Daily Devotion
August 14, 2026
Luke 21:28 “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh”
When we read these words, we need to remember that Jesus is first speaking to Israel because there can be no clear understanding of Scripture from beginning to end unless Israel is placed centrally in its interpretation. Yet this verse spans more than just the deliverance and redemption of Israel because New Testament believers, the children of God through faith in Jesus, are also part of the culmination of God’s creation. Just as there was transition and overlapping between the old covenant and the new, and also in the seven church ages, there will be overlapping and transitions as the church ages come to a close, the antichrist rises, the tribulation begins, and the Lord Jesus returns as King of Kings. The Lord said that when the things He foretold begin to come to pass, we are first to “look up.” If we continue to look around us, all we will see is the continual worsening of evil, terror, confusion, and destruction. But the Lord said to “look up,” reminding us of the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 121:1-2, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” In his case, he was referring to Jerusalem, built on seven hills and the center of worship for the nation of Israel. But in our case, we look upward to the throne of grace where Christ sits at the right hand of God. But not only did He say to lift our eyes; He said to lift our heads. This gives us the picture of one who is bowed down with troubles, worries, discouragement, and hopelessness, and suddenly there is hope, there is an answer, there is help, and there is victory. The head that was hanging in defeat is lifted in confidence, faith, courage, and power. Redemption and deliverance are drawing near for the church and the restoration of Israel. It is a bitter-sweet time because we know those left to face the tribulation may be people we know, people in our families, and people we love who will not put their trust in Jesus for salvation. Though we will leave, escaping the wrath coming upon the world, those left behind will suffer as no people ever have before. Yet this is the blessed hope and comfort for believers that God has promised, and we see it unfolding every day. Let’s witness to the lost, look up, raise our heads, and know that when He appears, we will forever be with our Lord.
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August 13, 2026
Genesis 6:3 “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years”
The cartoonish depictions we see of the ark with all its animals make for cute decorations in children’s rooms and coloring books. But the historical event was a horrific display of the Lord’s judgment against sin. Very little is said in the Bible about the civilizations that existed in the two-thousand-year period from the beginning of creation to the flood, and we can only guess about the number of people destroyed by the waters. We know people lived long lives, and estimates range from millions of people to four billion. What we know from the Bible record is that people became so wicked and violent that God was grieved that He had created them. On one hand, God’s judgment was executed through the flood, erasing all humans from the earth except for eight people in the ark. But then we see the patience of God revealed in 1 Peter 3:20, “the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing.” Even though the Lord was determined to destroy humanity, He waited another 120 years, giving Noah time to build the ark and preach to people in the process. In 2 Peter 2:5, the Scriptures call Noah a preacher of righteousness. If people are being warned that judgment is coming and the Lord is patient in giving them time to turn away from sin and be saved, why is it that so few believe the truth to the saving of their souls? The answer is given in Ecclesiastes 8:11. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” When the Lord, in His patience with us, does not quickly punish our sin, our depravity and unbelief convince us we are getting by with our disobedience and that God doesn’t actually mean what He says. Our twisted reasoning takes over, and it doesn’t take long for us to decide we have plenty of time, we aren’t so bad after all, and that God would never do such a thing as destroy people. We have no idea what people in Noah’s day thought about him and the big boat he was building. As he built day after day for 120 years, and not a drop of rain or an inch of a flood could be seen, no doubt his message of coming judgment seemed foolish and, after a while, old-fashioned and outdated. But today’s verse tells us the patience of the Lord was in place for 120 years, and then God did exactly what He said He would do. He has not changed.
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August 12, 2026
Genesis 12:10 “And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land”
Abraham had just traveled from his home country and entered the land the Lord promised him. He and his family, with all their possessions, had journeyed several hundred miles. By faith, Abraham was following the promise that God gave him. Abraham reached the promised land after a long, grueling trek of faith, and when he arrived, God reaffirmed to him that this was the land He had promised to him and his descendants. Perhaps Abraham looked around and couldn’t believe his eyes that the Lord had led him to a place that was in the throes of a severe, scorching famine. We might be sure it wasn’t at all what he had envisioned as he and his family had been traveling for months. Imagine Abraham and all those traveling with him, after being reassured throughout the trip that they were headed to a place the Lord had promised them, and when they reached the land, instead of being welcomed by lush valleys and beautiful pastures, there was a devastating famine in progress. At that point, Abraham left his promised land and moved into Egypt. It is an example to us that our journey of faith has many circumstances and situations that do not make sense to us at the time, but the Lord has a plan and purpose in every detail. For Abraham, it was the beginning of his relationship with the Lord, a season of growing in faith and learning to trust God. We all look back and see the times we failed and got off track. We have the memories of those “what was I thinking?” moments, and if we view them as isolated incidents, it looks like we were behaving like unbelievers and had no faith at all. But the life of faith is dynamic and methodical, moving from test to test as our faith grows and builds upon previous times when the Lord proved His faithfulness to us. We see Him unfailing in His promises, and we learn to trust Him more. When we wobble in our faithfulness, the Lord never does. When we faceplant in moments of unbelief, He remains steadfast and gives more grace. Our lack of understanding and our weaknesses are times of opportunity for God to reveal Himself in His love for us and His ability to help us when we can’t help ourselves. Abraham didn’t stay long in Egypt; he and Sarah came out by the grace of the Lord, and he returned to the place he was destined to be. We have the Lord’s promise in Philippians 1:6 that “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”.
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August 11, 2026
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”
Twice in this chapter, in verse 1 and here in verse 27, Jesus told His disciples they should not allow their hearts to be troubled, and in today’s verse, He added they should not be afraid. The Lord spoke these words before He was arrested, tried, and crucified, and He was preparing His disciples for those dark times. The great promise of this chapter is that although Jesus would go away, He would send the Holy Spirit in His place to remain with us, and He also promised the essence of His peace, lasting peace that is nothing like what we might expect from this world. Peace outside of Christ is fleeting, partial, and subject to disappearing at any moment. At this moment, while I’m working on this devotion, the noisy heat pump is running, cars are racing past the house, not far away, there’s a train rumbling by and blowing its horn, and the local mockingbirds are screeching in a big fight in the back yard. I’m thinking about peace, but my environment is anything but peaceful and quiet. Yet within, I know I’m a child of God, my future is secure, He’s supplying all my needs, and the Holy Spirit is with me. The angels of the Lord are encamped around me; I’m blessed beyond the curse, the Lord has given me exceedingly great and precious promises, and nothing in heaven or on earth will ever separate me from God’s love. All that and more is the foundation of the peace described here and in places like Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. The words “which passeth all understanding” mean it goes beyond and is deeper than anything we can imagine or explain. This world tries to offer peace, but it always fails, as the Bible says in Isaiah 57:21, “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked”. This heavenly peace has been described as the harmony, calmness, and tranquility within us that rises above our circumstances. It comes from the work of the Holy Spirit as He reassures us and strengthens our faith that God is with us and is faithful to His promises. In these uncertain times, as the world is continually moving further away from God’s truth and we see earthly hope disappearing, we need the peace of our Lord more than ever, and He is ready and willing to keep His promise that His peace is available to us. There can be no peace without the Prince of Peace.
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August 10, 2026
John 13:4-5 “He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”
Only John records this wondrous event of our Lord washing the disciples’ feet. What do you say to the God of heaven and earth while He is washing your feet? “Thanks a bunch?” No, at such a display of compassion and grace, words are insufficient to cover up our tongue-tied state of amazement and fumbling attempts at gratitude. It is beyond our understanding. For we, the decrepit and undeserving, are recipients of such a gift that even the angels of glory must look upon it all slack-jawed. Humans are a proud, boastful, and self-absorbed lot, and not only do we think we don’t need the Lord except in times of emergencies, we obviously don’t want Him touching our feet because we can do that ourselves. In this account, when Jesus took off His outer robes and humbly began the role of a servant, He was acting out His love for us, and it takes our minds to the verses that tell how He took off heaven’s robes of splendor and became a man to suffer and die in our place. It says in Philippians 2:7-8, “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” If we are going to grow in our love for the Lord, it can only be from the place where we see clearly who we were before He washed us from our sin in His own blood and completely forgave all our sin. In these times, the complete sinfulness of man is not a truth that’s mentioned, and we nonchalantly go about our lives with no sense of our depravity. From this mindset, we don’t see ourselves as hopeless, wretched sinners. And then we don’t see Jesus as forgiving us very much, to which He said, “but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” Those who worship and adore the Savior from a vantage point of being forgiven a debt that demanded death as payment do so from a loving relationship that counts Jesus as our priceless all-in-all and our redemption as an unspeakable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15).
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August 9, 2026
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”
When the Lord gave the parable of the seed and the sower, He concluded with these words in Mark 4:20, “And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred,” revealing that people who believe the Word of God do not all produce the same crop. Billy Graham traveled the world for over 60 years and won untold thousands to the Lord, but there are pastors just as passionate about the gospel and just as dedicated to the Lord who serve in small country churches, preaching to a handful of people every Sunday for 60 years and seeing only a few conversions under their ministry. Who is most important in God’s kingdom? Both share equally in the work. In the same frame of mind, some people are bold in their faith, and all those around them are well aware of their faith, the church they attend, and their opinions on things. Sometimes we might assume when we are challenged to be bold and public about our faith that all followers of the Lord should step out into the middle of the town square, wherever they are, and loudly proclaim their allegiance to Jesus. I think I have thought that very thing at times and felt anything else was cowardice. But if it is true, all Christians in China and other places that persecute, imprison, and even kill believers would have to openly reveal themselves, and the churches there would disappear. But some, like Nicodemus, believe just as strongly even though the Scriptures tell us in John 3 that he came secretly to Jesus at night to ask about salvation. Remember that after his encounter with Jesus in John 3, he appeared after Jesus’ crucifixion asking for the Lord’s body for burial. His purpose in God’s Kingdom was more behind the scenes and less apparent to those around him. Maybe that’s who you are, and the enemy has tried to make you feel insignificant because you are not a headliner in your church, on your job, or in some ministry. God used Nicodemus just as He did Peter and Paul, even though Nicodemus lived his faith and did his work for the Lord on a quieter, more subdued scale. God is still using people just like that and in that way today. When God’s plan is done, everyone who planted the seed of the gospel and all those who watered that seed with their prayers and testimonies are equally the same in God’s eyes. It is the Lord that brings it all to completion.
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August 8, 2026
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek”
If we are Christians, if Jesus Christ has forgiven us of our sins and written our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life, there is no reason for us to ever be ashamed of the gospel. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, alienated from God, and had no hope. But when we heard and believed the gospel, by its power, we were raised from death to life. We were washed from our sins and given the eternal hope of heaven. If there is any shame, it should have been in the remorse for our sinfulness and not in what God has made us. Shame should be for the mess that people, made in the image of God, have created on this earth. People should be ashamed of their lies, immorality, and spiritually bankrupt lives; lives that dishonor and disown their Creator. The world, claiming progress and power in technology and progressive societies, tries to make believers ashamed of their testimony of faith and the gospel of hope. The enemy tries to silence us as if what we bring with the message of Jesus Christ is outdated and unneeded. But it is a ploy to silence the only hope there is for a lost and dying world. Science can’t save us, politics can’t save us, cell phones and the internet can’t save us, sports and recreation can’t save us, and we are sinking deeper into global confusion and sin without any hope except for the gospel of Christ. In Jesus Christ we have hope, we have an anchor for our souls, and we have the unfailing love and promises of our Creator God that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. There is nothing to be ashamed of in that! The power of salvation is not in the church, not in its preachers, not in religion, but in the gospel, as the Scripture here says, “It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” It was given first to the Jews and then to the Greeks, which means Gentiles or non-Jews. Are we ashamed of that? Never! We might be ashamed of things people have done in the name of God or ashamed of what churches have done in the name of God. But we are not ashamed that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified and died on a cross, was buried but arose from the dead on the third day, and is now the Savior of anyone who will look to Him and believe in Him. We are unashamed.
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August 7, 2026
Isaiah 28:12 “To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear”
Today’s verse from Isaiah tells us the Lord had a plan for His people to give them a place of rest and refreshing, but the Bible says they turned their ears away. Religion often teaches people that all they have to do is believe in Jesus, or at least believe there is a God, keep the Ten Commandments or some other set of religious rules, and be a good person to go to heaven. It makes me wonder how many people believe the way to please God enough to gain eternal life is to worry constantly about whether they are doing all the right things. When Jesus set people free from the Law of Moses, that in itself was rest. Keeping the Law was a continual work of obedience from the time they woke until they went back to sleep, and it never ended until the day they died. It was like an ox’s yoke around their neck, tied to all the commandments, and they carried that burden every hour of every day. But in Christ we are at rest, bound no longer to the law, and this rest is complete and eternal. Just as the Sabbath day of rest offered hope to weary workers, Jesus has become our everlasting Sabbath. Hebrews 4:9-10 says, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” But notice the warning in Hebrews 4:1: “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” There is now a place of rest in Christ, but many who profess to follow Him will not, like the Jews of old, enter into that rest. Even though Jesus has set them free, they refuse to believe His free gift and continue to walk in the bondage of good works, the false promises of religion apart from the grace of the Lord, and the impossible attempt to gain God’s favor by their own merits. I know if you read these devotions regularly, you might think I repeat these truths too often, but the Lord called me to minister the gospel of grace. Despite the overwhelming evidence throughout the Bible that salvation is not by our works, so many people remain ensnared by false doctrines that teach otherwise. Like those in Isaiah 28:12, they have been offered the rest of God’s grace, “yet they would not hear.” May we never reject the rest that Christ freely offers, but instead rest completely in His finished work.
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August 6, 2026
Psalms 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
If we think Psalm 37:4 is a blank check from God to give us whatever desire comes to us, whether good or bad, we are misunderstanding God’s promise. Even when He does give us what we think we want, if we desire it outside of His will, there is still little or no pleasure in it, as when Israel desired a king against God’s will for them. The Lord gave them their desire, but their story from then on is one king after another who promoted idolatry, brought God’s judgment upon the nation, and eventually led them into destruction and captivity. Those teachers today who use this verse, and others like it, to persuade people that the Lord’s plan is to give them all the material wealth and whatever else they, like spoiled brats, ask Him for are false prophets, as declared in 1 Timothy 6:5, “Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.” Before the promise is given that the Lord will give us the desires of our hearts comes the prerequisite: “Delight thyself also in the Lord.” The words “delight thyself” have their roots in a word that means to be pliable and soft, and it also carries the idea of being in a place of contentment. People who take delight in certain things, whether sinful or not, immerse themselves in those things and usually surround themselves with all the trappings of that particular pleasure. Christians who love the Lord and find their pleasure in Him have more than a token allegiance to their God, and it shows in their lives. These are they who love His Word, desire His presence, worship His holiness, and live submitted to His will. To delight ourselves in the Lord doesn’t mean having a Sunday morning relationship with Christ or seeking Him only during an imminent crisis. It involves living with the expectation that all our happiness, the supply of all our needs, and the very essence of our being are found in Christ alone. Then, with our hearts laid bare before our Maker, our desires brought into harmony with His will, trusting Him for whatever is best for us, and fully convinced that His ways are perfect, He will give us the desires of our heart. It may well be that He provides things that make our lives more comfortable. It may also be that He surprises us with something altogether different than what we thought we wanted, yet those alternatives bring greater joy and happiness than we could have imagined. Those who delight themselves in the Lord will always find His Word to be true, just as Psalm 84:11 declares, “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
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August 5, 2026
Isaiah 14:3 “And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve”
This scripture is multifold in its scope. It first depicts Israel being delivered from Babylon and returning to their land. After the seventy years of captivity had fulfilled God’s purpose of correcting their idolatry and rebellion against Him, they returned home, rebuilt their temple and cities, and were no longer under the oppression of Babylon. It is also a prophecy of a future time when Jesus will return to the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Israel will once again have her rightful place among the nations, with Jerusalem as the capital of the earth. This will be the time of peace and rest spoken of throughout the scriptures and is what Bible believers refer to as the millennial reign of Christ. But in a broader sense, this is also a promise to all who come to Jesus in faith and receive His gift of salvation. Jesus declared in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” For the Jews who labored under the yoke of the law and all that their religious leaders and traditions had added to it, it was an invitation to be free from the bondage of religion. For the rest of us Gentiles, it was a message of peace and pardon that delivers us from the curse brought by Adam’s sin, takes away the fear of death, and removes the uncertainty of the life to come. For everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, the promise is rest from the hard bondage of sin and the heavy yoke we have carried since the moment of our birth. Jesus went on to say in Matthew 11:29-30, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Sometimes the weight of life settles heavily upon us through family burdens and difficult circumstances, with loads of anxiety, fear, guilt, despair, sorrow, and loneliness. In those moments we need the unfailing assurance that the Lord stands ready, able, and willing to give us rest from our sorrow, our fear, and our bondage. When we cry out to Him, we have His promise that He is listening and that He will come to our aid. We can breathe a simple prayer: “Lord, You promised rest, and I know You will not fail. You promised peace because You are the Prince of Peace, and You told us to cast all our cares upon You because You care for us.” Let’s read these words of Isaiah as God’s Word to us today, pointing us to our Savior, who is the eternal rest for the people of God.
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August 4, 2026
John 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”
When people read this verse, they often come away with different viewpoints because freedom means different things to different people. But for those of us who know Jesus as our Savior, we understand that our Lord was referring to God’s plan to set us free from sin, the curse, and the judgment to come. This freedom comes through faith in God’s Words of truth. Despite our sin and its consequences, the Lord pledged His mercy and favor toward us and promised that if we will simply take Him at His Word, believing what He has said, that faith will be counted to us for righteousness. Yet in every age and every place, under every form of government and social structure, people have mocked God’s Words, fought against them, ignored them, twisted their meaning, manipulated the text to suit their own desires, and tried to block the truth. They have exchanged the truth for lies, denied the God who spoke the Words, and obscured the truth behind man-made religious systems that hide the grace of God beneath layers of commandments, traditions, and false doctrines. The God who spoke the Words of truth has often been replaced by preachers, popes, politicians, and philosophers, while the Godhead has been counterfeited by images and ideas imagined by men. Romans 1:18 warns that God is angry with those who hold back His truth. His anger is righteous because concealing the truth keeps people from hearing the message that can set them free. It promotes widespread sin, destroys lives and families, tears down the barriers that protect society, and leads humanity down the same path that existed before the flood. Much has changed in America over the past several decades. We have gone from a time when many people rarely locked their doors to becoming a nation filled with anxiety, fear, violence, and addiction. Those who suppress the truth boast that their progressive thinking has liberated people from the chains of religion and the restraints of biblical morality. Yet instead of freedom, we find ourselves sinking deeper into the bondage of sin. Our culture insists we are better off than before because we have cast off what supposedly held us back. Only God’s truth sets people free. Jesus declared in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Those who hide, distort, or suppress the truth are not only enemies of God, but enemies of humanity, because they seek to take away the only source of true freedom, lasting joy, abiding peace, and eternal life.
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August 3, 2026
Ephesians 4:28 “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”
Thank God for people with generous, giving hearts. In an age where it seems so many are selfish, narcissistic, and fulfilling the words of 2 Timothy 3:2, “For men shall be lovers of their own selves,” it’s a blessing to see people who still care enough to give to others. And we’re not just talking about giving money, but an overall attitude and spirit of benevolence where people willingly sacrifice their time and resources to help those in need. Even in things concerning the Lord’s work, many of us remember a time when people didn’t have to be paid to serve the Lord as though it were just another job. They gladly gave their gifts and talents because they loved Christ and wanted to serve Him. Just as the Apostle Paul said of his ministry in 1 Corinthians 9:18, “What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.” In our small community, we still have a volunteer fire department, and until a few years ago, when changing laws and financial hardships made it impossible to continue, we also had a volunteer rescue squad. As I write this, I’m thinking of the countless people who have been helped by the Salvation Army, rescue missions, and many other outreaches that are often staffed by faithful volunteers. Thank God for clothing ministries, food ministries, back-to-school supply ministries, and all the other efforts where people freely give their time, resources, and money to help others. Today’s verse calls us away from the selfish ways of the world and into a life of serving others, using what God has given us to be a blessing. It reminds us of the words of Jesus, who taught that it is more blessed to be in a position to give than in a place where we need to receive. It’s not enough for churches to have good music, meaningful worship, and interesting preaching. We also need a faithful, visible outreach to those in need. An occasional ministry project planned by church leaders and carried out by a handful of volunteers does not necessarily mean we have a giving heart. For those of us who have been saved and blessed beyond our basic needs, following Christ means looking beyond ourselves. It means helping carry another’s burden, meeting needs where we can, encouraging the discouraged, and pointing people to the hope that is found in Jesus Christ.
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August 2, 2026
Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.”
The Bible says in Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” The unity, the oneness, of the body of Christ is so fundamental to the desire of our Lord that the Holy Spirit also inspired these words in Romans 16:17: “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” In today’s verse, the writer tells us to provoke (stir up, motivate) one another unto love and good works. Just a few verses later, we are also told to exhort (encourage) one another, and so much the more as we see the day of our Lord approaching. Are you an encourager? Do you actively look for ways and words to strengthen others, especially in these days of uncertainty and discouragement? No one can deny that we live in an age where discouragement is everywhere. Many families are in disarray. Addictions of every kind continue to destroy lives. People are lonely, anxious, fearful, uncertain, and confused. The need for believers who are encouragers in the faith, peacemakers, and bold witnesses of the hope that is found in Christ has never been greater. We have the mind of Christ. We have the peace of God. We have the message of hope. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God has given us wisdom and has promised to give more when we ask. Every day He opens doors for us to be the salt and light He has called us to be. We don’t have to preach a sermon every time we speak. Sometimes all that is needed is a word fitly spoken, a word of truth offered with sincerity, a reminder that lifts a weary heart above the confusion of this world. People need to hear that God is still on the throne, that He is faithfully working all things together for good to those who love Him, and that His grace is always sufficient. Because of Him, we are not victims without hope. We are children of the King. The best is yet to come because the eternal God has already declared the end from the beginning. Until that glorious day, may we be known as those who encourage others to love more, serve more, and trust the Lord more.
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August 1, 2026
Psalm 138:8, “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
Compared to the scope of eternity, we have a very small, limited view of ourselves and everything else. After a while, we forget the details, and sometimes even the entirety of many experiences. Even the memories of our most blessed occasions grow dim as time passes. We grasp a few facts in life, enough to navigate a little path from the cradle to the grave, spending our days living in a small circle from home, to the job, to the store, and back home again, with an occasional vacation or road trip before returning to the routine. We dote on our personal significance, and in our pride we sometimes speak great things as though we possess immense knowledge, wisdom, and power to set everything and everyone in order. Yet the truth is found in James 4:14, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” In our humanness, we are vulnerable to the tiniest germs and viruses, invisible to the eye yet deadly to our bodies. Remember COVID? It can seem that we are insignificant, just a speck of matter with only a few days to exist in a universe of measureless dimensions. Yet the Creator of all things knows us intimately and has focused His eternal purpose on us down to the smallest details of our being. Our lives are so precious to Him that He has poured out His love upon us. The words, “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me,” are at once both humbling and exalting because, in only eight words, God sweeps away the hopelessness of our human condition and places us in the center of His plan like a diamond set in a beautiful setting. When this verse is joined with others such as Psalm 37:23, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,” and Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ,” we see that the Lord has laid a firm foundation for our faith. He has carefully designed His purpose for our lives, and nothing can prevent Him from accomplishing what He has determined to do in us. The hand of God’s providence is guiding us every step of the way. Psalm 139:5 says, “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.” The word “beset” means to enclose, surround, or hem in. Praise God, He will perfect, that is, complete His purpose in us. And when He is finished, we will be like Christ.
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