Daily Devotion
November 8, 2026
1 Peter 3:8-9 “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.”
We are called to receive blessings and to be a blessing, and if there was ever a time to put that into practice every day, it is now. Everywhere we look, people are discouraged and hurting. Confusion is on every corner, and uncertainty has replaced confidence and assurance that things are going to get better. People struggle with anxiety, and some are physically ill, their bodies suffering under various illnesses and stress. This is not confined to a particular group or age range. Many children are in distress, and teens are miserable. The news continually carries stories of children being abandoned, abused, and abducted. People need encouragement, unconditional love, and compassion. They need to be treated kindly and with respect, and the body of Christ, the church, is summoned to rise above our differences of opinion and join ranks to be a blessing to others. The words “be ye all of one mind” point us to harmony and unity. While the Lord has made us different, just as He made the natural body’s hands different from the feet, He has called us to cooperate in our mission to a hurting and discouraged world. People need to know the Lord loves them, and they need to experience God’s love being manifested through His people. We have the message of hope, the message that gives light in these dark days. While the world is lashing out in anger, cursing, and abuse, we bring the mind of Christ and the power of blessing. The will of the flesh is to meet the evil and hatefulness of the world in the same manner they are dishing it out, but the Lord calls us to rise above the spirit of the age and overcome evil with good. We sow the seeds of blessing as we read in verses 10-11, “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue (follow) it.” Believers are under pressure to cave in to the flood of negativity and despair sweeping the globe and surrender the message that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. May the Lord help us arm ourselves with the truth of God’s Word and the determination to stand firm in our calling.
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November 7, 2026
Luke 18:13-14 “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. 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”
One of the reasons many people do not believe they need Jesus Christ the Savior is that they do not believe they are sinners. Or at least, when they compare themselves to other people, especially those who have sunk deeply into the vilest of evil, they decide that compared to them, they are saints. When the man in today’s verses went into the temple, he stood alongside a religious man, a Pharisee, who prayed in verses 11-12, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess”. He saw himself as righteous because he compared himself to others whom he considered sinful. The publican, on the other hand, humbled his heart before God and saw himself as a sinner needing mercy and salvation. Instead of comparing himself to someone else, he compared himself to the infinitely Holy Lord. When we do that, we cannot help but see our imperfections and sins. When the early morning sunlight streams into a room at a certain angle, it illuminates dust and debris on floors and tables that ordinarily cannot be seen. All that seemed spick and span is suddenly revealed for what it really is. When the light of God shines upon us, our sins become evident, and we realize our need for the cleansing power of Jesus Christ. His precious blood can take away all our sins and make us new creations in Him. It is far better to see ourselves as sinners than to think we are pretty good, okay, and better than most people. When we acknowledge that we are sinners, we can be saved! The publican went home justified, that is, forgiven, because he humbled his heart and acknowledged his sinfulness, asking God for mercy. The Bible says in 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”.
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November 6, 2026
Numbers 13:33 “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight”
How we see ourselves and our abilities is directly related to how we see God and His abilities. The Israelites were standing at the border of their promised land, listening to the reports of the twelve spies they had sent in to check out the place. Ten of the spies came back with the report in the above verse. Notice that they saw the size of the inhabitants and described them as giants, and in comparison, they saw themselves as grasshoppers. What was missing from their report was the testimony that no matter how impossible it might seem to go forward and take the land, the Almighty God who called them to be His people could not be defeated, and by His power, they could overcome. Although Joshua and Caleb assured the people that they would see victory if they trusted in the Lord, the people believed the report of the other ten and saw themselves as puny, insignificant grasshoppers, unable to win against the inhabitants of Canaan. From our human perspective, we can see ourselves as powerful in our own abilities, puffed up in pride, or as weak and helpless victims at the mercy of life’s forces and circumstances. Or we can see ourselves with eyes of faith, covered in the armor of God and standing firm with the One who has given us great and precious promises. In the Lord, Israel was undefeatable because God is the God of the impossible. But that fateful day, the Bible says in Hebrews 3:19, “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” It is possible to quote Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,” and declare it like a standard yet not live it out. How we see ourselves is the key. The more we yield to the Holy Spirit’s revelation of who we are in Christ, and the less we listen to our own reasoning and the naysayers around us, the more we will trust God’s abilities and that He is unfailingly working on our behalf. We can confess the truth of our sonship, declare that we will always triumph in Christ, and move ever forward in victory. The difference between the failure of unbelief and the victory of faith can be seen by comparing Israel’s failure at the border of Canaan to David’s victory over Goliath. The enemy in both accounts was a giant, but unlike the Israelites who saw themselves as pitiful grasshoppers, David saw himself as a child of God and, in the name of the Lord, was invincible.
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November 5, 2026
Proverbs 27:20 “so the eyes of man are never satisfied”
It didn’t take Adam and Eve long to prove they couldn’t remain contented with what they had. They lived in a perfect paradise with everything they needed freely supplied to them. Their surroundings were breathtakingly beautiful, and they had no suffering, pain, disease, depression, stress, or trouble of any sort. They had it all. Well, almost, except for one thing the Lord told them they couldn’t have. That was enough to create a desire in them to be discontented with what they had and want something else. In their case, the very thing that was forbidden to them. It’s hard to understand our Adamic nature in that people can never seem to say, “It is enough. I have all I want and need,” and then stop grasping for more. But that is the point of today’s verse. Our hope and rescue from this trap are found in Psalm 107:9, “For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness”. Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled”. When we direct our wants and desires toward the things of God, He satisfies that craving to have what we do not have. In the Lord’s encounter with the woman at the well in John 4, this very truth runs as a thread through His teaching about salvation. She was looking for water, but it only symbolized her greatest need, which was to find inner satisfaction. Jesus promised her a well of water that would spring up within her to satisfy her thirst. The thirst for what we do not have is really a desire to be satisfied, and there is nothing on this earth or in the universe that can fill that emptiness except a relationship with God. Sadly, we can spend our lives addicted to having more stuff, cram our homes, land, storage buildings, and rental storage buildings full of everything from trinkets to junk, and still want more. We may even fight other people over it if we think we have to. Yet God offers a free gift, a personal relationship with Him that, when pursued wholeheartedly, brings contentment. The Holy Spirit gives us the vision to see that everything this life offers passes away. The Lord asks us in Isaiah 55:2, “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not?” In Psalm 34:10, we have His promise that “they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing”. What a wonderful assurance we have in Psalm 23:1: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want”.
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November 4, 2026
Psalms 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all”
It’s our nature to think that we would be better off if we didn’t have any troubles. If only every day was free of problems and we never had to face any afflictions. But the truth is, usually when we are having sunny days and living carefree, our spiritual life begins to falter, and we start taking God’s blessings for granted. Our praying becomes shallow, and we spend more time doing what we want to do and less time immersed in the things of God and seeking His will. It is during times of testing and seasons of affliction that we search our hearts and cry out to God. In one of our past Daily Devotions, we considered Psalms 119:71, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes”. Trouble causes us to stop living on autopilot and helps us move closer to the Lord. A good witness to this truth is Jonah, who didn’t want to do God’s will and tried to run away from the job the Lord had given him. But when God allowed him to get into trouble for his disobedience, the Bible says in Jonah 2:1-2, “Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice”. But it’s not just the afflictions that may come to help us get back on track. Life sometimes loads us down with uncomfortable, and sometimes painful, situations. Yet every time we are confronted with adversity, the Holy Spirit helps us remember verses like today’s and reminds us that God is at work, strengthening us, helping us, and providing deliverance. God’s promises are infallible, and His Word is eternally true. By His grace and through faith in Him, we are bound to Him in times of trouble in ways that nothing else can accomplish. The reports and advice this world gives offer little hope, but God’s Word and the Holy Spirit remind us of His promise in Isaiah 43:2, “When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned”. Afflictions will come our way, but the Lord will deliver us out of them all. When we can see things through eyes of faith, we too can trust that God is leading us to a place where we can say, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes”.
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November 3, 2026
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”
This is one of my favorite Bible verses because it gives us confidence that we are completely and eternally wanted and welcome in the very presence of God. It is a personal invitation from the Creator of all that exists to approach Him as a child would a loving father. There should be no hesitation on our part to enter into the very throne room of Almighty God and know that we are unconditionally loved and accepted. When believers have this kind of assurance, it changes the way they perceive God and the way they see themselves. Because of Jesus Christ, there are no barriers that separate us from God because the only barrier that ever did separate us, sin, has been forever abolished. That’s the sense of today’s verse: There’s open-door access to God. It gives us a better understanding of Ephesians 2:6, “And He has raised us up together and has caused us to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. But a deeper dive into this verse reveals some parallel truth in its words. The Greek for “boldly”, meta parrēsias, means much more than just a feeling of confidence. Its primary meaning is the freedom to tell the unvarnished truth, the freedom to speak openly, without ambiguity, without holding back, and without using figures of speech. Our invitation is not just to come before God for help in our time of need, although that is part of the meaning; it is an invitation to say whatever we want to say, to empty our hearts to Him with everything we’re thinking and feeling. No thinking that we better not say what’s on our minds for fear He might reject us or think we’re being too brash, uncouth, or foolish. It means we can tell the Lord all our shortcomings and failures without reservation and be relieved to know He will listen in mercy and kindness. Most of us do not have many, if any, persons on earth who we can go to day or night, regardless of the time or circumstance, and tell them anything no matter how self-revealing or startling, and they will hear us graciously and in love. Yet that is the essence of our relationship with our Lord, and the wonderful certainty is that He knows in advance what we’re bringing before Him. He is forever ready to cover us with mercy and help us in our times of need.
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November 2, 2026
Matthew 15:36 “And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude”
In this account of our Lord performing the miracle of the fish and loaves, the fact that He prayed over the food before the meal sometimes gets overlooked. It takes my mind back to when I was growing up in our house. I never remember a time we ate without my dad giving thanks, and it was such a part of our mealtime that none of us five kids ever thought about eating until the prayer of thanks was given. There was a regularity to our dinner, which we called supper. When dad came in from work, mom had the meal ready to go, and the prayer wasn’t one of those, “Good bread, good meat, thank God let’s eat” varieties, but it was from the heart. For anyone who knew my dad, it was prayed in faith. Faith that acknowledged the Lord as the giver of all good things, and faith that when food is eaten in accordance with 1 Timothy 4:4-5, “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer,” this covered anything on the table, from chicken to ham. The example our Lord gave us here in Matthew 15, when He was miraculously feeding several thousand with seven loaves and a few little fish, is that even as the Lord of heaven and earth, He still pointed everyone to the Heavenly Father as the supplier of the food and acknowledged it with a prayer of thanks. It’s not that we follow His pattern to make sure we avoid some sort of sin or prevent God from being angry. It is to establish our hearts in sincere gratitude for what we are about to eat and also, by faith, believe that the Word of God and prayer sanctifies the food, as said in the above verse in 1 Timothy 4. Even though a mealtime prayer can sometimes become another religious routine, when we make it a part of our conscious efforts to pursue a life where even the details are purposed to honor the Lord, it becomes an important part of the pattern of good works mentioned in Titus 2:7, “In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works.” It’s a blessing to be in a restaurant or café and see people bowing their heads, giving thanks before they eat. Giving thanks before a meal may seem like a small thing, but it is one way we acknowledge God’s goodness in the everyday details of life.
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November 1, 2026
Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful”
We enter the month of November, the season of Thanksgiving, looking back and reflecting on the goodness of the Lord and His great blessings to us. Considering today’s verse, it’s sometimes hard for even the strongest believers to let the peace of God rule in their hearts when circumstances are pressing hard against them. Yet the Word of God remains unchanged, no matter the circumstances or how they affect us. So how can we let the peace of God rule in our hearts and be thankful in spite of trials, adversity, and the stress of everyday life that can hit us at any time? It’s all by faith, believing that the Lord is still the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, and even in these times of uncertainty, He is still certain, faithful, and fully in control. Let’s be thankful, for that is God’s will for us. Knowing we are redeemed, eternally secure, blessed, and provided for, we have every reason to come before the Maker of heaven and earth with a grateful heart. Since the church began almost two thousand years ago, believers have walked by faith, as the Bible says in Galatians 2:20, “and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”. This faith, inseparable from our hope, is the basis for our peace and rejoicing, as declared in Romans 5:1-2, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God”. This faith tells us we will come through all this because the Lord will bring us through. This faith tells us we can look forward to a better Thanksgiving Day than we’ve ever had because the Bible says in Proverbs 4:18, “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” This faith tells us that our God will continue to guide our steps and bless us because He’s our Heavenly Father and will not forsake His children. No matter what we’ve been through, no matter how frightening or uncomfortable it’s been, the Lord is our light at the end of the tunnel. And as we are reminded so many times in the Scriptures, “And it came to pass.” All the things that try to dethrone God’s peace from our hearts will pass. Our circumstances may change, but our God never does.
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