 11 notes “Balaam’s error,” and Revelation 2:14 warns of “the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin.”
The post A Baboon, a Donkey, and Me appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Acts 9:36–42 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 17–19; Mark 6:30–56 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAll the widows stood around [Peter], crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made. Acts 9:39In the last few days of my dad’s life, one of the nurses dropped by his room and asked me if she could give him a shave. As Rachel gently pulled the razor across his face, she explained, “Older men of his generation like to have a neat shave every day.” Rachel had seen a need and acted on her instinct to show kindness, dignity, and respect to someone. The tender care she provided reminded me of my friend Julie who still paints her elderly mother’s nails because it’s important to her mom that she “look pretty.”
Acts 9 tells us about a disciple named Dorcas (also known as Tabitha) who showed kindness by providing handmade clothing for the poor (vv. 36, 39). When she died, her room was filled with friends who tearfully mourned this kind woman who loved helping others.
But Dorcas’ story didn’t end there. When Peter was brought to where her body lay, he knelt and prayed. In God’s power, he called her by name, saying, “Tabitha, get up” (v. 40). Amazingly, Dorcas opened her eyes and rose to her feet. When her friends realized she was alive, word spread quickly through the town and “many people believed in the Lord” (v. 42).
And how did Dorcas spend the next day of her life? Probably exactly as she had before—seeing the needs of people and filling them.
Whom do you know that always seems to find ways to help others? What can you do to become more aware of others’ needs?
Father, open my eyes each day to see the hurting and needy people around me. Open my heart to do what I can to show them what God’s love looks like.
INSIGHTThe main event we usually focus on in Acts 9 is the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. However, Peter’s time in Joppa is also highlighted (vv. 36–43). When he raised Dorcas from the dead (v. 40), he said, “Tabitha, get up.” This echoes Jesus’ Aramaic words to Jairus’ daughter in Mark 5:41, “ ‘Talitha koum!’ (which means ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up!’).” This event sets the stage for the events in Acts 10, when Peter received a heavenly vision in anticipation of messengers from the Roman centurion Cornelius (vv. 9–16). This vision would prepare the way for the door of the gospel to be opened to the gentiles. So, Peter’s brief stay in Joppa was not only eventful but reached forward throughout the history of the church as people from every tribe, tongue, and nation were invited to respond to the gospel.
The post Seeing a Need appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 1 Samuel 24:1–7 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 15–16; Mark 6:1–29 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart. Psalm 40:8The offer looked good, and was exactly what Peter needed. After being laid off, this sole breadwinner of a young family had prayed desperately for a job. “Surely this is God’s answer to your prayers,” his friends suggested.
Reading about the prospective employer, however, Peter felt uneasy. The company invested in suspicious businesses and had been flagged for corruption. In the end, Peter rejected the offer, though it was painful to do so. “I believe God wants me to do the right thing,” he shared with me. “I just have to trust He will provide for me.”
Peter was reminded of the account of David meeting Saul in a cave. It seemed like he was being given the perfect opportunity to kill the man hunting him down, but David resisted. “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing . . . for he is the anointed of the Lord,” he reasoned (1 Samuel 24:6). David was careful to distinguish between his own interpretation of events and God’s command to obey His instruction and do the right thing.
Instead of always trying to look for “signs” in certain situations, let’s look to God and His truth for wisdom and guidance to discern what lies before us. He will help us do what’s right in His eyes.
What could help you discern between a personal interpretation of events and what God would want you to do? Whom can you turn to for godly advice?
God, our Provider, grant me the wisdom to discern opportunities before me and the faith to follow Your way, that I might always do what pleases You.
For further study, read Making Decisions God’s Way.
INSIGHTTwice David spared King Saul’s life—first as recorded in 1 Samuel 24:1–10 and again as described in chapter 26. The setting in chapter 24 is a large cave in the wilderness of En Gedi. This cave is one among many in the region, some large enough to hold thousands. Saul and his soldiers were pursuing David with the intent of killing him when Saul stopped to relieve himself in the very cave where David and his six hundred men were hiding. In chapter 26, Saul continued to pursue David. Once again, David was close enough to take Saul’s life but showed him the mercy that the king lacked.
The post Is It a Sign? appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Acts 5:17–21, 25–29, 41–42 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 12–14; Mark 5:21–43 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDay after day, . . . [the apostles] never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. Acts 5:42In an interview, a musician who’s a believer in Christ recalls a time he was urged to “stop talking about Jesus” so much. Why? It was suggested that his band could be more famous and raise more money to feed the poor if he stopped saying his work was all about Jesus. After thinking it through, he decided, “The entire point of my music is to share my faith in Christ. . . . No way [am I] going to be silent.” He said his “burning calling [is] to share the message of Jesus.”
Under much more threatening circumstances, the apostles received a similar message. They’d been jailed and miraculously delivered by an angel, who told them to continue telling others about their new life in Christ (Acts 5:19–20). When the religious leaders learned of the apostles’ escape and that they were still proclaiming the gospel, they reprimanded them: “We gave you strict orders not to teach in [Jesus’] name” (v. 28).
Their reply: “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (v. 29). As a result, the leaders flogged the apostles and “ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus” (v. 40). The apostles rejoiced that they were worthy of suffering for Jesus’ name, and “day after day . . . never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news” (v. 42). May God help us to keep following their example!
If you’ve ever been told to stop talking about Jesus, what was your response? What are some ways you can tell others about Him?
Dear God, thank You for the example of the apostles and others who were bold witnesses for You. Please give me courage to follow their lead.
For further study, read Gospel Conversations.
INSIGHTThe Sadducees (Acts 5:17) were among the first-century religious sects who were unfriendly to Jesus (see Matthew 16:1–12; 22:23–29). After His death and resurrection, His apostles also experienced resistance from them. They were a party of priestly aristocrats, whom some believed traced their priestly roots to Zadok the priest who was loyal to kings David and Solomon (see 2 Samuel 15; 1 Kings 1). They believed that the Torah (the Law) was the chief authority and held that the doctrine of resurrection couldn’t be defended from the Law.
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Read: Psalm 61 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 9–11; Mark 5:1–20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesFrom the ends of the earth I call to you . . . as my heart grows faint. Psalm 61:2Author and theologian Russell Moore described noticing the eerie silence in the Russian orphanage where he adopted his boys. Someone later explained that the babies had stopped crying because they learned that no one would respond to their cries.
When we face difficult times, we too can feel that no one hears. And worst of all, we can feel that God Himself doesn’t listen to our cries or see our tears. But He does! And that’s why we need the language of petition and protest found especially in the book of Psalms. The psalmists petition for God’s help and also protest their situation to Him. In Psalm 61, David brings his petitions and protests before his Creator, stating, “I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (v. 2). David cries out to God because he knows that only He is his “refuge” and “strong tower” (v. 3).
Praying the petitions and protests of the psalms is a way of affirming God’s sovereignty and appealing to His goodness and faithfulness. They’re proof of the intimate relationship we can experience with God. In difficult moments, we can all be tempted to believe the lie that He doesn’t care. But He does. He hears us and is with us.
How does it encourage you to know that God hears your desperate prayers? What petitions and protests will you share with Him today?
Dear Jesus, help me to offer You my petitions, protests, and praise.
INSIGHTThe background of Psalm 61 is difficult to ascertain because the superscription only gives a brief musical instruction: “For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.” What do we know? The content of the psalm itself is worshipful and—with the heavy emphasis on the singer being the king himself—clearly qualifies as a royal psalm. Additionally, some see in this song the characteristics of lament, especially in verse 2 where we read, “as my heart grows faint.” This statement seems to speak of a heart that’s overwhelmed with the circumstances of life and needs safety, hence the references to God as “refuge” and “tower” (vv. 3–4). The song may have been written during the season when David was driven from the kingdom by his son Absalom because the references to his role as king wouldn’t have applied when he was being pursued by King Saul.
The post Praying in Difficult Times appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: John 4:4–14 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 7–8; Mark 4:21–41 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesYou would have asked him and he would have given you living water. John 4:10Andrea’s home life was unstable, and she left at fourteen, finding a job and living with friends. Yearning for love and affirmation, she later moved in with a man who introduced her to drugs, which she added to the alcohol she already drank regularly. But the relationship and the substances didn’t satisfy her longings. She kept searching, and after several years she met some believers in Jesus who reached out to her, offering to pray with her. A few months later, she finally found the One who would quench her thirst for love—Jesus.
The Samaritan woman at the well whom Jesus approached for water found her thirst satisfied too. She was there in the heat of the day (John 4:5–7), probably to avoid the stares and gossip of other women, who would have known her history of multiple husbands and her current adulterous relationship (vv. 17–18). When Jesus approached her and asked her for a drink, He bucked the social conventions of the day, for He, as a Jewish teacher, would not normally have associated with a Samaritan woman. But He wanted to give her the gift of living water that would lead her to eternal life (v. 10). He wanted to satisfy her thirst.
When we receive Jesus as our Savior, we too drink of this living water. We can then share a cup with others as we invite them to follow Him.
How do you think the woman at the well felt when Jesus asked her for some water? What does it mean to you to receive His living water?
Father God, You welcome all who are thirsty to come to the waters and drink. Satisfy my thirst through Your living water.
INSIGHTIn John 3, Nicodemus, a respected Jewish religious leader, sought Jesus at night (v. 2). In John 4, however, Christ initiates a conversation in the middle of the day with a woman from an ethnic group despised by the Jewish people Nicodemus taught. Yet Jesus engaged both individuals in lengthy conversation, with positive results. The woman at the well immediately went and asked the townspeople, “Could this be the Messiah?” (v. 29). After Jesus’ crucifixion, Nicodemus boldly identified himself with Christ by preparing His body for burial (19:38–40). Jesus’ ministry extends across all borders.
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Read: Philippians 2:1–11 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 4–6; Mark 4:1–20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHe humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Philippians 2:8I’m often amused by the unofficial holidays people come up with. February alone has a Sticky Bun Day, a Sword Swallowers Day, even a Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day! Today has been labeled Be Humble Day. Universally recognized as a virtue, humility is certainly worth celebrating. But interestingly, this hasn’t always been the case.
Humility was considered a weakness, not a virtue, in the ancient world, which prized honor instead. Boasting about one’s achievements was expected, and you sought to raise your status, never lower it. Humility meant inferiority, like a servant to a master. But all this changed, historians say, at Jesus’ crucifixion. There, the One who was “in very nature God” gave up His divine status to become “a servant” and “humbled himself” to die for others (Philippians 2:6–8). Such a praiseworthy act forced humility to be redefined. By the end of the first century, even secular writers were calling humility a virtue because of what Christ had done.
Every time someone is praised for being humble today, the gospel is being subtly preached. For without Jesus, humility wouldn’t be “good,” or a Be Humble Day even thinkable. Christ relinquished His status for us, revealing through all history the humble nature of God.
What would the world be like if humility was still a weakness? In what relationships can you imitate Jesus’ humility today?
I praise You, Jesus, for being the Humble One. And I desire to humble myself to You today as my only fitting response!
INSIGHTOne of the great debates in theology surrounds the “kenosis theory.” The word kenosis is derived from the Greek word kenoō, which means “to empty” (see Philippians 2:7, “made himself nothing”). If Jesus “emptied himself” (esv; nasb) to come in human flesh, of what did He empty Himself? Some speculate that He emptied Himself of His divine attributes. However, without divine attributes, He’d cease to be God, and the Bible clearly states that the incarnate Christ was both God and man (v. 6). Many scholars conclude that Jesus didn’t empty Himself of any aspects of deity but rather set aside the privilege of freely exercising those attributes. He depended instead on the Holy Spirit and was guided by the Father’s purposes.
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Read: Proverbs 4:20–27 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 1–3; Mark 3 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAbove all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23Hungarian-born mathematician Abraham Wald lent his skills to the World War II efforts after coming to the United States in 1938. The military was looking for ways to protect its aircraft from enemy fire, so Wald and his colleagues at the Statistical Research Group were asked to figure out how to better protect military aircraft to defend against enemy fire. They began by examining returning aircraft to see where they were most damaged. But Wald is credited with the keen insight that damage on returning aircraft represented only where a plane could be hit and still survive. He realized that areas most in need of additional armor would be found on planes that had crashed. Planes hit in the most vulnerable part—the engine—had gone down and therefore couldn’t be examined.
Solomon teaches us about protecting our most vulnerable part—our heart. He instructs his son to “guard [his] heart” because from it everything else flows (Proverbs 4:23). God’s instructions guide us through life, steering us away from poor decisions and teaching us where to focus our attention.
If we armor our heart by heeding His instructions, we’ll better “keep [our feet] from evil” and remain steadfast on our journey with God (v. 27). We venture into enemy territory every day, but with His wisdom guarding our hearts, we can stay focused on our mission to live well for God’s glory.
What is your heart most vulnerable to right now? How can God’s wisdom protect you?
God, please protect my heart from the threats against it. I hide myself in You.
INSIGHTWhat does it mean to “guard your heart” (Proverbs 4:23)? It means to be vigilant, to keep watch for any danger that might draw us away from God. We do so by internalizing the wisdom of Scripture (vv. 20–22) and by resisting temptation (vv. 25–27). God helps us as we seek Him through prayer: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Philippians 4:8 offers good advice about what we fill our minds with: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” As we rely on the Spirit, “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus” (v. 7).
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Read: Mark 7:8–13 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 26–27; Mark 2 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesYou have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions. Mark 7:8While preparing a meal, a young mother cut a pot roast in half before she put it in a large pot. Her husband asked her why she cut the meat in half. She replied, “Because that’s the way my mother does it.”
Her husband’s question, however, piqued the woman’s curiosity. So she asked her mother about the tradition. She was shocked to learn that her mother cut the meat so it would fit in the one small pot she used. And because her daughter had many large pots, the act of cutting the meat was unnecessary.
Many traditions begin out of a necessity but are carried on without question—becoming “the way we do it.” It’s natural to want to hold on to human traditions—something the Pharisees were doing in their day (Mark 7:1–2). They were distracted by what seemed like the breaking of one of their religious rules.
As Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions” (v. 8). He revealed that traditions should never replace the wisdom of Scripture. A genuine desire to follow God (vv. 6–7) will focus on the attitude of our heart rather than outward actions.
It’s a good idea to consistently evaluate traditions—anything we hold close to our heart and follow religiously. The things that God has revealed to be truly needed should always supersede traditions.
What are some of the traditions you hold fast to? How do they line up with what’s revealed in Scripture?
Heavenly Father, help me to follow Your commands and to forgo any tradition that conflicts with the Scriptures.
INSIGHTMark’s gospel is unique in several ways. It presents the Savior as the divine Servant. It’s held by many conservative scholars to be the recollections of Simon Peter and is the most action-oriented of the Gospels, causing many to see it as intended for a Roman audience. This assumed Roman audience may also account for Mark’s concern in explaining some Jewish ritual practices (see Mark 7:3–4)—explanations which aren’t needed in Matthew’s gospel and its assumed Jewish audience. Ultimately, Mark’s account, which begins, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God” (1:1), reveals Jesus as the One who said, “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (10:45).
The post What’s Truly Needed appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Chronicles 7:11–16 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 25; Mark 1:23–45 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIf my people . . . will humble themselves . . . , then I will hear from heaven. 2 Chronicles 7:14Aurukun is a small town in northern Australia—its Aboriginal population drawn from seven clans. While the gospel came to Aurukun a century ago, eye-for-eye retribution sometimes remained. In 2015, clan tensions grew, and when a murder happened, payback required someone from the offender’s family to die in return.
But something remarkable happened in early 2016. The people of Aurukun started seeking God in prayer. Repentance followed, then mass baptisms, as revival began sweeping the town. People were so joyful they danced in the streets, and instead of enacting payback, the family of the murdered man forgave the offending clan. Soon 1,000 people were in church each Sunday—in a town of just 1,300!
We see revivals like this in Scripture, as in Hezekiah’s day when crowds joyfully returned to God (2 Chronicles 30), and on the day of Pentecost when thousands repented (Acts 2:38–47). While revival is God’s work, done in His time, history shows prayer precedes it. “If my people . . . will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,” God told Solomon, “I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
As the people of Aurukun found, revival brings joy and reconciliation to a town. How our own cities need such transformation! Father, bring revival to us too.
While there’s no “formula” for revival, what do you think helps lead to it? How can you respond to God today to help revival come?
Dear Father, please bring revival to our land, starting with me.
For further study, read How to Have a Revival.
INSIGHTIn 2 Chronicles 7, during the dedication of the temple, King Solomon prayed for favor and blessing on his people. God responded and reiterated His promises of blessing according to the covenant He made with their fathers: “If my people . . . will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive” (v. 14). As one commentator states, “God had plans to bless them from the very beginning, and . . . had contingencies in place for their lapses in obedience. [He] was providing for their eventual return, assuming that the human heart is prone to wander and cannot help but stray.” This if-then conditional statement makes it clear: If the people repent, then God will forgive. We see an example of this enacted in the story of Hezekiah (32:24–26). Hezekiah and the people repented, and God forgave and delayed His judgment.
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Read: Ephesians 6:10–20 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 23–24; Mark 1:1–22 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesPray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Ephesians 6:18During a writing conference where I served as a faculty member, Tamy handed me a postcard with a handwritten prayer on the back. She explained that she read the faculty biographies, wrote specific prayers on each card, and prayed as she delivered them to us. In awe over the details in her personal message to me, I thanked God for encouraging me through Tamy’s gesture. Then I prayed for her in return. When I struggled with pain and fatigue during the conference, I pulled out the postcard. God refreshed my spirit as I reread Tamy’s note.
The apostle Paul recognized the life-affirming impact of prayer for others. He urged believers to prepare for battle “against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). He encouraged ongoing and specific prayers, while emphasizing the need to intervene for one another in what we call intercessory prayer. Paul also requested bold prayers on his behalf. “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains” (vv. 19–20).
As we pray for one another, the Holy Spirit comforts us and strengthens our resolve. He affirms that we need Him and one another, assuring us that He hears every prayer—silent, spoken, or scribbled on a prayer card—and He answers according to His perfect will.
How has God ministered to you through the intercessory prayers of others? Who can you encourage with a prayer card today?
Dear God, please help me approach You with confident prayers for myself and others.
INSIGHTIn daily living, it’s easy to get swept up in the things we can see and touch and to forget that there’s an unseen realm. The apostle Paul gives this warning in Ephesians 6:12: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Prayer is such a key element of our spiritual armor because we’re not dealing with “flesh and blood” but with “spiritual forces.” Through prayer, we connect with the invisible God who is Lord over both the seen and unseen.
Learn more about how to pray effectively.
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Read: Isaiah 64:1–8 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 21–22; Matthew 28 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAll of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6Recently, my wife and I were cleaning our house before having guests over. I noticed some dark stains on our white kitchen tile floor—the kind that required getting on my knees to scrub.
But I soon had a sinking realization: the more I scrubbed, the more I noticed other stains. Each stain I eliminated only made the others that much more obvious. Our kitchen floor suddenly seemed impossibly dirty. And with each moment, I realized, No matter how hard I work, I can never get this floor completely clean.
Scripture says something similar about self-cleansing—our best efforts at dealing with sin on our own always fall short. Seeming to despair of God’s people, the Israelites, ever experiencing God’s salvation (Isaiah 64:5), the prophet Isaiah wrote, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (v. 6).
But Isaiah knew there is always hope through God’s goodness. So he prayed, “You, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter” (v. 8). He knew that God alone can cleanse what we cannot, until the deepest stains are “white as snow” (1:18).
We can’t scrub away the smudges and smears of sin on our souls. Thankfully, we can receive salvation in the One whose sacrifice allows us to be cleansed completely (1 John 1:7).
Why is it hard to accept God’s forgiveness? Why do you think you’re tempted to try to deal with sin on your own?
Father, help me to rest in Your forgiveness instead of trying to earn what You’ve already freely given.
INSIGHTThe potter-clay motif is an image used by the prophet Isaiah to depict the strained relationship God had with His people. This metaphor points to a sovereign Creator and submissive creature relationship. As clay, we’re the intricate work of the Father’s hand (Isaiah 64:8). Choosing to go our own way, we reject God’s authority over our lives and “turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!” (29:16). It’s like the pot telling the potter what to do. Isaiah warned, “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker” (45:9). As our Maker, He has every right to do what He pleases (vv. 10–12). Some sixty years after these words from Isaiah were written, the prophet Jeremiah went to a potter’s house to give God’s people this same message: “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel” (Jeremiah 18:6).
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Read: John 1:4–9 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 19–20; Matthew 27:51–66 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIn him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1:4To capture the beauty of reflective light in his landscape oil paintings, artist Armand Cabrera works with a key artistic principle: “Reflected light is never as strong as its source light.” He observes that novice painters tend to exaggerate reflected light. He says, “Reflected light belongs to the shadow and as such it must support, not compete with the lighted areas of your painting.”
We hear similar insight in the Bible concerning Jesus as “the light of all mankind” (John 1:4). John the Baptist “came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe” (v. 7). The gospel writer tells us, “He himself [John] was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light” (v. 8).
As with John, we’re chosen by God to reflect Christ’s light to those living in the shadows of an unbelieving world. This is our role, as one source says, “perhaps because unbelievers are not able to bear the full blazing glory of His light firsthand.”
Cabrera teaches his art students that “anything that has direct light falling on it in a scene becomes a source of light itself.” Similarly, with Jesus as “the true light that gives light to everyone” (v. 9), we can shine as witnesses. As we reflect Him, may the world be amazed to see His glory shine through us.
How do you reflect the light of Christ? In what shadowy areas of the world can you shine His transforming light?
Shine on me, beautiful Light of God. Please help me to shine Your light in the shadows of an unbelieving world.
INSIGHTJohn 1:1–4 describes Jesus as God’s Word—the source of life and light for all humanity. Both life and light in Jewish tradition would’ve been associated with God’s revelation in Scripture. In Deuteronomy, for example, the Israelites were told that through obedience to God’s law they could “live and increase” (30:16). In Psalm 119:105, Scripture is described as a “lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Light was also understood as a symbol for holiness—being separated from the world and devoted to God’s purposes. Isaiah says Israel was called to be “a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness” (42:6–7). In describing Jesus as life and light, John teaches us that He’s God’s fullest revelation, the ultimate source of hope for all people.
The post Reflecting Christ’s Light appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Exodus 23:1–9 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 17–18; Matthew 27:27–50 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDo not follow the crowd in doing wrong. Exodus 23:2“One man is dead. Another man’s life is at stake,” says the judge somberly in the classic 1957 film 12 Angry Men. The evidence against the young suspect appears overwhelming. But during deliberations, it’s the brokenness of the jury that’s exposed. One of the twelve—juror number 8—votes “not guilty.” A heated debate ensues, in which the lone juror is mocked as he points out discrepancies in the testimony. Emotions escalate, and the jury members’ own murderous and prejudicial tendencies come to light. One by one, the jurors switch their votes to not guilty.
When God gave His instructions to the new nation of Israel, He insisted on honest courage. “When you give testimony in a lawsuit,” God said, “do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd” (Exodus 23:2). Interestingly, the court was neither to “show favoritism to a poor person” (v. 3) nor to “deny justice to your poor people” (v. 6). God, the righteous judge, desires our integrity in all our proceedings.
In 12 Angry Men, the second juror to vote “not guilty” said of the first, “It’s not easy to stand alone against the ridicule of others.” Yet that’s what God requires. Juror number 8 saw the real evidence, as well as the humanity of the individual on trial. With the gentle guidance of His Holy Spirit, we too can stand for God’s truth and speak for the powerless.
What tempts you to go along with the crowd? Where is God calling you to stand for truth and justice?
Father, help us show Your love to the world as we stand for Your truth.
INSIGHTThe law of Moses, summarized in the Ten Commandments (the Decalogue), sought to instruct the people of Israel in two vital areas—how to relate to God and how to relate to other people—whether fellow Israelites or foreigners. The Decalogue itself reflects those values, with the first part dealing with how they were to respond to God and the second part guiding their interpersonal relationships. Today’s reading (Exodus 23:1–9) reflects a further detailing of those interactions with other people. So, when Jesus said in Matthew 22:36–40 that all the law was reflected in two commandments—to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and to “love your neighbor as yourself”—He was reinforcing the law’s two great values. Loving God is the primary vertical relationship and gives context, significance, and value to all our horizontal (human) relationships.
The post Juror Number 8 appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Isaiah 62:1–5 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 15–16; Matthew 27:1–26 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAs a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:5Brendan and Katie beamed at each other. Looking at the pure joy on their faces, you would have never guessed the difficult ways so many of their wedding plans had been dramatically altered due to COVID-19 restrictions. Even with only twenty-five family members present, joy and peace radiated from the two as they said their vows because of their love for each other and expressed their gratefulness for God’s love sustaining them.
The image of a bride and groom delighting over each other is the picture the prophet Isaiah painted to describe the type of delight and love God has for His people. In a beautifully poetic description of His promised deliverance, Isaiah reminded his readers that the salvation He offered them reflected the reality of living in a broken world—comfort for the brokenhearted, joy for those who mourn, and provision for the needs of His people (Isaiah 61:1–3). God offered help to His people because, just like a bride and groom celebrate their love for each other, “so will your God rejoice over you” (62:5).
It’s a remarkable truth that God delights in us and wants a relationship with us. Even when we struggle because of the effects of living in a broken world, we have a God who loves us, not begrudgingly, but with a rejoicing, lasting love that “endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).
What images remind you of God’s love? How does His rejoicing love bring you joy?
Loving God, thank You for rejoicing over me in love.
INSIGHTAfter prophesying that God would use the Assyrians and the Babylonians to discipline His people for their idolatrous unfaithfulness (Isaiah 1–39), Isaiah comforted the Israelites with the promise that God would restore and bless them once the discipline was complete (chs. 40–66). In chapter 62, God speaks of the vindication and restoration of Jerusalem or Zion. God will personally make a grand spectacle of Jerusalem, so much so that the world “will be blinded by [its] glory” (vv. 2–3 nlt). Instead of being known as an abandoned and forsaken city, Jerusalem will be renowned as “Hephzibah” (v. 4), which the New Living Translation renders as “The City of God’s Delight,” and as “Beulah” (meaning “married”), rendered as “The Bride of God.” God presents Himself as the faithful and loving Builder and Bridegroom who will establish, cherish, and protect His beloved (v. 5).
The post Rejoicing Love appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 118:5–14 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51–75 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. Psalm 118:6Many years ago, a friend told me how intimidated she was while trying to cross a street where several roads intersected. “I’d never seen anything like this; the rules I’d been taught for crossing the street seemed ineffective. I was so frightened that I’d stand on the corner, wait for the bus, and ask the bus driver if he’d please allow me to ride to the other side of the street. It would take a long time before I successfully learned to navigate this intersection both as a pedestrian and later as a driver.”
As complicated as a dangerous traffic intersection can be, navigating life’s complexities can be even more menacing. Although the psalmist’s specific situation in Psalm 118 is uncertain, we know it was difficult and just right for prayer: “When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord” (v. 5), the psalmist exclaimed. And his confidence in God was unmistakable: “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. . . . The Lord is with me; he is my helper” (vv. 6–7).
It’s not unusual to be fearful when we need to change jobs or schools or housing. Anxieties arise when health declines, relationships change, or dollars disappear. But these challenges needn’t be interpreted as abandonment by God. When hard pressed, may we find ourselves prayerfully pressing into His presence.
What difficulty has brought you closer to God? With whom can you share your experience of His gracious help?
Gracious Father, please help me to trust You when I’m hard pressed.
INSIGHTMany scholars believe Psalm 118 was written during the time when the ruined walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt (around 444 bc; see Nehemiah 12:27–43). As such, it would have been sung by the entire congregation as they gathered to dedicate the work. The triple repetition of verses 10, 11, and 12—“in the name of the Lord I cut them down”—lends itself well to a congregational response in worship. Such strong militaristic language would also be encouraging to a people long subjugated by oppressors and now keeping a watchful eye on those who opposed the efforts of rebuilding. Interestingly, the early church fathers, Cyprian and Augustine among them, viewed the entire psalm as a particular encouragement to believers who faced the danger of martyrdom for their faith in Christ.
The post When Hard Pressed appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: John 20:26–31 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 13; Matthew 26:26–50 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThese are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. John 20:31When Doris Kearns Goodwin decided to write a book about Abraham Lincoln, the fact that some fourteen thousand books had already been written about America’s sixteenth president intimidated her. What could be left to say about this beloved leader? Undeterred, Goodwin’s work resulted in A Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Her fresh insights on Lincoln’s leadership style became a top-rated and top-reviewed book.
The apostle John faced a different challenge as he wrote his account of the ministry and passion of Jesus. The final verse of John’s gospel says, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21:25). John had more material than he could possibly use!
So John’s strategy was to focus on only a few selected miracles (signs) that supported Jesus’ “I am” claims throughout his account. Yet behind this strategy was this eternal purpose: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (v. 31). Out of the mountains of evidence, John provided plenty of reasons to believe in Jesus. Who can you tell about Him today?
How do you view the biblical evidence for Jesus and His claims? What does it mean for you to believe in Him?
Heavenly Father, please strengthen my faith with solid evidence so that I may truly live for Jesus.
Learn how to better defend your faith.
INSIGHTLife is a central theme in the book of John. The book begins introducing Jesus as God’s Word and the source of life: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:4). Life is identified as being found in the Father and Son (5:25–26) and the Spirit (6:63). Jesus describes Himself as the “bread of life” (v. 35), coming to earth so that “they may have life, and have it to the full” (10:10). After the death of Lazarus, Jesus revealed Himself to Martha as “the resurrection and the life” (11:25) before raising Lazarus from the dead (v. 43). Nearing the close of the book, John emphasized once more that the purpose of all that’s recorded in his gospel is “that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31).
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Read: 1 Timothy 1:12–16 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 11–12; Matthew 26:1–25 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesChrist Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 1 Timothy 1:15When my friend gave me a gift recently, I was surprised. I didn’t think I deserved such a nice present from her. She’d sent it after hearing about some work stress I was experiencing. Yet she was going through just as much stress, if not more, than I was, with an aging parent, challenging children, upheaval at work, and strain on her marriage. I couldn’t believe she had thought of me before herself, and her simple gift brought me to tears.
In truth, we’re all recipients of a gift that we could never deserve. Paul put it this way: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). Although he “was once a blasphemer and persecutor and a violent man, . . . the grace of our Lord was poured out on [him] abundantly” (vv. 13–14). The risen Jesus gave Paul a deep understanding of the free gift of grace. As a result, he learned what it meant to be an undeserving recipient of that gift and he became a powerful instrument of God’s love and told many people about what He had done for him.
It’s only through His grace that we receive love instead of condemnation, and mercy instead of judgment. Today, let’s celebrate the undeserved grace that God has given and be on the lookout for ways to demonstrate that grace to others.
How have you lost sight of the miraculous gift of grace? What would it look like to be motivated by grace once again?
Dear God, help me understand more fully what it means to extend Your gift of grace to others.
INSIGHTStephen was one of the seven men chosen by the twelve apostles to help them with some of their duties (Acts 6:3–6). Soon he began performing great signs and wonders (v. 8). But false charges were made against him, and he was brought before the Sanhedrin, the supreme judicial council of Judaism at that time. There Stephen gave an impassioned speech, concluding with condemning them for their part in the murder of Jesus (7:52). Furious, the members of the Sanhedrin dragged Stephen away and stoned him to death. That’s where Paul (then called Saul) stepped into the story. “The witnesses laid their coats at the feet of . . . Saul” (v. 58), who approved of the killing (8:1). Saul began to persecute the church, dragging off men and women to prison (v. 3). In Acts 9, he was on his way to Damascus to arrest followers of “the Way” (vv. 1–2) when Jesus suddenly appeared, and Saul was forever changed (vv. 3–19).
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Read: Psalm 91:1−2, 14−16 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 8–10; Matthew 25:31–46 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHe is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Psalm 91:2One early evening while I was jogging near a construction site in our neighborhood, a skinny, dirty kitten meowed at me plaintively and followed me home. Today, Mickey is a healthy, handsome adult cat, enjoying a comfortable life in our household and deeply loved by my family. Whenever I jog on the road where I found him, I often think, Thank You, God. Mickey was spared from living on the streets. He has a home now.
Psalm 91 speaks of those who “[dwell] in the shelter of the Most High” (v. 1), making their home with God. The Hebrew word for dwells here means “to remain, to stay permanently.” As we remain in Him, He helps us live according to His wisdom and to love Him above all (v. 14; John 15:10). God promises us the comfort of being with Him for eternity, as well as the security of His being with us through earthly hardship. Although trouble may come, we can rest in His sovereignty, wisdom, and love, and in His promises to protect and deliver us.
When we make God our refuge, we live “in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). No trouble can touch us except that which His infinite wisdom and love allow. This is the safety of God as our home.
What does being home in God mean? How would your response to hardship change if you chose to live in the shelter of the Most High?
Heavenly Father, thank You for the home I have in You.
Learn more about what it means to live in union with Christ.
INSIGHTPsalm 91:11–12 is among the many Old Testament psalms quoted in the New Testament. When Jesus was tempted in Jerusalem, the devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, . . . throw yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone’ ” (Luke 4:9–11). Psalm 91 is indeed a song about God’s protection, but the verses Satan quoted were misapplied. What the devil did amounted to abuse of Scripture. His quote was meant to tempt Jesus to test God by putting Himself in harm’s way. But rather than foolishly test God, Jesus would trust the One who declared Him to be the “Son, whom I love” (Luke 3:22) all the way to the cross.
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Read: John 14:1–11 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 6–7; Matthew 25:1–30 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAnyone who has seen me has seen the Father. John 14:9At four months old, Leo had never seen his parents. He’d been born with a rare condition that left his vision blurred. For him, it was like living in dense fog. But then eye doctors fit him with a special set of glasses.
Leo’s father posted the video of Mom placing the new glasses over his eyes for the first time. We watch as Leo’s eyes slowly focus. A smile spreads wide across his face as he truly sees his mom for the first time. Priceless. In that moment, little Leo could see clearly.
John reports a conversation Jesus had with His disciples. Philip asked Him, “Show us the Father” (John 14:8). Even after all this time together, Jesus’ disciples couldn’t recognize who was right in front of them. He replied, “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?” (v. 10). Earlier Jesus had said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (v. 6). This is the sixth of Jesus’ seven “I am” statements. He’s telling us to look through these “I am” lenses and see who He truly is—God Himself.
We’re a lot like the disciples. In difficult times, we struggle and develop blurred vision. We fail to focus on what God has done and can do. When little Leo put on the special glasses, he could see his parents clearly. Perhaps we need to put on our God-glasses so we can clearly see who Jesus really is.
What are some ways in which your vision of Jesus may have become cloudy? How can you look to Him again with clear vision?
Jesus, please help me turn my eyes on You. Show me clearly Your path for me.
INSIGHTAs we think about the nature of the universe, “heaven” is the upper part of the physical world represented by the sky where the sun, moon, and stars are found and where birds fly (Genesis 1:6–8, 14–17, 20). Theologically, heaven is God’s sanctuary, His dwelling place (Psalm 33:13–14; 150:1). Christ promised a “paradise”—a place of blessedness—to a dying thief (Luke 23:43). At His incarnation, Jesus descended from heaven to earth to save us from our sins (John 3:13). Here in John 14, Jesus tenderly speaks of heaven as “my Father’s house” (v. 2). After completing His work as Savior, He returned to heaven, promising to come back again (Acts 1:11).
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Read: 1 John 1:5–10 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 4–5; Matthew 24:29–51 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIf we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins. 1 John 1:9I frowned at my cellphone and sighed. Worry wrinkled my brow. A friend and I had had a serious disagreement over an issue with our children, and I knew I needed to call her and apologize. I didn’t want to do it because our viewpoints were still in conflict, yet I knew I hadn’t been kind or humble the last time we discussed the matter.
Anticipating the phone call, I wondered, What if she doesn’t forgive me? What if she doesn’t want to continue our friendship? Just then, lyrics to a song came to mind and took me back to the moment when I confessed my sin in the situation to God. I felt relief because I knew God had forgiven me and released me from guilt.
We can’t control how people will respond to us when we try to work out relational problems. As long as we own up to our part, humbly ask for forgiveness, and make any changes needed, we can let God handle the healing. Even if we have to endure the pain of unresolved “people problems,” peace with Him is always possible. God’s arms are open, and He is waiting to show us the grace and mercy we need. “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
How does forgiveness create peace? What steps will you take in God’s power toward reconciliation with someone this week?
Dear God, remind me of Your unending grace. Help me to be more humble and to commit all my relationships to You.
For further study, read What Do You Do with a Broken Relationship?.
INSIGHTThe Greek word peripateō is used ten times in the apostle John’s three letters (1 John [5x]; 2 John [3x]; 3 John [2x]). It means “to tread all around”; “to walk”; “to conduct one’s life.” It’s often translated as “walk” or “live”: “If we claim to have fellowship with God and yet walk in the darkness” (1 John 1:6); “If we walk in the light” (v. 7). First John 2:6 succinctly describes what it means to be a believer in Jesus: “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”
Paul also uses this word to describe how the believer in Christ should live: “Walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16); “Walk in the way of love” (Ephesians 5:2); “Live as children of light” (v. 8); “Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him” (Colossians 2:6); “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders” (4:5 esv).
The post God’s Arms Are Open appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Ezekiel 34:11–16 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 1–3; Matthew 24:1–28 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesAs a shepherd looks after his scattered flock . . . , so will I look after my sheep. Ezekiel 34:12When Pastor Warren heard that a man in his church had deserted his wife and family, he asked God to help him meet the man as if by accident so they could chat. And He did! When Warren walked into a restaurant, he spotted the gentleman in a nearby booth. “Got some room for another hungry man?” he asked, and soon they were sharing deeply and praying together.
As a pastor, Warren was acting as a shepherd for those in his church community, even as God through the prophet Ezekiel said He would tend His flock. God promised to look after His scattered sheep, rescuing them and gathering them together (Ezekiel 34:12–13). He would “tend them in a good pasture” and “search for the lost and bring back the strays”; He would “bind up the injured and strengthen the weak” (vv. 14–16). God’s love for His people reverberates through each of these images. Though Ezekiel’s words anticipate God’s future actions, they reflect the eternal heart of the God and Shepherd who would one day reveal Himself in Jesus.
No matter our situation, God reaches out to each of us, seeking to rescue us and sheltering us in a rich pasture. He longs for us to follow the Good Shepherd, He who lays down His life for His sheep (see John 10:14–15).
How does Jesus, the Good Shepherd, care for you? How could you offer Him any wounds that need tending or weakness you’d like strengthened?
Dear God, You love me even when I go astray and wander. Help me to stay always in Your sheepfold, that I might receive Your love and care.
INSIGHTAlong with Jeremiah and Daniel, Ezekiel is one of the three “captivity prophets.” Exiled from Judah to Babylon in 597 bc, Ezekiel received his prophetic calling in Babylon (Ezekiel 1:2–3). In Ezekiel 33, God pleads with His people to “Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’ ” (v. 11). Then, in chapter 34, He speaks against “the shepherds of Israel” (v. 2). These negligent shepherds were the kings, prophets, and priests charged with the spiritual well-being of the nation. God accused them of caring for themselves and not the flock (v. 8). The description of “wild animals” in verse 8 refers to the armies who had conquered and plundered the nation. Finally, in verses 11–16, the Good Shepherd is anticipated. Jesus said of Himself, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
The post The Good Shepherd appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Genesis 39:11–22 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 39–40; Matthew 23:23–39 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhile Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness. Genesis 39:20–21On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped out of their lunar landing module and became the first humans to walk on the surface of the moon. But we don’t often think about the third person on their team, Michael Collins, who was flying the command module for Apollo 11.
After his teammates clambered down the ladder to test the lunar surface, Collins waited alone on the far side of the moon. He was out of touch with Neil, Buzz, and everyone on earth. NASA’s mission control commented, “Not since Adam has any human known such solitude as Mike Collins.”
There are times when we feel completely alone. Imagine, for instance, how Joseph, Jacob’s son, felt when he was taken from Israel to Egypt after his brothers sold him (Genesis 37:23–28). Then he was thrust into further isolation by being thrown in prison on false charges (39:19–20).
How did Joseph survive in prison in a foreign land with no family anywhere nearby? Listen to this: “While Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him” (vv. 20–21). Four times we’re reminded of this comforting truth in Genesis 39.
Do you feel alone or isolated from others? Hold on to the truth of God’s presence, promised by Jesus Himself: “Surely I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). With Jesus as your Savior, you’re never alone.
When do you feel most alone? How does God remind you that He’s with you in your times of isolation?
Dear heavenly Father, please help me know, as You’ve promised in the Scriptures, that You’re with me as You were with Joseph.
INSIGHTThe book of Genesis shows the contrast between the life of Joseph and the failures of his forefathers. Abraham and Isaac both failed by giving their wives over to foreign powers for selfish reasons (Genesis 12:10–20; 20:1–17; 26:6–16). Judah failed by committing adultery for his own pleasures (ch. 38). But when Joseph was tempted, he remained faithful to God. When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him, he said, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (39:9). God would later use faithful Joseph to save Jacob’s family and all Egypt.
The post The Loneliest Man appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:1–10 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 36–38; Matthew 23:1–22 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7I settled into the church pew behind a woman as the worship team began playing “I Can Only Imagine.” Raising my hands, I praised God as the woman’s sweet soprano voice harmonized with mine. After telling me about her health struggles, we decided to pray together during her upcoming cancer treatments.
A few months later, Louise told me she feared dying. Leaning onto her hospital bed, I rested my head next to hers, whispered a prayer, and quietly sang our song. I can only imagine what it was like for Louise when she worshiped Jesus face-to-face just a few days later.
The apostle Paul offered comforting assurance for his readers who were facing death (2 Corinthians 5:1). The suffering experienced on this side of eternity may cause groaning, but our hope remains anchored to our heavenly dwelling—our eternal existence with Jesus (vv. 2–4). Though God designed us to yearn for everlasting life with Him (vv. 5–6), His promises are meant to impact the way we live for Him now (vv. 7–10).
As we live to please Jesus while waiting for Him to return or call us home, we can rejoice in the peace of His constant presence. What will we experience the moment we leave our earthly bodies and join Jesus in eternity? We can only imagine!
When have you been worried about or discouraged by facing death or losing a loved one? How does God’s promise of everlasting life encourage you?
Loving God, thank You for promising to be with me on earth and for all eternity.
For further study, read Crying for Us All: How Jesus Shares Our Grief
INSIGHTPaul used metaphors like “jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7) and “earthly tent” (5:1) to describe the frailty and mortality of our earthly human bodies, contrasting them with the indestructibility, immortality, and glory of our resurrection bodies. Our earthly bodies are “wasting away” (4:16), worn out by sin, decay, and death. While “we grow weary in our present bodies,” Paul points us to the hope of our eternal glorious embodiment when we will “put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing” (5:2 nlt). The apostle likens the believer’s new body to “a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself” (v. 1 nlt). Elsewhere, Paul speaks of a “spiritual body”—imperishable, glorious, powerful, and everlasting (1 Corinthians 15:42–53).
The post I Can Only Imagine appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Ruth 1:3–8, 15–21 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 34–35; Matthew 22:23–46 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDon’t call me Naomi. . . . Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. Ruth 1:20Jen remarried after her first husband died. The children of her new husband never accepted her, and now that he’s passed away too, they hate her for remaining in their childhood home. Her husband left a modest sum to provide for her; his kids say she’s stealing their inheritance. Jen is understandably discouraged, and she’s grown bitter.
Naomi’s husband moved the family to Moab, where he and their two sons died. Years later, Naomi returned to Bethlehem empty-handed, except for her daughter-in-law Ruth. The town was stirred and asked, “Can this be Naomi?” (Ruth 1:19). She said they shouldn’t use that name, which means “my pleasant one.” They should call her “Mara,” which means “bitter,” because “I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty” (vv. 20–21).
Is there a chance your name is Bitter? You’ve been disappointed by friends, family, or declining health. You deserved better. But you didn’t get it. Now you’re bitter.
Naomi came back to Bethlehem bitter, but she came back. You can come home too. Come to Jesus, the descendant of Ruth, born in Bethlehem. Rest in His love.
In time, God replaced Naomi’s bitterness with the joyful fulfillment of His perfect plan (4:13–22). He can replace your bitterness too. Come home to Him.
What name describes you? What does it mean for you to live out the name that describes who you are in Jesus?
Father, I’m coming home to find my rest in Your Son.
INSIGHTThe story of Ruth, which tells of the ancestry of David, Israel’s greatest king (Ruth 4:18–22), starts with great-great-grandfather Elimelek relocating his family to Moab to avoid a famine (1:1–2). Elimelek lived “in the days when the judges ruled” (v. 1). We’re not told the exact time, but it was within the three-hundred-year period (about 1380–1050 bc) between the death of Joshua (Joshua 24:29) and the beginning of Saul’s reign as king (1 Samuel 13:1). It was a time characterized by political instability, decadent immorality, and spiritual idolatry (Judges 2:10–13; 3:5–6) when “everyone did as they saw fit” (17:6; 21:25).
The post What’s Your Name? appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Leviticus 19:32–37 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 31–33; Matthew 22:1–22 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Leviticus 19:34Everything felt drastically different in their new country—new language, schools, customs, traffic, and weather. They wondered how they would ever adjust. People from a nearby church gathered around them to help them in their new life in a new land. Patti took the couple shopping at a local food market to show them what’s available and how to purchase items. As they wandered around the market, their eyes widened and they smiled broadly when they saw their favorite fruit from their homeland—pomegranates. They bought one for each of their children and even placed one in Patti’s hands in gratefulness. The small fruit and new friends brought big comfort in their strange, new land.
God, through Moses, gave a list of laws for His people, which included a command to treat foreigners among them “as your native-born” (Leviticus 19:34). “Love them as yourself,” God further commanded. Jesus called this the second greatest commandment after loving God (Matthew 22:39). For even God “watches over the foreigner” (Psalm 146:9).
Besides obeying God as we help new friends adapt to life in our country, we may be reminded that we too in a real sense are “strangers on earth” (Hebrews 11:13). And we’ll grow in our anticipation of the new heavenly land to come.
Who might God want you to look after? In what ways has He gifted you to spread His love to others?
Compassionate God, I understand a little what it feels like to be a stranger in this world. Lead me to be an encourager of other foreigners and strangers.
For further study, read
Walk with Me: Travelling with Jesus and Others on Life’s Road.
INSIGHTThe commandments found in Leviticus 19 are rooted in the calling of God’s people to be holy like God (Leviticus 19:2). This chapter reveals that being a holy people—set apart and devoted to God—includes being devoted to justice for the poor and marginalized (vv. 9–10, 13–16, 33–34). Pursuing justice is a way of loving our neighbor, and love for God and neighbor is at the heart of God’s law (Matthew 22:37–40).
Leviticus 19 emphasizes that the “neighbor” who Israel was called to love included foreign residents. They were called to treat foreigners with justice as if they were “native-born” (v. 34). They were to “love them as [themselves], for [they] were foreigners in Egypt” (v. 34). Treating outsiders with compassion and justice is commanded repeatedly in Scripture, often connected to the Israelites’ own experience of being exploited while in a foreign land (Exodus 22:21; 23:9; Deuteronomy 24:17–18).
The post We Are Strangers appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Luke 6:37–42 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 29–30; Matthew 21:23–46 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. Luke 6:40In a viral video, a three-year-old white belt karate student imitated her instructor. With passion and conviction the little girl said the student creed with her leader. Then, with poise and attentiveness, the little ball of cuteness and energy imitated everything her teacher said and did—at least she did a pretty good job!
Jesus once said, “The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher” (Luke 6:40). He told His disciples that to imitate Him included being generous, loving, nonjudgmental (vv. 37–38), and discerning about whom they followed: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?” (v. 39). His disciples needed to discern that this standard disqualified the Pharisees who were blind guides—leading people to disaster (Matthew 15:14). And they needed to grasp the importance of following their Teacher. Thus, the aim of Christ’s disciples was to become like Jesus Himself. So it was important for them to pay careful attention to Christ’s instruction about generosity and love and apply it.
As believers striving to imitate Jesus today, let’s give our lives over to our Master Teacher so we can become like Him in knowledge, wisdom, and behavior. He alone can help us reflect His generous, loving ways.
What parts of Jesus’ life are you seeking to imitate these days? When is it most difficult for you to imitate Christ, the Master Teacher?
Jesus, my Great Teacher, help my discipline and attentiveness to be worthy of You!
INSIGHTHow often we use the words judge not in judgment of others whom we perceive to be judging still others. But Jesus’ words “do not judge” (Luke 6:37) don’t mean that we abandon all discernment in favor of approving every behavior. Rather, His edict is given in the context of love and forgiveness—first God’s love for us and the forgiveness He lavishly gives, and then our love and forgiveness extended even to our enemies. In verses 35–36, Jesus spoke about the need to “love [our] enemies” and to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Prior to that He said to “do good to those who hate you” (v. 27). If we desire mercy from our Father, we’re to be generous in our forgiveness and restoration of others, just as God is with us.
Learn more about the practice of forgiveness.
The post Like Our Great Teacher appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Matthew 5:1–12 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 27–28; Matthew 21:1–22 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBlessed are those who mourn. Matthew 5:4I received an email from a young man in England, a son who explained that his father (only sixty-three) was in the hospital in critical condition, hanging on to life. Though we’d never met, his dad’s work and mine shared many intersections. The son, trying to cheer his father, asked me to send a video message of encouragement and prayer. Deeply moved, I recorded a short message and a prayer for healing. I was told that his dad watched the video and gave a hearty thumbs-up. Sadly, a couple days later, I received another email telling me that he had died. He held his wife’s hand as he took his final breath.
My heart broke. Such love, such devastation. The family lost a husband and father far too soon. Yet it’s surprising to hear Jesus insist that it’s precisely these grieving ones who are blessed: “Blessed are those who mourn,” Jesus says (Matthew 5:4). Jesus isn’t saying suffering and sorrow are good, but rather that God’s mercy and kindness pour over those who need it most. Those overcome by grief due to death or even their own sinfulness are most in need of God’s attention and consolation—and Jesus promises us “they will be comforted” (v. 4).
God steps toward us, His loved children (v. 9). He blesses us in our tears.
What places do you encounter sorrow in your story and in others’ stories? How does Jesus’ promise of blessing alter how you view this grief?
Dear God, when I’m awash in grief and sorrow, please help me to experience Your blessing even in the tears.
Learn more about coping with loss.
INSIGHTMatthew records five major sections of Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 5–7; 10; 13; 18; 24–25). Matthew 5–7 is known as the Sermon on the Mount because Jesus taught it when he was “on a mountainside” (5:1) in Galilee (4:23). In this sermon, Christ teaches what it takes to be His disciple. First, He describes the character (5:3–12) and then the conduct (5:13–7:29) of a believer in Jesus. Matthew 5:3–12 is known as the Beatitudes, so named because the Latin word for “blessed” or “happy” is beatus. One author calls them the “Beautiful Attitudes.” Each of the eight beatitudes opens with the word blessed (makarios), which is translated “happy” in some versions. But makarios has the basic meaning of “being approved by God” or “receiving God’s favor.” Those who’ve received God’s approval and favor are indeed blessed and have cause to be contented and joyful.
The post Blessing in the Tears appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Deuteronomy 8:10–18 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 25–26; Matthew 20:17–34 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesRemember the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 8:18On January 15, 1919, a huge molasses tank burst in Boston. A fifteen-foot wave of more than two million gallons of molasses careened through the street at over 30 mph, sweeping away railcars, buildings, people, and animals. Molasses might seem harmless enough, but that day it was deadly: 21 people lost their lives with more than 150 injured.
Sometimes even good things—like molasses—can overwhelm us unexpectedly. Before the Israelites entered the land God promised them, Moses warned the people to be careful not to take credit for the good things they’d receive: “When you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase . . . , then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God.” They weren’t to attribute this wealth to their own strength or capabilities. Instead, Moses said, “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:12–14, 17–18).
All good things—including physical health and the skills needed to earn a living—are blessings from the hand of our loving God. Even when we’ve worked hard, it’s He who sustains us. Oh, to hold our blessings with open hands, that we may gratefully praise God for His kindness to us!
What kindnesses from God are you thankful for today? Who can you help with a blessing you’ve received?
Thank You, Father, for sustaining me every moment. Please help me to recognize Your kindness, so I may share it with others.
For further study, read Compassion: Learning to Love Like Jesus.
INSIGHTAs Deuteronomy opens, the Israelites are preparing to enter the promised land. In this final book attributed to Moses, he recounts the law and reminds the people to remember all God has done for them. In today’s passage, the Israelites are called to remember and obey God when they settle in their new land, for He was and will be the source of their blessings (Deuteronomy 8:17–18). God miraculously delivered them from slavery and the Egyptians, led them through the desert, provided manna, and even kept their clothes from wearing out (5:15; 7:18; 8:2–4; 15:15; 16:3, 12; 24:18, 22).
The post Sustainer of Blessings appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Isaiah 40:28–31 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 23–24; Matthew 20:1–16 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThey will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31“I just don’t think I can do this anymore,” my friend said through her tears as she discussed the overwhelming sense of hopelessness she faced as a nurse in a global health crisis. “I know that God has called me to nursing, but I’m overwhelmed and emotionally drained,” she confessed. Seeing that a cloud of exhaustion had come over her, I responded, “I know you feel helpless right now, but ask God to give you the direction you’re seeking and the strength to persevere.” At that moment, she decided to intentionally seek God through prayer. Soon after, my friend was invigorated with a new sense of purpose. Not only was she emboldened to continue nursing, but God also gave her the strength to serve even more people by traveling to hospitals around the country.
As believers in Jesus, we can always look to God for help and encouragement when we feel overburdened because “He will not grow tired or weary” (Isaiah 40:28). The prophet Isaiah states that our Father in heaven “gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (v. 29). Though God’s strength is everlasting, He knows that we’ll inevitably have days when we’re physically and emotionally consumed (v. 30). But when we look to God for our strength instead of trying to sprint through life’s challenges alone, He’ll restore and renew us and give us the resolve to press on in faith.
When have you tried to handle overwhelming situations alone? How might you look to God for help?
Dear God, thank You for helping me when the challenges of life seem unbearable.
For further study, read Why Doesn’t God Answer Me? Trusting in Times of Doubt and Trial.
INSIGHTGod had warned an unrepentant Judah that He would use two pagan superpowers, the Assyrians and the Babylonians, to discipline them for their unfaithfulness (Isaiah 1–39). Then the prophet Isaiah comforted Judah with the promise that God would restore and bless them once the discipline was completed (chs. 40–66). In chapter 40, Isaiah spoke tenderly of God’s loving care for them—“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart” (v. 11). Isaiah also extolled the sovereignty, authority, and omnipotence of God (vv. 1–26). Addressing their sense of abandonment (v. 27), the prophet assured them that God wasn’t only resolute in blessing them but also had the absolute power to do so (v. 28). As the everlasting, omnipotent Creator, He was the source of their strength (v. 29). Isaiah called on these despondent Jews to trust God to carry out His promises (vv. 30–31).
The post Running on Empty appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: John 11:38–43 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 21–22; Matthew 19 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesLet us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16When the Mars rover Perseverance landed on that red planet on February 18, 2021, those monitoring its arrival endured “seven minutes of terror.” As the spacecraft ended its 292-million-mile journey, it went through a complex landing procedure it had to do on its own. Signals from Mars to Earth take several minutes, so NASA couldn’t hear from Perseverance during the landing. Not being in contact was frightening for the team who had put so much effort and resources into the mission.
Sometimes we may experience our own times of fear when we feel we’re not hearing from God—we pray but we don’t get answers. In Scripture, we find people getting answers to prayer quickly (see Daniel 9:20–23) and those not getting answers for a long time (see Hannah’s story in 1 Samuel 1:10–20). Perhaps the most poignant example of a delayed answer—one that surely struck terror in the hearts of Mary and Martha—was when they asked Jesus to help their sick brother Lazarus (John 11:3). Jesus delayed, and their brother died (vv. 6–7, 14–15). Yet four days later, Christ answered by resurrecting Lazarus (vv. 43–44).
Waiting for answers to our prayers can be difficult. But God can comfort and help as we “approach [His] throne of grace with confidence, . . . [that] we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
What are you praying for, but the answer doesn’t seem to be coming? How can God increase your faith as you wait on Him?
Loving God, You know what’s on my heart. Please help me trust You as I await Your answer.
INSIGHTIn the gospel of John, Jesus begins His ministry with the miraculous sign of turning water into wine. As the book progresses, Jesus continues to validate His message with miracles—the last of which is raising Lazarus from the dead.
The author of John argues throughout his gospel that Jesus is the only way to life (see 1:4; 14:6). And here, He proves it inescapably by returning His friend to the land of the living (11:38–44). Ironically, Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead sets off the chain of events that would result in Christ’s own death. But it’s that very death and later resurrection that would secure life for not just Lazarus but all who believe in Jesus. As John states, “By believing you may have life in his name” (20:31).
The post Seven Minutes of Terror appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Corinthians 9:6–9 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 19–20; Matthew 18:21–35 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesEach of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give . . . for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7Brenda was walking toward the mall exit when a flush of pink from a display window caught her eye. She turned and stood spellbound before a “cotton-candy-colored coat.” Oh, how Holly would love it! Finances had been tight for her coworker friend who was a single mother, and while Brenda knew Holly needed a warm coat, she was also confident that her friend would never lay down cash on such a purchase for herself. After wavering ever so slightly, Brenda smiled, reached for her wallet, and arranged for the coat to be shipped to Holly’s home. She added an anonymous card, “You are so very loved.” Brenda practically danced to her car.
Joy is a by-product of God-nudged giving. As Paul instructed the Corinthians in the art of generosity, he said, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). He also noted, “Whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (v. 6).
Sometimes we slip cash into the offering plate. At other times we donate online to a worthy ministry. And then there are moments when God leads us to respond to the need of a friend with a tangible expression of His love. We offer a bag of groceries, a tank of gas . . . or even the gift of a perfectly pink coat.
Who might you show God’s love to today? How can your generosity bubble up in joy as a return gift to you?
Loving Father, You gave me the gift of Your Son, and so I want to give to others. May I respond to Your gentle nudge to meet the needs of another.
INSIGHTThis small segment of Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 9:6–9) appears amid a much larger section on giving. The apostle had introduced the theme in chapter 8, where he held up the much poorer but very generous Macedonian church as a model to emulate (vv. 1–5). Throughout his appeal, he asked the Corinthian church to keep their original commitment to give (vv. 10–12) and to do so willingly and cheerfully (9:5, 7). As Paul often did, he referenced other Scriptures to build his argument. Here he quoted Psalm 112, which outlines the characteristics of the righteous (“those who fear the Lord,” v. 1). The psalmist noted how they’re “gracious and compassionate” (v. 4), and that “good will come to those who are generous and lend freely” (v. 5). It’s not that generous giving makes one righteous; rather, the one who is righteous will give generously.
The post The Pink Coat appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 103:8–12 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 16–18; Matthew 18:1–20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHe will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever. Psalm 103:9One of consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic was the docking of cruise ships and the quarantining of passengers. The Wall Street Journal featured an article that included interviews of some of the tourists. Commenting about how being quarantined provided more opportunities for conversations, one passenger joked how his spouse—who possessed an excellent memory—was able to bring up every transgression he ever had and sensed she wasn’t done yet!
Accounts like this might make us smile, remind us of our humanness, and serve to caution us if we’re prone to hold too tightly to the things we should release. Yet what helps us to be kindly disposed to those who hurt us? Glimpses of our great God, as He’s portrayed in passages like Psalm 103:8–12.
The Message’s rendering of verses 8–10 is noteworthy: “God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love. He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.” Asking for God’s help as we prayerfully read Scripture can cause us to have second thoughts about ill-conceived payback or plans to punish. And it can prompt prayers for ourselves and for those we may be tempted to harm by withholding grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
Who have you been tempted to harm because of the hurt they’ve caused you? Who can you ask to pray for you?
God of mercy, kindness, and forgiveness, please help me to extend grace and mercy to those who’ve caused me pain.
INSIGHTPsalm 103:8 recalls how God revealed Himself to Moses during the exodus from Egypt. After Moses pleaded with God to “show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18), God promised to let His glory pass by Moses. In Exodus 34, we’re told that God “passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin’ ” (vv. 6–7).
Psalm 103 elaborates on God’s endless compassion, mercy, and grace as the only hope for His sinful people. He is a forgiving God who “does not treat us as our sins deserve” (v. 10) but removes our sin “as far as the east is from the west” (v. 12). God’s willingness to forgive is rooted in His deep love for His children and compassionate understanding of their struggles (vv. 11, 13).
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Read: Colossians 3:12–14 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 14–15; Matthew 17 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBear with each other and forgive one another. Colossians 3:13Eighty years of marriage! My husband’s great-uncle Pete and great-aunt Ruth celebrated this remarkable milestone on May 31, 2021. After a chance meeting in 1941 when Ruth was still in high school, the young couple were so eager to get married that they eloped the day after Ruth graduated. Pete and Ruth believe God brought them together and has guided them all these years.
Reflecting on eight decades of marriage, Pete and Ruth both agree that one key to sustaining their relationship has been the decision to choose forgiveness. Anyone in a healthy relationship understands that we all regularly need forgiveness for the ways we hurt each other, whether through an unkind word, a broken promise, or a forgotten task.
In a section of Scripture written to help believers in Jesus live together in unity, Paul refers to the essential role forgiveness plays. After urging his readers to choose “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12), Paul adds the encouragement to “forgive one another if any of you has a grievance” (v. 13). Most importantly, all their interactions with each were to be guided by love (v. 14).
Relationships that model the characteristics outlined by Paul are a blessing. May God help all of us work to cultivate healthy relationships characterized by love and forgiveness.
How have you experienced healing through forgiving or being forgiven? How are relationships strengthened through practicing both forgiveness and accountability?
Jesus, help me to forgive others just as You’ve forgiven me.
INSIGHTCompassion is kindness for people in need. More than just feeling pity, compassion moves you to relieve the misery of a person. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan “had compassion” on the injured man (Luke 10:33 esv), which moved him to come to his rescue. The Greeks and Romans valued courage, strength, wisdom, power, and revenge. For them, compassion was a weakness, not a virtue. But for believers in Jesus, compassion is what marks us out as God’s children. Jesus tells us to imitate our heavenly Father: “You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate” (6:36 nlt.) Compassion is God’s very person. In one of the greatest self-revelations in the Bible, He described Himself as “the compassionate and gracious God” (Exodus 34:6). We’re most like our Father when we’re compassionate, kind, and gracious to others.
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Read: Proverbs 22:1–6 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 12–13; Matthew 16 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesStart children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6In the 1960s-era TV series The Andy Griffith Show, a man tells Andy he should let his son Opie decide how he wants to live. Andy disagrees: “You can’t let a young’un decide for himself. He’ll grab at the first flashy thing with shiny ribbons on it. Then, when he finds out there’s a hook in it, it’s too late. Wrong ideas come packaged with so much glitter that it’s hard to convince them that other things might be better in the long run.” He concludes that it’s important for parents to model right behavior and help “keep temptation away.”
Andy’s words are related to the wisdom found in Proverbs: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (22:6). Although many may read these words as a promise, they’re really a guide. All of us are called to make our own decision to believe in Jesus. But we can help lay a biblical foundation through our love for God and Scripture. And we can pray that as the little ones under our care mature, they choose to receive Christ as Savior and walk in His ways and not “in the paths of the wicked” (v. 5).
Our own victory over “flashy things” through the Holy Spirit’s enabling is also powerful testimony. Jesus’ Spirit helps us to withstand temptation and molds our lives into examples worth imitating.
Why is it helpful to remember that Proverbs 22:6 isn’t a promise but a wise principle? Who can you help to “train up”?
Dear Father, help me to instill Your values into the hearts of the children You’ve placed in my life.
INSIGHTThe book of Proverbs frequently emphasizes the importance of adults providing wise guidance and discipline for children. In Proverbs 29, parents are warned that “a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother” (v. 15), but if they discipline their children, “they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire” (v. 17).
But these general principles on the wisdom and necessity of adults providing children guidance don’t imply that parents carry all the responsibility for their children’s choices. Other sections of the book nuance the picture. Proverbs is addressed to the young (1:4–7), emphasizing the importance of every person choosing to humbly listen to the voice of wisdom (v. 20; 2:2–5) and to rely on God for the wisdom only found in Him (2:5–6). Ironically, the man who wrote those words, Solomon, would stray from the paths of wisdom as an adult (1 Kings 11:9–11).
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Read: Matthew 13:44–46 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 9–11; Matthew 15:21–29 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe kingdom of heaven is like treasure. Matthew 13:44My friend Ruel attended a high school reunion held in a former classmate’s home. The waterfront mansion near Manila Bay could accommodate two hundred attendees, and it made Ruel feel small.
“I’ve had many happy years of pastoring remote rural churches,” Ruel told me, “and even though I know I shouldn’t, I couldn’t help but feel envious of my classmate’s material wealth. My thoughts strayed to how different life might be if I’d used my degree to become a businessman instead.”
“But I later reminded myself there’s nothing to feel envious about,” Ruel continued with a smile. “I invested my life in serving God, and the results will last for eternity.” I’ll always remember the peaceful look on his face as he said those words.
Ruel drew peace from Jesus’ parables in Matthew 13:44−46. He knew that God’s kingdom is the ultimate treasure. Seeking and living for His kingdom might take various forms. For some, it might mean full-time ministry, while for others, it may be living out the gospel in a secular workplace. Regardless of how God chooses to use us, we can continue to trust and obey His leading, knowing, like the men in Jesus’ parables, the value of the imperishable treasure we’ve been given. Everything in this world has infinitely less worth than all we gain by following God (1 Peter 1:4−5).
Our life, when placed in His hands, can bear eternal fruit.
What have you had to live without for the sake of following God? How does Matthew 13:44–46 encourage you?
Father, let each day of my life be a celebration of the treasure I’ve found in You.
INSIGHTThe two brief parables in Matthew 13:44–46 appear amid the telling of seven parables on the kingdom of heaven (vv. 1–52). After Jesus told the first parable (the farmer scattering seed, vv. 3–9), His disciples asked why He always spoke in parables (v. 10). His answer was telling: “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them” (v. 11). He told the disciples, “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear” (v. 16). Then He explained the parable (vv. 18–23). The disciples desired to know the true meaning of Jesus’ words, and their desire was rewarded. They’d left everything to follow Him. In essence, they were living out the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl (vv. 44–46) because they were receptive to the message of the gospel. They’d found the treasure.
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Read: Luke 15:1–10 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 7–8; Matthew 15:1–20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesRejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep. Luke 15:6“They call me ‘the ringmaster.’ So far this year I’ve found 167 lost rings.”
During a walk on the beach with my wife, Cari, we struck up a conversation with an older man who was using a metal detector to scan an area just below the surf line. “Sometimes rings have names on them,” he explained, “and I love seeing their owners’ faces when I return them. I post online and check to see if anyone contacted lost and found. I’ve found rings missing for years.” When we mentioned that I enjoy metal detecting as well but didn’t do it frequently, his parting words were, “You never know unless you go!”
We find another kind of “search and rescue” in Luke 15. Jesus was criticized for caring about people who were far from God (vv. 1–2). In reply, He told three stories about things that were lost and then found—a sheep, a coin, and a son. The man who finds the lost sheep “joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me’ ” (vv. 5–6). All the stories are ultimately about finding lost people for Christ, and the joy that comes as they’re found in Him.
Jesus came “to seek and to save the lost” (19:10), and He calls us to follow Him in loving people back to God (see Matthew 28:19). The joy of seeing others turn to Him awaits. We’ll never know unless we go.
What joy have you seen when people turn to God? How will you point others to Jesus’ love today?
Thank You, Jesus, for finding and loving me! Please send me in Your joy to another who needs You today.
INSIGHTTax collectors were seen as betraying their people by colluding with the Roman government. Many tax collectors abused their role by taking more money than required for taxes and keeping the surplus for themselves (Luke 3:12–13). Scholars aren’t sure what specifically caused people to be labeled “sinners” (15:1), but these persons too would have been excluded from the religious community.
Luke portrays these social and religious outcasts sympathetically. Tax collectors came to John the Baptist eager to know how to repent (3:12). Jesus called Levi the tax collector to follow Him, and Levi immediately did, then hosted a banquet for Him (5:27–30). A woman the Pharisees described as a sinner (7:39) is praised by Christ for her faith (v. 50). Luke argued that those who know they’re sinners are most likely to hear and follow Jesus (5:31–32; 15:1).
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Read: Psalm 18:16–19 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 4–6; Matthew 14:22–36 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesHe reached down from on high and took hold of me. Psalm 18:16In a recent post, blogger Bonnie Gray recounted the moment when overwhelming sadness began to creep into her heart. “Out of the blue,” she stated, “during the happiest chapter in my life, . . . I suddenly started experiencing panic attacks and depression.” Gray tried to find different ways to address her pain, but she soon realized that she wasn’t strong enough to handle it alone. “I hadn’t wanted anyone to question my faith, so I kept quiet and prayed that my depression would go away. But God wants to heal us, not shame us or make us hide from our pain.” Gray found healing in the solace of His presence; He was her anchor amid the waves that threatened to overwhelm her.
When we’re in a low place and filled with despair, God is there and will sustain us too. In Psalm 18, David praised God for delivering him from the low place he was in after nearly being defeated by his enemies. He proclaimed, “[God] reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters” (v. 16). Even in moments when despair seems to consume us like crashing waves in an ocean, God loves us so much that He’ll reach out to us and help us, bringing us into a “spacious place” of peace and security (v. 19). Let’s look to Him as our refuge when we feel overwhelmed by the challenges of life.
When have you felt overwhelmed by trials? How did God sustain you?
Heavenly Father, there are times when my burdens become too much to carry. Thank You for continuously reaching out to me, sustaining me, and granting me Your peace, strength, and wisdom.
For further study, read When the Going Gets Tough: Finding Hope and Joy in Our Trials.
INSIGHTBecause of David’s success and popularity (1 Samuel 17; 18:15–16), the jealous King Saul tried to kill him (18:10–11). On the run for his life, David sought refuge in mountains and caves (22:1; 23:26; 24:3). But David was mindful that it was God who delivered, protected, and kept him safe. Out of his experience as a fugitive, he wrote Psalm 18 as a thanksgiving song, as noted in the superscription: “Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” This song is also found in 2 Samuel 22. David used various metaphors to describe who God was to him: a rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, horn of salvation, stronghold, and savior (Psalm 18:2–3)—all pictures of protection, security, deliverance, and safety.
The post Reaching Out appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Ephesians 4:1–5, 25–31 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 1–3; Matthew 14:1–21 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBe completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2I was sitting in my chair one morning years ago when my youngest came downstairs. She made a beeline for me, jumping up onto my lap. I gave her a fatherly squeeze and a gentle kiss on the head, and she squealed with delight. But then she furrowed her brow, crinkled her nose, and shot an accusatory glance at my coffee mug. “Daddy,” she announced solemnly. “I love you, and I like you, but I don’t like your smell.”
My daughter couldn’t have known it, but she spoke with grace and truth: she didn’t want to hurt my feelings, but she felt compelled to tell me something. And sometimes we need to do that in our relationships.
In Ephesians 4, Paul zeroes in on how we relate to each other—especially when telling difficult truths. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (v. 2). Humility, gentleness, and patience form our relational foundation. Cultivating those character qualities as God guides us will help us “[speak] the truth in love” (v. 15) and seek to communicate “what is helpful for building others up according to their needs” (v. 29).
No one likes being confronted about weaknesses and blind spots. But when something about us “smells,” God can use faithful friends to speak into our lives with grace, truth, humility, and gentleness.
When has someone gently confronted you? What do you think is most important when you lovingly address a weakness you see in others?
Father, help me to humbly receive correction, and help me to offer it with love, grace, and gentleness.
INSIGHTOn his third missionary journey, Paul spent three years teaching the believers in Ephesus (Acts 19; 20:31). Some six years later, concerned for their spiritual well-being and maturity, he wrote from a Roman prison (Ephesians 3:1; 4:1; 6:20) reminding them how God had so richly and graciously blessed them (1:3). After extolling the privileges, position, and possessions they had because of Jesus (chs. 1–3), the apostle instructed them to “live a life worthy of [their] calling” (4:1), an exhortation that Paul similarly made to the Philippian (1:27), Colossian (1:10), and Thessalonian believers (1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:11). The Ephesian believers were to be like Christ in how they treated one another—humble, gentle, patient, forbearing, loving, encouraging, kind, compassionate, and forgiving (Ephesians 4:2, 29–32).
Learn more about the life of Paul.
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Read: Song of Songs 8:5–7 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 49–50; Matthew 13:31–58 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunes[Love] burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Song of Songs 8:6Poet, painter, and printmaker William Blake enjoyed a forty-five-year marriage with his wife, Catherine. From their wedding day until his death in 1827, they worked side by side. Catherine added color to William’s sketches, and their devotion endured years of poverty and other challenges. Even in his final weeks as his health failed, Blake kept at his art, and his final sketch was his wife’s face. Four years later, Catherine died clutching one of her husband’s pencils in her hand.
The Blakes’ vibrant love offers a reflection of the love discovered in the Song of Songs. And while the Song’s description of love certainly has implications for marriage, early believers in Jesus believed it also points to Jesus’ unquenchable love for all His followers. The Song describes a love “as strong as death,” which is a remarkable metaphor since death is as final and unescapable a reality as humans will ever know (8:6). This strong love “burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame” (v. 6). And unlike fires we’re familiar with, these flames can’t be doused, not even by a deluge. “Many waters cannot quench love,” the Song insists (v. 7).
Who among us doesn’t desire true love? The Song reminds us that whenever we encounter genuine love, God is the ultimate source. And in Jesus, each of us can know a profound and undying love—one that burns like a blazing fire.
Where have you encountered strong love? How does Jesus’ love encourage you?
Dear God, please help me to receive Your love and share it with others.
For further study, read How God Loves Us.
INSIGHTScholars have long had difficulty interpreting Song of Songs (also called Song of Solomon). Perhaps uncomfortable with its theme of intimate love, many have attempted to turn the book’s storyline into allegory. Most scholars today, however, view the song as a description of physical love between a man and a woman. In today’s reading (8:5–7), the woman initiates the intimacy. Her reference to the “seal over your heart” (v. 6) represents her desire to claim mutual ownership of her beloved. She has exclusive rights to him and all that he has, as he also has those rights with her.
The book can also be viewed as symbolic in representing genuine marital love as a complete commitment to each other. This comprises an apt representation of the church as the bride of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 11:2).
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Read: Matthew 5:43–48 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 46–48; Matthew 13:1–30 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBut I tell you, love your enemies. Matthew 5:44“I know what they’re saying. But I’m telling you . . .” As a boy, I heard my mother give that speech a thousand times. The context was always peer pressure. She was trying to teach me not to follow the herd. I’m not a boy any longer, but herd mentality’s still alive and kicking. A current example is this phrase: “Only surround yourself with positive people.” Now while that phrase may be commonly heard, the question we must ask is: “Is that Christlike?”
“But I’m telling you . . .” Jesus uses that lead-in a number of times in Matthew 5. He knows full well what the world is constantly telling us. But His desire is that we live differently. In this case, He says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (v. 44). Later in the New Testament, the apostle Paul uses that very word to describe guess who? That’s right: us—“while we were God’s enemies” (Romans 5:10). Far from some “do as I say, not as I do,” Jesus backed up His words with actions. He loved us, and gave His life for us.
What if Christ had only made room in His life for “positive people”? Where would that leave us? Thanks be to God that His love is no respecter of persons. For God so loved the world, and in His strength we are called to do likewise.
When’s the last time someone extended love to you when you weren’t “positive”? What’s a tangible way today that you can show love to an enemy?
Father, it’s tempting to surround myself with only those who love me. But that’s not living, at least not the kind of living You desire for me. Help me to love even my enemies.
INSIGHTThe teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) was a corrective to the teaching and practices of popular religion in His day. Thus, He repeatedly said, “You have heard that it was said . . . . But I tell you” (5:21–44). Of note is His command to “be perfect” (v. 48). As with the other commands, Christ calls His followers to a higher standard. However, the perfection that’s in view isn’t moral perfection (sinlessness). The Greek word teleios (from telos,) translated “perfect,” means “completeness” or “maturity,” something arriving at an intended end. Jesus calls His followers to “relational” maturity—an indiscriminate, mature love like the love of the heavenly Father. It’s a love that’s undeterred by pedigree or label, the kind of love modeled by the Samaritan in the parable in Luke 10:25–37.
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Read: Ezekiel 14:1–8 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 43–45; Matthew 12:24–50 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices! Ezekiel 14:6“Do you see it, brother Tim?” My friend, a Ghanaian pastor, flashed his torchlight on a carved object leaning against a mud hut. Quietly he said, “That is the village idol.” Each Tuesday evening, Pastor Sam traveled into the bush to share the Bible in this remote village.
In the book of Ezekiel, we see how idolatry plagued the people of Judah. When Jerusalem’s leaders came to see the prophet Ezekiel, God told him, “These men have set up idols in their hearts” (14:3). God wasn’t merely warning them against idols carved of wood and stone. He was showing them that idolatry is a problem of the heart. We all struggle with it.
Bible teacher Alistair Begg describes an idol as “anything other than God that we regard as essential to our peace, our self-image, our contentment, or our acceptability.” Even things that have the appearance of being noble can become idols to us. When we seek comfort or self-worth from anything other than the living God, we commit idolatry.
“Repent!” God said. “Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!” (v. 6). Israel proved incapable of doing this. Thankfully, God had the solution. Looking forward to the coming of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, He promised, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (36:26). We can’t do this alone.
When stress hits you, where do you turn for comfort? What might you need to turn away from today?
Father, show me the idols in my heart. Then help me destroy them and live in Your love.
INSIGHTAs part of their subjugation strategy, the Babylonians forcibly exiled Jewish royalty, military leaders, and skilled workers to Babylon (2 Kings 24:10–16; Daniel 1:1–5), including the prophet and priest Ezekiel. He was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon when he started ministering (Ezekiel 1:1–3) to the Jews in exile (3:11) as well as to those still residing in Judah (12:10). After condemning the false prophets who taught that God wouldn’t punish His people for their sins (chs. 12–13), Ezekiel confronted the Jewish leaders for their hypocrisy and idolatry and urged God’s people to repent and turn from their idols (14:1–8).
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Read: John 11:17–27 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 41–42; Matthew 12:1–23 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesYour brother will rise again. John 11:23As a visitor to a small West African town, my American pastor made sure to arrive on time for a 10 a.m. Sunday service. Inside the humble sanctuary, however, he found the room empty. So he waited. One hour. Two hours. Finally, about 12:30 p.m., when the local pastor arrived after his long walk there—followed by some choir members and a gathering of friendly town people—the service began “in the fullness of time,” as my pastor later said. “The Spirit welcomed us, and God wasn’t late.” My pastor understood the culture was different here for its own good reasons.
Time seems relative, but God’s perfect, on-time nature is affirmed throughout the Scriptures. Thus, after Lazarus got sick and died, Jesus arrived four days later, with Lazarus’ sisters asking why. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). We may think the same, wondering why God doesn’t hurry to fix our problems. Better instead to wait by faith for His answers and power.
As theologian Howard Thurman wrote, “We wait, our Father, until at last something of thy strength becomes our strength, something of thy heart becomes our heart, something of thy forgiveness becomes our forgiveness. We wait, O God, we wait.” Then, as with Lazarus, when God responds, we’re miraculously blessed by what wasn’t, after all, a delay.
What are you waiting for God to do or provide on your behalf? How can you wait by faith?
For You, Father, I wait. Grant me Your strength and faithful hope in my waiting.
INSIGHTJewish customs mandated a corpse be buried within twenty-four hours of death. In John 11, we’re told that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days when Jesus arrived (vv. 17, 39) to show the magnitude of the miracle. This wasn’t an emergency situation where a person in cardiac arrest was successfully resuscitated. Lazarus was well past the timeframe for this. Jesus had previously raised two other dead persons (Luke 7:11–17; 8:49–56), but these resurrections took place before decomposition of the bodies had begun. According to rabbinic beliefs, the spirit of the deceased hovers around the body for three days in the hope of reuniting with it. But the spirit will finally leave when the body has decomposed. This would have been the case for Lazarus: “By this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days” (John 11:39).
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Read: Isaiah 58:6–12 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 39–40; Matthew 11 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBlessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6The horrific assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. happened at the height of the American civil rights movement of the 1960s. But just four days later, his widow Coretta Scott King courageously took her husband’s place in leading a peaceful protest march. Coretta had a deep passion for justice and was a fierce champion of many causes.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). We know that someday God will come to deliver justice and right every wrong, but until that time, we have the opportunity to participate in making God’s justice a reality on earth, just like Coretta did. Isaiah 58 paints a vivid picture of what God calls His people to do: loose the chains of injustice . . . set the oppressed free . . . share your food with the hungry . . . provide the poor wanderer with shelter . . . clothe [the naked], . . . and [do not] turn away [from those who need help]” (vv. 6–7). Seeking justice for the oppressed and the marginalized is one way our lives point back to God. Isaiah writes that His people seeking justice is like the light of dawn and results in healing for them as well as for others (v. 8).
Today, may God help us cultivate a hunger for His righteousness here on earth. As we seek justice His way and in His power, the Bible says we’ll be satisfied.
What’s one injustice that draws your attention? How could you take a step toward doing what’s just and right today?
Give me a hunger for justice, God. Help me be a part of Your work in doing what’s right.
INSIGHTThe reference to fasting in Isaiah 58:6 is God’s response to an accusation the people had made against Him. They asked, “Why have we fasted, . . . and you have not seen it?” (v. 3). They expected God to respond to their fasting, but He saw it as a lifeless formality. “You do as you please and exploit all your workers. . . . You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high” (vv. 3–4). God wanted them to seek Him in true humility and to treat others fairly and compassionately—especially the needy (v. 7).
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Read: Habakkuk 3:17–19 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 36–38; Matthew 10:21–42 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:18Monica prayed feverishly for her son to return to God. She wept over his wayward ways and even tracked him down in the various cities where he chose to live. The situation seemed hopeless. Then one day it happened: her son had a radical encounter with God. He became one of the greatest theologians of the church. We know him as Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.
“How long, Lord?” (Habakkuk 1:2). The prophet Habakkuk lamented God’s inaction regarding the people in power who perverted justice (v. 4). Think of the times we’ve turned to God in desperation—expressing our laments due to injustice, a seemingly hopeless medical journey, ongoing financial struggles, or children who’ve walked away from God.
Each time Habakkuk lamented, God heard his cries. As we wait in faith, we can learn from the prophet to turn our lament into praise, for he said, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (3:18 italics added). He didn’t understand God’s ways, but he trusted Him. Both lament and praise are acts of faith, expressions of trust. We lament as an appeal to God based on His character. And our praise of Him is based on who He is—our amazing, almighty God. One day, by His grace, every lament will turn to praise.
What are your laments today? How can you turn them into praise?
Dear Jesus, remind me of who You are and of what You’ve done in my life.
For further study, read Wounded in Worship.
INSIGHTHabakkuk’s prophecy records a dialogue between God and the prophet over the spiritual condition or desperate need of His people. That conversation includes the great statement of Habakkuk 2:4—“the righteous person will live by his faithfulness”—which is referenced three times in the New Testament (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). Habakkuk 3, however, is different. It has the characteristics of a psalm, even to the point of including musical instructions for how it was to be presented—“On shigionoth” (v. 1). One scholar says this description refers to highly emotional poetry. Also, some translations add the term Selah at the end of verses 3, 9, and 13—a term often used in psalms. Finally, in verse 19, additional instructions are offered: “For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.” As such, this song becomes a good example of a national or corporate lament (see the Insight for January 3).
The post From Lament to Praise appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 120:1–121:2 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 33–35; Matthew 10:1–20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesSave me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. Psalm 120:2“Christian consciousness begins in the painful realization that what we had assumed was the truth is in fact a lie,” Eugene Peterson wrote in his powerful reflections on Psalm 120. Psalm 120 is the first of the Psalms of Ascents (Psalms 120–134) sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. And as Peterson explored this in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, these psalms also offer us a picture of the spiritual journey toward God.
That journey can only begin with profound awareness of our need for something different. As Peterson puts it, “A person has to be thoroughly disgusted with the way things are to find the motivation to set out on the Christian way. . . . [One] has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he, before she, acquires an appetite for the world of grace.”
It’s easy to become discouraged by the brokenness and despair we see in the world around us—the pervasive ways our culture often shows callous disregard for the harm being done to others. Psalm 120 laments this honestly: “I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war” (v. 7).
But there’s healing and freedom in realizing that our pain can also awaken us to a new beginning through our only help, the Savior who can guide us from destructive lies into paths of peace and wholeness (121:2). As we enter this new year, may we seek Him and His ways.
How have you become accustomed to destructive ways? How does the gospel invite you into ways of peace?
Loving God, help me yearn for and work for Your ways of peace through the power of Your Spirit.
INSIGHTPsalms 120 and 121 are among the Psalms or Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120–134), which were most likely memorized and sung as the Israelites traveled to Jerusalem for the feasts of Passover (Unleavened Bread), Weeks, and Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:16). Some of these ascent psalms are assigned to David (Psalms 122, 124, 131, 133) and one is attributed to Solomon (Psalm 127), but most have no listed author. This diverse group of psalms includes lament psalms, thanksgiving psalms, a royal psalm, wisdom psalms, and more. Yet although they may not have been written to be used as ascent psalms, they were later used for that purpose. Psalm 120 is an individual psalm written by someone far from home longing for the peace of Jerusalem (vv. 5–7), while the reassuring words of Psalm 121 instill confidence in pilgrims making the journey to Jerusalem. Today, the Psalms of Ascent continue to be significant in worship for both Jews and believers in Jesus.
The post A New Beginning appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Romans 9:1–5 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 31–32; Matthew 9:18–38 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for [my people’s] sake. Romans 9:3“Men have been found to resist the most powerful monarchs and to refuse to bow down before them,” observed philosopher and author Hannah Arendt (1906–75). She added, “[B]ut few indeed have been found to resist the crowd, to stand up alone before misguided masses, to face their implacable frenzy without weapons.” As a Jew, Arendt witnessed this firsthand in her native Germany. There’s something terrifying about being rejected by the group.
The apostle Paul experienced such rejection. Trained as a Pharisee and rabbi, his life was turned upside down when he encountered the resurrected Jesus. Paul had been traveling to Damascus to persecute those who believed in Christ (Acts 9). After his conversion, the apostle found himself rejected by his own people. In his letter we know as 2 Corinthians, Paul reviewed some of the troubles he faced at their hands, among them “beatings” and “imprisonments” (6:5).
Rather than responding to such rejection with anger or bitterness, Paul longed for them to come to know Jesus too. He wrote, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people” (Romans 9:2–3).
As God has welcomed us into His family, may He also enable us to invite even our adversaries into relationship with Him.
How have you responded when you experienced exclusion? What makes rejection so hard?
Loving God, help me to point others to You and a place in Your kingdom despite personal hurt or disappointment.
Learn more about the life and ministry of Paul.
INSIGHTThe opening verses of Romans 9 remind us that Paul wasn’t setting out to write a theological treatise (although Romans is widely considered his greatest work theologically). But it’s difficult to miss his passion concerning his fellow Jews and their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. So deep was his distress (“great sorrow and unceasing anguish,” v. 2) that he declared himself willing to be “cursed and cut off from Christ” (v. 3). The Greek word anathema, translated “cursed” or more literally “accursed” (nkjv), refers to something that’s laid up or dedicated as an offering, a sacrifice. Being “cursed” would mean being cut off and separated from Jesus. Paul’s deep desire for his countrymen to share in the salvation brought through Christ led him to wish that he, like Jesus, could be made an offering for the sake of his people.
The post The Crowd appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Revelation 5:1–10 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 29–30; Matthew 9:1–17 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDo not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, . . . has triumphed. Revelation 5:5For more than six decades, news journalist Paul Harvey was a familiar voice on American radio. He would say with a colorful flair, “You know what the news is, in a minute you’re going to hear the rest of the story.” After a brief advertisement, he would tell a little-known story of a well-known person. But by withholding until the end either the person’s name or some other key element, he delighted listeners with his dramatic pause and tagline: “And now you know . . . the rest of the story.”
The apostle John’s vision of things past and future unfolds with a similar promise. However, his story begins on a sad note. He couldn’t stop crying when he saw that no created being in heaven or on earth could explain where history is going (Revelation 4:1; 5:1–4). Then he heard a voice offering hope in the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (v. 5). But when John looked, instead of seeing a conquering lion, he saw a lamb looking like it had been slaughtered (vv. 5–6). The unlikely sight erupted in waves of celebration around the throne of God. In three expanding choruses, twenty-four elders were joined by countless angels and then by all of heaven and earth (vv. 8–14).
Who could have imagined that a crucified Savior would be the hope of all creation, the glory of our God, and the rest of our story.
What fears and sorrows do you have that need the hope found in Jesus? How does thinking of Him as both the conquering Lion and the sacrificial Lamb help you worship Him?
Almighty God, You deserve all power, praise, and love.
Learn more about how to read the book of Revelation.
INSIGHTIn today’s passage from John’s vision recorded in Revelation (5:1–10), we’re given a picture of the unexpected ways of God. Jesus is first described as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (v. 5), but when John looks up, he sees not the regal figure of a lion but a mortally wounded lamb (v. 6). God’s victory was won not by the mighty lion but by the humble lamb who appeared defeated.
Both images, the lion and the lamb, are used elsewhere in Scripture to speak of God’s Messiah and the work He would do. On his deathbed, as Jacob pronounced a blessing on each of his children, he proclaimed to his son Judah that he was “a lion’s cub” from whom a ruler would come (Genesis 49:9). And John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
The post The Rest of Our Story appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Daniel 6:10–23 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 27–28; Matthew 8:18–34 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesMy God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. Daniel 6:22When Taher and his wife, Donya, became believers in Jesus, they knew they risked persecution in their home country. Indeed, one day Taher was blindfolded, handcuffed, imprisoned, and charged with apostasy. Before he appeared at trial, he and Donya agreed that they wouldn’t betray Jesus.
What happened at the sentencing amazed him. The judge said, “I don’t know why, but I want to take you out of the whale’s and lion’s mouths.” Then Taher “knew that God was acting”; he couldn’t otherwise explain the judge referencing two passages in the Bible (see Jonah 2; Daniel 6). Taher was released from prison and the family later found exile elsewhere.
Taher’s surprising release echoes the story of Daniel. A skilled administrator, he was going to be promoted, which made his colleagues jealous (Daniel 6:3–5). Plotting his downfall, they convinced King Darius to pass a law against praying to anyone other than the king—which Daniel ignored. King Darius had no choice but to throw him to the lions (v. 16). But God “rescued Daniel” and saved him from death (v. 27), even as He saved Taher through the judge’s surprising release.
Many believers today suffer for following Jesus, and sometimes they even are killed. When we face persecution, we can deepen our faith when we understand that God has ways we can’t even imagine. Know that He’s with you in whatever battles you face.
How do you respond to the story of Taher and Donya’s commitment to Christ? How can you trust in the unlimited power of God?
Saving God, help me to trust in You when the obstacles feel insurmountable.
INSIGHTDaniel 6 indicates it was unlawful for a Persian king to take back an official decree (vv. 8, 12, 15). So, despite regretting his edict (vv. 14, 18), King Darius allowed Daniel to receive the decreed sentence.
Being thrown into the lions’ den was a kind of sentence sometimes called “innocence by ordeal,” where someone accused is put in a situation that should result in death (such as death by lions, fire, or poison). If, by divine intervention, the person is miraculously saved from what should’ve been certain death, it was considered proven that they were innocent of wrongdoing.
The post Out of the Lions’ Den appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Isaiah 43:1–7 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 25–26; Matthew 8:1–17 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDo not fear, for I have redeemed you. Isaiah 43:1As part of a sermon illustration, I walked toward the beautiful painting an artist had been creating on the platform and made a dark streak across the middle of it. The congregation gasped in horror. The artist simply stood by and watched as I defaced what she’d created. Then, selecting a new brush, she lovingly transformed the ruined painting into an exquisite work of art.
Her restorative work reminds me of the work God can perform in our lives when we’ve made a mess of them. The prophet Isaiah rebuked the people of Israel for their spiritual blindness and deafness (Isaiah 42:18–19), but then he proclaimed the hope of God’s deliverance and redemption: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you” (43:1). He can do the same for us. Even after we’ve sinned, if we confess our sins and turn to God, He forgives and restores us (vv. 5–7; see 1 John 1:9). We can’t bring beauty out of the mess, but Jesus can. The good news of the gospel is that He has redeemed us by His blood. The book of Revelation assures us that in the end, Christ will dry our tears, redeem our past, and make all things new (Revelation 21:4–5).
We have a limited vision of our story. But God who knows us “by name” (Isaiah 43:1) will make our lives more beautiful than we could ever imagine. If you’ve been redeemed by faith in Jesus, your story, like the painting, has a glorious ending.
How have you messed up? What has God provided for your restoration and redemption?
Dear Jesus, thank You for never giving up on me. I surrender to You and ask that You please redeem what I’ve ruined.
INSIGHTIsaiah 43 is a great promise of God’s rescue and redemption of Israel, but it must be seen in the context of what precedes it. Notice Isaiah 42:25: “So [God] poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.” Though God had disciplined His people for their spiritual waywardness, His promised rescue is a reminder of His surpassing love for them—even though they’d turned from Him. Like Hosea with Gomer (Hosea 3:1) or the father with the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), our heavenly Father longs for us to return to Him and be restored to right standing with Him.
The post The God Who Redeems appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Corinthians 11:1–4, 12–15 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 23–24; Matthew 7 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIf someone . . . preaches a [false] Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, . . . you [wrongly] put up with it. 2 Corinthians 11:4The buzz in the room faded to a comfortable silence as the book club leader summarized the novel the group would discuss. My friend Joan listened closely but didn’t recognize the plot. Finally, she realized she had read a nonfiction book with a similar title to the work of fiction the others had read. Although she enjoyed reading the “wrong” book, she couldn’t join her friends as they discussed the “right” book.
The apostle Paul didn’t want the Corinthian believers in Jesus to believe in a “wrong” Jesus. He pointed out that false teachers had infiltrated the church and presented a different “Jesus” to them, and they had swallowed the lies (2 Corinthians 11:3–4).
Paul denounced the heresy of these phony teachers. In his first letter to the church, however, he’d reviewed the truth about the Jesus of Scripture. This Jesus was the Messiah who “died for our sins . . . was raised on the third day . . . and then [appeared] to the Twelve,” and finally to Paul himself (1 Corinthians 15:3–8). This Jesus had come to earth through a virgin named Mary and was named Immanuel (God with us) to affirm His divine nature (Matthew 1:20–23).
Does this sound like the Jesus you know? Understanding and accepting the truth written in the Bible about Him assures us that we’re on the spiritual path that leads to heaven.
How do you know that you believe the truth about Jesus? What might you need to investigate to make sure you understand what the Bible says about Him?
Dear God, help me to walk in the light of Your truth.
For further study, read In Pursuit of Jesus: Who He Is and Why It Matters.
INSIGHTThe apostle Paul was careful to protect those he’d been privileged to influence for Jesus, which explains the tone and language we find in 2 Corinthians 10–13. We see this same fierce posture of protection in Galatians 1:1–9 as well. Paul was “jealous” (2 Corinthians 11:2) for the believers’ stability and well-being in their faith in Jesus, and where their belief and conduct were jeopardized, he pulled no punches. The apostle countered the unhealthy persuasion of those he sarcastically referred to as “super-apostles” (v. 5; 12:11). His words are cautionary (11:5–11), a warning for those who are more impressed with style and method than substance. A key word in verses 13–15 (used three times) is metaschēmatizō, which is translated “masquerade/masquerading.” It’s a compound word meaning “to transfigure, to transform.” It describes people who are not who they appear to be.
The post The Right Jesus appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Romans 8:31–39 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 20–22; Matthew 6:19–34 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIn all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37When my husband coached our son’s Little League baseball team, he rewarded the players with an end-of-year party and acknowledged their improvement over the season. One of our youngest players, Dustin, approached me during the event. “Didn’t we lose the game today?”
“Yes,” I said. “But we’re proud of you for doing your best.”
“I know,” he said. “But we lost. Right?”
I nodded.
“Then why do I feel like a winner?” Dustin asked.
Smiling, I said, “Because you are a winner.”
Dustin had thought that losing a game meant he was a failure even when he’d done his best. As believers in Jesus, our battle is not confined to a sports field. Still, it’s often tempting to view a tough season of life as a reflection of our worth.
The apostle Paul affirmed the connection between our present suffering and our future glory as God’s children. Having given Himself for us, Jesus continues to work on our behalf during our ongoing battle with sin and transforms us to His likeness (Romans 8:31–32). Though we’ll all experience hardship and persecution, God’s unwavering love helps us persevere (vv. 33–34).
As His children, we may be tempted to allow struggles to define our worth. However, our ultimate victory is guaranteed. We may stumble along the way, but we’ll always be “more than conquerors” (vv. 35–39).
When has your confidence in God’s love helped you press on? How has He affirmed your value as His beloved child even after a great loss?
Father, thank You for helping me rise up through trials in victorious praise.
INSIGHTBefore His suffering and death, Jesus both warned and assured His followers, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Later, Paul and Barnabas encouraged believers “to remain true to the faith” in the hardships they’d face (Acts 14:22). And Paul sent Timothy to strengthen the Thessalonians so they wouldn’t be unsettled by the trials they were “destined for” (1 Thessalonians 3:2–3). Jesus clearly stated that as His followers we would—like Him—be persecuted (John 15:20). Commentator Walter Elwell states: “Affliction is characteristic of life in a spoiled creation, but it is a means of discipline that can lead to obedience to God. . . . The afflictions experienced by Christians ‘will result in God’s richest blessing . . . forever and ever’ (2 Corinthians 4:16–18 lb).” We’re “more than conquerors through [Christ]”! (Romans 8:37).
The post More than Conquerors appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Acts 9:1–9 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 18–19; Matthew 6:1–18 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunes“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. Acts 9:5At age sixteen, Luis Rodriguez had already been in jail for selling crack. But now, arrested for attempted murder, he was in prison again—looking at a life sentence. But God spoke into his guilty circumstances. Behind bars, young Luis remembered his early years when his mother had faithfully taken him to church. He now felt God tugging at his heart. Luis eventually repented of his sins and came to Jesus.
In the book of Acts, we meet a zealous Jewish man named Saul, who was also called Paul. He was guilty of aggravated assault on believers in Jesus and had murder in his heart (Acts 9:1). There’s evidence he was a kind of gang leader, and part of the mob at the execution of Stephen (7:58). But God spoke into Saul’s guilty circumstances—literally. On the street leading into Damascus, Saul was blinded by a light, and Jesus said to him, “Why do you persecute me?” (9:4). Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” (v. 5), and that was the beginning of his new life. He came to Jesus.
Luis Rodriguez served time but eventually was granted parole. Since then, he’s served God, devoting his life to prison ministry in the United States and Central America.
God specializes in redeeming the worst of us. He tugs at our hearts and speaks into our guilt-drenched lives. Maybe it’s time we repent of our sins and come to Jesus.
What guilt are you experiencing or have experienced? How do you sense God is calling or has called you back to Himself?
Jesus, I’ve strayed from You, but I feel You tugging at my heart. Forgive me of my sins, I pray.
For further study, read The Forgiveness of God.
INSIGHTPaul’s encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road wasn’t only life-changing but, in a truly literal sense, was world-changing as well. The passionate heart of the apostle Paul (formerly known as Saul) was, in a sense, the engine God used to spread the gospel throughout the Roman empire. As the Holy Spirit directed him, he took the gospel throughout the Roman empire of his day and, along with the missionaries he mentored, even reached far beyond the boundaries of Rome. His letters touched both Asia Minor and Europe and were, it’s believed, circulated far beyond their intended destinations. It must have given Paul great satisfaction to know that God’s grace had not only rescued him from his sinful past but also equipped him for a purposeful and productive life while preparing him for an eternal destiny. Still today, the term Damascus road speaks of a moment of radical transformation in a person’s life.
The post Who Are You, Lord? appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Genesis 1:21–28 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 16–17; Matthew 5:27–48 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBe fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Genesis 1:28I recently made a wonderful discovery. Following a dirt path into a cluster of trees near my home, I found a hidden homemade playground. A ladder made of sticks led up to a lookout, swings made from old cable spools hung from branches, and there was even a suspension bridge slung between boughs. Someone had turned some old wood and rope into a creative adventure!
Swiss physician Paul Tournier believed that we were made for adventure because we’re made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27). Just as God ventured forth to invent a universe (vv. 1–25), just as He took the risk of creating humans who could choose good or evil (3:5–6), and just as He called us to “be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (1:28), we too have a drive to invent, take risks, and create new things as we fruitfully rule the earth. Such adventures may be large or small, but they’re best when they benefit others. I bet the makers of that playground would get a kick out of people finding and enjoying it.
Whether it’s inventing new music, exploring new forms of evangelism, or rekindling a marriage that’s grown distant, adventures of all kinds keep our heart beating. What new task or project is tugging at you right now? Perhaps God is leading you to a new adventure.
How else do you see God being adventurous in Scripture? How can His adventures inspire our own?
Adventurous God, send me on a new adventure out of love for You and others!
For further study, read Genesis to Revelation: Why the Whole Story of the Bible Matters.
INSIGHTScripture declares that God created all things. The Hebrew verb bara’, rendered created in Genesis 1, always has Him as the subject. Thus, God first created everything out of nothing (v. 1) and then created living beings from this created material (vv. 21, 27). Job 38–41 is without parallel in its depiction of the creative genius of God Almighty. With jaw-dropping brilliance, God gave Job a crash-course in things created and on display in the heavens, the earth, and seas—leading him to humbled silence (40:4–5; 42:5–6).
The post Made for Adventure appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: John 14:1–4 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 13–15; Matthew 5:1–26 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI am going there to prepare a place for you. John 14:2Sand martins—small birds related to swallows—dig their nests into riverbanks. Land development in South East England reduced their habitat, and the birds had fewer and fewer places to nest when they returned from their winter migration each year. Local conservationists sprang into action and built an enormous artificial sandbank to house them. With the help of a sand-sculpting firm, they molded sand to create a space for the birds to take up residence for years to come.
This gracious act of compassion vividly depicts the words Jesus used to console His disciples. After telling them He’d be leaving and that they wouldn’t be able to go with Him until later (John 13:36), He offered them the assurance that He’d “prepare a place for [them]” in heaven (14:2). Though they were rightly saddened that Jesus said He would leave them soon and that they could not follow Him, He encouraged them to look on this holy errand as part of His preparation to receive them—and us.
Without Jesus’ sacrificial work on the cross, the “many rooms” of the Father’s house wouldn’t be able to receive us (v. 2). Having gone before us in preparation, Christ assures us He’ll return and take those who trust in His sacrifice to be with Him. There we’ll take up residence with Him in a joyous eternity.
When have you felt you weren’t “at home” in this life? What do you most look forward to about heaven?
Thank You, Jesus, for preparing a place for me in heaven with You.
INSIGHTJohn stated his purpose for writing his gospel in 20:30–31: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” The entire book should be understood through this lens of pointing people to belief in Jesus that leads to life.
The word belief, translated from the Greek pisteuō, is mentioned eighty-five times in John. One Bible dictionary gives this definition of the word: “believe (affirm, have confidence); used of persuading oneself (human believing) and with the sacred significance of being persuaded by the Lord (faith believing).” Jesus’ miracles and teachings included in the gospel of John are persuasive arguments that He is indeed “the Messiah, the Son of God” (v. 31).
The post A Nesting Place appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Isaiah 43:18–21 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 10–12; Matthew 4 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19Wearing my new eyeglasses as I stepped into the sanctuary, I sat down and spotted a friend sitting directly across the aisle on the other side of the church. As I waved at her, she looked so near and clear. It felt like I could reach out and touch her even though she was several yards away. Later, as we talked following the service, I realized she was in the same seat she always sat in. I simply could see her better because of an upgraded prescription in my new spectacles.
God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, knew that the Israelites stuck in Babylonian captivity would need a new prescription—a new view. He told them. “I am doing a new thing! . . . I am making a way in the wilderness” (Isaiah 43:19). And His message of hope included the reminders that He had “created” them, “redeemed” them, and would be with them. “You are mine,” He encouraged them (v. 1).
In whatever you’re facing today, the Holy Spirit can provide better vision for you to put the old behind you and look for the new. By God’s love (v. 4), it’s popping up all around you. Can you see what He’s doing in the midst of your pain and bondage? Let’s put on our new spiritual glasses to see the new that God is doing even in our wilderness moments.
What new things do you see cropping up even in your wilderness? How can adjusting your vision help you focus on the new rather than the past?
God of new beginnings, thank You for all Your promises. Help me to see the new that You bring about even in my wilderness moments.
For further study, read When God Says No—Broken Dreams to New Beginnings.
INSIGHTThe prophet Isaiah draws on the language of Genesis and Exodus to show that the God who freed the Israelites from slavery can and will bring them home again from exile.
In Isaiah 43:16–17, God reminds His people that He carved a path through the sea to bring them out of Egypt. Now He declares, “See, I am doing a new thing!” (v. 19). But how will He do a new thing? He’ll use water—a barrier that God overcame when He parted the sea—as a source of blessing to make a way for them in the desert. Even the animal kingdom would experience the renewal of life that He would grant to His people (v. 20).
Both the stories of the past and God’s work in the present point to one thing: nothing—not a sea nor a wasteland, slavery nor exile—can prevent God from making good on His promises.
The post New Vision appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 38:11–22 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 7–9; Matthew 3 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesLord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God. Psalm 38:15Volunteers at a farm animal rescue organization in Australia found a wandering sheep weighed down by more than seventy-five pounds of filthy, matted wool. Rescuers suspected the sheep had been forgotten and lost in the bush for at least five years. Volunteers soothed him through the uncomfortable process of shearing away his heavy fleece. Once freed from his burden, Baarack ate. His legs grew stronger. He became more confident and content as he spent time with his rescuers and the other animals at the sanctuary.
The psalmist David understood the pain of being weighed down with heavy burdens, feeling forgotten and lost, and desperate for a rescue mission. In Psalm 38, David cried out to God. He had experienced isolation, betrayal, and helplessness (vv. 11–14). Still, he prayed with confidence: “Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God” (v. 15). David didn’t deny his predicament or minimize his inner turmoil and physical ailments (vv. 16–20). Instead, he trusted that God would be near and answer him at the right time and in the right way (vv. 21–22).
When we feel weighed down by physical, mental, or emotional burdens, God remains committed to the rescue mission He planned from the day He created us. We can count on His presence when we cry out to Him: “Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior” (v. 22).
How has God revealed His faithfulness when you’ve felt weighed down? How has God used others to comfort and support you?
Gracious God, help me to encourage others who feel weighed down, lost, or forgotten.
INSIGHTIn Old Testament poetry, we see two kinds of laments: a corporate or national lament and an individual lament. In a national lament, the singer mourns over the condition of the whole nation. This is seen clearly in much of the book of Jeremiah and most of the book of Lamentations. An individual lament is a personal lament of the singer’s own situation. Psalm 38 falls into the category of an individual lament, as do many of David’s lament psalms, which bear witness to the great difficulties he dealt with much of his life. This psalm doesn’t provide us with the specific context that prompted him to write it, but we do know it includes a prayer for healing from suffering due to his sin (vv. 3–5, 17–18). It could refer to suffering while being pursued by Saul or when his son Absalom sought to drive him from the kingdom.
Learn more about reading the Psalms.
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Read: Micah 5:2–4 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 4–6; Matthew 2 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesBethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small . . . , out of you will come . . . [a] ruler over Israel. Micah 5:2The Brooklyn Bridge was considered “the eighth wonder of the world” upon its completion in 1883. But a single, slender wire strung from one bridge tower to the other was essential for the structure to come to fruition. Additional wires were added to the first until a massive cable, along with three others, was woven together. When finished, each cable—composed of more than five thousand galvanized wires—helped support the longest suspension bridge in its day. What started as something small turned into a huge part of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Jesus’ life began in a small way—a baby born and placed in a feeding trough in a tiny town (Luke 2:7). The prophet Micah prophesied His humble birth, writing, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel” (Micah 5:2; see also Matthew 2:6). A small start, but this ruler and shepherd would see His fame and mission “reach to the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:4).
Jesus was born in a small place in humility, and His life on earth ended as “he humbled himself” and died a criminal’s death on a “cross” (Philippians 2:8 nlt). But by His immense sacrifice He bridged the gap between us and God—providing salvation for all who believe. This season, may you receive God’s great gift in Jesus by faith. And if you do believe, may you humbly praise Him anew for all He’s done for you.
What small or big thing is God doing in your heart? How will you humbly respond to Him?
Jesus, thank You for humbly coming to save me by Your great sacrifice.
Learn more about the life of Christ.
INSIGHTMicah (which means “who is like the Lord?”) is among the twelve Old Testament books classified as Minor Prophets. The prophet Micah (eighth-century bc) was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah. The book has three major sections (chs. 1–2; 3–5; 6–7) that all begin with the Hebrew word shama‘—“to hear” (1:2) or “listen” (3:1; 6:1). God called His people, particularly the leaders (chs. 2–3), to give heed to His words. Micah’s writing includes one of most beloved passages in the Bible: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8). The prophet’s words are found in the New Testament in two places: Micah 5:2 is seen in Matthew 2:6 (the prophecy of the Messiah’s birthplace), and Jesus quotes Micah 7:6 in Matthew 10:35–36.
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Read: Philippians 1:12–21 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesRejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4Keith was feeling down as he trudged through the produce aisle. His hands trembled from the first signs of Parkinson’s disease. How long before his quality of life began to slide? What would this mean for his wife and children? Keith’s gloom was shattered by laughter. Over by the potatoes, a man pushed a giggling boy in a wheelchair. The man leaned over and whispered to his son, who couldn’t stop grinning. He was noticeably worse off than Keith, yet he and his dad were finding joy where they could.
Writing from prison or under house arrest as he awaited the outcome of his trial, the apostle Paul seemingly had no right to be joyful (Philippians 1:12–13). The emperor was Nero, a wicked man who had a growing reputation for violence and cruelty, so Paul had reason to be concerned. He also knew there were preachers who were taking advantage of his absence to gain glory for themselves. They thought they could “stir up trouble” for the apostle while he was imprisoned (v. 17).
Yet Paul chose to rejoice (vv. 18–21), and he told the Philippians to follow his example: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (4:4). Our situation might seem bleak, yet Jesus is with us now, and He’s guaranteed our glorious future. Christ, who walked out of His tomb, will return to raise His followers to live with Him. As we begin this new year, may we rejoice!
What personal suffering or injustice causes you to languish in your sorrow? How might the truth of Jesus bring you joy?
Father, please raise my eyes above my circumstances. I look to You alone for joy.
For further study, read Why? Seeing God in Our Pain.
INSIGHTPaul’s letter to the church at Philippi is much loved because of its emphasis on joy. Considered by many to be the apostle’s most practical letter, it nevertheless contains one of the most theological segments in the New Testament. The declaration in Philippians 2:5–11, believed by some to have been a part of an ancient hymn, explores what Christ left behind to come to earth as a human being. It also explores His ultimate mission—the cross—and the glory that will be His one day, when “every knee [will] bow” and “every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord” (vv. 10–11).
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Read: 2 Timothy 4:1–8 | Bible in a Year: Malachi 1–4; Revelation 22 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7At the age of 103, a woman named Man Kaur competed as India’s oldest female athlete during the 2019 World Masters Athletic Championship in Poland. Remarkably, Kaur won gold in four events (javelin throw, shot put, 60-meter dash, and 200-meter run). But most astounding was that she ran faster than she ran in the 2017 championship. A great-grandmother running into her second century, Kaur showed how to finish strong.
The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, a younger disciple, of how he’d entered his concluding years. “The time for my departure is near,” Paul wrote (2 Timothy 4:6). Reflecting on his life, he confidently believed he was finishing strong. “I have fought the good fight,” Paul said. “I have finished the race” (v. 7). He wasn’t confident because he’d calculated his impressive accomplishments or surveyed his vast impact (though they were immense). Rather, he knew he’d “kept the faith” (v. 7). The apostle had remained loyal to Jesus. Through sorrows and joys, he’d followed the One who’d rescued him from ruin. And he knew that Jesus stood ready with a “crown of righteousness,” the joyful finale to his faithful life (v. 8).
Paul insists that this crown isn’t for an elite few but for “all who have longed for [Christ’s] appearing” (v. 8). As we head into a new year, let’s remember that Jesus stands eager to crown all who’ve loved Him, and may we live to finish strong.
What would it look like for you to finish strong? Who has been an example of finishing well?
God, I want to finish well. Help me to love You more than anything or anyone else.
For further study, read Finishing Well: Gracefully Living with Life’s Changes.
INSIGHTPaul’s second letter to Timothy was written from a Roman prison. Many scholars believe he was incarcerated in the Mamertine prison, known in ancient times as the Tullianum prison. According to one source, the Mamertine prison was a place for political prisoners who were “doomed for execution.” A door in the lower chamber gave access to Rome’s sewer system, which was often used to carry away the bodies of executed prisoners. While there’s no historical evidence that Paul (or Peter) was imprisoned in the Mamertine prison, tradition has long held that to be the case. As a result of that longstanding connection to the church’s great apostles, the prison has been used as a place of worship since around the seventh century. Whether this was the actual location of Paul’s imprisonment or not, his letter makes it clear that he was anticipating his upcoming execution and was ready to see his Savior (2 Timothy 4:6–8).
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Read: Psalm 107:23–32 | Bible in a Year: Zechariah 13–14; Revelation 21 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThey were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Psalm 107:30I was drifting off into an impromptu nap when it hit me. From the basement, my son ripped a chord on his electric guitar. The walls reverberated. No peace. No quiet. No nap. Moments later, competing music greeted my ears: my daughter playing “Amazing Grace” on the piano.
Normally, I love my son’s guitar playing. But in that moment, it jarred and unsettled me. Just as quickly, the familiar notes of John Newton’s hymn reminded me that grace thrives amid the chaos. No matter how loud, unwanted, or disorienting the storms of life might be, God’s notes of grace ring clear and true, reminding us of His watchful care over us.
We see that reality in Scripture. In Psalm 107:23–32, sailors struggle mightily against a maelstrom that could easily devour them. “In their peril, their courage melted away” (v. 26). Still, they didn’t despair but “cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress” (v. 28). Finally, we read: “They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven” (v. 30).
In chaotic moments, whether they’re life-threatening or merely sleep-threatening, the barrage of noise and fear can storm our souls. But as we trust God and pray to Him, we experience the grace of His presence and provision—the haven of His steadfast love.
When have you experienced God’s haven of peace in other people? To whom might you offer similar encouragement?
Father, help me to remember to call out to You when the waters of life are rising, and help me to offer hope to others.
For further study, read Navigating the Storms of Life.
INSIGHTPsalm 107 opens and closes with the ideas that guide the understanding of all forty-three verses. Verse 1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” And verse 43 reads, “Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.” The combination of these verses tells the reader that God’s “loving deeds” will endure forever. The verses in between are broken into sections that describe the stories of the redeemed (vv. 2–3). Taken together, this psalm paints a picture of a God who acts to bring people to Himself. His loving deeds that endure forever are what bring people to a recognition and dependence on the goodness and love of Him.
The post Grace Amid the Chaos appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Matthew 10:1, 5–10, 16–20 | Bible in a Year: Zechariah 9–12; Revelation 20 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesJesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority. Matthew 10:1The young woman couldn’t sleep. Having suffered with a physical disability for many years, she’d be center stage at a church bazaar the next day to raise funds for higher education. But I’m not worthy, Charlotte Elliott reasoned. Tossing and turning, she doubted her credentials, questioning every aspect of her spiritual life. Still restless the next day, she finally moved to a desk to pick up pen and paper to write down the words of the now classic hymn, “Just As I Am”:
“Just as I am, without one plea, / But that Thy blood was shed for me, / And that Thou bidst me come to Thee, / O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”
Her words, written in 1835, express how Jesus called His disciples to come and serve Him. Not because they were ready. They weren’t. But because He authorized them—just as they were. A ragtag group, his team of twelve included a tax collector, a zealot, two overly ambitious brothers (see Mark 10:35–37), and Judas Iscariot “who betrayed him” (Matthew 10:4). Still, He gave them authority to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons” (v. 8)—all without taking any money, luggage, extra shirt or sandals, or even a walking stick with them (vv. 9–10).
“I am sending you,” He said (v. 16), and He was enough. For each of us who say yes to Him, He still is.
What’s your current situation or status in life? What doubts have you expressed about your readiness to be used by God?
Jesus, bid me to come to You, fully dependent on Your grace and power to make a difference.
INSIGHTAs Jesus sent out His twelve disciples, He gave them very clear directions: take your message to those who will listen and leave the homes of those who won’t (Matthew 10:13–15). Some scholars see a connection here to Matthew 25 where Jesus described how the nations will be judged—those who receive even the “least of these brothers and sisters of mine” will inherit eternal life (v. 40). Those who reject Jesus’ messengers reject Jesus and life itself. The message of hope is ours to carry to the world, and we hope and pray people will repent and believe; yet it’s their choice what they’ll do with it.
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Read: 2 Corinthians 1:12–16 | Bible in a Year: Zechariah 5–8; Revelation 19 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesOur conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves . . . with integrity and godly sincerity. 2 Corinthians 1:12In 1524, Martin Luther observed: “Among themselves the merchants have a common rule which is their chief maxim. . . . I care nothing about my neighbor; so long as I have my profit and satisfy my greed.” More than two hundred years later, John Woolman, from Mount Holly, New Jersey, let his commitment to Jesus influence his tailor shop dealings. Out of support for the freeing of slaves, he refused to purchase any cotton or dye supplies from companies that used forced labor. With a clear conscience, he loved his neighbor and lived according to integrity and sincerity in all his dealings.
The apostle Paul strived to live out “integrity and godly sincerity” (2 Corinthians 1:12). When some in Corinth tried to undermine his authority as an apostle for Jesus, he defended his conduct among them. He wrote that his words and actions could withstand the closest scrutiny (v. 13). He also showed that he was dependent on God’s power and grace for effectiveness, not his own (v. 12). In short, Paul’s faith in Christ permeated all his dealings.
As we live as ambassadors for Jesus, may we be careful to let the good news ring out in all our dealings—family, business, and more. When by God’s power and grace we reveal His love to others, we honor Him and love our neighbors well.
How are your words and actions a representation of your faith in Jesus? As a believer in Him, why are integrity and sincerity vital in your dealings with others?
Dear God, help me to serve others with such a clear conscience that my love for them is evident.
For further study, read Outrageous Compassion.
INSIGHTThe NIV Bible translation includes twenty-two references to the word integrity. One dictionary defines it as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.” This is what the apostle Paul strove to exemplify (2 Corinthians 1:12).
The importance of having integrity is found throughout Scripture. David was said to have “integrity of heart” (Psalm 78:72). And God promised Solomon that “if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever” (1 Kings 9:4–5). In 1 Chronicles 29:17, David says to God, “You test the heart and are pleased with integrity.” Job was such a man of integrity (Job 2:3). The book of Proverbs says, “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely” (10:9) and “righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner” (13:6).
The post In All Our Dealings appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Genesis 1:1, 27–31 | Bible in a Year: Zechariah 1–4; Revelation 18 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1Stories have captivated humans since the dawn of creation—functioning as a way to pass down knowledge long before written language existed. We’ve all known the delight of hearing or reading a story and being immediately engaged by such opening lines as “Once upon a time.” The power of a story appears to extend beyond merely enjoyment: when we listen to a story together, our heartbeats seem to synchronize! Though our individual heartbeats vary over the course of a day, and might only match another’s coincidentally, new research indicates our hearts may all fall into the same rhythm when we hear the same story at the same time.
God begins telling us His story with the words, “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1). From the moment Adam and Eve first drew breath (v. 27), God has used that unfolding story to shape not just our individual lives but also—and perhaps more importantly—our collective lives as His children. Through the Bible—the most magnificent nonfiction story ever recorded—our hearts as believers in Jesus are joined together as people set apart for His purposes (1 Peter 2:9).
In response, may our hearts beat in shared rhythm, delighted by the Author’s creative works. And may we share His story with others, declaring “his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Psalm 96:3), inviting them to become part of it too.
What part of the story of the Bible most captivates you? With whom can you share it?
Thank You, Father, for showing me who You are through the Bible and making me one of Your own.
INSIGHTGenesis 1:27–31 describes the culmination of the creative work of God in the formation of beings who shared the imago Dei (the image of God), creatures who would be capable of exercising rule over and stewarding His marvelous handiwork. “So God created mankind in his own image” (v. 27). The word mankind translates the Hebrew word ’adam. While the word has been rendered “man,” it speaks of humankind and includes male and female. The Hebrew word for “male” is zakhar (for humans and animals) and the word for female is neqevah (also for humans and animals). Both man and woman share the likeness of God; both are equal in their humanity yet unique in their being. God created male and female to fulfill His creation mandate to be fruitful and increase (v. 28).
Learn more about God’s design for humanity.
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Read: Judges 7:8−15 | Bible in a Year: Haggai 1−2; Revelation 17 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhen the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Judges 6:12I had a medical checkup scheduled, and although I’d had no recent health concerns, I dreaded the visit. I was haunted by memories of an unexpected diagnosis long ago. While I knew God was with me and I should simply trust Him, I still felt afraid.
I was disappointed in my fear and lack of faith. If God was always with me, why was I feeling such anxiety? Then one morning I believe He led me to the story of Gideon.
Called “mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12), Gideon was fearful over his assignment to attack the Midianites. Although God had promised him His presence and victory, Gideon still sought multiple reassurances (vv. 16−23, 36−40).
However, God didn’t condemn Gideon for his fear. He understood him. On the night of the attack, He assured Gideon again of victory, even giving him a way to assuage his fears (7:10−11).
God understood my fear too. His reassurance gave me the courage to trust Him. I experienced His peace, knowing that He was with me regardless of the outcome. In the end, my checkup was uneventful.
We have a God who understands our fears and who reassures us through the Scriptures and the Spirit (Psalm 23:4; John 14:16−17). May we worship Him in thankfulness, just as Gideon did (Judges 7:15).
What fears or challenges are you facing? How does it help to know that God is with you and wants to help you?
Dear God, thank You for not condemning my fears, but always reassuring me of Your presence. Help me to turn to You when I’m afraid and trust in You.
For further study, read Clinging to Hope in the Storm.
INSIGHTAt the time of the events in Judges 7, Gideon was still an obscure figure. The Midianite army had heard nothing of his military prowess, for he hadn’t yet accomplished anything. The angel’s words back in Judges 6 were key to his eventual success: “The Lord is with you” (v. 12). The enemy soldier’s dream and its interpretation were also direct evidence of God’s intervention in the life of His people Israel (7:13–14). But every step of the way, Gideon struggled to believe it. At last, upon hearing his name on the lips of the enemy, he gained full confidence (v. 15).
The post When You’re Afraid appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: John 7:1–9 | Bible in a Year: Zephaniah 1–3; Revelation 16 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesEven his own brothers did not believe in him. John 7:5The Barker family Christmas video was perfect. Three robe-clad shepherds (the family’s young sons) huddled around a fire in a grassy field. Suddenly an angel descended from the hilltop—their big sister, looking resplendent, except for the pink high-top sneakers. As the soundtrack swelled, the shepherds stared skyward in amazement. A trek across a field led them to a real baby—their infant brother in a modern barn. Big sister now played the role of Mary.
Then came the “bonus features,” when their dad let us peek behind the scenes. Whiny kids complained, “I’m cold.” “I have to go to the bathroom right now!” “Can we go home?” “Guys, pay attention,” said their mom more than once. Reality was far from Christmas-card perfect.
It’s easy to view the original Christmas story through the lens of a well-edited final cut. But Jesus’ life was anything but smooth. A jealous Herod tried to kill Him in infancy (Matthew 2:13). Mary and Joseph misunderstood Him (Luke 2:41–50). The world hated Him (John 7:7). For a time, “even his own brothers did not believe in him” (v. 5). His mission led to a grisly death. He did it all to honor His Father and rescue us.
The Barkers’ video ended with these words of Jesus: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (14:6). That’s a reality we can live with—forever.
How do you try to appear to be perfect? How can you better acknowledge your need for Jesus’ perfect strength?
Father, thank You for sending Your Son to provide a way for me to be reconciled to You forever.
INSIGHTThe “Festival of Tabernacles” (John 7:2), also called Sukkoth or the Feast of Ingathering/Feast of Booths, is one of Israel’s fall feasts. Its purpose was to remind the Israelites of the time their ancestors had spent in “booths” (tents or shelters) during the forty years of wilderness wanderings that followed the exodus from Egypt. Sukkoth was one of the three feasts (along with Passover and Firstfruits) prescribed as “pilgrimage feasts”—when observing Jews traveled to a communal celebration as a nation. In Exodus 23:14–17, God listed these three feasts as the times that the people of Israel were to come and stand before Him, which meant a journey to the temple in Jerusalem once it had been built. Israel celebrated a total of seven annual feasts—four in the spring and three in the fall—but only the three feasts listed in Exodus 23 carried the expectation of pilgrimage (see Deuteronomy 16:16; 2 Chronicles 8:13).
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Read: Isaiah 55:6–13 | Bible in a Year: Habakkuk 1–3; Revelation 15 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunes[My word] will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire. Isaiah 55:11On Christmas Eve 1968, the Apollo 8 astronauts—Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders—became the first humans to enter lunar orbit. As they circled the moon ten times, they shared images of the moon and the Earth. During a live broadcast, they took turns reading from Genesis 1. At the fortieth anniversary celebration, Borman said, “We were told that on Christmas Eve we would have the largest audience that had ever listened to a human voice. And the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate.” The Bible verses spoken by the Apollo 8 astronauts still plant seeds of truth into the listening hearts of people who hear the historical recording.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God says, “Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live” (Isaiah 55:3). Revealing His free offer of salvation, He invites us to turn from our sin and receive His mercy and forgiveness (vv. 6–7). He declares the divine authority of His thoughts and His actions, which are too vast for us to truly understand (vv. 8–9). Still, God gives us opportunity to share His life-transforming words of Scripture, which point to Jesus, and affirm that He is responsible for the spiritual growth of His people (vv. 10–13).
The Holy Spirit helps us share the gospel as the Father fulfills all His promises according to His perfect plan and pace.
Who will you share Scripture with today? Who first shared the Bible with you?
Almighty Creator and Sustainer of the world, please give me opportunities daily to share Your wisdom.
For further study, read Knowing God through the Whole Bible.
INSIGHTIn Isaiah 55, God invites His people to avail themselves of the salvation He offers. In verses 6–7, God calls the wicked to seek Him, saying that those who repent will find mercy and pardon. This section is connected to the next section (vv. 8–13) with the simple word for (v. 8), which signals a relationship between the two; the second section explains the first. The people can rest in the promise of deliverance and forgiveness because God’s thoughts are higher than theirs. He’s reminding them that even if they don’t understand how He’s working, they can trust Him to provide salvation to those who repent.
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Read: Psalm 71:15–24 | Bible in a Year: Nahum 1–3; Revelation 14 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesMy mouth will tell of your righteous deeds. Psalm 71:15An orca whale, who researchers have named “Granny,” apparently knew the importance of her role in the life of her “grandbaby whale.” The young whale’s mother had recently died, and the orphaned whale was not yet old enough to thrive without protection and support. Granny, though in her eighties (or older), came alongside to teach him what he needed to know to survive. Granny corralled some fish for the younger whale instead of consuming them herself, so he would not only have a meal but would also learn what to eat and where to find the salmon he’d need to live.
We too have the distinct honor and joy of passing on what we know—we can share about the wonderful works and character of God with those coming after us. The aging psalmist asks God to allow him to “declare [His] power to the next generation” (Psalm 71:18). He earnestly wishes to share with others what he knows of God—His “righteous deeds” and “saving acts”—that we need to flourish (v. 15).
Even if we don’t have the gray hairs of old age (v. 18), declaring how we’ve experienced the love and faithfulness of God can benefit someone on their journey with Him. Our willingness to share that wisdom might just be what that person needs to live and thrive in Christ even in adversity (v. 20).
Who has nurtured your relationship with God? Who needs your wisdom today?
Dear Father, thank You for sending me wisdom through those who’ve walked ahead of me. May I do the same for others in Your power and love.
INSIGHTA song of age and experience, Psalm 71 is one of many psalms that are anonymous. It seems to have been written by someone who’d lived for a while, as the author cited a point in the past when he was young (vv. 5–6, 17) and is anticipating a time when he’ll be “old and gray” (v. 18). In verse 19, the writer seems to capture what he wants to pass along to the coming generation—a right relationship with the God who does great things and is utterly unique beyond all else in the universe. No wonder the psalmist closes with such lavish expressions of praise (vv. 22–24)!
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Read: 2 Corinthians 1:3–11 | Bible in a Year: Micah 6–7; Revelation 13 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe Father of compassion and the God of all comfort . . . comforts us in all our troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3–4A young mom followed behind her daughter, who pedaled her tiny bike as fast as her little legs could go. But picking up more speed than she wanted, the little girl suddenly rolled off the bike and cried that her ankle hurt. Her mom quietly got down on her knees, bent down low, and kissed it to “make the pain go away.” And it worked! The little girl jumped up, climbed back on her bike, and pedaled on. Don’t you wish all our pains could go away that easily!
The apostle Paul experienced the comfort of God in his continual struggles yet kept going. He listed some of those trials in 2 Corinthians 11:23–29: floggings, beatings, stonings, sleep deprivation, hunger, concerns for all the churches. He learned intimately that God is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (1:3) or as another version translates it: “He is the Father who gives tender love” (nirv). Much like a mom comforting her child, God bends down low to tenderly care for us in our pain.
God’s loving ways of comforting us are many and varied. He may give us a Scripture verse that encourages us to continue on, or He may have someone send a special note or prompt a friend to give us a call that touches our spirit. While the struggle may not go away, because God bends down low to help us, we can get up and pedal on.
In what ways has God comforted you? How can you be a comfort to others because of that?
Father of compassion, come near to me and hold me in Your arms where I can find rest and encouragement.
For further study, read Compassion: When Jesus Asks for More than We Have .
INSIGHTIn 2 Corinthians 1:3–7, the Greek noun and verb (paraklēsis and parakaleō) meaning “comfort” or “encouragement/encourage” occur ten times in only five verses! Emphasizing that God is the “Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (v. 3), Paul invites believers in Jesus to share in the suffering of those who spread the gospel (vv. 5–6) as well as the comfort and encouragement that “abounds through Christ” (v. 5). Paul confessed that it was intense suffering that taught him and his coworkers to “not rely on [themselves] but on God, who raises the dead” (v. 9).
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Read: Revelation 5:6–10 | Bible in a Year: Micah 4–5; Revelation 12 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesMay these words of mine . . . be near to the Lord our God day and night. 1 Kings 8:59The Clark’s Nutcracker is an amazing bird. Every year it prepares for winter by hiding tiny caches of four or five whitebark pine seeds, as many as five hundred seeds per hour. Then, months later, it returns to uncover the seeds, even under heavy snow. A Clark’s Nutcracker may remember as many as ten thousand locations where it has hidden seeds—an astounding feat (especially when you consider the difficulty we humans can have remembering the location of our car keys or glasses).
But even this incredible act of memory pales in comparison with God’s ability to remember our prayers. He’s able to keep track of every sincere prayer and remember and respond to them even years later. In the book of Revelation, the apostle John describes “four living creatures” and “twenty-four elders” worshiping the Lord in heaven. Each one was “holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people” (5:8).
Just as incense was precious in the ancient world, our prayers are so precious to God that He keeps them before Him continually, treasured in golden bowls! Our prayers matter to God because we matter to Him, and through His undeserved kindness to us in Jesus He offers us uninhibited access (Hebrews 4:14–16). So pray boldly! And know that not a word will be forgotten or misplaced because of the amazing love of God.
How does it encourage you to know God never forgets your prayers? Who do you need to pray for today?
Heavenly Father, please give me the perseverance to pray faithfully and the faith to look for what You alone can do.
INSIGHTWhile it may surprise us that the book of Revelation explicitly mentions prayer only three times, what it says about the prayers of the saints is encouraging. The word prayers is mentioned in Revelation 5:8, 8:3, and 8:4, along with the word incense each time. “He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people. . . . The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand” (8:3–4). Aromatic incense in the Old Testament accompanied the sacrifices offered to God. The offering of fragrant incense preceded the offering of the first sacrifice of the day and followed the last offering (see Exodus 30:7–8). The priestly nature of his prayers did not escape David: “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice” (Psalm 141:2).
The post Treasured Prayer appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Numbers 24:15–19 | Bible in a Year: Micah 1–3; Revelation 11 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesA star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. Numbers 24:17William Shakespeare was a master of the insult, a “quality” that actor Barry Kraft adeptly leverages with his Shakespeare Insult Generator. The clever book consists of obscure insults drawn from Shakespeare’s plays. For instance, you might disparage someone by saying, “Thou thrasonical, logger-headed rampallian”—which is so much more creative than saying, “You brag a lot and you’re not very smart, you scoundrel!”
Kraft’s light-hearted book is in good fun. But an ancient king of Moab tried to pay a mysterious prophet not merely to insult the Israelites but to outright curse them. “Come and put a curse on these people,” King Balak told Balaam (Numbers 22:6). Instead, Balaam enraged the king by blessing the Hebrew people—multiple times (24:10). One of his blessings included this prophecy: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near” (24:17). Clearly the individual in view is not yet on the scene, but just who is Balaam talking about? The next line holds a clue. “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel” (v. 17). The “star” would one day lead wise men to the promised Child (Matthew 2:1–2).
An ancient Mesopotamian prophet who knew nothing of Messiah pointed the world to a future sign declaring His arrival. From an unlikely source came not cursing, but blessing.
How does Numbers 24 help you see the Christmas story differently? How might it change the way you act when you encounter people opposing the work of God?
God, please give me eyes to see Your hand at work in all things.
INSIGHTThe English Bible follows the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) in calling this book “Numbers,” due to its emphasis on numbering the tribes and the soldiers of Israel. The Hebrew title of Old Testament books is usually based on the opening words of the book. Here, the Hebrew title is found in the fifth Hebrew word—which means “in the desert.” Moses is almost universally regarded as the author of this book and the rest of the opening five books of the Bible as well. The Bible Knowledge Commentary suggests that Numbers was written at the conclusion of the wilderness wanderings of Israel and prior to the repetition of the law of Sinai found in Deuteronomy based on the book’s final verse (Numbers 36:13): “These are the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.”
Learn more about the documents that make up the Old and New Testaments.
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Read: Isaiah 7:1–9 | Bible in a Year: Jonah 1–4; Revelation 10 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesIf you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. Isaiah 7:9Nokia became the world’s best-selling mobile phone company in 1998 and saw profits rise to nearly four billion dollars in 1999. But by 2011, sales were diminishing and soon the failing phone brand was acquired by Microsoft. One factor in Nokia’s mobile division failure was a fear-based work culture that led to disastrous decisions. Managers were reluctant to tell the truth about the Nokia phone’s inferior operating system and other design problems for fear of being fired.
King Ahaz of Judah and his people were fearful—“shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind” (Isaiah 7:2). They knew that the kings of Israel and Aram (Syria) had allied, and their combined armies were marching to Judah to take it over (vv. 5–6). Although God used Isaiah to encourage Ahaz by telling him his enemies’ hostile plans would “not happen” (v. 7), the foolish leader fearfully chose to ally with Assyria and submit to the superpower’s king (2 Kings 16:7–8). He didn’t trust in God, who declared, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9).
The writer of Hebrews helps us consider what it looks like to stand firm in faith today: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (10:23). May we press on and not “shrink back” (v. 39) as the Holy Spirit empowers us to trust in Jesus.
When have you experienced a challenge to your faith? How has God encouraged you to stand firm?
Father, please help me stand firm as You provide the faith I need.
Learn more about walking faithfully with God.
INSIGHTA theme in Isaiah 7–39 is the vital importance of Israel trusting God instead of the other nations. Isaiah emphasized that God is “angry with all nations” (34:2); trusting in them is doomed to result in destruction. In contrast, Isaiah 35 describes the flourishing promised for those who, trusting God, walk on the “Way of Holiness” (v. 8). Isaiah invited his listeners to “strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come . . . to save you’ ” (vv. 3–4).
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Read: Romans 8:1–10 | Bible in a Year: Obadiah; Revelation 9 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunes[God sent] his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. Romans 8:3At a garage sale, I found a nativity set in a beat-up cardboard box. As I picked up the baby Jesus, I noticed the finely sculpted details of the infant’s body. This newborn wasn’t cocooned in a blanket with closed eyes—he was awake and partially unwrapped with outstretched arms, open hands, and fingers extended. “I’m here!” he seemed to say.
The figurine illustrated the miracle of Christmas—that God sent His Son to earth in a human body. As Jesus’ infant body matured, His little hands played with toys, eventually held the Torah, and then fashioned furniture before His ministry began. His feet, once plump and perfect at birth, grew to carry Him from place to place to teach and heal. At the end of His life, these human hands and feet would be pierced with nails to hold His body on the cross.
“In that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins,” Romans 8:3 (nlt) says. If we accept Jesus’ sacrifice as payment for all our wrongs and submit our lives to Him, we’ll find relief from sin’s bondage. Because the Son of God was born to us as a real, wiggling, kicking infant, there’s a way to have peace with God and the assurance of an eternity with Him.
What’s the difference between celebrating Jesus at Christmas and celebrating the season of Christmas?
Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus to earth as a human baby to free me from the bondage of sin and death.
For further study, read The God Who Is with Us.
INSIGHTIn Romans 7, Paul wrote of the law or principle of sin he saw at work (v. 21), and asked, “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (v. 24). The emphatic answer comes in the next verse: “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (v. 25). The powerful chapter of Romans 8 builds on that happy solution to our problem by encouraging us to live in the strength of the Spirit (vv. 2–4). The chapter closes with Paul’s emphatic declaration of the scope of God’s love for us (vv. 31–39).
The post The Miracle of Christmas appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Proverbs 30:7–9 | Bible in a Year: Amos 7–9; Revelation 8 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesGive me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Proverbs 30:8In the movie Fiddler on the Roof, the character Tevye talks honestly with God about His economics: “You made many, many poor people. I realize, of course, that it’s no shame to be poor. But it’s no great honor either! So, what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune! . . . Would it have spoiled some vast, eternal plan—if I were a wealthy man?”
Many centuries before author Sholem Aleichem placed these honest words on Tevye’s tongue, Agur lifted an equally honest but somewhat different prayer to God in the book of Proverbs. Agur asked God to give him neither poverty nor wealth—just his “daily bread” (Proverbs 30:8). He knew that having “too much” could make him proud and transform him into a practical atheist—denying the character of God. In addition, he asked God to not let him “become poor” because it might cause him to dishonor God’s name by stealing from others (v. 9). Agur recognized God as his sole provider, and he asked Him for “just enough” to satisfy his daily needs. His prayer revealed a pursuit of God and the contentment that’s found in Him alone.
May we have Agur’s attitude, recognizing God as the provider of all we have. And as we pursue financial stewardship that honors His name, let’s live in contentment before Him—the One who not only provides “just enough,” but more than enough.
What can you do to pursue God and find contentment in Him? How can you express your gratitude to Him for His faithfulness?
Dear God, our Provider, help me to be satisfied with everything You supply.
INSIGHTThe opening verse of Proverbs 30 attributes this proverb to a man named Agur, the son of Jakeh. Unfortunately, this is all we know of him. The text of verse 1 continues that his “utterance” was given to people named Ithiel and Ucal (nasb)—about whom we also know nothing. What can we surmise from the nature of these proverbs? Perhaps that Agur was a man of humility (vv. 2–4) and an astute observer of nature (vv. 19, 24–31) and human nature (vv. 20–23). The fact that his wise sayings are included in the book of Proverbs is testimony to the high regard with which they were held by Jewish rabbinic scholarship. In verse 8, we also discover that Agur apparently was a man of moderation rather than excess, as he asks God, “give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.”
The post Just Enough appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Timothy 1:3–5 | Bible in a Year: Amos 4–6; Revelation 7 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesI am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice. 2 Timothy 1:5In 2019, research exploring the spiritual heritage of believers in Jesus in the United States revealed that mothers and grandmothers have a significant influence on spiritual development. Nearly two-thirds of people who claim a legacy of faith credited their mother, and one-third acknowledged that a grandparent (usually a grandmother) also played a significant role.
The report’s editor remarked, “Over and over, this study speaks to the enduring impact of mothers in . . . spiritual development.” It’s an impact we also discover in Scripture.
In Paul’s letter to his protégé Timothy, he acknowledged that Timothy’s faith was modeled to him by his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5). It’s a delightful personal detail highlighting the impact of two women on one of the leaders of the early church. Their influence can also be seen in Paul’s encouragement to Timothy: “continue in what you have learned [because] from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures” (3:14–15).
A strong spiritual heritage is a precious gift. But even if our upbringing lacked the kind of positive influences that helped form Timothy’s faith, there are likely others in our life who’ve had a profound impact in helping to shape our spiritual development. Most important, we all have the opportunity to model sincere faith to those around us and leave a lasting legacy.
Who’s had a significant impact on your spiritual development? How can you encourage others in faith?
Father, thank You for the men and women in my life that have modeled sincere faith.
INSIGHTAlthough Paul called Timothy “my true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2), it wasn’t Paul who brought him to faith in Christ. Timothy was of mixed parentage—a gentile father and Jewish mother (Acts 16:1). Following God’s commands to parents and grandparents to teach the Scriptures to the next generation (Genesis 18:19; Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:7; Psalm 78:3–6), Timothy was taught “from infancy . . . the Holy Scriptures, which [were] able to make [him] wise for salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15). He was also nurtured in the faith by his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois (1:5). When Paul first met him, Timothy was already “a disciple” whom “the believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of” (Acts 16:1–2). That Paul sent Timothy to deal with the troublesome Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 4:17) and to take charge of the affairs of the Ephesian church (1 Timothy 1:3) testify to this young man’s spiritual maturity and ministry abilities.
The post Legacy of Faith appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 1 Samuel 20:26–34 | Bible in a Year: Amos 1–3; Revelation 6 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunes[Jonathan] was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David. 1 Samuel 20:34William Cowper (1731–1800), the English poet, found a friend in his pastor, John Newton (1725–1807), the former slave trader. Cowper suffered from depression and anxiety, attempting to die by suicide more than once. When Newton visited him, they’d go on long walks together and talk about God. Thinking that Cowper would benefit from engaging creatively and having a reason to write his poetry, the minister had the idea to compile a hymnal. Cowper contributed many songs, including “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.” When Newton moved to another church, he and Cowper remained strong friends and corresponded regularly for the rest of Cowper’s life.
I see parallels between the strong friendship of Cowper and Newton with that of David and Jonathan in the Old Testament. After David defeated Goliath, “Jonathan became one in spirit with David,” loving him as himself (1 Samuel 18:1). Although Jonathan was the son of King Saul, he defended David against the king’s jealousy and anger, asking his father why David should be put to death. In response, “Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him” (20:33). Jonathan dodged the weapon and was grieved at this shameful treatment of his friend (v. 34).
For both sets of friends, their bond was life-giving as they spurred each other on to serve and love God. How might you similarly encourage a friend today?
What role does friendship play in your sense of well-being? How could you show God’s love to someone and build them up?
Jesus, help me to enjoy Your friendship and fellowship.
INSIGHTThe deep friendship between David and Jonathan withstood the test of time and circumstances, evidenced when Jonathan went against his father, King Saul, and even endangered his own life to save David (1 Samuel 20). Though Jonathan was the crown prince, he encouraged David by assuring his safety and affirming that he’d be the next king (23:17). After Jonathan died (31:2), David honored him and expressed his deep loss: “I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me” (2 Samuel 1:26). After David became king, he showed kindness to Jonathan’s only son, Mephibosheth (ch. 9).
The post Friends for Life appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Job 38:4–21 | Bible in a Year: Joel 1–3; Revelation 5 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhat is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? Job 38:19William Shatner played Captain Kirk on the television series Star Trek, but he was unprepared for a real trip into space. He called his eleven-minute sub-orbital flight “the most profound experience I can imagine.” He stepped out of his rocket and marveled, “To see the blue color go right by you and now you’re staring into blackness, that’s the thing.” You “look down and there’s the blue down there and the black up there.” He added, “The beauty of that color and it’s so thin and you’re through it in an instant.”
Our planet is a blue dot surrounded by utter darkness. It’s unsettling. Shatner said that flying from blue sky into blackness was like flying into death. “In an instant, you go, ‘Whoa, that’s death!’ That’s what I saw. It was so moving to me. This experience, it’s something unbelievable.”
Shatner’s shattering flight puts life in perspective. We’re small objects in the universe, yet we’re loved by the One who created light and separated it from the darkness (Genesis 1:3–4). Our Father knows where the darkness resides and the path to its dwelling (Job 38:19–20). He “laid the earth’s foundation . . . while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy” (vv. 4–7).
Let’s trust our small lives to the God who holds the whole universe in His hands.
What comes to mind as you consider the vastness of space? What does the night sky reveal about God?
Father, You rule this world and all that lies beyond. I trust Your powerful love.
For further study, read Get Outside: Knowing God Through His Creation.
INSIGHTThe Bible points to God as Creator throughout its pages. Along with the two creation accounts in Genesis 1–2, Job describes the wonders of creation (chs. 38–41). In the Psalms, David declared, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful” (Psalm 139:14). In Colossians 1:16, Paul wrote of Jesus, “In him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” John exclaimed, “Through him all things were made” (John 1:3; see Revelation 4:11), and the author of Hebrews wrote that “the universe was formed at God’s command” (11:3).
The post In His Hands appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 1 Corinthians 15:50–58 | Bible in a Year: Hosea 12–14; Revelation 4 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesDeath has been swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15:54A short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges tells of a Roman soldier, Marcus Rufus, who drinks from a “secret river that purifies men of death.” In time, though, Marcus realizes immortality wasn’t all it was cracked up to be: life without limits was life without significance. In fact, it is death itself that gives meaning to life. Marcus finds an antidote—a spring of clear water. After drinking from it, he scratches his hand on a thorn, and a drop of blood forms, signifying his restored mortality.
Like Marcus, we too sometimes despair over the decline of life and the prospect of death (Psalm 88:3). We agree that death gives significance to life. But this is where the stories diverge. Unlike Marcus, we know it’s in Christ’s death that we find the true meaning of our lives. With the shedding of His blood on the cross, Christ conquered death, swallowing it up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54). For us, the antidote is in the “living water” of Jesus Christ (John 4:10). Because we drink that, all the rules of life, death, and life immortal have changed (1 Corinthians 15:52).
It’s true, we won’t escape physical death, but that isn’t the point. Jesus upends all our despair about life and death (Hebrews 2:11–15). In Christ, we’re reassured with the hope of heaven and of meaningful joy in eternal life with Him.
What are you worried about? What are your thoughts about the prospect of death? How does 1 Corinthians 15 encourage you?
God, help me to embrace Your promises about deliverance into eternal life with You.
INSIGHTAs the apostle Paul concluded a masterful defense of bodily resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:54–55, he quoted from two Old Testament passages that highlight the defeat of death (see Isaiah 25:8; Hosea 13:14). The word victory is used three times in 1 Corinthians 15:54–57. The “Lord Jesus Christ” gets the credit for victory over death (v. 57). The Greek word for “victory” is nikos. A popular shoe company uses a form of this word as their brand name (nikē). In Revelation, we see the word victorious (niv) from the same root (see 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 15:2; 21:7). Other translations use the terms overcomes or conquers. In Romans 8:37, the word appears in compound form and is translated “more than conquerors.” How assuring to know that the One who was victorious over death is our source of victory in all of life.
The post The Meaning of Life appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 43 | Bible in a Year: Hosea 9–11; Revelation 3 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesWhy, my soul, are you downcast? . . . Put your hope in God. Psalm 43:5“I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” based on an 1863 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, is a truly unusual Christmas song. Instead of the expected Christmas joy and mirth, the lyric forms a lament, crying out, “And in despair I bowed my head / There is no peace on earth I said / For hate is strong and mocks the song / Of peace on earth, good will to men.” This lament, however, moves forward into hope, reassuring us that “God is not dead, nor does he sleep / The wrong shall fail, the right prevail / With peace on earth goodwill toward men.”
The pattern of hope rising out of lament is also found in the lament psalms of the Bible. As such, Psalm 43 begins with the psalmist crying out about his enemies who attack him (v. 1) and his God who seems to have forgotten him (v. 2). But the singer doesn’t stay in lament—he looks up to the God he doesn’t fully understand but still trusts, singing, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (v. 5).
Life is filled with reasons for lament, and we all experience them on a regular basis. But, if we allow that lament to point us to the God of hope, we can sing joyfully—even if we sing through our tears.
What concerns are you experiencing in this moment? From the testimony of Scripture, how can God offer you hope in this season of life?
I cry to You, Father, as I struggle under the burdens of life. Remind me that my help comes from above, from the Maker of heaven and earth.
INSIGHTThe book of Psalms is Israel’s official hymnbook. It consists of 150 songs written over a thousand-year period by several composers, including Moses, David, Solomon, Asaph, and the sons of Korah. Used in individual and corporate worship, these songs are variously categorized as thanksgiving, praise, imprecatory, messianic, kingship, wisdom, and lament psalms. Psalm 43 falls into the category of a lament psalm. These songs express cries to God for deliverance and help in times of suffering, discouragement, disappointment, distress, and abandonment. In many Hebrew manuscripts, Psalms 42 and 43 are combined as one song. In a series of psalms composed by the sons of Korah (Psalms 42–49), Psalm 43 is the only one with no title, suggesting that it belongs with Psalm 42. The refrain “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” (43:5) is also found in 42:5 and 42:11.
Learn more about the Psalms.
The post I Heard the Bells appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Romans 12:9–13 | Bible in a Year: Hosea 5–8; Revelation 2 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesLove must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Romans 12:9When we park our car near an open field and walk across it to get to our house, we almost always get some sticky cockleburs on our clothes—especially in the fall. These tiny “hitchhikers” attach to clothing, shoes, or whatever is passing by and ride to their next destination. It’s nature’s way of spreading cocklebur seeds in my local field and around the world.
As I try to carefully remove clinging cockleburs, I’ve often thought about the message that admonishes believers in Jesus to “cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). When we’re trying to love others, it can be challenging. However, as the Holy Spirit helps us hold on to what’s good with all we have, we can repel evil and be “sincere” in our love as He guides us (v. 9).
Cocklebur seeds don’t fall off with a mere brush of the hand, they hang on to you. And when we focus on what’s good, keeping our mind on God’s mercy, compassion, and commands, we too—in His strength—can hang on tightly to those we love. He helps us stay “devoted to one another in love,” remembering to place other’s needs before our own (v. 10).
Yes, those cockleburs can be challenging, but they also remind me to cling to others in love and by God’s power to grip tightly “what is good” (v. 9; see also Philippians 4:8–9).
How can clinging to what’s good help you love a challenging friend or family member? How is sincere love also a tenacious love?
Remind me to cling with all my might to what’s good, Jesus. I desire to reflect Your love to others.
For further study, read What Do You Do with a Broken Relationship?
INSIGHTThe apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:9 that “love must be sincere.” The word used to describe love here is sincere (anypokritos), which simply means “unhypocritical” or “behavior free from hidden agendas.” A hidden agenda is when a person appears to demonstrate love for someone but really has a selfish motive. It would be easy to read the statements that follow this verse as separate exhortations. However, verses 9–13 are meant to describe what genuine love should look like. This vision of love matches Paul’s encouragement in Philippians 2:3–4: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Jesus said we’re to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37–39). True and sincere love focuses on others and doesn’t seek its own pleasure.
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Read: 2 Samuel 22:1–7 | Bible in a Year: Hosea 1–4; Revelation 1 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesThe Lord is my rock, . . . He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior. 2 Samuel 22:2–3The sixth-grade basketball game was well underway. Parents and grandparents were cheering on their players, while younger brothers and sisters of the boys on the teams entertained themselves out in the school hallway. Suddenly, sirens blared and lights flashed in the gym. A fire alarm had been tripped. Soon the siblings came streaming back into the gym in panic, looking for their parents.
There was no fire; the alarm had accidentally been activated. But as I watched, I was struck by the way the children—sensing a crisis—unashamedly ran to embrace their parents. What a picture of confidence in those who could provide a sense of safety and reassurance in a time of fear!
Scripture presents a time when David experienced great fear. Saul and numerous other enemies (2 Samuel 22:1) pursued him. After God delivered David to safety, the grateful man sang an eloquent song of praise about His help. He called God “my rock, my fortress and my deliverer” (v. 2). When the “cords of the grave” and “the snares of death” (v. 6) hounded him, David “called out” to God and his “cry came to [God’s] ears” (v. 7). In the end, David proclaimed He “rescued me” (vv. 18, 20, 49).
In times of fear and uncertainty, we can run to the “Rock” (v. 32). As we call on God’s name, He alone provides the refuge and shelter we need (vv. 2–3).
What fear are you dealing with these days? How can God help you face it and deal with it?
Dear God, when I’m afraid, remind me to trust You—to depend on You—and praise Your name.
For further study, read Hope: Discovering the One True Source.
INSIGHTDavid’s song of praise in 2 Samuel 22 comes toward the end of his life. It recounts his history with his enemies and how God rescued the king over and over through years of challenges, danger, and hardship.
At the beginning of the books of Samuel, Israel wanted a king who would fight for them “like all the other nations” (1 Samuel 8:20). After the failure of Saul, David became that king. He fought their battles, and he won. But in his final song of praise to God, he pointed out that it was ultimately God—not himself—who did the true saving. His words became the song we know as Psalm 18. The Israelites incorporated the king’s personal words of praise into their liturgy. Whenever the song was sung, it reminded them—and should remind us—that their true deliverer was and always will be their God.
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Read: Galatians 6:1–10 | Bible in a Year: Daniel 11–12; Jude Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesCarry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2When the women in our newly formed Bible study faced a series of tragedies, we suddenly found ourselves sharing deeply personal experiences. Facing the loss of a father, the pain of a wedding anniversary after divorce, the birth of a child who was completely deaf, the experience of racing to bring a child to the emergency room—it was too much for anyone to carry alone. Each person’s vulnerability led to more transparency. We cried and prayed together, and what started as a group of strangers became a group of close friends in a matter of weeks.
As part of the church body, believers in Jesus are able to come alongside people in their suffering in a deep and personal way. The relational ties that bind together brothers and sisters in Christ aren’t dependent on the length of time we’ve known each other or the things we have in common. Instead, we do what Paul calls “[carrying] each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). Relying on God’s strength, we listen, we empathize, we help where we can, and we pray. We can look for ways to “do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (v. 10). Paul says that when we do so, we fulfill the law of Christ (v. 2): to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. The burdens of life can be heavy, but He’s given us our church family to lighten the load.
Who’s suffering around you? How can you lighten their load today?
Dear God, thank You for walking alongside me no matter what I face. Help me love others in that way today.
Learn how to care for others spiritually.
INSIGHTThe apostle Paul urged believers to “serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13)—a lifestyle only possible through continual reliance on the Spirit (vv. 16–18, 22–26). Galatians 6:1–10 offers practical guidance on what such a Spirit-led life looks like in practice. Paul focused on both corporate responsibility (of the faith community) and individual responsibility (of each person). For example, the community of faith seeks to correct and restore someone caught in sin, while the individual believer must always be on guard to “watch [them]selves” (v. 1). Similarly, as a group sharing life together, the believing community can “carry each other’s burdens” (v. 2), while each individual takes responsibility to “test their own actions” and “carry their own load” (vv. 4–5). Paul invites the community of faith to both serve in community and to individually take responsibility so that they can do “good to all people” (v. 10).
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Read: Ruth 2:15–20 | Bible in a Year: Daniel 8–10; 3 John Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesMay you be richly rewarded by the Lord . . . under whose wings you have come to take refuge. Ruth 2:12Maria carried her fast-food lunch to an empty table. As she bit into her burger, her eyes locked on those of a young man seated several tables away. His clothes were soiled, his hair hung limply, and he clutched at an empty paper cup. Clearly, he was hungry. How could she help? A gift of cash seemed unwise. If she bought a meal and presented it to him, might he be embarrassed?
Just then Maria remembered the story of Ruth where Boaz, a wealthy landowner, invited the impoverished immigrant widow to glean from his fields. He ordered his men: “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her” (Ruth 2:15–16). In a culture where women were utterly dependent on their connection to men for survival, Boaz demonstrated God’s loving provision. Eventually, Boaz married Ruth, redeeming her from her serious need (4:9–10).
As Maria rose to leave, she placed her untouched packet of fries on a nearby table, meeting the man’s eyes as she did so. If he was hungry, he might glean from her “fast-food field.” God’s heart is revealed in the stories of Scripture as they illustrate creative solutions to encourage.
Is there someone around you today that you might invite to “glean” from the abundance in your life? Ask God to reveal the needs around you that you might respond with His heart.
Dear Father, show me who needs me to extend Your love to them today.
For further study, read Living Justly, Loving Mercy: A Biblical Response to Our Broken World.
INSIGHTGod gave the Israelites “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8) and commanded His people to take care of the poor living among them. Landowners were to intentionally not harvest all the grain so that the poor could glean the leftovers (Leviticus 19:9–10; 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19–22). God’s solution for the hungry is the generous hearts and open hands of His people (Deuteronomy 15:4–11). The law of gleaning was the backdrop for the story of Ruth. Boaz, a close relative of Naomi, was a God-fearing landowner who permitted the poor to glean in his fields (Ruth 2:1–3, 20). He even ordered his servants to deliberately “pull out some stalks for [Ruth] from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up” (v. 16). As a result of Boaz’s grace and generosity, Ruth gleaned “an ephah” or about 30 pounds (v. 17) of barley, enough to last for several weeks.
Dive deeper in the story of Ruth.
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Read: Psalm 23 | Bible in a Year: Daniel 5–7; 2 John Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesSurely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. Psalm 23:6Some years ago, a man walked about a block ahead of me. I could clearly see that his arms were full of packages. All of a sudden, he tripped, dropping everything. A couple of people helped him to his feet, assisting him in collecting what he’d dropped. But they missed something—his wallet. I picked it up and took off in hot pursuit of the stranger, hoping to return that important item. I yelled “Sir, sir!” and finally got his attention. He turned just as I reached him. As I held out the wallet, I’ll never forget his look of surprised relief and immense gratitude.
What began as following after that man turned into something quite different. Most English translations use the word follow in the final verse of the familiar Psalm 23—“Surely your goodness and love will follow me” (v. 6). And while “follow” fits, the actual Hebrew word used is more forceful, aggressive even. The word literally means “to pursue or chase,” much like a predator pursues his prey (think of a wolf pursuing sheep).
God’s goodness and love don’t merely follow along after us at a casual pace, in no real hurry, like a pet might leisurely follow you home. No, “surely” we are being pursued—chased even—with intention. Much like pursuing a man to return his wallet, we’re pursued by the Good Shepherd who loves us with an everlasting love (vv. 1, 6).
Do you believe God’s goodness is actually pursuing you? If not, why not, since Scripture includes the word surely?
Good Shepherd, thank You that Your goodness and love pursue me always.
For further study, read The Lord Is My Shepherd: Rest and Renewal from Psalm 23.
INSIGHTAlthough Psalm 23 is the best-known Scripture passage that employs the shepherd metaphor to speak of God, this figure of speech appears throughout the Bible. In Genesis 48:15, Jacob (Israel) referred to God as his shepherd. The prophet Isaiah said, “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young” (40:11). The Shepherd gets a name and a face in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Hebrews 13:20 speaks of Jesus as “that great Shepherd of the sheep.” Peter called Him “the Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4), and Revelation 7:17 says, “the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.”
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Read: Luke 2:25–32, 36–38 | Bible in a Year: Daniel 3–4; 1 John 5 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesShe . . . spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:38On a busy day before Christmas, an aged woman approached the mail counter at my crowded neighborhood post office. Watching her slow pace, the patient postal clerk greeted her, “Well hello, young lady!” His words were friendly, but some might hear them saying that “younger” is better.
The Bible inspires us to see that advanced age can motivate our hope. As the infant Jesus is brought to the temple by Joseph and Mary, to be consecrated (Luke 2:23; see Exodus 13:2, 12), two elderly believers suddenly take center stage.
First, Simeon—who’d been waiting for years to see the Messiah—“took [Jesus] in his arms and praised God, saying: ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations’ ” (Luke 2:28–31).
Then Anna, a “very old” prophet (v. 36), came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph. A widow who’d been married only seven years, she’d lived in the temple to age eighty-four. Never leaving, she “worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.” When she saw Jesus, she began praising God, explaining about “the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (vv. 37–38).
These two hopeful servants remind us to never stop waiting on God—no matter our age—with great expectations.
What lessons have you learned from elderly believers about God’s faithfulness? How does their hopefulness inspire you?
Dear faithful Father, when I lose hope, remind me to wait expectantly for You.
INSIGHTMost Israelites were anticipating the arrival of Messiah, and one might expect that the religious leaders would have been among them. Yet they seemed to miss Him despite the signs and prophecy (see Matthew 2:1–6). In contrast, Luke 2 informs us of Simeon and Anna, who recognized Him at once. What made the difference? In the case of Simeon and Anna, they actively sought out a close relationship with God. The text says of Simeon, “Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts” (v. 27), indicating that he was customarily sensitive to God’s leading. As for Anna, it appears she literally lived at the temple (v. 37). Both Simeon and Anna knew what the arrival of the Christ child meant.
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Read: Matthew 6:6–13 | Bible in a Year: Daniel 1–2; 1 John 4 Play/Pause
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Download Download MP3 Subscribe to iTunesGive us today our daily bread. Matthew 6:11One morning our younger kids decided to get up early and fix breakfast for themselves. Tired from a grueling week, my wife and I were trying to sleep until at least 7:00 a.m. on that Saturday morning. Suddenly, I heard a loud crash! I jumped out of bed and raced downstairs to find a shattered bowl, oatmeal all over the floor, and Jonas—our five-year-old—desperately trying to sweep (more like smear) the gooey mess off the floor. My children were hungry, but they chose not to ask for help. Instead of reaching out in dependence, they chose independence, and the result was definitely not a culinary delight.
In human terms, children are meant to grow from dependence to independence. But in our relationship with God, maturity means moving from independence to dependence on Him. Prayer is where we practice such dependent ways. When Jesus taught His disciples—and all of us who have come to believe in Him—to pray, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), He was teaching a prayer of dependence. Bread is a metaphor for sustenance, deliverance, and guidance (vv. 11–13). We’re dependent on God for all that and more.
There are no self-made believers in Jesus, and we’ll never graduate from His grace. Throughout our lives, may we always begin our day by taking the posture of dependence as we pray to “our Father in heaven” (v. 9).
What’s the “bread” you’re praying for today? How do you reveal your trust in God as you call out to Him?
Dear Jesus, You’re my Creator and my Sustainer. Please help me to trust in You.
INSIGHTSome Bible versions translate “babbling” (Matthew 6:7) as “vain repetitions” (kjv, nkjv) or “empty phrases” (esv), which means to repeat the same words over and over again as the gentiles (non-Jews) did. They did so to be noticed and to be viewed as righteous or pious. This calls to mind the prophets of Baal who called on their god “from morning till noon” but with “no response” (1 Kings 18:26). Jesus wasn’t condemning public prayer but prohibiting mindless, mechanical repetition. The hypocrites (Pharisees and others) proudly prayed like this “in the synagogues and on the street corners” (Matthew 6:5) so that people would see them. But while on earth, Jesus “offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” (Hebrews 5:7). Unlike the ungodly prayers of the hypocrites, “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).
Learn more about dependence on God through prayer.
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Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first African-American woman to earn a medical degree. Yet during her lifetime, she recalls being “ignored, slighted and rendered insignificant.” Even amid adversity, however, she remained devoted to healing and fulfilling her purpose. Crumpler boldly affirmed that although some people might choose to judge her based on her race and gender, she’d always have a “renewed and courageous readiness to do when and wherever duty calls,” and that she did. Not only was she a servant in her field, but she also believed that treating women and children and providing medical attention for freed slaves was a way to serve God. Sadly, she didn’t receive formal recognition for her accomplishments until nearly a century later.
There are times in life when we’ll be overlooked, devalued, or unappreciated by those around us. Biblical wisdom reminds us, however, that when God has called us to a task, we shouldn’t focus on gaining worldly approval and recognition but should instead “work at it with all [our] heart, as working for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). When we focus on serving God while carrying out our day-to-day activities, we’re able to accomplish even the most difficult tasks with fervor and gladness in His power and leading. We can then become less concerned with receiving earthly recognition and awards and become more eager to receive the reward only He can provide (v. 24).
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To my eyes, the Christmas tree looked to be ablaze in fire! Not because of artificial strings of lights but from real fire. Our family was invited to a friend’s “altdeutsche tradition”—the old German way—celebration, featuring delicious traditional desserts and a tree with real, lit candles. (For safety, the freshly cut tree was lit one night only.)
As I watched the tree appear to burn, I thought of Moses’ encounter with God in the burning bush. While tending sheep in the wilderness, Moses was surprised by a flaming bush that was somehow not consumed by the flames. As Moses approached the bush to investigate, God called to him. The message from the burning bush was not one of judgment but of rescue for the people of Israel. God had seen the plight of His people who were enslaved in Egypt and had “come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:8).
While God rescued the Israelites from the Egyptians, all of humanity still needed rescue—not just from physical suffering, but also from the effects that evil and death brought into our world. Hundreds of years later, God responded by sending down Light, His son Jesus, (John 1:9-10), sent not “to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:17).
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In 2011, after a decade of childlessness, my wife and I chose to start afresh in a new country. Exciting as the move was, it required my leaving a broadcast career, which I missed. Feeling lost, I asked my friend Liam for advice.
“I don’t know what my calling is anymore,” I told Liam dejectedly.
“You’re not broadcasting here?” he asked. I said I wasn’t.
“And how is your marriage?”
Surprised at his change of topic, I told Liam that Merryn and I were doing well. We’d faced heartbreak together but emerged closer through the ordeal.
“Commitment is the core of the gospel,” he said, smiling. “Oh, how the world needs to see committed marriages like yours! You may not realize the impact you’re having already, beyond what you do, simply by being who you are.”
When a difficult work situation left Timothy dejected, the apostle Paul didn’t give him career goals. Instead, he encouraged Timothy to live a godly life, setting an example through his speech, conduct, love, faith and purity (4:12–13, 15). He would best impact others by living faithfully.
It’s easy to value our lives based on our career success when what matters most is our character. I had forgotten that. But a word of truth, a gracious act, even a committed marriage can bring great change—because through them something of God’s own goodness touches the world.
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After another week of being beaten down by more medical setbacks, I slumped onto the sofa. I didn’t want to think about anything. I didn’t want to talk to anybody. I couldn’t even pray. Discouragement and doubt weighed me down as I turned on the television. I began watching a commercial showing a little girl talking to her younger brother. “You’re a champion,” she said. As she continued affirming him, his grin grew. So did mine.
God’s people have always struggled with discouragement and doubt. Quoting Psalm 95, which affirms that God’s voice can be heard through the Holy Spirit, the writer of Hebrews warned believers in Jesus to avoid the mistakes made by the Israelites while wandering in the wilderness (Hebrews 3:7–11). “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God,” he wrote. “But encourage each other daily” (vv. 12–13).
With our lifeline of hope secured in Christ, we can experience the power-packed fuel we need to persevere: mutual encouragement within the fellowship of believers (v. 13). When one believer doubts, other believers can offer affirmation and accountability. As God strengthens us, His people, we can offer the power of mutual encouragement to one another.
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Ever had a close encounter with a rattlesnake? If so, you might have noticed that the sound of the rattle seemed to get more intense as you moved nearer to the viper. Research reported in 2021 in Current Biology reveals that the venomous reptiles do increase their rattling rate when they think a threat is approaching. This “high-frequency mode” can cause us to think they’re closer than they are. As one researcher put it, “The misinterpretation of distance by the listener . . . creates a distance safety margin.”
People can sometimes use increasing volume with harsh words that push others away during a conflict—exhibiting anger and resorting to shouting. The writer of Proverbs shares some wise advice for times like these: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). He goes on to say that “soothing” and “wise” words can be “a tree of life” and a source of “knowledge” (vv. 4, 7).
Jesus provided the ultimate reasons for gently appealing to those with whom we enter into conflict: extending love that reveals us to be His children (Matthew 5:43–45) and seeking reconciliation—“[winning] them over” (18:15). Instead of raising our voice or using unkind words during conflicts, may we show civility, wisdom, and love to others as God guides us by His Spirit.
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Barbecue chicken, green beans, spaghetti, rolls. On a cool day in October, at least fifty-four homeless people received this hot meal from a woman celebrating fifty-four years of life. The woman and her friends decided to forgo her usual birthday dinner in a restaurant, choosing instead to cook and serve meals to people on the streets of Chicago. On social media, she encouraged others to also perform a random act of kindness as a birthday gift.
This story reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 25: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (v. 40). He said these words after declaring that His sheep will be invited into His eternal kingdom to receive their inheritance (v. 33). At that time, Jesus will acknowledge that they’re the people who fed and clothed Him because of their genuine faith in Him (unlike the proud religious people who did not believe in Him; see 26:3–5). Although the “righteous” will question when they fed and clothed Jesus (v. 37), He will assure them that what they did for others was also done for Him (v. 40).
Feeding the hungry is just one way God helps us care for His people—showing our love for Him and relationship with Him. May He help us meet others’ needs today.
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A few years ago a popular song hit the charts, with a gospel choir singing the chorus, “Jesus walks with me.” Behind the lyrics lies a powerful story.
The choir was started by jazz musician Curtis Lundy when he entered a treatment program for cocaine addiction. Drawing fellow addicts together and finding inspiration in an old hymnal, he wrote that chorus as a hymn of hope for those in rehab. “We were singing for our lives,” one choir member says of the song. “We were asking Jesus to save us, to help us get out of the drugs.” Another found that her chronic pain subsided when she sang the song. That choir wasn’t just singing words on a sheet, but offering desperate prayers for redemption.
Today’s Scripture reading describes their experience well. In Christ, our God has appeared to offer salvation to all (Titus 2:11). While eternal life is part of this gift (v. 13), God is working on us now, empowering us to regain self-control, say no to worldly passions, and redeem us for life with Him (vv. 12, 14). As the choir members found, Jesus doesn’t just forgive our sins—He frees us from destructive lifestyles.
Jesus walks with me. And you. And anyone who cries out to Him for help. He’s with us, offering hope for the future and salvation now.
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I was very young when I peered through a hospital nursery window and saw a newborn for the first time. In my ignorance, I was dismayed to see a tiny, wrinkly child with a hairless, cone-shaped head. The baby’s mother standing near us, however, couldn’t stop asking everyone, “Isn’t he gorgeous?” I was reminded of that moment when I saw a video of a young dad tenderly singing the song, “You Are So Beautiful” to his baby girl. To her enraptured daddy—the little girl was the most beautiful thing ever created.
Is that how God looks at us? Ephesians 2:10 says that we’re His “handiwork”—His masterpiece. Aware of our own failings, it may be hard for us to accept how much He loves us or to believe that we could ever be of value to Him. But God doesn’t love us because we deserve love (vv. 3-4); He loves us because He is love (1 John 4:8). His love is one of grace and He showed the depth of it when, through Jesus’ sacrifice, He made us alive in Him when we were dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:5, 8).
God’s love isn’t fickle—it’s constant. He loves the imperfect, the broken, those who are weak and those who mess up. When we fall, He’s there to lift us up. We’re His treasure, and we’re so beautiful to Him.
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“BROKE” was the street name Grady answered to and those five letters were proudly emblazoned on his license plates. Though not intended in a spiritual sense, the moniker fit the middle-aged gambler, adulterer, and deceiver. He was broken, bankrupt, and far from God. However, all that changed one evening when he was convicted by God’s Spirit in a hotel room. He told his wife, “I think I’m getting saved!” That evening he confessed sins he thought he’d take with him to the grave and came to Jesus for forgiveness. For the next thirty years, the man who didn’t think he’d live to see forty lived and served God as a changed believer in Jesus. His license plates changed too—from “BROKE” to “REPENT.”
Repent. That’s what Grady did and that’s what God called Israel to do in Hosea 14:1–2. “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. . . . Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously.’ ” Big or small, few or many, our sins separate us from God. But the gap can be closed by turning from sin to God and receiving the forgiveness He’s graciously provided through the death of Jesus. Whether you’re a struggling believer in Christ or one whose life looks like Grady’s did, your forgiveness is only a prayer away.
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Doctors diagnosed four-year-old Solomon with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive muscle-degenerating disease that primarily affects boys. A year later, doctors discussed wheelchairs with the family. But Solomon protested that he didn’t want to have to use a wheelchair. Family and friends diligently prayed for him and raised funds for a professionally trained service dog to help keep him out of that wheelchair for as long as possible. Tails for Life, the organization that trained Callie as my service dog, is currently preparing Waffles to serve Solomon.
Though Solomon accepts his treatment with resilience, often bursting out in song to praise God, some days are harder. On one of those difficult days, Solomon hugged his mom and said, “I’m happy there is no Duchenne’s in heaven.”
The degenerating effects of sickness affect all people on this side of eternity. Like Solomon, however, we have an enduring hope that can strengthen our resolve on those inevitable tough days. God gives us the hope and promise of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1). Our Creator and Sustainer will “dwell” among us by making His home with us (v. 3). He will “wipe every tear” from our eyes (v. 4). “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things [will pass] away” (v. 4). When the wait feels “too hard” or “too long,” we can experience peace because God’s promise will be fulfilled.
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When I moved to England, the American holiday of Thanksgiving became just another Thursday in November. Although I created a feast the weekend after, I longed to be with family and friends on the day. Yet I understood that my longings weren’t unique to me. We all yearn to be with people dear to us on special occasions and holidays. And even when we’re celebrating, we may miss someone who’s not with us or we may pray for our fractured family to be at peace.
During these times, praying and pondering the wisdom of the Bible has helped me, including one of King Solomon’s proverbs: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). In this proverb, one of the pithy sayings through which Solomon shared his wisdom, he notes the effect that “hope deferred” can have: the delay of something much longed for can result in angst and pain. But when the desire is fulfilled, it’s like a tree of life—something that allows us to feel refreshed and renewed.
Some of our hopes and desires might not be fulfilled right away, and some might only be met through God after we die. Whatever our longing, we can trust in Him, knowing He loves us unceasingly. And, one day, we’ll be reunited with loved ones as we feast with Him and give thanks to Him (see Revelation 19:6–9).
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In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz made the first purchase with bitcoin (a digital currency), paying 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas. In 2021, the value of those bitcoins would have been roughly $685 million. Back before the value skyrocketed, he kept paying for pizzas with coins, spending 100,000 bitcoins total. If he’d kept those bitcoins, their value would’ve made him a billionaire sixty-eight times over and placed him on the Forbes’ “richest people in the world” list. If only he’d known what was coming.
Of course, Hanyecz couldn’t possibly have known. None of us could have. Despite our attempts to comprehend and control the future, Ecclesiastes rings true: “No one knows what is coming” (10:14). Some of us delude ourselves into thinking we know more than we do, or worse, that we possess some special insight about another person’s life or future. But as Ecclesiastes pointedly asks: “who can tell someone else what will happen after them?” (v. 14). No one.
Scripture contrasts a wise and a foolish person, and one of the many distinctions between the two is humility about the future (Proverbs 27:1). A wise person recognizes that only God truly knows what’s over the horizon as they make decisions. But foolish people presume knowledge that isn’t theirs. May we have wisdom, trusting our future to the only One who actually knows it.
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A tornado blew through a community on a June evening in 2021, destroying a family’s barn. It was a sad loss because the barn had been on the family property since the late 1800s. As John and Barb drove by on their way to church the next morning, they saw the damage and wondered how they might help. So they stopped and learned that the family needed assistance with cleanup. Turning their car around quickly, they headed back home to change clothes and returned to stay for the day to clean up the mess the violent winds had created. They put their faith into action as they served the family.
James said that “faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26). He gives the example of Abraham, who in obedience followed God when he didn’t know where he was going (v. 23, see Genesis 12:1–4; 15:6). James also mentions Rahab, who showed her belief in the God of Israel when she hid the spies who came to check out the city of Jericho (2:25; see Joshua 2; 6:17).
“If someone claims to have faith but has no deeds,” it does them no good (James 2:26). “Faith is the root, good works are the fruits, and we must see to it that we have both” (Matthew Henry Commentary). God doesn’t need our good deeds, but our faith is proven by our actions.
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Reading the last chapter of a mystery novel first may sound like a bad idea to those who love the suspense of a good story. But some people enjoy reading a book more if they know how it ends.
In Reading Backwards, author Richard Hays shows how important the practice is for our understanding of the Bible. By illustrating how the unfolding words and events of Scripture anticipate, echo, and throw light on one another, Professor Hays gives us reason to read our Bibles forward and backward.
Hays reminds readers that it was only after Jesus’ resurrection that His disciples understood His claim to rebuild a destroyed temple in three days. The apostle John tells us, “The temple he had spoken of was his body” (2:21). Only then could they understand a meaning of their Passover celebration never before understood (see Matthew 26:17–29). Only in retrospect could they reflect on how Jesus gave fullness of meaning to an ancient king’s deep feelings for the house of God (Psalm 69:9; John 2:16–17). Only by rereading their Scriptures in light of the true temple of God (Jesus Himself) could the disciples grasp how the ritual of Israel’s religion and Messiah would throw light on one another.
And now, only by reading these same Scriptures backward and forward, can we see in Jesus everything that any of us has ever needed or longed for.
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In 1941, the Socratic Club was established at England’s Oxford University. The club was formed for the express purpose of encouraging debate between believers in Jesus and atheists or agnostics.
Religious debate at a secular university isn’t that unusual, but what is surprising the man who chaired the Socratic Club for fifteen years—the great Christian scholar C. S. Lewis. Willing to have his thinking tested, Lewis believed that faith in Christ could stand up to whatever scrutiny it received. He knew there was credible, rational evidence for believing in Jesus.
In a sense, Lewis was practicing Peter’s advice to believers scattered by persecution when he reminded them, “In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Notice the two key points Peter makes. We have good reasons for our hope in Christ. And we’re to present our reasoning with “gentleness and respect.”
Trusting Christ isn’t religious escapism or wishful thinking. Our faith is grounded in the facts of history, including the resurrection of Jesus and the evidence of the creation bearing witness to its Creator. As we rest in God’s wisdom and the strength of the Spirit, may we be ready to share the reasons we have for knowing and trusting our great God.
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It seems my mother can sense trouble from a mile away. Once, after a rough day at school, I tried to mask my frustration hoping that no one would notice. “What’s the matter?” she asked. Then she added, “Before you tell me it’s nothing, remember I’m your mother. I gave birth to you, and I know you better than you know yourself.” My mom has consistently reminded me that her deep awareness of who I am helps her be there for me in the moments I need her most.
As believers in Jesus, we’re cared for by a God who knows us intimately. The psalmist David praised Him for His attentiveness to the lives of His children saying, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar” (Psalm 139:1–2). Because God knows who we are—our every thought, desire, and action—there’s nowhere we can go where we’re outside the bounds of His abundant love and care (vv. 7–12). As David wrote, “If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me” (vv. 9–10). We can find comfort knowing that no matter where we are in life, when we call out to God in prayer, He’ll offer us the love, wisdom, and guidance we need.
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“You’ll be in my thoughts and prayers.” If you hear those words, you might wonder if the person really means it. But you never had to wonder when Edna Davis said them. Everyone in the small, one stoplight town knew of “Ms. Edna’s” yellow legal pad—page after page, lined with name after name. Early each morning the aging woman prayed out loud to God. Not everyone on her list received the answer to prayer they wanted, but several testified at her funeral that something God-sized had happened in their life, and they credited it to the earnest prayers of Ms. Edna.
God demonstrated the power of prayer in Peter’s prison experience. After the apostle was seized by Herod’s men, thrown into prison, and then “guarded by four squads of four soldiers each” (Acts 12:4), his prospects looked bleak. But “the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (v. 5). They had Peter in their thoughts and prayers. What God did is simply miraculous! An angel appeared to Peter in prison, released him from his chains, and led him to safety beyond the prison gates (vv. 7–10).
It’s possible some may use “thoughts and prayers” without really meaning it. But our Father knows our thoughts, listens to our prayers, and acts on our behalf according to His perfect will. To be prayed for and to pray for others is no small thing when we serve the great and powerful God.
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In his poem “Rest,” nineteenth-century minister John Sullivan Dwight gently challenges our tendency to separate “leisure” time from “work,” asking, “Is not true leisure / One with true toil?” If you want to experience true leisure, instead of trying to avoid life’s duties, Dwight urges, “Still do thy best; Use it, not waste it,— / Else ‘tis not rest. / Wouldst behold beauty / Near thee? All round? / Only hath duty / Such a sight found.”
Dwight concludes that true rest and joy are both found through love and service—something that brings to mind Paul’s encouragement to the Thessalonians. After describing his calling to encourage believers “to live lives worthy of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:12), the apostle gives more specifics.
And the picture he paints of such a life is one of quiet integrity, love, and service. Paul prays that God would “make [their] love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else” (3:12). And he urges believers in Jesus to “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life,” to “mind your own business and work with your hands” (4:11). It’s that kind of life, quietly loving and serving in whatever ways God has enabled us, that reveals to others the beauty of a life of faith (v. 12).
Or, as Dwight puts it, true joy is “loving and serving / The highest and best; / ‘Tis onwards! Unswerving— / And that is true rest.”
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A man and several friends went through a ski resort gate posted with avalanche warning signs and started snowboarding. On the second trip down, someone shouted, “Avalanche!” But the man couldn’t escape and perished in the cascading snow. Some criticized him, calling him a novice. But he wasn’t; he was an “avalanche-certified backcountry guide.” One researcher said that skiers and snowboarders with the most avalanche training are more likely to give in to faulty reasoning. “[The snowboarder] died because he was lulled into letting his guard down.”
As Israel prepared to go into the Promised Land, God wanted His people to keep their guard up—to be careful and alert. So He commanded them to obey all His “decrees and laws” (Deuteronomy 4:1–2) and remember His past judgment on those who disobeyed (vv. 3–4). They needed to “be careful” to examine themselves and keep watch over their inner lives (v. 9). This would help them keep their guard up against spiritual dangers from without and spiritual apathy from within.
It's easy for us to let our guard down and fall into apathy and self-deception. But God can give us strength to avoid falling in life and forgiveness by His grace when we do. By following Him and resting in His wisdom and provision, we can keep our guard up and make good decisions!
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Since age eight, Lisa had struggled with a stammer and became afraid of social situations that required her to talk with people. But later in life, after speech therapy helped her overcome her challenge, Lisa decided to use her voice to help others. She began volunteering as a counselor for an emotional distress telephone hotline.
Moses had to face his concerns about speaking to help lead the Israelites out of captivity. God asked him to communicate with Pharaoh, but Moses protested because he didn’t feel confident in his speaking ability (Exodus 4:10). God challenged him, “Who gave human beings their mouths?” Then He reassured Moses saying, “I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (vv. 11–12).
God’s response reminds us that He can work powerfully through us even in our limitations. But even when we know this in our hearts, it can be hard to live it out. Moses continued to struggle and begged God to send someone else (v. 13). So God allowed Moses’ brother Aaron to accompany him (v. 14).
Each of us has a voice that can help others and change the world for the better. We may be afraid. We may not feel capable. We may feel we don’t have the right words.
God knows how we feel. He can provide the words and all we need to serve others and accomplish His work.
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In 1917, Frederick Lehman, a California businessman beset by financial setbacks, wrote the lyrics to the hymn, “The Love of God.” His inspiration led him quickly to pen the first two stanzas, but he got stuck on the third. He recalled a poem that had been discovered years earlier, written on the walls of a prison. No one knows the prisoner who scratched it there into the stone, but it expressed a deep awareness of God’s love. The poem happened to be in the same meter as Lehman’s hymn. He made it his third stanza.
There are times when we face difficult setbacks as did Lehman and the unknown poet in the prison cell. In times of despair, we do well to echo the psalmist David’s words and “take refuge in the shadow of [God’s] wings” (Psalm 57:1). It’s okay to “cry out to God” with our troubles, to speak to Him of our current ordeal and the fears we have when “in the midst of lions” (v. 4). We’re soon reminded of the reality of God’s provision in times past, and join David who says, “I will sing and make music. . . . I will awaken the dawn” (vv. 7–8).
“The love of God is greater far,” this hymn proclaims, adding “it goes beyond the highest star.” It’s precisely in our time of greatest need when we’re to embrace how great God’s love really is—indeed “reaching to the heavens” (v. 10).
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Amanda works as a visiting nurse who rotates among several nursing homes—often bringing her eleven-year-old daughter Ruby to work. For something to do, Ruby began asking residents, “If you could have any three things, what would you want?” and recording their answers in her notebook. Surprisingly, many of their wishes were for little things—Vienna sausages, chocolate pie, cheese, avocados. So Ruby set up a GoFundMe to help her provide for their simple wishes. And when she delivers the goodies, she doles out hugs. She says, “It lifts you. It really does.”
When we show compassion and kindness like Ruby’s, we reflect our God who “is gracious and compassionate . . . and rich in love” (Psalm 145:8). That’s why the apostle Paul urged us, as God’s people, to “clothe [our]selves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). Because God has shown great compassion to us, we naturally long to share His compassion with others. And as we do so intentionally, we “clothe” ourselves in it. Paul goes on to tell us: “over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (v. 14). And he reminds us that we are to “do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (v. 17), remembering that all good things come from the Lord. When we are kind to others, our spirits are lifted.
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After three decades, Feng Lulu was reunited with her birth family. As a toddler, she was kidnapped while playing outside her house, but through the help of All-China Women’s Federation, she was finally located. Because she was so young when she was abducted, Feng Lulu doesn’t remember it. She grew up believing she’d been sold because her parents couldn’t afford to keep her, so learning the truth surfaced many questions and emotions.
When Joseph was unexpectedly reunited with his brothers, it’s likely he experienced some complex emotions. He’d been sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt as a young man. Despite a series of painful twists and turns, God propelled Joseph to a position of authority. When his brothers came to Egypt to buy food during a famine, they—unwittingly—sought it from him.
Joseph acknowledged to his brothers that God redeemed their wrongdoing, saying He used it to “save [their] lives by a great deliverance” (Genesis 45:7). Yet Joseph doesn’t mince words or redefine their hurtful actions toward him—he described them accurately as “selling [him]” (v. 5).
We sometimes try to put an overly positive spin on difficult situations, focusing on the good God brings from them without acknowledging the emotional struggle. Let’s take care not to redefine a wrong as being good simply because God redeemed it: we can look for Him to bring good from it while still recognizing the hardship and pain wrongdoing causes. Both are true.
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It was 1854, and something was killing thousands of people in London. It must be the bad air, people thought. And indeed, as unseasonable heat baked the sewage-fouled River Thames, the smell grew so bad it became known as “The Great Stink.”
But the worst problem wasn’t the air. Research by Dr. John Snow would show that contaminated water was the cause of the cholera epidemic.
We humans have long been aware of another crisis—one that stinks to high heaven. We live in a broken world—and we’re prone to misidentify the source of this problem, treating symptoms instead. Wise social programs and policies do some good, but they’re powerless to stop the root cause of society’s ills—our sinful hearts!
When Jesus said, “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them,” He wasn’t referring to physical diseases (Mark 7:15). Rather, He was diagnosing the spiritual condition of every one of us. “It is what comes out of a person that defiles them,” He said (v. 15), listing a litany of evils lurking inside us (vv. 21–22).
“Surely I was sinful at birth,” David wrote (Psalm 51:5). His lament is one we can all voice. We’re broken from the beginning. That’s why David prayed, “Create in me a pure heart, O God” (v. 10). Every day, we need that new heart, created by Jesus through His Spirit.
Instead of treating the symptoms, we must let Jesus purify the source.
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I met him in the 1970s when I was a high school English teacher and basketball coach, and he was a tall, gangly freshman. Soon he was on my basketball team and in my classes—and a friendship was formed. This same friend, who had served with me as a fellow editor for many years, stood before me at my retirement party and shared about the legacy of our longstanding friendship.
What is it about friends connected by the love of God that encourages us and brings us closer to Jesus? The writer of Proverbs understood that friendship has two encouraging components: First, true friends give valuable advice, even if it’s not easy to give or take (27:6): “Wounds from a friend can be trusted,” he explains. Second, a friend who is nearby and accessible is important in times of crisis (v. 10): “Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.”
It’s not good for us to fly solo in life. As Solomon noted: “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed” (Ecclesiastes 4:9 NLT). In life, we need to have friends and we need to be friends. May God help us “love one another with brotherly affection” (Romans 12:10 ESV) and “carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2)—becoming the kind of friend that can encourage others and draw them closer to the love of Jesus.
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When I was ten, I brought home a tape from a friend at youth group that contained the music of a contemporary Christian band. My dad, who had been raised in a Hindu home but had received salvation in Jesus, didn’t approve. He only wanted worship music played in our home. I explained it was a Christian band, but that didn’t change his mind. After a while, he suggested that I listen to the songs for a week and then decide if they brought me closer to God or pushed me further away from Him. There was some helpful wisdom in that advice.
There are things in life that are clearly right and wrong, but many times we wrestle with disputable matters (Romans 14:1–19). In deciding what to do, we can seek the wisdom found in Scripture. Paul encouraged the Ephesian believers to “be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but wise” (Ephesians 5:15). Like a good parent, Paul knew that he couldn’t possibly be there or give instructions for every situation. If they were going to “[make] the most of every opportunity because the days are evil,” they were going to have to discern for themselves and “understand what the Lord’s will is” (vv. 16–17). A life of wisdom is an invitation to pursue discernment and good decisions as God guides us even when we wrestle with what might be disputable.
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In the days of self-isolation and lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, words by Martin Luther King, Jr. in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail rang true. Speaking about injustice, he remarked how he couldn’t sit idly in one city and not be concerned about what happens in another. “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,” he said, “tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects us all indirectly.”
Likewise, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted our connectedness as around the world cities and countries closed to stop the spread of the virus. What affected one city could soon affect another.
Many centuries ago, God instructed His people how to show concern for others. Through Moses, He gave the Israelites the law as a way to guide them and help them live together. He told them to “not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life” (Leviticus 19:16); and to not seek revenge or bear a grudge against others, but to “love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 18). God knew that communities would start to unravel if people didn’t look out for others, valuing their lives as much as they did their own.
We too can embrace the wisdom of God’s instructions. As we go about our daily activities, we can remember how interconnected we are with others as we ask Him how to love and serve them well.
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I used to dread Mondays. Sometimes, when I got off the train to head to a previous job, I'd sit at the station for a while, trying to delay reaching the building, if only for a few minutes. My heart would beat fast as I worried over meeting the deadlines and managing the moods of a temperamental boss.
For some of us, it can be especially difficult to start another dreary workweek. We may be feeling overwhelmed or underappreciated in our job. King Solomon described the toil of work when he wrote: “What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain” (Ecclesiastes 2:22–23).
While the wise king didn’t give us a panacea for making work less stressful or more rewarding, he did offer us a change in perspective. No matter how difficult our work is, he encourages us to “find satisfaction” in it with God’s help (v. 24). Perhaps it will come as the Holy Spirit enables us to display Christlike character. Or as we hear from someone who’s been blessed through our service. Or as we remember the wisdom God provided to deal with a difficult situation. Though our work may be difficult, our faithful God is there with us. His presence and power can light up even gloomy days. With His help, we can be thankful for Monday.
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A rugged, cast-iron ring stood strong against the harsh Minnesota winter as it hung on the doorframe of my great uncle’s old farmhouse. More than a hundred feet away was another ring, firmly fixed to the dairy barn. Years ago during a blizzard, my uncle would attach a line between both rings so he could find the path between the house and the barn. Keeping a firm grip on the line kept him from losing his way in the blinding snow.
My uncle’s use of a safety line in a snowstorm reminds me of how David used lines of Hebrew poetry to trace how God’s wisdom guides us through life and guards us against sin and error: “The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward” (Psalm 19:9–11).
A firm grasp of the truths of Scripture informed by God’s Spirit working in our hearts keeps us from losing our way and helps us make decisions that honor God and others. The Bible warns us against wandering from God while showing us the way home. It tells us of the priceless love of our Savior and the blessings that await all who place their faith in Him. Scripture is a lifeline! May God help us cling to it always.
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Marie, a single working mom, rarely missed church or Bible study. Each week, she rode the bus to and from church with her five children and helped with set up and clean up.
One Sunday, the pastor told Marie that some church members had donated gifts for the family. One couple provided the family a house with reduced rent. Another couple offered her a job with benefits at their coffee shop. A young man gave her an old car he’d rebuilt and promised to serve as her personal mechanic. Marie thanked God for the joy of living in a community devoted to serving God and each other.
Though we may not all be able to give as generously as Marie’s church family, God’s people are designed to help each other. The apostle Luke described believers in Jesus as “devoted” to the “apostles’ teaching and to fellowship” (Acts 2:42). When we combine our resources, we can work together to help those in need (vv. 44–45). As we grow closer to God and each other, we can care for one another. Witnessing God’s love demonstrated through His people’s actions can lead others to a saving relationship with Jesus (vv. 46–47).
We can serve others with a smile or a kind deed. We can offer a job connection, a financial gift, or a prayer. Whatever we do as God works in and through us, we’re simply better together.
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In March of 2020, while walking his dog in New York City’s Central Park, Whitney, a retired financial expert, saw trucks, stacks of tarps, and white tents, each bearing a cross and the name of a charity he’d never heard of before. When he discovered the group was building a field hospital for his fellow New Yorkers with COVID-19, he asked if he could help. For weeks, he and his family pitched in wherever they could, despite differing faiths and politics. Whitney stated, “Every single person I’ve met has been a genuinely nice person.” And he applauded the fact that no one was paying them to “help my city in our hour of deep, deep need.”
In response to the tremendous needs resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, unlikely partners in service were brought together, and believers in Jesus were given new opportunities to share Christ’s light with others. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His followers to “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds” (Matthew 5:16). We shine Christ’s light by letting the Spirit guide us in loving, kind, and good words and actions (see Galatians 5:22–23). When we allow the light we’ve received from Jesus to shine clearly in our daily lives, we also “glorify our Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
This day and every day may we shine for Christ, as He helps us be His salt and light in a world that desperately needs Him.
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As the holiday season approached, package shipments were delayed due to an unprecedented influx of online orders. I can remember a time when my family preferred to simply go into the store and purchase items because we knew we had very little control over the speed of mail delivery. However, when my mother signed up for an account that includes expedited shipping, this expectation changed. Now with a two-day guaranteed delivery, we’re accustomed to receiving things quickly and we become frustrated by delays.
We live in a world accustomed to instant gratification and waiting can be difficult. But in the spiritual realm, patience is still rewarded. When the book of Lamentations was written, the Israelites were mourning the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army, and they faced a series of challenges. However, in the midst of chaos, the writer boldly affirms that because he’s confident God will meet his needs, he’ll wait on Him (Lamentations 3:24). God knows we’re inclined to become anxious when answers to our prayers are delayed. Scripture encourages us by reminding us to wait on God. We don’t have to be consumed or worried because “his compassions never fail” (v. 22). Instead, with God’s help we can “be still . . . and wait patiently for him” (Psalms 37:7). May we wait on God, trusting in His love and faithfulness even as wrestle with longings and unanswered prayers.
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Drew had been imprisoned for two years because he served Jesus. He’d read stories of missionaries who felt constant joy throughout their incarceration, but he confessed “this was not my experience.” He told his wife that God had picked the wrong man to suffer for Him. She replied, “No. I think maybe He picked the right man. This was not an accident.”
Drew could likely relate to the prophet Jeremiah, who had faithfully served God by warning Judah that God would punish them for their sins. But God’s judgment hadn’t fallen yet, and Judah’s leaders beat Jeremiah and put him in stocks. Jeremiah blamed God: “You deceived me, Lord” (v. 7). The prophet believed God had failed to deliver. His word had only “brought me insult and reproach all day long” (v. 8). “Cursed be the day I was born!” Jeremiah said. “Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?” (vv. 14, 18).
Eventually Drew was released, but through his ordeal he began to understand that perhaps God chose him—much like He chose Jeremiah—because he was weak. If he and Jeremiah had been naturally strong, they might have received some of the praise for their success. But if they were naturally weak, all the glory for their perseverance would go to Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:26–31). His frailty made him the perfect person for Jesus to use.
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The year was 1917. At only twenty-three years of age, Nelson had just graduated from medical school in his native Virginia. And yet here he was in China as the new superintendent of the Love and Mercy Hospital, the only hospital in an area of at least two million Chinese residents. Nelson, together with his family, lived in the area for twenty-four more years, running the hospital, performing surgeries, and sharing the gospel with thousands of people. From once being called “foreign devil” by those who distrusted foreigners, Nelson Bell later became known as “the Bell who is Lover of the Chinese People.” His daughter Ruth was to later marry the evangelist Billy Graham.
Although Nelson was a brilliant surgeon and Bible teacher, it wasn’t his skills that drew many to Jesus, it was his character and the way he lived out the gospel. In Paul’s letter to Titus, the young gentile leader who was taking care of the church in Crete, the apostle said that living like Christ is crucial because it can make the gospel “attractive” (Titus 2:10). Yet we don’t do this on our own strength. God’s grace helps us live “self-controlled, upright and godly lives” (v. 12), reflecting the truths of our faith (v. 1).
Many people around us still don’t know the good news of Christ, but they know us. May He help us reflect and reveal His message in attractive ways.
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When a leader asked if I’d speak with her privately, I found Karen in the retreat center counseling room red-eyed and wet-cheeked. Forty-two years old, Karen longed to be married, and a man was currently showing her interest. The problem was this man was her boss—and he already had a wife.
With a brother who cruelly teased her and a father devoid of affection, Karen discovered early that she was susceptible to men’s advances. A renewal of faith had given her new boundaries to live by, but her longing remained and this glimpse of a love she couldn’t have was a torment.
After talking, Karen and I bowed our heads. And in a raw and powerful prayer, Karen confessed her temptation, declared her boss off limits, handed her longing to God, and left the room feeling lighter.
That day I realized the brilliance of Paul’s advice to treat each other as brothers and sisters in the faith (1 Timothy 5:1–2). How we see people determines how we treat them, and in a world quick to objectify and sexualize, viewing the opposite sex as family helps us treat them with care and propriety. Healthy brothers and sisters don’t abuse or seduce each other.
Having only known men who demeaned, used, or ignored her, Karen needed one she could talk with sister-to-brother. The beauty of the gospel is it provides just that—giving us new siblings to help face life’s problems.
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Walk On is the fascinating memoir of Ben Malcolmson, a student with virtually no football experience who became a “walk on”—a non-recruited player—for the 2007 University of Southern California Rose Bowl champion team. A college journalist, Malcolmson decided to write a first-person account of the grueling tryout process. To his disbelief, he won a coveted spot on the team.
After joining the team, Malcolmson’s faith compelled him to find God’s purpose for him in this unexpected opportunity. But his teammates’ indifference to discussions of faith left him discouraged. As he prayed for direction, Malcolmson read the powerful reminder in Isaiah where God says: “My word . . . will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). Inspired by Isaiah’s words, Malcolmson anonymously gave every player on the team a Bible. Again, he was met with rejection. But years later, Malcolmson learned one player had read the Bible he’d been given—and shortly before his tragic death had demonstrated a relationship with and hunger for God, who he discovered in the pages of that Bible.
It’s likely that many of us have shared Jesus with a friend or family member, only to be met with indifference or outright rejection. But even when we don’t see results right away, God’s truth is powerful and will accomplish God’s purposes in His timing.
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While driving us to an unfamiliar location, my husband noticed that the GPS directions suddenly seemed wrong. After entering a reliable four-lane highway, we were advised to exit and travel along a one-lane “frontage” road running parallel to us. “I’ll just trust it,” Dan said, despite seeing no delays. After about ten miles, however, the traffic on the highway next to us slowed to a near standstill. The trouble? Major construction. And the frontage road? With little traffic, it provided a clear path to our destination. “I couldn’t see ahead,” Dan said, “but the GPS could.” Or, as we agreed, “just like God can.”
Knowing what was ahead, God in a dream gave a similar change in directions to the wise men who’d come from the east to worship Jesus, “born king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2). King Herod, disturbed by the news of a “rival” king, lied to the magi, sending them to Bethlehem, saying: “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him” (v. 8). Warned in a dream “not to go back to Herod,” however, “they returned to their country by another route” (v. 12).
God will guide our steps too. As we travel life’s highways, we can trust that He sees ahead and remain confident that “he will make [our] paths straight” as we submit to His directions (Proverbs 3:6).
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Two wild turkeys stood in the country lane ahead. How close could I get? I wondered. I slowed my jog to a walk, then stopped. It worked. The turkeys walked toward me . . . and kept coming. In seconds their heads were bobbing at my waist, then behind me. How sharp were those beaks? I ran away. They waddled after me before giving up the chase.
How quickly the tables had turned! The hunted became the hunter when the turkeys seized the initiative. Foolishly I wondered if they were too dumb to be scared. I wasn’t about to be carelessly wounded by a bird, so I fled. From turkeys.
David didn’t seem dangerous, so Goliath taunted him to come near. “‘Come here,’ he said, ‘and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!’” (1 Samuel 17:44). David flipped the script when he seized the initiative. He ran toward Goliath, not because he was foolish but because he had confidence in God. He shouted, “This very day . . . the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (v. 46). Goliath was puzzled by this aggressive boy. What’s going on? Then it hit him. Right between the eyes.
It’s natural for small animals to run from people and shepherds to avoid giants. It’s natural for us to hide from our problems. Why settle for natural? Is there a God in Israel? Then, in His power, run toward the fight.
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Approximately ten Lego pieces are sold for every person on earth each year—more than seventy-five billion of the little plastic bricks. But if it wasn’t for the perseverance of Danish toymaker Ole Kirk Christiansen, there wouldn't be any Legos to snap together.
Christiansen toiled away in Billund, Denmark, for decades before creating leg godt, which means “play well.” His workshop was destroyed by fire twice. He endured bankruptcy and a world war that caused a shortage of materials. Finally, in the late 1940s, he landed on the idea for self-locking plastic bricks. By the time Ole Kirk died in 1955, Legos was on the verge of becoming a household word.
Persevering in the challenges of work and life can be difficult. That’s also true in our spiritual life as we strive to grow to be more like Jesus. Trouble hits us, and we need God’s strength to persevere. The apostle James wrote: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial” (1:12). Sometimes the trials we face are setbacks in relationships or finances or health. Sometimes they’re temptations that slow us down in our goal of honoring God with our lives.
But God promises wisdom for such times (v. 5), and He asks us to trust Him as He provides what we need (v. 6). Through it all, when we allow Him to help us persevere in honoring Him with our lives, we find true blessing (v. 12).
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In 1970, a car executive visiting Denmark learned that a 1939 Buick Dual Cowl Phaeton was owned by a local resident. Since the car never actually went into production, it was a rare find—a one-of-kind vehicle. Delighted with the discovery, the executive bought the car and spent his time and money to have it restored. Currently, this unique car is featured in a world-renowned collection of classic vehicles.
Hidden treasures can take many forms, and in the book of 2 Chronicles we read about another discovery of a lost treasure. Eighteen years into his reign as king of Israel, Josiah began to repair the temple in Jerusalem. During the process, the priest Hilkiah found the “Book of the Law in the temple” (2 Chronicles 34:15). The Book of the Law, the first five books of the Old Testament, had likely been hidden away decades earlier to keep it safe from invading armies. Over time it had been simply forgotten.
When King Josiah was told about this discovery, he realized the importance of the find. Josiah called all the people of Israel together and read the entire Book of the Law so they could commit themselves to keep all that was written in it (vv. 30–31).
Still important for our lives today, we have the amazing blessing of access to all sixty-six books of the Bible, a treasure of infinite worth.
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I arrived at the cancer care center, where I’d be serving as my mom’s live-in caregiver, feeling alone and afraid. I’d left my family and support system more than 750 miles behind me. But before I could even touch my luggage, a man with a huge grin offered to help. By the time we reached the sixth floor, I’d made plans to meet Frank’s wife, Lori, who cared for him during his treatments. The couple soon became like family as we leaned on God and each other. We laughed, vented, cried, and prayed together. Though we all felt displaced, our connection to God and each other kept us rooted in love as we supported one another.
When Ruth committed to caring for her mother-in-law, Naomi, she left the security of familiarity behind. Ruth “entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters” (Ruth 2:3). The overseer told the landowner, Boaz, that Ruth “came to the field” and “remained” working “except for a short rest in the shelter” (v. 7). Ruth found a safe place with people willing to care for her as she cared for Naomi (vv. 8–9). And God provided for Ruth and Naomi though Boaz’s generosity (vv. 14–16).
Life’s circumstances can provide roads to unexpected places far beyond our comfort zones. As we remain connected to God and each other, He’ll keep us rooted in love as we support one another.
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It was noon, but the sun wasn’t visible. New England’s Dark Day began the morning of May 19, 1780 and lasted for hours. The cause of the surreal darkness was likely heavy clouds of smoke from massive wildfires in Canada, but many wondered if it might be Judgment Day.
The Connecticut Governor’s Council (senate) was in session, and when some considered adjourning because of the darkness, Abraham Davenport responded, “I am against adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.”
Davenport’s desire to be found faithfully performing the work God had given him to do on the day He returns is illustrative of Jesus’ words: “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes” (Luke 12:35–37).
Day or night, it’s always good to serve our Savior. Even when darkness encroaches, His promises for all who look forward to Him will stand. Like candles in the darkness, may our “light shine before others, that they may see” (Matthew 5:16) and love and serve Him too.
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Denmark is among the happiest countries in the world, according to the World Happiness Report. The Danes weather their lengthy, dark winters by gathering with friends to share a warm drink or a gracious meal. The word they use for the feelings associated with those moments is hygge (hoo-gah). Hygge helps them offset the impact of enjoying less sunlight than their counterparts at lower latitudes. By circling around a simple table with loved ones, their hearts are nourished and rejuvenated.
The writer of Hebrews encourages this idea of gathering together as a community. He acknowledges that there will be difficult days—with challenges far more significant than the weather—requiring those who follow Christ to persevere in faith. Though Jesus has made certain our acceptance by God, through our faith in the Savior, we may struggle against shame or doubt or real opposition. By gathering together, we have the opportunity—the privilege—of encouraging one another through those moments in our faith. When we’re sharing company, we’re able to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds,” which bolsters our faith (Hebrews 10:24).
Gathering with friends doesn’t assure us of a ranking on a “happiness report.” It is, however, something the Bible offers as a means to bear up in faith under the common frustrations of life. What a wonderful reason to seek out the community of a church! Or to open our homes—with an attitude of Danish simplicity—to nourish one another’s hearts.
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Zach Elder and his friends pulled up to shore after a twenty-five-day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. The man who came to retrieve their rafts told them about the COVID-19 virus. They thought he was joking. But as they left the canyon their phones pinged with their parents’ urgent messages. Zach and his friends were stunned. They wished they could return to the river and escape what they now knew.
In a fallen world, knowledge often brings pain. The wise Teacher of Ecclesiastes observed, “With much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief” (v. 18). Who hasn’t envied a child’s blissful ignorance? She doesn’t yet know about racism, violence, and cancer. Weren’t we happier before we grew up and discerned our own weaknesses and vices? Before we learned our family’s secrets—why our uncle drinks heavily or what caused our parents’ divorce?
The pain from knowledge can’t be wished away. Once we know, it’s no use pretending we don’t. But there’s a higher knowledge that empowers us to endure, even thrive. Jesus is the Word of God, the light that shines in our darkness (John 1:1–5). He “has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Your pain is your reason to run to Jesus. He knows you and cares for you.
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A hotel chain’s commercial featured one little building standing amidst a dark night. Nothing else was around. The only light in the scene came from a small lamp near the door on the porch of the building. The bulb cast enough illumination for a visitor to walk up the steps and enter the building. The commercial ended with the phrase, “We’ll leave the light on for you.”
A porch light is akin to a welcome sign, reminding weary travelers that there’s a comfortable place still open where they can stop and rest. The light invites those passing by to come on in and escape from the dark, weary journey.
Jesus says the life of believers in Him should resemble that of a welcoming light. He told His followers, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). As believers, we’re to illuminate a dark world.
As He directs and empowers us, “they may see [our] good deeds and glorify [our] Father in heaven” (v. 16). And as we leave our lights on, others will feel welcomed to come to us to learn more about the one true Light of the world—Jesus (John 8:12). In a weary and dark world, His light always remains on.
Have you left your light on? As Jesus shines through you today, others may see and begin radiating His light too.
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In 1879, people watching William Beal would likely think he was loony. They’d see him filling bottles with seeds, then burying them in deep soil. What they didn’t know was that Beal was conducting an experiment that would span centuries. Every twenty years a bottle would be dug up, its seeds would be planted, and researchers could see which seeds would germinate.
Jesus talked a lot about seed-planting, often likening the sowing of seed to the spreading of “the word” (Mark 4:15). He taught that some seeds are snatched by Satan, others have no foundation and don’t take root, and yet others are hampered by the life around them and are choked out (vv. 15–18). As we spread the Good News, it’s not up to us which seeds will survive. Our job is simply to sow the gospel—that is, tell others about Jesus: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation (16:15 esv).
In the year 2021, another of Beal’s bottles was dug up by researchers. Beal’s seeds from 1879 were planted—and some sprouted, having survived more than 140 years. As God works through to share our faith with others, we never know if our testimony will take root, or when. But we’re to be encouraged that our sowing of the Good News might, even after many years, be engaged by someone who will “accept it, and produce a crop” (4:20).
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Zach was funny, smart, and well-liked. But he secretly struggled with depression. After he committed suicide at age fifteen, his mom, Lori, said of him, “It’s just hard to comprehend how someone that had so much going for him would come to that point. Someone like Zach . . . was not exempt from suicide.” There are moments in the quiet when Lori pours out her sorrow to God. She says that the deep sadness after suicide is “a whole different level of grief.” Yet she and her family have learned to lean on God and others for strength, and now they’re using their time to love others who are grappling with depression.
Lori’s motto has become “Love and lean.” This idea is also seen in the Old Testament story of Ruth. Naomi lost her husband and two sons—one who was married to Ruth (Ruth 1:3–5). Naomi grew bitter and depressed and urged Ruth to return to her mother’s family where she could be cared for. Ruth, though also grieving, “clung” to her mother-in-law and committed to staying with her and caring for her (vv. 14–17). They returned to Bethlehem, Naomi’s homeland, where Ruth would be a foreigner. But they had each other to love and lean on; and God provided for them (2:11–12).
During our times of grief, God’s love remains steady. We always have Him to lean on as we also lean on and love others in His strength.
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In 2000, an upstart company operating on a movie-rental-by-mail system offered to sell their company for $50 million to Blockbuster—the home movies and video game rentals king at that time. Netflix had roughly 300,000 subscribers, while Blockbuster had millions and millions of them. Blockbuster passed on the opportunity to purchase their little competitor. The result? Today Netflix has more than 180 million subscribers and is worth nearly $200 billion. As for Blockbuster, well . . . it went bust. None of us can predict the future.
We’re tempted to believe that we’re in control of our lives and that our plans for the future will succeed. But James says, “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (4:14). Life is brief, quick, and more fragile than we often realize. Planning is necessary, but the sin of presumption is in the assumption that we’re in control. That’s why James warns us not to “boast in [our] arrogant schemes,” for “all such boasting is evil” (v. 16).
The way to avoid this sinful practice is through grateful participation with God. Gratitude reminds us that He’s the source of every “good and perfect gift” (1:17). Then when we come to God, we ask Him not to simply bless our present and future plans but to help us join Him in what He’s doing. This is what it means to pray, “If it is the Lord’s will” (4:15).
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The gleeful shouts arising from our basement came from my wife, Shirley. For hours she’d wrestled with a newsletter project, and she was ready to be done with it. In her anxiety and uncertainty about how to move forward, she prayed for God’s help. She also reached out to Facebook friends and soon the project was completed—a team effort.
While a newsletter project is a little thing in life, small (and not so small) things can bring about worry or anxiousness. Perhaps you’re a parent walking through the stages of childrearing for the first time; a student facing newfound academic challenges; a person grieving the loss of a loved one; or someone experiencing a home, work, or ministry challenge. Sometimes we’re needlessly on edge because we don’t ask God for help (James 4:2).
Paul pointed the followers of Jesus in Philippi—and us—to our first line of defense in times of need: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). When life gets complicated, we need reminders like the one from the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”: Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.
And perhaps in our asking God for help, He’ll lead us to ask people who can assist us.
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It was a Monday morning, but my friend Chia-ming wasn’t in the office. He was at home, cleaning the bathroom. A month unemployed, he thought, and no job leads. His firm had shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and worries about the future filled Chia-ming with fear. I need to support my family, he thought. Where can I go for help?
In Psalm 121:1, the pilgrims to Jerusalem asked a similar question about where to find help. The journey to the Holy City on Mount Zion was long and potentially dangerous, with travelers enduring an arduous climb. The challenges they faced may seem like the difficult journeys we face in life today—trudging the path of illness, relationship problems, bereavement, stress at work, or as, in the case of Chia-ming, financial difficulty and unemployment.
But we can take heart in the truth that the Maker of heaven and earth Himself helps us (v. 2). He watches over our lives (vv. 3, 5, 7–8) and He knows what we need. Shamar, the Hebrew word for “watches over,” means “to guard.” The Creator of the universe is our guardian. We’re in His safekeeping. “God took care of me and my family,” Chia-ming shared recently. “And at the right time, He provided a teaching job.”
As we trust and obey God at every step of our journey, we can look ahead with hope, knowing we’re within the protective boundaries of His wisdom and love.
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The impala, a member of the antelope family, is able to jump up to ten feet high and thirty feet in length. It’s an incredible feat, and no doubt essential to its survival in the African wild. Yet, at many impala enclosures found in zoos, you’ll find that the animals are kept in place by a wall that’s merely three feet tall. How can such a low wall contain these athletic animals? It works because impalas will never jump unless they can see where they’ll land. The wall keeps the impalas inside the enclosure because they can’t see what is on the other side.
As humans, we’re not all that different. We want to know the outcome of a situation before we move forward. The life of faith, however, rarely works that way. Writing to the church at Corinth, Paul reminds them, “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Jesus taught us to pray, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). But that doesn’t mean we’ll know His outcomes beforehand. Living by faith means trusting His good purposes even when those purposes are shrouded in mystery.
In the midst of life’s uncertainties, we can trust His unfailing love. No matter what life throws at us, “we make it our goal to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:9).
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“There are different questions a young artist can ask,” says singer/songwriter Linford Detweiler of Over the Rhine. “One is, ‘What must I do to be famous?’” Detweiler warns that such a goal “swings the door open to all manner of destructive forces from both within and without.” He and his wife have instead chosen a less flashy musical road in which they “continue to grow over the course of an entire lifetime.”
The name of Jehoiada isn’t readily recognized, yet it’s synonymous with a lifetime of dedication to God. He served as priest during the reign of King Joash, who for the most part ruled well—thanks to Jehoiada.
When Joash was just seven years old, Jehoiada had been the catalyst in installing him as rightful king (2 Kings 11:1–16). But this was no power grab. At Joash’s coronation, Jehoiada “made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord’s people” (v. 17). He kept his word, implementing badly needed reforms. “As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 24:14). For his dedication, Jehoiada “was buried with the kings in the City of David” (v. 16).
Eugene Peterson calls such a God-focused life “a long obedience in the same direction.” Ironically, it’s such obedience that stands out in a world bent on fame, power, and self-fulfillment.
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Without the ability to see their grandchildren in person due to risk of infection, many grandparents sought new ways of connecting during the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent survey showed that many grandparents adopted texting and social media as a means to maintain their precious bond with their grandchildren. Some even worshiped with their extended families by video call.
One of the most wonderful ways parents and grandparents can influence their children is by passing down the truths of Scripture. In Deuteronomy 4, Moses charged God’s people to “not forget the things” they’d seen about God “or let them fade from [their] heart[s]” (v. 9). He went on to say that sharing these things with their children and their children’s children would enable them to learn to “revere [Him]” (v. 10) and to live according to His truth in the land He was giving them.
The relationships God gives us with our families and friends are certainly meant to be enjoyed. By God’s design, they’re also intended to be a conduit to convey His wisdom from one generation to another, “training [them] in righteousness” and “equipping them for “every good work” (1 Timothy 3:16–17). When we share God’s truth and work in our lives with the next generation—whether by text, call, video, or in-person conversation—we equip them to see and enjoy His work in their own lives.
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To test the stability of two houses, engineers simulated a category three hurricane by using powerful fans that produced winds gusts of 100 mph for ten minutes. The first house was built according to a non-hurricane building code and the other was put together with a reinforced roof and floors. The first house shook and eventually collapsed, but the second house survived with only a few cosmetic damages. One of the engineers summarized the study by asking, "Which house would you rather be living in?"
Concluding His teaching on values of kingdom living, Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). The fierce winds blew, but the house survived. In contrast, the person who hears, and doesn’t obey, “is like a foolish man who built his house on sand” (v. 26). The fierce winds blew, and the house collapsed under the intensity of the storm. Jesus presented his audience with two options: build your lives on the solid foundation of obedience to Him or on the unstable sand of your own ways.
We too have to make a choice. Will we build our lives on Jesus and obedience to His words or disobedience to His instruction? By the Holy Spirit’s help, we can choose to build our lives on Christ.
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Under the night sky in the spring of 2020, surfers rode bioluminescent waves along the coast of San Diego. These lightshows were caused by microscopic organisms called phytoplankton, a name derived from a Greek word meaning “wanderer” or “drifter.” During the day, the living organisms create red tides and capture sunlight that converts into chemical energy. When disturbed in the darkness, they produce an electric blue light.
Believers in Jesus are citizens of heaven who, much like the red-tide algae, live like wanderers or drifters on earth. When difficult circumstances disturb our well-laid plans, the Holy Spirit empowers us to respond like Jesus—the Light of the world—so we can reflect His radiant character in the darkness. According to Paul, nothing is more valuable than our intimacy with Christ and the righteousness that comes through our faith in Him (Philippians 3:8–9). His life proved that knowing Jesus and the power of His resurrection changes us, impacting the way we live and the way we respond when trials disrupt our lives (vv. 10–16).
When we spend time with God’s Son daily, the Holy Spirit equips us with the truth we need—enabling us to face every challenge on this earth in ways that reflect Christ’s character (vv. 17–21). We can be beacons of God’s love and hope, cutting through the darkness until the day He calls us home or comes again.
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Ironclad beetles are known for their tough exterior which protects them from predators. One special variety, however, has extraordinary strength under pressure. The insect’s hard, outer shell stretches, rather than cracks, where it joins together. Its flat back and low profile also help it to resist fractures. Scientific tests show that it can survive a compression force of nearly 40,000 times its body weight.
God made this bug extra tough, and He gave resilience to Jeremiah as well. The prophet would face intense pressure when he delivered unwelcome messages to Israel, so God promised to make him “an iron pillar and a bronze wall” (Jeremiah 1:18). The prophet wouldn’t be flattened, dismantled, or overwhelmed. His words would stand strong because of God’s presence and rescuing power.
Throughout his life, Jeremiah was falsely accused, arrested, tried, beaten, imprisoned, and chucked into a well—yet he survived. Jeremiah also persisted despite the weight of inner struggles. Doubt and grief plagued him. Constant rejection and the dread of a Babylonian invasion added to his mental stress.
God continually helped Jeremiah so that his spirit and testimony weren’t shattered. When we feel like giving up on the mission He’s given us, or backing away from living faith-filled lives, we can remember that Jeremiah’s God is our God. He can make us as strong as iron because His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
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After eight-year-old Gabriel underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his brain, it left a noticeable scar on the side of his head. When the boy said he felt like a monster, his dad, Josh, had an idea: demonstrate how much he loved his son by getting a tattoo on the side of his head with the same shape as Gabriel’s scar.
According to the psalmist, this is the kind of empathic and compassionate love God has for “his children” (Psalms 103:13). Using a metaphor drawn from human life, David illustrated God’s love. He said it’s as tender as a good father’s care for his children (v. 17). Just as a human father shows compassion to his children, so God, our heavenly Father, shows love and care toward those who fear Him. He’s a compassionate father, who empathizes with His people.
When we’re weak and feel like we’re unlovable because of the scars of life, may we receive, by faith, our heavenly Father’s love toward us. He demonstrated His compassion by sending his Son to lay “down his life for us” (1 John 3:16)—for our salvation. With this one act, not only can we experience God’s love for us, but we can look to the cross and see it. Aren’t you glad that we have a High Priest who can “empathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15)? He has the scars to prove it.
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Seven-year-old Thomas Edison didn’t like or do well in school. One day, he was even called “addled” (mentally confused) by a teacher. He stormed home. After speaking with the teacher the next day, his mom, a teacher by training, decided to teach him at home. Helped along by her love and encouragement (and his God-given genius), Thomas went on to become a great inventor. He later wrote, “My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me, and I felt I had someone to live for, someone I must not disappoint.”
In Acts 15, we read that Barnabas and the apostle Paul served together as missionaries until they had a major disagreement about whether or not to bring along John Mark. Paul was opposed because Mark had earlier “deserted them in Pamphylia” (vv. 36–38). As a result, Paul and Barnabas split; Paul taking Silas and Barnabas taking Mark. Barnabas was willing to give Mark a second chance, and his encouragement contributed to Mark’s ability to serve and succeed as a missionary. He went on to write the gospel of Mark and was even a comfort to Paul while he was in prison (2 Timothy 4:11).
Many of us can look back and point to someone in our life who encouraged and helped us along our way. God may be calling you to do the same for someone in your life. Who might you encourage?
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At first glance I dismissed the painting Consider the Lilies by Makoto Fujimura as a simple, monochromatic painting featuring a lily seemingly hiding in the background. However, the painting came alive when I learned it was actually painted with more than eighty layers of finely crushed minerals in a style of Japanese art known as Nihonga, a style Fujimura calls “slow art.” Looking closely reveals layers of complexity and beauty. Fujimura explains that he sees the gospel echoed in the technique of making “beauty through brokenness,” just as Jesus’ suffering brought the world wholeness and hope.
God loves to take aspects of our lives where we’ve been crushed and broken and to create something new and beautiful. King David needed God’s help to repair the brokenness in his life caused by his own devastating actions. In Psalm 51, written after admitting to abusing his kingly power to take another man’s wife and arrange the murder of her husband, David offered God his “broken and contrite heart” (v. 17) and pleaded for mercy. The Hebrew word translated “contrite” is nidkeh, meaning “crushed.”
For God to refashion his heart (v. 10), David had to first offer Him the broken pieces. It was both an admission of sorrow and trust. David entrusted his heart to a faithful and forgiving God, who lovingly takes what’s been crushed and transforms it into something beautiful.
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After twenty-two years together, I sometimes wonder how my marriage to Merryn works. I’m a writer, Merryn is a statistician; I work with words, she works with numbers. I want beauty, she wants function. We come from different worlds.
Merryn arrives to appointments early, I’m occasionally late. I try new things on the menu, she orders the same. After twenty minutes at an art gallery I’m just getting started, while Merryn is already in the cafe downstairs wondering how much longer I’ll be. We give each other many opportunities to learn patience!
We do have things in common—a shared sense of humor, a love of travel, and a common faith that helps us pray through options and compromise. With this shared base, our differences even work to our advantage. Merryn has helped me learn to relax, while I’ve helped her grow in discipline. Working with our differences has made us better people.
Paul uses marriage as a metaphor for the church (Ephesians 5:21–33), and with good reason. Like marriage, church brings very different people together, requiring them to develop humility and patience and to “[bear] with one another in love” (4:2). And, as in marriage, a shared base of faith and mutual service helps a church become unified and mature (vv. 11–13).
Differences in relationships can cause great frustration—in the church and in marriage. But managed well, they can work to our advantage, helping us become Christlike.
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Annie Johnson Flint was crippled by severe arthritis just a few years after high school. She never walked again and relied on others to help care for her needs. Because of her poetry and hymns, she received many visitors, including a deaconess who felt discouraged about her own ministry. When the visitor returned home, she wrote to Annie, wondering why God allowed such hard things in her life.
In response, Annie sent a poem: “God hath not promised skies always blue, flower-strewn pathways all our lives through. . . .” She knew from experience that suffering often occurred, but that God would never abandon those He loves. Instead He promised to give “grace for the trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying love.” You may recognize that poem as the hymn “What God Hath Promised.”
Moses also suffered and faced strife, but He knew God’s presence was with him. When he passed his leadership of the Israelites to Joshua, he told the younger man to be strong and courageous, because “the Lord your God goes with you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Moses, knowing that the people of Israel would face formidable enemies as they entered and took the Promised Land, said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (v. 8).
Disciples of Christ will face hardship and strife in this fallen world, but we have God’s Spirit to comfort and encourage us. He will never leave us.
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Lacey Scott was at her local pet store when a sad fish at the bottom of the tank caught her eye. His scales had turned black and lesions had formed on his body. Lacey rescued the ten-year-old fish, named him “Monstro” after the whale in the fairytale Pinocchio, and placed him in a “hospital” tank, changing his water daily. Slowly, Monstro improved, began to swim, and grew in size. His black scales transformed to gold. Through Lacey’s committed care, Monstro was made new!
In Luke 10, Jesus tells the story of a traveler who was beaten, robbed, and left for dead. Both a priest and a Levite passed by, ignoring the man’s suffering. But a Samaritan—a member of a despised people group—took care of him, even paying for his needs (Luke 10:33–35). Pronouncing the Samaritan as the true “neighbor” in the story, Jesus encouraged His listeners to do the same.
What Lacey did for a dying goldfish, we can do for people in need around us. Homeless, unemployed, disabled, and lonely “neighbors” lie in our path. Let us allow their sadness to catch our eyes and draw us to respond with neighborly care. A kind greeting. A shared meal. A few dollars slipped from palm to palm. How might God use us to offer His love to others, a love which can make all things new?
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In 1717, a devastating storm raged for days, leading to widespread flooding in northern Europe. Thousands of people lost their lives in the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. History reveals an interesting and customary—for that time—response by at least one local government. The provincial authorities of the Dutch city of Groningen called for a “prayer day” in response to the disaster. A historian reports that the citizens gathered in churches and “listened to sermons, sang psalms, and prayed for hours.”
The prophet Joel describes an overwhelming disaster faced by the people of Judah that also led to prayer. A massive swarm of locusts had covered the land and “laid waste [its] vines and ruined [its] fig trees” (Joel 1:7). As he and his people reeled from the devastation, Joel prayed, “Lord, help us!” (1:19 nlt). Directly and indirectly, both the people of northern Europe and Judah experienced disasters due to the effects of sin and this fallen world (Genesis 3:17–19; Romans 8:20–22). But they also found that these times led them to call out to God and seek Him in prayer (Joel 1:19). And God said, “Even now . . . return to me with all your heart” (2:12).
When we face difficulties and disaster, may we turn to God—perhaps in anguish, perhaps in repentance. “Compassionate” and “abounding in love” (v. 13), He draws us to Himself—providing the comfort and help we need.
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In an orbit between Mars and Jupiter zooms an asteroid worth trillions and trillions of dollars. Scientists say 16 Psyche consists of metals such as gold, iron, nickel, and platinum worth unfathomable amounts of money. For now, earthlings are not attempting to mine this rich resource, but the United States is planning to send a probe in 2022 to study the valuable rock.
The promise of untold riches just out of reach can be both tantalizing and frustrating. Surely in time there will be people who will champion the cause of reaching 16 Psyche for its treasure.
But what about the prospect of riches that are within our reach? Wouldn’t everyone go for that? Writing to the first-century church at Rome, Paul spoke of attainable riches—those we find in our relationship with God. He wrote, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33). Bible scholar James Denney described these riches as “the unsearchable wealth of love that enables God to . . . far more than meet the [great needs] of the world.”
Isn’t that what we need—even more than gold nuggets from some far-off asteroid? We can mine the riches of God’s wisdom and knowledge found in the Scriptures as the Holy Spirit helps us. May God lead us to dig into those riches and to know and treasure Him more.
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What do we do when we are required to stand boldly for what we believe in amid life’s challenges?
In a small Illinois town, domestic violence comprises forty percent of all crimes in the community. According to a local pastor, this issue is often hidden in our faith communities because it’s uncomfortable to talk about. So instead of shying away from the problem, local ministers chose to exercise faith and courageously address the issue by taking classes to recognize the signs of violence and supporting non-profit organizations working on the issue. Acknowledging the power of faith and action, a local minister said, “Our prayers and compassion, coupled with some tangible support, can make an important difference.”
When Esther, Queen of Persia, was scared to speak out against a law that would lead to the genocide of her people, her uncle reminded her of the importance of taking a stand (Esther 4:13). “Who knows that you have come into a royal position for such a time as this?” he asserted, affirming that there will be moments where we must be bold and act (v. 14). Whether we are called to speak out against injustice or to forgive someone who’s caused us distress, the Bible assures us that in challenging circumstances, God will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5–6). When we look to God for help in moments where we feel intimidated, he will give us “power, love, and self-discipline” to see our assignment through to the end (2 Timothy 1:7-8).
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Reflecting one day on why God values humility so highly, sixteenth-century believer Teresa of Avila suddenly realized the answer: “It is because God is the supreme Truth, and humility is the truth . . . nothing good in us springs from ourselves. Rather, it comes from the waters of grace, near which the soul remains, like a tree planted by a river, and from that Sun which gives life to our works.” Teresa concluded that it’s by prayer that we anchor ourselves in that reality, for “the whole foundation of prayer is humility. The more we humble ourselves in prayer, the more will God lift us up.”
Teresa’s words echo the language of Scripture in James 4, where James warned of the self-destructive nature of pride and selfish ambition, the opposite of a life lived in dependence on God’s grace (vv. 1–6). The only solution to a life of greed, despair, and constant conflict, he emphasized, is to repent of our pride in exchange for God’s grace. Or, in other words, to “humble yourselves before the Lord,” with the assurance that “he will lift you up” (v. 10).
Only when we’re rooted in the waters of grace can we find ourselves nourished by the “wisdom that comes from heaven” (3:17). Only in Him can we find ourselves lifted up by the truth.
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One writer referred to Brazilian skateboarder Felipe Gustavo as “one of the most legendary skateboarders on the planet.” No one would have believed this would be Gustavo’s future when he was sixteen. Gustavo’s dad believed his son needed to pursue his dream of skating professionally, but they didn’t have the money. So his dad sold their car, and took his son to the renowned Tampa Am skating competition in Florida. No one had heard of Gustavo . . . until he won. And the victory catapulted him into an amazing career.
Gustavo’s dad had the capacity to see his son’s heart and passion. “When I become a father,” Gustavo said, “I just want to be like five percent of what my dad was for me.”
Proverbs describes the opportunity parents have to help their children discern the unique way God has crafted their heart, energy, and personality—and then to direct and encourage them toward the path that reflects who God made them to be. “Start children off on the way they should go,” the writer says, “and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (22:6).
We may not possess vast resources or profound knowledge. With God’s wisdom (vv. 17–21) and our attentive love, however, we can offer our kids and other children within our sphere of influence an immense gift. We can help them trust in God and discern the paths they can follow for a lifetime (3:5–6).
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Once known as the World’s Strongest Man, American weightlifter Paul Anderson set a world record in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, despite a severe inner-ear infection and a 103-degree fever. Falling behind frontrunners, his only chance for a gold medal was to set a new Olympic record in his last event. His first two attempts failed badly.
So the burly athlete did what even the weakest among us can do. He called on God for extra strength, letting go of his own. As he later said, “It wasn’t making a bargain. I needed help.” With his final lift, he hoisted 413.5 pounds (187.5 kg) over his head.
Another Paul, the apostle of Christ, wrote, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Paul was speaking of spiritual strength, but he knew that God’s power was “made perfect in weakness” (v. 9).
As the prophet Isaiah declared, “[The Lord] gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isaiah 40:29).
The path to such strength? Abiding in Jesus. “Apart from me you can do nothing,” He said (John 15:5). As weightlifter Anderson often said, “If the strongest man in the world can’t get through one day without the power of Jesus Christ—where does that leave you?” To find out, we can release our dependence on our own illusive strength, asking God for His strong and prevailing help.
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Picture a mighty oak tree that’s small enough to fit on a kitchen table. That’s what a bonsai looks like—a beautiful ornamental tree that’s a miniature version of what you find wild in nature. There’s no genetic difference between a bonsai and its full-size counterpart. It’s simply that a shallow pot, pruning, and root trimming restrict growth, so the plant remains small.
While bonsai trees make for wonderful decorative plants, they also illustrate the power of control. It’s true that we can manipulate their growth as the tree responds to its environment. But God is ultimately the One who makes things grow.
God spoke to the prophet Ezekiel this way: “I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall” (Ezekiel 17:19). God was foreshadowing future events when he would “uproot” the nation of Israel by allowing the Babylonians to invade. In the future, however, God would plant a new tree in Israel that would bear fruit, with “birds of every kind” finding shelter in the shade of its branches (v. 23). God said that no matter how much upcoming events seemed out of control, He was still in charge.
The world tells us to try to control our circumstances by manipulation and through our own hard work. But true peace and thriving are found by relinquishing control to the only One who can make the trees grow.
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The day finally came—the day I realized my father wasn’t indestructible. As a boy, I knew his strength and determination. But in my early adult years, he injured his back, and I realized that my father was mortal after all. I stayed with my parents to help my dad to the bathroom, assisting him in dressing, even guiding a glass of water to his mouth—it was humbling to him. He made some initial attempts to accomplish small tasks, but admitted, “I can’t do anything without your help.” He eventually recovered to his strong self, but that experience taught both of us an important lesson. We need each other.
And while we need each other, we need Jesus even more. In John 15, the imagery of the vine and the branches continues to be one we cling to. Yet one of the other phrases, while comforting, can also strike at our self-reliance, the thought that easily creeps into our minds: I don’t need help. Jesus is clear—“apart from me you can do nothing” (v. 5). Jesus is talking about bearing fruit, like “love, joy, peace” (Galatians 5), those core features of a disciple. To bear fruit is the life Christ calls us to, and our total reliance on Him yields a fruitful life, a life lived to the Father’s glory (v. 8).
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While on vacation, my husband and I walked along the beach. We noticed a large square patch of sand blocked off by a makeshift fence. A young man explained that he worked around the clock with a team of volunteers committed to guarding the eggs in each sea turtle’s nest. Once the hatchlings emerged from their nest, the presence of both animals and humans threaten and decrease their chance of survival. “Even with all our efforts,” he said, “scientists estimate that only one out of every five thousand hatchlings reach adulthood.” These bleak numbers didn’t discourage this young man, however. His passion for selflessly serving the hatchlings deepened my desire for respecting and protecting sea turtles. Now I wear a sea turtle pendant that reminds me of my God-given responsibility to care for the creatures He’s made.
When God created the world, He provided a habitat for each creature to thrive and live in interdependently (Genesis 1:20–25). When He created His image-bearers, God intended for us to “rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (v. 26). He helps us serve Him as responsible stewards who use our God-given authority to care for His vast creation.
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Dr. Gary Greenberg has magnified and photographed sand from beaches around the world, often revealing surprising, vibrant splashes of color from the minerals, shell, and coral fragments contained within.
He’s discovered there’s more to sand than meets the eye. In arenology (the study of sand), the microscopic analysis of sand’s mineral content can reveal much about erosion, shore currents, and their potential effects on coastlines. Even a little sand can yield information of great worth!
A single prayer, like a grain of sand, can be a weighty thing. Scripture indicates prayer’s powerful role in the coming of God’s kingdom. In Revelation 8, John sees an angel standing at the altar before His throne holding a golden censer containing “the prayers of all God’s people.” “Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake” (vv. 3, 5).
Immediately after the angel hurled the censer filled with fire and prayer, seven angels with seven trumpets “prepared to sound them” (v. 6), heralding the old earth’s last days and Christ’s return.
Sometimes we may not feel like our prayers add up to much, but God doesn’t miss one. He so values them that they somehow even play a role in the consummation of His kingdom. What may seem like the smallest prayer to us can have earth-shaking weight with Him!
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A treat we grew to love when we lived in England was Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bars. When we returned to the States, I was dismayed to discover the U.S. distributor of Cadbury chocolate uses a different recipe and does not allow for any importer to supply the original UK version. You can buy Cadbury chocolate in the US, but it’s not the authentic version.
Authenticity. It’s something I can taste in my chocolate but earnestly long to be true of me as well as a believer in Jesus.
Authentic faith is a quality Paul commends his disciple Timothy for in the opening of his second letter to Timothy. Paul writes of his deep love and appreciation for Timothy, specifically, “his sincere faith” (2 Timothy 1:5). Sincere, or authentic faith, is beautiful because it is real. We embrace genuine faith in part because we are turned off by its opposite: hypocrisy.
Paul’s words still speak into our lives today, when we find ourselves tempted to present a slightly different version of ourselves, whether to cover fears or anxieties or to gloss over hurts and frustrations. Timothy’s example reminds me that authentic faith acknowledges those realities but continues to hold fast to God and to celebrate the faith God is developing in me.
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Kelly was battling brain cancer when the COVID-19 crisis hit. Then fluid developed around her heart and lungs and she had to be hospitalized again. Her family couldn’t visit because of the pandemic. Her husband, Dave, vowed to do something.
Gathering loved ones together, Dave asked them to make large signs with messages. They did. Wearing masks, twenty people stood on the street outside the hospital holding signs: “BEST MOM!” “LOVE YOU.” “WE ARE WITH U.” With the help of a nurse, Kelly made her way to a fourth-floor window. “All we could see was a facemask and a waving hand,” her husband posted on social media, “but it was a beautiful facemask and waving hand.”
Late in his life, the apostle Paul felt alone as he languished in a Roman prison. He wrote to Timothy, “Do your best to get here before winter” (2 Timothy 4:21). Yet Paul wasn’t totally alone. “The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength,” he said (v. 17). And it’s also apparent that he had some encouraging contact with other believers. “Eubulus greets you,” he said to Timothy, “and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters” (v. 21).
We’re created for community, and we feel that most keenly when we’re in crisis. What might you do for someone who may feel entirely alone today?
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On June 11, 2002, the singing competition American Idol debuted. Each week, hopefuls performed their own versions of popular songs, and the viewing audience voted on who advanced to the next round of the competition.
As one of the panel judges on the show, Randy Jackson’s signature feedback was this zinger: “You made that song your own, dawg!” He lavished that praise when a singer took a familiar tune, learned it inside out, and then performed it in a new way that gave it unique, personal spin. To “make it their own” was to own it completely and creatively, and then offer it to the world onstage.
Paul invites us to do something similar, to own our faith and our expression of it, too. In Philippians 3:7–14, he rejects attempts to earn right standing before God (vv. 6–8). Instead, he teaches us to embrace “the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” (v. 9). That gift of forgiveness and redemption transforms our motivation and goals: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (v. 12).
Jesus has secured our victory. Our job? To take hold of that truth, internalizing God’s gospel gift and living it out amid our broken world. In other words, we’re to make our faith our own and in so doing “live up to what we have already attained” (v. 16).
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It was a warm summer day and my four-year-old granddaughter Mollie and I were taking a break from playing ball. As we sat on the porch with our glasses of water, Mollie looked out at the yard and said, “Look at the puddles of sunshine.” The sunlight was filtering through the thick foliage to create a pattern of light amid the dark shadows.
Puddle of sunshine. Isn’t this a beautiful image for finding hope in dark days? In the midst of what can often be challenging times—when good news seems in short supply—instead of concentrating on the shadows, we can focus on the light.
The Light has a name—Jesus. Matthew quoted Isaiah to describe the brightness that came into the world when Jesus arrived: “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16; see also Isaiah 9:2). The effects of sin are all around us as we live in the “land of the shadow of death.” But shining through that shadow is Jesus, the grand and glorious light of the world (John 1:4–5).
The sunshine of Jesus’ love and compassion breaks through the shade—giving us “puddles of sunshine” to illuminate our day and brighten our hearts with hope.
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At my first job during my high school years, I worked at a women’s clothing store where a female security guard dressed as a shopper followed women she thought might steal the merchandise. Certain people fit profiles of those the store owners’ thought were suspicious. Others not considered a threat were left alone. I’ve been profiled in stores myself and followed, an interesting experience since I still recognize the tactic.
In sharp contrast, David declared he was followed by a divine blessing—God’s goodness and mercy. These two gifts always stay close, following him not with suspicion but real love. The “twin guardian angels,” as evangelist Charles Spurgeon described the pair, follow believers closely during both bleak days and bright. “The dreary days of winter as well as the bright days of summer. Goodness supplies our needs, and mercy blots out our sins.”
As a onetime shepherd, David understood this intentional pairing as it’s provided by God. Other followers could pursue believers—fear, worry, temptation, doubts. But “surely,” David declares with undoubting certainty, God’s kind goodness and loving mercy follow us always.
As David rejoiced, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6). What an amazing gift to follow us home!
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A commercial jingle of the 1970s inspired a generation. Created as part of Coca Cola’s “The Real Thing” ad campaign, a British group called The New Seekers eventually sang it as a full-length song that climbed to the top of music charts around the world. But many will never forget the original television version sung by young people on a hilltop outside of Rome. Whimsical as it was, with visions of honeybees and fruit trees, we resonated with a songwriter’s desire to teach the world to sing with the heart and harmony of love.
The apostle John describes something like that idealized dream, only vastly greater. He envisioned a song sung by “every creature in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all that is in them” (Revelation 5:13). There’s nothing whimsical about this anthem. Nothing could be more realistic than the price paid by the One to whom this song is sung. Neither could there be anything more foreboding than the visions of war, death, and consequence that His sacrifice of love would have to overcome.
Yet this is what it took for the Lamb of God to bear our sin and defeat death. Yet this is what it took for the Lamb of God to bear our sin, overcome our fear of death, and teach all heaven and earth to sing—in perfect harmony.
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In his classic book The Human Condition, Thomas Keating shares this memorable tale. A teacher, having lost the key to his home, is on his hands and knees searching through the grass. When his disciples see him searching, they join the hunt, but with no success. Finally, “one of the more intelligent disciples” asks, “Master, have you any idea where you might have lost the key?” Their teacher replies, “Of course. I lost it in the house.” When they exclaim, “Then why are we looking for it out here?” he answers, “Isn’t it obvious? There is more light here.”
We have lost the key to “intimacy with God, the experience of God’s loving presence,” Keating concludes. “Without that experience, nothing else quite works; with it, almost anything works.”
How easy it is to forget that even in life’s ups and downs, God remains the key to our deepest longings. But when we’re ready to stop looking in all the wrong places, God is there, ready to show us true rest. In Matthew 11, Jesus praises the Father for revealing His ways, not to the “wise and learned,” but “to little children” (v. 25). Then He invites “all you who are weary and burdened” (v. 28) to come to Him for rest.
Like little children, we can find true rest as we learn the ways of our Teacher, who’s “gentle and humble in heart” (v. 29). God is there, eager to welcome us home.
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Many years ago, Joni Mitchell wrote a song called “Woodstock” in which she saw the human race trapped in a “bargain” with the devil. Urging her listeners to seek a simpler, more peaceful existence, she sang of a return to “the garden.” Mitchell spoke for a generation longing for purpose and meaning.
Mitchell’s poetical “garden” is Eden, of course. Eden was the paradise God created for us back in the beginning. In this garden, Adam and Eve met with God on a regular basis—until the day they made their bargain with the devil (see Genesis 3:6–7). That day was different. “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (v. 8).
When God asked what they’d done, Adam and Eve engaged in a lot of blame-shifting. Despite their denial, God didn’t leave them there. He “made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (v. 21), a sacrifice that hinted at the death Jesus would endure to cover our sins.
God didn’t give us a way back to Eden. He gave us a way forward into restored relationship with Him. We can’t return to the garden. But we can return to the God of the garden.
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A man named James took an adventurous, 1,250-mile journey down the West Coast of the US—biking from Seattle, Washington, to San Diego, California. A friend of mine met the ambitious biker near the cliffs of Big Sur, 930 miles from his starting point. After learning that someone had recently stolen James’ camping gear, my friend offered his blanket and sweater, but James refused. He said that as he traveled south into the warmer climate, he needed to begin shedding items. And the closer he got to his destination, the more tired he became so he needed to reduce the weight he was carrying.
James’ realization was smart. It’s a reflection of what the writer of Hebrews is saying too. As we continue our journey in life, we need to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” (12:1). We need to travel light to press on.
As believers in Jesus, running this race requires “perseverance” (v. 1). And one of the ways to ensure we can keep going is to be free of the weight of unforgiveness, pettiness, and other sins that will hinder us.
Without Jesus’ help, we can’t travel light and run this race well. May we look to the “pioneer and perfecter of faith” so that we won’t “grow weary and lose heart” (vv. 2–3).
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A couple who stopped to admire a large abstract painting noticed open paint cans and brushes underneath it. Assuming it was a “work in progress” that anyone could help create, they stroked in some color and left. The artist, though, had purposefully left the supplies there as part of the finished work’s display. After reviewing video footage of the incident, the gallery acknowledged the misunderstanding and didn’t press charges.
The Israelites who lived east of the Jordan created a misunderstanding when they built a massive altar next to the river. The western tribes viewed this as rebellion against God—everyone knew the tabernacle was the only God-approved place for worship (Joshua 22:16).
Tensions mounted until the eastern tribes explained that they only meant to make a replica of God’s altar. They wanted their descendants to see it and recognize their spiritual and ancestral connection with the rest of Israel (vv. 28–29). They exclaimed: “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows!” (v. 22). Thankfully, the others listened. They saw what was going on, praised God, and returned home.
Because God “searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought” (1 Chronicles 28:9) everyone’s motives are clear to Him. If we ask Him to help us sort out confusing situations, He may give us the chance to explain ourselves or the grace we need to forgive offenses. We can turn to Him when we’re striving for unity with others.
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The sea squirt is a strange creature. Found attached to rocks and shells, it looks like a soft plastic tube waving with the current. Drawing its nutrients from the passing water, it lives a passive life far removed from its once active youth.
The sea squirt starts life as a tadpole with a primitive spinal cord and brain that helps it find food and avoid harm. As a juvenile it spends its days exploring the ocean, but something happens when it reaches adulthood. Settling on its rock, it stops exploring and growing. In a macabre twist, it digests its own brain.
Spineless, thoughtless, flowing passively with the current. The apostle Peter encourages us not to follow the sea squirt’s fate. Since maturity for us means taking on God’s nature (2 Peter 1:4), you and I are called to grow—grow mentally in our knowledge of Christ (3:18); spiritually in traits like goodness, perseverance, and self-control (1:5–7); and practically by exploring new ways to love, offer hospitality, and serve others through our gifts (1 Peter 4:7–11). Such growth, Peter says, will stop us living “ineffective and unproductive” lives (2 Peter 1:8).
This calling to grow is as vital for the 70-year-old as it is for the teenager. God’s nature is as vast as the ocean. We’ve barely swum a few feet. Explore His unending character, take new spiritual adventures. Study, serve, take risks. Grow.
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Two sisters from India were born blind. Their father was a hard-working provider, but he could never afford the surgery that would give them sight. Then a team of doctors came to their region on a short-term medical mission. The morning after their surgery, the girls smiled wide as the nurse unwrapped their bandages. One exclaimed, “Mother, I can see! I can see!”
A man who had been lame since birth sat in his usual spot at a temple gate, begging for money. Peter told the man he didn’t have coins, but he had something better. “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (Acts 3:6). The man “jumped to his feet and began to walk.” And then he ran. And jumped, and praised God (vv. 8–9).
The sisters and the man appreciated their eyes and legs more than those who were never blind or lame. The girls couldn’t stop blinking in amazement and celebration, and the man “jumped to his feet.”
Consider your own natural abilities. How might you enjoy these abilities more, and how might you use them differently, if you had been miraculously healed? Now consider this. If you believe in Jesus, He has healed you spiritually. He’s rescued you from your sins.
Let’s thank the One who made and saved us, and dedicate all that He gave us to Him.
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Early mornings can be painful for my friend Alma, a single mom of two. She says, “When everything is quiet, worries surface. As I do household chores, I think about our financial concerns and the kids’ health and studies.”
When her husband abandoned her, Alma bore the responsibility of raising her children on her own. “It’s difficult,” she says, “but I know God sees me and my family. He gives me the strength to work two jobs, provides for our needs, and lets my kids experience His guidance each day.”
Hagar, an Egyptian maidservant, understood what it meant to be seen by the Lord. After she got pregnant by Abram, she began to despise Sarah (Genesis 16:4), who in turn mistreated her, causing Hagar to flee to the desert. Hagar found herself alone, facing a future that seemed bleak and hopeless for her and her unborn child.
But it was in the desert that “the angel of the Lord” met her and said, “The Lord has heard of your misery” (v. 11). The angel of God gave Hagar guidance on what to do, and He assured her of what the future would hold. From her we learn one of the names of God—El Roi, “the God who sees me” (v. 13).
Like Hagar, you may be on a difficult journey—feeling lost and alone. But remember that even in the wasteland, God sees you. Reach out to Him and trust Him to guide you through.
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While scuba diving in 2021, Jennifer’s eyes fixed on a small, green bottle at the bottom of a river. She scooped up what she describes as “a once-in-a-lifetime find.” The bottle contained a message written by a young man on his eighteenth birthday in 1926! The words requested that whoever discovered the message return it to him. Jennifer used Facebook to locate a delighted family member of the man. Although he’d died in 1995, his once-hidden note brought joy to Jennifer and his family.
In 2 Kings 22:8, we read that Hilkiah made an extraordinary find when he “found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” Instructed by King Josiah to “repair the temple” (v. 5), the king’s secretary found what was likely the book of Deuteronomy. “When the king heard the words of the Law,” he was both deeply moved and greatly distressed (v. 11). Like the temple in Judah itself, God and the reading of and obedience to the Scriptures He’d inspired had been neglected by the people. In repentance, the king had the temple swept clean of idols and anything that would displease God as he instituted reforms for his nation (23:1–24).
Today, our Bibles contain sixty-six books that reveal God’s wisdom and instruction—including Deuteronomy. As we read and listen to them, may the Holy Spirit transform our minds and reform our ways. Dive into the life-changing story of Scripture today and find wisdom to explore for a lifetime!
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The bag of snack chips was small, but it taught an American missionary a big lesson. Working one evening in the Dominican Republic, she arrived at a church meeting and opened her chips when a woman she hardly knew reached and grabbed a few from the bag. Others helped themselves, too.
How rude, the missionary thought. Then she realized a humbling lesson. She didn’t yet understand the culture where she’d agreed to serve. Rather than emphasizing individualism, as in the United States, she learned that life in the Dominican Republic is lived in community. Sharing one’s food and goods is how people relate to each other. Her way wasn’t better, just different. She confessed, “It was very humbling to discover these things about me.” As she began to recognize her own biases, she also learned that humbly sharing with others helped her serve them better.
Peter taught this lesson to church leaders: treat others with humility. He counseled the elders to resist “lording it over those entrusted to you” (1 Peter 5:3). And those younger? “Submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility” (v. 5). As he declared: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Therefore, “humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (v. 6). May He help us humbly live before Him and others today.
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Kyle and Allison had a wonderful honeymoon in an exotic location. When they returned home, however, they discovered that Kyle’s feet had developed a strange, itchy rash. The couple was referred to an infectious disease specialist. He informed them that small parasites had burrowed their way into Kyle’s feet through blisters caused by his new flip flops. What started out as a dream vacation ended in a challenging battle with unwanted “guests.”
David knew that if he didn’t ask God for help to fight sin, his dream of living a pleasing life before Him would turn into a battle with the unwanted guests of sin and rebellion. After declaring how God is revealed in the natural world (Psalm 19:1–6) and His wisdom found in His instruction (vv. 7–10), David asked God to protect him from inadvertent, arrogant, and deliberate disobedience. “Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins,” he wrote (vv. 12–13). He recognized that he didn’t have the human resources to keep the infectious disease of sin from affecting him. So, he wisely asked God for help.
How can we make sure our dream of a living in a way that honors God doesn’t become hijacked by sin? Let’s keep our eyes on Him, confess and repent of our sin, and seek divine help in keeping unwanted spiritual parasites from burrowing into our lives.
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You might start your journey in the southwest United States in a dusty town called Why, Arizona. Heading cross-country would take you through Uncertain, Texas. Bearing northeast, you’d make a rest stop in Dismal, Tennessee. Ultimately, you’d reach your destination—Panic, Pennsylvania. These are real places across the landscape of America, though not likely a trip you’d ever choose to take.
Sometimes this is exactly what the journey of life feels like. We easily identify with the Israelites’ tough life in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 2:7)—life can be hard. But do we see the other parallels? We create our own itinerary, turning from God’s way (1:42). Like the Israelites, we often grumble about getting our needs met (Numbers 14:2). In our daily fretting, we likewise doubt God’s purposes (v. 11). The story of the Israelites is repeated over and over in our own.
God assures us that if we follow His path, He’ll deliver us into a far better place than Dismal. He’ll provide and we’ll lack nothing we really need (2:7; Philippians 4:19). Yet much as we already know this, we often fail to do it. We need to follow God’s roadmap.
It’s a bit more of a drive, but another six hours by car would take you from the town of Panic to the place known as Assurance, West Virginia. If we let God direct our paths (Psalm 119:35), we’ll journey in joy with Him at the wheel—blessed assurance indeed!
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After taking the pieces for my special-order table from the box and laying them out before me, I noticed something wasn’t quite right. The beautiful top for the table and other parts were accounted for, but I was lacking one of the legs. Without all of the legs, I couldn’t assemble the table, rendering it useless.
It’s not just tables that are useless when missing one vital piece. In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul reminded his readers that they were missing one essential component. The believers possessed many spiritual gifts but lacked love.
Using exaggerated language to emphasize his point, Paul wrote that even if his readers had all knowledge, if they gave away every single thing they owned, and even if they willingly suffered hardship, without the essential foundation of love, their actions would all amount to nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1–3). Paul encouraged them to always infuse their actions with love, movingly describing the beauty of a love that always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres (vv. 4–7).
As we use our spiritual gifts, perhaps to teach, encourage, or serve in our faith communities, remember that God’s design always calls for love. Otherwise, it’s like a table missing a leg. It can’t achieve the true purpose for which it was designed.
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Twice this summer I suffered the scourge of poison ivy. Both times it happened, I was working on clearing away unwanted plant growth from our yard. And both times, I saw the nasty, three-leafed enemy lurking nearby. I figured I could get close to it without it affecting me. Soon enough, I realized I’d been wrong. Instead of getting nearer to my little green nemesis, I should have run the other way!
In the Old Testament story of Joseph, we see modeled the principle of running from something worse than poison ivy: sin. When he was living in the home of Egyptian official Potiphar, whose wife tried to seduce him, Joseph didn’t try to get close—he ran.
Although she falsely accused him and had him thrown in prison, Joseph remained pure throughout the episode. And as we see in Genesis 39:21, “The Lord was with him.”
God can help us flee activities and situations that could lead us away from Him—guiding us to run the other way when sin is nearby. In 2 Timothy 2:22, Paul writes, “Flee the evil desires.” And in 1 Corinthians 6:18, he says to “flee from sexual immorality.”
In God’s strength, may we choose to run from those things that could harm us.
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Something so cordial can happen in first introductions when two persons discover that they have a friend in common. In what may be its most memorable form, a big-hearted host welcomes a guest with something like, “So nice to meet you. Any friend of Sam’s, or Samantha’s, is a friend of mine.”
Jesus said something similar. He’d been attracting crowds by healing many. But He’d also been making enemies of local religious leaders by disagreeing with the way they were commercializing the temple and misusing their influence. In the middle of a growing conflict, He made a move to multiply the joy, cost, and wonder of His presence. He gave His disciples the ability to heal others and sent them out to announce that the Kingdom of God was at hand. He assured the disciples, “who welcomes you welcomes me” and in turn His Father who sent Him as well (10:40).
It’s hard to imagine a more life-changing offer of friendship. For anyone who would open their house, or even give a cup of cold water to one of His disciples, Jesus assured a place in the heart of God. While that moment happened a long time ago, His words remind us that in big and little acts of kindness and hospitality there are still ways of welcoming, and being welcomed, as a friend of the friends of God.
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Three-year-old Buddy and his mom went to church each week to help unload groceries from the food ministry truck. When Buddy overheard his mom telling his grandmother that the delivery truck broke down, he said, “Oh, no. How will they do food ministry?” His mom explained that the church would have to raise money to buy a new truck. Buddy smiled. “I have money,” he said, leaving the room. He returned with a plastic jar decorated with colorful stickers and filled with coins, which amounted to a little over $38. Though Buddy didn’t have much, God combined his sacrificial offering with gifts from others to provide a new refrigerated truck so the church could continue serving their community.
A small amount offered generously is always more than enough when placed in God’s hands. In 2 Kings 4, a poor widow asked the prophet Elisha for financial assistance. He told her to take inventory of her own resources, reach out to her neighbors for help, then follow his instructions (vv. 1–4). In a miraculous display of provision, God used the widow’s small amount of oil to fill all the jars she collected from her neighbors (vv. 5–6). Elisha told her, “Sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left” (v. 7).
When we focus on what we don’t have, we risk missing out on watching God do great things with what He’s given us.
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Billy, a loving and loyal dog, became an internet star in 2020. His owner, Russell, had broken his ankle and was using crutches to walk. Soon the dog also began to hobble when walking with his owner. Concerned, Russell took Billy to the vet, who said there was nothing wrong with him! He ran freely when he was by himself. It turned out that the dog faked a limp when he walked with his owner. That’s what you call trying to truly identify with someone’s pain!
Coming alongside others is forefront in the apostle Paul’s instructions to the church in Rome. He summed up the last five of the Ten Commandments in this way: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Romans 13:9). We can see the importance of walking with others in verse 8 as well: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.”
Author Jenny Albers advises: “When someone is broken, don’t try to fix them. (You can’t.) When someone is hurting, don’t attempt to take away their pain. (You can’t.) Instead, love them by walking beside them in the hurt. (You can.) Because sometimes what people need is simply to know they aren’t alone.”
Because Jesus, our Savior, walks alongside us through all our hurt and pain, we know what it means to walk with others.
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“I had a dark moment.” Those five words capture the internal agony of a popular female celebrity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adjusting to a new normal was part of her challenge, and in her turmoil, she acknowledged that she wrestled with thoughts of suicide. Pulling out of the downward spiral included sharing her struggle with a friend who cared.
We’re all susceptible to tumultuous hours, days, and seasons. Valleys and hard places aren’t foreign but getting out of such places can be challenging. And seeking the assistance of mental health professionals is sometimes needed.
In Psalm 143, we hear and are instructed by David’s prayer during one of the dark times of his life. The exact situation is unknown, but his prayers to God are honest and hope-filled. “The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead. So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed” (vv. 3–4). For believers in Jesus, it’s not enough to acknowledge what’s going on within us to ourselves, to our friends, or to medical specialists. We must earnestly come to God (thoughts and all) with prayers that include the earnest petitions found in Psalm 143:7–10. Our dark moments can also be times for deep prayers—seeking the light and life only God can bring.
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Zhang was raised with, in his words, “no God, no religion, nothing.” In 1989, seeking democracy and freedom for his people, he helped lead students in peaceful protests. But the protests tragically led to the government’s intervention and hundreds of lives lost. For his part in the event, Zhang was placed on his country’s most-wanted list. After a short imprisonment, he fled to an outlying village where he met an elderly farmer who introduced him to Christianity. She had only a handwritten copy of the gospel of John but couldn’t read, so she asked Zhang to read it to her. As he did, she explained it to him—and a year later he became a believer in Jesus.
Through all he endured, Zhang sees that God was powerfully leading him to the cross, where he experienced firsthand what the apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians, “The message of the cross is . . . the power of God” (1:18). What many considered foolishness, a weakness, became Zhang’s strength. For some of us, this too was our thinking before we came to Christ. But through the Spirit, we felt the power and wisdom of God breaking into our lives and leading us to Christ. Today Zhang serves as a pastor spreading the truth of the cross to all who will hear.
Jesus has the power to change even the hardest of hearts. Who needs His powerful touch today?
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The ornate ceremonial bow and quiver had hung on the wall of our home in Michigan for years. I’d inherited them from my father, who acquired the souvenirs while we were serving as missionaries in Ghana.
Then one day a Ghanaian friend visited us. When he saw the bow, he got a strange look on his face. Pointing to a small object tied to it he said, “That is a fetish—a magic charm. I know it has no power, but I would not keep it in my house.” Quickly we cut the charm from the bow and discarded it. We didn’t want anything in our home intended for the worship of something other than God.
Josiah, king in Jerusalem, grew up with little knowledge of God’s expectations for His people. When the high priest rediscovered the Book of the Law in the long-neglected temple (2 Kings 22:8), Josiah wanted to hear it. As soon as he learned what God had said about idolatry, he ordered sweeping changes to bring Judah into compliance with God’s law—changes far more drastic than merely cutting a charm from a bow (see 2 Kings 23:3–7).
Believers today have more than King Josiah did—much, much more. We have the entire Bible to instruct us. We have each other. And we have the vital filling of the Holy Spirit, who brings things to light, large and small, that we might otherwise overlook.
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School cafeterias, like large catering businesses, often prepare more food than is consumed simply because they can’t perfectly predict the need, and leftover food goes to waste. Yet there are many students who don’t have enough food to eat at home and who go hungry on weekends. One US school district partnered with a local non-profit to find a solution. They packaged leftovers to send home with students, and simultaneously addressed the problems of both food waste and hunger.
While most people wouldn’t look at an abundance of money as a problem the way we do with wasted food, the principle behind the school project is the same as what Paul suggests in his letter to the Corinthians. He knew the churches in Macedonia were experiencing hardship so he asked the church in Corinth to use their “plenty” to “supply what they need[ed]” (2 Corinthians 8:14). His objective was to bring equality among the churches so none had too much while others were suffering.
Paul didn’t want the Corinthian believers to be impoverished by their giving, but to empathize with and be generous to the Macedonians, recognizing that at some point in the future they too were likely to need similar help. When we see others in need, let’s evaluate whether we might have something to share. Our giving—however large or small—will never be a waste!
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A Colorado mother proved she would stop at nothing to protect her child. Her five-year-old son was playing outside when she heard him screaming. She rushed outside and, to her horror, saw that her son had an unexpected “playmate”—a mountain lion. The large cat was on top of her son, with his head in its mouth. The mother summoned her inner mamma grizzly to fight off the lion and pry open its jaws to rescue her son. This mother’s heroic actions remind us of how motherhood is used in Scripture to illustrate God’s tenacious love and protection for His children.
God tenderly cared for and comforted His people as a mother eagle cares for her young (Deuteronomy 32:10–11; Isaiah 66:13). Also, like a mother who could never forget a nursing child with whom she had built an inseparable bond, God would never forget His people nor forever withhold compassion from them (Isaiah 54:7–8). Finally, like a mother bird offering protective cover under her wings for baby birds, God would “cover [His people] with his feathers” and “his faithfulness [would] be [their] shield and rampart” (Psalm 91:4).
Sometimes we feel alone, forgotten, and trapped in the grip of all kinds of spiritual predators. May God help us remember that He compassionately cares, comforts, remembers, and will fight for us.
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Why can't I stop thinking about it? My emotions were a tangled mess of sadness, guilt, anger, and confusion.
Years ago, I’d made the painful decision to cut ties with someone close to me, after attempts to address deeply hurtful behavior were merely met with dismissal and denial. Today, after hearing she was in town visiting, my thoughts had spiraled into hashing and rehashing the past.
As I struggled to calm my thoughts, I heard a song playing on the radio. The song expressed not just the anguish of betrayal, but also a profound longing for change and healing in the person who’d caused harm. Tears filled my eyes as I soaked in the haunting ballad giving voice to my own deepest longings.
“Love must be sincere,” the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:9, a reminder that not all that passes for love is genuine. Yet our heart’s deepest longing is to know real love—love that isn’t self-serving or manipulative, but compassionate and self-giving (vv. 11–13). Love that’s not a fear-driven need for control but a joyful commitment to each other’s well-being (vv. 11–13).
And that’s the good news, the gospel. Because of Jesus, we can finally know and share a love we can trust—a love that will never cause us harm (13:10). To live in His love is to be free.
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Guy Bryant, single and with no children of his own, worked in New York City’s child welfare department. Daily, he encountered the intense need for foster parents and decided to do something about it. For more than a decade, Bryant fostered more than fifty children, once caring for nine at the same time. "Every time I turned around there was a kid who needed a place to stay," Bryant explained. “If you have the space in your home and heart, you just do it. You don't really think about it." The foster children who have grown and established their own lives still have keys to Bryant’s apartment and often return on Sundays for lunch with “Pops.” Bryant has shown the love of a father to many.
The Scriptures tell us that God pursues all who are forgotten or cast aside. Although some believers will find themselves destitute and vulnerable in this life, He promises to be with them. God is “a father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5). If, through neglect or tragedy, we’re alone, God is still there—reaching out to us, drawing us near, and giving us hope. Indeed, “God sets the lonely in families” (he provides family for the lonely, v 6). In Jesus, other believers comprise our spiritual family.
Whatever our challenging family stories, our isolation, our abandonment or our relational dysfunction, we are loved. With God, we’re fatherless no more.
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Charla was dying, and she knew it. While she was lying on her hospital room bed, her surgeon and a group of young interns poured into the room. For the next several minutes, the doctor ignored Charla as he described her terminal condition to the interns. Finally, he turned to her and asked, “And how are you?” Charla weakly smiled and warmly told the group about her hope and peace in Jesus.
Some two thousand years ago, Jesus’ battered, naked body hung in humiliation on a cross before a crowd of onlookers. Would He lash out at His tormentors? No. “Jesus said, ‘Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’ ” (Luke 23:34). Though falsely convicted and crucified, He prayed for His enemies. Later, He told another humiliated man, a criminal, that—because of the man’s faith—he would soon be with Him “in paradise” (v. 43). In His pain and shame, Jesus chose to share words of hope and life out of love for others.
As Charla concluded sharing Christ to her listeners, she posed the question back to the doctor. She tenderly looked into the tear-filed eyes of the surgeon and asked, “And how are you?” By Christ’s grace and power, she’d shared words of life—showing love and concern for him and others in the room. In whatever trying situation we face today or in the days ahead, let’s trust God to provide courage to lovingly speak words of life.
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“The wind is tossing the lilacs.” With that opening line of her springtime poem “May,” poet Sara Teasdale captured a vision of lilac bushes waving in gusty breezes. But Teasdale was lamenting a lost love, and her poem soon turned sorrowful.
Our backyard lilacs also encountered a challenge. After having their most lush and beautiful season, they faced the axe of a hard-working lawn man who “trimmed” every bush, chopping them to stubs. I cried. Then, three years later—after barren branches, a bout of powdery mildew, and my faithless plan to dig them up—our long-suffering lilacs rebounded. They just needed time, and I simply needed to wait for what I couldn’t see.
The Bible tells of us many people who waited by faith despite adversity. Noah waited for delayed rain. Caleb waited forty years to live in the Promised Land. Rebekah waited twenty years to conceive a child. Jacob waited seven years to marry Rachel. Simeon waited and waited to see the baby Jesus. Their patience was rewarded.
In contrast, those who look to humans “will be like a bush in the wastelands” (Jeremiah 17:6). Poet Teasdale ended her verse in such gloom. “I go a wintry way,” she concluded. But for believers, “blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,” rejoiced Jeremiah. “They will be like a tree planted by the water” (vv. 7–8).
The trusting stay planted in God—the One who will walk with us through the joys and adversities of life.
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Chris had his blood retested four years after his lifesaving bone marrow transplant. The donor’s marrow had provided what was needed to cure him but had left a surprise: the DNA in Chris’ blood was that of his donor, not his own. It makes sense, really: the goal of the procedure was to replace the weakened blood with a donor’s healthy blood. Yet even swabs of Chris’ cheeks, lips, and tongue showed the donor’s DNA. In some ways, he’d become someone else—though he retained his own memories, outward appearance, and some of his original DNA.
Chris’ experience bears a striking resemblance to what happens in the life of a person who receives salvation in Jesus. At the point of our spiritual transformation—when we trust in Jesus—we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus encouraged them to reveal that inward transformation, to “put off [their] old self” with its way of living and to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24). To be set apart for Christ.
We don’t need DNA swabs or blood tests to show that the transforming power of Jesus is alive within us. Rather that inward reality should be evident in the way we engage with the world around us, revealing how we’re “kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave [us]” (v. 32).
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When a corporation offered one thousand frequent flier miles for every ten purchases of one of their foods, one man realized their cheapest product was individual cups of chocolate pudding. He bought more than twelve thousand. For $3,000 (US), he received gold status and a lifetime supply of air miles for himself and his family. He also donated the pudding to charity, which netted him an $800 tax write-off. Genius!
Jesus told a controversial parable about a cunning manager who, as he was being fired, reduced what debtors owed his master. The man knew he could rely on their help later for the favor he was doing them now. Jesus wasn’t praising the manager’s unethical business practice, but He knew we could learn from his ingenuity. Jesus said we should shrewdly “use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9). As “the pudding guy” turned twenty-five cent desserts into flights, so we may use our “worldly wealth” to gain “true riches” (v. 11).
What are these riches? Jesus said, “give to the poor” and you will “provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” Our investment doesn’t earn, but it does affirm our salvation, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (12:32–34).
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Loving God, thank You for Your gentle, nudging correction. With my shoulders slumped over my desk, I murmured those difficult words. I’ve been so arrogant, thinking I could do it all on my own. For months, I’d been enjoying successful work projects, and the accolades lulled me into trusting my capabilities and rejecting God’s leading. It took a challenging project for me to realize I wasn’t as smart as I thought. My proud heart had deceived me into believing that I didn’t need God’s help.
The powerful kingdom of Edom received discipline from God for its pride. Edom was located amid mountainous terrain, making her seemingly invulnerable to enemies (Obadiah 1:3). Edom was also a wealthy nation, situated at the center of strategic trade routes, and rich in copper, a highly valued commodity in the ancient world. Edom was full of good things yet also full of pride. Its citizens believed that the kingdom was invincible, even as they oppressed God’s people (vv. 10–14). But God used the prophet Obadiah to tell them of His judgment. Nations would rise up against Edom, and the once-powerful kingdom would be defenseless and humiliated (vv. 1–2).
Pride deceives us into thinking, I can live life on my terms. I don’t need God. It makes us feel invulnerable to authority, correction, and weakness. But God calls us to humble ourselves before Him (1 Peter 5:6). As we turn from our pride and choose repentance, God will guide us toward total trust in Him.
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I once heard a businessman describe his years in college as a time when he often felt “helpless and hopeless” from bouts of depression. Sadly, he never talked to a doctor about these feelings, but instead started making more drastic plans—ordering a book on suicide from his local library, and setting a date to take his life.
God cares for the helpless and hopeless. We see this in His treatment of biblical characters during their own dark times. When Jonah wanted to die, God engaged him in tender conversation (Jonah 4:3–10). When Elijah asked God to take his life (1 Kings 19:4), God provided bread and water to refresh him (vv. 5–9), spoke gently to him (vv. 11–13), and helped him see he wasn’t as alone as he thought (v. 18). God approaches the downhearted with tender, practical help.
The library notified the student when his book on suicide was ready to collect. But in a mix up, the note went to his parents’ address instead. When his mother called him, distraught, he realized the devastation his suicide would bring. Without that address mix up, he says, he wouldn’t be here today.
I don’t believe that student was saved by luck or chance. Whether it’s bread and water when we need it, or a timely wrong address, when mysterious intervention saves our lives, it’s divine tenderness we’ve encountered.
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I love a good game of Scrabble. After one particular game, my friends named a move after me—calling it a “Katara.” I’d been trailing the entire game, but at the end of it—with no tiles left in the bag—I made a seven-letter word. This meant the game was over, and I received fifty bonus points as well as all the points from all of my opponents’ leftover tiles, moving me from last place to first. Now whenever we play and someone is trailing, they remember what happened and hold out hope for a “Katara.”
Remembering what has happened in the past has the power to lift our spirits and give us hope. And that’s exactly what the Israelites did when they celebrated Passover. The Passover commemorates what God did for the Israelites when they were in Egypt, oppressed by Pharaoh and his crew (Exodus 1:6–14). After they cried out to God, He delivered the people in a mighty way. He told them to put blood on their doorposts so the death angel would “pass over” their firstborn people and animals (12:12–13). Then they would be kept safe from death.
Centuries later, believers in Jesus regularly take communion as we remember His sacrifice on the cross—providing what we needed to be delivered from sin and death (1 Corinthians 11:23–26). Remembering God’s loving acts in the past gives us hope for today.
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“There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” Those unforgettable lines spoken by Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz reveal a story-telling device found in an overwhelming number of our most enduring stories from the likes of Star Wars to The Lion King. It’s known as “the hero’s journey.” In brief: an ordinary person is living an ordinary life when an extraordinary adventure is presented. The character leaves home and travels to a different world where tests and trails await, as well as mentors and villains. If she or he passes the tests and proves heroic, then the final stage is returning home with stories-to-tell and wisdom-gained. The last piece is crucial.
The story of the demon-possessed man closely parallels the hero’s journey. It is interesting in that last scene, if you will, the man begged Jesus “to go with him” (Mark 5:18). Yet Jesus told him: “Go home to your own people” (v. 19). It was important in this man’s journey to return home, to the people who knew him best and to tell them his amazing story.
God calls each of us in different ways and to different scenarios. But for some of us, it can be crucial for our faith journey to go home and tell our story to those who know us best. For some of us, the call is “there’s no place like home.”
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When I saw the massive volume of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace on my friend’s bookshelf, I confessed, “I’ve never actually made it all the way through that.” “Well,” Marty chuckled, “When I retired from teaching, I got it as a gift from a friend who told me, ‘Now you’ll finally have time to read it.’ ”
The first eight verses of Ecclesiastes 3 state a familiar, natural rhythm of the activities of life with some arbitrary choices. No matter what stage of life we find ourselves in, it’s often difficult to find time to do everything we want to do. And to make wise decisions about managing our time, it’s helpful to have a plan (Psalm 90:12).
Time spent with God each day is a priority for our spiritual health. Doing productive work is satisfying to our spirit (Ecclesiastes 3:13). Serving God and helping other people is essential to fulfilling God’s purpose for us (Ephesians 2:10). And times of rest or leisure are not wasted, but refreshing for body and spirit.
Of course, it’s easy to become too focused on the here and now—finding time for the things that matter most to us. But Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has “set eternity” in our hearts—reminding us to make a priority of things that are eternal. That can bring us face to face with something of the greatest importance—God’s eternal perspective “from beginning to end.”
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An Atlanta police officer asked a driver if she knew why he had stopped her. “No idea!” she said in bewilderment. “Ma’am, you were texting while driving,” the officer gently told her. “No, no!” she protested, holding up her cell phone as evidence. “It’s an email.”
Using a cell phone to send an email doesn’t grant us a loophole from a law that prohibits texting while driving! The point of the law isn’t to prevent texting; it’s to prevent distracted driving.
Jesus accused the religious leaders of His day of creating far worse loopholes. “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God,” He said, quoting the command to “Honor your father and mother” as evidence (Mark 7:9–10). Under the hypocritical cloak of religious devotion, these wealthy leaders were neglecting their families. They simply declared their money as “devoted to God,” and voila, no need to help Mom and Dad in their old age. Jesus quickly got to the heart of the problem. “You nullify the word of God by your tradition,” He said (v. 13). They weren’t honoring God; they were dishonoring their parents.
Rationalization can be so subtle. With it we avoid responsibilities, explain away selfish behavior, and reject God’s direct commands. If that describes our behavior, we’re merely deceiving ourselves. Jesus offers us the opportunity to exchange our selfish tendencies for the guidance of the Spirit behind His Father’s good instructions.
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Researchers tell us there’s a link between generosity and joy: those who give their money and time to others are happier than those who don’t. This has led one psychologist to conclude, “Let’s stop thinking about giving as a moral obligation, and start thinking of it as a source of pleasure.”
While giving can make us happy, I question whether happiness should be the goal of our giving. If we’re only generous to people or causes that make us feel good, what about the more difficult or mundane needs requiring our support?
Scripture links generosity with joy too, but on a different basis. After giving his own wealth toward building the temple, King David invited the Israelites to also donate (1 Chronicles 29:1–5). The people responded generously, giving gold, silver and precious stones joyously (vv. 6–8). But notice what their joy was over: “The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord” (v. 9, italics added). Scripture never tells us to give because it will make us happy, but to give willingly and wholeheartedly to meet a need. Joy often follows.
As missionaries know, it can be easier to raise funds for evangelism than for administration because Christians like the feeling of funding frontline work. Let’s be generous toward other needs as well. After all, Jesus freely gave Himself to meet our needs (2 Corinthians 8:9).
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My elderly great aunt lay on her sickbed with a smile on her face. Her gray hair was pushed back from her face and wrinkles covered her cheeks. She didn’t speak much but I still recall the few words she said when my father, mother, and I visited her. She whispered, “I don’t get lonely. Jesus is here with me.”
As a single woman at the time, I marveled at my aunt’s proclamation. Her husband had died several years earlier and her children lived far away. Nearing her ninetieth year of life, she was alone, in her bed, barely able to move. Yet she was able to say she wasn’t lonely.
My aunt took Jesus’ words to the disciples literally, as we all should: “Surely I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). She knew that Jesus’ Spirit was with her, as He promised when He instructed the disciples to go out into the world and share His message with others (v. 19). Jesus said the Holy Spirit would “be with” the disciples and us (John 14:16–17).
I’m certain my aunt experienced the reality of that promise. Jesus’ spirit was within her as she lay on her bed. And the Spirit used her to share His truth with me—a young niece who needed to hear those words and take them to heart too.
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“My dear friend, sometimes you sound holier than you really are.”
Those words were leveled with a direct gaze and gentle smile. Had they come from someone other than a close friend and mentor whose discernment I highly valued, my feelings might have been hurt. Instead, I winced and laughed at the same time, knowing that while his words “hit a nerve,” he was also right. Sometimes when I talked about my faith, I used jargon that didn’t sound natural, which gave the impression that I wasn’t being sincere. My friend loved me and was trying to help me be more effective in sharing with others what I genuinely believed. Looking back, I see it as some of the best advice I ever received.
“Wounds from a friend can be trusted,” Solomon wisely wrote, “but an enemy multiplies kisses” (Proverbs 27:6). My friend’s insights demonstrated the truth of that counsel. I was grateful he cared enough to tell me something I needed to hear, even though he knew it might not be easy to accept. Sometimes when someone tells you only what they think you want to hear, it isn’t helpful, because it can keep you from growing and developing in vital ways.
Candor can be kindness, when measured out with genuine, humble love. May God give us the wisdom to receive it and impart it well, and so reflect His caring heart.
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A 2018 study of adults in the United Kingdom found that, on average, “they checked their smartphones every twelve minutes of the waking day.” But let’s be honest, this statistic seems extremely generous when I consider how frequently I search Google to find the answer to a question or respond to endless alerts from the texts, calls, and emails that come to my phone throughout the day. We consistently look to our devices, confident they’ll provide what we need to keep us organized, informed, and connected.
As believers in Christ, we have a resource infinitely better than a smartphone. God loves and cares for us intimately and desires for us to come to Him with our needs. The Bible says that when we pray, we can be confident “that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14). By reading the Bible and storing God’s words in our hearts, we can pray assuredly for things that we know He already desires for us, including peace, wisdom, and faith that He’ll provide what we need (v. 15). Sometimes it may seem like He doesn’t hear us when our situation doesn’t change. But we build our confidence in Him by consistently turning to Him for help in every circumstance (Psalms 116:2). This allows us to grow in faith, trusting that although we may not get everything we desire, He’s promised to provide what we need in His perfect timing.
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When I was shopping for engagement rings I spent many hours looking for exactly the right diamond. I was plagued by the question, What if I miss the best one?
According to economic psychologist Barry Schwartz, my chronic indecision indicates that I am what Schwartz calls a "maximizer," in contrast to a "satisficer." A satisficer makes choices based on whether something is adequate for their needs. Maximizers? We (guilty!) have a need to always make the best choice. The potential outcome of our indecision in the face of many choices? Anxiety, depression, and discontent. In fact, sociologists have coined another phrase for this phenomenon: fear of missing out.
We won’t find the words maximizer or satisficer in Scripture, of course. But we do find a similar idea. In 1 Timothy, Paul challenged Timothy to find value in God rather than the things of this world. The world’s promises of fulfillment can never fully deliver. Paul wanted Timothy to instead root his identity in God: “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6), Paul writes. He sounds like a satisficer when he adds, “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (v. 8).
When I fixate on the myriad ways the world promises fulfillment, I usually end up restless and unsatisfied. But when I focus on God and relinquish my compulsive urge to maximize, my soul moves toward genuine contentment and rest.
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During an October vacation, another battle with chronic pain forced me to spend the first few days recovering in our room. My mood became as overcast as the sky. When I finally ventured out to enjoy sightseeing at a nearby lighthouse with my husband, gray clouds blocked much of our view. Still, I snapped a few photos of the shadowy mountains and dull horizon.
Later, disappointed because a downpour tucked us in for the night, I skimmed through our digital pictures. Gasping, I handed my husband the camera. “A rainbow!” Focused on the gloominess earlier, I’d missed out on God refreshing my weary spirit with the unexpected glimpse of hope (Genesis 9:13–15).
Physical or emotional suffering can often drag us down into the depths of despair. Desperate for refreshment, we thirst for reminders of God’s constant presence and infinite power (Psalm 42:1–3). As we recall the countless times our Lord has come through for us and for others in the past, we can trust our hope is secured in Him no matter how downcast we feel in the moment (vv. 4–5).
When bad attitudes or difficult circumstances dim our vision, God invites us to call on Him, read His Word, and trust His faithfulness (vv. 7–11). As we seek the Lord, we can rely on Him to help us spot rainbows of hope arched over the darkest days. Hallelujah!
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In November 1742, a riot broke out in Staffordshire, England, to protest against the gospel message Charles Wesley was preaching. It seems Charles and his brother John were changing some longstanding church traditions, and that was too much for many of the townsfolk.
When John Wesley heard about the riot, he hurried to Staffordshire to help his brother. Soon an unruly crowd surrounded the place where John was staying. Courageously, he met face to face with their leaders, speaking with them so serenely that one by one their anger was assuaged.
John Wesley’s gentle and quiet spirit calmed a potentially savage mob. But it was not a gentleness that occurred naturally in his own heart. Rather, it was the heart of the Savior whom Wesley followed so closely. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). This yoke of gentleness becomes the true power behind the apostle Paul’s challenge to us, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).
In our humanness, such patience is impossible for us. But by the fruit of the Spirit in us, the gentleness of the heart of Christ can set us apart and equip us to face a hostile world. When we do, we fulfill Paul’s words, “Let your gentleness be evident to all” (Philippians 4:5).
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Every day, Glen purchases his morning coffee at a nearby drive-through. And every day he also pays for the order of the person in the car behind him, asking the cashier to wish that person a good day. Glen has no connection to them. He’s not privy to their reaction, nor, it seems, is this his motivation: he simply believes this small gesture is “the least he can do.” On one occasion, however, he learned of the impact of his actions when he read an anonymous letter to the editor of his local newspaper. He discovered that the kindness of his gift on July 18, 2017, caused the person in the car behind him to reconsider their plans to take their own life later that day.
Glen gives daily to the people in the car behind him without receiving credit for it. Only on this single occasion did he get a glimpse of the impact of his small gift. When Jesus says we should “not let [our] left hand know what [our] right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3), He’s urging us to give—as Glen does—without need for recognition.
When we give out of our love for God, without concern for receiving the praise of others, we can trust that our gifts—large or small—will be used by Him to help meet the needs of those receiving them.
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In the spring of 2021, several storm-chasers recorded videos and took photos of a rainbow next to a tornado in Texas. In one video, long stalks of wheat in a field bent under the power of the whirling winds. A brilliant rainbow cut across the gray skyline and arched toward the twister. Bystanders in another video stood on the side of the road and watched the symbol of hope standing firm beside the twisting funnel-shaped cloud.
In Psalm 107, the psalmist offers hope and encourages us to turn to God during difficult times. He describes some who were in the middle of a storm, “at their wits’ end” (v. 27). “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress” (v. 28).
God understands His children will sometimes struggle to feel hopeful when life feels like a storm. We need reminders of His faithfulness, especially when the horizon looks dark and tumultuous.
Whether our storms come as substantial obstacles in our lives, as emotional turmoil, or as mental stress, God can still our storms “to a whisper” and guide us to a place of refuge (vv. 29–30). Though we may not experience relief in our preferred way or time, we can trust God to keep the promises He’s given in Scripture. His enduring hope will cut through any storm.
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Tucked into a remote gorge in western Slovenia, a secret medical facility (Franja Partisan Hospital) housed an extensive staff that tended to thousands of wounded soldiers during World War II—all the while staying hidden from the Nazis. Though avoiding detection from numerous Nazi attempts to locate the facility is in itself a remarkable feat, even more remarkable is that the hospital (founded and run by the Slovenia resistance movement) cared for soldiers from both the Allied and Axis armies. The hospital welcomed everyone.
Scripture calls us to help the whole world to be spiritually healed. This means we need to have compassion for all—regardless of their views. Everyone, no matter their ideology, deserves Christ’s love and kindness. Paul insists that Jesus’ all-embracing love “compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:14). All of us suffer the sickness of sin. All of us are in desperate need of the healing of Jesus’ forgiveness. And He’s moved toward all of us in order to heal us.
Then, in a surprising move, God entrusted us with “the message of reconciliation” (v. 19). God invites us to tend to wounded and broken people (like us). We participate in healing work where the sick are made healthy through union with Him. And this reconciliation, this healing, is for all who will receive it.
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The fire hydrant gushed into the street, and I saw my opportunity. Several cars had splashed through before me, and I thought, What a great way to get a free wash! My car hadn’t been cleaned for a month and the dust was thick. So I fired it up and headed into the deluge.
Crack!
It happened so fast. The sun had already beaten down on my black car that morning, heating its glass and interior. But the water from the hydrant was frigid. As soon as the cold gush hit the hot windshield, a crack struck like lightning from top to bottom. My “free” car wash ended up costing me plenty.
If only I had “pressed pause” beforehand to think or even to pray. Ever have a moment like that? The people of Israel did, under far weightier circumstances. God had promised to help them drive out other nations as they entered the land He’d given them (Joshua 3:10) so they wouldn’t be tempted by false gods (Deuteronomy 20:16–18). But one of the nations saw Israel’s victories and used stale bread to trick them into believing they lived far away. “The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace” (Joshua 9:14–15, italics added), unknowingly circumventing God’s instructions.
When we make prayer a “first resort” instead of a “last,” we invite God’s direction, wisdom, and blessing. May He help us remember to “press pause” today.
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Croissants, dumplings, pork curry, and all sorts of scrumptious food await those who find and enter the Narrow Door Cafe. Located in the Taiwanese city of Tainan, this cafe is literally a hole in the wall. Its entrance is barely 40 centimeters wide (less than16 inches)—just enough for the average person to squeeze his way through! Yet, despite the challenge, this unique cafe has attracted large crowds.
Will this be true of the narrow door described in Luke 13:22–30? Someone asked Jesus, “Are only a few people going to be saved?” (v. 23). In reply, Jesus challenged the person to “make every effort to enter through the narrow door” to God’s kingdom (v. 24). He was essentially asking, “Will the saved include you?” Jesus used this analogy to urge the Jews not to be presumptuous. Many of them believed they would be included in God’s kingdom because they were Abraham’s descendants or because they kept the law. But Jesus challenged them to respond to Him before “the owner of the house . . . closes the door” (v. 25).
Neither our family background nor our deeds can make us right with God. Only faith in Jesus can save us from sin and death (Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:5–7). The door is narrow, but it’ wide open to all who will put their faith in Jesus. He’s inviting us today to seize the opportunity to enter through the narrow door to His kingdom.
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In 1854, a young Russian artillery officer viewed the battlefield carnage occurring far below his cannon’s hilltop placement. “It’s a funny sort of pleasure,” Leo Tolstoy wrote, “to see people killing each other. And yet, every morning and every evening, I would . . . spend hours at a time watching.”
Tolstoy’s outlook soon changed. After seeing firsthand the devastation and suffering in the city of Sevastopol, he wrote, “You understand all at once, and quite differently from what you have before, the significance of those sounds of shots which you heard in the city.”
The prophet Jonah once climbed a hill to view the devastation of Nineveh (Jonah 4:5). He’d just warned that brutal city of God’s looming judgment. But Nineveh repented, and Jonah was disappointed. The city, however, relapsed into evil, and a century later the prophet Nahum described its destruction. “Shields flash red in the sunlight!” he wrote. “Watch as their glittering chariots move into position, with a forest of spears waving above them” (Nahum 2:3 nlt).
Because of Nineveh’s persistent sin, God sent punishment. But He’d told Jonah, “Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness. . . . Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” (Jonah 4:11 nlt).
God justice and love go together. Nahum shows the consequences of evil. Jonah reveals God’s keen compassion for even the worst of us. His heart’s desire is that we repent and extend that compassion to others.
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Temperatures where we live in Colorado can change quickly—sometimes within a few minutes. So my husband, Dan, was curious about the temperature differences in and around our home. As a fan of gadgets, he was excited to unpack his latest “toy”—a thermometer showing temperature readings from four “zones” around our house. Joking that it was a “silly” gadget, I was surprised to find myself frequently checking the temperatures, too. The differences inside and out fascinated me.
Jesus used temperature to describe the “lukewarm” church in Laodicea, one of the richest of the seven cities cited in the book of Revelation. A bustling banking, clothing, and medical hub, the city was hampered by a poor water supply, so it needed an aqueduct to carry water from a hot springs. By the time the water arrived in Laodicea, however, it was neither hot nor cold.
The church was tepid too. Jesus said, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15–16). As Christ explained, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent” (v. 19).
Our Savior’s plea remains urgent for us too. Are you spiritually neither hot nor cold? Accept His correction and ask Him to help you live an earnest, fired-up faith.
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The introductory lesson on aikido, a traditional Japanese form of martial arts, was an eye-opener. The sensei, or teacher, told us that when faced with an attacker, our first response should be to “run away.” “Only if you can’t run away, then you fight,” he said seriously.
Run away? I was taken aback. Why was this highly-skilled self-defense instructor telling us to run away from a fight? It seemed counterintuitive—until he explained that the best form of self-defense is to avoid fighting in the first place. Of course!
When several men came to arrest Jesus, Peter responded as some of us might have by drawing his sword to attack one of them (John 18:10). But Jesus told him to put it away, saying, “How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” (Matthew 26:54).
While a sense of justice is important, so is understanding God’s purpose and kingdom—an “upside-down” kingdom that calls us to love our enemies and return evil with kindness (Matthew 5:44). It’s a stark contrast to how the world might react, yet it’s a response that God seeks to nurture in us.
Luke 22:51 even describes Jesus healing the ear of the man Peter had struck. May we learn to respond to difficult situations as He did, always seeking peace and restoration as God provides what we need.
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General Charles Gordon (1833–85) served Queen Victoria in China and elsewhere, but when living in England he’d give away 90 percent of his income. When he heard about a famine in Lancashire, he scratched off the inscription from a pure gold medal he’d received from a world leader and sent it up north, saying they should melt it down and use the money to buy bread for the poor. That day he wrote in his diary: “The last earthly thing I had in this world that I valued I have given to the Lord Jesus.”
General Gordon’s level of generosity might seem above and beyond what we’re able to extend, but God has always called His people to look out for those in need. In some of the laws He delivered through Moses, God instructed the people not to reap to the edges of their field nor to gather all of the crop. Instead, when harvesting a vineyard, He said to leave the grapes that had fallen “for the poor and the foreigner” (Leviticus 19:10). God wanted His people to be aware of and provide for the vulnerable in their midst.
However generous we may feel, we can ask God to increase our desire to give to others and to seek His wisdom for creative ways to do so. He loves to help us show His love to others.
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“No! I didn’t do it!” Jane heard her teenage son’s denial with a sinking heart, for she knew he wasn’t telling the truth. She breathed a prayer asking God for help before asking Simon again what happened. He continued to deny he was lying, until finally she threw her hands up in exasperation. Saying she needed a time out, she began to walk away when she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard his apology. He responded to the convicting of the Holy Spirit, and repented.
In the Old Testament book of Joel, God called His people to true repentance for their sins as He welcomed them to return to Him wholeheartedly (2:12). God didn’t seek outward acts of remorse, but rather that they would soften their hard attitudes: “Rend your heart and not your garments.” Joel reminded the Israelites that God is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (v. 13).
We might find confessing our wrongdoing difficult, for in our pride we don’t want to admit to our sins. Perhaps we’ve fudged the truth, and we justify our actions by saying it was only “a little white lie.” But when we heed God’s gentle but firm prompting to repent, He will forgive us and cleanse us from all of our sins (1 John 1:9). We can be free of guilt and shame, knowing we are forgiven.
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As I enter the final few minutes of my forty-minute workout, I can almost guarantee that my instructor will yell out, “Finish strong!” Every personal trainer or group fitness leader I’ve known uses the phrase a few minutes before cool down. They know that the end of the workout is just as important as showing up for it. And they know that the human body has a tendency to want to slow down or slack off when it’s been in motion for a while.
The same is true in our journey with Jesus. Paul told the elders of the church at Ephesus that he needed to finish strong as he headed to Jerusalem where he was certain to face more persecution as an apostle of Christ (Acts 20:17–24). Paul, however, was undeterred. He had a mission and that was to finish the journey he’d begun and to do what God called him to do (v. 19). He had one job—to tell “the good news of God’s grace” (v. 24). And he wanted to finish strong. Even if hardship awaited him (v. 23), he continued to run toward his finish line—focused and determined to remain steadfast in his journey.
Whether we’re exercising our physical muscles or working out our God-given abilities through actions, words, and deeds, we too can be encouraged by the reminder to finish strong. Don’t “become weary” (Galatians 6:9). Don’t give up. God will provide what you need to finish strong.
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In 1799 twelve-year-old Conrad Reed found a large, glittering rock in the stream that ran through his family’s small farm in North Carolina. He carried it home to show his father, a poor immigrant farmer. His father didn’t understand the rock’s potential value and used it as a doorstop. The family walked by it for years.
Eventually Conrad’s rock—actually a seventeen-pound gold nugget—caught the eye of a local jeweler. Soon the Reed family became wealthy, and their property became the site of the first major gold strike in the United States.
Sometimes we walk past a blessing, intent on our own plans and ways. After Israel was exiled to Babylon for disobeying God, He proclaimed freedom for them once again. But He also reminded them of what they’d missed. “I am the Lord your God,” He told them, “who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea” (italics added). God then encouraged them to follow Him away from old ways into a new life: “Leave Babylon . . . . Announce this with shouts of joy”! (Isaiah 48:17–18, 20).
Leaving Babylon, perhaps now as much as then, means leaving sinful ways and “coming home” to a God who longs to do us good—if only we’ll obey and follow Him!
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After I became a believer in Jesus, I shared the gospel with my mother. Instead of making a decision to trust Jesus, as I expected, she stopped speaking to me for a year. Her bad experiences with people who claimed to follow Jesus made her distrust believers in Christ. I prayed for her and reached out to her weekly. The Holy Spirit comforted me and continued working on my heart as my mom gave me the silent treatment. When she finally answered my phone call, I committed to loving her and sharing God’s truth with her whenever I had the opportunity. Months after our reconciliation, she said I’d changed. Almost a year later, she received Jesus as her Savior. Our relationship deepened.
Believers in Jesus have access to the greatest gift given to humanity—Christ. The apostle Paul says we’re to “spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14). He refers to those who share the gospel as “the pleasing aroma of Christ” to those who believe, but acknowledges we reek of death to those who reject Jesus (vv. 15–16).
After we receive Christ as our Savior, we have the privilege of using our limited time on earth to spread His life-changing truth while loving others. Even during our hardest and loneliest moments, we can trust He’ll provide what we need. No matter what the personal cost, God’s good news is always worth sharing.
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After receiving the devastating diagnosis of a rare and incurable brain cancer, Caroline found renewed hope and purpose through providing a unique service: volunteering photography services for critically ill children and their families. Through this service, families could capture the precious moments shared with their children, both in grief and “the moments of grace and beauty we assume don’t exist in those desperate places. In the hardest moments imaginable, those families . . . choose to love, despite and because of it all.”
There’s something unspeakably powerful about capturing the truth of grief—both the devastating reality of it and the ways in which we experience beauty and hope in the midst of it.
Much of the book of Job is like a photograph of grief—capturing honestly Job’s journey through devastating loss (1:18–19). After sitting with Job several days, his friends wearied of his grief, resorting to minimizing it or explaining it away as God’s judgment. But Job would have none of it, insisting that what he was going through mattered, and wishing that the testimony of his experience would be “engraved in rock forever!” (19:24).
Through the book of Job, it was “engraved”—in a way that points us in our grief to the living God (vv. 26–27), who meets us in our pain, carrying us through death into resurrection life.
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The deer in our neighborhood and I have two different opinions about sunflowers. When I plant sunflowers each spring, I’m looking forward to the beauty of their blooms. My deer friends, however, don’t care about the finished product. They simply want to chew the stems and leaves until there’s nothing left. It’s an annual summertime battle as I try to see the sunflowers to maturity before my four-hoofed neighbors devour them. Sometimes I win; sometimes they win.
When we think about our lives as believers in Jesus, it’s easy to see a similar battle being waged between us and our enemy—Satan. Our goal is continual growth leading to spiritual maturity that helps our lives stand out for God’s honor. The devil wants to devour our faith and keep us from growing. But Jesus has dominion over “every power.” He can bring us “to fullness” (Colossians 2:10), which means He makes us “complete.” Christ’s victory on the cross allows us to stand out in the world like those beautiful sunflowers.
When Jesus nailed the “record of the charges against us” (the penalty for our sins) to the cross (v. 14 nlt), he destroyed “the powers” that controlled us. We became “rooted and built up” (v. 7) and made “alive with Christ” (v. 13). In Him we have the power (v. 10) to resist the enemy’s spiritual attacks and to flourish in Jesus—displaying a life of true beauty.
The post The Sunflower Battle appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Fingerprints have long been used to identify people, but they can be faked by creating copies. Similarly, the pattern of the iris in the human eye is a reliable source for ID—until someone alters the pattern with a contact lens to skew the results. The use of biometrics to identify individuals can be defeated. So, what qualifies as a unique identifying characteristic? It turns out that everyone’s blood-vessel patterns are unique and virtually impossible to counterfeit. Your own personal “vein map” is a one-of-a-kind identifier, setting you apart from everyone else on the planet.
Pondering such complexities of human beings should prompt a sense of worship and wonder for the Creator who made us. David reminded us that we are, “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14), and that is certainly worth celebrating. In fact, Psalm 111:2 reminds us, “Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”
Even more worthy of our attention is the divine Maker Himself. While celebrating God’s great deeds, we also must celebrate Him! His deeds are great, but He’s even greater, prompting the psalmist to pray, “For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God” (Psalm 86:10).
Today, as we consider the greatness of what God does, may we also marvel at the greatness of who He is.
The post How Great Is Our God! appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Juanita told her nephew about growing up during the Great Depression. Her poor family only had apples to eat, plus whatever wild game her dad might provide. Whenever he bagged a squirrel for dinner, her mom would say, “Give me that squirrel head. That’s all I want to eat. It’s the best piece of meat.” Years later Juanita realized there wasn’t any meat on a squirrel’s head. Her mom didn’t eat it. She only pretended it was a delicacy “so us kids could get more to eat and we wouldn’t worry about her.”
As we celebrate Mother’s Day tomorrow, may we also recount stories of our mothers’ devotion. We thank God for them, and strive to love more like them.
Paul served the Thessalonian church “as a nursing mother cares for her children” (1 Thessalonians 2:7). He loved fiercely, fighting through “strong opposition” to tell them about Jesus and to share his own life with them (vv. 2, 8). He “worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while [he] preached the gospel of God to [them]” (v. 9). Just like Mom.
Few can resist a mother’s love, and Paul modestly said his efforts were “not without results” (v. 1). We can’t control how others respond, but we can choose to show up, day after day, to serve them in a sacrificial way. Mom would be proud, and so will our heavenly Father.
The post Love Like Mom appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Lea was about to start a job as a nurse in Taiwan. She’d be able to provide better for her family, more than she could in Manila, where job opportunities were limited. On the night before her departure, she gave instructions to her sister, who’d be taking care of her five-year-old daughter. “She’ll take her vitamins if you also give her a spoonful of peanut butter,” Lea explained “And remember, she’s shy. She’ll play with her cousins eventually. And she’s afraid of the dark, . . .”
While looking out the plane window the next day, Lea prayed: Lord, no one knows my daughter like I do. I can’t be with her, but You can.
We know the people we love, and we notice all the details about them because they’re precious to us. When we can’t be with them due to various circumstances, we’re often anxious that, since no one knows them as well as we do, they’ll be more vulnerable to harm.
In Psalm 139, David reminds us that God knows us more than anyone does. In the same way, He knows our loved ones intimately (vv. 1–4). He’s their Creator (vv. 13–15), so He understands their needs. He knows what will happen each day of their lives (v. 16), and He’s with them and will never leave them (vv. 5, 7–10).
When you’re anxious for others, entrust them to God for He knows them best and loves them the most.
The post He Knows appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Most mornings I recite the Lord’s Prayer. I’m not worth much for the new day until I’ve grounded myself in those words. Recently I’d said only the first two words—“Our Father”—when my phone rang. It startled me as it was 5:43 a.m. Guess who? The phone display read—“Dad.” Before I had a chance to answer, the call quickly ended. I guessed my dad had called by mistake. Sure enough, he had. Random coincidence? Maybe, but I believe we live in a world awash in the mercy of God. That particular day I needed that reassurance of our Father’s presence.
Think about that for a minute. Of all the ways Jesus could have taught His disciples to begin their prayers, He chose those two words—“Our Father” (Matthew 6:9) as the starting point. Random? No, Jesus was never less than intentional with His words. We all have different relationships with our earthly fathers—some good, some far less than that. However, praying in the way we should is not addressing “my” father or “your” father, but “our” Father, the One who sees us and hears us, and who knows what we need before we even ask Him (v. 8).
What an amazing reassurance, especially on those days when we might feel forgotten, alone, abandoned, or simply just not worth much. Remember, regardless of where we are and what time of day or night it might be, our Father in heaven is always near.
The post Our Father appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Corinthians 9:12–13 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 16–18; Luke 22:47–71
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Subscribe to iTunes Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God. 2 Corinthians 9:13
A ministry in Carlsbad, New Mexico, supports their community by offering more than 24,000 pounds of free food each month to local residents. The leader of the ministry shared, “People can come here, and we will accept them and meet them right where they are. Our goal is . . . to meet their practical needs to get to their spiritual needs.” As believers in Christ, God desires for us to use what we’ve been given to bless others, drawing our communities closer to Him. How can we develop a heart for service that brings glory to God?
We develop a heart for service by asking God to show us how to use the gifts He’s given us to benefit others (1 Peter 4:10). In this way, we offer “many expressions of thanks to God” for the abundance He’s blessed us with (2 Corinthians 9:12).
Serving others was an important part of Jesus’ ministry. When He healed the sick and fed the hungry, many were introduced to God’s goodness and love. By caring for our communities, we’re following His model of discipleship. God’s wisdom reminds us that when we demonstrate God’s love through our actions, “others will praise God” (v. 13). Service isn’t about self-gratification but about showing others the extent of God’s love and the miraculous ways He works through those who are called by His name.
What’s motivated your service to the community? How might you be more intentional about using your gifts to bring glory to God?
Heavenly Father, I desire to make a difference in the lives of others. Please give me a heart for service. May it be an act of praise and gratitude to You.
Read Compassion: Learning to Love Like Jesus .
INSIGHT In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul’s encouragement to the Corinthian believers to serve wasn’t merely an empty platitude; Paul knew the cost of serving. As proof, the apostle outlined the things he’d done and what he’d endured in Jesus’ name and for the welfare of the people of God (11:16–33). In addition, in Paul’s three missionary journeys he traveled more than ten thousand miles (most of that, no doubt, on foot), planting at least fourteen churches, including the church at Corinth to whom he wrote. Like Jesus, Paul not only talked about service and sacrifice, he practiced it as well—although his sacrifices were of a drastically different nature than those of Christ.
The post A Heart for Service appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 62:1–8 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 14–15; Luke 22:21–46
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Subscribe to iTunes Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8
Anne, the lead character in the Anne of Green Gables stories, longed for a family. Orphaned, she had lost hope of ever finding a place to call home. But then she learned that an older man named Matthew and his sister Marilla would take her in. On the buggy ride to their home, Anne apologized for chattering on and on, but Matthew, a quiet man, said, “You can talk as much as you like. I don’t mind.” This was music to Anne’s ears. She felt no one had ever wanted her around, much less wanted to hear her chatter. After arriving, her hopes were dashed when she learned the siblings had thought they were getting a boy to help as a farmhand. She feared being returned, but Anne’s longing for a loving home was met when they made her a part of their family.
We’ve all had times when we felt unwanted or alone. But when we become a part of God’s family through salvation in Jesus, He becomes for us a secure home (Psalm 62:2). He delights in us and invites us to talk with Him about everything: our worries, temptations, sorrows, and hopes. The psalmist tells us we can “find rest in God” and “pour out [our] hearts to him” (vv. 5, 8).
Don’t hesitate. Talk to God as much as you like. He won’t mind. He delights in our hearts. In Him you’ll find a home.
What circumstances have caused you to make God your home? What do you want to talk to Him about?
Help me, God, not to hold back in talking with You when I’ve got something on my heart. Thank You for Your listening ear.
INSIGHT David uses four different words in Psalm 62 to describe God’s protective power: rock, salvation, fortress, and refuge. While these words all evoke the idea of defense and deliverance, their specific meanings create a much fuller picture. The main meaning of the Hebrew word tsur, translated “rock,” is that of a rocky wall or cliff, a place that’s difficult to access. The word for salvation is yeshuah. Jesus (Iēsous in Greek, Yeshua in Hebrew) means “the Lord is salvation” (see Matthew 1:21). While yeshuah is most often translated “salvation,” it can also be translated “deliverance,” which makes God the one who brings us out of threats, which, for the psalmist, were both physical and spiritual. “Fortress” translates the word misgav and refers to a place of retreat; God offers us a safe place when trouble threatens. Finally, machseh is translated “refuge” and refers to a place of hope and trust.
Learn more about reading the Psalms.
The post Longing for a Home appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: John 8:39–47 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 12–13; Luke 22:1–20
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Subscribe to iTunes When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44
Victor slowly became addicted to pornography. Many of his friends looked at porn, and he fell into it too. But now he understands how wrong it was—he sinned against God—and it crushed his wife. He’s vowed to put safeguards in his life so he’ll never look at it again. Yet he fears it’s too late. Can his marriage be saved? Will he ever be free and fully forgiven?
Our enemy, the devil, presents temptation as if it’s no big deal. Everyone’s doing it. What’s the harm? But the moment we catch on to his scheme, he switches gears. It’s too late! You’ve gone too far! You’re hopeless now!
The enemy will say whatever it takes to destroy us as we engage in spiritual warfare. Jesus said, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
If the devil is a liar, then we should never listen to him. Not when he says our sin is no big deal, and not when he says we’re beyond hope. May Jesus help us dismiss the evil one’s words and listen to Him instead. We rest our hearts on His promise: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (vv. 31–32).
What sin has you feeling hopeless? Do you think this despair comes from Satan or from Jesus? What promise from the Bible might you claim today?
Jesus, You died and rose again to free me from the bondage of sin. Please help me to live in that liberty today!
Read Walking Free: Overcoming What Keeps Us from Jesus.
INSIGHT In both the Old and New Testaments, the idea of being a son or daughter implied more than DNA and legal paternity. It also alluded to the ways children possess the characteristics and likeness of their parents. This implication comes into play in the conversation in John 8 where voices in a crowd first claimed to be children of Abraham and then later children of God (vv. 39, 41). Jesus, however, challenged their claims and suggested that by their lies they were actually reflecting the likeness of their father Satan. On the other hand, He suggested that the self-evident truths He spoke and the miracles He performed were evidence that He was not only the Son of Man, but also the Son of God (vv. 27–28, 36).
The post Father of Lies appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Genesis 1:1–5 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 10–11; Luke 21:20–38
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Subscribe to iTunes God said, “Let there be light.” Genesis 1:3
In my daughter’s earliest days, I often named for her the things she encountered. I’d identify objects or allow her to touch something unfamiliar and say the word for her, bringing understanding—and vocabulary—to the vast world she was exploring. Though my husband and I might naturally have expected (or hoped) her first word would be Mama or Daddy, she surprised us with an entirely different first word: her small mouth murmured dight one day—a sweet, mispronounced echo of the word light I’d just shared with her.
Light is one of God’s first words recorded for us in the Bible. As the Spirit of God hovered over a dark, formless, and empty Earth, God introduced light into His creation, saying, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). He said the light was good, which the rest of Scripture bears out: the psalmist explains that God’s words illuminate our understanding (Psalm 119:130), and Jesus refers to Himself as “the light of the world,” the giver of the light of life (John 8:12).
God’s first utterance in the work of creation was to give light. That wasn’t because He needed light to do His work; no, the light was for us. Light enables us to see Him and to identify His fingerprints on the creation around us, to discern what is good from what is not, and to follow Jesus one step at a time in this vast world.
In what area of your life do you most need God’s light right now? How has His light helped you in the past?
Thank You, Jesus, for being the light of life, who illuminates the path for me every day.
INSIGHT Light was so important to Israel’s concept of God that the Jewish Scriptures begin with the account of the creation of light to penetrate the darkness (Genesis 1:3). This light-giving God was also seen in the psalmist’s recognition of Torah as “a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105). Additionally, one of the primary pieces of sacred furniture in the ancient tabernacle was a golden lampstand (Exodus 25:31), providing light to the priests serving in the Holy Place. The temple was desecrated around 170 to 160 bc, and its restoration was celebrated by what is known today as Hanukkah—the festival of lights. All this and more bring focus to the high priority of light in Judaism.
The post Let There Be Light appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 134 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 8–9; Luke 21:1–19
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Subscribe to iTunes May the Lord bless you from Zion. Psalm 134:3
It’s 3 a.m. at an acute-care hospital. A worried patient presses the call button for the fourth time in an hour. The night-shift nurse answers without complaint. Soon another patient is screaming, crying for attention. The nurse isn’t surprised. She requested the night shift five years ago to avoid her hospital’s daytime frenzy. Then the reality hit. Night work often meant taking on extra tasks, such as lifting and turning patients by herself. It also meant closely monitoring patients’ conditions so physicians could be notified in emergencies.
Buoyed by close friendships with her nighttime co-workers, this nurse still struggles to get adequate sleep. Often, she asks her church for prayer, seeing her work as vital. “Praise God, their prayers make a difference.”
Her praise is good and right for a night worker—as well as for all of us. The psalmist wrote, “Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who minister by night in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord” (Psalm 134:1–2).
This psalm, written for the Levites who served as temple watchmen, acknowledged their vital work—protecting the temple by day and night. In our nonstop world, it feels proper to share this psalm especially for nighttime workers, yet every one of us can praise God in the night. As the psalm adds, “May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who is the Maker of heaven and earth” (v. 3).
When you consider nighttime workers—nurses, janitors, first responders, and others—what prayers on their behalf can you offer to God? Why would praising God lead to a blessing from Him for nighttime workers?
Dear God, in the early morning hours while I safely sleep, send Your blessings to nighttime workers doing vital work in my community. And help me to praise You in the night.
INSIGHT Psalms 120–134 is an anthology of fifteen songs, collectively known as the “Pilgrim Psalms” or “Songs of Ascent” in the Jewish hymnbook. Three times a year, all male Jews were to come to the temple in Jerusalem to observe the three annual national feasts of Unleavened Bread (Passover), Weeks (Pentecost), and Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:16). Since Jerusalem is located on a mountainous terrain (Psalms 48:1–2; 125:2), these pilgrims had to “ascend” to get there. Therefore, the superscription marks these songs as “A song of ascents.”
Psalm 134 is the final song in this anthology, serving as a fitting benediction and closing prayer for the pilgrims. Bible commentator Warren Wiersbe says that this song reminds us that our worship of God never ends (v. 2), and His blessings never stop (v. 3).
The post Servants of the Night appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Jeremiah 44:16–18, 20–23 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 6–7; Luke 20:27–47
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Subscribe to iTunes We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord. Jeremiah 44:16
Chemotherapy reduced the tumor in my father-in-law’s pancreas, until it didn’t. As the tumor began to grow again, he was left with a life-and-death decision. He asked his doctor, “Should I take more of this chemo or try something else, perhaps a different drug or radiation?”
The people of Judah had a similar life-and-death question. Weary from war and famine, God’s people wondered whether their problem was too much idolatry or not enough. They concluded they should offer more sacrifices to a false god and see if she would protect and prosper them (Jeremiah 44:17).
Jeremiah said they had wildly misdiagnosed their situation. Their problem wasn’t a lack of commitment to idols; their problem was that they had them. They told the prophet, “We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord!” (v. 16). Jeremiah replied, “Because you have burned incense and have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed him or followed his law or his decrees or his stipulations, this disaster has come upon you” (v. 23).
Like Judah, we may be tempted to double down on sinful choices that have landed us in trouble. Relationship problems? We can be more aloof. Financial issues? We’ll spend our way to happiness. Pushed aside? We’ll be equally ruthless. But the idols that contributed to our problems can’t save us. Only Jesus can carry us through our troubles as we turn to Him.
What personal problem has you stumped and how are you tempted to respond in a sinful way? What do you think Jesus might want you to do?
Jesus, I’d rather fail with You than succeed without You.
INSIGHT In Jeremiah 44:1–14, God sent a direct message through the prophet Jeremiah to the Jewish refugees who’d gone to Egypt against His express direction (see 42:7–22). While there, they were “burning incense to other gods in Egypt” (44:8), which brought God’s clear warning (vv. 8–14). But the people saw only what they wanted to see and defiantly rejected God in favor of the false “Queen of Heaven” (vv. 17–19, possibly Ishtar) and other pagan gods. On the face of it, Jeremiah’s mission was a failure. Opposition to his message was extensive. Yet the prophet remained faithful to God despite his unpopularity.
The post Spiritual Diagnosis appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: James 1:2–4 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 3–5; Luke 20:1–26
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Subscribe to iTunes Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:4
At the beginning of my gardening journey, I’d wake up early and run to my vegetable garden to see if anything had sprouted. Nothing. After an internet search for “fast garden growth,” I learned that the seedling stage is the most important phase of a plant’s lifespan. Knowing now that this process couldn’t be rushed, I came to appreciate the strength of small sprouts fighting their way through the soil toward the sun and their resilience to temperamental weather. After waiting patiently for a few weeks, I was finally greeted by bursts of green sprouts creeping through the soil.
Sometimes it’s easy to praise the victories and triumphs in our lives without similarly acknowledging that growth in our character often comes through time and struggle. James instructs us to “consider it pure joy” when we “face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). But what could possibly be delightful about trials?
God will sometimes allow us to go through challenges and hardships so that we can be molded into who He’s called us to be. He waits in anticipation for us to come out of the trials of life “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (v. 4). By staying grounded in Jesus, we can persevere through any challenge, growing stronger and ultimately allowing the fruit of the Spirit to blossom in our lives (Galatians 5:22–23). His wisdom gives us the nourishment we need to truly flourish each and every day (John 15:5).
What trials have you been working through recently? What lessons are these circumstances revealing to you?
Dear heavenly Father, sometimes the trials I face seem unbearable. Please give me the strength to persevere, and help me as I grow in faith and develop into the fruit-bearing believer that You’ve called me to be.
INSIGHT The letter of James emphasizes the calling of believers in Jesus to grow in wisdom, uniting Jesus’ teachings and other wisdom teachings in Scripture to paint a picture of living wisely and faithfully. The Greek word teleios, translated “mature” in verse 4, is a key word in the book of James (also vv. 17, 25; 3:2). It’s a word that in the original language emphasizes wholeness and integrity. To be “mature” is to live a life in which our daily actions flow harmoniously from our beliefs. Conversely, to live foolishly, in ways that are inconsistent with what we say we believe, is to live a fractured and divided life. Throughout his letter, James draws attention to any behavior that stands in stark contrast to what true faith in Christ demands, urging believers to reject any such inconsistencies for the wholeness found in Jesus.
The post Growing in Faith appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Zephaniah 3:14–20 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 1–2; Luke 19:28–48
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Subscribe to iTunes Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Zephaniah 3:14
Australia’s regent honeyeater bird is in trouble—it’s losing its song. Though once an abundant species, just three hundred birds now remain; and with so few others to learn from, the males are forgetting their unique song and failing to attract mates.
Thankfully, conservationists plan to rescue the honeyeaters by singing to them. Or, more precisely, play them recordings of other honeyeaters singing so they can relearn their heart song. As the males pick up the tune and attract females again, it’s hoped the species will flourish once more.
The prophet Zephaniah addressed a people in trouble. With so much corruption among them, he announced that God’s judgment was coming (Zephaniah 3:1–8). When this later came to pass through capture and exile, the people too lost their song (Psalm 137:4). But Zephaniah foresaw a time beyond judgment when God would come to this decimated people, forgive their sins, and sing to them: “He will take great delight in you, in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). As a result, the heart song of the people would be restored (v. 14).
Whether through our own disobedience or the trials of life, we too can lose our heart song of joy. But a Voice is singing over us songs of forgiveness and love. Let’s listen to His melody and sing along.
When do you find it hardest to retain your joy in God? What song, poem, or prayer can you give to God in response to His rejoicing over You?
Loving God, it’s amazing to imagine that You would sing songs of joy over me. I praise You and sing my own song of praise to You.
INSIGHT Zephaniah, whose name means “Yahweh hides,” is one of the twelve minor prophets. He ministered to Judah during the reign of Josiah (640–609 bc; Zephaniah 1:1), Judah’s reformist king (2 Kings 22–23; 2 Chronicles 34–35). As the great-great grandson of the godly king Hezekiah, Zephaniah was part of the royal family and probably a distant relative of the incumbent King Josiah. Like many of God’s prophets, Zephaniah prophesied of the future “day of the Lord” (Zephaniah 1:7), “a day of [God’s] wrath” (v. 15) when God will bring to a close human history “[sweeping] away everything from the face of the earth” (v. 2). Zephaniah proclaimed God as the sovereign Judge of history and nations (1:2–3, 7; 2:4–15; 3:6–8) and warned that He would punish Judah for her unfaithfulness (1:4–2:3; 3:1–7) while promising restoration for the faithful and purified remnant after the judgment (3:9–20).
The post Sing Again appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 1 Timothy 4:6–13 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 23–24; Luke 19:1–27
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Subscribe to iTunes Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12
Youthfulness shouldn’t stop anyone from achievement. It certainly didn’t stop eleven-year-old Mikaila. Instead of putting up a lemonade stand, Mikaila opened a lemonade business. Me & the Bees Lemonade started with her grandmother’s recipe and eventually earned a $60,000 investment from investors on the television show Shark Tank. She also signed a contract with a major grocer to sell her lemonade at fifty-five of the chain’s stores.
Mikaila’s drive and dreams point us back to Paul’s words to Timothy: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young” (1 Timothy 4:12).
Timothy, though not a child like Mikaila, was likely considerably younger than most in his congregation. After interning with the apostle Paul, some thought that Timothy wasn’t mature enough to lead them. Instead of telling him to prove himself by showing his credentials, Paul encouraged Timothy to demonstrate spiritual maturity by the way he used his words, lived his life, loved his parishioners, exercised his faith, and remained sexually pure (v. 12). No one could discredit him as a teacher and pastor if he backed it up with a godly example.
Regardless of our age, we can impact the world. We do it by setting a Christ-centered example for others as God provides what we need. May He shape our lives with the gospel, so whether we’re seventeen or seventy, we’ll be worthy to share it with others.
How has God been helping you grow in spiritual maturity and effectiveness for Him? Why is age not the most important factor?
Father, help me to model what it means to be devoted to Jesus in the way I speak, exercise my faith, and love others.
INSIGHT Just as certain regimens are essential for our physical well-being, the same is true spiritually. Paul’s choice of words in 1 Timothy 4:6–13 stresses the value of spiritual discipline for believers in Jesus—regardless of age. The word nourished (v. 6) translates the Greek word entrephō, which means to “educate” or “to nourish through feeding [the mind].” The Greek word from which we get our word gymnasium (gymnazō, to exercise vigorously body or mind) is used in verse 7 (“train”) and a noun form in verse 8 (“physical training”). “Godless myths and old wives’ tales” (v. 7) and their contemporary counterparts don’t nourish those who desire to live God-honoring lives. Paul’s personal discipline comes into focus in verse 10 where another colorful Greek word is used. The word labor translates the word kopiaō. What’s in view here is labor to the point of fatigue and exhaustion.
The post Age Is Just a Number appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Samuel 22:13–20 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 21–22; Luke 18:24–43
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Subscribe to iTunes He reached down from on high and took hold of me. 2 Samuel 22:17
A little girl waded in a shallow creek while her father watched. Her rubber boots reached her knees. As she sloshed downstream, the water deepened until it flowed over the top of her waders. When she couldn’t take another step, she yelled, “Daddy, I’m stuck!” In three strides, her father was at her side, pulling her to the grassy bank. She yanked her boots off and laughed as water poured onto the ground.
After God rescued the psalmist David from his enemies, he took a moment to sit down, “pull off his boots,” and allow the relief to flood his soul. He wrote a song to express his feelings. “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies,” he said (2 Samuel 22:4). He praised God as his rock, fortress, shield, and stronghold (vv. 2–3), and then went on to narrate a poetic response of God’s response: The earth trembled. God came down from heaven. Lightning bolts flew from His presence. His voice thundered, and He drew him out of deep water (vv. 8, 10, 13–15, 17).
Maybe today you feel opposition around you. Maybe you’re stuck in sin that makes it hard to advance spiritually. Reflect on how God has helped you in the past, and then praise Him and ask Him to do it again! Thank Him especially for rescuing you by bringing you into His kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
Why is it easy to overlook the good things God’s done for you in the past when you’re in the midst of trouble? How does praising God increase your faith in Him?
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for coming to my aid so many times. Help me to know I can face any battle with You by my side.
INSIGHT Second Samuel 22:13–20 is a small portion of a larger song, or psalm, of David (vv. 2–51) that corresponds to the fifty verses of Psalm 18. In both, the sense is basically the same; only the wording differs slightly.
In this song of thanksgiving, David begins with a lengthy introduction detailing his past distress (including threats to his life). The psalmist then calls on “the Lord” (2 Samuel 22:7). The Lord appears in a theophany (a visible manifestation of God) in verses 8–16. God’s sudden appearance and actions are described in terms of what might be an erupting volcano with lightning and thunder or a similar catastrophe that results in a violent earthquake. The Lord swoops in as a mighty warrior. And in verses 17–20, David describes his deliverance, concluding with the words: “He rescued me because he delighted in me” (v. 20).
The post Pulled to Safety appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 103:13–19 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 19–20; Luke 18:1–23
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Subscribe to iTunes He remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:14
When Warren mentioned during our weekly ministry team call that he was “feeling dusty,” I sensed that this was his way of referencing the physical challenges associated with aging and ill-health. For Warren and his wife, both in their late sixties, 2020 included doctors’ visits, surgical procedures, and the rearranging of their home to accommodate in-home care. They were on the other side of the prime of life and they were feeling it.
One doesn’t have to live long before sensing our inadequacies, imperfections, and weaknesses—physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. God, in the person of His Son, Jesus, stepped into our fallen world and cares for those who experience the liabilities of human existence (Psalm 103:13). Furthermore, David wrote, “He knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (v. 14). The term dust takes us back to Genesis: “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (2:7).
Are you feeling dusty these days? Welcome to the realities of earthly living. Remember, however, that when we feel most vulnerable, we’re not left alone. Our compassionate God “knows” and “remembers.” He demonstrated His love to us by sending His Son to provide forgiveness for earthly people like you and me. Whatever life may bring, may we trust in Him.
What situations make you aware of your human limitations? How have you seen the hand of God in the midst of your weaknesses?
Father, though in various ways I feel my limitations—my dustiness—help me to be strong in faith and trust You.
INSIGHT A key word in Psalm 103:13–19 is compassion (Hebrew racham). God is described as having the compassion of a father toward His children (v. 13). This description echoes God’s description of Himself in Exodus 34, where He reveals His glory to Moses and says, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished” (vv. 6–7). Compassion is the first adjective God uses to describe Himself when He allowed Moses to see Him in a way that no one else had. It’s one of His defining characteristics of His relationship with us.
The post Feeling Dusty appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Romans 14:13–23 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 16–18; Luke 17:20–37
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Subscribe to iTunes Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Romans 14:19
My friend recounted how she’d pointedly been asked by a fellow believer and colleague which political party she belonged to. His aim in asking the question seemed to be to predict whether he agreed with her on any number of issues currently dividing their community. In an effort to find common ground between them, she simply replied, “Since we’re both believers, I’d rather focus on our unity in Christ.”
People were also divided in Paul’s day, though over different issues. Topics such as what foods were permissible to eat and what days were considered holy brought disagreement among the Christians in Rome. Despite being “fully convinced in their own mind” on whichever position they held, Paul reminds them of their common ground: living for Jesus (Romans 14:5–9). Instead of passing judgment on one another, he encouraged them to “do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (v. 19).
In an era when many countries, churches, and communities are divided over issues large and small, we can point one another to the unifying truth of Christ’s work on the cross to secure our life with Him eternally. Paul’s reminder that we ought not “destroy the work of God” (v. 20) with our individual positions is as timely today as it was 2,000 years ago. Instead of passing judgment on one another, we can act in love and live in a way that honors our brothers and sisters.
When did a difference of opinion cause division between you and another believer? If you resolved your differences, how did you do so?
Jesus, thank You for saving me. Forgive me for the times I get distracted by lesser issues and allow division to occur between myself and other believers. Help me to bring unity through focusing on You.
INSIGHT Two of the most difficult responsibilities for believers in Christ are seen in Paul’s challenge in Romans 14:19—we’re to pursue the things that make for peace and the things that edify one another. The first is difficult because there are many divisive elements in the life of the church. A heart of peace, which is the fruit of wisdom (as seen in James 3:13–18), is necessary if we’re to display relationships that honor God. The goal of edification is difficult because it’s easy to look out only for our own interests. Keeping our responsibilities to one another is essential if we’re to display Jesus in our world.
The post What Counts appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Genesis 2:4–10, 15 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 14–15; Luke 17:1–19
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Subscribe to iTunes The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Genesis 2:15
Earth Day is an annual event observed on April 22. In recent years, more than one billion people in about two hundred countries have taken part in educational and service activities. Each year, Earth Day is a reminder of the importance of caring for our amazing planet. But the mandate to care for the environment is far older than this annual event—it goes all the way back to creation.
In Genesis, we learn that God created the entire universe and formed the earth as a place for humans to dwell. Not only did He fashion the mountain peaks and lush plains, God also created the garden of Eden, a beautiful place providing food, shelter, and beauty for its inhabitants (Genesis 2:8–9).
After breathing life into His most important creation, humans, God placed them in this garden (vv. 8, 22) and gave them the responsibility “to work it and take care of it” (v. 15). After Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, caring for God’s creation became more difficult (3:17–19), but to this day God Himself cares for our planet and its creatures (Psalm 65:9–13) and asks us to do the same (Proverbs 12:10).
Whether we live in crowded cities or rural areas, we all have ways we can care for the areas God has entrusted to us. And as we tend the earth, may it be an act of gratitude to Him for this beautiful planet.
What part of creation takes your breath away? How might you care for the part of the earth God has entrusted to you?
Creator God, You’ve entrusted to us a marvelous planet that sustains and astonishes me. Please help me to respond to Your gift by caring for it as a way to express thankfulness for Your provision.
INSIGHT Ancient Hebrew literature often conveyed meaning through intentional wordplays. In Genesis 2, the Hebrew word translated “man”—’adam (Genesis 2:7) is very similar to the Hebrew word translated “ground” (vv. 5–7)—’adamah. If a modern translation attempted to capture this wordplay, it might translate “man” (’adam) as “earthling” and “ground” (’adamah) as “earth.” By pairing these words, the passage communicates key insights into human nature. Humanity was formed from the earth or ground (v. 7) and so is intimately connected to it. But humanity was also given a unique relationship to God, who gave human beings the “breath of life” (v. 7). Formed from the earth, human beings are also those to whom creation’s care is entrusted (v. 15).
The post Gratitude on Earth Day appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Revelation 21:1–7 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 12–13; Luke 16
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Subscribe to iTunes There will be no more death. Revelation 21:4
Since it was the week after Easter, our five-year-old son, Wyatt, had heard plenty of resurrection talk. He always had questions—usually real stumpers. I was driving, and he was buckled into his seat behind me. Wyatt peered out the window, deep in thought. “Daddy,” he said, pausing and preparing to ask me a tough one. “When Jesus brings us back to life, are we going to be really alive—or just alive in our heads?”
This is the question so many of us carry, whether or not we have the courage to speak it aloud. Is God really going to heal us? Is He really going to raise us from the dead? Is He really going to keep all His promises?
The apostle John describes our certain future as “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1). In that holy city, “God himself will be with [us] and be [our] God” (v. 3). Because of Christ’s victory, we’re promised a future where there’s no more tears, no evil arrayed against God and His people. In this good future, “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (v. 4).
In other words, in the future God promises, we’ll be really alive. We’ll be so alive that our life now will seem a mere shadow.
Where do you experience death in your life? If God promises that death is doomed and we’re going to really live, how does this renew your hope?
God, You said death will meet its end and You promise me genuine life. Thank You.
INSIGHT Today’s passage gives us a glimpse of heaven, describing it as a physical place (Revelation 21:1–2). Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us (John 14:2–3), and this promise is fulfilled in the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, (Revelation 21:2). While it’s a great comfort that heaven is a perfect place (v. 4), the most important thing is that it’s the dwelling place of God (v. 3).
In this final vision of the beginning of eternity (21:1–22:9), John hears Christ declaring, “It is done” (21:6). The New Living Translation renders it, “It is finished!” echoing Christ’s victorious cry from the cross (John 19:30). Sin’s curse will one day be completely removed and reversed (Revelation 21:4–5; see Genesis 3:16–19).
The post Really Alive appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: John 21:15–19 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 9–11; Luke 15:11–32
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Subscribe to iTunes If you love me, keep my commands. John 14:15
After a friend ended our decade-long friendship without explanation, I began slipping back into my old habit of keeping people at arms’ length. While processing my grief, I pulled a tattered copy of The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis off my shelf. Lewis makes a powerful observation about love requiring vulnerability. He states there’s “no safe investment” when a person risks loving. He suggests that loving “anything [will lead to] your heart being wrung and possibly broken.” Reading those words changed how I read the account of the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection (John 21:1–14), after Peter had betrayed Him not once but three times (18:15–27).
Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” (21:15).
After experiencing the sting of betrayal and rejection, Jesus spoke to Peter with courage not fear, strength not weakness, selflessness not desperation. He displayed mercy not wrath by confirming His willingness to love.
Scripture reveals that “Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ ” (v. 17). But when Jesus asked Peter to prove his love by loving others (vv. 15–17) and following Him (v. 19), He invited all His disciples to risk loving unconditionally. Each of us will have to answer when Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” Our answer will impact how we love others.
Why would a loving God ask His beloved children to risk being hurt for the sake of loving others like Jesus did? How can an intimate relationship with God help you feel safe enough to risk loving?
Loving God, please break down every wall that keeps me from being vulnerable so I can love You and others with Spirit-empowered courage, compassion, and consistency.
INSIGHT The two verbs translated “love” in the Greek New Testament are phileō (“to be a friend of” [person or object] or to “have tender affection for”) and agapaō (“love founded in admiration, veneration, esteem”).
Both words are used in John 21:15–16. Jesus uses agapaō while Peter uses phileō. In verse 17, however, both Jesus and Peter use phileō. Some scholars find significance in the use of these two different words in John 21 while others don’t. Commentator Craig Keener notes: “The two Greek words for ‘love’ here are used interchangeably elsewhere in John.”
Peter had denied Christ three times (see John 18:15–18, 25–27). How gracious of Jesus to prompt him to affirm his love three times. Was Peter’s love authentic? Yes, authentic enough for him to live a life and die a death by which he would glorify God (see 21:18–19).
The post Love Is Worth the Risk appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Luke 14:7–14 | Bible in a Year: Judges 11–12; Luke 6:1–26
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Subscribe to iTunes When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Luke 14:13–14
Ludmilla, a widow aged eighty-two, has declared her home in the Czech Republic an “Embassy of the Kingdom of Heaven,” saying, “My home is an extension of Christ’s kingdom.” She welcomes strangers and friends who are hurting and in need with loving hospitality, sometimes providing food and a place to sleep—always with a compassionate and prayerful spirit. Relying on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to help her care for her visitors, she delights in the ways God answers their prayers.
Ludmilla serves Jesus through opening her home and heart, in contrast to the prominent religious leader at whose home Jesus ate one Sabbath. Jesus told this teacher of the law that he should welcome “the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” to his home—and not those who could repay him (Luke 14:13). While Jesus’ remarks imply that the Pharisee hosted Jesus out of pride (v. 12), Ludmilla, so many years later, invites people to her home so she can be “an instrument of God’s love and His wisdom.”
Serving others with humility is one way we can be “representatives of the kingdom of heaven,” as Ludmilla says. Whether or not we can provide a bed for strangers, we can put the needs of others before our own in different and creative ways. How will we extend God’s kingdom in our part of the world today?
How do you think the Pharisee reacted when Jesus told him to act differently? How do you like to make people feel welcome?
Jesus, thank You for looking out for those in need. Help me to be more like You, that I would care for others, showing them Your love.
INSIGHT In his gospel, Luke often highlights the event behind Jesus’ telling of a parable (see Luke 12:13; 15:1–2; 18:9; 19:11). In chapter 14, we read that “[Jesus] noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table” (v. 7). Ancient dining protocol dictated that the two places of highest honor were on the right and left of the host (Matthew 20:21). This parable teaches us that it’s better to humble oneself than to be humiliated by others, which is Jesus’ constant warning (Matthew 23:12; Luke 18:14). Pointing to Christ as our model, Paul teaches us to “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5) who—though He was God—became a human servant.
The post God’s Embassy appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Isaiah 1:10–18 | Bible in a Year: Judges 9–10; Luke 5:17–39
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Subscribe to iTunes Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18
What if our clothes were more functional, having the ability to clean themselves after we dropped ketchup or mustard or spilled a drink on them? Well, according to the BBC, engineers in China have developed a special “coating which causes cotton to clean itself of stains and odors when exposed to ultraviolet lights.” Can you imagine the implications of having self-cleaning clothes?
A self-cleaning coating might work for stained clothes, but only God can clean a stained soul. In ancient Judah, God was angry with His people because they had “turned their backs on” Him, given themselves to corruption and evil, and were worshiping false gods (Isaiah 1:2–4). But to make matters worse, they tried to clean themselves by offering sacrifices, burning incense, saying many prayers, and gathering together in solemn assemblies. Yet their hypocritical and sinful hearts remained (vv. 12–13). The remedy was for them to come to their senses and with a repentant heart bring the stains on their souls to a holy and loving God. His grace would cleanse them and make them spiritually “white as snow” (v. 18).
When we sin, there’s no self-cleaning solution. With a humble and repentant heart, we must acknowledge our sins and place them under the cleansing light of God’s holiness. We must turn from them and return to Him. And He, the only One who cleans the stains of the soul, will offer us complete forgiveness and renewed fellowship.
When the Holy Spirit reveals your sins to you, what’s your response? How does John describe the process of bringing your sin to God and repenting of it (see 1 John 1:9)?
Father, forgive me for ignoring or trying to get rid of my own sin. I know only You can clean the stains of my soul. I acknowledge and repent of my self-sufficiency and turn to You.
INSIGHT The book of Isaiah is a vision the prophet received from God addressed to Israel, a people in rebellion (1:1–2). God was incensed at their wickedness and sin (v. 4). As commentator Barry Webb writes: Their “worship had been divorced from justice, and the fatherless and the widow had become the chief victims” (see v. 17). Their sacrifices were merely a means to an end. The prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, states what God requires: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Yet despite His righteous anger, God extended this loving invitation: “Turn to me and be saved” (Isaiah 45:22).
The post God Cleans the Stains appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Corinthians 4:7–18 | Bible in a Year: Judges 7–8; Luke 5:1–16
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Subscribe to iTunes We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18
It was a hard day when my husband found out that, like so many others, he too would soon be furloughed from employment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We believed that God would meet our basic needs, but the uncertainty of how that would happen was still terrifying.
As I processed my jumbled emotions, I found myself revisiting a favorite poem by sixteenth-century reformer John of the Cross. Entitled “I Went In, I Knew Not Where,” the poem depicts the wonder to be found in a journey of surrender, when, going “past the boundaries of knowing,” we learn to “discern the Divine in all its guises.” And so that’s what my husband and I tried to do during this season: to turn our focus from what we could control and understand to the unexpected, mysterious, and beautiful ways God can be found all around us.
The apostle Paul invited believers to a journey from the seen to the unseen, from outward to inward realities, and from temporary struggles to the “eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Paul didn’t urge this because he lacked compassion for their struggles. He knew it would be through letting go of what they could understand that they could experience the comfort, joy, and hope they so desperately needed (vv. 10, 15–16). They could know the wonder of Christ’s life making all things new.
When have you experienced God’s glory in ways you couldn’t understand? In what areas of your life might you experience God beyond the “boundaries of knowing”?
Loving God, there’s so much heartbreak and uncertainty in our world. Help me to learn to follow You past what I can understand to the wonder of Your life breathing new life all around me.
INSIGHT In fulfilling his call to preach the gospel, Paul endured great dangers, persecutions, and hardships (1 Corinthians 4:9–13; 2 Corinthians 1:8–9; 6:4–10; 11:23–29). He chose to see these as “light and momentary troubles” achieving “an eternal glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Paul persevered, energized by God’s mercy (v. 1), the greatness of the gospel (vv. 2–6), and the power of Christ’s resurrected life (vv. 7–14). His confident refrain is, “We do not lose heart” (vv. 1, 16). Such confidence isn’t rooted in himself, but in God’s “all-surpassing power” (v. 7) and all-sufficient grace (12:9).
The post Past the Boundaries of Knowing appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Isaiah 26:3–7 | Bible in a Year: Judges 4–6; Luke 4:31–44
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Subscribe to iTunes You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3
For several months, I coped with intense workplace politics and intrigues. Worrying is second nature to me, so I was surprised to find myself at peace. Instead of feeling anxious, I was able to respond with a calm mind and heart. I knew that this peace could come only from God.
In contrast, there was another period in my life when everything was going well—and yet I felt a deep unrest in my heart. I knew it was because I was trusting in my own abilities instead of trusting God and His leading. Looking back, I’ve realized that true peace—God’s peace—isn’t defined by our circumstances, but by our trust in Him.
God’s peace comes to us when our minds are steadfast (Isaiah 26:3). In Hebrew, the word for steadfast means “to lean upon.” As we lean on Him, we’ll experience His calming presence. We can trust in God, remembering that He’ll humble the proud and wicked and smooth the paths of those who love Him (vv. 5–7).
When I experienced peace in a season of difficulty rather than ease, I discovered that God’s peace isn’t an absence of conflict, but a profound sense of security even in distress. It’s a peace that surpasses human understanding and guards our hearts and minds in the midst of the most difficult of circumstances (Philippians 4:6−7).
What do you do to experience peace? In what areas of your life do you need to trust God and lean on Him?
Father, help me to trust You and have a steadfast mind. Thank You for the perfect peace that comes to me when I choose to trust You.
INSIGHT In the chapters leading up to the hope-filled passage of Isaiah 26:3–7, we read the phrase “in that day” thirty-four times. The prophet Isaiah anticipates a day marked by swift divine judgment against those who ignore and defy God’s commands. A key target of God’s displeasure is the self-serving pride of human beings and their governments. The prophet writes, “He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust” (v. 5). This isn’t likely a reference to a particular city but rather a poetic declaration of God’s displeasure with the world systems that deny Him. Yet Isaiah also prophesies a time when justice, righteousness, and peace will be the order of the day. “In that day,” the victims of “the lofty” will tread in triumph over the ruins and rubble of their oppressors’ works (vv. 5–6).
The post His Peace appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 1 Peter 5:6–11 | Bible in a Year: Judges 1–3; Luke 4:1–30
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Subscribe to iTunes Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
When Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States, he was tasked with leading a fractured nation. Lincoln is viewed as a wise leader and a man of high moral character, but another element to his makeup, perhaps, was the foundation for everything else. He understood that he was inadequate for the task at hand. His response to that inadequacy? Lincoln said, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”
When we come to grips with the massive nature of life’s challenges and the severe limitations of our own wisdom, knowledge, or strength, we find, like Lincoln, that we are utterly dependent on Jesus—the One who has no limitations. Peter reminded us of this dependency when he wrote, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
God’s love for His children, paired with His absolute power, make Him the perfect Person to approach with our frailties—and that’s the essence of prayer. We go to Jesus acknowledging to Him (and ourselves) that we’re inadequate and He’s eternally sufficient. Lincoln said he felt he “had nowhere else to go.” But when we begin to comprehend God’s great care for us, that’s wonderfully good news. We can go to Him!
In what ways do your inadequacies reveal themselves? How do you normally respond in those moments?
All-sufficient God, I know that without You I can do nothing. Thank You for always being with me, for perfectly knowing me, and for being my true Helper in times of need.
Read more about prayer.
INSIGHT Writing to believers experiencing persecution, Peter focuses on the need for humility as they rely on God to deliver them. Most scholars believe 1 Peter 5:6–11 represents an early Christian tradition of encouraging humility because of the presence of Satan. This idea is underscored by the fact that verses 6–9 show a striking similarity to James 4:6–7, 10. When the end of 1 Peter 5:5 is read along with verse 6, the similarities are even more evident. This shows that the idea of being humble and submitting to God when we’re confronted by our enemy was common in early Christianity. Verses 8–9 go on to describe how to effectively combat the devil through resistance, firm faith, and encouragement from the community of believers. James simply says to “resist the devil” (James 4:7). Peter and James call for both passive faith (submitting to God) and active faith (resisting the devil) from their readers.
The post The Essence of Prayer appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Proverbs 11:1–3 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 22–24; Luke 3
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Subscribe to iTunes The integrity of the upright guides them. Proverbs 11:3
Abel Mutai, a Kenyan runner competing in a grueling international cross-country race, was mere yards from victory—his lead secure. Confused by the course’s signage and thinking he’d already crossed the finish line, however, Mutai stopped short. The Spanish runner in second place, Ivan Fernandez Anaya, saw Mutai’s mistake. Rather than take advantage and bolt past for the win, however, he caught up to Mutai, put out his arm and guided Mutai forward to a gold-medal win. When reporters asked Anaya why he purposefully lost the race, he insisted that Mutai deserved the win, not him. “What would be the merit of my victory? What would be the honor of that medal? What would my mom think of that?” As one report put it: “Anaya chose honesty over victory.”
Proverbs says that those who desire to live honestly, who want their lives to display faithfulness and authenticity, make choices based on what’s true rather than what’s expedient. “The integrity of the upright guides them” (11:3). This commitment to integrity isn’t only the right way to live, but it also offers a better life. The proverb continues: “But the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity” (v. 3). In the long run, dishonesty never pays.
If we abandon our integrity, short term “wins” actually yield defeat. But when fidelity and truthfulness shape us in God’s power, we slowly become people of deep character who lead genuinely good lives.
Where’s your integrity being tested right now? What are the choices before you—and how do they increase (or decrease) your integrity?
God of integrity, You’re honest and faithful. Make me more like You. Teach me how to live uprightly.
INSIGHT The word integrity in Proverbs 11:3 comes from the root word tamam, meaning “to be complete, be finished, be at an end.” It denotes moral wholeness and innocence. These qualities are reflected in Job’s life: “Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason’ ” (Job 2:3). Another form of this Hebrew word appears in Psalm 15:2, where it’s translated “blameless.” Who is it that will enjoy fellowship with God? The person of integrity, “the one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart.”
The post A Life of Integrity appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Jeremiah 29:4–7, 10–14 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 19–21; Luke 2:25–52
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Subscribe to iTunes You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
In Martin Handford’s Where’s Waldo? books, a series of children’s puzzle books first created in 1987, the elusive character wears a red and white striped shirt and socks with a matching hat, blue jeans, brown boots, and glasses. Handford has cleverly hidden Waldo in plain sight within the busy illustrations filled with crowds of characters at various locations around the world. Waldo isn’t always easy to see, but the creator promises readers will always be able to find him. Though looking for God isn’t really like looking for Waldo in a puzzle book, our Creator promises we can find Him, too.
Through the prophet Jeremiah, God instructed His people on how to live as foreigners in exile (Jeremiah 29:4–9). He promised to protect them until He restored them according to His perfect plan (vv. 10–11). God assured the Israelites that the fulfillment of His promise would deepen their commitment to call on Him in prayer (v. 12).
Today, even though God has revealed Himself in the story and Spirit of Jesus, it can be easy to get distracted by the busyness of this world. We may even be tempted to ask, “Where’s God?” However, the Creator and Sustainer of all things declares that those who belong to Him will always find Him if they seek Him with all their hearts (vv. 13–14).
What distractions prevent you from spending time seeking God through Bible reading and prayer? How has God helped you focus on Him when busyness tugs you away from Him?
Loving Creator and Sustainer of all, please help me seek You daily with all my heart and trust You will keep the promises You’ve made.
INSIGHT God used the Assyrians and Babylonians to discipline His people for their unfaithfulness (Jeremiah 1:15–16; 5:15–17). Israel was completely destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 bc, but God wouldn’t allow the Babylonians to destroy Judah completely (5:18–19; 2 Kings 17:18–20). Though Judah would be in Babylon for seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11), God promised He would “watch over them for their good, and . . . bring them back to this land” (24:6). Jeremiah reiterated that God would bring them back after the seventy years were completed (29:10). In the meantime, they were to settle down in Babylon (vv. 4–9).
The post Where’s God? appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: James 2:1–4 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 16–18; Luke 2:1–24
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Subscribe to iTunes Believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. James 2:1
Tragedy struck near Los Angeles in January 2020 when nine people died in a helicopter crash. Most news stories began something like this, “NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna (“Gigi”), and seven others lost their lives in the accident.”
It’s natural and understandable to focus on the well-known people involved in a horrible situation like this—and the deaths of Kobe and his precious teenager Gigi are heartbreaking beyond description. But we must keep in mind that in life’s big picture there’s no dividing line that makes the “seven others” (Payton, Sarah, Christina, Alyssa, John, Keri, and Ara) any less significant.
Sometimes we need to be reminded that each human is important in God’s eyes. Society shines bright lights on the rich and famous. Yet fame doesn’t make a person any more important than your next-door neighbor, the noisy kids who play in your street, the down-on-his-luck guy at the city mission, or you.
Every person on earth is created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), whether rich or poor (Proverbs 22:2). No one is favored more than another in His eyes (Romans 2:11), and each is in need of a Savior (3:23).
We glorify our great God when we refuse to show favoritism—whether in the church (James 2:1–4) or in society at large.
What can you do to show love for all mankind—rich or poor, famous or obscure? How did Jesus reveal this kind of love?
Heavenly Father, help me to show love and kindness to all, regardless of their station in life.
INSIGHT When James accuses believers who show favoritism of being “judges with evil thoughts” (2:4), he’s likely alluding to the common tendency for courts to favor the rich. Judges were of higher social status and often didn’t hold persons of lower economic class in high esteem. Legal preference for the rich was even often written into the laws. Biblical law condemned such preferential treatment (Leviticus 19:15), however, and even Greek philosophers called out bias against the poor as immoral. But James pointed to the common tendency of people to instinctively show favoritism toward persons of elevated social status, perhaps out of a desire to benefit from their wealth. He suggested that trying to curry favor with the wealthy and powerful makes people no better than blatantly biased judges. Instead, he called believers to align with God’s high regard for society’s poor and marginalized (James 2:5).
The post And Seven Others appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Genesis 1:20–25 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 13–15; Luke 1:57–80
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Subscribe to iTunes God made . . . all the creatures that move along the ground. Genesis 1:25
Scientists from Penn State University recently engineered a new kind of glue that’s both extremely strong and also removable. Their design is inspired by a snail whose slime hardens in dry conditions and loosens again when wet. The reversible nature of the snail’s slime allows it to move freely in more humid conditions—safer for the snail—while keeping it securely planted in its environment when movement would be hazardous.
The researchers’ approach of mimicking an adhesive found in nature calls to mind scientist Johannes Kepler’s description of his discoveries. He said he was “merely thinking God’s thoughts after him.” The Bible tells us that God created the earth and all that’s in it: the vegetation on the land (Genesis 1:12); the “creatures of the sea” and “every winged bird” (v. 21); “the creatures that move along the ground” (v. 25); and “mankind in his own image” (v. 27). When humankind discovers or identifies a special attribute of a plant or animal, we’re simply following in God’s creative footsteps, having our eyes opened to the way He designed them.
At the end of each day in the creation account, God surveyed the fruit of His work and described it as “good.” As we learn and discover more about God’s creation, may we too recognize His magnificent work, care for it well, and proclaim how very good it is!
How do you see God’s handiwork in the creation around you? How can you respond in praise to Him?
Creator God, thank You for the unique and perfect way You created the world and all that’s in it. Your works are wondrous!
Learn more about possessing a Christian worldview.
INSIGHT Genesis 1:1–19 tells us that in the first four days, God created the physical infrastructures of His creation—the galaxies and the earth with its sky, land, and seas. On days five and six, He created the living creatures—birds, fish, land animals, and humankind (vv. 20–31) to inhabit the three realms on the earth. Scientists have estimated that our natural world contains some 8.7 million species, out of which only 1.6 million (20 percent) have been officially identified. The phrase “and God said” dominates the creation account, pointing to our creative and powerful God, who literally spoke these mind-boggling natural diversities into existence. The psalmist celebrates God saying, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made. . . . Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be” (Psalm 33:6, 8–9).
The post God’s Good Glue appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Acts 8:26–35 | Bible in a Year: Joshua 10–12; Luke 1:39–56
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Subscribe to iTunes Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Acts 8:35
The email was short but urgent. “Request salvation. I would like to know Jesus.” What an astonishing request. Unlike reluctant friends and family who hadn’t yet received Christ, this person didn’t need convincing. My task was to quiet my self-doubt about evangelizing and simply share key concepts, Scriptures, and trusted resources that addressed this man’s plea. From there, by faith, God would lead his journey.
Philip demonstrated such simple evangelism when on a desert road he met the treasurer of Ethiopia who was reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked (Acts 8:30). “How can I,” the man answered, “unless someone explains it to me” (v. 31). Invited to clarify, “Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus” (v. 35).
Starting where people are and keeping evangelism simple, as Philip showed, can be an effective way to share Christ. In fact, as the two traveled along, the man said, “Look, here is water” and asked to be baptized (v. 36). Philip complied, and the man “went on his way rejoicing” (v. 39). I rejoiced when the email writer replied that he had repented of sin, confessed Christ, found a church, and believed he was born again. What a beautiful start! Now, may God take him higher!
How do you respond to opportunities to share your faith? What simple answers could you have on hand for someone who wants to know Jesus?
I’m not an expert at evangelizing, heavenly Father, so show me simple, effective ways to share the good news about Christ.
Learn more about leading others to Christ.
INSIGHT Eunuchs were men—usually castrated—who served as officials in a royal court. Both Greeks and Jews often looked down on eunuchs; Greeks sometimes mocked them as “half-men,” while Jews might disdain them for their inability to produce heirs and because the law of Moses excluded them from entering “the assembly of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 23:1). However, the prophet Isaiah spoke of God’s full acceptance of eunuchs and foreigners who sincerely worshiped and sought Him (Isaiah 56:3–8). In baptizing the eunuch in Acts 8:26–40, Philip affirmed that this man was fully included and embraced in the family of God.
The post Keep It Simple appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: John 14:1–4 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 30–31; Mark 15:1–25
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Subscribe to iTunes If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:3
Our family was planning to get a puppy, so my eleven-year-old daughter researched for months. She knew what the dog should eat and how to introduce it to our new home—among myriad other details.
Turns out puppies do best, she told me, if they’re introduced to one room at a time. So we carefully prepared a spare bedroom. I’m sure there will still be surprises as we raise our new puppy, but my daughter’s delight-infused preparation couldn’t have been more thorough.
The way my daughter channeled her eager anticipation for a puppy into loving preparation reminded me of Christ’s longing to share life with His people and His promise to prepare a home for them. Nearing the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus urged His disciples to trust Him, saying, “You believe in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1). Then He promised to “prepare a place for [them] . . . that [they] also may be where [He is]” (v. 3).
The disciples would soon face trouble. But Jesus wanted them to know that He was at work to bring them home to Him.
I can’t help but delight in the careful, deliberate intent with which my daughter had prepared for our new puppy. But I can only imagine how much more our Savior is delighting in His own detailed preparation for each of His people to share eternal life with Him (v. 2).
How do you feel knowing that Jesus is preparing a place for you in His Father’s house? How might hanging on to that hope give you strength or courage in difficult seasons?
Jesus, thank You for going to prepare a place for me. Help me to put my hope in You fully and not to be troubled by the struggles in this life that might tempt me to take my eyes off You.
INSIGHT John 13–17 is known as the Upper Room Discourse, so named because Jesus taught it on the very night of His arrest in the “large room upstairs” where he held the Passover meal with His disciples (Mark 14:12–15). Christ said He would soon leave them—those who would abandon, betray, and disown Him (Matthew 26:31; John 13:21, 38). Yet He comforted His disciples with the assurance of heaven and the promise of His return (14:1–3), the privilege and power of prayer (vv. 12–14), the indwelling and guiding presence of the Holy Spirit (vv. 16–17; 16:5–15), and His peace and ultimate victory (16:33). Jesus tenderly spoke of heaven as “my Father’s house” (14:2). Earlier, He spoke of it as the place where God reigns (Matthew 5:34). Just before He died, He spoke of it as “paradise” (Luke 23:43), meaning “an Eden—a place of blessedness.”
The post Preparing a Place for Us appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Ezra 4:1–5, 24 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 28–29; Mark 14:54–72
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Subscribe to iTunes Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. 2 Corinthians 6:14
A Christian school for autistic children in India received a big donation from a corporation. After checking that there were no strings attached, they accepted the money. But later, the corporation requested to be represented on the school board. The school director returned the money. She refused to allow the values of the school to be compromised. She said, “It’s more important to do God’s work in God’s way.”
There are many reasons to decline help, and this is one of them. In the Bible we see another. When the exiled Jews returned to Jerusalem, King Cyrus commissioned them to rebuild the temple (Ezra 3). When their neighbors said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God” (4:2), the leaders of Israel declined. They concluded that by accepting the offer of help, the integrity of the temple rebuilding project might have been compromised and idolatry could have crept into their community since their neighbors also worshiped idols. The Israelites made the right decision, as their “neighbors” then did all they could to discourage the building.
With the help of the Holy Spirit and the counsel of wise believers in Jesus, we can develop discernment. We can also be confident to say no to friendly offers that may hide subtle spiritual dangers because God’s work done in His way will never lack His provision.
What are the dangers of joining hands with those who would bring a conflict of interest to God’s work? How can you develop discernment?
Loving Father, You know my need. Help me to be wise and discerning in knowing when to partner with others.
INSIGHT The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther are considered the “post-exilic” narratives of the Old Testament. The previous narratives found in the books of Kings and Chronicles described the conditions that led to the people of Judah being given over to the discipline of exile in Babylon. Now, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther pick up the story, describing the events following the conclusion of Judah’s seventy years in captivity. As such, they present three different pictures with three different priorities. In Ezra, the theme is the rebuilding of the broken-down temple that Nebuchadnezzar had left in ruins upon defeating and sacking Jerusalem. Nehemiah’s focus was reestablishing the security of the returning exiles by rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. The book of Esther gives a view of what was happening among those Jews who’d remained behind in the land of their captivity. Each book describes circumstances filled with challenges and struggles.
The post Thanks, but No Thanks appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Matthew 5:13–16 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 26–27; Mark 14:27–53
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Subscribe to iTunes Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16
When Jen was young, her well-intentioned Sunday school teacher instructed the class in evangelism training, which included memorizing a series of verses and a formula for sharing the gospel. She and a friend nervously tried this out on another friend, fearful they’d forget an important verse or step. Jen doesn’t “remember if the evening ended in conversion [but guesses] it did not.” The approach seemed to be more about the formula than the person.
Now, years later, Jen and her husband are modeling for their own children a love for God and sharing their faith in a more inviting way. They understand the importance of teaching their children about God, the Bible, and a personal relationship with Jesus, but they’re doing so through a living, daily example of a love for God and the Scriptures. They’re demonstrating what it means to be the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:14) and to reach out to others through kindness and hospitable words. Jen says, “We cannot impart words of life to others if we don’t possess them ourselves.” As she and her husband show kindness in their own lifestyle, they’re preparing their children “to invite others into their faith.”
We don’t need a formula to lead others to Jesus—what matters most is that a love for God compels and shines through us. As we live in and share His love, God draws others to know Him too.
How have you shared the good news with another? What was the result? What are some other ways you could share about Jesus?
Dear God, I want others to experience the loving relationship I have with You. Help me in my walk and talk to draw others to You.
INSIGHT In the ancient world, with no refrigeration, salt’s most common use was to preserve food and keep it from spoiling. When Jesus said His followers were “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), He was calling them to stand as obstacles to the inevitable corruption in society.
Salt in Jesus’ day was often impure—coming from salt marshes where many impurities corrupted the important mineral. When those impurities dominated the salt used in preservation, the salt failed to do its job and the meat would spoil. Jesus’ challenge to His listeners was to avoid the very impurities they were tasked with preventing in the world around them.
Christ’s description of His faithful followers in the Sermon on the Mount challenges even believers today to live counter–culturally, staving off corruption in the world and living a life of purity and faith.
The post No Formula Needed appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Micah 6:1–8 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 23–25; Mark 14:1–26
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Subscribe to iTunes What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
Caesar Augustus (63 bc–ad 14), the first emperor of Rome, wanted to be known as a law-and-order ruler. Even though he built his empire on the back of slave labor, military conquest, and financial bribery, he restored a measure of legal due process and gave his citizens Iustitia, a goddess our justice system today refers to as Lady Justice. He also called for a census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for the birth of a long-awaited ruler whose greatness would reach to the ends of the earth (Micah 5:2–4).
What neither Augustus nor the rest of the world could have anticipated is how a far greater King would live and die to show what real justice looks like. Centuries earlier, in the prophet Micah’s day, the people of God had once again lapsed into a culture of lies, violence, and “ill-gotten treasures” (6:10–12). God’s dearly loved nation had lost sight of Him. He longed for them to show their world what it meant to do right by each other and walk humbly with Him (v. 8).
It took a Servant King to personify the kind of justice that hurting, forgotten, and helpless people long for. It took the fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy in Jesus to see right relationships established between God and people, and person-to-person. This would come not in the outward enforcement of Caesar-like law-and-order, but in the freedom of the mercy, goodness, and spirit of our servant King Jesus.
What does it mean to you to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God? How do you see this lived out in the life of Jesus?
Father, in the name of Jesus, please help me do right by others and everyone You bring into my life.
INSIGHT God used Micah to challenge those who were robust in their religious expressions but deficient in righteousness and justice in day-to-day life. Jesus also rebuked the proponents of hollow religion in His day. His rebuke of the religious leaders just days before He was crucified included the words found in Matthew 23:23. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” Christ’s words echoed those of Micah 6:8 and Micah’s contemporary Isaiah found in Isaiah 1:12–17. Justice matters to Jesus.
The post Justice and Jesus appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Colossians 3:12–15 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 20–22; Mark 13:21–37
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Subscribe to iTunes Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13
Oliver Cromwell, known as the “Protector of England,” was a military commander in the seventeenth century. It was common practice during those days for people of importance to have their portraits painted. And it wasn’t unusual for an artist to avoid depicting the less attractive aspects of a person’s face. Cromwell, however, wanted nothing to do with a likeness that would flatter him. He cautioned the artist, “You must paint me just as I am—warts and all—or I won’t pay you.”
Apparently, the artist complied. The finished portrait of Cromwell displays a couple of prominent facial warts that in the present day would surely be filtered or airbrushed before being posted on social media.
The expression “warts and all” has come to mean that people should be accepted just as they are—with all their annoying faults, attitudes, and issues. In some cases, we feel that’s too difficult a task. Yet, when we take a hard inward look, we might find some pretty unattractive aspects of our own character.
We’re grateful that God forgives our “warts.” And in Colossians 3, we’re taught to extend grace to others. The apostle Paul encourages us to be more patient, kind, and compassionate—even to those who aren’t easy to love. He urges us to have a forgiving spirit because of the way God forgives us (vv. 12–13). By His example, we’re taught to love others the way God loves us—warts and all.
What faults do you find in others that are hard to accept or forgive? How can you follow God’s example in the way you interact with others?
Loving God, show me my shortcomings or flaws that detract from letting others know who You are. Help me to be more patient and to love and forgive as You do.
INSIGHT Nearly every epistle in the Bible mentions that we who believe in Jesus were “chosen” or “called” by God. Some people believe that if God does the choosing, we have no role to play. Yet the apostles dedicated their lives to sharing the good news of Jesus with the world. They knew that our privileged position brings a tremendous obligation.
A crucial way we share this good news is by living a different kind of life. In Colossians 3:5–9, Paul wrote about the things we must get rid of: sexual impurity, rage, malice, slander, lying, and the like (Colossians 3:5–9). Now, as God’s “chosen people” (v. 12), we’re to “clothe” ourselves in a completely different lifestyle—one marked by Christlike qualities. When we react to life’s irritations and injustices with the grace and peace of the Spirit of Jesus, the world will see the difference.
The post Warts and All appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Zephaniah 3:9–17 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 17–19; Mark 13:1–20
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Subscribe to iTunes He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
It’s a quiet riverside park on a Saturday afternoon. Joggers pass by, fishing rods whirl, seagulls fight over fish and chip wrappers, and my wife and I sit watching the couple. They are maybe in their late forties and are speaking a language unknown to us. She sits gazing into his eyes while he, without a hint of self-consciousness, sings to her a love song in his own tongue, carried on the breeze for us all to hear.
This delightful act got me thinking about the book of Zephaniah. At first you might wonder why. In Zephaniah’s day, God’s people had become corrupt by bowing to false gods (1:4–5), and Israel’s prophets and priests were now arrogant and profane (3:4). For much of the book, Zephaniah declares God’s coming judgment on not just Israel but all the nations of the earth (v. 8).
Yet Zephaniah foresees something else. Out of that dark day will emerge a people who wholeheartedly love God (vv. 9–13). To these people God will be like a bridegroom who delights in His beloved: “In his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (v. 17).
Creator, Father, Warrior, Judge. Scripture uses many titles for God. But how many of us see God as a Singer with a love song for us on His lips?
How do you normally picture God—as Creator, Father, Warrior, or something else? How might your life change if you were to think of God as Lover, and yourself as His beloved?
Great Singer, I delight in Your singing over me.
INSIGHT Zephaniah 1:1 is unusual because it provides a more extended biographical background than we normally find in the Old Testament prophets. It says, “The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.” Two things are noteworthy here. First, Zephaniah was a direct descendant of one of Judah’s greatest kings—Hezekiah—giving him royal heritage. Second, Zephaniah ministered during the reign of Josiah, who, in his sweeping religious reforms, reinstituted the feast of Passover.
The post Love Song appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Proverbs 3:5–8 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 14–16; Mark 12:28–44
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Subscribe to iTunes In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6
We live in a world that offers a wide range of choices—from paper towels to life insurance. In 2004, psychologist Barry Schwartz wrote a book titled The Paradox of Choice in which he argued that while freedom of choice is important to our well-being, too many choices can lead to overload and indecision. While the stakes are certainly lower when deciding on which paper towel to buy, indecision can become debilitating when making major decisions that impact the course of our lives. So how can we overcome indecision and move forward confidently in living for Jesus?
As believers in Christ, seeking God’s wisdom helps us as we face difficult decisions. When we’re deciding on anything in life, large or small, the Scriptures instruct us to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart and lean not on [our] own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). When we rely on our own judgment, we can become confused and worry about missing an important detail or making the wrong choice. When we look to God for the answers, however, He’ll “make [our] paths straight” (v. 6). He’ll give us clarity and peace as we make decisions in our day-to-day lives.
God doesn’t want us to be paralyzed or overwhelmed by the weight of our decisions. We can find peace in the wisdom and direction He provides when we bring our concerns to Him in prayer.
What major decisions have you been considering lately? How will you seek God’s wisdom in prayer, the Scriptures, and the godly counsel of other believers?
Heavenly Father, I know You hold the answers to all the choices I face. As I seek Your wisdom, please give me clarity and the strength to boldly move forward with You.
INSIGHT The main purpose of the book of Proverbs is to impart wisdom for godly living. In these wise sayings, we see a variety of topics, including youth, discipline, family life, resisting temptation, and our speech. The key to wisdom in all areas is found in Proverbs 3:5: wholeheartedly trusting in God, the only true source of wisdom. As Proverbs 1:7 states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” We gain wisdom and by implication live wisely when we have a relationship with God. In 2:6 we read that “the Lord gives wisdom,” but we’re also to “search for it as for hidden treasure” (v. 4). In other words, God gives wisdom to those who earnestly seek it. Other helps on the road to wisdom include not being a “companion of fools” (13:20), seeking the counsel of godly advisers (15:22), and listening to advice and accepting discipline (19:20).
The post Tackling Indecision appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Philippians 4:1–7 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 11–13; Mark 12:1–27
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Subscribe to iTunes Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
Baby-gender reveals in 2019 were dramatic. In July, a video showed a car emitting blue smoke to indicate, “It’s a boy!” In September, a crop-duster plane in Texas dumped hundreds of gallons of pink water to announce, “It’s a girl!” There was another “reveal,” though, that uncovered significant things about the world these children will grow up in. At the conclusion of 2019, YouVersion revealed that the most shared, highlighted, and bookmarked verse of the year on its online and mobile Bible app was Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
That’s quite the revelation. People are anxious about many things these days—from the needs of our sons and daughters, to the myriad ways family and friends are divided, to natural catastrophes and wars. But in the middle of all these worries, the good news is that many people cling to a verse that says, “Do not be anxious about anything.” Furthermore, those same people encourage others as well as themselves to present every request to God “in every situation.” The mindset that doesn’t ignore but faces life’s anxieties is one of “thanksgiving.”
The verse that didn’t make “verse of the year” but follows it is—“And the peace of God . . . will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (v. 7). That’s quite the reassurance!
What are two or three situations you’re worried about? How might reflecting on the ways God’s peace has carried you in the past be helpful?
Jesus, some days and weeks and years feel overwhelming. Thank You for Your peace, which guards me yesterday, today, and forever.
INSIGHT As Paul begins to bring his letter to a close, he emphasizes two important thoughts that underlie all he’s written to the Philippians. First, he’s repeatedly lifted up their shared partnership and mission (1:1–7, 27–30). Second, over and over he’s also urged them to embrace the attitudes of humility, joy, and love that reflect the spirit of Jesus and make their shared calling credible and good for others (vv. 9–11; 2:1–11). These two basics—mission and attitude—show up in the first few sentences of his introduction. In referring to his readers as “holy,” he used a word that reminded them that they’ve been “set apart” to represent Christ to their world (1:1–5). In praying that their love would continue to grow “in knowledge and depth of insight” (vv. 9–11), he signaled how important it was for them to help and care for one another.
The post Revelation and Reassurance appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 36:5–10 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 8–10; Mark 11:19–33
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Subscribe to iTunes You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. Psalm 36:6
Michelle Grant trained a baby beaver named Timber to return to the wild. When she took him for swims in a pond, he’d come back to her kayak to snuggle and rub noses. One morning Timber didn’t return. Michelle scoured the pond for six hours before giving up. Weeks later she found a beaver skull. Assuming it was Timber, she began to cry.
My soul ached for Michelle and Timber. I told myself, “Snap out of it. He’s just a large, aquatic rodent.” But the truth is, I cared—and so does God. His love reaches high to the heavens and down to the smallest creature, part of the creation He calls us to steward well (Genesis 1:28). He preserves “both people and animals” (Psalm 36:6), providing “food for the cattle and for the young ravens” (147:9).
One day Michelle was kayaking in a neighbor’s pond and—surprise—there was Timber! He’d found a beaver family and was helping them raise two kits. He surfaced beside Michelle’s kayak. She smiled, “You look well. You have a beautiful family.” He cooed, splashed his tail, and swam to his new mom.
I love happy endings, especially my own! Jesus promised that as His Father feeds the birds, so He will supply whatever we need (Matthew 6:25–26). Not one sparrow falls “to the ground outside your Father’s care. . . . So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (10:29–31).
What care do you need to give to your heavenly Father? What need of others might He want you to meet?
Father, I lift up my cares and worries to You.
INSIGHT Psalm 36 is found in Book One of the Psalms (Psalms 1–41), which, along with Book Two (Psalms 42–72), features the majority of David’s biblical psalms. Many of his songs in this portion of the Psalter are laments, cries for God’s mercy and help in the dark and difficult seasons of life. In Psalm 36, however, the poem’s tone is very different. Here, David saw those who were living apart from God as individuals marked by an absence of the fear of God (vv. 1–4), and their example prompted David to pray for God’s continued lovingkindness to him and those who sought to live in right relationship with Him (vv. 5–10). The singer then concludes with a plea to God to protect him from the dangers of his own pride and the influence of those who’d turned from Him (vv. 11–12).
The post All Creatures Great and Small appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Isaiah 52:7–10 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 5–7; Mark 11:1–18
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Subscribe to iTunes How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news. Isaiah 52:7
John Nash was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994, recognizing his pioneering work in mathematics. His equations have since been used by businesses around the world in understanding the dynamics of competition and rivalry. A book and a full-length movie have documented his life and refer to him as having “a beautiful mind”—not because his brain had any particular aesthetic appeal, but because of what it did.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah uses the word beautiful to describe feet—not because of any visible physical attribute but because he saw beauty in what they did. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news” (Isaiah 52:7). After seventy years of captivity in Babylon resulting from their unfaithfulness to God, messengers arrived with encouraging words that God’s people would soon be returning home because “the Lord has . . . redeemed Jerusalem” (v. 9).
The good news wasn’t attributed to the military might of the Israelites or any other human effort. Rather it was the work of God’s “holy arm” on their behalf (v. 10). The same is true today, as we have victory over our spiritual enemy through Christ’s sacrifice for us. In response, we become the messengers of good news, proclaiming peace, good tidings, and salvation to those around us. And we do so with beautiful feet.
Who brought you the good news of Christ’s sacrifice? To whom can you deliver that news?
Thank You, Father, for sending people into my life to share the news of Christ’s sacrifice. Help me to share it joyously with others.
Read Evangelism: Reaching Out Through Relationships.
INSIGHT In the book of Isaiah, the prophet brings two distinct messages to the people of God. In chapters 1–39, he brings warnings of certain judgment because of their continued idolatry and rejection of God. In chapters 40–66, however, the prophet’s message becomes one of hope and rescue—continuing to offer many references to the promised Messiah. Bible teacher Warren W. Wiersbe wrote that this significant messianic component to Isaiah’s prophecy accounts for how frequently the New Testament cites this important book. The apostle Paul, a trained Jewish scholar, quoted from or alluded to Isaiah’s prophecies at least eighty times, and the Servant Song (52:13–53:12) is cited almost forty times by New Testament writers. As such, Wiersbe contends, “Isaiah is much more than a prophet: He is an evangelist who presents Jesus Christ and the Good News of the Gospel.”
Learn more about the book of Isaiah.
The post Beautiful Feet appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 147:8–17 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 8–10; Matthew 25:31–46
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Subscribe to iTunes [God] spreads the snow like wool. Psalm 147:16
The sheriff marveled at the prayers, estimating “hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of prayers” were lifted to God for help as the East Troublesome Fire raged through the mountains of Colorado in the fall of 2020. Living up to its name, the blaze consumed 100,000 acres in twelve hours, roaring through tinder-dry forests, burning three hundred homes to the ground, and threatening entire towns in its path. Then came “the Godsend,” as one meteorologist called it. No, not rain. A timely snowfall. It fell across the fire zone, arriving early for that time of year—dropping up to a foot or more of wet snow—slowing the fire and, in some places, stopping it.
Such merciful help seemed too amazing to explain. Does God hear our prayers for snow? And rain too? The Bible records His many answers, including after Elijah’s hope for rain (1 Kings 18:41–46). A servant of great faith, Elijah understood God’s sovereignty, including over the weather. As Psalm 147 says of God, “He supplies the earth with rain” (v. 8). “He spreads the snow like wool . . . . Who can withstand his icy blast?” (vv. 16–17).
Elijah could hear “the sound of a heavy rain” before clouds even formed (1 Kings 18:41). Is our faith in His power that strong? God invites our trust, no matter His answer. We can look to Him for His amazing help.
What amazing help have you seen God bring in a dire situation? How does His help encourage your faith?
Amazing God, I bow at Your feet, humbled by Your merciful help whenever it comes. Thank You for encouraging my faith with Your sovereign power throughout the earth.
INSIGHT Psalm 147 opens and closes with the exhortation, “Praise the Lord” (vv. 1, 20); in-between, the psalm is dotted with short bursts of praise to God. This psalm uses a literary technique known as a chiastic structure. In this pattern, elements on either side of a central point mirror one another. The declaration of praise in verse 12 forms the center point of verses 8–18. Verses 8–9 reflect verses 15–18 on God’s care and interaction with nature; verses 10–11 pair with verses 13–14 about God’s providence and concern for humanity. This structure helps reinforce the idea that because of His power in nature and His provision for His people, the proper response is to praise and worship God.
The post His Amazing Help appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: James 4:7–17 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 6–7; Matthew 25:1–30
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Subscribe to iTunes What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14
Ancient scholars Jerome and Tertullian referenced stories of how in ancient Rome, after a general triumphed in an epic victory, he would be paraded atop a gleaming chariot down the capital’s central thoroughfares from dawn to sunset. The crowd would roar. The general would bask in the adoration, reveling in the greatest honor of his life. However, legend has it that a servant stood behind the general the entire day, whispering into his ear, Memento mori (“Remember you will die”). Amid all the adulation, the general desperately needed the humility that came with remembering that he was mortal.
James wrote to a community infected with prideful desires and an inflated sense of self-sufficiency. Confronting their arrogance, he spoke a piercing word: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6). What they needed was to “humble [themselves] before the Lord” (v. 10). And how would they embrace this humility? Like Roman generals, they needed to remember that they would die. “You do not even know what will happen tomorrow,” James insisted. “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (v. 14). And owning their frailty freed them to live under the solidity of the “Lord’s will” rather than their own fading efforts (v. 15).
When we forget that our days are numbered, it can lead to pride. But when we’re humbled by our mortality, we see every breath and every moment as grace. Memento mori.
What does this story of the Roman generals and the phrase Memento mori say to you? Why do you need to remember your mortality?
God, I like to think that my life is in my control. I sometimes act as though I’ll live forever. Humble me. Help me find life only in You.
INSIGHT Several men in the New Testament are named James, including the son of Zebedee/brother of John (Matthew 4:21; Acts 12:2) and the son of Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3). The James who authored the book of James was the half-brother of Jesus (13:55). While early in Jesus’ ministry James didn’t believe in Him, after he saw the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:7), he moved from unbelief to belief. In Acts 1:14, James appears to be present in the upper room after Jesus’ ascension and became a leader in the Jerusalem church (12:17; 15:13).
The post Mortality and Humility appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 1 John 3:11–18 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 4–5; Matthew 24:29–51
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Subscribe to iTunes This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 1 John 3:16
During a summer study program, my son read a book about a boy who wanted to climb an Alpine mountain in Switzerland. Practicing for this goal occupied most of his time. When he finally set off for the summit, things didn’t go as planned. Partway up the slope, a teammate became sick and the boy decided to stay behind to help instead of achieving his goal.
In the classroom, my son’s teacher asked, “Was the main character a failure because he didn’t climb the mountain?” One student said, “Yes, because it was in his DNA to fail.” But another child disagreed. He reasoned that the boy was not a failure, because he gave up something important to help someone else.
When we set aside our plans and care for others instead, we’re acting like Jesus. Jesus sacrificed having a home, reliable income, and social acceptance to travel and share God’s truth. Ultimately, He gave up His life to free us from sin and show us God’s love (1 John 3:16).
Earthly success is much different from success in God’s eyes. He values the compassion that moves us to rescue disadvantaged and hurting people (v. 17). He approves of decisions that protect people. With God’s help, we can align our values with His and devote ourselves to loving Him and others, which is the most significant achievement there is.
How has the quest for success affected your life? Why is it sometimes difficult to align our values with what matters to God?
Heavenly Father, I want to be successful in Your eyes. Teach me how to love others the way You love me.
INSIGHT John is sometimes referred to as the apostle of love. Much of the gospel that bears his name as well as his letters focus on the topic of love. Today’s passage has elements of both identification and application. Love in action—that takes concrete steps to express itself—identifies believers in Jesus, those who have “passed from death to life” (1 John 3:14).
To show what love looks like, John gives examples of love in action from the Old Testament, the life of Jesus, and the teaching of Jesus. Love doesn’t behave like Cain, who killed his own brother (v. 12; see Genesis 4:1–16). Instead, it emulates Jesus who gave up His life (1 John 3:16). Finally, love provides for the physical needs of others, as shown in the story of the Good Samaritan (v. 17; see Luke 10:25–37).
The post Success and Sacrifice appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 1 Kings 1:5, 32–37 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 1–3; Matthew 24:1–28
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Subscribe to iTunes Adonijah . . . put himself forward and said, “I will be king.” 1 Kings 1:5
Aaron Burr anxiously awaited the result of the tie-breaking vote from the US House of Representatives. Deadlocked with Thomas Jefferson in the 1800 race for the presidency, Burr had reason to believe that the House would declare him the winner. However, he lost, and bitterness gnawed at his soul. Nurturing grievances against Alexander Hamilton for not supporting his candidacy, Burr killed Hamilton in a gun duel less than four years later. Outraged by the killing, his country turned its back on him, and Burr died a dour old man.
Political power plays are a tragic part of history. When King David was nearing death, his son Adonijah recruited David’s commander and a leading priest to make him king (1 Kings 1:5–8). But David had chosen Solomon as king (v. 17). With the help of the prophet Nathan, the rebellion was put down (vv. 11–53). Despite his reprieve, Adonijah plotted a second time to steal the throne, and Solomon had him executed (2:13–25).
How human of us to want what’s not rightfully ours! No matter how hard we pursue power, prestige, or possessions, it’s never quite enough. We always want something more. How unlike Jesus, who “humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross”! (Philippians 2:8).
Ironically, selfishly pursuing our own ambitions never brings us our truest, deepest longings. Leaving the outcome to God is the only path to peace and joy.
What do your desires and goals tell you about your heart? What do you need to give to God today?
Dear God, please help me fill the role You’ve given me and not to covet more. Help me trust You in everything.
INSIGHT By ancient rules of inheritance, Adonijah, the oldest of David’s surviving sons, was the rightful heir to the throne. David decided, however, in favor of Solomon, a younger son by Bathsheba (1 Kings 1:17–18, 30), even though two of his trusted advisors thought that Adonijah would be a better choice (vv. 5–7). But why would God let David choose Solomon knowing that in the end Solomon would break all the laws of the throne (Deuteronomy 17:14–20), scandalize his own reputation, and embrace idolatry (1 Kings 11:1–13)? Scripture doesn’t directly answer the question. Instead, it becomes part of the bigger story. Just as the world needed a more faithful and self-controlled king than David, it needed a wiser and more faithful king than Solomon. Only with the arrival of Jesus do we get the kind of wisdom, goodness, security, and King the whole world needs.
The post Getting What We Want appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Proverbs 3:19–24 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 39–40; Matthew 23:23–39
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Subscribe to iTunes When you lie down, you will not be afraid [and] your sleep will be sweet. Proverbs 3:24
When my friend Floss lies awake at night, she thinks about the lyrics of the hymn “My Jesus I Love Thee.” She calls it her “middle-of-the-night” song because it helps her to remember God’s promises and the many reasons she loves Him.
Sleep is a necessary—but sometimes elusive—part of life. At times we may sense the voice of the Holy Spirit bringing unconfessed sin to our mind. Or we begin worrying about our job, our relationships, our finances, our health, or our children. Soon a full-scale dystopian future starts running on a loop in our brain. We assume we nodded off for a bit, but when we look at the clock, we realize it’s been only moments since we last checked.
In Proverbs 3:19–24, King Solomon suggested that we can receive sleep benefits when we embrace God’s wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. In fact, he claimed, “They will be life for you . . . . When you lie down, you will not be afraid [and] your sleep will be sweet” (vv. 22, 24).
Maybe we all need a “middle-of-the-night” song, prayer, or Bible verse to softly whisper to help us shift our jumbled-up thoughts to a mind fully focused on God and His character. A clear conscience and a heart full of gratitude for God’s faithfulness and love can bring us sleep that’s sweet.
How might turning to God when you can’t sleep give you peace? What song, prayer, or Scripture can you meditate on to help you focus on God?
Dear God, thank You for loving me. Help me to focus on Your faithfulness instead of the worries of this life.
INSIGHT The Bible uses imagery for creation that can seem strange to modern readers: The Old Testament describes the earth as sitting on foundation pillars (see 1 Samuel 2:8; Job 9:6; 38:4–11; Psalms 18:15–16; 75:3; Proverbs 8:22–29). Today, we might dismiss it as simply metaphorical. But to the original audiences, it showed that Yahweh was the true God.
The ancient world imagined cosmic geography not as planets orbiting the sun, but as a table-like Earth set on massive pillars above unfathomable waters of chaos. Above, a huge dome separated the dry land from those same waters above. And all of it—the earth, the waters, the sky—were the products of warring gods.
Proverbs 3:19–20 proclaims that God alone created the earth. And this same God—whose wisdom is seen in the majesty of creation—provides us with wisdom so we can navigate life in a way that honors Him.
The post Sweet Sleep appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Romans 5:1–11 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 36–38; Matthew 23:1–22
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Subscribe to iTunes We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3–4
Dan was riding his motorcycle when a car swerved into his lane and pushed him into oncoming traffic. When he woke up two weeks later in the trauma center, he was “a mess.” Worst of all, he suffered a spinal cord injury that left him a paraplegic. Dan prayed for healing, but it never came. Instead, he believes God has compassionately taught him that “the purpose of this life is that we become conformed to the image of Christ. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen when everything is unicorns and rainbows. It . . . happens when life is tough. When we’re forced to rely upon God through prayer just to make it through the day.”
The apostle Paul explained two benefits of right standing with God: persevering and rejoicing in suffering (Romans 5:3–4). These two benefits weren’t a call to endure suffering with stoic fortitude or to find pleasure in pain. It was an invitation to unshakable confidence in God. Suffering plus Christ cultivates “perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (vv. 3–4). This all flows from a faith that the Father won’t abandon us but will walk with us through the fire and into the future.
God meets us in our suffering and helps us grow in Him. Rather than viewing afflictions as His disfavor, may we look for ways He’s using them to sharpen and build our character as we experience His love “poured out into our hearts” (v. 5).
What needs to change in your heart and mind for you to handle suffering in Jesus’ strength? What’s one practical way you can persevere through and rejoice in challenges this week?
Jesus, may I find hope and joy in You as You provide what I need.
Learn more about comforting others who are suffering.
INSIGHT Reconciliation restores those who’ve been alienated. Paul uses the word reconcile more than any other New Testament author, often multiple times in a passage; for example, he uses it three times in Romans 5:10–11. He also uses it in Romans 11:15, 2 Corinthians 5:18–19, and 1 Corinthians 7:11 (related to human reconciliation).
Today’s passage highlights the necessity of Jesus’ death for our reconciliation to God. But that isn’t the end. Our reconciliation through His death leads to our salvation through His life. Paul writes, “How much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:10). He says that both the death of Jesus and His resurrected life are necessary to our salvation.
The post Not for Our Comfort appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Genesis 1:9–13 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 34–35; Matthew 22:23–46
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Subscribe to iTunes Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it.” Genesis 1:11
While Tim was hiking on Root Glacier in Alaska, he came across something he’d not seen before. Though Tim studies glaciers professionally, the vast number of small balls of moss were completely unfamiliar to him. After tracking the bright green balls for many years, Tim and his colleagues discovered that, unlike moss on trees, the “glacier mice” are unattached and—even more surprisingly—move in unison, like a herd or flock. At first, Tim and his colleagues suspected they were blown by the wind or were rolling downhill, but their research ruled out those guesses.
They haven’t yet discovered exactly how the moss balls move. Such mysteries highlight God’s creativity. In His work of creation, God appointed the land to “produce vegetation” in the form of plants and trees (Genesis 1:11). His design included glacier mice too, though most of us won’t see them firsthand unless we visit a glacier that provides a suitable environment for them.
Glacier mice have been charming scientists with their fuzzy green presence since their discovery in the 1950s. When God observed the vegetation He’d created, He declared “that it was good” (v. 12). We’re surrounded by God’s botanical designs, each demonstrating His creative powers and inviting us to worship Him. We can delight in each of the trees and plants He’s made—for they are good!
When has something in God’s creation brought you joy? What aspect of His creative work most prompts you to worship?
Thank You, God, for the wonder of Your creation and the privilege to learn about You through it.
INSIGHT Although the word Trinity never appears on the pages of Scripture, the idea is pictured repeatedly, beginning with how the Bible describes the events of creation. In Genesis 1, we see God at work in creation (v. 1) and the Spirit of God “hovering” (v. 2) over the created spaces. In the New Testament, we see Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, play His part in creation. John 1:3 tells us, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Paul added in Colossians 1:16, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” The collaborative, harmonious relationship of the three persons of the Godhead becomes to us the ultimate example of unity of heart and purpose.
Learn more about the doctrine of the Trinity.
The post The Wonder of Creation appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:16–20 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 31–33; Matthew 22:1–22
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Subscribe to iTunes If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17
Chinese New Year celebrations are observed by Chinese families everywhere. These festivities are tied to the lunar calendar, usually falling somewhere in late January to mid-February. These times for family reunions come with many traditions—some of great significance. Buying and donning new clothes, giving our homes a good cleaning, and paying off outstanding debts remind us we’re putting the past behind and starting the year with a clean slate.
These traditions also remind me of our new life in Christ. No matter who we used to be or what we’ve done, we can put it all behind us. We can stop beating ourselves up over our past and let go of the guilt, knowing we’re completely forgiven because of Jesus’ death on the cross. And we can start afresh, knowing we can rely on the Holy Spirit to daily transform us to be more like Jesus.
That’s why Paul reminds believers “the old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We too can say this because of the simple but powerful truth: God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and no longer counts our sins against us (v. 19).
Others around us may not be willing to forget our past wrongdoing, but we can take heart that in God’s eyes we’re no longer condemned (Romans 8:1). As Paul points out, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (v. 31). Let’s enjoy the fresh start He’s given us through Jesus.
How can you remind yourself that you’re fully forgiven because of Jesus’ death on the cross? How can you encourage new believers to start life afresh?
Thank You, Jesus, for Your saving work on the cross that reconciles me to God and gives me a new life in You.
INSIGHT Paul’s critics had accused him of being out of his mind (2 Corinthians 5:13). Their insults probably hurt, but he wasn’t surprised. He knew he had a different way of thinking. His idea of good news was a resurrected Messiah King who conquered the world and rescued humanity by allowing Himself to be crucified. Paul admitted that embracing such thoughts led to a Christlike way of thinking that required living by faith rather than sight (5:7). And for Paul personally, it meant taking risks of love that meant sounding as if he’d lost his mind for the sake of his readers (11:23). Yet he took the chance of boasting of what he’d suffered in the love of Jesus so that his readers could answer those who took pride in “what is seen rather than in what is in the heart” (5:12; see also chs. 10–12).
The post A Fresh Start appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Psalm 16 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 29–30; Matthew 21:23–46
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Subscribe to iTunes I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Psalm 16:2
“Keep your hands behind your back. You’ll be fine.” That’s the loving admonition Jan’s husband always gave before she ventured off to speak to a group. When she found herself trying to impress people or seeking to control a situation, she’d adopt this posture because it put her in a teachable, listening frame of mind. She used it to remind herself to love those before her and to be humble and available to the Holy Spirit.
Jan’s understanding of humility is rooted in King David’s observation that everything comes from God. David said to God, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing” (Psalm 16:2). He learned to trust God and seek His counsel: “Even at night my heart instructs me” (v. 7). He knew that with God next to him, he’d not be shaken (v. 8). He didn’t need to puff himself up because he trusted in the mighty God who loved him.
As we look to God each day, asking Him to help us when we feel frustrated or to give us words to speak when we feel tongue-tied, we’ll see Him at work in our lives. We’ll “partner with God,” as Jan says; and we’ll realize that if we’ve done well, it’s because God has helped us flourish.
We can look at others with love, our hands clasped behind our backs in a posture of humility to remind us that everything we have comes from God.
How do you feel when you place yourself in a humble posture before someone else? How could you depend on God to help you with the tasks before you today?
Creator God, You’ve created the world and all that’s within it, and yet You love me and want to use me for Your glory. Help me to look to You for help and strength.
INSIGHT Scholars believe David was on the run from Saul when he wrote Psalm 16. In 1 Samuel, we learn what he was going through at that time. He’d gained command of a band of misfits and possibly even outlaws (22:1–2). For a time, he stayed in a cave (v. 1) before going to a foreign “stronghold” (v. 4–5). Even his mother and father had to leave their home (vv. 3–4). Yet he wrote, “The boundary lines have fallen to me in pleasant places” (Psalm 16:6). As a fugitive, how could he say such a thing? David’s faith was so strong that he was simultaneously confident of God’s deliverance from his present difficulties and certain of “a delightful inheritance” (v. 6) in the future. He knew that the kingship awaited him, but what he most anticipated was eternity with God (v. 11).
The post A Humble Posture appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.
Read: Matthew 25:31–40 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 27–28; Matthew 21:1–22
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Subscribe to iTunes Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40
I sat on the pier during a vacation, reading my Bible and watching my husband fish. A young man approached us, suggesting we use different bait. He glanced at me as he fidgeted from one foot to another and said, “I’ve been in jail.” He pointed to my Bible and sighed, “Do you think God really cares about people like me?”
Opening to Matthew 25, I read aloud that Jesus talked about His followers visiting those in prison.
“It says that? About being in prison?” Tears brimmed his eyes when I shared how God considers kindness toward His children a personal act of love toward Himself (vv. 31–40).
“I wish my parents would forgive me too.” He lowered his head. “I’ll be right back.” He returned and handed me his tattered Bible. “Would you show me where to find those words?”
I nodded. My husband and I hugged him as we prayed for him and his parents. We exchanged contact information and have continued praying for him.
At one point or another, we’ll feel unloved, unwelcomed, in need, and even physically or emotionally imprisoned (vv. 35–36). We’ll need reminders of God’s loving compassion and forgiveness. We’ll also have opportunities to support others who struggle with these feelings. We can be a part of God’s redeeming plan as we spread His truth and love wherever we go.
How can you love God by showing love to others today? In what ways has He showed you love through others?
Father, thank You for loving me, forgiving me, and giving me opportunities to share Your truth as I love You by loving others.
Discover what real love is.
INSIGHT Each of the gospel accounts has a specific structure. Matthew’s gospel uses five major teaching blocks around which the inspired author wraps the story of Jesus. Of these blocks, the first and the last are the longest and appear to stand in contrast to one another. The first block, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), presents the ideals and principles of life within the kingdom of God. The final message (chs. 23–25), along with some end-time prophecy, focuses on what happens when those kingdom principles are ignored—seen primarily in Jesus’ challenges to Israel’s unfaithful religious leaders (ch. 23).
The post Love Wherever We Go appeared first on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.