December 26, 2025

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.

The Golden Rule works perfectly because you know how you’d like to be treated in any given situation. But if you zoom out a bit, do you really know what is best for you? I don’t think in a million years we would have come up with the kindness God shows us in Christ. Jesus invades our rebellion and dazzles us with His perfect life of love before dying with forgiveness on His lips.

As eternity-altering as that is, it also sets the Golden Rule in a whole new light. If Jesus’ love is the standard of what’s possible, we now have a new standard to hold ourselves to. That is how we must treat others. We should show them lives of obedience to God, show them lives shining with love for God and for them. Then, when necessary, we sacrifice our time, money, or even life to lead them to God.

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

December 25, 2025

Matthew 1:1-3a

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, …

Judah was the many times great grandfather of King David and of Jesus’ adopted father Joseph. But he wasn’t a good father or father-in-law. Tamar was Judah’s daughter in law. Her husband, Judah’s son, died. Because of Judah's neglect, Tamar thought her best bet for having children was to pose as a prostitute and tempt Judah. And, to everyone’s shame, it worked! Judah became the father, by Tamar, of the twins Perez and Zerah.

And God chose these people to be Jesus’ ancestors. It doesn’t take much digging to find crazy stories in your life or your family’s history. I take great comfort that God chose to work through such a messed up family. He chose to give us this Son not because we deserve Him, but because we don’t.

Prayer prompt: Lord, thank You for loving sinners like us.

December 24, 2025

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, or were, 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 adopt us 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.

December 23, 2025

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 like the 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 is a mirror, even a fun-house mirror, of the truth. In just such a way, this lawless one will melt when confronted with the true King. 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.

December 22, 2025

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.

Christians don’t talk about temples much because we don’t have them. For the Jews in Jesus’ time, the temple was where you went to meet with God. It was the crucial place where Heaven and earth came together. It seems weird then that Christians wouldn’t still have a temple. Yet this passage is exactly why.

Jesus claims to be 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. It’s why we don’t have temples today. If you want to be with God, go to Jesus.

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

December 20, 2025

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 Enemy who is behind all the deception now was just as hard at work back then. 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, teach me to know and trust Your word.

December 19, 2025

1 Thessalonians 5:11

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

In 1 Thessalonians, Paul focuses on the Lord’s return and the end of the world. That can be a difficult thing to tell someone you’re trying to encourage. There is a lot wrong with the world, but it is the only world we know. We need to know about what’s next in order to feel warm and happy when an older Christian confidently reminds us, “This will all end soon.”

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. We who are going about His work will be brought into His presence and go to live with Him in the place He has prepared for us. And most encouraging of all, 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 be with Him forever.

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

December 18, 2025

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 be persecuted. We’ve all felt the pain of being an outsider; some of us may have even been beat up or physically bullied. 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, understands 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.

December 17, 2025

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. When we reflect on the crazy breakthroughs and gadgets that constantly flow out of universities and companies around the world we start to get a little overconfident. We get in trouble when we start to think humans can understand anything. Then we believe the silly lie that we will soon understand everything.

That’s why a verse like this one from Matthew is such a great correction. Jesus tells us the Father knows the day and hour and we have to just wait. We won’t figure it out. 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.

December 16, 2025

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.’”

Everyone knows how it feels to be tempted. 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 giving into temptation and 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 did what was right and told the tempter to disappear. Stand up to your temptation by calling out what’s right and telling the enemy to be gone! And when you fail, remember the forgiving Lord who obeyed on your behalf.

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

December 15, 2025

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.

December 13, 2025

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, then 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 with prayer at all?

Because praying has a great effect on us too. How it affects God is beyond our understanding, because God is beyond our understanding. But we do know that prayer changes us. The action changes the way we think, and the way we feel about the Lord.

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

December 12, 2025

1 Thessalonians 4:3

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;

We all want to know God’s will for our lives. Wouldn’t it be great if He would tell us the perfect person for us to marry? We would hope He would lead us to the perfect job so we could feel perfectly fulfilled and successful. We could live anywhere in the world, but where are we supposed to live? The Bible is so long already, why not add a page more with God’s will for our life?

Yet, this verse presents His will for us on a silver platter. I think you may have missed it on other readings of this part of the Bible because it is such a let down from our expectations! His will is our sanctification. His will is our growth in holiness. From that perspective, a bad marriage with a difficult job in a less-than-ideal city may best teach us to rely on Him and to act in selfless love. How can you pursue sanctification today?

Prayer prompt: Lord, help keep me focused on Your will for my life, that I would grow in holiness.

December 11, 2025

2 Timothy 4:3, 5

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, …5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Where do you find facts? Some people have a cloudy memory of a news man in the ‘50s who could really be trusted. But those days are long gone. Verifying a fact is incredibly time consuming if it’s even possible. With conflicting reports, we can be tempted to find people who suit our own passions. Christians don’t have that option.

We have met the Truth and He’s given us quite a bit to do. If Jesus has captured you, if you are really His, then you do have an unerring standard for what is true. We don’t have time to make our lives about things that only affect this life. We are called to work as evangelists helping people for eternity. Fix your eyes again on the One who is True.

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to think clearly and stay focused on what I know is true.

December 10, 2025

Ephesians 5:1-2

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Loving service to others is hard to sustain. It is even hard to keep making lunches or wiping noses for your kids and they’re your kids. How are you going to keep providing for the poor, fostering the orphan, and giving loving forgiveness to the mean man in the car behind you? Looking out on strangers with all their sin and indifference doesn’t seem to stir much passion.

So look in a different direction. We don’t serve because we are so fascinated with the poor. We study the Lord and imitate Him. We walk in love because we can’t stop thinking about Christ’s loving walk and life. We sacrifice and suffer because we follow a God who suffered for us. Turn your gaze upward and see a sacrifice and love so compelling, you’ll search the earth for opportunities to follow Jesus’ example.

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to study the sacrifice of Jesus to see Your love and find motivation to serve.

December 9, 2025

1 Thessalonians 3:1-2

1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith,

Why is there so much nail-biting in these verses? Paul says, “when we could bear it no longer…” twice in 5 verses. He’s got a concern for these people that is hard to pin down if it isn’t based on love. He doesn’t get any monetary value from them and his message is moving forward even without the testimony of the Thessalonians. So why the angst?

It does boil down to the way God motivates His missionaries. Paul felt an intense love for the people he served. The Christian mission doesn’t plod along through personal discipline or cut an impressive figure through proud arrogance. We are motivated by love. Love propels Christians across continents and cul-de-sacs. Who are you pursuing for God’s Kingdom through love today?

Prayer prompt: Lord, propel me to work with the vigor of Paul by teaching me to love people.

December 8, 2025

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.

“What do you get for the man who has everything?” Never an easy question, but a harder one is, “What do you get for the One who made everything?” A gift fit for a king is difficult, a gift fit for the King of Kings is bordering on ridiculous. What could we give if He made everything there is? It’s all already His!

Paul seems to have an idea. Laying down our lives to bring the Lord’s Word to people who haven’t heard it before has to come close to the best we can do. We can present the King’s message faithfully and hope to see rebels reclaimed. What small step, or big step, can you take today to introduce someone new to our King?

Prayer prompt: Lord, I want to give You a gift of praise today by sharing Your goodness! Help me to see opportunities and have the boldness to take them.

December 6, 2025

Matthew 9:13

13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus said that. I think most everyone thinks of Jesus as a nice guy, so maybe it isn’t surprising to attribute this quote to Him. But if you become aware of what God thinks about your sin, suddenly the sentence takes on incredible dimensions. Matthew the outsider, the sinner and tax collector had just been recruited by Jesus while the Pharisees stood by, judging. Then Jesus opened up an entirely new side of God; one the Pharisees had never seen.

It is necessary to be in need to receive grace. It is necessary to be in debt to be forgiven. It is necessary to be in suffering to be granted mercy. The Pharisees couldn’t receive these gifts from God because they refused to admit their need for them. What does your posture before God allow you to receive? Are you sick? Jesus stands ready to heal.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I confess my sickness; please give me the mercy of your presence.

December 5, 2025

1 Thessalonians 2:7-8

7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

How much should you give others if you want to obey the commands of God? We usually don’t ask how much we have to give because we’re hoping to give more. Usually we want off the hook because we angrily imagine we’ve already given enough. People need more time, more compassion, more understanding, more intrusion and give so little in return. Sort of sounds like motherhood.

How do we give like mothers give? We lovingly ask a different question. Instead of trying to hit the minimum required to fulfill our obligations to others, we need to ask what more you can do to show the overflowing love you feel for this person. God can teach you love. It is one of the great blessings of our universe that obediently showing others love will be followed, sooner than you expect, by feeling genuine love. Try it and see.

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to quickly feel the love I should feel for those You have dropped in my life like a gift.

December 4, 2025

Acts 16:27-28

27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”

Why should we suffer for someone else to know Jesus? In this story, one of Jesus’ followers went to tell a town about Jesus. The town, in response, hauled him before judges, stripped and beat him, then threw him into jail. God miraculously broke open the jail and yet this Jesus follower stayed put in the hope of seeing even his jailor become a Christian!

Paul suffered so much for others because he really was a Jesus follower. All this guy did was follow through with the example he saw in his Lord. Jesus suffered, going all the way below prison to death itself to set us free and save us from death. Where can we follow His example today?

Prayer prompt: Lord, please grow in me a love that will go anywhere for those You want to save.