January 23, 2024

1 Corinthians 6:12

12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.

Simple pride hates to be dominated by anything. Our world makes it so easy to pretend, even if just to yourself, that you rule your world: picking up and casting aside shows from an unlimited list, moving in your car anywhere you like, deciding dinner from every possible genre of food. This verse above makes me wonder if the pace of life and seeming freedom we have isn’t a cover for forces that do influence and even control us.

As soon as we take up the idea that we rule all and can choose whatever we like, we open ourselves up to the lie that such things can’t rule us and can’t harm us. If you let sexual immorality in the door, even just extra glances or minimal scenes in shows you enjoy, you begin to be controlled by the desires such lust sets alight in your heart. Chesterton said we have to rest when we want sickness to go away, but if we need sin to go away we have to be incredibly active. Are you looking out for sins that may enslave your heart?

Prayer Prompt: Lord, please teach me to fear the things you call wicked that I might submit to You and no other lord.

January 22, 2024

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. That is, until 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 pleasures He has forbidden. Easier to forget. If I’m humbled by the sheer magnitude of God’s kindness to a sinner who deserves only wrath, it is difficult to feel proud of myself. Easier to hide. 

How wise is the Psalmist though. We bless Him 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 us up enough to receive His goodness! Bless the Lord, O my soul!

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

January 20, 2024

James 1:1

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

What would it be like to be the brother of Jesus? It is easy to think of some negatives. How do you compete with Jesus? You’re not going to get better grades or be more attentive at Synagogue. James, the writer of the book of James, was Jesus’ brother. 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.

January 19, 2024

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 in handing off those cotton ball snowmen was nothing like the pleasure in tearing into Christmas gifts. How can it be true?

I hope as you age, you find it to be true. Certainly, watching my loved ones enjoy something is infinitely greater 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 love over small pleasures then we will begin to really activate as God’s people.

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

January 18, 2024

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 never the less.

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.

January 17, 2024

Psalm 84:3

3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

Ever feel like you don’t belong, like you got in by mistake? I’m sure medical students want awed patients to call them Dr., but I bet they also feel a little inadequate to answer difficult, life-or-death questions. I know people dream of having children, but most parents are sure they don’t know what they’re doing. Imposter syndrome can hurt the Christian too. How can we say we, with all our sin, are God’s children? That we, made dirty by disobedience and rebellion, belong in His House?

The verse above describes the heart of God as the perfect host. Even the little swallow or sparrow has a special designated place for even the delicate task of raising young. That little swallow is provided for by the LORD of hosts, or Yahweh, the self-existent Lord of Angelic Armies. In other words, though God is so high above us, He is able to make a place for you right next to Himself. Jesus, who died to make you clean, has gone to prepare that place. Let yourself praise God for His perfectly tailored care of your eternal life with Him!

Prayer Prompt: Lord, my soul longs to be with You forever. Please preach the gospel to me so I will desire You and trust Your ability to declare me clean!

January 16, 2024

Matthew 7:12

12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Okay, but how do you want to be treated? In any given situation, this Golden Rule works perfectly because you have an answer to that question. But if you zoom out a bit and ask about your whole life, how would you like to be treated? I don’t think in a million years we would have come up with how God treats us in Christ.

He invades our rebellion and dazzles us with His perfect life of love and holiness before dying with the words, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do,” on His lips. As eternity-altering as that is, it also sets the Golden Rule in a whole new light. If that love is possible, we will certainly choose to be treated in exactly that way. So that is how we must treat others. We show them lives of increasing obedience to God, covered, smothered and chuck full of love for God and them, then we sacrifice boldly to bring them back to God.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to remember the way You saved me so I will work to save others.

January 15, 2024

1 Corinthians 6:15-17

15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

It’s crucial to understand how Paul argues against our acting out in sexual immorality. I really don’t want my dog getting around the neighborhood and finding lady dogs. We neutered the poor guy, but even so a promiscuous dog causes problems. A promiscuous spouse causes significantly bigger ones.

God consistently portrays us in Scripture not as His dog but as His spouse. Because He’s united Himself to us, when we give our favors to idols or practice physical sexual immorality we separate ourselves from Him. Take a hard look at your life today. Where do you need to walk away from things that anger your Holy God? What does it mean for Him to love you not like a favorite tool but as His very own spouse?

Prayer Prompt: Lord, teach me to look away from what will destroy me and look to the love You have for me!

January 13, 2024

James 1:27


27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

It’s not hard to imagine the sad life of the orphan. We need a place to go to for love, safety, and to know who we are. God gave parents as a primary means for that basic level of support. It’s enough to make your heart break when you think about a little child forced to find those things for him or herself.

The Scripture makes another clear argument for why we should care for the orphan: you are one too. You and I have been cut off from God as our source of security, identity, and love. The miracle of Jesus is that God didn’t leave us as orphans. He came to find us and reconcile so we could be together forever. Spend time this morning in reflection and gratitude so that you are ready to care for orphans like you.

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

January 12, 2024

2 Thessalonians 2:8

8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

There’s a common thought in human history that fancy people call dualism. It’s the idea that evil and good both exist and fight; sort of think light and dark side in Star Wars. It’s easy to imagine where we get it. We think of a knight battling a dragon or a soldier fighting for his homeland. Evil has a weight to it, even bone and flesh. But Scripture illuminates that dark idea.

Evil isn’t a thing so much as a twisting. A lie isn’t something in the way a truth is. A lie is a mirror, even a fun-house mirror, of the truth. In just such a way, this lying one of lawlessness who will set himself against God will melt when confronted with the true. We don’t see an epic lightsaber battle here, just Jesus speaking truth and causing the lie to disappear. Join me in longing for that day and seeking truth in our own lives.

Prayer prompt: Lord, wake me up from the enemy’s lies so that I can behold You and marvel.

January 11, 2024

John 2:18-21


18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.


The word temple isn’t one we are used to or comfortable with, but the Jews Jesus spoke with in these verses were very familiar. It was the meeting place of God and men. It was like McDonald’s for old men or the coffee shop for young men. It was were we could gather with God. 


Jesus, then, is making a radical statement: He claims to be the Temple. He is the place where we gather with God. In another place in John, He calls Himself the way. If you want to know the Almighty who is the source of every good and perfect thing, you go to Jesus. Spend time with Him in the gospels today.

Prayer prompt: Lord, lead me to Jesus so I can know You.

January 10, 2024

1 John 4:10

10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

If you wanted a lot of stability in your life, what would be a better job than running a liquor store? Things are bad, business is good. Things are good, business is still good! Christians can enjoy Valentine’s a little like that. You have someone and the day feels special, but for the believer, even if you don’t have someone this year, it’s still pretty good.

God loves you. Not in the commiserating way your mom assures you she still loves you after you’ve been dumped. In a way that outshines all the love of all the sappy couples crowding the restaurants tonight. He is the true Groom, the true Reward. If you’re lonely today or head over heels, look to the Lord of Love and see the real reason to celebrate today!

Prayer Prompt: Lord, give me sight to see the love you have for me that outshines human love like the Sun outshines a candle.

January 9, 2024

1 Thessalonians 5:11

11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

It’s hard to imagine how the end of all that we’ve ever known would be encouraging. There is a lot wrong with the world, but it is our world. The Christian is supposed to be encouraged by this teaching in the Bible about God shaking out this world and bringing in a new Heaven and a new Earth. We need scripture in order to feel warm and happy when an older Christian confidently reminds us, “This will all end soon.”

But the Bible does exactly that. God tells us that Jesus will call up those who have fallen asleep to be with Him in a resurrection like His. That we who are still working when He comes will be brought into His presence until we go to live with Him in a place He has prepared for us. The chief encouragement is that we will always be with Him. Even when the mountains are thrown into the sea and the sky is ripped open like paper, we will always be with Him.

Prayer prompt: Lord, remind me of Your gospel so I am always excited to be with You forever.

January 8, 2024

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2

1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.


How many times have you been fooled by fake emails? We live in a world that requires a skeptics eye, double verification, and rotating passwords of increasing complexity. Lies and deception are as common in this world as roaches and flies. We need something verifiable to flush out the falsehoods.

Paul lived in that same world. The one who inspires all the deception now was just as hard at work in his day. Paul had to warn against spirits, words, even forged letters. Yet through it all, he reminded the people of the truth which shone through all the darkness. When Jesus comes back, He won’t be easy to miss. When the real thing comes, the false disappears.

Prayer prompt: Father, I trust that You can guard your people and my mind. Teach me to know and trust Your word.

Bible Reading for today: Overview Video Tap Here. To read the daily reading of Revelation 22, Tap Here.

January 6, 2024

Acts 9:3-4

3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

It has to be unbelievably hard to go through persecution. We’ve all felt the pain of being an outsider; some of us may have even been hurt physically for being an outsider. But if we become followers of Jesus persecution will come. Stories like this one from the Bible prepare us for those horrible occasions.

Saul had been persecuting the Christians, having just overseen the first killing of one of Christ’s followers. Then Jesus meets him on the road and says, “why are you persecuting me?” Saul killed Stephen, not Jesus. But Jesus is so closely united to His church that He feels our pain as His own. He sees your tears, feels your fears and has promised to make all things right. Continue despite persecution knowing who stands with you.

Prayer prompt: Lord, give me courage as I think about how You stand with me.

Bible Reading for today: Overview Video Tap Here. To read the daily reading of Revelation 20, Tap Here.

January 5, 2023

Matthew 24:36 

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Intellectual pride is a scary thing. Our minds are so adaptive and clever that seeming miracles come from the Research and Development departments of companies all over the world. We get in trouble when we react to those advancements with a confident idea that we can understand anything. Then we believe the silly lie that we do or soon will understand everything. 

Then we encounter a verse like this where God holds out on us. He tells us only He knows the day and hour and we have to just submit. It requires the humility of a child to trust that God will handle all the important stuff that we can’t handle. But don’t lose sight of the joy of the child who can play and work without a care because Dad’s in charge.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I trust You. Help me to enjoy the humble and care-free life of a beloved child.

Bible Reading for today: Overview Video Tap Here. To read the daily reading of Revelation 19, Tap Here.

January 4, 2024

Matthew 4:10

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

No one has to be told that the sun is bright or that its warmth feels good. And no one has to be told about the fire of temptation. We are all too familiar with knowing the right thing while feeling the hypnotic attraction of what is certainly wrong. The right way seems hard and cold, the wrong so warm and comfortable. It’s like falling asleep before a crackling fire even though you know by experience that it’s more like putting the fire in your lap.

How do we stop temptation so we can stop getting burned? Jesus actually experienced temptation and He showed us the way out. He looked straight at the right thing, the way He was supposed to act, and quoted Scripture in the face of the Enemy. He simply didn’t fall. He did what was right and told the tempter to disappear. In your Savior’s example is both the way we should live and the obedience God credits to our account. Stand up to your temptation by calling out what’s right and telling the enemy to be gone!

Prayer prompt: Lord, I desire holiness. Help me to remember what’s right and to send the enemy away!

Bible Reading for today: Overview Video Tap Here. To read the daily reading of Revelation 18, Tap Here.

January 3, 2024

1 Thessalonians 4:7-8

7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Have you ever thought about the word desecration? It’s a hard word to use when few things are thought of as holy. But it’s a strong word. The word goes beyond mere vandalism or the destruction of property. It is taking something high and holy and exposing it to something common or even dirty. It would take a twisted soul to attempt, how much more to enjoy, that kind of ruining. 

But that’s part of the accusation against us when we sin. Sin isn’t just a bad decision, it’s a desecration. You have the Holy Spirit inside you, so you, even sinful you, are now holy. That high honor comes with a grave responsibility. Open your eyes further to the glory and the fear of being truly His.

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to see the honor of being Yours. Help me to cringe at even the possibility of sinning against You.

Bible Reading for today: Overview Video Tap Here. To read the daily reading of Revelation 17, Tap Here.

January 2, 2024

Matthew 6:7-8 

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

If God knows what we need before we ask Him, then why do we need to ask? If heaping up empty phrases is silly because God knows it all already, they why hazard one phrase? The Bible says at one point that the Holy Spirit fixes our prayers before they get to God. If we can’t call His attention to something He doesn’t already know, and what attempts we make are so broken they need to be cleaned up, why go through prayer at all? 

The act of praying, of going to God to ask Him for action in the world, has a great effect on us. How it affects God is beyond our understanding, because God is beyond our understanding though we know He listens and acts because He loves us. We do know that it also affects us. The action changes the way we think, and the way we feel about the world. What does your prayer life look like? Does it show a dependence on God and a desire to be in His presence? 

Prayer prompt: Lord, in my praying, teach my heart to desire and depend on You.

Bible Reading for today: Overview Video Tap Here. To read the daily reading of Revelation 16, Tap Here.

January 1, 2024

1 Corinthians 1:10

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

People are hard to live with but impossible to live without. An old German philosopher talked about our relationships like the relationships of porcupines in winter. It’s too cold to go off by yourself but trying to snuggle with another porcupine causes pain in both you and your buddy. What do we do to overcome the pain and enjoy the warmth and meaning of relationships?

Paul makes it clear in these first hopeful commands to the extremely prickly Corinthian church. We are united by the name of Jesus Christ under His Lordship, united in His way of thinking and coming to His conclusions. He made it clear that love of us was worth being pierced, even by a spear and nails. Looking at that great love, we too decide to endure pain for the moment to enjoy love forever.

Prayer prompt: Lord, please send me in closer and closer with your people even if it hurts me and occasionally I hurt them. May Your name be honored as we unite around You!

Bible Reading for today: Overview Video Tap Here. To read the daily reading of Revelation 15, Tap Here.