January 19, 2026

Hebrews 11:17-19

19 [Abraham] considered that God was able even to raise [Isaac] from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

I’m not sure that I could get into metal detectors, but I think I see the appeal. Purchasing a metal detector allows you to unlock the possible treasures you miss everyday. What if you walked right past a lost watch, an ancient artifact, or even real gold every day? If only you had eyes to see the riches around you!

Actual metal detectors never find much, but we walk right past incredible riches in the faith daily. In the story our verse references, Abraham displayed amazing faith in God when he tried to sacrifice Isaac, but it wasn’t a faith from nowhere. Abraham had thought long and hard about the miracle of Isaac’s birth. He knew God could bring life from death because, in a way, God had done exactly that when 90 year old Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Do you ponder God’s work in your life? 

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to look for the ways You have served me so I will grow in my trust of You.

January 17, 2026

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I will never cease to be amazed by this sentence in Scripture. In my sin, I really don’t want to totally forgive people, at least not all the way. If the offense is pretty small, I can forgive. If the offense is a little more intense, I can forgive but try to guilt the person into better behavior. If the offense is huge, I hurt them in the worst way a proud person can: I banish them from my company.

Our sin against God isn’t just big, it’s gigantic. Not only does He offer to forgive us, He will cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. He doesn’t seem to forgive then condemn us to try and earn back His favor. He doesn’t forgive then walk away to distance Himself as far from us as possible. He forgives the repentant sinner and cleans us up totally. Take the time to be amazed by Your God’s forgiveness.

Prayer prompt: Lord, Your forgiveness is crowned with an overwhelming love I could never deserve. Thank You!

January 16, 2026

Isaiah 54:13-14

13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

Most people haven’t tried to lead a church. If you ever do though, be ready for some difficulty in finding Children’s workers. Kids are darling, and it can be one of the most rewarding places to serve. However, it is an intimidating place to go. It is a heavy responsibility to lead the next generation.

For those who do take the plunge, Isaiah puts them in exalted company. In Isaiah’s prophecy of Heaven, the Lord teaches the children. The scene we see of the Almighty Lord of Hosts taking the children through lessons should be meditated upon. If anyone wants to lead, let him serve the least influential and needest. In that way, you will truly be like your Father who serves us so well.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I look to You for my example of love and service.

January 15, 2026

Exodus 2:10

10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Anxiety wrecks so many lives as we worry over what tomorrow will bring. In Scripture, God commands us not to worry, but how? We get lots of advice that will never work. Closing our eyes and breathing or pumping ourselves up with positivity won’t hold up for the long haul. We need to see the God who has all things under His absolute control.

The name Moses means “to draw out”. As Moses was pulled out of the water of the Nile, so God would use Moses to draw His people out of the misery and death of slavery in Egypt. God used the rescue of a single baby to show how He would rescue a whole nation. He used His rescue of a nation to show how He would rescue the whole world through Jesus. Look to your Father and let your worry go.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to remember the way you saved me so I will trust that you still love me.

January 14, 2026

Psalm 127:2

2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

What’s more American than hard work? The stats that compare our vacationing with Europe make me so proud. Is all that extra effort just the happy consequence of the storied Protestant Work Ethic or is there something else there? With greater wealth than our parents and grandparents, do we also have greater contentment and less anxiety? Are we just busy like the diligent ant described in the Proverbs or anxious like, well like most modern Americans?

The verse lays out our only way forward. We can and should work hard, as to the Lord even. But we have to work as those who see the Lord as Lord. We can’t work as though our effort will keep calamity away or guarantee our bread. Beloved, trust your Father to provide.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I trust You to care for me.

January 13, 2026

Proverbs 20:5

5 The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.

Disobedience to God is never healthy or safe. We have to repent immediately when we see sin in our lives. But don’t stop at the stuff you can see from the outside. We must go deeper to understand more about our rebellion. I sin with my words, but I also sin with my pride. There is more to clean out than just the surface.

Like the ice fisherman who cuts a hole, then with skill brings things up from the deep, we need to look deeper at our actions. Jesus saw murder in our anger and adultery in our hidden lust. He would often address the heart attitudes of the Pharisees in the room even when they hadn’t voiced their objections. Things like judgmentalism, pride, resentment, and greed lurk beneath the surface of your heart. Look more deeply and let Jesus clean you all the way down.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to go deeper in my pursuit of holiness for Your glory.

January 12, 2026

James 1:19-20

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Anger is a lot like a weapon with power to protect and destroy. God has given us something awesome and dangerous. If we’re not careful, we’ll shoot the wrong person. Anger is given for focusing a person, mind and body, on protecting something. Threaten my child and watch me hulk up! By God’s grace, that doesn’t happen much. I’m usually angry for much stupider and much more sinful reasons.

To assess your anger, take a moment to notice each time you get angry today. Then write a sentence or two in a note app or on a piece of paper about why you’re mad. Sit down at the end of the day and ask the question, “What was I protecting with that anger?” If you’re like me, you can then start repenting for all the times your anger flares over pride, selfish pursuits, or unrealistic expectations.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to see my anger and repent of it.

January 10, 2026

James 1:22-25

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

In a good mirror, you can see what you really look like. God’s law uncovers us in exactly that way. His perfect standard shows us how a truly righteous person acts, even how they should think and love. The law shows us just how much we’ve twisted away from perfection into perversion and ruin.

What do you do with that truth? If you are a hearer of God’s word and not someone actively seeking to put it into practice it is like you are pretending that the pimples and ingrown hairs and unruly eyebrows aren’t there. But they are! How much worse when instead of a blemish in a mirror, we have sin in our lives which leads to death? Thank God Jesus forgives! Let’s commit to changing.

Prayer prompt: Lord, show me a specific sin to work on today and guide me to a brother or sister who can help.

January 9, 2026

Psalm 46:4-6

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.

How do some Christians maintain such patience? They seem to endure the pain of life while maintaining a humble look and joyful disposition. You may be blessed enough to know a saint like that in real life, but many of us only read about them in books. These verses hold out the key to being just such a conqueror yourself. 

Those holy people are just like this city of God. The Lord is in with them. He has made them glad and makes them so steady, they can’t be moved. When you know Jesus, God has become your holy habitation. The only way the enemy can take you down is to hide this unbelievable truth from you. Trust in the Lord!

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to look to Your strength so I will have confidence to fight in Your Name.

January 8, 2026

Matthew 16:18

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

This incredibly interesting verse brings together some of the most bold and solid imagery in Scripture. Jesus has declared His followers to be rocks that will become like a living building. His Church will be a growing, living, stronghold of God’s presence on Earth, but it won’t be a building like we often use the word church to mean. No, His believers become these living stones.

Then we can see the mighty way He will fulfill the second part of the verse. It seems like a mixed metaphor to describe a building attacking a city gate. But Jesus means us, His people like living rocks, will expand to cover this world. When the enemy’s stronghold stands in the way of our advance even the most secure point, the gate, will crumble before God’s magnificent new creation. Put your eyes on God’s victorious march and stand firm today!

Prayer prompt: Lord, when my sin or circumstances keep me from fighting for Your Kingdom, remind me of the victory Christ promised.

January 7, 2026

James 1:18

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

James says here that God is creating us again. We are already creatures, as is everything in this world, and yet James says we are being “brought forth by the word of truth”. Brought forth brings you back to Genesis 1:24 when God commands the earth to bring forth the animals and out they come. Imagine elephants poking their heads out of the ground like groundhogs!

In the same way, God is bringing out a new life, a new creation, through this word of truth in us. We were dead and by His will He has made us alive. God has promised one day to make us and everything else totally new, but have you thought much about how He has already put new life in you? We are still sinful and our bodies are wasting away so quickly, but the new life in us is growing day by day. Spend time today giving thanks for new life!

Prayer prompt: Lord, thank You for making me new.

January 6, 2026

1 Thessalonians 5:18

18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Thankfulness is way more powerful than we think. It is not just the clearest road to actually feeling satisfaction, it is a road that leads all the way to God. G K Chesterton in Orthodoxy, his famous book on his own journey to Christ, said, “We thank people for birthday presents of cigars and slippers. Can I thank no one for the birthday present of birth?”

If I say “thank you”, there must be a You to thank. If you give me a present, compliment, or grant me forgiveness for a wrong, it’s just right to say thank you. To whom can we go when the whole of our life, our body and senses, and everything those senses have ever sensed is like a gift? Fill your life with thankfulness to God and you also fill it with worship, satisfaction, and with God Himself.

Prayer Prompt: Father, thank You. Please fill my day with thankfulness as I see all the gifts you’ve given.

January 5, 2026

James 1:14

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

A salesman once told me he went into meetings with the goal of figuring out what the customer really wanted. He said it this way, “What do you want to hear? Because I’m about to say it.” The product he sold wasn’t his focus, but the desires of his customers. If he knew what they really wanted, he could customize his presentation to fit those desires. The enemy works in a similar way.

He is luring us away by focusing on our desires. To grow in godliness, I need to look at what it is I desire most. I don’t just need to try and change my actions or become more obedient. I need to love the Lord, to desire Him rather than the things He forbids. How amazing that God will lead us around by the promise of satisfaction rather than just the threat of punishment?

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to see the desires that lead to my sin. Please teach me how I can always and only be truly satisfied in You.

January 3, 2026

James 1:5-7

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

These verses challenge us to ask God for wisdom. He will definitely tell me who I should marry, or where we should live, or when to have kids if I just ask without doubting, right? But each of those questions break the one rule of the passage.

When I come to God to receive wisdom in order to marry the right person or find a job that I will be successful in, I’m abusing wisdom. It’s like using a Lamborghini as a table in your garage. Sure, you can set stuff on it, but that’s not what it’s for. God gives you wisdom to bring about all the joy of knowing Him.

Prayer prompt: Lord, please lead my heart to most desire You.

January 2, 2026

Proverbs 3:19

19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;

There is a way things work. Amazon’s warehouses overflow with books on the best way to do anything you can think of doing. The authors who wrote those books didn’t just do it for the money. There is an intense thrill in finding the way the universe works and telling others about it. The writer of the Proverbs didn’t just describe how the world works, or even how it was made. He pointed up and up to the Maker Himself.

Wisdom isn’t just about learning how the world works. Wisdom, if followed, will always lead you up and down. Wisdom will lead you all the way down into your heart and all the way up into Heaven. Wisdom is the answer to every question, even the most important. Get wisdom, and you will know how to have true joy because true wisdom will always lead you to the Lord. Study God’s word and God’s world to learn more about the smiling God behind it all.

Prayer prompt: Lord, lead me to wisdom so that I can see You.

January 1, 2026

Luke 2:13-14

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Happy New Year! It seems silly to think much has changed, the earth made it around the sun again (was anyone too concerned it wouldn’t?) and we still have a lot of snow and cold ahead of us. But it’s hard not to feel excited. Sure, all the years up to this point have been normal to disappointing, but this year could be the one!

Why are Christians supposed to have hope as we look out on the next year? The angels said it all that night to the shepherds: God is glorious and there is peace for those with whom He is pleased. Whatever comes next for us in the year ahead, we have already have peace with God through Jesus Christ. That should make us sing and treasure a deep peace for whatever lies ahead!

Prayer Prompt: Lord, You have made peace with those who are far from You by the cross. Thank You for giving us such joy!

December 31, 2025

Psalm 103:2-3

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,

It doesn’t seem possible that we could forget the overwhelming number and quality of good things God has done for us unless you think about why we might be motivated to forget. If I’m in awe of His goodness to me, it is more difficult to go after the forbidden pleasures I desire. I want to forget. If the sheer magnitude of God’s kindness to a sinner who deserves only wrath is humbling, it is harder to feel proud of myself. If I’m proud, I would want to hide.

How wise is the Psalmist though? We bless God and remember first that He does forgive our iniquity. We remember Him who heals even the diseases of pride and a haughty spirit. God is so good, He even heals and forgives so we can receive His goodness! Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Prayer prompt: Lord, I bless You with everything that is within me.

December 30, 2025

James 1:1

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

James, the writer of the book of James, was Jesus’ actual brother, another child of Joseph and Mary. What would it be like to be the brother of Jesus? It is easy to think of some negatives. You’re not going to get better grades or be more attentive at Synagogue. Once Jesus was resurrected and proven to be who He said He was, I’m sure their sibling dynamic changed. Suddenly James had an inside track with God Himself.

Yet when we find James in the New Testament, he doesn’t call himself Jesus’ brother. Here, he calls himself Jesus’ servant. He had come to know Jesus as He truly is. Instead of competing or trying to curry favor, James fell at the feet of his Lord Jesus Christ. If you’ve grown up with the name of Jesus, have you ever really seen Him for who He is? Have you fallen at His feet?

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to approach You with the reverence You deserve.

December 29, 2025

Acts 20:35

35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Have you heard those words before as a kid? I’m not sure if there is an example of any prominent wisdom saying that I believed less. I gave my parents little Christmas gifts we glued together in kids’ ministry, but the joy of handing off a cotton ball snowman was nothing like the pleasure in tearing into Christmas gifts. How can Jesus be right?

I hope as you age, you find more value in love than things. Certainly, watching my loved ones enjoy something is way better than the pleasure of a new tie or headphones. Love is greater than things. If we can really learn that lesson today and begin to prioritize bigger pleasures like love over smaller pleasures then we will begin to really work hard as God’s people.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me that Love is a greater blessing than anything else!

December 27, 2025

Galatians 4:7

7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

I went to college with a guy who drove a nice Audi. I asked a friend how he could drive a car like that in college and was told the guy was heir to a big chicken salad empire. Must be nice. My family never even attempted to build a chicken salad empire. But we are happy nevertheless.

Money and the luxury that comes along with it aren’t the main point of a family. In family we get identity, love, security, friendship, guidance, and a million other things available to the poorest families in the world. Being heirs with Christ, you can look to the heavenly equivalent of an Audi, but it would be far wiser to begin enjoying now all these other benefits. You are God’s child and He is your Father.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to look to the true value of being Your son and heir with Jesus.