Daily Devotion
May 18, 2026
Hebrews 10:17-18 “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”
From the beginning, when God killed innocent animals to make clothes to cover Adam and Eve after their disobedience, animals were sacrificed as an atonement for sins. Under the Law of Moses, for about 1,500 years, bulls (cattle), sheep, goats, turtledoves, and pigeons were sacrificed continually. People’s sins were never fully forgiven, just temporarily covered until the time of the next sacrifice. But the complete and eternal forgiveness of sins is the message of the New Testament. Today’s verse tells us that when we trust Jesus Christ, God forgives us and never remembers our sins again. And, because He never again remembers them, there will never be a need for another sacrifice. The Bible says in Hebrews 10:10, “we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Verse 12 tells us: “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God”. Today’s verse looks back to the Old Testament declaration in Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” The word for “blot out” is the Hebrew word “machah” meaning “to obliterate, exterminate, utterly erase”. And just as in today’s verse, God will never remember our sins again. We can’t normally do that because, not only do we remember our sins, but we also tend to remember the sins of others, especially when they were against us. But God can and does. If it seems I mention this fact a lot in these devotions, it is because knowing and believing this powerful truth sets us free. Free from the guilt of our pasts, the times we might wish we had made better choices, and free from the ever-nagging attacks of the tempter as he tries to rub our noses in our errors. How does God forget our sins? Because He has purposed and chosen to. For any of us who are remembering and wrestling with sins and mistakes we’ve made, let’s ask the Lord to help us do what He has already done: Forgive ourselves and let the Holy Spirit refresh our minds and forget what God has forgotten. When those thoughts try to bombard us, here is a sample prayer we can have ready: “Jesus, thank You that You have completely forgiven and forgotten my sins. Help me right now to do what You have done, and I claim the promise that all my sins are gone, forever washed away by the power of Your blood. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
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May 17, 2026
Luke 5:5-6 “And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.”
Peter and his partners had fished all night but hadn’t caught any fish. They were fishermen by trade, and they knew all the fishing tricks, techniques, and had all the gear needed to catch fish. When they finally called it quits and landed their boat on the shore, Jesus walked by, climbed into Peter’s boat, and preached a sermon. Then He said, “Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught (A big catch)”. Peter pushed back a little by explaining they had already been fishing all night but were fishless. But Jesus was teaching them a lesson, and He might as well have said, “Peter, throw away all your fishing books, fishing theory, compilations of fishing data, exegesis of fishing terminology, and survey of Old Testament fishing. Stop even thinking you know how to fish. Just believe what I say because trusting my Word is all you need”. Peter’s ground of obedience is seen in his words, “Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net”. When Paul wrote to the young preacher Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2-4, he began his charge with: ”Preach the word”. Not preach religion, church history, self-motivation, Bible critical theory, or any other thing that often gets palmed off as preaching. Preach The Word. For as long as I can remember, in the ordination ceremonies of young preachers in the churches I’ve attended, someone would hold out the Bible towards the young man and quote this scripture to him, challenging him to honor the Word of God above all else. I believe one of the traps we can fall into is to read and study books about the Word of God and other religious stuff instead of just reading and studying the Word of God Itself. The lesson for Peter was that none of his fishing abilities could compare with the power of the Word of Jesus. It was then that Jesus said to him, “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men”, referring to the people who would be saved when he ministered. We do not understand, nor do we have the capacity to understand, that The Word of God is the source of all that exists. God spoke, and everything came into being. The same Word holds all of creation together. When we preach, teach, quote, declare, and stand on the Word of God, we are honoring and proclaiming something that God says He magnifies above His own name (Psalms 138:2, “thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name”. It’s that big of a deal.
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May 16, 2026
Mark 9:21-22 “And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.”
In the account of this miracle, a man brought his son, possessed and tormented by an evil spirit, to Jesus and His disciples, hoping to get help for the boy. The disciples could not cast the spirit out, so the father brought his son to Jesus. There are many elements in this story worthy of our consideration, but the one we will focus on today stems from the man’s statement, “If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.” We hear the desperate plea in his words, but we also hear his imperfect faith: “If You can.” We are not sure if his weak faith questioned the Lord’s ability to help him, or if it questioned Jesus’ willingness to help him and his son personally. Jesus immediately turned the “if” around and said to the man, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” We should stop right there and let those words sink deep into our hearts. Often, we have urgent needs and cannot help ourselves. Our faith is imperfect, and we battle fear, doubt, and discouragement. At times, we may even wonder if Jesus can, or will, help us. Yet our Lord said, “If thou canst believe.” When the father heard Jesus’ words, he began to weep and uttered one of the most honest confessions found in all of Scripture: “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Those are words many of us understand because we often stumble in our faith. Not necessarily faith in Jesus as our Savior, because we are settled in that. But when trials drag on, prayers seem unanswered, and we cannot see the end of our troubles, our minds begin asking all the whys, ifs, and whens. It is then that we can cry out to God just as this man did: “Jesus, I believe, but help my unbelief. Let Your Word speak to me through the power of the Holy Spirit, and assure me that all things are working together for my good.” That day, the man’s flawed faith did not stop Jesus from helping him and his son. Jesus knows our weaknesses. It does not take mountain-sized faith to move mountains, only faith the size of a mustard seed. The power is not in the greatness of our faith, but in the greatness of our God. As I type these words, I speak to all of us who read them: Can you say today, “Jesus, I believe. Help my unbelief”? He can, and He will.
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May 15, 2026
Ephesians 2:14 “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.”
This verse, and the ones before and after it in this chapter, don’t carry the weight and meaning for us that they did when they were written. At the time, Christianity was new, Jerusalem had not been destroyed by the Romans, and the world was well aware of the Jews, their temple, and their faith. The Jews were pushing back against the spread of Christianity, and there was animosity between the two groups. The Scriptures point out to the Gentiles that before Christ, they were alienated from God and cut off from His promises. Verse 12 says, “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world”. The Jews had the Law of Moses, the covenants, the place of worship in the temple, and hundreds of years of history with the Almighty. But Jesus changed everything, and He united believers from Judaism with Gentiles. Today’s verse tells us that He broke down the middle wall of partition. In the temple at Jerusalem, there was a literal wall that separated Gentiles who came to worship from the Jews. At the time the Apostle Paul wrote this, he was under arrest in Rome, having been falsely charged by the Jews of taking a Gentile into the temple past the wall of separation. So, while salvation seems so simple to us today, and believers welcome anyone who turns to Christ, in those Bible days, the power of Jesus to unite Jews and Gentiles under one Name, the Name of Jesus, was bewildering. When the Bible says in verse 15 that He “abolished in his flesh the enmity”, it is speaking of the hostility on both sides. The source of contention in the Jewish mindset, the enmity, was because the Gentiles did not keep the law. The Gentiles countered by declaring their freedom of grace, and resented the pressure the Jews put on them to adopt certain ordinances of the law (see examples in Acts 15:1, Galatians 2:11-19). The uniting of Jews and Gentiles in Jesus Christ is one of many plans God has for His creation: Ephesians 1:9-10, “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will…That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him”. God desires that His church, the body of Christ, be united, And, if there are divisions, we are told to work together to bring unity. Ephesians 4:3, “Endeavouring (working, making effort) to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
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May 14, 2026
Romans 1:7 “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Each time the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches in the New Testament, he addressed them with “grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ”. He also addressed Philemon this way. Interestingly, he uses the Greek greeting of Grace and the Jewish greeting of peace, the Holy Spirit speaking to the hearts of both Gentile and Jewish believers. He is not just being a friendly writer, but the words, “from God…” mean that grace and peace emanate from God and are a gift to us. When Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus, he added mercy to the greeting: Grace, mercy, and peace. These greetings might seem an insignificant detail, but nothing in the Holy Spirit-inspired Scriptures is unimportant. What a blessed thought that we should always think of others, churches, and people, with the desire that they be filled with the grace and peace of God. And, for those special, close people that God puts in our lives, like Timothy and Titus were to Paul, we desire that they be covered with the mercy of God. Even when Paul wrote to the church at Galatia that was being infiltrated with legalists, he pronounced grace to them. And the church at Corinth, awash in compromise and confusion, he pronounced God’s grace. We may not always agree with churches and people, but the overriding prayer we should be praying for them is that they come to know the truth of the grace of God. Grace and love are inseparable and when we follow the Holy Spirit’s leadership, loving one another and loving even our enemies, it is an earthly display of the grace God has extended to us all despite our sinfulness: Romans 5:20, “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” 2 Peter 3:18 says, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Not grow in faith, although that is important, but grow in grace because the grace of God is the foundation of our salvation (Ephesians 2:5,8), the foundation of our fellowship (Galatians 2:9), and the foundation of our hope (2 Thessalonians 2:16). How we greet each other and the words we use matter. Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt.” Nicholas Wright commented that the word “grace” here carries a double meaning of God’s grace and human graciousness. We are called to be just that: full of God’s grace and gracious to others.
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May 13, 2026
Exodus 32:3-4 “And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”
The Israelites had seen God devastate Egypt with the ten plagues. They had seen how the gods of Egypt were no match for the Almighty. They had walked across the Red Sea on dry ground while God held the waters back, and then watched Him drown the Egyptian army in the very same place after they were safely across. Every day they ate the manna that God provided from heaven. They saw the Lord bring water from a rock for themselves and their livestock. They stood before the mountain and saw the glory of God revealed as Moses gave them the words and promises of the Lord if they would follow Him. Their answer is recorded in Exodus 19:8: “And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.” Yet after all this, Moses went back up into the mountain for about forty days, and the people became restless. Rumors began to spread that Moses had died or abandoned them. Instead of waiting on God, they demanded that Aaron make them a god to lead them. After all the miracles they had witnessed, after hearing the Word of God with their own ears, and after making a vow to follow Him, the God of heaven no longer seemed real to them. They turned aside and worshipped an idol they had made with their own hands. This past Sunday in our Sunday School class, we paused and considered this question personally: Is God real? That question is not answered just by saying “yes” or “no.” It is answered by the way we live, the choices we make, and what truly directs our hearts. If God is real, and if all the Bible says about Him is true, then that reality should shape every part of our lives. Hebrews 11:6 says that those who come to God must believe that He is; that He truly exists. If God is real, then He is with me, He is for me, and He is actively working in my life. He hears me when I pray. He understands every burden and every fear. He has not abandoned me, and He never will. His hand touches every part of my life, even the parts I cannot yet understand. If God is real, then I should not live a single day without acknowledging His presence. I should not make decisions or choices without seeking His wisdom. And, I should never live without the desire to walk in His ways, even when it means I have to wait for Him to answer me.
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May 12, 2026
Romans 15:1-2 “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.”
The strength spoken of here is strong faith. Those who have walked with the Lord, learned His Word, and grown steady through trials are not called to stand apart from weaker believers, but to come alongside them. Spiritual strength is not given so we can admire ourselves. It is given so we can help carry others. To “bear the infirmities of the weak” means far more than simply tolerating people or being patient with them. The word carries the idea of lifting a burden and carrying it as your own. It is the same thought found in Galatians 6:2, “Bear ye one another’s burdens.” There are people all around us carrying hidden weights. Some are discouraged. Some are weary in mind. Some are battling fear, temptation, loneliness, or sorrow while trying to smile through it. The strong believer notices these things. Paul is not teaching us to become men pleasers, trying to win approval or appear kind in the eyes of others. He is teaching us to have the heart of Christ. There is a difference between flattering people and helping people. One seeks attention. The other quietly serves. Many times, the greatest ministry is not found behind a pulpit, but beside a hurting person. A timely phone call, a listening ear, a prayer offered with sincerity, or a word fitly spoken can steady a struggling soul more than we realize. Some believers are hanging on by a thread and wondering if anyone even sees their battle. The mature Christian should never look down on the weak, but remember how many times the Lord carried them. If we are strong in faith, that strength comes with responsibility. We are to encourage others, help restore them, and build them up in the Lord. Spiritual maturity is not measured by how much scripture we know, but by how much Christ is seen in us. Paul immediately points us to Jesus as our example: “For even Christ pleased not himself.” Our Lord did not live for His own comfort. He carried burdens that were not His own. He touched lepers, received outcasts, wept with the broken, and showed mercy to those who could never repay Him. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, suffering, and carrying the sins of the world, He prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” He was thinking about His enemies and their need of salvation instead of Himself. That is the heart the Holy Spirit desires to form within us. A heart willing to help bear the burdens of another, even when it costs us something.
May 11, 2026
1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
All believers will face trials, and sometimes they are intense and painful. Yet there is always a divine purpose in them. God may not explain every reason for the fire, but if He allows it, it is necessary. When we look at trials as bad luck, punishment, hopelessness, or “just the way life is,” we lose sight of what God is doing and often discourage those walking through the storm with us. The truth never changes: God is good, He works on behalf of His children, His ways are perfect, and He is carrying out a plan established long before we were born. We will not emerge from the trial defeated if we remain in Him. What a testimony it would be if, instead of speaking fear and despair, we declared the faithfulness of God while we are still in the fire. Today’s verse reminds us that no trial is unique to us alone. Others have walked through the same valleys, and God has remained faithful to them all. The Lord will never allow a burden beyond what we are able to bear through His strength, and He has already prepared a way through it. Before the trial ever arrived, the provision of God was already waiting. A fireman can walk into a burning building, rescue people, and exit unscathed because he has the training and equipment needed for the flames. In the same way, God has equipped His people for every trial they will face. Whatever is needed to endure, overcome, and come out stronger, He will provide. As we continue through trials in the Christian life, we begin to understand Romans 5:3-5, that tribulation produces patience, experience, and hope. The Lord uses adversity to shape steadfast believers who trust Him deeply. Instead of praying only, “Lord, deliver me,” we can also pray, “Father, thank You that You are with me in this trial. Thank You that You are working all things for my good and Your glory. Thank You that You have already prepared a way through this because You are faithful.” His Word has already promised deliverance. Like Job, we can worship in the middle of suffering. It is easy to praise when life is smooth and joyful, but faith worships even in the storm. In times of trouble, we stand firm in the promises of God. Jesus will not forsake us, He will faithfully honor His Word, and there will always be an exit, a way of escape.
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May 10, 2026
Hebrews 7:24-25 “But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
The Book of Hebrews was given first to Jewish believers in Jesus who were leaving behind the Law of Moses, and trusting Christ for their salvation. Under the Law, the High Priest held a central role because he went before God on behalf of the people. He carried the blood of the sacrifice behind the veil and offered it upon the mercy seat for the sins of the nation. Without the priest, there was no access to God. But Jesus became our eternal High Priest and we no longer need an earthly priest because Christ is forever in the presence of the Father representing us. Our Savior now ministers as our intercessor, speaking on behalf of the saints of God. Romans 8:34 says, “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” He speaks for us in our favor. Hebrews 9:24 adds, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands… but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Because Jesus became one of us, He fully understands the struggles, sorrows, weaknesses, and burdens of human life. He is not distant from our pain nor unmoved by our battles. He knows. He cares. He ministers with mercy and compassion that only He can give. This truth should fill the child of God with deep gratitude and confidence. Our advocate stands before the Father declaring the sufficiency of His own blood on our behalf. Romans 8:33 says, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.” When the enemy comes with accusations and condemnation, his case cannot stand because our Advocate has already answered every charge through the cross. Yet many believers still carry guilt over sins they have already confessed and forsaken. Satan continually tries to revive what God has already forgiven. He whispers accusations about failures that the Lord has already washed away. But the redeemed of the Lord stand secure in Christ. Colossians 2:14 says Jesus was, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Our sins were not merely covered; they were carried away by the finished work of Christ. Because our High Priest lives forever, our salvation rests in an unchanging Savior who never ceases to intercede for His own. Believers can walk in peace and assurance knowing that forgiveness in Christ is complete, settled, and eternally secure. We are saved to the uttermost.
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May 9, 2026
Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
In this final chapter of Galatians, we are reminded of God’s principle of sowing and reaping. If we follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we will reap life and blessing, but if we sow to the flesh, the end is corruption. That word carries the idea of something withering, spoiling, and falling into ruin. Paul is not teaching some religious formula that says every bad circumstance is direct punishment or every blessing is a reward for good behavior. If that were true, none of us would stand. But it is the simple truth based on the example that whatever seed a farmer plants, that is the crop he should expect to harvest. Sadly, many have twisted passages like this to prey upon people’s greed, using promises of earthly gain to enrich themselves. But Paul’s message is both a warning and an encouragement. When we continue in what is right before God, we are not wasting our lives. We are sowing seed that will one day bring a harvest worth waiting for. Romans 2:7 speaks of those “who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life.” Notice the words patient continuance. The Christian life is not a sprint powered by emotion. It is steady obedience over time. Today’s verse warns us about growing weary. The phrase “faint not” means to lose heart. It paints the picture of someone exhausted under pressure and tempted to give up before the work is finished. Farmers understand this lesson well. After the ground is broken, the seed planted, and the field watered, there is still a long season of waiting. Some crops take months. Others take years. Yet the farmer keeps tending the field because he believes the harvest will come in its season. The same is true spiritually. We sow goodness and truth into our homes, our marriages, our churches, our workplaces, and in quiet moments nobody else sees. We keep choosing honesty when dishonesty would be easier. We keep showing kindness when others disrespect us. We keep praying, forgiving, serving, and standing for truth when we feel like giving up. There are times when we don’t feel like doing right. We may be criticized or treated unfairly while others seem to prosper with no regard for God. Those are the moments Paul is speaking about when he says, “faint not.” Hebrews 12:3 tells us to consider Christ, “lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” Jesus endured rejection, suffering, and opposition from sinners, yet He kept obeying the Father. Our strength to continue comes from looking unto Him. The Lord will not forget our labor of love. The harvest is ahead. In due season, those who continue sowing to the Spirit will rejoice, bringing in the sheaves.
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May 8, 2026
Psalms 5:3 “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”
Someone said religious people start thinking about religion at some point during the day, after they’ve done everything that they set out to do. But those who love the Lord open their eyes from sleeping and immediately seek Him. Notice the verse here: “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord”. The word morning here means at daybreak. What if Christians began reaching out to the Lord before their feet hit the floor in the mornings? What if they began seeking Him before they started the coffee maker and before they gave one thought to the rest of their day? They would open their eyes and declare, “O God, You are my God, and I look to You”. And, from that moment on, for the rest of their day, He is the center of their life, their family, and the substance of their day. They might even say, “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it”. This type of hunger for God is not a common thing, even among Christians, and sadly, is not being taught by many churches, even though it brings the promise that those who do it shall be filled (Mat 5:6). Not many children being raised today ever experience their dad and mom hungering and thirsting after God. Lost people see a lot of religion, but not people who have such a hunger for the Lord that they are filled with the Holy Spirit and display the glory of God. People hunger and thirst for a lot of things, but it’s usually never for things that satisfy. Over 2700 years ago, Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 55 that everyone who is hungry and thirsty can come to the Lord and be satisfied. He asked why we spend money on things that do not satisfy us. You’d think we would have figured it out by now, but we’re still doing the same thing: looking for something to satisfy our hungry, thirsty souls everywhere but in the presence of the Lord. The Bible says we are always learning, but we never come to the knowledge of the truth. We need a revival from the Lord that creates such a desire in us for God that we start early each day reaching out to Him, and throughout the day, we acknowledge Him in all our ways. When the day is over, and we lie back down at night, we will be as the psalmist in chapter 63:6-7: “When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.”
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May 7, 2026
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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.”
The piece of farming equipment called a “yoke” is unfamiliar to many today. Most would need to see a picture and have it explained. But in Bible times, it was an everyday sight as yokes were placed on oxen and other animals to pull plows, haul wagons, and turn heavy grindstones for grain. Yokes were instruments of labor, hard work, and bondage. When Jesus used this example, He was speaking to people who understood what it meant to carry a burden. But He was not just talking about physical work: He was pointing to the weight they were carrying under their religious system, the constant effort to keep the law, to measure up, to prove themselves acceptable before God. It was a heavy yoke, and it wore people down. Then comes His invitation: “Come unto me.” Not try harder. Not do more. Come. He promised that those who came to Him and took His yoke, what we understand to be the yoke of grace, would find rest. Not just relief for a moment, but rest for the soul. This is the same rest spoken of in Hebrews 4:9: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Yet many still do not enter into it. They live as though salvation is a long process of earning, maintaining, and proving. They trust their moral efforts, religious activities, or good works, hoping it will be enough. Deep down, there is a fear that simple faith in Christ cannot really be sufficient. So they carry the weight. They strive. They never quite rest. The burden remains. Scripture calls this “the yoke of bondage.” It may not always be the law of Moses, it can just as easily be the expectations of a denomination, or a strained interpretation of Scripture that turns grace into effort. In the end, it leads to the same place: unrest. But Romans 10:4 reminds us, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” The striving ends in Him. Righteousness is not achieved; it is received. We do not have to live under the constant pressure of becoming and staying righteous through our own efforts. Believing in Jesus Christ as Savior is enough to satisfy God. That is where rest begins. This rest is not a pause in the work: It is the end of it. Hebrews 10:14 tells us that through His finished work, we have been perfected forever in God’s sight. His life, death, burial, and resurrection have done what we never could. So the burden lifts, we are forgiven, we are free, and in Christ, we are finally at rest.
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May 6, 2026
Colossians 3:3 “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
There is victory declared in this verse that many Christians have never really been taught, and therefore miss. The Scriptures lay it out plainly. In chapter 2, verse 13, we are told that before salvation, we were dead in our sins, walking according to the dictates of our flesh, serving sin, and cut off from God. But the Holy Spirit opened our eyes to the truth of the gospel—that faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ delivers us from sin. So what happened to us, as those who were dead? We were buried with the crucified Savior, pictured in that water grave of baptism, showing that the old life had to be laid down. What took place within us was no small adjustment, it was heaven’s miracle. That old nature, once enslaved to sin, was put to death with Christ. And the soul that had been dead toward God was made alive through His resurrection. The new birth is not merely a change of mind, a better direction, or a list of rules to follow. It is a death, a burial, and a resurrection, just like our Lord. Because of that, we are called to take our stand on Romans 6:11: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” To reckon means to deliberately consider it so, to see ourselves this way, to settle it in our thinking, and to live from that truth. Here is where it meets everyday life. The new birth has changed our standing before God. Sin is no longer our master. Yes, we still face the pull of the flesh and the pressures of a fallen world, but its authority has been broken. As Romans 6:14 declares, “For sin shall not have dominion over you.” And again in verses 17–18, we are reminded that though we once served sin, we have now been made free and have become servants of righteousness. We are not only dead to sin, we are alive to God. Our life is now hidden with Christ in God. That is both our security and our identity. So when temptation comes knocking, we can answer with confidence: “No thanks, I’m dead to you.” When the old nature tries to stir and take control, we can say, “Get back in your grave, you have no authority here.” And when the enemy calls us back to what we once were, we can resist him in the name of Jesus, standing firm in our new life that God has given us. Dead to sin and alive to God. Reckon it so. Believe it. Walk in it.
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May 5, 2026
John 7:5 “For neither did his brethren believe in him.”
Today’s verse brings us face to face with one of the mysteries of faith. We sometimes think that if Jesus were here in the flesh, or if we could step back into His day, our faith would be unshakable. Yet Jesus had already performed many miracles and preached openly, and still His own brothers did not believe in Him. They had grown up with Him, watched His life, and knew there was something different, yet at this point, they did not receive Him as the Messiah. To them, He was simply their brother. This same spirit was seen in His hometown. When He taught in the synagogue, the people said in Mark 6:3, “Is not this the carpenter…?” and they were offended at Him. Jesus answered that a prophet has no honor in his own country, among his own kin, and in his own house. That truth helps us make sense of something that often weighs on our hearts, why those closest to us can resist the very truth we long for them to receive. We may speak, pray, and live before them, yet belief is not something we can produce in another soul. Salvation is personal. Each one must be drawn by the Spirit and come to the place of believing for themselves. Unbelief was not limited to His family or hometown. After all He did, the miracles, the teaching, the compassion shown to multitudes, many still would not believe. Listen to the heart of the Lord in Luke 13:34: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!” It can be discouraging when people, especially those we know and love the most, dismiss our faith in the Lord or do not support us in what God has called us to do. But Jesus didn’t allow the opinions of others to turn Him aside from the Father’s will. He looked beyond the present moment. He knew a day was coming when His brothers would believe, and when others, like Saul of Tarsus, would be changed by grace. Hebrews 12:2 reminds us that “for the joy that was set before him,” He endured the cross, setting aside the shame. We learn from Him to look ahead as well. When we feel the weight of rejection or the sorrow of seeing loved ones resist the truth, we fix our eyes on the promises of God. What He has spoken will not fail. So we keep praying. We keep trusting. We keep walking faithfully before Him. And we look toward the day when what is now held by faith will be seen in reality.
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May 4, 2026
Luke 24:32 “They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
The Word of God is alive. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is quick (living, alive), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword.” And when the Holy Spirit opens our understanding of it, as Jesus did for these disciples, something unearthly is stirred within us. It is not the result of human reasoning, but the work of Almighty God Himself. Jeremiah described this power in Jeremiah 23:29: “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” This vivid picture shows us how God’s Word both shatters our stubborn pride and kindles faith and hope toward Him. In today’s verse, the disciples felt that burning fire within as Christ spoke and revealed the Scriptures to them. Much of what passes for religion today leans heavily on human persuasion, arguments, debates, and carefully crafted reasoning meant to convince the mind. But the raw, unfiltered Word of God accomplishes His will without any need for our assistance. It does not depend on our ability to defend it. It carries its own authority, its own power. Consider how Jesus responded to Satan in the wilderness. He did not enter into debate or attempt to out-reason the enemy. He simply declared, “It is written,” and stood upon the truth of God’s Word. That was enough. The Word itself silenced the adversary. The apostles followed that same pattern. After Pentecost, they went forth not armed with worldly credentials, but with the anointing of God upon their lips. In Acts 17:6, they were described as men who “turned the world upside down.” Even Paul, the most learned among them, counted all his former gains, his education, status, and accomplishments, as loss for Christ. In Philippians 3:7-8, he went so far as to call them “dung” compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus. This is not a dismissal of learning or education, but a reminder of its proper place. When we try to prop up the Word of God with human effort, we risk diminishing the very power we claim to trust. God’s Word does not need our help, it needs our surrender. It is the pure, unaltered Word of God that sets hearts ablaze. It is that same Word that humbles us, breaks our pride, and reshapes us into the image of Christ. When we receive it as it is, living, powerful, and divine, it does what no human effort ever could: it changes us from the inside out. When was the last time our hearts truly “burned” at the Word of God? Not from persuasion or emotion alone, but from the Holy Spirit opening our understanding? The power is not in our ability to explain the Word, but in our willingness to believe it, receive it, and let it work. Trust the Word to do what God sent it to do, and let it burn within you.
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May 3, 2026
Genesis 3:12 “And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.”
When Adam disobeyed God and God confronted him, God asked him, “Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” Adam’s answer could have been, “Yes Lord, I did what You told me not to do”, or “Forgive me God, I shouldn’t have done it”. Instead, he pointed his finger at Eve and started spinning his answer. Some have said that he was indirectly trying to make God partly responsible for his sin by saying, “The woman that you gave me…” The blame game continues to this day. Did you ever hear a politician step up to the microphone and say, “It was me; I messed up”? When something good happens, most everyone wants to take credit, but when there’s a mess or even a chance of an undesirable outcome, duck and dodge, and then pass the buck becomes the norm. But I love 1 John 1:8-9: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The Lord just wants us to be honest, come clean before Him about our sins, confess them, and He is ready and willing to forgive us of all our errors. The Bible says in Psalms 51:6, “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” He wants us to be truthful and honest at the very core of our being, and he will give us the wisdom to be that way in all parts of our nature. When people have the backbone and integrity to be completely honest, it’s humbling and inspiring. When King David committed a great sin, in Psalms 51:3-4, he said,” For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight;”. It’s no wonder the Lord called him a man after God’s own heart: he was painfully truthful and took responsibility alone for his actions. Sadly, many are so filled with pride that they refuse to take any responsibility for their errors. All we have to do is say, “Please forgive me, I was completely at fault and was wrong”. May the Lord help us humble ourselves before Him and before others and, unlike Adam, take the high road of personal responsibility for our own actions.
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May 2, 2026
1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time”
The sin nature of our heart is a gruesome picture to face: Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” At the root of much of our sin and unbelief lies pride. When we encounter teaching like this—truth meant to help us and bring promised blessing—we often begin by denying we have any problem at all. The heart and mind go to work, playing that quiet duck-and-dodge game, pointing out others who seem far more prideful than we are. We reassure ourselves that we are humble, even contrite. Yet the heart is still practicing its old Adamic tricks, deceiving both itself and us. We are often better at appearing humble than actually walking in humility. Still, the Word of God stands firm: James 4:6 says, “God resisteth (opposes, is against) the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” That alone ought to give us pause. Pride places us in opposition to God, while humility positions us to receive His grace. Pride grows out of a distorted view of both ourselves and God. Galatians 6:3 says, “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.” The truth is, apart from Christ, apart from His blood covering us and His righteousness imputed to us, we have no reason to boast. And yet, from the very beginning, we come into this world demanding our way, convinced we are right, quick to defend ourselves, and slow to yield. In doing so, we lose sight of who God is, His holiness, His sovereignty, His power, His glory. We subtly begin to live as though He exists to serve us, rather than we to serve Him. And once that shift takes place, everything begins to drift out of place. So we need the Holy Spirit to shine the light of truth into our hearts. We need Him to show us what we cannot see on our own, and then lead us to the perfect example of humility in Jesus Christ. Let us see how He made Himself of no reputation (emptied Himself of all he was as Deity) and took on the form of a servant, to the point he knelt before His disciples and washed their feet. See how our Lord Jesus refused to please or honor Himself, but always did the things which pleased and honored His Father. At the end of His life, he did not seek to save his own life, but freely laid it down as a sacrifice for people who didn’t deserve it and despised him. And here is the promise: if we follow the ways of our Savior, and truly humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, in His time, not ours, He will give us honor.
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May 1, 2026
Psalms 148:12-13 “Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.”
These are not times for us to be silent about the greatness and goodness of our God. People who have a favorite team, those who favor a certain political party, and those who feel strongly about something are not ashamed to wear their colors or speak openly to voice their opinions. So why should God’s people be silent when we have the name that is above all names, the only name that can deliver and save? People need the Lord. They need to know He loves them and desires for them to live with Him forever. They need to be reminded that this earthly life is short, and that we are here to prepare for eternity. It’s not about religion or self-improvement: it’s about the glory and power of God. There is no shame in proclaiming the name of the Lord. Our world needs the message of hope and the message of the grace of God. The Bible declares in James 4:5, “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?” The Holy Spirit within us is urging us to faithfully surrender to the Lord and reject the compromise offered by the world and the flesh. And when we truly yield to Him, something changes within us. We begin to desire that others know Him as we know Him. The scripture says in Malachi 3:16, “Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.” There is something powerful about God’s people speaking of Him—openly, often, and without hesitation. When we do, the lost are stirred to seek Him, and the saved are strengthened to stand boldly and join in, lifting up His name together. The words of today’s verse call us to unity among believers—to lay aside petty differences and point together to the only One who is worthy to be praised. Young men and women, old men and children, we all have a voice, and we all have a reason to use it for His glory. We should never be silent about the name of the Lord. As it is written in Revelation 4:11, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
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