Posts with the category “daily-devotional”

"But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect." - 1 Peter 3:15 You do not need a seminary degree to share Jesus, but you do need to know Him. That is the heartbeat behind today’s message. If someone asked you to explain quantum physics, you would proba...  Read More

"They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts." - Acts 2:46 Eating is one of the most common things we do. It is so essential that if we stop, we die. Everyone you know eats. They may not like the same music you do, watch the same sports you enjoy, or live the same lifestyle you live, but every single person you know shares this one thing: they eat. That reality ma...  Read More

"I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me." - John 15:5 We live in a world that praises self-sufficiency. We are taught from a young age to stand on our own two feet, to work hard, and to prove ourselves. So it is no surprise that many of us struggle to grasp what true spiritual dependence looks like. Yet...  Read More

"But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded." - 2 Chronicles 15:7 There is something inspiring about watching someone push through when everything tells them to quit. You can see it in athletes who keep training through injuries. You see it in marriages that have weathered decades of storms. And you see it in believers who keep walking by faith even when the answe...  Read More

"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires." - Psalm 37:4 There is something powerful about desire when it is anchored in the right place. The promise in Psalm 37 is clear. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. But don’t miss that first part. The order matters. Delight in Him first, then He gives. Not the other way around. We live i...  Read More

"Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ And the blind man said to him, ‘Rabbi, let me recover my sight.’" - Mark 10:51 When Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus in Mark 10, the crowd tried to silence him. But he just got louder. He knew what he wanted, and when Jesus asked him directly, “What do you want me to do for you?” He did not hesitate. He had a clear desire, and he was not afraid...  Read More

“Then Jesus answered him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Rabboni,’ the blind man said to him, ‘I want to see.’” – Mark 10:51 Every now and then in life, we get the chance to make a bold request. A shot at asking for something big. But even then, most people play it safe. We ask for things that seem possible, things that feel reasonable, things we think we might deserve. Bartimaeus didn’t pl...  Read More

"For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." – John 3:16 We have looked at all kinds of exchanges lately. We have talked about trading comfort for the cross, selfishness for the Savior, and judgment for joy. But none of those matter without the one exchange that makes them all possible. The exchange...  Read More

"For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done." – Matthew 16:27 There is something strange about judgment. None of us likes to be on the receiving end of it, but somehow, we often feel justified when we are the ones handing it out. We may not say it out loud, but our thoughts can be quick to assume, quick...  Read More

"For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?" – Matthew 16:26 There is a story about Lord Castlereagh, who once owned one of the most beautiful castles in all of Ireland. After years of abandonment, he returned to find the walls of his castle picked apart by locals who had scavenged the stones to build with. Ho...  Read More

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it." – Matthew 16:25 If we’re honest, most of us like control. We like to steer the ship, manage the schedule, and call the shots. We build our routines around predictability and comfort, and the moment something feels uncertain, we tighten our grip even more. But Jesus challenges us with something...  Read More

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." - Matthew 16:24 There is something brutal about a cross. It is not made for comfort. The wood is raw, the edges are splintered, and the weight is not just physical but emotional and spiritual too. It is not built for relaxation or ease. It is built for death. Jesus did no...  Read More

"If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself…" – Matthew 16:24 You do not have to teach a child to be selfish. It just comes naturally. Maybe that is why a story like this hits home. A mom was making pancakes for her two young boys, Tom and Ryan, when a fight broke out over who would get the first one. Seizing the moment, she said, “If Jesus were here, He would say, ‘Let my brother ha...  Read More

"For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?" – Matthew 16:26 Jesus never asked empty questions. Every word He spoke was purposeful, meant to cut through the noise and reach the heart. In Matthew 16, He asks one of the most piercing questions of all. What does it really profit a person if they gain the world, b...  Read More

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” – Psalm 127:1 Years ago in Ireland, a man named Castlereagh inherited a beautiful but abandoned family castle. To protect it from being dismantled by the locals, he hired a mason to build a protective wall around it. He gave the plans and paid the price, expecting the castle to be preserved. But when he returned years later, the...  Read More

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:21 There’s an old story about a man named Castlereagh, heir to a once-great estate in Ireland. After generations of influence and wealth, the family castle sat abandoned, its stones being stolen piece by piece by the locals. Hoping to protect what remained, Castlereagh hired a mason to build a wall around the property. Years ...  Read More

“He blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” – Matthew 14:19 Most of us love the idea of being a blessing. We want to be used by God, to make a difference in someone’s life, to offer something that matters. But the part we usually overlook is that our blessings often have to be broken before they can be multiplied. That truth shows up...  Read More

“Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up twelve baskets full of leftover pieces.” – Matthew 14:19-20 It’s one of the most familiar miracles in all of Scripture, but sometimes we’re so used to it that we forget just how staggering it really is. Thousands of people sitting on a hillside, hungry and tired after fol...  Read More

“And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’” – Luke 5:4–5 Sometimes God asks you to do something that just doesn’t make sense. In Luke 5, we read about a group of professional fishermen who had spent the entire night do...  Read More

“They said to him, ‘We have only five loaves here and two fish.’” – Matthew 14:17 There’s a moment in the Gospels where Jesus feeds thousands of people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. You may have heard the story before. It’s one of the most famous miracles in the Bible, and for good reason. But the part that often gets overlooked is how it all started. It didn’t begin with Jesus snap...  Read More

“They said to him, ‘We have only five loaves here and two fish.’” – Matthew 14:17 When we hear the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, our attention usually lands on the miracle itself. We marvel at how so little became so much. We talk about Jesus’ compassion or the disciples’ doubts. But today, let’s zoom in on someone else. Someone easy to miss in the crowd. A boy. He was just one among t...  Read More

"Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, he blessed them and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds." - Matthew 14:19 One of the most well-known miracles in Scripture is the feeding of the five thousand. It is the only miracle, outside the resurrection, that is recorded in all four gospels. That tells us something. It mat...  Read More

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.” – 1 Corinthians 1:18 There is something about the cross that just doesn’t make sense to the world. Always has been. Always will be. Think about it. A sinless Savior dying for sinners who didn’t deserve it. A King giving up His crown to carry a cross. A God who could have cru...  Read More

"Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching isn’t mine but is from the one who sent me.’” – John 7:16 Jesus lived every second of His life for the glory of the Father. That was His focus. That was His motivation. He didn’t seek applause or chase popularity. His message and His methods were shaped entirely by the will of God, not the opinions of people. Even though He lived in perfect obedience, people stil...  Read More

“Jesus replied to them, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’” – Luke 5:31-32 Sometimes obedience to God will confuse people. It did when Jesus walked the earth, and it still does now. His way of reaching people didn’t fit inside the boxes religious leaders had built. He healed at the wrong tim...  Read More

"But the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'" – Luke 15:2 Jesus had a habit of doing things that didn’t make sense to the religious crowd. He healed on the Sabbath. He touched lepers. He ate with tax collectors. He welcomed children. He told stories instead of giving lectures. Time after time, His methods were questioned. And they still are. If y...  Read More

"Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped his feet with her hair." – John 12:3 When Mary poured out that expensive perfume on Jesus in John 12, she wasn't trying to be impressive. She wasn’t calculating the cost or concerned about what others would say. She was simply expressing her love for Him in the purest way she knew how. And yet, the moment...  Read More

"This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." – John 11:4 Sometimes God’s plan doesn’t make sense in real time. We pray, we wait, and we watch as the situation gets worse instead of better. Just like Mary and Martha, we wonder why Jesus doesn’t show up when we think He should. Their brother Lazarus was sick, and they believed...  Read More

"Jesus wept. So the Jews said, 'See how he loved him!' But some of them said, 'Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?'" – John 11:35-37 Have you ever done something with the right heart, only to have someone question why you really did it? That stings. Maybe you helped someone, and people assumed you had an angle. Maybe you gave generously, and someone thou...  Read More

"The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked" – 1 John 2:6 When you really study the life of Jesus, it becomes clear pretty quickly that He didn’t live in a way that made sense to most people. He confused the religious elite, frustrated the powerful, and shocked the crowds. And yet, He lived with purpose, clarity, and compassion every step of the way. The truth is, Jesus lived...  Read More

"Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God" - Romans 12:2 Let’s just say it plain, living for Jesus will not make sense to most people. It never has, and it never will. Following Christ means standing out, not blending in. It means refusing to be shaped by the patterns of this world ...  Read More

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" - 1 Peter 2:9 Following Jesus is not supposed to blend in. It’s meant to stand out. The more broken and self-focused the world becomes, the more our lives should cause people to ask questions. Not becaus...  Read More

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" - Matthew 5:16 Life is full of surprises. Some bring joy. Others bring stress. You find a twenty-dollar bill in an old jacket and smile. You open an unexpected bill, and your stomach sinks. Surprise is just part of life. But have you ever thought about how your life might surprise som...  Read More

"And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread" - Matthew 6:28 There’s a kind of tired that sleep does not fix. The kind where your mind keeps racing even when your body is still. The kind where you wake up more exhausted than when you went to bed. Jesus knew that kind of tired, and He spoke right into it. He used wildflowers to ...  Read More

"Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?" - Matthew 6:25 Most of us do not need someone to tell us life is heavy. We already feel it. The weight of responsibility. The pressure to perform. The constant tug-of-war between what we can control and wha...  Read More

"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them" - Matthew 6:32 There is a tightness that comes with worry. You feel it in your chest. In your shoulders. In your jaw. It shows up when you are gripping life too hard, convinced that if you just hold on tighter, things will finally come together. But that grip is not strength. It is fear dressed up a...  Read More

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you." - Matthew 6:33 Out in the fields, wildflowers bloom without trying. They do not strain to grow or panic about the weather. They just receive. God provides the sun, the rain, and the soil. Everything they need comes from outside themselves. And Jesus says we should take a good look at that. Tha...  Read More

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" - Colossians 3:2 Worry does not always start big. It can begin with a glance. A thought. A tiny distraction that slowly grows until it grabs hold of your full attention. The more you stare at it, the bigger it gets. Jesus knew this. That is why when He talked about worry, He did not just say stop it. He told us to change what we are looking a...  Read More

"Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?" - Matthew 6:27 Sometimes Jesus taught by telling stories. Other times, He taught by asking questions. And in Matthew 6, He fires off a whole bunch of them. Not to confuse us, but to get us thinking. Because worry makes you ask all the wrong questions. What if this happens? What if that falls apart? What if I cannot hold it all together?...  Read More

"Consider the birds of the sky, they don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?" - Matthew 6:26 Most of the time, worry does not come from what is actually happening. It comes from how we see what is happening. That is why Jesus did not just tell folks to stop worrying in Matthew 6. He showed them a better way to see. A new perspec...  Read More