Daily Devotion
October 30, 2026
Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”
Our society is so used to false promises that we even have an old adage that says, “Promises are made to be broken.” We say things like, “You’d better take that with a grain of salt,” meaning we should approach things with a bit of skepticism. We’ve even come to expect that many of our leaders, politicians, and cultural icons are often lying to us. The rise of Adolf Hitler and the confidence the people of Germany placed in him were based on his powerful rhetoric and false promises, ultimately resulting in the deaths of millions. And when we consider the millions of souls committed to false religions, trusting the words of men as if they were the words of Almighty God, it breaks our hearts as believers in Jesus Christ. We know there are ways that seem right to people, but their end is the way of death. Our verse for today is a promise from the lips of our Lord, and it is one of many promises made to us by the God of heaven and earth, of whom the Bible says in Titus 1:2 that He cannot lie. If we approach the Word of God with skepticism, unconvinced that it is truly His Word and that it is true from cover to cover, inerrant, infallible, and eternal, then we have reduced it to just another book written by man, subject to personal interpretation and without absolute truth. But when we know that the promises of God are eternally established in heaven, and that heaven and earth may pass away but His Word will never pass away, we can believe every promise our Lord has made. And this promise is especially precious in these times of uncertainty, a bleak outlook for the future, and chaos on every side. Jesus came to give us rest. His invitation to come to Him with all our burdens, anxieties, and cares reminds us that He knows our needs and cares about our families and our future. We do not have to carry the weight of this world on our shoulders when He has invited us to lay our burdens at His feet. So today, let us accept the Lord’s invitation. As we pray, we welcome His promise of peace, trusting that the One who cannot lie will never fail to keep His Word. The promises of men may fail, but the promises of God never will. We look to Jesus, trusting His Word and resting in His faithfulness.
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October 29, 2026
Galatians 6:10 “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith”
Today’s verse above isn’t just about giving money, even though it sometimes seems that’s the only focus when people think of being generous. It is a reminder for us to look for opportunities to do good for others and then act on them. A Biblical account that comes to mind is found in 2 Samuel 9. King David was thinking back on his deceased best friend Jonathan and asked if there was anyone left of Jonathan’s family to whom he could show kindness for Jonathan’s sake. He was told of Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, who was lame and unable to walk. David sent for him, brought him to Jerusalem, gave him a place to live, restored land to him, and made sure he and his family were taken care of. David didn’t have to do any of this, but he wanted to show kindness to his friend by helping his son. When we have the opportunity to do good for others, using whatever abilities God has given us, we are putting into practice the principle behind the words of our Lord in Matthew 25:40, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me”. The opportunities to do good come at different times and through different people. Sometimes, however, we are so busy and rushed in our lives that we pass them by without even thinking about it. We have become accustomed to speeding through our days, one after another, and our encounters with people are often rapid and shallow, with just a few words exchanged before we move on to the next thing. Maybe it isn’t a lack of love or an unwilling heart that causes us to miss these opportunities. It may be brain overload, stressful schedules, or a lack of sensitivity to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. Whatever the reason, we need to be careful that we don’t become like those mentioned in James 2:15-16, who see a brother or sister in need and offer kind words but do nothing to provide what is needed. God has given us the well of salvation, not only to quench our own thirsty souls but also to give us something to offer others. May we be sensitive to the opportunities He places before us and willing to do good when those opportunities come. After all, we may be the very answer to someone’s prayer.
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October 28, 2026
John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth”
I have already written a couple devotions about this verse, but I want us to look at it again, remembering what our Lord said about true worship. The verse comes from Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. The Samaritans were descendants of those who remained in the northern kingdom of Israel after the Assyrian conquest in 721 BC, and over time they became a people of mixed Jewish and Gentile ancestry. They believed in God but accepted only the first five books of Scripture. They had their own copy of the Torah, their own temple, and their own place of worship on Mount Gerizim. When the woman brought up the question of whether God should be worshipped on Mount Gerizim or at Jerusalem, Jesus directed her attention to something far more important than the location. True worship is not determined by where we are, what building we enter, or what religious customs we observe. God is a Spirit, and He desires worship that comes from the heart and is grounded in truth. We can go through all the outward motions of religion and still miss the very One we claim to worship. Our worship must be more than a routine; it must be a matter of the heart. Paul explained this spiritual understanding in 1 Corinthians 2:12-13, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual”. The woman was thinking about a physical place, but Jesus was teaching her that worship reaches beyond what we can see and touch. Through the Spirit of God, we learn to know Him and understand the things He has freely given us. But Jesus also said we must worship in truth. The Samaritans had accepted some of God’s Word while rejecting the rest. We cannot pick and choose what we want to believe and still claim to embrace all the truth God has revealed. Jesus prayed in John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth”. And 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. God’s Word is not something we should adjust to suit ourselves. We are to allow His Word to correct and instruct us. Jesus also promised in John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. What a blessing it is to worship Him with a heart of faith and a willingness to receive His truth!
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October 27, 2026
John 1:47-48 “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee”
Nathanael heard about Jesus before he met Him from Philip, who said in John 1:45, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph”. Nathanael was skeptical, asking, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” He apparently thought that if Jesus was really the Messiah, He would come from Jerusalem or somewhere of greater status than the humble town of Nazareth. But as Nathanael approached the Lord, Jesus acknowledged him as a man without guile, meaning he had an honest and truthful heart. Nathanael was a truth seeker, and he didn’t allow his questions about the Lord’s hometown to keep him from recognizing Jesus as the real deal and worthy to follow. Nathanael asked, “Whence knowest thou me?” Jesus answered that He had seen him under a fig tree even before Philip found him. The word “saw” here means more than simply seeing with the eye. It speaks of knowing and understanding, revealing the omniscience of the Lord. Before Nathanael ever met Jesus, Jesus knew him, understood him, and knew what he was all about. The Lord seeks us personally, knows us intimately, and understands us inside and out. God is not dealing with the human race as one great mass of people, but as individuals whom He knows so well that He even knows the number of hairs on our heads, something we don’t even know about ourselves. He knew us before we were born, even before the world was created, and every facet of our being is important to Him. He will never stop being personally involved with us throughout eternity, as Ephesians 3:21 says, “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen”. God knows our thoughts before they form in our minds and hears every word of every silent prayer we pray. In 1 Samuel 1:13, Hannah “spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard”. Yet the Lord heard the prayer of her heart and gave her the child she desired. He hears us not because we pray loudly or eloquently, but because He loves us and knows the words we speak or even think. What a comfort it is to know that the Lord knows us completely! Every atom of our body, every breath we take, every aspect of our personality, and every turn in our life’s road are known by Him. He is working in us and through us for our benefit and His glory.
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October 26, 2026
Song of Solomon 2:15 “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes”
The reference here is about little foxes, cute little bundles of fur that look adorable and harmless. But they like to nibble on the trunks of grape vines and dig around the roots. The roots get exposed, the vines suffer, and eventually they die. It alludes to a spiritual truth about relationships and warns us about the small, destructive devices that can creep in until great damage has been done, not only to romantic and marital relationships, but also friendships, alliances, churches, or anywhere there are interpersonal connections. We all know the story. Little lies, little deceptions, little grudges, and little bouts of selfishness, along with pride, anger, and addictions, drive wedges between people that force them apart. The spoilage caused by these little foxes builds up over time, and when they are not dealt with, the result is often damage that is difficult, painful, or even impossible to repair. When believers are walking in the light of the Holy Spirit, He directs our attention to even the smallest dangers and provides the wisdom of God’s Word to help us avoid and correct them before they become mountains of calamity. The prayer of Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts,” is an invitation to open ourselves to the searching eye of the Lord. It is like an exterminator looking for the tiny and seemingly harmless brown recluse spiders. The Spirit is searching out the dangerous little foxes before they can do us damage. Often, we are not aware of what lies in our flesh because our flesh, with its skills of subterfuge, can disguise, hide, bury, and morph those little ticking time bombs of destruction until only the Holy Spirit can point them out to us. There’s been so much made of the seven deadly sins of pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth that we may think once we have purged ourselves of these, the battle is won. Ah, but those little foxes are alive and well, sneaking into the most precious treasures we have: our marriages, relationships with our children, our influence as salt and light with our coworkers, our church family, and our purpose for Jesus in our community. May we remember the warning of this verse and allow the Lord to search our hearts. Let us not overlook the smallest matters that could eventually cause major harm. Those little foxes may seem harmless, but left alone, they can spoil the vines.
October 25, 2026
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”
Our unbelief is such that even when God tells us something point blank, we can’t fully believe it. He tells us here that He is willing to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong if we will just own up, admitting what we’ve done. But despite the clarity and simplicity of this promise, many people carry guilt, shame, and remorse for what they’ve done and just can’t believe God will forgive them. It is not God’s will for us to live that way. To better understand what the Bible is saying to us, we need to examine the verses before and after this verse because this verse of promise is sandwiched between two verses that sort of say the same thing. Verse 8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us”. Verse 10 says, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us”. The truth about our sins can be seen in several ways: First, the confession of our sins is not an optional thing. From cover to cover, the Bible is clear that God wants us to accept the responsibility for what we’ve done wrong. But our unwillingness to admit we’ve sinned is inherent in us. Adam and Eve would not confess their sin but placed the blame elsewhere, with Adam blaming Eve and God indirectly, and Eve blaming the serpent. God wants us to read the words of David in Psalm 51:3-4, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me”, and use these words as a pattern for our confession. Next, we can see that sin is universal. If we’re inclined to think that we’re alone in our sins, we’re fooling ourselves because all of us are in the same boat. These verses make it clear that God is not surprised when we sin. Because of our human nature, we’re going to sin, and the Lord knows it. He knew that we would be sinful creatures before He made us, and so He planned our salvation before He made the world. He purposed that on our part, we only need to admit our sin and confess it. And even with that, we can only reach that point by faith, trusting His Word that He is willing to forgive us. Salvation remains without works on our part, and is the plan of the Lord to bring glory to Himself. But praise God, the promise of today’s verse is a rock of confidence that forgiveness and cleansing are God’s divine, eternal plan.
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October 24, 2026
Matthew 12:14 “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him”
When Jesus was on earth, you would think that everyone would have been happy that He was around. He was always doing good, and the Scriptures tell us of the innumerable people He helped. He took nothing from anyone, and spoke only truth. But a lot of people were against Him. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, the scribes, the lawyers, and the list goes on. In today’s verse, the Pharisees were holding a meeting to plan a way to destroy Him because they hated Him so much. The Lord said in John 15:25, “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause”. This truth references Psalm 69:4, “They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head”. This is ironic because the Jesus haters, who claimed to love God’s Word and follow it guardedly, were fulfilling the prophecy of the very Word they claimed to love concerning those who hate the living Word. What was the sum of the matter? They represented what people thought was good, Godly, religious, and true. But when Jesus came, their covering was ripped away by His Words of truth and His example of allegiance to God. His love, compassion, forgiveness, and power revealed God and Godliness for all to see, and some people hated Him because He exposed their falsity and facades of holiness. Common sense would seem to teach us that we should not be against people who are honest, loyal, kind, benevolent, non-violent, loving, and trustworthy. But unjustified, senseless opposition and hatred against the Lord and His followers is a picture of fallen human nature that proves our depravity across all nationalities, cultures, and spans of history. Bible believers cannot expect to maneuver or posture themselves in such a way that they win the world’s favor because no matter how we try to reinvent ourselves or camouflage our ideologies, the world is against us. It’s easier to stay confined in the safety of our church walls when we express our faith, and then try to blend in with the world around us when we’re living our daily lives, than it is to openly express our loyalty to Jesus and His Word. But our Lord said in Matthew 12:30, “He that is not with me is against me”, removing all possibility that we can be neutral in our allegiance to Him. Straddling the fence, playing both ends against the middle, and practicing stealth Christianity will never change the fact that just as the world was against Jesus, it is against His followers.
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October 23, 2026
1 Peter 4:8 “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins”
The KJV word for love here, charity, is from the Greek “agape” and is not referring to romantic love, love between family members, or love for objects. But it’s an act of the will with a deep commitment and a high moral nature. The extended definition and explanation for agape love can be found in the words of the famous love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. The Hebrew equivalent for this verse looks back to an anchor verse in Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins”, where the word covereth means to conceal or hide. Our Lord demonstrated this love even when He knew the truth about people and their actions, knowing that at the end of His short three-year ministry, they would nail Him to the cross. Yet the Bible says in Mark 6:34, “And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things”. Then, dying in excruciating pain on the cross, nailed there by people who had despised His love, He said in Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”. The love of God was covering sin in a way that’s beyond human understanding and becomes our example. Romans 5:20: “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound”, and this grace is inseparable from God’s love, grace by love abounding towards us despite the depth and magnitude of our sin. We can be petty in our words and actions towards others, and often we can view those around us with criticism and suspicion, picking apart their words, their lives, their choices, and even their faith. We revel in God’s mercy and grace on us, sometimes weeping openly when we think about how He forgave us, called us His own, and sanctified us eternally by the righteousness of Jesus. But when it comes to extending grace and love to others, allowing love to cover their offenses, we fail miserably. The will to have fervent, intent, continuous love among ourselves is really God’s will at work through us. When it’s set in action, it eliminates most of the bickering, fault-finding, and contempt that creeps into the communion of God’s people. We can hear Jesus saying, “Father forgive”, and we can see Him moved with compassion towards people who were flawed, half-hearted, and half-committed followers. We find in Him our standard. He is our pattern for how to look past the disappointments, wounds, and misgivings of others, and cover them with love because God loves them.
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October 22, 2026
Matthew 15:28 “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour”
The woman in this story was a gentile, and at the time of the Lord’s ministry on earth, Gentiles were not a part of His mission. He made this clear to her when she first came to him seeking healing for her sick daughter, saying in verse 24, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. Yet the woman would not stop pleading with him, and she prayed the simple prayer in verse 25, “Lord, help me”. This three-word prayer is similar to that of Peter in Matthew 14:30 when he was sinking in the Sea of Galilee and cried, “Lord, save me”. Speaking volumes of words to God, explaining to Him every detail and nuance of our needs, does not open heaven’s door wider or get faster, better answers. Simple prayers powered by faith are just as effective, if not more so, than long, wordy, or eloquent prayers. What is remarkable about this gentile woman is that the Lord said that her faith was great. Compare this to the conversation He had with His Jewish disciples a few chapters before in Matthew 8:26, where He said they were men of “little faith”. She did not have all the Jewish traditions, the temple ceremonies, the history of deliverance, or the universal recognition. But she believed the Lord had the power to help her. She cast aside all her doubts about her place in God’s plan and her outsider status concerning the Lord’s mission, and refused to take no for an answer even though Jesus told her twice that his ministry was not to Gentiles. Doubt takes many forms and attacks our faith by pointing out various reasons we are not worthy or welcome to receive our petition from God. But the life of this woman’s child was on the line, and she pushed through the barriers of all that tried to hold her back. Even the disciples wanted her removed from the Lord’s presence. She tenaciously laid hold on the truth that Jesus was her only hope and refused to yield to any other option, and she is the only person Jesus addressed directly with a commendation of great faith. When He remarked about the Centurion’s great faith, He addressed the words to the crowd, but He spoke to this woman, saying, “O woman, great is thy faith.” The words from the Master, “be it unto thee even as thou wilt,” were life-changing to the woman. May our faith not be the “little faith” of the disciples but the “great faith” of the gentile woman.
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October 21, 2026
2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him”
For people who live with no regard for the Lord and the things of God, this verse should be concerning. The sum of the matter is: that God is watching. He sees it all, He knows it all, and He does not forget what He sees. He knows about all of us: what we think, what we do, what we are hiding, and why we do what we do. If we are living estranged from our Lord, it is a call to repentance. But for those who are saved and following God’s ways, this verse is shouting grounds because it means the Lord sees us trusting in Him, and He is showing Himself strong on our behalf. That phrase means that He is giving us His strength and power. He is establishing us, holding us steadfast, and filling us with courage. The searching, seeing, and all-knowing eyes of the Lord refer to His infinite ability to always know when we are trying our best to serve Him faithfully, and He extends power and grace to help us. When the woman in Mark 14 anointed Jesus with special oil, people criticized her, saying that she was wasting precious perfumed oil. But the Lord knew her heart and her motives and told those that were mouthing off in verse 6, “Let her alone; why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on me”. She honored Jesus with a gift from her heart, and He honored her by sticking up for her. God also gave her an amazing promise because Jesus said in verse 9, “Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her”. People may criticize us, look down their noses at us, and laugh at our allegiance to the name of Jesus, but the Lord will stand with us and make us strong. We may feel like what we’re doing is so small it doesn’t matter. Thoughts may come that we’re too imperfect and have made too many mistakes for the Lord to use us and bless us. But He sees our hearts, He knows us personally, and He will never stop defending us. Let’s encourage ourselves and each other to be faithful in the cause of the Gospel, and rejoice that our Lord will never forget what we do in His name.
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October 20, 2026
Acts 9:6 “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
Saul, who became the Apostle Paul, was traveling the 135-mile trip from Jerusalem to Damascus to round up and arrest any Christians he could find and punish them for their faith. But Jesus had a different purpose for his life, stopped him as he journeyed, and changed his future. In today’s verse, Saul asked one of the most important questions anyone can ask God: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” God didn’t put us on this earth to do as we please and ignore His plans for us, but He has a purpose for us all, and there is work to be done in His great Name. Not to save ourselves, but to champion the cause of Christ and to reach out to others for His glory and their blessing. Like Moses in Exodus 3, we can give every excuse in the book as to why we can’t do the Lord’s work, but God has called us, equipped us, ordained us, and placed us in the body of Christ where we are well able to serve Him. Moses told God he was not qualified, couldn’t speak well, and that he just didn’t want to become what God had called him to be. But, in the end, he obeyed. And he, who for 40 years was a shepherd and quite content to tend his father-in-law’s flock of sheep in the wilderness, became one of the greatest leaders in history. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 34:10, “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face”. Like Moses, most of us may be unknown to this world, but the Lord has a purpose for us. Can you pray as Paul prayed, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” The devil and your own thinking might say, “I’m too old. I’ve missed too many opportunities. I’m not qualified. Someone else can do it better. I’ll do it later. I’m afraid”. But the Lord isn’t looking for people who are perfect or people who check all the boxes. He is looking for those who are willing to do His work while believing that their strength and ability to serve the Lord come from God. In Him, you are well able, and every day is filled with opportunities to be the salt and light God has called you to be. A kind word, a thoughtful deed, an act of encouragement, and any number of ways we can all be a blessing are what God is looking for. Will you begin by praying with me right now? Lord, what will You have me to do?
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October 19, 2026
1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice evermore”
The word “evermore” here is from the Greek word “pantote” and is the same word translated “alway” in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice”. It means all the time, always, and in Philippians 4:4, the Holy Spirit doubled down, repeating the imperative to rejoice. Rejoicing is the expression of joy and, as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, is a state of being in our faith, not simply a positive outlook or mental state of happiness. Joy comes from knowing and living by the truth that God is completely in control of every circumstance and has foreseen every detail, even the most minuscule ones that mark our journey. The average mindset is that there are good things that happen to us and bad things. Statements such as, “I can’t believe I’m having such bad luck,” “nothing good ever happens to me,” “other people get all the breaks,” “I can’t win for losing,” and “I knew something bad was gonna happen,” are as commonplace in many people’s conversations as discussions about the weather. Even when they are having a good time, they overshadow it with words like, “I’m just waiting for the other shoe to fall,” and “just wait and see, things are gonna go sideways.” But Christians who believe God’s Word concerning their lives know the Lord will keep His promises, and every one of His promises reveals His favor toward them. We are convinced by the Word of the Lord that we are eternally redeemed, eternally sanctified, accepted in our beloved Savior, highly favored of the Lord, and that God is working all things for our good. Because of His promises, we can confess we are blessed even when it appears we aren’t, and we can rejoice by faith even when we are not in an emotional state of happiness, because the truth of God’s Word is our reality. We know the path we are on is one of victory and grace, and for a believer, no evil can ultimately cover or control us. It is the only way that verses like 1 Peter 4:13 make sense: “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy,” and the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.” Thank God there is a way we can live that can rejoice in every situation, every circumstance, and every cycle and season of life.
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October 18, 2026
Deuteronomy 1:27 “And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.”
The unbelief of the Israelites, the very essence of what was in their hearts, is seen in this verse. Despite all that the Lord had done, their great deliverance from Egypt, and God’s sustaining power and provisions on their journey, they simply didn’t trust Him to do what He had promised. They twisted the truth into a lie that God actually hated them. They stood on the brink of finally entering into the promise God had given His people centuries before, and complained in unbelief. All they had envisioned and wanted for over 400 years was finally in their grasp. They had God’s Word that He would give it to them, but they retreated into unbelief. Their words showed that in their hearts they didn’t believe God was powerful enough to keep His promises. Instead, they believed the lies of defeat, hopelessness, and failure. What we speak matters. In Israel’s case, their words were a poison that spread throughout the camp, contaminating their minds and hearts with not only unbelief, but rebellion against the Lord and His promises. Words of unbelief can be spoken in our homes, places of employment, church committees, and even to ourselves when we are alone, and they can have the same effect they had on Israel: they can solidify a rejection of the truth. What appeared to be true to Israel was that the inhabitants of Canaan were greater than them and undefeatable. What was actually true was that God’s promises cannot fail. Joshua and Caleb warned them in Numbers 14:9, “Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.” But the people, in their unbelief, wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb. It’s strange that we would rather believe a lie and speak its forecast of gloom, doom, and pandemonium rather than anchor our trust in the Lord and speak His unfailing promises. But it is a testimony to our depravity. If the Israelites had paused, reflected on the power and promises of God, and like Joshua and Caleb, begun to speak what the Lord had promised, they would not have suffered 40 years of misery and death in the wilderness. Their story instead could have said, “And they believed what the Lord said and entered into their beautiful possession with joy and victory.” How could our story change if we will just speak the truth of God’s Word into our lives, and then pursue what God has promised?
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October 17, 2026
Philippians 2:12-13 “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”
Here is a passage that, on the surface, seems to suggest salvation is in our hands to either obtain or lose. But the phrase “work out your own salvation” means to be engaged in, to carry to the goal, and holds the meaning of putting forth an effort to activate something to its fullest potential. Our salvation is complete in that, on God’s end, our souls are eternally safe with Him. But on our end, we are still on the earth, still in our mortal bodies, and still growing and pressing toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. When we exercise, we say we are “working out,” and it means we are strengthening our muscles, increasing our flexibility, and building our stamina. We are not making ourselves alive, but we are putting forth an effort to reach our body’s full potential. In the aspect of our salvation, this verse points us to the seriousness and responsibility concerning the gift God has given us, so valuable that its only purchase price could be the precious, perfect blood of our Lord Jesus, shed from His sinless body through unimaginable torture, suffering, and shame. Oh, how lightly we take salvation for granted, almost as if God owes it to us or we have some entitlement on our part. Sometimes we drift away from the truth that it is only by God’s mercy that we have been rescued in unrequited love, purchased for eternity, and made heirs of God. He has given us an open door to something greater than the world itself, to which even angels have no hope of access. The encouragement here presses us to consider our goals and motives. It reminds us to always keep this great salvation a priority of our faith and to be diligent to make such a pattern of thought central to our lives. God is working in us to complete His will according to what pleases Him. And we have the choice to either follow our own plans for success and happiness, or to live with the desire to honor our Lord, believing His will and purpose for us is perfect. “Working out” our salvation does not mean working to earn salvation. It means living out, with reverence and diligence, the salvation God has already given us through Jesus Christ. We should never treat such an immeasurable gift as though it were something we deserved. God is working in us, and our responsibility is to willingly follow where He leads.
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October 16, 2026
2 Corinthians 2:11 “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices”
The words used here are describing Satan as a swindler who is setting us up to cheat us out of what we have or what belongs to us. From the beginning, he has used the same bag of tricks on every person born to separate them from the Lord, and enslave them to anything that will keep them trapped in his lies. His war against the Almighty God in heaven continues on this earth in his attacks on us all who are made in the image of God. But the Word of God exposes him and his wickedness, and the Holy Spirit opens our awareness and understanding of his ways. He wants to steal things that belong to us, things that the Lord has set apart for our blessings. The priceless treasures of peace, joy, fellowship, and blessings are his target, and when we fall prey to his devices, he fills our lives instead with bitterness, sorrow, and grief. The enemy devises to rob us of our good health, stable families, victorious lives of abundance, and anything else the Lord has promised by trapping us in addictions and lifestyles that are against the Lord’s will for us. He is a thief, the father of lies, and the source of all misery. We know our Lord said his purpose is to kill, steal, and destroy. But the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:15 that the Holy Scriptures are able to make us wise, and because the wisdom of the Lord and the mind of Christ are present in us, we can see through the enemy’s devices. Our thoughts and imaginations are protected by the helmet of salvation, and his charges against us are defeated by the armor of Christ’s righteousness. When we see him deceiving people, spreading chaos, and destroying lives, homes, and nations, we also see that day coming soon when his power will be broken, and his destruction made eternal in the lake of fire. His demise is given in the wonderful, prophetic, allegorical words of Isaiah 14:15-19, “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms…But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet”. With this truth in mind, we shout, “Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!”
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October 15, 2026
Luke 10:29 “But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?”
A lawyer asked the Lord this question when Jesus affirmed the two great commandments of the law: to love God and love your neighbor. Maybe the man thought he was doing fine in the loving God area, but wanted to show he was righteous in the second point by pinning the Lord with “Who is my neighbor?” People are good at “word wrangling”. They spin definitions, meanings, and twist statements to make themselves look better, or to prove they are correct against all odds. Politicians and advertisers make a living doing this, and we used to call it “pulling the wool over people’s eyes”. It seemed this lawyer may have been trying to drag the conversation into a gray area where he could defend his self-righteousness. But the Lord answered the question by giving the account of the good Samaritan and then threw the question right back to the lawyer as to which of the three men in the story was a neighbor to the wounded man. The Jews of Jesus’ day held a prejudiced view of who they should love, and they word-wrangled the teaching of the law, which said to love your neighbor, by adding the words, “and hate your enemies”, and taught this as God’s truth. We learn this trick early in life, and by leaving out some words, adding a word or two, or blurring the circumstances, we make ourselves look good in any circumstance. Then, we convince ourselves we’re not really lying. An example of this is the story of the Pharisee and the publican in Luke 18. The two men went into the temple to pray, and the Pharisee tried to justify himself by thanking God that he was not a bad sinner like other people, and then he told God some of the righteous things he was doing. But the publican did not try to justify himself. The Bible says in verse 13, “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner”. The Lord’s conclusion of the story is in verse 14, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”. We all have our points of view, and our interpretations of things, and no one wants to be seen in the wrong or as the bad guy. But the Lord is the righteous Judge, and the Bible says He is just and our justifier. God is our vindicator, and He is the one who will set our record straight.
October 14, 2026
Song of Solomon 2:4 “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love”
The poetic language and descriptions in the Song of Solomon use a relationship between a couple to describe our relationship with the Lord. The book opens by picturing the bride, representing us, working in the vineyard with the hot sun beating down on her. She is poor, an outcast of her family, and ashamed of the way she appears, burned by the sun and disheveled. But the bridegroom-to-be, representing our Savior, sees her not as how she appears but as what she will be when she is His bride. He provides her with beautiful clothes and jewelry and takes her to live in His mansion. In today’s verse, the bride is telling how He brought her into the banqueting house and raised a banner over her, which described in one word what it’s all about: love. God purposed to reveal His love to us despite our sinfulness, and display to all creation and all heaven His abundant mercy and grace. We have Ephesians 2:4, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us”, and Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. The Jews missed the point of what the Lord wanted for them, and walked under the banners of rigid rules, harsh interpretations of the law, and self-righteousness. Even now, in this day of amazing grace, some still miss the point and march under similar banners of human performance, forms of godliness, church organizations, legalism, and, like the Jews, self-righteousness. But when we look at the bottom line, we see it in the words of Jesus in John 15:9, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love,” and John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”. It seems to be somewhat common for Christians to go off on a tangent and make doctrines and interpretations their main focus, and love is no longer their banner. All that the Lord has done for us in making us righteous, taking away our sin, and adopting us into His family is to bring us to a place where we can love Him and each other without obstructions. The Lord’s attributes of kindness, mercy, goodness, grace, forgiveness, faithfulness, and patience are the foundations of His great love for us. When we follow Him and imitate Him, we become creations of love and walk under that banner.
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October 13, 2026
Psalms 95:6-7 “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand”
We can worship the Lord and pray to Him while sitting, standing, or lying down. We can worship at any time and at any place, especially when we are alone with the Lord. David said in Psalms 63:5-6, “My mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches”. But how long has it been, if you are physically able, since you knelt before the Lord our maker and worshipped Him? The Bible tells us about Daniel’s worship and praying in Daniel 6:10, “He went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God”. When we worship and bow down, kneeling before our God, and we do it with a trusting, humble heart, it is a most precious time, but one which the enemy fights us so hard to keep us from. The devil would not bow to the Lord in heaven because he was determined to overthrow God and become god himself. He rebelled and was cast out. He desires that people will worship and follow him, and when he knows the saints of God are kneeling before the only Almighty, True, and Living God, he is determined to stop them. Many people no longer bow down and kneel before the Lord. Most churches have completely done away with kneeling in prayer. Truth be told, most of them have done away with prayer altogether except for a little ceremonial prayer that fits into their little stagnant, pre-planned worship schedules. Nowadays, if children and young people are going to learn how to pray and worship, kneeling before the Lord and following the example of mature, Godly people, they are not going to learn it from most churches or most parents. One of the things I remember while growing up was the daily sound of my dad’s voice coming from one of the upstairs bedrooms as he, on his knees, cried out to God, pleading for the souls and safety of his family. He is gone to be with our Lord, but his lessons of worship and prayer still burn in my heart to this day. May we return to the old paths of bowing down and kneeling before the Lord our maker because He is our God and we are His people, His precious family.
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October 12, 2026
1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love”
Yesterday’s Daily Devotion looked at the way we deal with fear from a Biblical perspective, and we continue that thought today. The above passage is about the love of God and how the love of God gives us confidence towards the fear of the day of judgment. Verses 16-17 of the chapter say, “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world”. The word “perfect” here means mature or complete and reveals that when we are confident of God’s love for us, and when we have received Christ and the truth of His unconditional love, then we have no reason to fear His judgmental wrath. God’s judgment against our sin was poured out on Jesus Christ when He was tortured and crucified, and God allowed the suffering of Christ to substitute for us. The love of God for us, revealed through Jesus His Son, takes away our fear of God’s judgment and its torment. Some people might say this contradicts the scriptures that tell us to fear the Lord. But that is a word that means honor and reverence, and not the tormenting fear of being judged as a sinner and given a sentence of everlasting punishment. This carries further into our daily lives when we stand in God’s love and know that nothing will ever separate us from that love (Romans 8:35-39). That perfect love of God assures us that God will never abuse us, cast us aside, or stop working all things for our good. Although He may correct us as His children, He will never punish us as unbelieving lawbreakers. Any torment we might face in this life is from the world, our flesh, or the enemy, and we should never blame God for what He does not do. When we know the Lord is always working out of love on our behalf, we also know we have no reason to fear because God will always do what is right for us. We take the purposeful action of Psalms 56:3-4: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me”. There is no fear in love.
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October 11, 2026
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation”
It is said that fear is the most prevalent emotion. Fear of being hurt, fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of being punished, fear of rejection, and the fear of death. There are so many fears that there is a condition called phobophobia, the intense fear of being afraid. The Bible says in 1 John 4:18 that fear torments and is an infliction of punishment. But the Word of God repeatedly tells us to not be afraid and encourages us to place our trust in the Lord. How do we do that? It’s not just a mantra or mindset; it means completely surrendering ourselves to the will and faithfulness of the Lord. It involves knowing what God says in His Word, and then making those promises the fountain of truth in our lives. The Word of God becomes the well of water within us that springs up, flooding us with peace and joy even when we’re assailed by fear, as He tells us in Isaiah 12:3, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation”. In a fearful situation, we can choose to listen to the voice of fear that says, “You’re doomed, there’s no way out, there’s no one to help you,” and our bodies will begin to react. Trembling, sweating, stomach sickness, and elevated blood pressure show that fear is controlling us. Or, we can begin to speak God’s Word into the situation: that the Lord is with us, He is faithful to deliver us, He has already made a way for our escape, that the enemy is a defeated foe, and that no weapon formed against us will prosper. The Word of God is our refuge, our rock of safety, our defense against the onslaught and lies of the enemy. We hear it reverberating when Jesus said in Matthew 14:27, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid”. It’s good to acknowledge the fear because it is a part of this earthly life. But it’s not God’s will for us to listen to the voice of fear and allow it to rob us of peace, joy, and comfort. The Lord doesn’t want us to live under loads of anxiety, worry, doubt, and uncertainty. His promises are true and eternal, and they are for our benefit to make us more than conquerors, confident of God’s faithfulness to us in our present situations and assured that our future is bright and glorious. The opposite of fear is peace, and the Lord purposed for us to live in peace and to have rest for our souls.
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October 10, 2026
2 Corinthians 5:20 “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God”
All believers represent the Lord, and it is a place of honor and responsibility. When we live our lives in this present evil world, we are on assignment under the authority of the Almighty King of heaven and earth. Somehow, we’ve been duped into thinking we have to emulate this world, fit in with them, and appeal to their ever-changing, fickle fashions and moods to reflect the love of the Lord so that we can point them to Christ. Rather than ambassadors who do not speak of their own authority or desire to placate their audience, but rather serve only to deliver the message of their king and hold the position of representing Him, Christians often appear as shallow, foolish copies of the very world the Lord has called us to confront on His behalf. And remember, Jesus did confront His culture, their religious tomfoolery, their true nature, and exposed their hypocrisy and insincerity of having a public religious façade, while being spiritually dead inside. He represented the will of the Father, and, while He was humble and kind, He was at the same instant noble, confident, and separate. The Scriptures declare in Hebrews 7:26: “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens”. Even in the events leading to His crucifixion, our Lord was not a blubbering, sly, and worldly imitator, but He responded to the high priests, the Sanhedrin, Herod, and Pilate with calm dignity, honor, and truth. As ambassadors, we don’t desire to come across as superior or better than this world, but we represent one who the Bible says is higher than the heavens. It’s right to stand tall, but with humble hearts; speak straight, but with love and compassion. We live holy, but without self-righteousness, and are always aware we are not only ambassadors for Heaven’s King we are His children, heirs, and joint-heirs with Christ our Lord. Today’s verse isn’t just about the Apostles or church leaders who have a more visible platform; it’s about all of us who bear His name and walk in His steps. We have a higher purpose and calling than to be cheap imitations of a world that despises the name of Jesus, a world that our Lord died to save.
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October 9, 2026
Proverbs 4:18 “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day”
We all have suffered through some pain and sorrow in past events, some more so than others. The enemy would love for us to remain bound there, perpetually wounded, hurting, and sorrowful, like being locked in a dark, lonely room filled with sadness and remorse. But the Lord is telling us to step out into the light, cast off the garments of mourning over what we cannot change, and leave the past where it belongs. It’s like the analogy of leaving the gloomy, dismal days of winter behind in Song of Solomon2:11-13: “For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come…Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away”. That last part is an invitation of our Lord to arise and follow Him. A big part of walking in the light of the present, and reaching out to an even brighter future, involves forgiving ourselves and others for what holds us locked in the past. We’ve all made mistakes that we wish we could do over, and others have made mistakes that affected us. We’ve missed opportunities, failed and fallen, taken detours that led us into messes, and it all comes before us in waves of regret, with the enemy whispering how we failed and that we’re ruined because of it. Others have failed us, betrayed us, caused us pain, bullied us, deceived us, and did everything but support and love us. But the Lord tells us to forgive, and that includes forgiving ourselves. He wants us to see the truth that we are children of the King of heaven, and He wants to heal our pasts of all the regrets and pain. When we look back, instead of viewing it by remembering what we didn’t like about it, we can see that the Lord’s hand was with us, guiding us out of our circumstances until we can walk the path of shining light. God is willing and able to create new beginnings, new starting points where we can live in present victory with great hope and sure expectations for the future. The Scriptures speak of who we are in 1Thessalonians 5:5: “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness”, and tell us in Ephesians 5:8: “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light”. When we grow in grace, our path brightens, and we can see that the best is yet to come!
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October 8, 2026
Romans 4:19 “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old”
Abraham took God’s promises as the truth, not the age or condition of his and Sarah’s bodies. He stopped thinking in terms of human understanding and reason, and set his mind on the eternal truth that God is always more than able to do exactly what He promised. Even when Abraham’s faith faltered, the promises of the Lord never faltered. God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 18:14, “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” Unbelief is normal with us; it’s the very core and nature of our flesh, and it is the heartbeat of our culture. The things of God have been reduced to religious rituals, and the Bible has become a piece of literature to be debated, interpreted by human views and opinions. It has become a weapon to defend our lopsided views or to be ignored altogether, lumped with all the other religious books of the world. But faith, as seen in Abraham, looks heavenward to a God that is indescribable, incomparable, and unimaginable to human reason. It is faith that honors His Word, which He has exalted above His own name, as the eternal, never-changing truth of the universe. In this faith, God’s Word drowns out the sceptics and speaks through time and space, reaching from everlasting to everlasting. The age of Abraham’s body or the circumstances of our lives today is immaterial to the power of God’s promises. Faith in His Word soars above our foolish attempts to explain away what He says or what He has done. The enemy and our flesh will always make excuses, cast doubt on God’s truth, build entire religions around subjective reasoning, and outright deny what the Lord said. But faith rises above the grunge of such messes and testifies that the Lord said what He said, meant what He said, did exactly what He recorded, and will do what He promises. Those who take Him at His Word will believe Him, not what they see, think, or reason. He did heal the sick, raise the dead, deliver from fire and lions, rapture Enoch out, feed 5,000 with a handful of food, and the accounts never end. And our hope is in Isaiah 46:11, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” That’s the God we believe in, and He will never fail.
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October 7, 2026
Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)”
At first glance, this Scripture looks like a picture of someone who has fallen off a cliff over the lake of fire, but God has provided a bush of grace by which the poor soul can grab hold on the way down. Sort of like, “You better hold on tight, and if you do, there’s a chance you’ll be saved. But I provided the bush, and now it’s up to you.” As crazy as that seems, it’s really what many people believe about the Lord and salvation: that He forgave their sin and gave them a new start, but it’s really an extension of heavenly credit. If we miss a payment and get behind, He will repossess the gift of life, and we lose in the end. May the Lord help those who are trapped in this false doctrine and missing the joy of knowing Christ died for us to completely forgive our past, present, and future sins, and our righteousness is of Him alone. This verse isn’t about holding on to salvation; it’s about remaining strong in our faith. It was written first to Jewish people who were coming out of Judaism and the ceremonies and structure of the Levitical law and turning to Jesus, trusting Him for redemption. It was tempting for them, after 1600 years of tradition, raised and grounded in the Law, to become afraid and uncertain that faith in Christ was enough for their complete salvation. But God would not accept the two systems simultaneously. Hebrews 10:26 warns, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” Once they heard the truth of Jesus, they could not turn away and go back to the Law, expecting their sins to be rolled back as they once were. The phrase “hold fast” puts us in mind of a parent holding a child securely and never dropping or allowing the child to be hurt. The child also holds on, and there is a mutual bond between the strength and ability of the parent and the will of the child. God holds us eternally steadfast and secure, but on our part, we resolve to be strong in our faith with a single focus on the Lord Jesus. When we place the Lord above all in our life, look to Him and commit our ways to Him, honoring His Word above all else, we are holding fast to our faith. But at the end of the day, it is still not our faithfulness and abilities that make us what we are. It is what is written in today’s verse: “for he is faithful that promised.” Our confidence is not ultimately in how tightly we can hold on, but in the One who has promised and is always faithful.
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October 6, 2026
Hebrews 6:18-19 “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil”
There is a great hope declared in this passage, and the Bible calls it an anchor of the soul, both steadfast and sure. The holding ground of the anchor of hope is the very person and presence of Jesus Christ, who lives within the veil upon the mercy seat, the place of pardon and forgiveness. Access to this place of safety is assured for us because we are told in verse 20 that Jesus, our forerunner, the One who goes ahead, has already entered this place of refuge on our behalf. He is there as our High Priest before the Lord God of heaven and earth, offering His precious blood for our forgiveness, mercy, and eternal life. This is our strong consolation, our steadfast and sure anchor of hope that will never fail, no matter what circumstances or forces come against us. We will not fail because our God cannot fail. In the natural realm, many strong and fearsome forces can and will rise up against God’s people. Some are against the church as a body, and we see them in action, attempting to silence the message of truth and continually attacking the foundations of faith to water down the message. There is the seductive influence of deception creeping into doctrine and teachings, and the outright war against the values and principles taught by God’s people. Then there are the personal attacks against us. They range from betrayals, sickness, the enemy’s tool of discouragement, problems in our families and homes, temptations from the world, and the trials and tribulations that so often hit us from every side. But no matter the storm, no matter the battle, and no matter the enemy’s devices, the anchor of hope, holding to the unchangeable promises and oath of our God, will never fail. We are never victims of the world. We are aligned with, tied to, and inseparable from the God who spoke all things into existence. We are bound to Him by His faithful love, mercy, and grace, and assured by His unchanging promises. It’s the comfort of the words of the hymn, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine; Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.” In these uncertain times and circumstances, it is a great comfort, a strong consolation, to know that every day, every hour, we are anchored rock-solid within the veil that no longer separates us from God, but now is an open invitation into His presence through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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October 5, 2026
Mark 5:5 “And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones”
Most of the people Jesus healed and delivered were people who had families, lived in a community, and often came to Jesus as part of a group. But this man was different. He was wild, violent, and lived alone in the local cemetery. He’s a different picture altogether from the little children who sat on Jesus’ lap, the distinguished and educated Nicodemus, the rich young ruler, and the innumerable ordinary people who came to the Lord or met Him on His travels, simply needing Him in their circumstances. People had tried to help this man. They tried to tie him up so he wouldn’t hurt himself, but all their attempts were useless. In some ways, he represents a segment of people who are in such dire straits that it seems they’re past the point where anything or anyone can help them. Some are on the outer fringes of society, shut off from all that is normal and from the comforts of life such as family, food, friends, a home, and the hope of tomorrow. For this wild man, his pain was different. He was driven not just by his sinful nature, but also tormented by evil spirits that were using his body as their own. We love the stories of people being saved and delivered from lifestyles and sins that were destroying them. But we sometimes back away from those who are still battling addictions, destructive life patterns, and things that don’t quickly fall in line with our expectations. Maybe we have a tendency to group everyone together and try to apply the same strategy when advising or helping them. But one person might be able, with a little help and support, to kick an addiction and never look back, while another may relapse many times before finally getting free. Some people develop strong convictions early in their Christian life about what they believe the Lord desires for them. Others not so much. Jesus can deliver and save a wild man in Gadara, or one in the Tri-Cities of Tennessee, just as easily as He can save a young child with no long list of offenses. But on our end, may the Lord give us patience and understanding that sometimes change happens slowly, and maturity of faith might take a lifetime. We should never give up on someone simply because their progress is slower than we think it should be. Jesus sees the whole person and knows what we cannot see. He is patient with us, and we should learn to be patient with others. Spiritual growth is not always quick or easy, but the Lord is still working. I’m living proof of that!
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October 4, 2026
Proverbs 10:12 “But love covereth all sins”
We learn early in life how to cover our sins and errors and how to expose those of others. The Bible refers to it in Isaiah 58:9 as “the putting forth of the finger.” But Christians are called to a life of love that rises above these devices of the flesh, and the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus as our example. When we love people, we recognize they’re imperfect, that they have weaknesses and flaws, and that they do and say things that don’t always make sense to us. Everyone has bad days, times when they’re frustrated and grumpy, and times when they make bad decisions. When we, who are also imperfect and just like them, stand pointing the finger, picking them apart, gossiping behind their backs, and cutting them down, we are going against what the Lord has called us to be. We’re looking at a verse today that says, “but love covereth all sins.” The Holy Spirit references this again in 1 Peter 4:8, where we’re told to have sincere love for each other because love covers a multitude of sins. We all belong to the Lord and were created in His image. The life we have is a gift from God, and He alone is qualified to judge us. Romans 2:1 says, “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself.” The Lord is not saying we are to ignore all sins, because then we would not hold people accountable for crime and evil acts. But He is talking about love that looks over the blunders and mistakes, the eccentric behaviors and styles, and people’s right to make choices and follow them. Our purpose is to be a blessing, to encourage, and to reflect the love of God, not to be the accuser, judge, and hangman. We want God’s mercy and grace for ourselves and our families. We want His forgiveness, kindness, and unconditional love, and we testify that we have received these from Him freely and eternally. When we look into the mirror and are honest about what we see, we confess that we are flawed and acknowledge our sins and failures. Our past has many bad choices that God put under the blood of Jesus, and He will never remember them. We have been given many chances to put the past behind us and start over. Why wouldn’t we want the same for other people who are also God’s creations? Love doesn’t pretend sin is right; it chooses mercy instead of constantly pointing the finger.
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October 3, 2026
Genesis 6:8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD”
The Bible doesn’t tell us a lot about the civilization before the flood as to how advanced they were, what language they spoke, if they built cities, and so on. What it does tell us is that they became increasingly violent and rebellious against the Lord and the ways of goodness. It’s summed up in Genesis 6:5, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” and Genesis 6:11, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” As disturbing as it is to think about the destruction of the entire world of people, it is comforting to know God had provided a way of escape for anyone who would choose it. Today’s verse, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD,” tells us that even in the darkest, most evil and corrupt times imaginable, God’s light of hope and salvation was shining, and Noah looked to that light instead of the darkness of the world. Not only did Noah choose a life of doing what was right in the face of universal corruption, but he also tried to warn others to do what was right. In 2 Peter 2:5, the Bible calls him “a preacher of righteousness.” Often, we are so overloaded with constant bad and negative news that we lose sight of the hope that still shines from God’s promises and presence. Just as He was determined to save Noah and whoever else would have faith to enter the ark, He is still extending mercy and grace to anyone who will choose to call on the name of Jesus. The flood of God’s judgment is coming again, and just as it was the first time, there is a place of safety the Lord has appointed. For Noah and his family, it was an ark, a boat designed and commissioned by the Lord. For us, it is the ark of a man, Christ Jesus, who declared in John 11:26, “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” The promise of salvation is given in many Scriptures, one of which is Romans 5:8-9: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” Every person who entered Noah’s ark was saved from the flood, and every person who places their trust in Jesus Christ for salvation will be saved from the judgment that is coming.
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October 2, 2026
Judges 7:7 “And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place”
The Midianites had over 135,000 soldiers, and when Gideon took charge of Israel’s army, he had 32,000 men. Already they were outnumbered more than 4 to 1. But God told Gideon there were too many Israelite soldiers. After Gideon sent everyone home who was afraid, and then sent home those who drank water by kneeling and putting their mouth directly in the stream, there were only 300 men left. It was then that we have today’s verse, where the Lord promised Gideon that He would use those 300 men to defeat the Midianite army of over 135,000. And He did just that. Sometimes we find ourselves in difficult situations that are simply too big for us, and on our own, we cannot win. If we just had more money, a better doctor, more help from others, or more resources, we might stand a chance. After all, while 32,000 men were far fewer than the Midianites’ 135,000, it looked like Israel had a better chance than with just 300. But God wants us to trust Him, not our own abilities and strength. After Gideon was left with just 300 men, the Lord spoke to him in Judges 7:9, saying, “And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand”. God, not Gideon or Israel’s army, won the victory, and God gets all the glory. The Lord uses situations when our backs are against the wall to show us that we don’t have to figure everything out because He has already gone before us and is working on our behalf. The victory belongs to the Lord. The medical report might look hopeless. The financial mess might look like we’re going down. We might be in situations on our jobs or in our homes that overwhelm us. But like Gideon and those 300 men, God can take what looks impossible and show Himself strong on our behalf. We may not understand why God allows us to face battles that seem far too big for us, but we can trust the One who goes before us. Deuteronomy 31:8 says, “And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed”. When the numbers don’t add up and our strength isn’t enough, remember that God doesn’t need much to accomplish much. The victory belongs to Him.
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October 1, 2026
Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
When Moses died, the task of leading the Israelites from the wilderness, across the Jordan River, and into their promised land fell on Joshua. There can be no doubt that Joshua was overwhelmed. Following someone like Moses was almost unthinkable and even the Lord gave these words of Moses’ legacy: Deuteronomy 34:10-12, “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.” But just as the Lord called and comforted Moses (And we remember the beginning of Moses’ ministry when he tried to talk God out of calling him), God spoke to Joshua and comforted him with the words in today’s verse. The Lord promised him in verse 5, “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” We all go through times when we’re overwhelmed. Like when we’re sailing along with clear skies and no problems, and out of the blue, a storm of troubles hits us like a tornado. Our peace dissolves, our joy is turned into despair, and it looks so dark we can’t see God’s light of hope. Job describes it in Job 5:14, “They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night”. This sense of being overcome by circumstances that seem to be insurmountable affects us emotionally, spiritually, and even physically because it can literally make us sick. Sorrow, grief, pain, uncertainty, sadness, and fear come from this world and its fallen condition, and it’s not always possible to just “shake it off” by our own strength. Or, like Joshua, the Lord calls us to serve Him in a capacity we do not think we are qualified for. But no matter what the situation, we look to God and we can hear His Words to us: Isaiah 41:10, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness”.
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