12/15/2025 | Jesus Our King
As we look to Jesus this week to celebrate who he is and what he’s done, may you find life-giving hope and foundational joy.
What a gift we have in the Christmas season. God himself took on flesh and dwelt among us that we might find eternal relationship in him. His coming serves as a continual reminder of his grace and pursuit of us who are lost without him. As we look to Jesus this week to celebrate who he is and what he’s done, may you find life-giving hope and foundational joy.
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29 ESV
It’s impossible to separate the birth of Christ from the purpose of his coming. John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten qSon, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." As we take time today to look at the heart of a God who would sacrifice his own life that we might find life through him, let’s open our hearts to receive a fresh encounter with his real, available love.
Jesus’ coming was entirely a love-motivated decision—“For God so loved the world.” So great is the depth of his love for his wayward crown of creation that he became man himself to live the life none of us ever could. So vast is his affection for us that he took the pain and shame we were due and offered up his life as a ransom for ours. Truly there is no greater love than the sacrifice of our King.
Have you stopped recently to acknowledge how intentionally God pursues you? Have you stopped to marvel at the lengths to which he will go simply to have your heart? In the hustle and bustle of this Christmas season, may we not look past the greatest gift we have. May we not skip over the reality of God’s love for us to get to the next thing on the calendar. Instead, may we take time every day to let sink in the simple truth that God became man entirely for our sakes. God himself, who has no beginning, no limit, no weakness, and deserves no pain, took on flesh in pursuit of a deeper, richer, and entirely restored relationship with you and me.
The love of Jesus we celebrate at Christmastime is a sacrificial love. He didn’t just give himself sacrificially on the cross. Every day of his life was another day given up for our sakes. Every tear, pang of hunger, and wound he suffered throughout his life he experienced not because he had to, but because he chose to out of love for us. Imagine leaving the perfection of heaven to come to earth. Imagine leaving unhindered, face-to-face connection with the heavenly Father and becoming an infant. Imagine allowing a mother and father to take care of you when you are God himself whose very existence has never known a beginning.
In this season of celebration may we take time to remember the loving, life-giving sacrifice of the King we worship. May we center our hearts and lives around him. May we give him the adoration and praise he deserves. And may this Christmas season change our lives forever as we respond to the continual pursuit of our loving God by offering him our hearts in return.
1. Take a moment to reflect on the love of God reflected in the coming of Christ.
2. Ask God to reveal all the ways in which he has been pursuing you lately. Allow the coming of Jesus to build your faith that God pursues you still.
3. Take time to respond to God’s pursuit by offering him your heart. Crown him King of your life that all you are and have might be his. Commit to living today in response to God’s great love for you.
“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!” Psalm 132:7
In Philippians 3:12 Paul writes, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” As a believer, Christ has made you his own. You were bought with a price only Jesus could pay. May this season be marked by the love and joy that can only come from true communion with Jesus, our sacrificial King.
Extended Reading: Romans 5 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Romans Ch. 5-16.
You were bought with a price only Jesus could pay. May this season be marked by the love and joy that can only come from true communion with Jesus, our sacrificial King.
]]>12/14/2025 | Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
As we end our week on Jesus’s High Priestly prayer, today we’ll dive into his desire for us to know the Father’s love
As we end our week on Jesus’s High Priestly prayer, today we’ll dive into his desire for us to know the Father’s great love. Knowing the love of God for us is essential to healthy Christian living. God’s love is fundamental to our identity as his children and the sacrifice of Jesus. If we aren’t rooted and grounded in the unconditional love of God, we will be like untethered buoys being tossed about in the sea. It may seem elementary that God loves you, but I’d encourage you to open your heart afresh to this reality, that God could reveal his love to you in a real and new way today.
John 17:25-26 ESV
There is no force more powerful than the love our heavenly Father has for us, his children. His love can move mountains, stop the roaring seas, heal broken bones and wounded hearts, transform lives, and set free those held captive by sin and shame. So great is his love for you and me that he sent his only Son to die that we might live through him. And in John 17:25-26, Jesus makes an unfathomable statement about how great the depth of God’s love is for us:
Do you know that God loves you the way he loves Jesus? His heart is full of affection for you. Jesus always prays perfectly in line with the will of the Father because they are one. So when Jesus prays for God to love us with the same love he has been given, his prayer is in perfect alignment with the heart of our Father.
Romans 8:37-39 says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Through the death of Christ, the barrier between us and relationship with God was torn in two. The wrath of God was satisfied with Jesus’ death, and now we can experience the full depth of his love. Through Christ, we have been made new so that we can finally walk in unhindered fellowship and oneness with a holy, perfect God.
God loves you simply because he loves you. You don’t have to work for his affection. You don’t have to set yourself straight before God can pour out his love over you. The father in the prodigal son story ran out to meet his son before anything had ever been set right. He didn’t know his son was there to apologize. He didn’t care. He simply wanted to love his child. Your heavenly Father feels the same way about you. He longs to love you right where you are, as you are. He longs to fill you with love to overflowing. He longs for us to experience this love and oneness just as Jesus did when he walked the earth.
As you enter into guided prayer, open up your heart and allow God’s grace to settle in. Allow him to free you from works-based religion and guide you to a lifestyle of relationship. God is not an angry taskmaster who shows affection only when you succeed. He is a loving Father who will always love you no matter what. Take time to receive the depth of his love for you today. Allow his love to heal you, transform you, free you, and lead you to the abundant life he has always longed to give.
1. Meditate on the depth of God’s love for you.
Allow this truth to settle into your heart.
2. Where do you need a fresh revelation of God’s grace today? What’s keeping you from receiving the depth of God’s love? In what ways do you need him to show you how good of a Father he truly is?
3. Ask the Spirit to give you a revelation of God’s grace and love for you. Receive God’s presence and rest in his love. Meditate on and renew your mind to how deeply your heavenly Father loves you.
May the whole of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer be true in your life. May you come into the fullness of what Jesus died to give you. May your life be a wonderful reflection of his love. And may you experience the depth of his love for you in every season. You are a child of the Most High, loving God. He will never leave you nor forsake you. His love is powerful, real, and available. May your day be full of joy, peace, and purpose in light of God’s glorious grace.
Extended Reading: Romans 8 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Romans Ch. 5-16.
May your day be full of joy, peace, and purpose in light of God’s glorious grace.
]]>12/13/2025 | Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
May your heart and mind be open to God’s truth and will for your life today as we seek him together.
As we begin to wrap up our week on Jesus’s High Priestly prayer, today we look at what it means to reflect God’s glory. How could man ever look like God? In our broken, fallen state, can we ever reflect his glory? Let’s find out as we explore God’s heart and intention behind filling us with his Holy Spirit and giving us his new nature. May your heart and mind be open to God’s truth and will for your life today as we seek him together.
John 17:22-24 ESV
As disciples of Jesus, we are being fashioned into his likeness that we might be reflections of his glory. Jesus prays in John 17:22-24,
Through the power of Christ’s death, we are now filled with his very Spirit who is working constantly to fashion us into Christians in the truest sense of the word. To be a Christian is literally to be “a little Christ.” We are meant to be marked by similarity to the one whom we serve and love. Our lives are to be filled with his love. Our minds are to be transformed by his words. And our hearts are to be devoted to serving him alone.
2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” Through the death of Jesus we can come before God with unveiled face. Jesus came to declare the truth about who our Father is and to clear the path to restored intimacy between humanity and our Creator. And as we devote our lives to seeking the face of our heavenly Father, we will naturally become like him.
God’s desire is that we would live with the same freedom, intimacy, power, authority, and good works as Jesus. He sent his Son to die that we might be clothed from the inside out with Christ himself, thereby affording us a new life, nature, and identity. You are not the person you were before salvation. When you were filled with the Spirit of God, you were filled with the very glory of God, the image of Christ engraved upon your heart.
And while this concept of becoming like Christ often sounds heady and theological, it couldn’t be of greater practical importance. It couldn’t be more vital for us to believe and pursue the life given to us by the grace of God. Being transformed into the image of Jesus has powerful and practical implications for you and me. When you spend time with the Father, he desires to love you with the love he has shown Christ, a tangible and transformational love. He longs to set you free from the bonds of worldliness and sin. He longs to empower you and lead you to a life of purpose, miracles, and good works filled with the love of God himself. And he longs to lead you to a destiny laid before you since the foundation of the world.
Take time to seek the face of God today. Come before him with unveiled face and allow him to reveal to you the imprint of Christ upon your heart. Allow the Spirit to show you the purpose for which you were created. And receive the love of God that has the power to transform you into the very image of Jesus Christ, your Lord and example.
1. Meditate on God’s glory given to you at salvation. Reflect on the importance and availability of living like Jesus.
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh. Ask him to engrave upon your heart the love and image of Christ in new ways. Ask him to guide you into a direct encounter with Jesus that you might know him personally.
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18
3. Spend time allowing God to transform you, love you, and set you free. Ask him what in your life isn’t like Jesus. As he reveals sin in your life, confess it and turn to Jesus as your model. Seek out a life like his today.
The death of Christ has more powerful implications than you or I will ever know this side of heaven. God has truly paved the way for us to live a life of incredible abundance. He offers us a life greater than we will find in anything of the world. May you pursue all the wealth of relationship available to you by the blood of Jesus. May you be transformed into his reflection on the earth. And may others come to know him by the depth of his love in you.
Extended Reading: 2 Corinthians 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 2 Corinthians.
May you pursue all the wealth of relationship available to you by the blood of Jesus. May you be transformed into his reflection on the earth. And may others come to know him by the depth of his love in you.
]]>12/12/2025 | Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
God wants to clear up our common misconceptions and help us enter this process with joy. Open your heart to the kindness of Jesus and allow him to give you rest.
Today we continue our week on Jesus’s High Priestly prayer by exploring the topic of sanctification. What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world? What does sanctification look like played out in our lives practically? Often the concept of being sanctified is daunting and a bit intimidating. But today God wants to clear up our common misconceptions and help us enter this process with joy. Open your heart to the kindness of Jesus and allow him to give you rest.
John 17:14-19 ESV
There is a level of freedom from sin in Christ that most of us in the body have yet to reach. Jesus prayed in John 17:14-19,
Jesus declares a truth about you and me that we have yet to walk in fully: that our sanctification is linked to his consecration. He declares that we are not of the world just as he is not, that he has sent us into the world as he was sent, and prays that we would be sanctified in the truth.
For too long we have sat idle with the incredible gift of freedom bought at the highest price by the blood of Christ and left it unwrapped and thereby not experienced. By the blood of Jesus, we are transformed from being of the world, or of the conditions and brokenness of the world, to being given a new nature and identity of righteousness and holiness. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” And later in verse 21 Paul writes, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The gift of holiness is yours to be continually unwrapped and experienced day after day. Your portion is righteousness and peace in the Holy Spirit, not the weight and consequences of this sin-wrought world.
So how do we open this incredible gift of holiness? How do we pursue sanctification? What does it mean to be sanctified in the truth? It starts with renewing our mind every day to the truth of our new nature in Christ. We will never be able to live righteously if we continually believe we are sinners by nature. Christ has given us a new nature and filled us with the Holy Spirit who offers us freedom from sin in the midst of every temptation. But unless we spend time in the secret place renewing our mind and allowing God’s love to satisfy and transform us, righteousness will only ever be a lofty goal that feels unachievable.
Next, we must pursue obedience to the Holy Spirit every single time he guides us. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 says,
We must not disregard the leadership of the Holy Spirit toward purity. If you feel like you shouldn’t watch a TV show or movie, then don’t. If the Spirit takes away your peace about anything you are doing, follow his guidance. Whatever you are doing in that moment might not be sin, but it might lead you down a path to sin. Trust the guidance of the Spirit. Follow where his peace, presence, and word take you. And pursue obedience and freedom at all costs. May you experience sanctification in the truth today as you meditate and spend time fellowshipping with the Spirit in guided prayer.
1. Meditate on the truth of Scripture about your righteousness. Allow God’s word to transform the way you think about yourself and sin. Allow it to lay a foundation for your present pursuit of sanctification and break the bonds of past weaknesses and sin.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
2. Ask for forgiveness for any sin you have in your life. Spend time receiving God’s forgiveness and allow him to lay a foundation for righteousness. Ask him why you struggle with certain temptations. Ask him what the path to freedom is for you.
3. Spend time resting in the presence of God. Allow his love to fill you up, satisfy you, and transform you. Take note of how much more satisfying the presence of God is than anything of the world.
The God you serve loves you and longs to empower you and free you from every sin that entangles you to the brokenness of the world. Therefore, may you be filled with joy at the truth of who you are in Christ. May you pursue obedience and righteousness with fervor and devotion. And may you experience the abundant life available to you as you are continually sanctified in the truth.
Extended Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1 Thessalonians.
May you pursue obedience and righteousness with fervor and devotion. And may you experience the abundant life available to you as you are continually sanctified in the truth.
]]>12/11/2025 | Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
Jesus is a joyful King, and we find in his High Priestly Prayer that he desires that his people would be filled with his joy
Jesus is a joyful King, and we find in his High Priestly Prayer that he desires that his people would be filled with his joy too. We all have a myriad of burdens and things in life that cause us stress and worry. But what does it look like to have deep abiding joy in all circumstances? Today we’ll explore that and more.
John 17:13 ESV
Jesus came to bring about the fullness of joy in man. Often we see Christians who are not exhibiting a lifestyle of joy, and therefore we assume God is not a happy God. We see all the darkness that surrounds and assume that God is most often angry or sad. But in John 17:13 Jesus prayed to the Father, “But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”
Jesus’ prayer in John 17:13 demonstrates two important, life-changing truths for you and me today. First, Jesus had joy. We could not have his joy fulfilled in us if he doesn’t have joy to start with. And the whole of Scripture supports the truth that within God dwells the fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” And Galatians 5:22 tells us that joy is a fruit of the Spirit. The God whom you have been filled with at salvation longs to produce the fruit of joy in your life. He longs to make you a joyful person from the inside out, that your joy wouldn’t be based on circumstances or the fleeting whims of the world.
Second, John 17 tells us that we can have the joy of Jesus for ourselves. The God of joy longs to fill you to overflowing with satisfaction and hope. He longs to make your joy abundant and transcendent of the good or bad around you. God is joyful because it’s a part of his nature. And he longs for it to be the same with you.
Do you believe that God is a joyful god? Have you experienced how happy he is? Have you met with him and encountered the joy and peace in his heart toward you? Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” God longs to meet with you today and fill you with joy to overflowing. In Romans 15:13 Paul prays, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Joy is available to you today as you believe. There is hope in the Holy Spirit.
Come to God today with all your cares and burdens. Lay them at his feet and allow him to fill you with peace and joy where only heaviness abounded. God longs to set you free from the burdens of anxiety. He longs to lead you to a life of happiness and freedom in the Spirit. As you enter into guided prayer, choose to commit to God anything that has been weighing you down. Come before him with faith that he will shepherd you to greener pastures as you offer him your heart and follow his guidance.
1. Meditate on God’s desire to fill you with the joy of Jesus. Open your heart in this moment to the joy Jesus longs to give.
2. Lay your burdens at the feet of God. What concern, problem, circumstance, or relationship has been weighing on you? What has been stealing your joy lately? Cast all your cares at the feet of your heavenly Father who loves you.
“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
3. Ask God to fill you with joy inexpressible. Ask him to reveal to you his joy and to help you bear the fruit of his Spirit.
Oftentimes we allow ourselves to be continually downcast rather than fighting for the joy available to us in God. Joy is a vital part of the Christian life. We are not made to carry burdens that steal our joy and keep us from the abundant life Jesus died to give us. Psalm 16:6 says, “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” God has plans to lead you to a life filled with the fullness of joy. May you pursue all the wonders and blessings God has in store for you today through the powerful sacrifice of Jesus.
Extended Reading: Psalm 16 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
God has plans to lead you to a life filled with the fullness of joy. May you pursue all the wonders and blessings God has in store for you today through the powerful sacrifice of Jesus.
]]>12/10/2025 | Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
May our hearts be open to the answers we discover today as we take a deeper dive.
As we continue our week on Jesus’s High Priestly prayer, today we’ll explore God’s desire to see his people unified. Why would this be important to him? What good could be in unity for us and others? What is Jesus trying to communicate to the world through us? May our hearts be open to the answers we discover today as we take a deeper dive.
John 17:10-11 ESV
We were created for unity with fellow believers. It’s in the pursuit of unity that the bonds of selfishness and pride are often broken. It’s in the surrender of opinion and selfish ambition that we find the abundant life that comes through sacrificial living. And most importantly, it’s in unity that Jesus is most glorified.
Jesus says in John 17:10-11, “All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” Unity between two humans is only truly possible by the working of the Holy Spirit. Apart from God dwelling and transforming man, we will never be able to live sacrificially with any level of consistency. It’s for that reason that Jesus is so glorified through our unity. And it’s for that reason that pursuing unity between believers is of the utmost importance.
What are we declaring to the world when we bicker, slander, and give up on unity with fellow believers? Why would the lost want anything to do with a group of dramatic, hateful, judgmental, and selfish Christians? Christ has charged us with the command to be his hands and feet. He’s commanded us to make disciples. And our ministry is nothing without love. When we pursue our own pride and gain over unity, we are directly disobeying the commandments of Scripture. When we allow strife and pride to place barriers between us, we hurt the cause of Christ to which we are all called.
Scripture is clear in its command to pursue unity. Unity isn’t a suggestion that we don’t have to adhere to because people can be difficult. It’s a command straight from God, and it’s of the highest importance. Ephesians 4:1-3 says, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Romans 12:16 says, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.” And 2 Corinthians 13:11 says, “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
You are called to be a carrier of peace. The Holy Spirit dwelling within you longs to make you a person who pursues restoration, comfort, agreement, and peace with fellow believers. He longs to fill you with love, honor, patience, and respect for the fellow believers he has placed in your midst. When you feel dissension arise within you, choose to serve your brother or sister out of reverence for God. Choose to pursue peace at all costs. And in doing so you will bring glory to Jesus and declare to the world the wonderful transformation that comes only through salvation in Jesus.
1. Meditate on the importance of unity in the body of believers.
“Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:11
2. What is keeping you from pursuing unity with believers around you? What thoughts or perspectives keep you from loving other Christians well? What work does the Spirit want to do in you today to help you pursue unity?
3. Surrender any pride or negativity that is keeping you from pursuing unity. Ask the Lord to give you the courage to fight for peace and choose a life of sacrifice rather than selfish ambition.
Loving others always has to start with you. You can’t expect others to change before you choose to love them. The Lord doesn’t call us to wait for others to get their lives sorted out before we pursue unity. He’s asking us to choose obedience to him by loving others even when they don’t deserve it. Choose love today and discover the abundant life and purpose within unity between believers.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 4 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Ephesians.
Choose love today and discover the abundant life and purpose within unity between believers.
]]>12/9/2025 | Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
May we take hold of this gift and experience it fully today as we take a closer look.
As we take a deep dive into Jesus’s High Priestly prayer in John 17 this week, we will discover together the deep desires of the heart of God. Today we explore Jesus’s desire to be known by his people. Isn’t it amazing to think the God of the universe desires to be known intimately by you and me? What a beautiful blessing and gift he desires to give each of us. May we take hold of this gift and experience it fully today as we take a closer look.
John 17:3 ESV
In John 17:3, Jesus states one of the most important and direct truths in all of his High Priestly Prayer. Jesus says, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Eternal life is knowing God intimately—not just knowing about God, knowing of God, or knowing others who know God, but truly knowing him yourself.
To be clear, consistently meeting with God directly is not a prerequisite for salvation. I can confidently say that I was saved as a young child, but it took years for me to discover the wealth of relationship available to me through Jesus. I went to church, heard about God, served him, and tried to live according to biblical principles, but I didn’t really know the God I was spending so many hours devoted to. I hadn’t really received his love for me. I hadn’t experienced the peace and joy of his presence. I hadn’t felt him speak to me or guide me directly. I wasn’t experiencing the abundant life that only comes from personal, intimate relationship with my Father.
The truth is that God longs to be known by you. Jesus didn’t die for the sole purpose of getting you to heaven. He sacrificed his life that you might truly live while here on earth. You are created to intimately know the God who formed you, saved you, and sustains you. And you will never find lasting peace until your life becomes wrapped up in the reality of his nearness and love.
The hope for all of humanity rests in relationship with the “only true God, and Jesus Christ whom [he] sent.” Nothing in your life will be set right or brought in line with the power of Christ’s death until you know the living God. You will not experience transformation and freedom from the depravity that surrounds you until you’ve counted “everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus [your] Lord” (Philippians 3:8).
How deeply do you know your heavenly Father? How real is he in your life? What are you still using to fill the void that can only be satisfied in intimate relationship with Jesus? Come before your Father and surrender your past, present, and future. Ask him to guide you into a deeper revelation of his reality, nearness, and love.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 says, “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” As you enter into guided prayer, spend time getting to know in greater depths the “steadfast love, justice, and righteousness” of your God.
1. Meditate on the importance of knowing your heavenly Father intimately.
2. Ask God to make the reality of his presence and nearness known to you in these moments.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
3. Spend time getting to know the person of Jesus. While you may not be able to see him with your physical eyes, he will open the eyes of your heart to see him and know him. If you give him the chance, he will make his nearness known to you.
As believers, we must learn to live by faith. It’s through faith in the truth of God’s word, that he is real and that he loves us, that we begin to experience the Christianity Jesus died to give us. Religion apart from relationship leads to spiritual mediocrity. Christ came to set us free from the bonds of the law. He came to usher in a new covenant of grace and intimacy with God rather than a religion of merely rules and regulations. May you grow daily in your pursuit of knowing the reality and love of your heavenly Father and Jesus whom he sent.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 1 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Ephesians and Studies on Prayer Volume 1 & Volume 2 by Janet Denison.
May you grow daily in your pursuit of knowing the reality and love of your heavenly Father and Jesus whom he sent.
]]>12/8/2025 | Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
As we dive deeply into the riches of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer this week, may your heart be awakened and your life be transformed by the riches of God’s love.
We have a great High Priest who constantly intercedes on our behalf. The Son of God and Man loves you more deeply than you can fathom. He prays for you, that you might walk in the abundant life his death affords you. And in John 17 we get a glimpse into the fullness of his desire for all those who would believe in him. As we dive deeply into the riches of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer this week, may your heart be awakened and your life be transformed by the riches of God’s love.
John 17:1-2 ESV
John 17:1-2 marks the beginning of one of the most powerful passages in all of Scripture. Jesus prays to the Father and says, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.” Jesus knows that his time on the earth is coming to a close. He knows that he must sacrifice his life so that the door to restored relationship with the Father would be flung open to all who would put their faith in him.
What good news it is that the Father has given the Son “authority over all flesh.” You and I serve the one true King of all mankind. Jesus is King of all the earth. And our King is one who would ask the Father to send him to die that we might live. Our King willfully lays down his life for us who have done nothing to deserve his kindness. Colossians 1:15-20 says:
And later Paul writes in Colossians 2:13-15, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”
What does it mean for us today to serve the High King in whom all authority and kindness dwells? What would life look like if we would submit ourselves to his authority completely? All of creation answers to his name. All of humanity will one day bow before him. But what would your life look like if you made the decision today to willfully lay down your life in response to his lordship? What would it look like to crown him as King of your plans, efforts, emotions, relationships, finances, past present, and future? You were not created to be the king of your own life. You were not created to bear the burden of doing life apart from the lordship of Jesus Christ. And you will never know true peace, joy, purpose, and love until you submit all you are to all God is.
Take time in guided prayer to meditate on the authority and power of Jesus. Thank him for his loving sacrifice and crown him King of your life today.
1. Meditate on the authority and power of Jesus. Allow Scripture to call you to a lifestyle of obedience and worship.
2. Thank Jesus for his sacrifice. Reflect on the depth of God’s grace and power as demonstrated by the sacrifice of Jesus. God considers restored relationship with you worth the death of his perfect, only Son.
3. Crown Jesus as Lord of your life. Commit to surrendering everything to him today. Hand over control of your plans, relationships, finances, and emotions to the one who will guide you daily into the abundant life he died to give you.
“I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.” Jeremiah 10:23
To take authority over your own life is to pluck yourself out of a life filled with the unimaginable graces of God. God will not bless that which is not his will. He waits patiently day after day for us to simply choose to submit ourselves to him and follow. He longs for the day when we will stop submitting to our own pride, yield ourselves to him, and discover the wealth of life available to us in him alone. May you have the courage and humility to surrender to God and follow him today.
Extended Reading: Colossians 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Colossians.
May you have the courage and humility to surrender to God and follow him today.
]]>12/7/2025 | Vision and Boundaries
May you be newly envisioned and encouraged today as you’re reminded of the world that is to come through Christ our King.
As we finish our week on vision and boundaries, today we’ll focus on having vision for eternity. The glorious truth is that this world is not the end for us. In fact, through Jesus, we will see a kingdom that has no end. Christ desires his people to be those that live with fresh vision for heaven and eyes fixed upward. May you be newly envisioned and encouraged today as you’re reminded of the world that is to come through Christ our King.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
To be a true person of vision is to live this life in light of eternity. Without a real revelation of eternity, this life will be marked by hopelessness and a sense of aimless wandering. Only when our destination comes into view can we rightly see the circumstances strewn along the journey of this life.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” To look to eternity requires us to trust. Our minds are finite. In the only world we’ve ever known, life is marked by a beginning and end, by birth and death. But in Scripture we discover that God is the Maker of life and the Conquerer of death. We discover that in Jesus we are promised eternal life in unhindered, unveiled communion with our Creator.
To live with vision for eternity is to trust that things are not as they will be and to surrender the entirety of this life with hope for the next. When we live seeking satisfaction from the things of the world, we live as if heaven didn’t exist and God didn’t usher in his kingdom through Jesus. The things of this world only have value in the Giver of all good gifts. So our possessions, relationships, and work only have value here because they are a shadow of what is to come when all things are made new.
Having vision for eternity should lead us to create boundaries around everything in this life. It should lead us to a lifestyle of surrender that our hearts might never become tied to that which is fleeting and can never fully satisfy. It should lead us to a lifestyle of fully enjoying the things God has given us, all the while knowing the things of this life are merely a shadow in comparison to what is to come.
Do you feel tied to the things of your life today? Do you feel as if your possessions, relationships, and work owns you rather than you enjoying them to the glory of God? Are you seeking to find total satisfaction in the things of the world, or are you finding peace in the hope of heaven? Take time today in guided prayer to surrender your life again to Jesus. Allow God to cut away any ties you have to that which is chaining your heart to this world. And find abundant joy and peace in the freedom that comes from living in light of eternity.
1. Meditate on what the Bible says about eternity. Allow Scripture to fill you with vision for what’s to come.
2. Are you living in light of eternity? Do you feel your heart tied down to any things of the world?
3. Set boundaries around having vision for eternity. Lay down anything holding you back from living in freedom from this world at the feet of Jesus. Take time to enjoy God that the foundation of your life would be communion with him.
In Galatians 5:16 Paul writes, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” When you take time to enjoy God every day and seek to live in communion with the Holy Spirit, he will faithfully guide you away from the things of the world and into fullness of joy in him. May you find comfort and hope in connection with the living God today as you seek to live with vision for eternity.
Extended Reading: Psalm 102 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May you find comfort and hope in connection with the living God today as you seek to live with vision for eternity.
]]>12/6/2025 | Vision and Boundaries
We all have different capacity, and it’s very important to remember that as we discuss living life with others in community. May our hearts be open today to whatever the Lord might speak.
As we begin to wrap up our week on boundaries and vision, today we’ll explore having clear vision for community. All of us will likely fall in different places with this topic today. It is my prayer you discover what is healthy and God-ordained for you in regards to community—and that may look completely different than someone else! We all have different capacity, and it’s very important to remember that as we discuss living life with others in community. May our hearts be open today to whatever the Lord might speak.
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Matthew 18:20 ESV
God didn’t design you to do life on your own. Scripture is filled with exhortations to engage in community with fellow believers. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Psalm 133:1-3 says, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! . . . For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.” And Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says,
Taking time to invest fully and rightly in community takes both vision and boundaries. Without a sense of God’s heart and leadership into fellowship with believers, we’ll pull back and isolate when problems arise. And without healthy boundaries around community, we can either allow others to take life from us or not make enough space to give rightly of ourselves.
Take a moment to think about the people God has given you. Think about your friends and family. Think about those around you at church you feel close to. What would life be like if you were all alone? What would your hardships have been like if you absolutely had no one to endure them with? God loves to use others as instruments of his healing. He loves to speak life and restoration into his people through the words and actions of those around them.
But to experience healing, life, and restoration from others is to have the courage to call upon others and be vulnerable. To be in community is to be willing to be the hands and feet of Jesus yourself. It’s for that reason that God would have us set healthy, life-giving boundaries for community. If we don’t have any margin in our lives to help meet the needs for others, then we’ve overcommitted ourselves out of a chance to be used by God. And if we don’t make time to simply develop friendships and be loved by others, then we miss an opportunity to receive the love and power of God in a real, unique way.
Whether you find yourself overcommitted with community to the level of running on empty, or under-committed to where you feel like you have to do life on your own, there is grace for you today. Today is a new day in which you can make different, life-altering decisions. Today is a day that you can redraw your boundaries and allow God to pour out his Spirit through community.
Take time in guided prayer to receive God’s heart for your community. Allow him to fill you with courage to be vulnerable and receive life from others. And ask him to help you draw healthy boundaries that you might give of yourself freely to see others experience life and restoration through the power of God poured out in you.
1. Take time to meditate on the importance of community. Allow God to re-envision you for doing life with others.
2. What’s going on in your life that needs healing and restoration? In what ways would God use others to bring about that healing and restoration? From whom can you seek wisdom? What friend would God use to fill your life with joy?
3. Who in your life would God call you to minister to today? Take time to pray for that person and ask God for his heart. Ask him for wisdom and power to love that person well.
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17
In Acts 2:44-47 we see the power of believers who live in authentic community. Scripture says,And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. When God’s people gather together and do life in his name, he is there (Matthew 18:20). Seek to develop community that is both fun and representative of the kingdom. Look for others whom you can bring into the community that God’s given you. Dwelling in unity with your fellow believers is both a powerful picture of God’s heart and a public declaration of his reality and will. May God pour out his Spirit in mighty and powerful ways as you seek to live in God-honoring community.
Extended Reading: Acts 2 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Acts Ch. 1-12.
May God pour out his Spirit in mighty and powerful ways as you seek to live in God-honoring community.
]]>12/5/2025 | Vision and Boundaries
May you discover God’s heart for your work, and find deep purpose and joy today as you submit to God’s vision and boundaries for it.
Many of us are in desparate need of vision for and boundaries around our work. This may be one of the most important topics we discuss all week. We spend so many hours a day working, this time must surely be important. May you discover God’s heart for your work, and find deep purpose and joy today as you submit to God’s vision and boundaries for it.
Psalm 90:17 ESV
One of my favorite quotes on work comes from C. S. Lewis, who said, “If God is satisfied with the work, the work may be satisfied with itself.” So often I feel unsatisfied in my work. In the age of flexible work hours with never-ending task lists, it’s hard to believe that anyone can stop long enough to be satisfied in their work. And in a society where we are what we do, it feels like there is an ever-increasing pressure to work harder, longer, and better. To rest is laziness. To set healthy boundaries is selfish.
But the truth is that the core of boundaries is not selfishness, but stewardship. If we allow our personal lives to get so out of control that they constantly hurt our ability to accomplish the works laid out before us, then we have a problem with stewardship. And if we don’t set healthy boundaries around work to the extent it becomes all-consuming, then we fail to steward ourselves and our ability to love others. We need to get fresh vision for both rest and work. We need to seek a revelation of God’s heart for work that our lives would be marked by a sense of satisfaction.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Have you ever viewed yourself as God’s workmanship? Have you ever stopped to think that God designed you with a unique personality, a powerful set of strengths and abilities, and has an eternal purpose for you that you are perfectly designed for? God doesn’t create bad things. He doesn’t create without a purpose. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are created in Christ Jesus. You are a new creation, filled with the Holy Spirit, and anointed to see God’s kingdom come to earth.
If you’re lacking vision on what you are to do, look no further than the step in front of you. God has plans for you today that will lead you to tomorrow. He has work for you today that is both valuable in and of itself and will lead you to the next part of his perfect plans. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.” If your desire is to follow God’s will, you won’t miss it. So often we spend so much time trying to figure out what God wants us to do that we don’t do the very work he’s laid in front of us. We spend so much time worrying about what we are supposed to accomplish that we never accomplish anything. Absolutely there are times to get vision. Absolutely we are to inquire of the Lord. But rather than asking the Lord for his master plan, enjoy the work he’s set before you today. Create boundaries around your work that you might be effective and successful in it and experience the satisfaction of a job well done.
May the prayer of David in Psalm 90:17 be your prayer today as you enter into a time of guided prayer:
1. Meditate on your identity as God’s workmanship, made new in Jesus.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
2. Do you have good boundaries set around your work? Are you valuing the work God’s set before you enough? Are you allowing work to seep into every other area of your life? Wherever you are, go to God and ask him how you can better steward your time and energy.
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 1 Peter 4:10
3. What work has God set before you to do today? Ask God for the vision and grace to accomplish it well. Take time to find rest and power in his presence.
I pray that as you go about your day today the Lord would reveal your uniqueness to you. I pray that you would find comfort and excitement in the fact that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. I pray that you would find courage in the truth that God has plans and purposes for your life that are unique to you. And I pray you would find power to both work and rest well that you and God might take a look at your day and find satisfaction in it. May your day be filled with the favor of God.Extended Reading: Romans 12 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Romans Ch. 5-16.
May your day be filled with the favor of God.
]]>12/4/2025 | Vision and Boundaries
Today may we learn how to serve people in a healthy, intentional way with good boundaries and vision.
As we continue our week on vision and boundaries, today we’ll explore what it looks like to have vision for loving and serving others well. Is loving people something you do intentionally? Or is something you believe will happen effortlessly as you live your life? Sometimes God is asking us to intentionally discover vision for certain seasons, and is specific about ways we could minister to or bless someone. Today may we learn how to serve people in a healthy, intentional way with good boundaries and vision.
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:4 ESV
One of the greatest joys in life is the gift of serving others. Often in the busyness of work, family, and society we draw boundaries around ourselves so tightly that we don’t make room to love others well. God’s desire is to shepherd us to a place of inward abundance, not only that we might live in the fullness of life, but also that we would be empowered to give of ourselves to others. Philippians 2:4-8 says,
In his humble, loving sacrifice, Jesus set before us the perfect example of loving others. God might not call all of us to physically die for the sakes of others, but he absolutely leads us to a lifestyle of dying to self that we might live for the kingdom of God. Loving others always requires sacrifice. The gift of love is never free. But in pursuing a lifestyle of looking to the interests of others we’ll discover an eternal purpose more fulfilling than any fruit selfishness could produce.
Often, in reading or hearing exhortations centered around serving others, I find myself feeling more and more weighed down. I know that I’m called to love people. I know that I’m called to give of myself. And in response to these emotions I typically engage in a few more activities, find myself empty and burnt out, and subsequently give up on the notion of living sacrificially. But after years of going through this cycle I realized that I was giving, not from a place of love, but out of coercion. I was giving, not as a response to receiving the unconditional love of my heavenly father, but to earn the affection of a Christian community that often admires actions over motives.
But we serve a God who looks at the heart. The call of God on our lives to love others well is designed to flow from a place of fullness and satisfaction. God doesn’t ask us to give what we don’t have. If you’re not in a place of health and abundance, the first step is to ask for the leadership of the Holy Spirit in how he wants to shepherd you to a place of restoration and rejuvenation. The world doesn’t need burnt-out givers. God doesn’t ask us to die to ourselves if we don’t have life to begin with.
God has amazing plans to use you to further his kingdom today. And those plans are filled with acts of love and sacrifice. But before you can love others, you need to know that you are loved. Before you can sacrifice for others, you need to know that Jesus sacrificed for you to a far greater measure than you could ever hope to reciprocate. And in response to God’s love and sacrifice, ask him for ways you can love others well. Create boundaries in your life in which you can consistently give of yourself. Seek to look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
May you find profound joy and purpose in loving others today in response to God’s great love for you.
1. Meditate on God’s unconditional love and overwhelming sacrifice.
2. Reflect on God’s call for you to love and sacrifice for others as a response to his example.
3. In what ways can you love someone well today? Who is God calling you to sacrifice for? In what ways can you give of yourself for the sakes of others? Journal any people or actions who come to mind and commit to the Lord to see them through in his grace.
Inward abundance and rest aren’t always necessarily marked by the emotions of happiness or a feeling of energy. Sometimes God asks us to give even when we’re weary. Just as Paul walked back into Lystra after being stoned to continue sharing the gospel, we have to get up after being knocked down. Inward abundance is living with an unshakable and unbroken sense of God’s love. It’s experiencing transcendent joy that can only come from a God whose goodness surpasses the quality of our circumstances. If you will seek to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit you will know when it’s time to rest and time to act. You will know when it’s time to retreat with him and time to go out. His leadership will not fail you and his grace will always sustain you. Inquire of the Lord today and discover both restoration and purpose in his steadfast love.
Extended Reading: 1 John 3 or watch the Bible Project’s video on 1-3 John.
His leadership will not fail you and his grace will always sustain you. Inquire of the Lord today and discover both restoration and purpose in his steadfast love.
]]>12/3/2025 | Vision and Boundaries
How do we set ourselves up for success emotionally, physically and spiritually? The truth is you matter, and it’s my prayer you are strengthened and encouraged today.
Today we will take some time for ourselves, something we’re often not very good at doing. The reality is God cares deeply for you before you can do anything for him, and he wants that truth to settle deeply into our hearts today. We will be exploring what it means to have vision for ourselves holistically. How do we set ourselves up for success emotionally, physically and spiritually? The truth is you matter, and it’s my prayer you are strengthened and encouraged today.
John 10:10 ESV
For a long time I believed that all God wanted from me was more. I feared he would lead me to more work, more giving, more sacrifice, and less fun. I viewed fun and God as mutually exclusive, as if he was the great cosmic killjoy who only wanted me to sing, fast, pray, and evangelize.
Wrapped up in all my misconceptions was a very me-centric point of view. I thought if I didn’t work my fingers to the bone day in and day out for the kingdom that God’s will wasn’t going to be accomplished. It’s as if I believed that I was a savior, the sole hope of the world. And all these misconceptions led to a constant weight I couldn’t seem to shake. But Isaiah 55:10-11 says,
The truth is that God absolutely has good works laid out before me every single day. He has a plan for me that will impact eternity. But his chief desire in everything he asks of me is that we would do it together. He doesn’t need me. He wants me. He is not a taskmaster, and I am not his slave. Rather, he calls himself my heavenly Father, and I am to see myself as his son, a coheir with Christ.
God doesn’t desire me to lift a finger if it’s not out of love for him. He doesn’t need or want any of my works birthed out of a place of striving. He doesn’t need or want petty activity, reluctant yeses, programmed words, or burnt-out offerings. Allow the full impact of 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 to hit your heart today. Read it slowly. Allow it to shift your perception of the heart of God:
In response to the truth of God’s word, we need to have vision for ourselves. We need to set boundaries around our own emotional, physical, and spiritual health. We need to allow God to minister to our weary hearts, shift our perspectives on work, and empower us to live a life marked by inward abundance. What do you need today to enjoy life? What can you do with God rather than for God? What would he use to fill you up to a state of overflowing rather than running on empty?
As you enter into a time of guided prayer, may you find freedom today from the mentality of a slave and live with the joy and peace of a child of the One, True God.
1. Meditate on the sovereignty and omnipotence of your heavenly Father. Reflect on his unstoppable ability to accomplish his will.
2. Meditate on God’s desire for love rather than activity.
3. What would it look like to live an abundant life today? What do you need to create boundaries around? What would God use today to fill you up and satisfy the dry and weary places in your heart? Take time to rest in the love of God.
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10
The best boundary for maintaining a sense of health is a having a weekly sabbath. Genesis 2:3 tells us, “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” To rest is holy. It’s a declaration to yourself and the world that life is about far more than work. It’s a reminder that work is just a way that we live in relationship with God. May you find grace and courage to live in line with the culture of God’s kingdom as you set boundaries around what you need in order to live an abundant life.
Extended Reading: Matthew 11 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Matthew Ch. 1-13.
May you find grace and courage to live in line with the culture of God’s kingdom as you set boundaries around what you need in order to live an abundant life.
]]>12/2/2025 | Vision and Boundaries
Today may God’s priorities for us become our own, and may we set the necessary boundaries in place to keep our priorities in the correct order.
As we focus this week on boundaries for life and vision, today we’ll explore what it would look like to have the right priorities in place in our relationship with God. Many of us live as though God has a long list of expectations for us to meet. Today may God’s priorities for us become our own, and may we set the necessary boundaries in place to keep our priorities in the correct order.
John 15:4 ESV
You were created to spend time with God. Just as God’s chief desire is for relationship with you, your chief purpose in life is relationship with him. There is no life apart from him. Scripture says in Acts 17:28, “In him we live and move and have our being.” As we seek to be a people of vision and boundaries, let’s begin by looking at a passage of Scripture in which Jesus tells us the one thing that’s necessary. Luke 10:38-42 says,
If I came up to you and asked you what one thing is necessary, what would your response be? If I even asked you for the one thing Jesus says is necessary, what would your response have been? Jesus destroys my value system with two sentences: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Allow that truth to settle in for a minute. One thing is necessary. One thing is required: to sit at the feet of Jesus. Above everything I could do for him, he wants me to sit at his feet. Above providing for my family or serving my church, he wants me to sit at his feet.
If there is one thing we need to have vision for, it is our relationship with God. Would Jesus say that you are choosing the good portion? Or would he say that you are “anxious and troubled about many things.” Are you spending your time investing in that which Jesus promises you will never be taken away from you? Or are you investing your life in that which won’t have value past your time here.
If there is one thing to set boundaries around, it’s your time spent communing with the Father. I find myself far more concerned about whether or not I show up to work on time than I do to my dedicated time with God. I find myself far more anxious and troubled about my relationship with others than I do about my relationship with Jesus. If it’s really true that only one thing is necessary, we need to fight for that one thing above all else. We need to devote ourselves to sitting at the feet of Jesus above every other pursuit.
It astounds and blesses me beyond words to serve a God who longs for who I am more than what I can do. It stirs my heart to know that more than Jesus wants me to do something for him, he wants me to sit with him. Know today that in everything God is after your heart. He doesn’t need your service. He doesn’t need your money. He doesn’t need anything at all. God can and will accomplish everything he sets out to accomplish. What he’s after is life-giving, unhindered relationship with you.
Spend time today doing the one thing that’s necessary: sitting at the feet of your loving Savior.
1. Meditate on the one thing Jesus says is necessary.
2. Do you feel like you’ve chosen the good portion, or does your life feel anxious and troubled? Spend time taking an honest look at your life. Allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate what’s going on in your heart.
“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
3. Take time to set boundaries around spending time alone with God. What encroaches on this crucial time? What often takes the place of meeting with God? Why can it be so difficult to fight for time spent at the feet of Jesus? Journal your responses.
In John 15:4 Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” In all we do, God desires that we abide in him. We don’t leave our time alone with God and then go out into the world without him. He isn’t contained to a place or time. His presence is everywhere. Everything we do is an opportunity for relationship with our heavenly Father. He longs to help us do our work effectively with the anointing of the Spirit. He longs to help us love our family and friends. Sitting at the feet of Jesus isn’t a time of the day, it’s a lifestyle. May you abide in God in all that you do today to his glory and your joy.
Extended Reading: John 15 or watch the Bible Project’s video on John Ch. 13-21.
Sitting at the feet of Jesus isn’t a time of the day, it’s a lifestyle. May you abide in God in all that you do today to his glory and your joy.
]]>12/1/2025 | Vision and Boundaries
May you find freedom and joy this week as you receive vision and set boundaries under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
We serve a God of boundaries. In his limitless capacity, endless creativity, and boundless existence he still chose to create boundaries. He still had vision for what was good, right, pleasing, and perfect. And as children made in his image, we are to live, think, and create as he does. In a world marked by busyness from seemingly infinite opportunities, it’s important now more than ever for us to create boundaries. May you find freedom and joy this week as you receive vision and set boundaries under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Proverbs 29:18 ESV
The world we live in constantly bombards us with attempts to define who we are and what we should do. Advertisements tell us what we need. Our jobs tell us how we should spend our time and find a sense of self-worth. Our families and friends often define us by what we’ve done or said in the past. And even our churches sadly define us according to how we can best meet the needs of the church rather than getting to know who we truly are.
But we serve a God who knows us even better than we know ourselves. Psalm 139:1-4 says, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.” And then later in verse 16 David writes, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
From the foundation of the earth, God knew he would make us. On the day we took our first breath he already had perfect, pleasing plans for us. He’s known our every thought and looked upon our every action with grace. We could not be more known than we are by our heavenly Father. And there couldn’t be a better guide through the chaos of this life than the Holy Spirit.
To be a person with healthy, life-giving boundaries starts with being a person of vision. And the only place to get true vision is from the only One who truly knows you. God longs to be the north on your compass. He longs to give you honest insight into how he’s made you. He longs to give you a sense of how he sees you and feels about you. And in receiving a revelation of who you are you will be better equipped to follow his leadership into his perfect and pleasing will.
Begin this week of vision and boundaries by meeting with your heavenly Father in prayer. May you be overwhelmed by a fresh revelation of how loved you are—just as you are.
1. Meditate on the simple truth that God truly knows you. Allow Scripture to lead you to a place of faith and trust in God’s knowledge of you.
2. Ask God to give you a revelation of how he sees you. Ask him for a revelation of his nearness and love. Begin to talk to him about any insecurities you have.
3. Ask God for a revelation of what he has called you to. Ask him about your role in your family and his calling on your life as a spouse, child, or parent. Ask him for vision for your work. Ask him for vision for your relationship with him. Journal his responses.
“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29
Often in my life I feel like a horse with blinders just putting my head down and running as fast as I can to only end up right back where I started. God doesn’t desire to put blinders on us. He doesn’t treat us just as tools to accomplish tasks. He’s about relationship with us. He’s about guiding us in having vision for our lives. He longs to help us see ourselves, this world, and opportunities before us as he does that we might gain wisdom and insight. Choose to be a person of vision. Choose to pick your head up and put on the lens of the Holy Spirit. Ask God questions. Inquire of him about your life and opportunities. And in response he will provide the leadership you need, exactly how you need it.
Extended Reading: Psalm 139 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
Ask God questions. Inquire of him about your life and opportunities. And in response he will provide the leadership you need, exactly how you need it.
]]>11/30/2025 | Parables
In today’s First15 the last in our series on the parables, we’ll be looking at the parables of the lost sheep and coin.
In today’s First15, the last in our series on the parables, we’ll be looking at the parables of the lost sheep and coin. May you discover today how precious you are in the eyes of God. And may you be empowered to see yourself, your value, as he does.
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Luke 15:4-7 // Luke 15:8-10 ESV
If the core of Jesus’ teachings on the gospel could be summed up in two stories, they would be the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. Both stories illustrate one crucially important truth: God pursues us. Both clearly display God’s heart for us in that he willingly and passionately comes down to meet and help us wherever we are. As we look at these important parables today, open your heart and allow the reality of God’s pursuit of you to transform the way you relate to him and stir up your desires to seek his face in return.
Jesus says in Luke 15:4-7,
Then Jesus teaches in verses 8-10,
Jesus tells two parables to re-emphasize a perspective-shattering truth. The One, True God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, so values us that he leaves everything behind to pursue relationship with us. So great is God’s desire for restored relationship with you that he came down off his throne, left transcendent perfection, and lived his earthly life in total service to us, thereby leading him to an unjustified and sacrificial death.
Has the reality of that truth been fully realized in your heart? Has both the grandeur and love of our God hit home to the point that the depth of God’s love is your chief reality? Too often we pass by the core message of the gospel because we have heard it before, and we don’t allow it to stretch past our mind into our heart. It’s when truth rests in our heart, impacts our emotions, and becomes real to us that it transforms our life. You were the helpless and lost sheep. You were the coin that was so valuable God worked and searched until he had it back in his possession. You are of the highest value to the only One who truly decides the essence of worth. Don’t let that truth pass you by today. Instead, grab hold of it, reflect on it, and wrestle with it until it becomes the foundation for every decision, thought, and action in your life.
Let’s respond to the depth of God’s pursuit with our own. Let’s allow God to bring every part of our lives entirely into his possession. Let’s be the reward of Jesus’ sacrifice. In Psalm 27:8 David says, “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.'” God is calling out to you, saying, “Seek my face.” He waits patiently for your reply, excited at the notion that you would live your life receiving the abundance made available to you by Jesus’ sacrifice.
Spend time in prayer meditating on God’s pursuit of you and responding to him by seeking his face.
1. Meditate on the powerful, core truth found in the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. Meditation is an effective way to take knowledge and allow it to sink into our hearts. Rest in the truth of Jesus’ teaching.
2. Ask the Spirit to guide you into a time of response. How can you seek God’s face? What can you do to offer your life as the reward for Jesus’ sacrifice?
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” Lamentations 3:25
3. In faith seek God today. God promises you his presence, his nearness. He longs to guide you into real relationship with him where he satisfies your deepest desires. As you seek him, allow him to fill you up with the power and love of his presence.
“The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Psalm 34:10
The chief characteristic that marks those who live life in the Spirit is their continual pursuit of God. Psalm 34:10 promises us that “those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” God will always respond to your pursuit of him because his greatest desire is relationship with you. You don’t have to be scared to seek him, wondering if you will find him to be real and responsive. He’s already promised that to you. Take Hebrews 11:6 and live your life in obedience to his word. Have faith and believe that he “exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” May you discover a deeper reality of his nearness, love, and pursuit of you today as your respond to God’s word in faith.
Extended Reading: Psalm 27 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
Have faith and believe that he “exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” May you discover a deeper reality of his nearness, love, and pursuit of you today as your respond to God’s word in faith.
]]>11/29/2025 | Parables
As we near the end of our week on the parables, today we’re going to look at the parable of the prodigal son.
As we near the end of our week on the parables, today we’re going to look at the parable of the prodigal son. It’s hard for me to think of another passage of Scripture that produces such continual fruit in my life on a daily basis. May these words of Jesus redefine our relationship with God for the better today.
Luke 15:21-24 ESV
There isn’t a single passage of Scripture that better illustrates the heart of our heavenly Father than the parable of the prodigal son. So as to not miss any of the details of this life-changing passage, open your heart to the Spirit as you read it in its entirety.
The life-changing core of the gospel is that when we feel far from God, he is never far from us. The moment we turn back toward him, he runs out to meet us. The moment we lower ourselves in response to our sin, he exalts us, calls us his child, and throws a party in our honor. Sometimes the most important truths are the simple ones. Sometimes the very word we need most is the truth we’ve heard thousands of times. My prayer for you today is that you wouldn’t extend yourself past the foundation of the gospel. God’s desire is that we would linger in the revelation of the aftermath of Jesus’ work, that through his life, death, and resurrection we have been raised to newness of life (Romans 6:4). Get lost today in the profound grace of your loving God. Of no work of your own, you have been set free from the bonds of this earth and brought back into the fold of your loving heavenly Father. Through the sacrifice of King Jesus you have been crowned as a co-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).
Take time today to simply rest in the foundational truth of the gospel. Run toward God with all humility and allow your heart to be raised up as he exalts you. Humble yourself in light of his majesty and allow him to pour out a joy over you like you have never felt before. God has every reason to condemn you, but out of his overwhelming love he has chosen to call you his beloved child. Meditate on this life-changing truth and respond to his love with the offering of your life.
1. Meditate on the profound truth of the gospel that you are fully loved only through the grace of your heavenly Father.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8
2. Where do you need to turn and run toward your heavenly Father? Acknowledge your total need of his grace and receive the abundant mercy he is waiting to pour over you.
3. Spend time resting in the knowledge of Jesus’ finished work. Rest in the love of your heavenly Father. Allow his presence and his love to change you from the inside out today. Allow the Spirit to guide you into the heart of God.
There is nothing you could do that could separate you from the love of your heavenly Father. The prodigal son sinned against his father in the worst way a son could. And still the father ran out to meet him at first glance of his son’s return. Your heavenly Father runs to meet you anytime you turn toward him. Don’t let the enemy spread lies to you that you are too dirty for God or that you have to fix yourself before you can spend time in his presence. Your relationship with God is based completely on grace, not on works. He loves you because he loves you, not because of what you do. Go out today in the knowledge that you are eternally loved by your heavenly Father, regardless of what you do. And may his love spur you toward a life lived in the abundance of restored relationship.
Extended Reading: Romans 8 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Romans 5-16.
Go out today in the knowledge that you are eternally loved by your heavenly Father, regardless of what you do. And may his love spur you toward a life lived in the abundance of restored relationship.
]]>11/28/2025 | Parables
May we today begin a fresh revival of humility in the church as we humble ourselves before God in prayer and honest worship. I want to encourage you to be open and vulnerable as you approach the Lord today.
One of my favorite stories is the parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector. Through this story, Jesus makes it abundantly clear how we’re to come before God. May we today begin a fresh revival of humility in the church as we humble ourselves before God in prayer and honest worship. I want to encourage you to be open and vulnerable as you approach the Lord today.
Luke 18:10-14 ESV
The ministry of Jesus was one of life-giving transformation. His life, death, and resurrection ushered in a completely new way of relating to God: the way of grace. One of the best examples of Jesus shifting paradigms comes in his parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Luke 18:10-14 says,
Let’s open our hearts and allow the Spirit to guide us to live life more like the tax collector than the Pharisee. Let’s allow him to lead us to a life lived in the new covenant of grace.
In the time of Jesus, God’s people were completely starved for relationship with him. Judaism had become a religion of regulations rather than relationship. God’s people believed that their lives were totally based on their works, placing the religious Pharisees at the top of the totem pole stretching up to God. The Pharisees believed they were justified before God because of their works, as if they could earn their way into right standing with God. So, imagine the shock of Jesus’ listeners when he says that the tax collector, the most hated of all Jews, went home justified before the Lord as the result of his humility. Imagine the shock and anger of the Pharisees in learning that all they had worked for, all the rules and regulations they had lived by, actually placed them lower in stature than any other Jew in the sight of God.
The parable of the Pharisee and tax collector offers amazing news for each of us. The principle Jesus teaches here in Luke 18 is that the greatest posture of our heart is one of humility, not perfection. The way to God is not one of works, but of grace. Jesus teaches that whatever weakness you have, whatever sin you struggle with, all God asks of you is that you come before him and ask for his mercy. All he requires of you is a repentant heart.
You see, the Lord is always after your heart. All the works of the Pharisees were birthed out of their own pride. In their egotism they thought they could earn relationship with the one, true, and holy God. All of their religious deeds were done not out of their love for God, but out of their love for their own reputation. However, the tax collector had nothing to boast about. He lived his life robbing his own people to fill the pockets of the Romans who enslaved them. He was made wealthy by stealing from his own people. But in his desperation he cried out to God for help, and God heard his cry.
Know that God hears your cry today when it comes out of the reality of your need for him. He answers your need for forgiveness and relationship with the overwhelming power of his presence. So, ask yourself today, what do you value most? Do you value your own reputation or God’s opinion? Are you living in light of God’s grace or trying to earn it? Are you going through the motions of religion in order to earn your way into relationship with God, or are you living in response to the wealth of love you’ve freely received in Christ?
Wherever you are, know that it is never too late to come before your heavenly Father in humility. It is never too late to repent of any area in which pride has been your motivation and decide to live your life on the foundation of grace. It is never too late to posture your heart to receive the depths of love and mercy your heavenly Father longs to give you. Christ came to usher in the path of grace, not of works. He came so that you might live in his strength, not your own. The price of his mercy is a humble heart because humility is the key that unlocks the depths of your soul to receive the free gift of his grace. God won’t fill what you believe is already full. He won’t help where you don’t truly believe you need him. But if you’ll cry out to him and ask him for his mercy for your sin and his love to satisfy your need, he will fill your life with the gift of his unending presence.
Posture your heart like that of the tax collector as you pray. Follow his model of humility and find satisfaction for the places of your heart that are in need of God’s love.
1. Meditate on Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and tax collector. Allow the Spirit to reveal areas in which you need the help that can only be received in humility.
2. Reflect on your own life. Where are you living with the burden of pride? Where are you living in your own strength? In what ways are you building up your own reputation rather than the only one worthy of glory, Jesus? Know that any area of your life rooted in pride will be without the mercy and help of your heavenly Father. The only way to live entirely in the grace of God is in constant and true humility.
“As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.” Proverbs 27:19
3. Confess your sin and receive the free gift of God’s presence. Cry out to God for his help in your life. Confess your need for his mercy, and take time resting in the incredible and satisfying gift of his presence. There is no greater gift in this life than spending time being with our heavenly Father. He longs to fuel you with the inexhaustible power of his nearness.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
Philippians 2:3-7 says, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” If God himself lived his life in total humility, then we must follow his example in order to walk in the favor and abundance God longs to bestow on us. Look to Christ as your example, and discover God’s desire to exalt you as you bow yourself before him as your Lord and King.
Extended Reading: 1 Peter 5 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1 Peter.
If God himself lived his life in total humility, then we must follow his example in order to walk in the favor and abundance God longs to bestow on us. Look to Christ as your example, and discover God’s desire to exalt you as you bow yourself before him as your Lord and King.
]]>11/27/2025 | Parables
As we continue to look at the profound, life-transforming concepts Jesus shared through parables, today we’ll focus on the parable of the lamp on a stand.
As we continue to look at the profound, life-transforming concepts Jesus shared through parables, today we’ll focus on the parable of the lamp on a stand. May what might’ve once been a concept that caused many of us to feel pressure, now bring forth peace, purpose and freedom in God’s love and identity for us.
Matthew 5:14-15 ESV
Reading Matthew 5:14-15 used to stress me out. Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.” How can we with all our mistakes, misgivings, and failures be “the light of the world?” How could God in all his wisdom choose to use us to reveal Jesus, the only hope of eternal salvation, to a lost and dying world?
As I grow in my knowledge of God’s heart, I grow in the revelation of his desire to use me. Passages like Matthew 5:14-15 used to focus my attention on my own sin and darkness rather than God’s grace and love. But faithfully in his love, he guides my thoughts to what matters: the overwhelming reality of the Holy Spirit transforming me into the image of the God who created me. Today, let’s allow the Spirit and the word to transform the way we view ourselves and how God in his infinite wisdom would use us to change the world.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” At salvation your identity changed. You are now “created in Christ Jesus.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 says it this way: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” You are a new creation not by your own doing, but by the powerful finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross. At salvation your sins were wiped away, cast off as far as the east is from the west. Such was the transformation that took place in your heart at salvation that you could be filled with God himself. Jesus says in John 14:16-17, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” God himself “dwells with you” and through salvation now lives inside you.
Passages like the parable of the lamp on a stand used to stress me out because I didn’t understand what God wanted to reveal through me to the world. I used to think God wanted to reveal perfection in me, that I had to act perfectly to demonstrate Christ. What I didn’t realize is that the greatest revelation I could give a broken and needy world is that God, through the immeasurable depth of his love, meets me in my brokenness and continually makes me whole. I realized that God, only by his grace, is taking what was lost, weak, selfish, and lonely and is filling me with unimaginable love and security through restored relationship with him. God doesn’t want you to reveal perfection. He wants to reveal the fact that in your imperfection he has loved you from the beginning with an everlasting love.
Because you are weak and in need of God, you are the absolute best person to lead others to Jesus. If you act like you have everything together, as if nothing is wrong, then those distant from God will have no reason to believe God desires relationship with them. But in revealing your imperfection, in being honest and real with those around you, you will offer hope to a world that has none. You will reveal the core of the gospel: that God has incredible works prepared for those who simply come to him in need and cry out for his help. In your imperfection you are a perfect example of Jesus’ love that comes only by grace.
God desires to shine the light of his love through you today in powerful ways. He longs to reveal to others how deeply he has loved you in his grace. He has incredible plans in store for you if you will simply be real with a world that desperately needs relationship with their Creator. Have the courage to be yourself and to be honest and vulnerable. Honesty is all your heavenly Father asks of you. In your honesty, God will reveal a greater love than this world has ever known. In the reality of who you are, God will shine forth hope, guiding those who are lost to the safe shores of restored relationship with him. May you find peace in the fact that God longs to use you exactly as you are. May you find purpose in the works he has set before you to do. And may you find joy in the revelation of God’s immeasurable love poured out on you through his grace.
1. Meditate on the depth of God’s love for you. In your sin and need of him he continually shows you grace, gives you his presence, and offers you joy for your mourning.
2. Now ask the Spirit to reveal God’s desire to use you today. Allow God to shift the way you see yourself. Allow him to ignite in you a passion to see those who are distant from God come to the revelation of his grace and love for them.
3. Ask God to fill you with the grace to be courageous and honest. Ask for the strength to be real and vulnerable with others.
“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
One of the most transformative parts of living in relationship with our heavenly Father is the freedom from having to act around others. You are fully loved, liked, and enjoyed just as you are. So great was God’s desire for relationship with you that he sent his only Son to die for you. There is a new peace available to you as you live in the freedom to be fully yourself. Rest in the fact that the Creator of the universe loves and likes you. You have no reason to act. May you find security today as the love of your heavenly Father lays a sure foundation for you to live honestly and courageously.
Extended Reading: Psalm 30 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
There is a new peace available to you as you live in the freedom to be fully yourself. Rest in the fact that the Creator of the universe loves and likes you. You have no reason to act. May you find security today as the love of your heavenly Father lays a sure foundation for you to live honestly and courageously.
]]>11/26/2025 | Parables
As we dig into this rich, beautiful parable, may our hearts and minds be enlightened. Take a moment even now to ask God to give you fresh revelation.
Continuing our week on Jesus’s parables, we’ll look today at the parable of the mustard seed. As we dig into this rich, beautiful parable, may our hearts and minds be enlightened. Take a moment even now to ask God to give you fresh revelation.
Matthew 13:31-32 ESV
Jesus tells a beautiful parable of the kingdom of God in Matthew 13:31-32. He teaches, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Trees are beautiful pictures of God’s ability to take what we view as weak or insignificant, a seed, and make a magnificent and life-giving creation out of it. And Matthew 13 reveals how trees can be viewed as pictures of the very kingdom of their Creator. It’s remarkable that God would begin his kingdom small and grow it by his faithful stewardship into a beautiful and life-giving creation.
God took the seed of the death of one man, Jesus, to create a beautiful tree of salvation for all of humanity. John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Our heavenly Father’s wrath over our sin poured out on Jesus allowed God to free the rest of us from eternal condemnation. And through the seed of Jesus’ death, God has been creating a powerful and eternal global movement, bringing people to restored relationship with himself across thousands of years. Just as the mustard seed grows large enough to become a tree in which birds make their home, the kingdom of God has transferred our citizenship to a new home with him. Philippians 3:20 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” John 15:19 says, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” The kingdom of God established through Christ has saved us from slavery to this world and ransomed us back into restored relationship with our heavenly Father.
Not only does the parable describe the incredible expanse of God’s kingdom from a few to many, it can also illustrate the seed of salvation planted within each of us that God intends to grow into a beautiful and fruit-bearing tree. Luke 17:21 says, “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” God’s kingdom is not built of brick and mortar, but of human hearts. And 1 Peter 2:2 commands us, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.” God’s desire is to water the seed of salvation he’s planted in us with the Spirit and the word. He longs to mold and shape us into the likeness of Jesus, that we might live lives that bear incredible life-giving fruit. Hosea 14:4-7 illustrates God’s heart beautifully when it says, “I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.” God wants to constantly steward this gift of salvation in each of us, as he does with the global advancement of his kingdom, that we might bear the wonderful fruit of the Spirit in every area of our lives.
And God is so patient with us. The earth illustrates his patience. Trees grow year after year, season to season by his faithful stewardship. Flowers never begin as beautiful as they are in full bloom. The earth is constantly undergoing abundant transformation as God’s creation grows and changes. You and I are no different. God’s plan has always been to mold us into beautiful pictures of his love. He’s always longed to fashion us until we walk in full, restored relationship with him. And by the life and death of Christ, he’s paved the way for his desires to come to fruition. All that’s left is for us to engage fully in this wonderful process he’s created for us. Engage in the growth he longs to birth in you by spending time in his presence and his word. Allow his gaze to transform you into his likeness. Live in obedience to the word, and allow it to lead you to an unconformed life in this world. Follow the guidance of the Spirit as he brings healing to your heart and fruit in your life.
Spend time in prayer allowing God to work in your heart today.
1. Meditate on God’s desire to grow the seed of salvation he’s planted within you.
2. Where do you need growth in your own life? Where do you need to bear more fruit?
3. Ask the Spirit to fill you anew today. Be filled with the presence of God and allow his love to mold and shape you into his likeness. Ask the Spirit to guide you into areas in where he wants to grow you today. Find Scripture that pertains to those areas in which you need growth and live in obedience to God’s word.
How great is God’s love for us that he doesn’t leave us where we are but is always transforming us! In the blink of an eye, God sees who we’ve been, who we are, and who we will be. He knows your form, how he’s created you, and what you were born to do. The more time you spend allowing him to transform you, the more you will understand yourself. May you discover and engage with all that your heavenly Father wants to do in you through his love today.
Extended Reading: 2 Corinthians 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 2 Corinthians.
May you discover and engage with all that your heavenly Father wants to do in you through his love today.
]]>11/25/2025 | Parables
Open your heart today and choose to take an honest look. You might be surprised at what you find.
As we continue this week allowing the parables of Jesus to speak directly to our situations, mindsets, and core beliefs about who God is, today we’ll dive into the parables of the hidden treasure and valuable pearl. Upon learning about God forsaking everything to find us, we’ll assess our own hearts and see what they value most in this life. Open your heart today and choose to take an honest look. You might be surprised at what you find.
Matthew 13:44 ESV
If you could only have one thing in life, what would it be? Take an honest look at your heart for a minute today. What do you love most? What would you give up everything else for?
Would you believe that your heavenly Father’s answer to those questions is you? That the Creator of the universe loves you most? Would you believe he would give up everything to have relationship with you? I heard a life-changing sermon in which the pastor proved, by looking at Genesis 2, that God’s greatest desire is relationship with us. After God creates Adam in his own image, God says, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). God brings every created animal before Adam to see if he deems any of them suitable as a helper, and Genesis 2:20 says, “But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.” Then without consulting Adam, God puts him to sleep and forms a woman out of his rib. Seeing the woman upon waking, Adam says, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23). How did God know Adam would want a woman as his helper? How did God know she would be the desire of his heart? God knew Adam most longed for a bride because Adam was made in God’s image, and God’s greatest desire is for relationship with us, whom the Bible calls his Bride.
Let the truth of God’s heart sink in for a minute. Out of everything else God has created or could have created, he most desires relationship with you. And he so longed for you to know him fully that he sent Jesus to die to make restored relationship possible. God calls us to himself daily with his love. He stands at the door of our heart and knocks, beckoning us with his loving-kindness to simply come and know him.
Once we truly grasp the depth of God’s desire for us, the only true response is to give up everything for him. He laid the foundation for our commitment to him with the greatest single act of love, and he simply waits, beckoning us to respond, living our lives with him as our highest priority. And he doesn’t do so selfishly, but because the absolute best way for us to live our lives is in total commitment to him.
In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus tells a parable explaining this response to God’s unending love. He says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” The kingdom of God is the greatest treasure, the pearl of greatest value. Relationship with him is worth our entire lives. Pursuing him with all our heart is the absolute greatest ambition we could have. Paul described this pursuit in Philippians 3:8 when he said, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”
So again, reflect on your own heart. What do you value above all else? God’s not angry with you if it truly isn’t him. You see, the truth is that our pursuit of God will only ever match our revelation of his goodness. God knows that if he isn’t truly the greatest desire of your heart, it’s because you don’t fully know how good he is. If you had the full revelation of his love for you, living totally for him wouldn’t even be a choice. So great is the worth of knowing Jesus that as you see him, you will naturally give up everything to know him more.
So, today as you enter into prayer, know the first step in growing in your pursuit of God is acknowledging the posture of your own heart. How strongly do you desire deeper relationship with him? How much would you give up to know him? What do you seek fulfillment in during your free time?
The second step is receiving a fresh revelation of his incredible love for you. Spend time simply encountering his heart. Meditate on the truth that he desires relationship with you above all else. He so greatly enjoys you that he pursues you with all of his focus and energy.
Last, respond to a revelation of his love with your own love. Worship him, adore him, and live for him with your life. You will encounter him in anything you do as worship. He will pour out his presence, favor, and blessing in any area you live out of love for him. Colossians 1:13-14 says, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” And Luke 12:31 promises us, “Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”
Pursue a deeper relationship with your heavenly Father today through prayer. As you live for him and seek his kingdom first, you’ll discover all he has longed to add to your life.
1. Reflect on your own life. How strongly do you desire deeper relationship with him? How much would you give up to know him? What do you seek fulfillment in during your free time?
2. Meditate on the depth of God’s love for you. Receive a fresh revelation of how greatly he enjoys you. Think about the story in Genesis of how God’s greatest desire was relationship with his Bride.
“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” Song of Solomon 2:14
3. Respond to God’s love with your own. Spend time simply adoring him. Spend time in solitude sitting with him, encountering his heart, and giving him your own. He paid the highest price for you just to be able have a relationship with him. So take time and be the reward of his sacrifice.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
May we answer the call to live for love with our lives today. May we live in response to this benediction found in Hebrews 12:28:“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.”
Extended Reading: Philippians 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Philippians.
May we answer the call to live for love with our lives today. May we live in response to this benediction found in Hebrews 12:28:“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.”
]]>11/24/2025 | Parables
This week we’re going to spend time allowing the parables of Jesus to speak directly to our situations, mindsets, and core beliefs about who God is. Open your heart and mind to be transformed by the powerful and captivating stories of Jesus.
Jesus loved to use stories to illustrate profound, life-transforming concepts. He loved to use real and genuine settings, characters, and ideas that apply to all of us to reveal God’s heart of pursuit and love. This week we’re going to spend time allowing the parables of Jesus to speak directly to our situations, mindsets, and core beliefs about who God is. Open your heart and mind to be transformed by the powerful and captivating stories of Jesus.
John 10:14-15
Have you ever experienced a sense of grand perspective where you realize your smallness in comparison to the earth’s grandeur? Have you ever contemplated your small stature in light of how colossal the universe is? Every now and then, when I get a sense of my smallness I am overcome by the fear of being lost. I think, “Who will show me my path in this seemingly increasing world? Who will guide me through the various trials and changes that will undoubtedly come my way? Who will help me?”
One of my favorite metaphors in Scripture is God as the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the most equipped guide we could ever have. He holds all of creation in the palm of his hand, and yet he knows the number of hairs on our head. He is the God of the gigantic and a lover of every little detail about us. And he longs to lead us to safe pasture. As we look at the parable of God as the Good Shepherd today, allow your faith and affections to be stirred by God’s promise to guide you into the matchless life he has in store for you.
John 10:14-15 says, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus paved the way for us to enter into the most amazing pasture of all: the very presence of the living God. He laid down his life as our Good Shepherd that we might eat of the fruit of his death and resurrection. But God didn’t only lead us to heaven; he continually leads us as our Good Shepherd day in and day out.
In the famous Psalm 23 David writes, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:1-6).
God’s staff is meant to comfort us. As our Good Shepherd he promises to lead us daily to the plans he has for us. That doesn’t always mean that we will be led out of “the valley of the shadow of death,” but that in the valley he will “prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Our great comfort is the fact that God will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). As Psalm 139:9-10 says, “If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” God is with us in times of trouble. He will protect us, provide for us, and lead us to still waters.
God longs to guide you today. What trouble is before you? Where do you need guidance? Where do you need help? God promises to be your Good Shepherd. You have the most high God on your side. You can trust in his leadership. Jesus was faithful to come and die so that you might have eternal life. If he was faithful to lead you to heaven, he will certainly lead you through whatever trial you are going through now.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Your God is a trustworthy Shepherd. Enter into prayer with expectancy that he will guide you perfectly and in his perfect timing. Cast your cares on him and trust him. Allow him to “make straight your paths” as you follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
1. Meditate on the idea of God as your Good Shepherd. Receive the truth of his promise to lead you and protect you.
2. Where do you need his leadership today? Where do you need his protection? Cast your cares on his shoulders and receive the peace that comes from trusting in him.
“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
3. Ask the Holy Spirit for leadership. Your God will directly guide you through trials. Trust in his leadership and follow whatever it is he tells you to do. If his word speaks directly to your situation, commit to obeying it! God promises to guide you as your Good Shepherd.
Extended Reading: John 10 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 1-12.
“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21
]]>11/23/2025 | The Seven Longings of the Human Heart
As we wrap up this week looking at the desires of every heart, we’re going to look today at the desire to live a life of significance.
As we wrap up this week looking at the longings of the human heart we all share, we’re going to look today at the longing to make a deep and lasting impact. God has a plan to use you in ways far beyond what you could ask or imagine, a plan for you to make a deep and lasting impact in the world. As we make space for God to speak and lead today, may he give us a deeper sense of purpose and calling in him.
Matthew 25:21 ESV
People often ask a common question when it looks like their time on earth is drawing to a close—"Did my life matter?" Have you ever wondered that? Have you ever taken a minute to look back on your life and wonder if all your efforts will mean a thing when you're gone?
We all dream of being a great success. No children playing sports in their backyard fantasize about hanging up the towel after high school. They dream of making it pro. No musician dreams about playing to a handful of people. They see themselves on a massive stage in front of thousands of screaming fans. We all have a longing to make an impact in this world. We all desire to make a difference to the degree that we will be remembered when we're gone.
God designed us all with this longing while having the perfect plan to satisfy it. The problem is that we have twisted what success really looks like. We've made success into something prideful—an idea constrained to the ways of this world. We've been living under the notion that making an impact is all about ourselves. You see, making a lasting impact doesn't necessarily mean you're known by the entire population, have books written about you, or are even a success at all in the eyes of the world. Success is solely defined by God and solely achieved by your faithfulness to whatever he has called you to. You are meant for the impact that faithfulness to God brings, not an impact wrought with struggle for achievement by the world's standards.
The Bible clearly defines success as being faithful to what God has spoken. In Matthew 25:21 God says, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” Your desire to make an impact will only be satisfied by living in obedience to God's will for you. It's his plan we're all a part of, not our own. God has brought us into the glorious narrative that has been playing out from the foundation of the earth. Being faithful to your page in God's grand narrative has an eternal impact more important and long-lasting than anything you could achieve on your own. One day, all of the grand stories of what mankind has done in pursuit of our own glory will be brought to nothing. One King will stand above all. Jesus Christ will be given his reward, and we will reign alongside him forever.
Choose to make an impact for eternity today. Be faithful first to love God and then to love others with compassion and humility. You have a chance to lead people into eternal life. You have a chance to store up your treasure in heaven where moth and rust will not destroy (Matthew 6:19-20). You have a chance today to make a deep and lasting impact beyond anything you could imagine. Allow God to define your identity and purpose. Experience the joy and fulfillment that can only be found in wholehearted communion with your heavenly Father.
1. Take a moment to reflect on the life of Jesus. Allow what Scripture says about Jesus to establish a true definition of success.
2. Take a moment to surrender your notion of success and impact, and center your life around God’s truth.
3. What plans does God have for you today? How can you love him and others well? In what way can you impact eternity?
Jesus is the perfect example of what it looks like to make a lasting impact because he was wholly surrendered to the will of the Father. At the end of his ministry, he had only a few followers that stood by him. He never wrote a book or even traveled more than a few hundred miles from where he was born. Rather than considering him successful, the world killed him. But he made the biggest impact of anyone in all of history. Live like Jesus today. Live solely for the opinion of God, and find your satisfaction in being faithful to what he has called you to. May your day be filled with the abundant life that comes from surrender to the perfect plans of God.
Extended Reading: Matthew 25 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Matthew Ch. 15-28.
Live like Jesus today. Live solely for the opinion of God, and find your satisfaction in being faithful to what he has called you to. May your day be filled with the abundant life that comes from surrender to the perfect plans of God.
]]>11/22/2025 | The Seven Longings of the Human Heart
In today’s First15, we’re going to explore the desire we all share to be passionate.
In today’s First15, we’re going to explore the longing we all share to be wholehearted. Everyone of us desires to give our lives to something, our passion to something that truly matters. And God has given us all that desire with a perfect plan to satisfy it in a unique way, a way he’s perfectly wired each of us for. May each of us get a greater sense of how we can live more wholeheartedly in him today.
The main concept for this week is derived from The Seven Longings of the Human Heart.
Mark 12:30 ESV
Wholehearted devotion, love, and purpose captivate us. As a culture we cling to stories like Romeo and Juliet, Gone with the Wind, Don Quixote, The Count of Monte Cristo and Les Miserables for the wholehearted actions of the characters. These stories evoke within each of us a desire to be equally wholehearted in our own lives. We long to give ourselves completely to something or someone that our lives might have true purpose.
Humanity is captivated by wholeheartedness because we were created for it. God created us with a longing to be wholehearted that he might satisfy that longing with his plans. The Bible is the ultimate story of wholeheartedness. It’s the story of God coming down to us and giving himself completely for us to the point of death. Defeating death, he now desires to use us as wholehearted children to lead the whole world to salvation and freedom that our lives would impact eternity.
You were made to be wholehearted, but oftentimes church is the last place you think of as passionate and wholehearted. So often, we in vocational ministry are scared to lose our volunteers and congregation by asking too much of them, so we never present them with an opportunity to live as passionately as God intends. The truth is that God wants all of you. He's calling you to a life of wholehearted, passionate surrender everywhere you go. He doesn't want to meet you just at church, at a gathering of believers, or even in your personal times; he wants you all day every day. God's calling you to a life of adventure in which the outcome is only known by him. He's calling you to step out of everyday living to a life of staggering surrender so great that this world will no longer feel like home. The call is worthwhile. His presence is worth the cost. God has a story for the ages prepared just for you—a story with real, eternal impact. But it will cost you everything to live it.
If this truth sounds radical to you, it's because it is. So many Christians will never live out the fullness of what God planned for them because of how radical it sounds. Fear grips us; we choose the comfortable path with minimal impact. But if we follow this compromise to its end, we will live passionless, mediocre lives in which we are never fully satisfied. We will live in this gap where one moment we worship God and the next we seek satisfaction in sin. We will live vicariously through the stories we hear in movies, books, and television of people who lived wholeheartedly. And at the end of our lives, we will look back and wish we had another chance to live for what really matters.
But you have a choice today. A radical life of wholehearted love for God awaits you. It's waiting for you right now. It doesn't mean you have to pack your bags and head out on the mission field. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to lead someone to Jesus today. It could be as simple as opening your heart fully to God and allowing him to fill you with his love to overflowing. Commit your life to him in full surrender today. Respond to his leadership with a continual “yes” in your heart. Give yourself to him completely that your life would be marked by a wholehearted pursuit of the perfect, pleasing and powerful plans of your heavenly Father.
1. Take a minute to meditate on Jesus's wholehearted pursuit of you. Think about how he lived and died to make a way for relationship with you.
2. Now ask God to reveal to you how he wants you to live wholeheartedly today. He has a plan each day for you; one that will give you joy, passion, and peace on a whole new level you’ve yet to experience. There's more for you every day.
3. Ask the Spirit to help you live the life God has shown you. Ask him to fill you with a desire to be obedient and wholehearted in response to God's love. Ask him to help you be aware of what he's speaking to you and to walk in full obedience to it. Take time to rest in the presence of God.
You have an enemy that has been lying to you about who you are. Satan tells us we are weak, fearful, and unable to live sold out to anything but comfort. He pinpoints our fears and flaws in attempt to keep us from responding to the call of God. But greater is he that is in you (1 John 4:4)! If God calls you to something, he has and will continue to see you through it. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). The Bible is full of stories of men and women who were weak and felt unprepared but chose to believe God at his word rather than give in to reservation. Whatever lie you've been told, trust God and ask him to correct it. Choose to believe God's word over that which contradicts it. And watch as his plans for you come to wholehearted fulfillment.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23
Extended Reading: 1 John 4 or watch the Bible Project’s video on 1-3 John.
Choose to believe God’s word over that which contradicts it. And watch as his plans for you come to wholehearted fulfillment.
]]>11/21/2025 | The Seven Longings of the Human Heart
In today’s First15 we’re going to look at the longing we all share for intimacy without shame.
In today’s First15 we’re going to look at the longing we all share for intimacy without shame. You and I were made to be fully known, and fully loved. And pursuing that sense of knowledge and love from the world has left so many of us wounded. But the good news is that God has a path for healing, relationship, and love that’s void of shame, and wants to guide us down that path today as we create space and follow him together.
The main concept for this week is derived from The Seven Longings of the Human Heart.
Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV
All of humanity is in a constant search for intimacy. We devote ourselves to earning the affections of others, whether it be a close friend or a stranger. We long to be loved for who we truly are, but we've also been burned by others in attempt to find acceptance. We give our hearts to the world and hope others will satisfy our craving for acceptance—for love. And we've been rejected by the very people and systems in which we sought satisfaction. Still we press on. We mold and reshape ourselves; we change our image or personality. We project who we think we should be instead of who we are. We project who we feel others want us to be—believing the lie that who we really are isn’t enough. And all the while we long to be fully known and accepted. We long for intimacy without shame.
This depiction holds true for all of us, because all of us have been affected by Adam and Eve’s original sin. It was in perfection that they chose sin over unfettered, boundless relationship with the Father. And Scripture says in Genesis 3:8 that Adam and Eve “heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” After God calls out to Adam and Eve, Adam responds by saying, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10). Sin immediately and tragically brought shame, separation and destruction to perfect intimacy.
And so often we live our lives as if Scripture stopped with Genesis 3:10. We live our lives apart from the revelation of God’s unconditional love and affection for us. Genesis 3:21 tells us, “The Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” God created a covering for their shame. He met them in their weakness and provided for them. And just as God covered Adam and Eve with garments to cover their shame, he’s made a way for us today. In our weakness and shame God meets us and calls us lovely. He’s clothed us with the perfect, righteous nature of Christ. Our lives are perfectly hidden in his. In his grace, he wraps his arms around us and tells us of his great love. He speaks truth where lies have resounded. He speaks life where there seemed to only be death. He brings light to the darkest, most desolate places of our hearts. Only his grace abounding could lead us back into the fold of his loving kindness. Redemption and love fill the weak frame of man with the glory of God. We are dust transformed into the very likeness of the living God. Our destiny will always be intimacy without shame—to be fully loved and fully known by our perfect Father.
Take time in guided prayer to assess your own heart. In what ways are you still hiding from God as Adam and Eve did? In what ways have you veiled your heart as if God didn’t already rip the veil separating him from us in two? May your time in guided prayer be filled with new levels of intimacy as you allow God to fully know you and bring light to darkness.
1.Take time to acknowledge any shameful places in your life you’ve hidden from God and others. In what ways are you veiling your heart? What do you long to keep in darkness?
2. Now meditate on God’s love for you. God loves you completely no matter what you’ve done. He longs to be with you no matter how ashamed you might feel.
3. Open your heart to God. Talk to him about any shameful places in your life. Receive a revelation of his unconditional love. Allow him to bring his healing light to your heart as you rest in his love.
Allowing ourselves to be fully known is always scary. We fear that if we are fully known and then rejected we’ll have nothing left to hold on to. But until we allow ourselves to be fully known it will be impossible to satisfy our longing to be fully loved. Opening your heart, your past, your weaknesses, and your failures to God is the only path to healing and freedom. Allowing God to reveal his unconditional love for you when you’ve opened up about your worst pain, thoughts, and sins will fill you with a love and security you never knew was possible. Open your heart to your loving heavenly Father today and experience the love that can only come with being fully known.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 2 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Ephesians.
Allowing God to reveal his unconditional love for you when you’ve opened up about your worst pain, thoughts, and sins will fill you with a love and security you never knew was possible. Open your heart to your loving heavenly Father today and experience the love that can only come with being fully known.
]]>11/20/2025 | The Seven Longings of the Human Heart
Today as we continue our series looking at the desires of every heart, we’re going to take time to recognize and satisfy our desire to be great.
Today as we continue our series looking at 7 longings of the human heart, we’re going to take time to recognize and satisfy our longing for greatness. The longing for greatness within the heart of man has produced tremendous and terrible things. It’s produced peace and war, advancement and destruction. And as we look at this longing today, I pray that God reveals the purity and power of it as well as his plans to satisfy it moment by moment, day by day.
The main concept for this week is derived from The Seven Longings of the Human Heart.
1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV
As children, we dream of a life of adventure and impact. We pretend to be astronauts adventuring into the unknown, police officers serving and seeking justice, or even a king rightly deserving respect from all in our kingdom. No child ever dreams of doing something mundane or meaningless. But as we grow older, we accept reality—that few ever attain what society deems the most respected and honorable professions. We settle into mediocrity and work to attain greatness in whatever ways we can. We give our lives to a business, a social circle, or even a church position all in an attempt to fulfill our need to do something or be someone great.
The truth is that our desire to be great will never be satisfied until we surrender our concept of greatness to the truth of Scripture. Jesus tells us, “Whoever humbles himself…is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4). And in Matthew 20:26 Jesus says, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” You have a heavenly Father who longs to make you great in his sight. He has a plan for you filled with eternal reward, significance and satisfaction. But it will cost you everything. His plan is the exact opposite of the world’s. To be eternally great is to lay down your life, stop seeking greatness in the world’s eyes and give your heart entirely to the service and plans of your heavenly Father.
The Bible tells of the wonderful life in store for those who would devote themselves to the Lord. Matthew 5:19 tells us that “…whoever does them and teaches them [God’s commandments] will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” In John 10:10, Jesus proclaims that he came to earth in order that we might have “life, and have it abundantly.”
The opinion of man is fleeting and fickle. But your heavenly Father’s plans and purposes are entirely steadfast. You can live a life so great that all of eternity is changed as a result. You can live your life so devoted to God that heaven meets earth through your life and changes the eternal trajectory of souls.
You were made for greatness. You are called to a specific task that only you can do. Take time to surrender your life entirely to your heavenly Father as you enter into guided prayer. May your time be marked by the peace, passion and purpose that comes from wholeheartedly living for God.
1. In what ways are you seeking to be great in the world? Take time to confess any of your pursuits that aren’t in line with the heart of God as stated in Scripture.
“Whoever humbles himself…is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:4
2. Now ask God to reveal his heart for what he deems to be great in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to instill in you a desire to lay down your life that you might find it in God.
3. Now commit yourself to live in pursuit of his opinion instead of the world around you. Ask the Spirit to help you live in line with his perfect leadership. Commit yourself to trust him as he leads you into the perfect plans of your heavenly Father.
Follow whatever the Spirit would lead you to do today. True repentance requires us to turn away from the life we’ve been living and live for God instead. It always leads us to a better, more abundant life. Know that whatever the Spirit leads you to do, it is out of love for you. Responding to his leading is the only way to live a life full of the fruit of the Spirit and the only way to satisfy your longing for greatness. May your day be marked by the purposes and plans of your loving heavenly Father.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 1 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Ephesians.
May your day be marked by the purposes and plans of your loving heavenly Father.
]]>11/19/2025 | The Seven Longings of the Human Heart
As we continue our week-long focus on the desires of every heart, today we’re going to look at the desire we all share to behold beauty.
As we continue our week-long focus on 7 longings of the human heart, today we’re going to look at the longing we all share for beauty. God has created beauty all around us, beauty we can see and beauty we can feel. And in a world so inundated with false notions of beauty, today my prayer is that God reveals the purity within this longing that resides within each of our hearts, and his perfect plans to satisfy it.
The main concept for this week is derived from The Seven Longings of the Human Heart.
“For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he will beautify the humble with salvation.”
Psalm 149:4 (AMP)
Beauty is captivating in all its forms. From sunsets to mountain tops, flower petals to starry nights, we devote countless hours, years, and even lives to the wonder and pursuit of beauty. We write songs and poetry in devotion to that which inspires us with its beauty. We spend our blood, sweat, and tears in attempt to discover if we have any beauty within ourselves. We are a people marked by a need for beauty—an insatiable longing that can only be satisfied in its Creator.
For a long time I tried to rid myself of the longing for beauty. I tried simply not to desire it. I equated this longing within me to a pursuit of vanity that seemed only to end in destruction. It wasn’t until my longing for beauty began to find its satisfaction in God that I discovered God’s original purpose behind it.
The longing for beauty is an incredible gift given to us by our heavenly Father. Every time we look upon something beautiful we get a glimpse into the beautiful heart of God. Our God is a perfect creator who makes beautiful things. Everything he is and does is beautiful in its own way. So when you feel a longing to be beautiful or see beauty, you are really feeling a longing for the Almighty, Triune God. You were created with an insatiable need to look upon your Creator in all his power and glory that you might stand in awe of his indescribable beauty for all eternity. And you have a longing to hear the voice of your heavenly who calls you lovely no matter how you look in the world’s eyes or what you’ve done.
Psalm 27:4 says, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” May we pursue the beauty of God and live in the glorious freedom of boundless communion with him. May our questions of whether we are beautiful find total fulfillment in the perfect perspective of he who shines forth in perfect beauty. And may we find satisfaction in all that is beautiful by acknowledging beauty that exists because of our beautiful God—limitless and perfect in all he does.
Take time in guided prayer to look upon your Creator. Gaze at the beauty of the Trinity. Let him tell you how he sees you. Listen as he speaks into the deepest recesses of your heart and satisfies places the world could never even reach. He longs for you to know how beautiful you are to him. He longs for you to stand in awe of the wonders of his perfect, true, and unconditional love. May your time be marked by clear revelation from the Holy Spirit into the heart of God.
1. Take time to meditate on what the Bible says about God’s beauty. As you create a few moments of space, allow the Spirit to open your eyes to see the beauty of God.
“Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.” Psalm 96:6
2. Ask the Spirit to reveal to you how God sees you. Ask for a revelation of your beauty to him.
3. Take time to rest in the truth of God’s heart. Allow his thoughts to sink into your heart. Journal or reflect on how God sees you and how it makes you feel.
The more you gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and receive the knowledge of his perspective, the more you will experience freedom and unshakable joy. You are beautiful in his sight. Nothing can change the fact that you are fully loved by a perfect God. Rest in the peace and joy of that truth today. May his love lay a firm foundation for you to live secure and unshakable as your longing for beauty is wholly satisfied.
Extended Reading: Psalm 149 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
Rest in the peace and joy of that truth today. May his love lay a firm foundation for you to live secure and unshakable as your desire for beauty is wholly satisfied.
]]>11/18/2025 | The Seven Longings of the Human Heart
May we set our eyes on him today by the power of the Holy Spirit, that our desire for wonder would be satisfied in relationship with our powerful and good God.
In today’s First15, we’re going to look at the longing we all share for fascination. We serve an absolutely fascinating God – a God who has created a whole world to fascinate us. May we set our eyes on him today by the power of the Holy Spirit, that our longing for fascination would be satisfied in relationship with our powerful and good God.
Romans 1:22-23 ESV
All of humanity is marked by an insatiable desire for fascination. We long for that which is unexplainable, intensely interesting, and unfathomable. But too often we settle for being temporarily fascinated by the things of the world. We look at concepts, cultures, and man-made creations and find fascination in that which is meant to lead us to the One who is most fascinating—our heavenly Father.
You and I were created to be fascinated by the invisible nature and miraculous, supernatural works of God. We were created to know personally the God who created a universe so vast that its enormity is beyond measure. We’re created to experience communion with the God who created that which is so miniscule even our largest microscopes can’t capture it. We serve a God of wonder who alone can satisfy our insatiable longing for fascination.
But somewhere along the way we’ve chosen as a people to seek fascination in the world over God. Romans 1:22-23 gives us insight into this destructive pursuit. Scripture says that early on in history humans “claiming to be wise… became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” Sin turned our gaze from God to his creation. We exchanged that which would wholly fascinate us for all of eternity for idols that were never designed to satisfy us at all. You can see it all around. In our culture, we idolize the created over the Creator. We lift up men and women instead of looking to the King of kings. We spend hours placing our hope in that which will never fully satisfy us. I can see it in myself. I jump from material thing to material thing, TV show to TV show, idea to idea, just looking for something to fascinate me. I'll be fascinated with something for a week or month at most, and then I get bored. We buy and sell, get in and out of relationships, and ride emotional roller coasters, the whole time thinking, “This will be it; this is what I'm missing.”
God is calling us to a restored life where our need for fascination is satisfied in him—producing peace, joy, fulfillment and purpose. He is calling us to stop seeking fascination in that which is fleeting and to root ourselves in him who is eternally satisfying. He is calling us to look at the world through a heavenly perspective to see that all of his creation, good or bad, would draw us to himself.
Take some time in guided prayer to assess the ways in which you are seeking satisfaction for your longing to be fascinated. May you be wholly fascinated by your present, eternal, and loving heavenly Father today.
1. Assess your own heart. Where do you seek fascination? Are you looking to the created or the Creator to satisfy your need to be fascinated?
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you explore the depths of God. Have faith in God’s word:
“These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:10
3. Ask God to teach you something new about himself. Ask him to show you how he desires to satisfy your longing for fascination.
God designed the world in such a way that it would direct us back to him. He wants you to be fascinated with your spouse, nature, ideas, creation, and even entertainment, as long as they direct you back to their true source! He wants to fascinate you both through the works of his hands and in spending time with him in meditation, worship, study of the word, and simply listening as he speaks. He’s designed so many wonderful avenues with which to satisfy your longings—just don't get caught up with the created things themselves. May God satisfy your longing for fascination today and every day. May he remain the source of your wonder and awe. The choice is up to you! What will you spend your time and energy seeking today?
Extended Reading: Romans 1 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Romans 1-4.
May God satisfy your desire for wonder today and every day. May he remain the source of your wonder and awe. The choice is up to you! What will you spend your time and energy seeking today?
]]>11/17/2025 | The Seven Longings of the Human Heart
The main concept for this week is derived from The Seven Longings of the Human Heart
All of us have insatiable longings that can only be satisfied in communion with our heavenly Father. The longing to be enjoyed, fascinated, to gaze upon beauty, and to be someone great are driving forces within each of us. The longing to experience intimacy without shame, to be wholehearted, and to make a deep and lasting impact resound within each of us at the foundation of who we are. God created these longings knowing that they can only be fully satisfied in him—that they would be avenues to deeper relationship with him. As we look at each of these longings individually this week, I pray your heart would find its fulfillment in the loving nearness of your heavenly Father.
The main concept for this week is derived from The Seven Longings of the Human Heart.
"For as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you."
Isaiah 62:5 ESV
The human race has no greater driving force than the longing to be enjoyed. Most of us have spent our entire lives working to be enjoyed by others. We’ll go to whatever length necessary to prove ourselves worthy of being liked or loved. Some work tirelessly at a talent or skill hoping to impress with their abilities. Some devote countless hours to their appearance hoping the way they look will attract others and satisfy their longing to be enjoyed. Some hope that money and possessions will cause people to like them or to want to spend time with them. Regardless of how we seek to be enjoyed, if we’re honest, we will discover this longing is a driving force in all of us.
Think back on your life. Think back on yesterday. What did you do so that people would like you—so that people would enjoy you? I could name lots of ways I strive for people’s affection or adoration on a daily basis! I long with everything in me to be enjoyed. I cringe at the thought of feeling cast out, loved by too few or none—unenjoyable. You see, we can’t help our need to be enjoyed because God created each of us with longings that match avenues he's created to lead us back to his presence.
Our Father created all of us with a longing to be enjoyed by him. The Creator of all things, the only one who knows everything about you, longs for you to know that he deeply enjoys you. You, just being fully you, are loved. You, with all your failures, victories, sins, and quirks are enjoyable to God. God made you the way he did for a reason! He enjoys talking with you, and watching you work. He longs for you to live the life he’s laid out for you and experience the fullness of joy he has richly provided you. Of course he hates when we sin. He can’t possibly enjoy something we’re doing that’s harmful to us and others. But even in our failure God pursues us. Even in rebellion God longs for us to turn our hearts toward him so that he can run out to meet us and clothe us with grace. Out of his unconditional love, he wants to throw a celebration in honor of restored relationship with you (Luke 15:11-32).
Seek fulfillment for your longing to be enjoyed in the arms of your loving Father. See him as your Father running out to meet you that you might be fully enjoyed by him. Let his love sink into the depths of your heart that your longing to be enjoyed may be fully satisfied in him. May your time in guided prayer be marked by the joy your Father has over you.
1. Open your Bible to Luke 15:11-32 and meditate on the story of the prodigal son. Put yourself in the story and place your perception of God in the character of the father. Ask the Spirit to help you see yourself in the story, to believe God's word about yourself.
2. Now ask the Spirit to show you how God feels about you right now. Ask him to show you how God the Father rushes towards you and longs to wrap you up in his arms.
3. Receive the delight of your heavenly Father. Rest in the love of God and let it fill up the depths of your heart.
When you feel the urge to do something to gain the approval of man today, stop and receive God's enjoyment again. Living from a place of being already delighted in is the only path to true emotional fulfillment. You have an abundantly full reservoir of love available to you at any time. God is always pleased to show you how much he loves you if you will simply turn your heart toward him and receive. May your day today be marked by the limitless love of your heavenly Father.
Extended Reading: Luke 15 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Luke 9-19.
May your day today be marked by the limitless love of your heavenly Father.
]]>11/16/2025 | Tilling the Soil of Your Heart
As we wrap up this week focusing on tilling the soil of our hearts, today we’re going to look at the role of hearing God’s voice in living open and responsive to God. I know for a lot of us the idea of hearing God speak can be a confusing, sometimes too far out there subject. But as God’s children, he wants us to live in communication with him. And through the Holy Spirit, you and I have the ability to hear God speak to our hearts. May we discover today that we serve a communicative God who loves to talk to his people. And may his voice soften our hearts to receive all that he longs to give us.
As we wrap up this week focusing on tilling the soil of our hearts, today we’re going to look at the role of hearing God’s voice in living open and responsive to God. I know for a lot of us the idea of hearing God speak can be a confusing, sometimes too far out there subject. But as God’s children, he wants us to live in communication with him. And through the Holy Spirit, you and I have the ability to hear God speak to our hearts.
May we discover today that we serve a communicative God who loves to talk to his people. And may his voice soften our hearts to receive all that he longs to give us.
John 16:13 ESV
Spiritual father Brother Lawrence once wrote, “There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God.” We are meant to commune with our heavenly Father, to be in conversation with him throughout the day concerning all that’s going on around us. For a long time, I held the belief that God doesn’t like to talk. I thought you found out how to live the Christian life solely through reading the Bible, going to church, listening to sermons, etc. I thought prayer was just asking God for things and waiting to see if he said yes or no through circumstances. God does speak through circumstances and his word, to be sure, but he also loves to speak directly to his children. He longs to be in conversation with us.
The Bible clearly teaches that God speaks to his people. Jesus teaches us in John 16:13 that “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” In John 10:27 God tells us, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” God promises to speak to you as his child. He longs to tell you his love for you even more than you long to hear it. He longs to tell you his plans even more than you want to know them.
There hasn’t been a single thing more impactful in my life than hearing the voice of God. His voice is so tender when I need tenderness, corrective when sin constricts my life, and powerful when only he can make the changes in my life that need to be made. He speaks perfectly, never a word out of place and always at the perfect time. You might hear God more than you think. I’ve never heard him speak audibly to me, but every day he whispers to my heart what I need to know. There are days I don’t stop to listen. There are times I allow the weight of the world to crowd out his voice. But as I turn my heart back towards him, I find out that he was there—speaking all along. He whispers of his love for me when I feel crushed by the opinion of man. He tells me he’s proud of me when I feel like everything I’m doing doesn’t measure up. He whispers of his plans for me when I turn and go my own way. It’s not because I’m gifted in some certain way that I hear his voice, but rather because God in his grace loves to speak.
God has never made a spiritually deaf person. You can hear God because his voice is immeasurably more about his love than your abilities. You are his child; his love for you is vast, unchanging and unceasing. All it takes to hear him is simply inclining an ear to him and allowing his words to take root in you. As he speaks of his love, you will feel the chains of the world fall off. As he tells you of his purpose, you will discover that a plan has been in the works for you since before you were born. Choose to listen to his voice today; let it drown out the cares of the world and create a soil in you receptive to his seed, fertile and filled with the fruit of the Spirit.
1. Meditate on the truth of what the Bible says about hearing God.
2. Now take time to listen to God. Ask him how he feels about you. Talk to him about anything that’s bringing you stress. Listen for a whisper of his voice or an inclination that seems to be of God.
3. Let the truth of what he’s speaking settle into your heart. Pay attention to inclinations, to longings or urgings of the Spirit. Ask him for greater understanding of what he’s speaking to you. Choose to trust that he will speak and guide you into the fullness of life if you will simply follow him.
There is a practice to hearing God’s voice, but it’s more a practice of casting off the things of the world than anything else. Sometimes, it takes time to quiet your soul and focus on God. Don’t be frustrated if you feel like you aren’t hearing anything. The weight of all of this is on God. God speaks in any and every way he can. He loves to speak through the Bible and through circumstances so listen for his voice and continually seek him. There’s no pressure from God. He desires to take weight and burden from us instead of putting it on. He just wants you to live in relationship with him. Let his voice settle in your heart today and become a refreshing source for you in every circumstance.
Extended Reading: John 16
Let his voice settle in your heart today and become a refreshing source for you in every circumstance.
]]>11/15/2025 | Tilling the Soil of Your Heart
May God do a mighty work in us today as we discover the power of prayer.
In today’s First15, we’re going to continue our week long focus on tilling the soil of the heart by looking at the power of prayer. There is no better way to soften our hearts towards God than making space to have a real conversation with him. His voice breaks down our walls. His answers give us the peace and direction we need. And his presence, simply resting in him, builds the solid foundation of connection we need to live open and responsive to him throughout our day.
May God do a mighty work in us today as we discover the power of prayer.
Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
God makes an amazing promise to us in Philippians 4:6-7. Scripture says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” How incredible! If we will make our requests known to God in prayer, giving our burdens and anxieties over to him, then he will swap those burdens for a guarding peace that surpasses all understanding. How much do you need his peace today? What areas of your life feel burdened? What do you feel anxious about?
God has an endless reservoir of peace that’s available to you when you place your trust in him through prayer. As we open our hearts to God in prayer, the Spirit produces the fruit of peace. When you lay your burdens at God’s feet, trusting that he will take care of you as he promised, peace overflows as a fruit of the Spirit’s work in your life. That’s the assurance of your Father and the power of prayer.
For most of us, something like trusting God and handing over all our burdens is much easier said than done. How can you pray effectively? How can you have communication with God? E.M. Bounds said, “The goal of prayer is the ear of God, a goal that can only be reached by patient and continued and continuous waiting upon Him, pouring out our heart to Him and permitting Him to speak to us. Only by so doing can we expect to know Him, and as we come to know Him better we shall spend more time in His presence and find that presence a constant and ever-increasing delight.” Effective prayer is a process, but it is a process completely worthy of your efforts. Corrie ten Boom said, “Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.” Make a daily time to set aside for prayer. Fight to keep it at all costs. Connecting to God through prayer, hearing his voice, and experiencing his presence will lead you to a satisfied life. The Christian life without prayer is no different than a relationship with a person without communication. While your God will never fail you as people do, abundant relationship with him requires constant communication.
Prayer is more about making time and space to commune with God than it is about what you do or say. God can guide, speak, and give you his presence if you simply make space for him to do so. Don’t let a feeling of insecurity, doubt, or lack of knowledge keep you from talking with God. He delights in the simplicity, vulnerability, and honesty of you just wanting to talk with him.
Open your heart to God as you enter into a time of guided prayer. Make space to listen to the voice of your Helper, the Holy Spirit. And receive the wonder and peace that comes from casting your burdens on a loving Father who is waiting right now to spend time with you.
1. Take a moment to quiet your heart and mind. Make space in your heart to allow for the peace of God to fill.
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
2. Now lay any burdens you have at his feet. Think about anything you’ve been feeling anxious about, and talk to God about it. Tell him how you’ve been feeling.
3. Now receive the peace God has promised you over those situations. Trust God that when you ask for his guidance and help, he will give it to you. Prayer changes things. While you may not be able to see it with your eyes, prayer moves the heart of God and men.
The Bible tells us to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). The more you practice prayer and see it work in your life to bring peace and change to your circumstances, the more prayer will become a natural overflow for you. A simple thought to God at a tough or important time or even a quick act of giving God thanks for the good things around you are all powerful prayers. Have a continual conversation with God and allow him to transform lonely times into continuous communion with him.
Extended Reading: Philippians 4 and Studies on Prayer Volume 1 & Volume 2 by Janet Denison.
Have a continual conversation with God and allow him to transform lonely times into continuous communion with him.
]]>11/14/2025 | Tilling the Soil of Your Heart
So as we set our eyes on him, may he fill our hearts with compassion and love, and desire to be fully known and fully loved by our communities.
As we near the end of our week focusing on tilling the soil of the heart, today we’re going to look at the role of community in positioning ourselves to receive all that God longs to give. God is calling us into a deeper commitment to love others, and be loved by others. He wants to use us and those he’s placed around us to guide us deeper into fullness of life. So as we set our eyes on him, may he fill our hearts with compassion and love, and desire to be fully known and fully loved by our communities.
Romans 12:4-5 ESV
One of the most useful gifts God has given us for making our hearts receptive to him is each other. The church is both a beautiful and broken group of people. Beautiful because of the grace of God working in each of us making us more like Jesus. Broken because we have yet to walk in the fullness of what Christ did for us on the cross. Most of us have been wounded by something that happened in a church. Most of us have felt anger, frustration, or annoyance with a fellow believer. But if we are to walk in the fullness of what God intends for us here on earth, we must continually forgive and ask forgiveness from each other, submit ourselves to a group of Christ followers, and share life with believers in accordance with God’s word.
The Bible is clear that the best place for us to thrive is in community with fellow believers. Romans 12:5 teaches us that we are all “one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” And Ephesians 4:15-16 teaches us that “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” We need each other. We’re joined together as the body of Christ made to function as one—both for our edification and the fulfillment of God’s eternal purposes in the world.
In order to make the soil of your heart soft and receptive to God, you must have help from those God has placed around you. We are created to worship with the body of Christ for all eternity, and that includes right now! Don’t wait to live out the promises of God. The church is not perfect, but it is God’s Bride. His desire is for his people, and he loves to pour out his presence in unique and specific ways when we gather together. There is edification you need that can only take place in the presence of fellow believers. There is blessing that can only be received when you open your heart to the family of God. We all have wounds; we all need grace; we all need each other. The very person who most annoys you might need you the most. Just as you need what fellow believers around you have to offer you, others need who God has uniquely designed you to be.
God asks us to humble ourselves before him and each other. Philippians 2:3 teaches us to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” When you humble yourself, you will find a peace that is never available in living for your own ambitions. When you submit yourself to imperfect people, you give away your sense of entitlement and find the grace of God that’s poured out on those who truly count others as more significant than themselves. It’s in the submission to others and giving away of our own rights that the soil of our heart is made soft and receptive to God. It’s in spending time with fellow imperfect people that we become edified and are spurred on toward spending more time with God.
Often it’s in the extending of grace and forgiveness to each other that we become most like Christ, the one who suffered and died in the ultimate act of humility to us who are unworthy. Offer love to those who don’t deserve it. Place yourself in community with those who are imperfect. Open your heart to those who might not treat you with perfect kindness. Find your unique place in the body and serve the community God has placed you in with faithfulness so that you might be fashioned in the likeness of Christ.
1. Ask God to show you the community he would have you be a part of. Whether this answer comes immediately or through seeking and visiting churches, trust that God will guide you to the local body he has planned for you.
2. Ask God to show you your place in the community. This will change over time, so it’s good to continually ask God this question, especially if you feel out of place.
3. Now ask God to show you how he feels about the church. We aren’t meant to live and love out of our own strength. Instead, we are to seek God’s heart for his people and align ourselves with him.
God’s desire for the church is vast and powerful. He has loved his people in perfect faithfulness despite all our transgressions and wandering. When we fail to show grace and love to those around us, we fail to live out of God’s heart for his people. If you want to live a life as near to God’s heart as possible you must search him out with the rest of his body. One day we will all be made perfect and be able to worship together face to face with the living God. One day, every tribe, tongue and nation will declare together the wonders of God’s amazing love. Live in light of eternity today. Worship here as you will in heaven, and watch as heaven invades earth around you with the glory and love of God.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 4
Live in light of eternity today. Worship here as you will in heaven, and watch as heaven invades earth around you with the glory and love of God.
]]>11/13/2025 | Tilling the Soil of Your Heart
As we look at the power of Scripture today, may God stir our hearts to spend time every day in the pages of this transformative book. And may Scripture guide us deeper into true relationship with it’s author.
As we reach the middle of our week-long focus on tilling the soil of our hearts, today we’re going to look at the power of Scripture in receiving all that God longs to give us. Within the pages of Scripture there is a wealth of stories all conveying how God has met with and restored his people from the beginning of civilization. And these stories are powerful resources in softening our hearts towards God, inviting him to meet with us and mold us into his likeness.
As we look at the power of Scripture today, may God stir our hearts to spend time every day in the pages of this transformative book. And may Scripture guide us deeper into true relationship with it’s author.
Psalm 1:1-2 ESV
One of the most powerful tools in tilling the soil of our hearts is Scripture. Each time you open the Bible you’re looking at a miracle. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” When you are reading the Bible, you are reading the very word of God, breathed out by him and powerful in its ability to reveal both the character of God and your identity. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” When you renew your mind through Scripture, you allow the Bible to transform your heart into fertile soil that bears everlasting fruit. So let’s look today at a few ways we can use Scripture to renew our minds and allow it to mold and shape us into disciples who are in tune with and receptive to the love and leading of God.
There is a wealth of power and wisdom within God’s word as it reveals his love and faithfulness to his people. Stories of God’s deliverance and provision to an ungrateful people demonstrate not only God’s faithfulness then, but also the great lengths he will go to for those ransomed into his family now by the blood of Christ. The story of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins is both heart wrenching and life giving. That he would willingly endure one of the most heinous, tortuous methods ever created assures us of the love God has for us. That he would experience separation from his heavenly Father for the sin of the entire world points to the depth of his love for us. Reading stories like these and meditating on their meaning and application will make us receptive to the presence and will of God. They can empower us to live in grateful obedience to his plans and purposes.
As Paul wrote in Second Timothy, the Bible is also a useful tool for life-giving correction. Correction from God is an important and wonderful part of being his son or daughter. His correction resembles a skilled gardener pulling the weeds out of soil, making room for seeds he has planted to receive nourishment and thereby flourish into fruit. You see, God doesn’t correct out of anger or frustration, but rather out of his rich love, patience, and desire for us to walk in the abundant life he’s prepared for us. Proverbs 3:12 states, “The Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” So, opening our hearts to Scripture like Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear,” is incredibly powerful. Pulling out the weeds of corrupting or negative talk will create space in the soil of our hearts for the nourishment of God’s Spirit, yielding the fruit of speech that does indeed “give grace.”
Open your heart today to the power of God’s word in tilling the soil of your heart. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you by speaking directly into your life using the words of Scripture. May your time in guided prayer be marked by the inner voice of the Spirit and transformation of the heart.
1. Ask the Spirit to reveal an area in which you need correction. Think about something in your life that is hurting your ability to develop good soil and thereby good fruit. Where are you not experiencing the abundant life Jesus died to give you?
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10
2. Now search for Scripture to use for meditation on the subject. If you feel that negative speech is hindering you, a verse like Ephesians 4:29 that we read earlier is a great start. If you feel like lust or another sin is hindering you, search for Scriptures addressing the sin you struggle with.
3. Meditate on the Scripture that you’ve found. Allow God to apply Scripture directly to your life.
When we align ourselves with God’s word, we lose the burden of living life apart from the anointing and filling of his Spirit. Giving up things like negative speech, lust, greed, and other sins creates space for that which brings life and abundance. Today, give over anything you feel is crowding your spiritual life, and allow God to fill you with the grace to live according to his word. His word is the perfect guide through every situation, useful for any occasion. Allow the Spirit to speak to you both through the Bible and directly. Till the soil of your heart to be receptive to all that he would do in and through you today.
Extended Reading: 2 Kings 22-23
Allow the Spirit to speak to you both through the Bible and directly. Till the soil of your heart to be receptive to all that he would do in and through you today.
]]>11/12/2025 | Tilling the Soil of Your Heart
As we make space to focus on the power of worship today, may God stir up each of our hearts to worship him with all we are and all we have.
As we continue this week-long focus on tilling the soil of our hearts, today we’re going to look at the power of worship in opening our hearts to receive all that God longs to give. For most of us, worship is something we engage in in a corporate setting. It’s a collective expression of adoration and relationship. But worship can be so much more than the songs we sing together. It’s a powerful avenue to softening our hearts towards God that we can, and should journey down every day.
As we make space to focus on the power of worship today, may God stir up each of our hearts to worship him with all we are and all we have.
“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”
Psalm 29:2 ESV
One of the most powerful ways to till the soil of the heart is through worship. Authentic worship is a powerful exchange of God pouring his love out on us and us giving him our hearts in return. In worshiping through music, our hearts naturally become soft and receptive to God’s love as we encounter his goodness and engage in adoration of the only One worthy of our affections.
God created music with an innate ability to affect us at our core. Music has the power to fill us with peace, joy, and anger; it can cause tears to well up in our eyes and even make the most mundane events beautiful. Martin Luther said, “Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.” By consistently engaging in worship through beautiful music, we provide a framework for the Holy Spirit both to till the soil of our hearts and to fill us with the seeds of God’s presence and perfect character.
The Bible is brimming with admonishment to worship through song. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Hebrews 12:28 says, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” Scripture is so clear about the importance of worship because God longs for us to be a people marked by consistent reminders of his unconditional love. He longs for us to live in response to his presence and plans rather than struggling through life by placing our trust in the world over him.
God longs to reveal his heart to you in worship. He longs to show up and meet you in your room, car, workplace, and house of worship. You were created to encounter God and engage in the cyclical act of giving and receiving love throughout your day. When you worship here on earth, you posture your heart towards eternity. Making the willful choice to give your affections to the One you will spend eternity with, you also discover your purpose for which you were made: to live in unhindered communion with your heavenly Father.
If you feel like the soil of your heart is hard, your life isn’t marked by the fruit of the Spirit or you can’t escape from a temptation—simply take some time and encounter God in worship. God’s presence is wholly available to you today. His love and grace are steadfast towards you. May your time in guided prayer be marked by the nearness and power of the Holy Spirit as you encounter the unconditional love of God.
1. Meditate on what Scripture says about worship through music and reflect on how beautiful music moves your heart.
2. Engage in worship in whatever way moves your heart. Receive the presence and love of your heavenly Father and give him your heart in response. Remember the importance of giving and receiving love in worship.
“I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” Psalm 13:6
3. Journal about the effects worship has on your heart. Reflecting on and writing down the things God is doing in our lives helps us to actualize that which is often left internal and forgotten.
Psalm 104:33 says, “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.” Until your life is devoted to worshipping God, you will never find total rest. When we give ourselves to the things of this world it repays us with stress, burden, and cares rather than unconditional love. It’s only in devoting yourself to God alone that you will find satisfaction and reciprocation for your love. Live today in full devotion to God. Do everything as an act of worship. And find that God repays your adoration ten fold by pouring out his wealth of affection over you. May today be filled with the presence and power of God as you give and receive love.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 5:1-21
May today be filled with the presence and power of God as you give and receive love.
]]>11/11/2025 | Tilling the Soil of Your Heart
May God remind us of all we have to be thankful for today as we make space to meet with him. And may our days be better as the result of taking just a few moments to be thankful for who we are, what we have, and all God has done for us as his beloved children.
As we continue this week focusing on tilling the soil of our hearts, today we’re going to look at the role of thankfulness in opening our hearts to receive all that God longs to give. While Scripture is filled with encouragements to be thankful, I think our own lived experience tells us that being thankful is essential in the pursuit of an abundant life. So may God remind us of all we have to be thankful for today as we make space to meet with him. And may our days be better as the result of taking just a few moments to be thankful for who we are, what we have, and all God has done for us as his beloved children.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”
Psalm 107:1 ESV
Thankfulness is one of the most powerful tools in making our hearts both soft to the seed of God’s word and filled with abundant joy. Thanksgiving aligns our thoughts and emotions with the reality of God’s goodness in a world wrought with lies about the character of God. It breeds joy and trust rather than entitlement and negativity. With each declaration of thankfulness you dig a shovel into the hard, rocky soil of your heart and churn it over until it becomes receptive to the fullness of God and filled with the fruit of the Spirit.
The Bible is laden with commands to be thankful. Ephesians 5:20 tells us to be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” But my favorite command on thankfulness is Psalm 107:1, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”
You see, it’s important to understand that the Bible doesn’t suggest that we give thanks, but rather commands us to always be thankful. And in God’s command he reveals his heart. We learn in Psalm 107 that our thankfulness is meant to be a response to the steadfast love of our heavenly Father. Thankfulness is meant to be the overflow of remembering, encountering and mulling over how our God is abundantly faithful and filled with unconditional love for us.
I used to read Scripture commanding me to be thankful and think, “Sorry God, I know I need to be more thankful. I know I’m so provided for and loved. I’m sorry for not thanking you more.” But after meditating on Psalm 107:1, I realized that my lack of thankfulness is a symptom of not spending enough time encountering God’s wonderful character rather than a core issue in and of itself. Tilling the soil of my heart through thankfulness requires that I set aside time to simply experience God’s goodness and love. Because everything he does is by grace, my natural response to his character will always be one of thanksgiving.
Take time today to reflect on the faithful and loving character of your heavenly Father. Allow his goodness to cause thankfulness to well up within you. May your time in guided prayer be filled with a transformational encounter with God and cultivate good soil that bears the fruit of an abundant life.
1. Reflect on the faithful and loving character of your heavenly Father.
2. Now respond to God’s character with thankfulness. Take Scripture and thank God for who he is. Look at your life and thank God for any good gifts he’s given you. Allow his goodness to stir up thankfulness within you.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1
3. What changed in your heart as you engaged in thanksgiving? Journal about the power of thankfulness. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see how God is at work in your life today and offer thanksgiving in response.
If you start to feel your heart begin to harden because of something that happens today, simply reflect on the goodness of God and give thanks. Negativity and sin have an incredibly harmful effect on our hearts. Decide to put away any form of slander, impurity and anything negative at all, and instead focus on the goodness of what God is doing. Choose to love today and align your thoughts and emotions with faith and trust in who God is. To walk in relationship with God is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit at all times. If you get off track for a bit, simply ask the Spirit to lead you back to the perspective and posture of heart he desires for you! God’s grace is abounding and powerful. He longs to walk in relationship with you all day today. May your day be filled with peace, joy and a passionate pursuit of bringing his Kingdom to earth all around you.
Extended Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
May your day be filled with peace, joy and a passionate pursuit of bringing his Kingdom to earth all around you.
]]>11/10/2025 | Tilling the Soil of Your Heart
May your heart become more responsive to the presence, will, and love of God this week as you cultivate good soil with the help of the Holy Spirit.
This week we’ll look at a vital spiritual practice to all those seeking to grow in God: tilling the soil of the heart. Jesus spoke in Matthew 13 of two different types of soil—hard and soft. God longs for us to till the soil of our hearts that we might be receptive to the seed of his word and bear fruit. May your heart become more responsive to the presence, will, and love of God this week as you cultivate good soil with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 13:23 ESV
Matthew 13:22-23 says,
The concept of good and bad soil is something Jesus’s listeners would have understood well. Planting in good or bad soil meant having food or going hungry. It meant having money or not. For their agrarian culture it was a matter of survival.
While Jesus’s parable might not have as direct a correlation to us, its principle remains just as relevant. We all have spiritual soil. Through our mindsets and postures of the heart we can receive the seed of God’s word which will in turn yield life-giving fruit. Or, we can allow the soil of our hearts to make us unreceptive to the powerful work God in our lives.
It’s incredibly important for us to understand that God never forces his desires on us. He waits patiently—beckoning us to open our hearts fully to him. He gently shows us his love, whispers his perfect plans to us, and waits for us to trust and surrender. With the grace of God, we can till the soil of our hearts, living receptively and surrendered to his loving kindness and perfect will. If we will cultivate a willing heart, God will mold and shape us into children free from the cares of the world and empowered to live Christ-like, fruitful lives.
Take time today to assess your own life. What parts of your heart are hard to God? Where do you feel unreceptive to his goodness? Where do you need to say yes to God today in a fresh, transformative way? God is calling you to a lifestyle of trust and surrender that he might lead you to green pastures and still waters. There is abundant life for you in store this week as you cultivate good soil. May the Holy Spirit help you look honestly at the posture of your heart today as you enter into a time of guided prayer.
1. Take some time to receive God’s presence. Open your heart to feel the peace and rest that comes from encountering him.
“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you ways in which you aren’t fully open to God. How are you not fully saying yes to God? In what ways are you living your life apart from the leadership and presence of God? Where don’t you fully trust him? Where aren’t you bearing the fruit of the Spirit?
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
3. Confess those things to God. Receive his love and forgiveness as you repent and turn away from hardness of heart. Spend time resting in God’s presence and experiencing the new found peace that comes from having your heart more surrendered and receptive to God.
Tilling our hearts into good soil is an important daily exercise. The more often you do it, the more you’ll realize the need to have good soil. Having our hearts fully open to God takes the mundane and makes it wonderful. It takes sunsets, conversations, prayers, work, and church and fills them with life, value, beauty, and joy. Take what you’ve learned today and continue to put it into practice. Choose to live a life positioned to receive all that God has in store for you. May your day be marked by the fruit of the Spirit.
Extended Reading: Matthew 13
Take what you’ve learned today and continue to put it into practice. Choose to live a life positioned to receive all that God has in store for you. May your day be marked by the fruit of the Spirit.
]]>11/9/2025 | Living for Heaven
May your heart only grow in anticipation and joy at the thought of his return after today.
As we conclude our week on living for heaven, today we’ll explore the return of Christ and what that means for us. How can you be best prepared for the return of Jesus? What does God expect of you as his child? May your heart only grow in anticipation and joy at the thought of his return after today.
Matthew 24:36 ESV
Have you ever counted down the days until you’ll be able to see a good friend? Have you ever felt anticipation and butterflies as the time separating you and a loved one grows smaller? I grew up knowing that I should feel this way about heaven, but if I am honest I never truly felt the same anticipation and longings for perfect communion with my Savior as I did for a dear friend.
I think the idea of an eternal worship service scared me. Having to worship God for all eternity sounded far worse than spending time hanging out with my best friends here on earth. The truth is I didn’t have a true, tangible revelation of God’s love for me. I didn’t have an understanding of the incredible, deep, overwhelming satisfaction I feel when my heart touches God’s heart in worship. I honestly didn’t know the person of Jesus enough to want to spend all of eternity with him. Jesus teaches in Matthew 25:1-13,
The day of Jesus’ return is approaching. Matthew 24:36 says, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Our Savior, the King of kings, will return with love in his heart for all those who have come to know him. The question before us today is this: are we like the five wise virgins who have prepared ourselves? Are our lamps burning with the intimacy of unveiled relationship with our Creator while here on the earth? Are we preparing for the return of our King by cultivating a lifestyle of love for both our bridegroom and others around us?
I’ve spent most of my life declaring I knew God by going to church, going on mission trips, saying the right things, and trying to do nothing wrong. My actions represented fear and a desire for inclusion in the Christian culture more than actual love and desire for Christ himself. Take time in guided prayer to truly analyze your heart. There is abundant grace today for wherever you find yourself in relation to your Savior. Be honest with yourself and look at how you feel about heaven. Are you prepared for the return of the King or living for the earth over heaven? Is the oil of relationship with Jesus in your lamp or are your fumes running out with the cares and pursuits of the world? May the Holy Spirit draw each of us into greater depths of intimacy with Jesus until the day our bridegroom returns.
1. Meditate on the parable of the ten virgins. Allow Scripture to stir your heart toward deeper relationship with Jesus.
2. Are you prepared for the return of Jesus? Truly look at your heart. What longings are driving you? Are you living for heaven or pursuing the things of the world? Is the oil of intimacy with Jesus in your lamp or are you running on the fumes of cultural Christianity?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into greater depths of relationship with Jesus. Ask him to reveal to you the depths of God’s love and grace.
God has a plan to guide you to a path of greater relationship with him if you will simply choose to follow his leadership. If you will daily say yes to him over the world, you will begin to feel a fire growing in your heart for Jesus’ return. Once we experience the relationship with God we were created for, nothing else truly satisfies. His love is greater, purer, more real, and more powerful than anything else we will ever experience. Choose today to follow the leadership of the Spirit and grow in intimacy with the King who laid down his life for you to know his love.
Extended Reading: Matthew 25 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Matthew 14-28.
Choose today to follow the leadership of the Spirit and grow in intimacy with the King who laid down his life for you to know his love.
]]>11/8/2025 | Living for Heaven
We are so easily bogged down by the weight of the world, and today God wants to lift our chin and point our eyes upward to things unseen, the things of heaven.
As we begin to wrap up our week on living for heaven, today we’re going to explore what it means to have our perspectives shift toward the things of God rather than the things of earth. We are so easily bogged down by the weight of the world, and today God wants to lift our chin and point our eyes upward to things unseen, the things of heaven.
2 Corinthians 4:18 ESV
We have been trained through the prideful perspective of many that we are only to look to and believe that which we can see and physically experience here on earth. We’re told that there couldn’t possibly be more to life than what we’ve seen because the unseen can’t be experienced in the physical. What a self-centered perspective! Why do we have to know and be able to presently experience all there is in order for it to be real? Why are we, with our limited capacities, the ultimate judge in the debate of what is real and important? In Ephesians 1:18-20, Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus praying,
“Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened . . . .” What does it mean for our hearts to have eyes? And what does it mean for those eyes to be enlightened? The truth is that all of us are given spiritual eyes. All of us know and experience things that can’t be physically seen. We’ve all received and given some type of love. We’ve all had an intuition or belief that couldn’t be physically proven. And as believers, we’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit who longs to guide us to a perspective that far exceeds the span of this world.
2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” Our Savior is calling us to a life lived for that which is unseen: the eternal. He is calling us out of the cycle of worldly pursuit into a greater calling of eternal significance. To live for heaven is to cast off that which is fleeting and temporary and seek that which can only be found with our heavenly Father.
Take time in guided prayer to look to that which is unseen. Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten the eyes of your heart. Ask him to give you spiritual insight into your own life and the lives of others that you might call all those around you to live for heaven. Cast off those pursuits which tie you down to this world, and ask the Spirit to guide you into a lifestyle of seeking the kingdom of God above all else. May you discover the abundant life available to you in the Spirit as you worship your Father in both spirit and truth today.
1. Meditate on the importance of looking to that which is unseen. Allow Scripture to fill your heart with a longing to live for heaven.
“We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any pursuits which are solely fleeting and temporary. Write down any ways in which you have not been looking to the unseen enough.
3. Ask the Spirit to enlighten the eyes of your heart that you might experience all that God has for you today.
Looking to that which is unseen is the door through which we experience the fullness of God’s presence available to us on the earth. As Jesus taught us, “God is spirit,” and to truly experience him we must cultivate a lifestyle of opening the eyes of our hearts. Our Father longs to lead us to a lifestyle of continual and transformational encounters with him. He longs to meet us at the doors of our hearts every morning that we might let him in to love us, speak to us, fill us, and transform us. May looking to that which is unseen guide you into deeper and more impactful encounters with the living God.
Extended Reading: 2 Corinthians 4 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 2 Corinthians.
May looking to that which is unseen guide you into deeper and more impactful encounters with the living God.
]]>11/7/2025 | Living for Heaven
Open your heart and mind to God’s will for your life, and allow him to fill you with excitement and joy today.
As we continue in our week on living for heaven, today we’ll explore what it means to see Jesus’s prayer that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven fulfilled. God desires his kingdom to invade the earth, and he wants to do it through us, his people. Open your heart and mind to God’s will for your life, and allow him to fill you with excitement and joy today.
Matthew 6:9-10 ESV
In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus taught us to pray:
To seek God’s kingdom coming to earth is to declare our great need for God’s presence, provision, love, and redemption. We have been given a mandate of the highest importance from our King of kings. We are to carry the kingdom of God with us everywhere we go and release this kingdom through everything we do. We are called by Jesus to bring heaven to earth.
In Matthew 16:19 Jesus tells his disciples, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” What would it look like for the people of God to release the kingdom of heaven everywhere they go? What would it look like for even just a few of us to truly say yes to the calling of God on our lives to live for more than just worldly pleasure and comfort, to step outside of ourselves and live with an eternal perspective?
You are made to make an eternal impact far greater than you can imagine. God has placed within you keys to the doors of heaven, and he longs to use you to release his love, grace, peace, mercy, and redemption to others in desperate need of him. He longs to call you out from the daily grind of life into a higher pursuit of seeing the earth transformed by his goodness.
Seeing heaven come to earth all starts with declaring your need of God. It all starts with drawing a circle around yourself and allowing God to transform you from the inside out. You are not called to minister to others in your own strength. You are not called to figure out how to best love people. You aren’t even called to muster up a desire to bring God’s kingdom to earth. All the weight of eternal impact rests on the shoulders of your heavenly Father. All that is required of you is to take time to let God love you, fill you with the desires of his heart, and follow his leadership into the fulfillment of those desires.
God wants to take your five loaves of bread and two fish and multiply it to feed the souls of thousands. Say yes to partnering with the Holy Spirit, and allow God to use you to change the world by bringing his kingdom to earth through simple acts of love and obedience. Take time in guided prayer to allow God’s word and his Spirit to teach you, empower you, and release you into the calling of bringing heaven to earth today.
1. Meditate on the calling to bring God’s kingdom to earth. Allow Scripture to lay a foundation for powerful works of God’s Spirit to pour out through your life.
2. What keys has God given you to release his kingdom? What spiritual gifts has he given you? What ways do you best love people? How has he used you in the past to reveal his love?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to bring heaven to earth today. Ask him to fill you up that you might pour out. Ask him to tear down any walls that would keep you from loving him and others well.
Being used by God to bring heaven to earth is meant to be a part of the normal, daily Christian life. We are called to more than simply working a job, going to school, hanging out with friends, and trying to enjoy life. No matter what job you work, God wants to bring the kingdom to earth through you. No matter who your friends are or where you find yourself, God wants to bring the kingdom to earth everywhere around you. If you will say yes every day to the adventure of being used by God, your life will begin to take on a whole new purpose so much more fulfilling than anything you’ve previously experienced. May you live to see God’s kingdom come to earth through your life today.
Extended Reading: Luke 9 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Luke 1-9.
May you live to see God’s kingdom come to earth through your life today.
]]>11/6/2025 | Living for Heaven
God doesn’t want you to even go one day without knowing how truly loved you are.
Every single one of us has an innate need to know we’re loved. And yet, so many of us go too many days wondering or unsure of the love our heavenly Father has for us. Today as we continue our week on living for heaven, we’re going to dive into our need to be loved and to love others deeply in order to be successful in this pursuit toward heaven. God doesn’t want you to even go one day without knowing how truly loved you are.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”
John 15:9 ESV
We belong to a kingdom built not by the blood, sweat, and tears of servants but by the wounds and scars of a loving and sacrificial King. As disciples of Jesus we have been granted access into a lifetime of giving and receiving unconditional love. Our Savior willingly laid down his life that we might know the love of our heavenly Father throughout this life and all eternity. John 15:9-13 says,
To live for heaven is to abide in a lifetime of constant and tangible love from the Father so that we might live healed and able to pour out genuine love to others. This life is all about love. Jesus boiled down all the commandments into loving God and loving people. If we truly desire to live in obedience to God’s commands, we must live with a heavenly perspective. 1 John 4:7 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” To live for the world is to maintain an attitude of selfishness and pursue fleeting and insincere affections. To live for heaven is to daily say yes to being born of God and to pursue knowing the Father. To know our Creator is to know love itself. And when we experience the love of our Father, we will be transformed into instruments of his love for all those around us.
God longs to give us a heavenly perspective today that we might receive the fullness of his love and in return love him and others. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” Living for heaven starts with letting God love us. It starts with carving out space in our daily routine to rest in the knowledge of our Father’s love and allow it to transform, redeem, and heal us. We all carry wounds that need to be touched by the love of our Father.
It’s only after being loved by God that we can truly love others. Without encounters with the heart of the Father, we are incapable of living selflessly. Pride is the natural state of all those who aren’t consistently encountering the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. But through God’s grace and receiving a heavenly perspective, we can step outside ourselves and the fleshly desires of this world and truly love others with the heart of God.
Take time in guided prayer to let your heavenly Father love you today. Let go of any roots of pride that are keeping you from loving him and others. And ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into a lifestyle of loving others with the love you’ve been shown in Christ Jesus.
1. Take time to receive the love of your heavenly Father. Meditate on Scripture that will fill you with the knowledge of his love. Ask him to reveal his nearness and wait on his calming and peaceful presence.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” John 15:9
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you anything that is keeping you from living a lifestyle of being loved and loving others.
3. How would the Holy Spirit guide you into a lifestyle of loving others today? In what ways have you been loved so that you can turn around and love others? Who needs grace and forgiveness today? Who needs a loving friend or a kind stranger? Who needs to hear the message of reconciliation and hope that you’ve found in Jesus?
For the majority of my relationship with God, I haven’t always known what it meant to truly experience God’s love. I didn’t know that God could tangibly affect my emotions, mood, purpose, and perspective with his presence. It was only once I began to consistently make time and space to let God love me that my life began to be transformed and healed and I began to walk in freedom. It was only once I began to consistently encounter God’s heart that I was filled with a longing to love others. There is nothing more important or foundational to this life than experiencing the love of your heavenly Father. May you discover the wealth of affections your Father has for you as you carve out space to encounter him throughout your day today.
Extended Reading: John 15 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 13-21.
May you discover the wealth of affections your Father has for you as you carve out space to encounter him throughout your day today.
]]>11/5/2025 | Living for Heaven
As we continue to discover what it means to live for heaven, today we look at what it means to be marked by joy.
What would it be like to have unhindered, abundant joy in the midst of all circumstances? The beauty of the joy God longs to give is that it’s not fleeting or temporary. It is sustaining, strong and true. As we continue to discover what it means to live for heaven, today we look at what it means for us to be marked by joy.
“The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.”
Proverbs 10:28 ESV
C.S. Lewis said, “All joy emphasizes our pilgrim status; always reminds, beckons, awakens desire. Our best havings are wantings.” As pilgrims on the journey to boundless communion with our heavenly Father, we are called to be marked by a sustaining and transcendent joy. Our God is a God of joy. He is the creator of fun and the giver of abundant life. He longs for his children to taste and see his goodness (Psalm 34:8). He longs for us to open our hearts, cast off the cares of this world, and receive the joy that comes from living for heaven.
Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Proverbs 10:28 says, “The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.” We serve a joyful King. There is no greater joy than living in the fullness of relationship available to us in Christ. To live for heaven is to throw off whatever weight would entangle us to the depravity of this world and seek sustaining joy that comes down from heaven to fill our hearts.
Our Father cares deeply about the concerns of this world. He weeps over the lost. He becomes angry over the works of the enemy. He is deeply saddened when we choose the fleeting and unsatisfying ways of the world over his fulfilling and perfect plans. But in the midst of all his emotions, he is joyfully expectant for the age that is to come. He sees the depravity and wounds and celebrates that one day soon it will all be redeemed. He is elated over the day that “he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). And there is sustaining joy available to us this side of heaven if we will allow him to fill us with his perspective.
James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” If we will allow the Lord to redeem the trials and testing we endure in this life, we will begin to bear the fruit of joy in the midst of any circumstance. Unshakable joy is our portion. The heart of our Father is to make us a people marked by the joy of heaven. Take time today in guided prayer to throw off whatever is keeping you from experiencing the joy of the Lord. Rest in his presence and search out his heart. May you be a child marked by the joy of your heavenly Father today.
1. Meditate on the importance and availability of joy to you. Allow Scripture to fill your heart with a longing to pursue continual joy.
2. What is keeping you from experiencing joy? What is weighing you down today? Ask for the Lord’s help in throwing off that which is robbing you of his joy. Ask him to guide you to a path of unshakable joy today.
3. Take time to rest in the presence of your Father and search out his heart. Ask him to share with you his perspective for your life. Ask him to help you care about only the things he cares about.
C.S Lewis is also quoted as saying, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” We are not to be flippant about our joy. To be marked by joy is to allow the Holy Spirit to bear fruit in our lives. When we have genuine joy in the midst of trials and troubles, we declare to the world the unchanging and tangible goodness of our heavenly Father. When we meet challenges head-on with joy, we declare with our attitudes the hope we have for the age that is to come. Pursue joy wholeheartedly today and declare with your life the principles of God’s kingdom so that others might come to restored relationship with their Creator.
Extended Reading: Psalm 33 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
Pursue joy wholeheartedly today and declare with your life the principles of God’s kingdom so that others might come to restored relationship with their Creator.
]]>11/4/2025 | Living for Heaven
May the hope of eternal life be an anchor for you all of your days.
As we continue our week on living for heaven, today we look at the concept of hope. Hope is a necessity in this day, and God wants to restore your sense of hope and give you a fresh dose today. May the hope of eternal life be an anchor for you all of your days.
Romans 15:13 ESV
The world is a fearful and unsatisfying place without the hope of eternal life with Jesus. Apart from the expectation that comes from the hope of heaven, our world is without cause for peace, celebration, or joy. There is life in hope. There is joy in hope. There is purpose in hope. Hope is to be at the foundation of all our decisions, emotions, and pursuits. Hope fills us with joy in the midst of trial and perseverance in the midst of failure. Hope guides us to abundant life.
Romans 8:24-25 says, “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” We have the promise of eternal life in perfect, unveiled relationship with our Creator and Sustainer. The King of kings and Lord of lords waits patiently for the final redemption and restoration of all things (Revelation 21:1). He longs for the day when all pain, tears, disappointment, separation, and sin will end for good (Revelation 21:4). And he longs to fill us with the same hope and expectation he has within himself.
Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Our heavenly Father longs to make us a people of hope. He longs for his followers to live a lifestyle that declares to the world, “This life is not all there is.” He longs to fill us with a heavenly perspective that we might throw off pursuits of worldly pleasure and live for eternity with him.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The hope of eternal life with our Father is to be the guiding light set ever before us. Where have you set your hope? Where do the treasures of your heart lie? Placing our hope in heaven secures the treasures of our hearts with our heavenly Father for all of eternity. In contrast, when we treasure the things of the world, that which we accumulate will pass away as quickly as it came.
Take time in guided prayer to allow the Lord to fill you with a fresh hope for the age that is to come. Allow your perspectives to shift in light of the glory of an eternity spent in total communion with the Creator. May the hope of heaven guide you to a lifestyle of storing up your treasures, and therefore your heart, with your heavenly Father.
1. Meditate on the importance of hope. Allow Scripture to shift your perspectives and pursuits to living for heaven.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
2. Where have you placed your hope in the things of the world? What have you been looking to in order to satisfy your longings that is fleeting and temporary?
3. Ask the Lord to help you place your hope in heaven alone. Choose to live your life for your heavenly Father instead of seeking worldly success and satisfaction. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you ways in which you can rid yourself of the world and receive the hope of heaven.
May Romans 5:2-5 be your anthem of hope today:
Extended Reading: Romans 15 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Romans 5-16.
May Romans 5:2-5 be your anthem of hope today.
]]>11/3/2025 | Living For Heaven
May your heart be set aflame by the joy and purpose of living out God’s command to live for heaven.
As children of God, we have been given a new home and a new hope. This week we’re going to take time every day to look at what it means to live for heaven. May your heart be set aflame by the joy and purpose of living out God’s command to live for heaven.
Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV
Of all the wonders our Creator provides us, boundless and unadulterated relationship with Jesus vastly exceeds them all. Jesus is the best thing we will ever know. His love restores, satisfies, transforms, and heals. His grace empowers and brings transcendent peace. His nearness resolves the great fears of our hearts. And his Kingship calls us to a right lifestyle of living for heaven rather than a pursuit of that which is worldly and fleeting. Colossians 3:1-4 says,
You and I have limited space in our hearts. When we choose to fill our lives with the things of the world, we crowd out that which will fill us with pure and abounding relationship with Jesus. It’s for this reason Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
As disciples of Jesus, we must learn to lead different lives than others around us. Instead of looking to others as our standard for what is good or right, we must look to Jesus. Instead of setting the bar for our lives by looking at successful people, even successful Christians, we must set our bar at living like Jesus. Jesus valued relationship with the Father above all else. He valued obedience to the Father’s will above all other pursuits. Every breath he breathed was done to the glory of God the Father and in fulfillment of his plans, and you and I are to do the same.
To live for heaven is to throw off every weight that would hinder us from pursuing the fullness of relationship with Jesus. To live for heaven is to declare with our thoughts, actions, and emotions that Jesus truly is Lord of lords and King of kings and that he is worthy of our lives. To live for heaven is to make as much room in our hearts for Jesus as possible. Live for heaven today and discover the wealth of relationship and satisfaction available to you only through the sole pursuit of Jesus.
1. Meditate on the principle of serving two masters. Allow Scripture to stir up your heart to pursue relationship with Jesus above all else. Renew your mind to what truly has value in this life.
2. What things of the world have you been pursuing? In what ways has the world crowded out space that was meant solely for the things of God?
3. Ask the Lord to lead you to a lifestyle of living for heaven. Ask him to give you a vision of what it looks like to pursue relationship with him above all else. Commit to following his leadership to paths of righteousness and relationship and turn away from worldly cares and pursuits.
Living with a heavenly perspective takes time spent in God’s presence, studying his word. It’s unnatural to live in the world but not of the world (John 15:19). There are few to no people we encounter in our daily routine who truly live out this command. If we are going to fully pursue the abundant life to which we’ve been called, we must choose to live differently. If we are going to truly live for heaven, we must allow the Lord to daily renew our perspective on what matters. The life available to us through pursuing Jesus alone may be countercultural, but it is filled with adventure, wonder, satisfaction, and purpose. May you be filled with the courage to throw off the burdens of the world and live solely for Jesus today.
Extended Reading: 1 John 2 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1-3 John.
May you be filled with the courage to throw off the burdens of the world and live solely for Jesus today.
]]>11/2/2025 | Peace
In a world full of principles like “an eye for an eye,” how can Christians be set apart and different? Today we’ll dive into that and more.
As we end our week on transcendent peace, today we’ll explore what it means to be a person of peace. Jesus refers to his people as “peacemakers.” Would you say that title accurately describes you? What kind of emotion does that word stir up? In a world full of principles like “an eye for an eye,” how can Christians be set apart and different? Today we’ll dive into that and more.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Matthew 5:9 ESV
One of the highest callings of God on the lives of his children is to be peacemakers. This world has no reason to have peace or give peace. While people are at war within themselves, striving to satisfy longings that can only be satisfied in God, we cannot expect them to bring peace around them. It’s for this reason that you and I are called to make peace at all costs.
Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” To be a child of God is to make peace with everyone around you, regardless of how they treat you. Jesus sought peace at every turn. Even his turning of the tables was a cry for peace between man and his Father in heaven. The passionate condemnation of sin in Scripture exists to rid that which separates us from the peace of God. The fight for heavenly peace in the lives of men is a cause worth sacrifice, unfair treatment, and even persecution. For example, Scripture teaches us in 1 Peter 3:9-11,
This world has no defense for unmerited blessing. It has no defense for the people of God loving unconditionally. When we choose not to repay evil for evil or revile when we’ve been reviled, we bring heaven to earth around us. No man or woman can live a truly peaceful life apart from the help of the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-42,
The next time someone does evil to you, remember that it was us who did evil to Jesus. The next time someone “slaps you on the right cheek,” remember that it was us who shouted, “Crucify him!” when Jesus had done nothing wrong. It was our sin that put Jesus on the cross, and yet he willingly sacrificed his life that we might know peace. It’s time for the people of God to choose to love others as Christ has loved us. It’s time for us to lay down our rights in this life that others might come to know the love we’ve been shown. May you be filled with the courage to love unconditionally today as you encounter God’s heart to fashion you into a peacemaker.
1. Meditate on the call to be a peacemaker.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9
2. What consistently keeps you from being a person of peace? What sense of justice or fairness keeps you from turning the other cheek?
“Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Psalm 34:14
3. Meditate on the actions of Jesus when he was unfairly treated. Why didn’t he fight back? Ask the Holy Spirit to heal any wounds you have that keep you from loving unconditionally. Ask him to make you like Jesus that you would love people better today and make peace around you.
Scripture never said that making peace would be easy. It also never said that it would come naturally. Being a peacemaker only comes from living out of a revelation of who Jesus is and who we are in him. It only comes from valuing God’s heart over our own worldliness. There are not some of us who are peacemakers and others who are fighters. There are not some of us who are just meek and mild and others who aren’t. We are all called to make peace. We are all called to turn the other cheek. We are all called to search out the will of God for our lives and choose his ways over our own or the world’s. To choose to make peace is to live a lifestyle filled with the Spirit and all his fruit. May you abide in your heavenly Father today and experience the abundant life that comes from making peace all around you.
Extended Reading: 1 Peter 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1 Peter.
May you abide in your heavenly Father today and experience the abundant life that comes from making peace all around you.
]]>11/1/2025 | Peace
May you grow in your desire for closeness with the Holy Spirit today.
As we begin to wrap up our week on transcendent peace, today we’ll explore growing in relationship with the Holy Spirit, and how he can help us walk in peace. As we’ve learned this week, connectedness with God is crucial to peace in all circumstances, and today we’ll dive deeper into those thoughts. May you grow in your desire for closeness with the Holy Spirit today.
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
Ephesians 4:30 ESV
Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” In the Holy Spirit, we have relationship with a God who feels, has joy and grief, is happy and unhappy, and has real thoughts and desires for the way we live our lives. The Spirit longs for us to live in communion with him, forsaking that which grieves his heart that we might experience the abundant life that only comes through wholehearted surrender to him. And it’s because he has specific desires for the ways we should live that we have the potential to grieve his heart.
If we are to ever experience all that’s available to us in this life, we must learn to pay attention to the feelings, thoughts, and desires of the God within us. We must seek and find peace in our spirits that comes from the peace of the Holy Spirit. Scripture makes a powerful and direct connection between obeying God’s word and peace. Psalm 119:165 says, “Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.” Isaiah 32:17 says, “And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.” And Psalm 34:14 says, “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
The desires of the Holy Spirit for our lives are perfectly aligned with Scripture. In fact, the Spirit longs to bring revelation to our hearts about how to apply and obey Scripture in our everyday lives. He longs to apply his words to our circumstances, situations, and thoughts that we might enjoy all the abundance that comes from obedience to God’s word.
It’s vital that we as believers living in union with God learn to take notice of how he feels, what he thinks, and where he’s leading us. We must grow in our knowledge of how he speaks to us and leads us. If you feel unrest in your spirit that doesn’t seem to make sense, take time to ask God if he’s speaking. If you feel weird about doing something, saying something, or thinking something, take a minute to ask God if he’s trying to tell you something.
The use of Scripture is incredibly important in growing in peace with the Holy Spirit. It’s so much easier to discern his thoughts and feelings if we have Scripture in our minds and hearts for him to point to. The greatest way to confirm that you are discerning the will of God is to ask him to bring back to mind a Scripture that goes along with his leading. God will never tell you to do something contrary to Scripture. He will never lead you in a direction that is not in perfect alignment with the words he’s so perfectly given you in the Bible.
Learning to discern how the Holy Spirit thinks, feels, and leads is an absolutely crucial part of experiencing peace. Engage in the process of growing in relationship with the Spirit. Take notice of ways in which he might be speaking. Ask him to grow you in your ability to think, feel, and act in union with his will. You have a fully loving, powerful, faithful, and able God dwelling within you. May you experience the fullness of life that comes from peace between you and the Holy Spirit.
1. Meditate on Scripture about the Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you revelation about who he is through the words he’s written.
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal his nearness to you. Ask him to teach you to discern how he feels, what he’s thinking and where he’s leading.
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.” 1 Corinthians 6:19
3. Take time to rest in God’s presence. Ask him whatever questions you have in your heart and let him teach you.
The Holy Spirit will never force his will, thoughts, or desires on us. He quietly beckons us into deeper relationship with him. But once we ask him for his will, he freely gives it. Learn to quiet your heart before him. Take time throughout your day to ask him how he feels about what you’re doing. Make space for him to guide and direct you to the heart of the Father and his will for your life. May you be blessed with a substantial peace and joy today as you learn to live in obedience to the Spirit.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 4 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Galatians.
Make space for him to guide and direct you to the heart of the Father and his will for your life. May you be blessed with a substantial peace and joy today as you learn to live in obedience to the Spirit.
]]>10/31/2025 | Peace
Today we’ll explore why that might be and how to walk in transcendent peace untouched by the circumstances of this world.
What would it look like to have peace in all circumstances? I honestly can’t imagine anything better. We see promises in Scripture of this peace at all times, but so few of us experience that. Why is that the case? Today we’ll explore why that might be and how to walk in transcendent peace untouched by the circumstances of this world.
2 Thessalonians 3:16 ESV
Verses telling of the peace available to us in all circumstances are some of the most encouraging and powerful truths of Scripture. God longs for us to be children marked by the peace of our Father. He longs for us to have peace in the good and bad times because he remains faithful and good, always. He longs for us to be so founded in him that this world can’t shake us.
You and I have every reason to live with the stresses and cares of the world save one: God dwells within us. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 says, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” We serve the Lord of peace. The Holy Spirit who dwells within us is wholly peaceful. And Galatians 5:22 tells us that he will bear the fruit of peace in our lives if we simply live in continual communion with him.
Circumstances begin to rob us of our peace the minute we choose to live as if God isn’t within us. Trials and tribulations will become all-consuming if we allow them to. You see, we are not to live with our physical eyes as our sole source of truth. God has granted us spiritual eyes and the ability to have faith in his faithfulness and goodness regardless of our circumstances. He’s given us the ability to choose living in union with him as our foundation. We are not alone. We are never alone. The God who authored Scripture, knows all of eternity, raised Christ from the dead, and empowered the disciples dwells within us, always.
You will only live with peace in this life to the level that you live out of the union you have with God. In every situation, God is with you, ready and willing to lead you, empower you, sustain you, and fill you with peace in response to your trust. John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Peace is our portion. And this peace is not given as the world gives, based on the fickle nature of man and the ever-changing opinion of the world. Heavenly peace finds its source solely in the unchanging nature of our good and loving heavenly Father.
You and I are commanded by Jesus, “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). We must take captive our emotions and ground them in the unshakable nature of God. We must allow a direct connection from our hearts to the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, letting him speak to us, fill us, and direct our every moment.
The peace of God transcends anything we will experience on this earth. If we place our lives in the capable hands of our heavenly Father, we can trust that his perfect, pleasing plans will be done in our lives. Take time today to ground your peace in the unshakable nature of your heavenly Father. Take time to turn your eyes away from the world as your source of peace and set them instead on union with God. May the Holy Spirit reveal his nearness to you in mighty and powerful ways today as you open your heart and receive his loving presence.
1. Meditate on the peace available to you in all circumstances.
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16
2. In what ways do you look to the world for your peace? Who or what holds the reigns on your emotions and peace?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal his nearness to you. Ask him to help you discover the union you already have with him. Take your eyes off the things of the world and establish your peace in God alone.
“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4
Learning to receive our peace from God alone is a process. When we’ve lived with the world as our emotional source it takes time to ground ourselves in God. But this is a process worth doing. God has unshakable peace in store for you every day regardless of the circumstances you face. He has love, joy, and steadfastness available to you in every trial and tribulation. Look to God as your source today and discover the abundant life available to you in him alone.
Extended Reading: John 14 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 13-21.
Look to God as your source today and discover the abundant life available to you in him alone.
]]>10/30/2025 | Peace
Today we’ll dive into how live in harmony with others and experience the peace of heaven in our friendships, families and work lives.
For many, relationships can often be the greatest source of joy, or the quickest thing to rob us of peace. As we seek to walk in transcendent peace, it’s vital we seek peace in life’s relationships. It is vital we take the path of humility and consider others more significant than ourselves. Today we’ll dive into how to live in harmony with others and experience the peace of heaven in our friendships, families and work lives.
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.”
Colossians 3:15 ESV
Relationships are one of the parts of life that can most rob us of our peace in the Holy Spirit. Our lives are all in some way impacted by one another. If I am counting on someone and they don’t come through, it can profoundly impact my circumstances. If I truly love someone and they wound, neglect, or reject me, it can undoubtedly hinder my ability to enjoy the peace of God. But God offers us peace in the midst of all circumstances. Jesus maintained peace in the Holy Spirit in the midst of those he loved shouting, “Crucify him!” (Luke 23:21). May God lead us today to a path of continual peace founded on his love and truth.
Colossians 3:12-15 describes a road map to powerful, transcendent peace in our relationships. Scripture says,
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
The pathway to peace with others begins with choosing to die to yourself. We are completely unable to control anyone. Each person has a will and the power to love us or reject us. Even believers will consistently fail you. If the people of God could stand in the presence of God incarnate and shout, “Crucify him,” you can know others will reject you. But when you choose to continually humble yourself before others and serve, you will be filled with the “peace of Christ” (Colossians 3:15). When we choose to put on “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” regardless of the actions of others, we position ourselves to continually bear the fruit of peace (Colossians 3:12).
We find our greatest example of this in the person of Jesus. Just as he could ask forgiveness from his heavenly Father by saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” as the soldiers who nailed him to the cross gambled for his clothing, you will have a supernatural peace when you choose to live selflessly in love (Luke 23:34). The Holy Spirit will fill you with peace in your relationships when you choose to live like Jesus.
Take time today to put on a “compassionate [heart], kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12). Choose to die to yourself and live for Christ. And watch as the Holy Spirit anoints you with the fruit of peace and love to live like Jesus did. May your relationships be filled with patience today as you live in obedience to the word of your loving heavenly Father.
1. Meditate on Scripture’s command to die to yourself and live like Jesus.
2. What would it be like to live in a consistent posture of love and humility rather than in response to the actions of others? What sort of peace would you feel if your emotions and actions were less founded on others and more based on the unconditional love and commands of God?
3. Choose to live today in humility and service. Decide to die to yourself and live in total surrender to the Holy Spirit.
“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14
As you seek peace with others in your midst, may Paul’s exhortation in Colossians 3:12-15 be at the center of your heart and mind:
Extended Reading: Colossians 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Colossians.
As you seek peace with others in your midst, may Paul’s exhortation in Colossians 3:12-15 be at the center of your heart and mind.
]]>10/29/2025 | Peace
Today we’ll dive a little deeper into those biblical concepts, and I hope we each walk away better equipped to face life’s trials with the transcendent peace of God.
Today we will explore how to have a peaceful thought-life, as we continue our week on transcendent peace. The Bible speaks very specifically about our minds, and how important it is to have control over our thoughts. Today we’ll dive a little deeper into those biblical concepts, and I hope we each walk away better equipped to face life’s trials with the transcendent peace of God.
“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
Romans 8:6 ESV
Your thought-life can either be a place of peace and life or a source of immense internal struggle and despair. It’s our thoughts that the enemy tries to affect with half-truths and outright lies. It’s our thoughts that are the gateway to our emotions and actions. And it’s our thoughts our loving heavenly Father longs to influence, redeem, and renew that we might experience everlasting peace.
Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Do you long for perfect peace today? Do you long to keep your mind stayed on the inexpressible excellencies of Jesus? It all starts with trust. When we allow our minds to stray into worry, doubt, fear, reservation, and lies, it is because we don’t trust that God is who he says he is or that he will do what he says he’ll do.
If we truly trusted God with our relationships, we wouldn’t spend so much energy mulling over conversations that could have been better or different. If we truly trusted God as the perfect provider of our finances and possessions, we wouldn’t spend so much time overwhelming ourselves with all the different financial opportunities available, or not available, to us. If we truly trusted God with our futures, we wouldn’t devote so much of our minds to playing out every scenario that could possibly happen. And if we truly trusted God that we are loved, liked, enjoyable, and wholly found, we wouldn’t spend so much time thinking of ways we can impress others, work our way into a clique, make others laugh, or win the affections of another.
Romans 8:6 says, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Where you set your mind today is your decision. The Spirit is fully available, ready and willing to lead you to abounding joy and peace. And the enemy is prowling like a lion seeking to devour your thoughts that they might breed emotional and even physical death (1 Peter 5:8).
There is a battle for your thoughts happening every moment. But greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). God has a perfect plan to lead you away from thoughts that plague you into life and joy in the Holy Spirit. Trust him as your good and loving Father. Trust that he is always with you. Place your faith wholeheartedly in him because he is perfectly faithful and able. He has plans for an incredible hope and future for you if you will simply trust him and set your mind on him as often and as passionately as you can. May you find peace today in your thoughts through a powerful revelation of God’s abiding love.
1. Meditate on the importance of placing your trust in God. Allow Scripture to stir up your desire to have a peaceful thought-life.
2. What thoughts plague you the most? What thoughts steal the peace available to you through trusting God?
3. Place your trust fully in God today for whatever specifically troubles you and receive the peace that comes from setting your mind on your good and loving heavenly Father.
Our thoughts truly are a powerful gauge of our level of trust. Thoughts don’t run themselves. We think the way we do for a reason. When we begin to take captive and evaluate our thoughts, we embark on an important process of renewing our minds. Take notice of the way you think today. Take notice of what troubles you and what brings you peace and joy. Open your heart and ask the Holy Spirit to help you renew your mind and place your trust in him that you might truly have peace. May your thoughts be marked by the nearness and love of Jesus.
Extended Reading: Psalm 37 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May your thoughts be marked by the nearness and love of Jesus.
]]>10/28/2025 | Peace
May we learn today how to tap into the peace of God that’s so ever-readily available to us as Christians.
As we continue our week on transcendent peace, we’ll look today at where peace comes from. Peace isn’t something we can muster up in and of ourselves. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit of God. And thankfully, we have God’s Spirit living inside of us. May we learn today how to tap into the peace of God that’s so ever-readily available to us as Christians.
Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
Living with true peace can only be done by allowing the Holy Spirit to bear the fruit of his presence in our lives. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” How incredible is it that we can have peace in this world through relationship with the Holy Spirit! The fact that true peace is solely a fruit of the Spirit takes the weight of peace off our shoulders.
It’s impossible to bear the fruit of peace apart from connectivity to God. It’s impossible to force peace in our lives because it’s impossible for us to bear fruit in our own strength. John 15:4 says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” Peace is the fruit of abiding in the Holy Spirit. It’s the fruit of surrendering our perspectives, relationships, words, actions, thoughts, and emotions to him.
If we are living without peace, it is because we have yet to allow the Holy Spirit to fill an area of our life with his presence. If our thoughts aren’t marked by the peace of God’s truth, it’s because we have yet to allow the Spirit to renew our minds with the Scripture he authored. If we’re without peace in our relationships, it’s because we haven’t allowed him to reveal to us his heart for ourselves or others. If the opinion of man continually robs us of peace, it’s because we haven’t centered our lives around his opinion of us. The list continues but the point remains the same. To live with peace is to allow the Spirit to permeate every area of life with his powerful, loving, and transformative presence.
Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” May you choose to seek the kingdom of God above all else today. May you allow the Holy Spirit to bring heaven to earth, not only in your life but everywhere you go today. Seek a greater measure of communion with the Holy Spirit today and enjoy the fruit of peace that comes from his nearness.
1. Meditate on the nature of peace as a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.” Galatians 5:22
2. Where is your life not marked by the fruit of the Spirit? Where is your life not filled with the peace of his presence?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into a deeper level of communion with him today. Take time to receive an awareness of his nearness.
“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Romans 8:9
Growing in relationship with the Holy Spirit is like growing in relationship with anyone else. He is a person of the Trinity just like the Father and Jesus. It takes time to get to know someone. It takes effort to learn their wants, desires, and personality. If you pursue a deeper connection with the Spirit you will find it. May you grow in your awareness of your union with the Holy Spirit who dwells within you.
Extended Reading: Galatians 5 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Galatians.
May you grow in your awareness of your union with the Holy Spirit who dwells within you.
]]>10/27/2025 | Peace
May you discover the heart of your heavenly Father to bring you peace this week.
One of the most powerful marks of a believer is transcendent peace. This world offers us no reason to be peaceful. It offers us no reason to be without stress, burdens, cares, and total frustration. But we serve a God who offers us peace in the midst of any circumstance. We serve a God in whom all true peace finds its source. May you discover the heart of your heavenly Father to bring you peace this week.
Isaiah 9:6 ESV
We serve a God who is the author, giver, and sustainer of peace. Isaiah 9:6 prophesied about Christ by saying, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” In order for us to fully grasp and live with the peace promised to us in Scripture, we must first understand the peaceful nature of our God.
The pages of Scripture are filled with declarations about God’s peaceful nature and desire for peace on the earth. 1 Corinthians 14:33 says, “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” And Philippians 4:9 says, “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
God longs to bring us peace as his children. He longs to make us like himself in that we would have peace in the midst of any circumstance. Nothing robs God of his peace. Nothing can take it away. Peace is within the very nature of our Creator. And when we come to him, open our heart, and receive his presence we naturally become like him. Seeking true peace is synonymous with seeking the presence of God because he is peace.
2 Thessalonians 3:16 says, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” What it takes for us to have peace “at all times in every way” is to simply fellowship with “the Lord of peace.” When we meet with God we position ourselves to receive all the abundant life he has to give. In encountering a peaceful God the weight of the world seems to lift off. In discovering his unconditional love the stress of continually seeking love from others falls away.
We serve a God who has peace for us right now. We can cast all our cares and burdens on his shoulders. He can handle all the cares of the world because he is Lord of them all. Take time to meet with the God of peace today and receive the peace that surpasses all understanding.
1. Meditate on the peaceful nature of God. Allow Scripture to reorient your understanding of who God is and how he feels about you.
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16
2. Where are you without peace today? What situation, person or concern is robbing you of peace?
3. Receive the presence of God and the peace that comes with encountering your heavenly Father’s heart. Cast your cares on his shoulders and receive the peace that comes from trusting in the goodness, nearness, capability and availability of God.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
Oftentimes peace comes by choice. The things of this world affect us wrongly when we view them apart from a heavenly perspective. Paul writes in Philippians 3:8, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” Don’t allow the stresses of this life to rob you of a heavenly peace found in trusting God. Take heart that God will bring you peace and joy in the midst of any circumstance if you allow him to. May Romans 15:33 serve as a benediction and peaceful foundation for the rest of your day today: “May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”
Extended Reading: John 16 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 13-21.
May Romans 15:33 serve as a benediction and peaceful foundation for the rest of your day today: “May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”
]]>10/26/2025 | Joy
May God fill us all with a greater measure of his joy today, and a greater understanding of how to carry that joy into a world in desperate need of it.
Today, in the last day of our week long focus on joy, we’re going to explore how we can be carriers for the joy of our God. Joy is contagious. It’s powerful. And it’s meant to be at the heart of our communication of who God is, and what relationship with him is like. May God fill us all with a greater measure of his joy today, and a greater understanding of how to carry that joy into a world in desperate need of it.
Isaiah 55:12 ESV
As disciples of Jesus, we are to carry the joy of our salvation everywhere we go. You and I have the power to change atmospheres on earth with the joy of the Spirit. We have the power to brighten people’s days, break off heaviness, and lead people to a deeper revelation of the goodness of our Lord when we reflect his joy to others.
God is a joyful God. He is the inventor of happiness and fun. Luke 15:10 says, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Nehemiah 8:10 tells us “the joy of the Lord is [our] strength.” In order to truly declare to the world who our heavenly Father is, we must be carriers of joy. We must be a people marked by the joy that only comes from restored relationship with an all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving God.
It’s taken me a long time to learn and an even longer time to realize the truth that circumstances, people, trials, work, and worldly stress do not have the inherent ability to steal my joy. It’s when I open my heart to outside elements that I allow stresses to come in like robbers and take what is rightfully mine in the Lord. It’s when I allow a fellow driver, a time crunch, a negative comment, or a troublesome problem to take precedence over the joy and hope I have in Jesus that I step outside of my allotted portion of peace.
To be carriers of joy, we have to choose to value the fruit of the Spirit over worldly emotions. We have to choose to only open our hearts to the things of God and shrug off that which is fleeting. If we don’t take control of our thoughts and cast any fear, worry, or doubt on the shoulders of our heavenly Father, the circumstances of this world will rule our emotions rather than the steadfast joy of the Spirit.
Isaiah 55:12 says, “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” The Lord longs to make us a people that go out in joy. He longs to make us children who are overwhelmed by his love to the degree that the cares of this world pale in comparison to his grace and affections. Ask the Lord for perspective today. Allow the Spirit to help you focus your attention on the true purpose for which you were created: restored relationship with your heavenly Father. Choose the joy of the Lord over the stress and cares of the world. Choose to “be led forth in peace” rather than led by your flesh. And experience today the lifestyle of carrying the joy of the Lord with you everywhere you go. May others come to know the abundant goodness of your heavenly Father through the way you exude joy.
1. Meditate on the importance of carrying joy. Allow Scripture to establish a new emphasis on joy for you.
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22
2. What do you allow to steal your joy? What circumstances, negative comments, or people have been robbing you of peace? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the root of whatever is stealing your joy.
“The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.” Proverbs 10:28
3. Surrender your emotions and thoughts to the Lord alone. Ask the Spirit to help you open your heart only to the things of him instead of the things of the world. Ask him to make you a carrier of joy.
Our heavenly Father is much more patient than we often believe. He is not in a rush with you. He will not let you miss his perfect will for your life if you are willing to follow him in obedience. Trust in his timing. Cast off the burden of paving your own way to an impactful life. Take time to become a carrier of joy by resting in his presence and getting to know his heart. Allow his perspective of patience to become your perspective. May you be filled with peace and joy in the knowledge of your God’s great love for you.
Extended Reading: Isaiah 55 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Isaiah 40-66.
May you be filled with peace and joy in the knowledge of your God’s great love for you.
]]>10/25/2025 | Joy
May our hearts be opened to a greater measure of joy than we’ve yet experienced, and the wisdom and faith to hold on to that joy as our portion in God.
As we near the end of our week on joy, today we look at another aspect of the joy available to us in God, specifically how our joy could be so great that the Bible would call it inexpressible. May our hearts be opened to a greater measure of joy than we’ve yet experienced, and the wisdom and faith to hold on to that joy as our portion in God.
1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV
1 Peter 1:8-9 fills my heart with a longing to rejoice in ways that move the heart of my heavenly Father. That scripture says, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” What does it look like to rejoice with joy that is “inexpressible and filled with glory?” What would it be like to have our hearts so filled with praise that our lips can’t articulate the overwhelming goodness of God?
In the famous hymn, The Love of God, Frederick M. Lehman wrote, “The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell; it goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell.” We are designed to be continually awed by the wondrous works of our heavenly Father. So great is his love for us that all the ink and paper in the world couldn’t adequately describe the depths of his mercies toward his children. So infinite is his nature that the fastest vessel could never reach the ends of his heart. And so powerful is his affection that we as his children will never be able to stop singing his praise.
Do you feel awed by God today? Is your heart wrapped up in the unfathomable goodness of his grace? Being filled with inexpressible joy is the natural response to seeing how truly good God is in comparison to how truly broken we are. Joy is meant to be the overflow of true, tangible relationship with a God who would lay down his own life solely because he desperately longed for restored relationship with us.
As children of the Most High God, we must take time to allow him to awe us. We must take time to wonder at his amazing works. We are created with an insatiable longing for fascination. We love to ponder on that which we will never fully comprehend. God created the universe as an example of how unfathomable and fascinating he is. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” He is a God full of wonderful mystery we were designed to search out. It is our inexpressible joy to spend time with the Creator of galaxies that the human eye will never see and minute details too small to ever behold.
Matthew 13:44 says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” God is worth your life. The fullness of relationship with him is far greater than any possession man could ever attain. The great mystery in all of creation is a mere reflection of the infinite, loving nature of our heavenly Father. Take time today to devote yourself to rejoicing with inexpressible joy at the revelation of how great God is. Allow him to guide you into new and refreshing depths of his love. May you discover today the treasure of restored relationship with your mysterious and fascinating heavenly Father.
1. Meditate on the infinite and wonderful nature of God. Think about his creation and how all of it was created by his word. Reflect on the powerful and loving sacrifice of Jesus. Allow Scripture and the divine nature of God to fill you with fascination and inexpressible joy.
2. Ask God to guide you into new depths of his heart today. Ask him to show you something about himself you didn’t know. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to search out the incredible mysteries of God.
3. Spend time resting in the presence of your Creator. The Creator of the entire universe is with you right now. The God who formed every mountain, star, and grain of sand loves you and longs to be with you. Allow the incredible goodness of God to overwhelm the tired and dry places of your heart.
Psalm 63:1 says, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” May we be a people who earnestly seek God for the refreshment of our souls. May we discover the still waters of his presence that have the power to replenish that which the world has dried out. May we run to God when we have need, knowing that he is willing and able to supply everything we need and more. And may a fresh revelation of God’s love fill you with inexpressible joy that resounds in everything you do today.
Extended Reading: Psalm 90 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May we discover the still waters of his presence that have the power to replenish that which the world has dried out. May we run to God when we have need, knowing that he is willing and able to supply everything we need and more. And may a fresh revelation of God’s love fill you with inexpressible joy that resounds in everything you do today.
]]>10/24/2025 | Joy
May your relationship with the Spirit deepen today, and yield a joy so real and strong that no trial or tribulation could come against it.
Today we’re going to explore the role of the Holy Spirit in living with the joy available to us in God. Know that as a believer, the Holy Spirit is with you, ready to search the heart of God for you, and to give you this free gift of joy, if you’ll simply trust him and receive it.
May your relationship with the Spirit deepen today, and yield a joy so real and strong that no trial or tribulation could come against it.
1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 ESV
Relationship with the Holy Spirit empowers us to live a lifestyle of consistent joy. It’s only by the filling of the Spirit that we have access to the deep reservoirs of joy found in the heart of our heavenly Father. Galatians 5:22 is clear that the fruit of the Spirit for believers is to be joy, so as temples of the Holy Spirit we need to search out what it looks like to allow the fruit of joy to be evident in our hearts and lives.
Scripture is filled with direct connections between the filling of the Holy Spirit and joy. Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Acts 13:52 says, “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 says, “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.”
We are not designed to have joy in ourselves. Rather, such joy comes by the dwelling of the Holy Spirit within us. As the disciples began to be filled with the Holy Spirit, their lives changed dramatically. They went from fearful, fair-weathered followers of Jesus to joy-filled, sacrificial, and empowered world changers. They had joy in the midst of intense persecution because they had the Holy Spirit filling them with the fruits of his indwelling.
We have the same Holy Spirit the disciples had, and he longs to do the same kind of works in you and me today as he did in them thousands of years ago. He longs to fill us with joy in the midst of any trial or pain. He longs to heal and transform our hearts into greater reflections of God’s goodness. He longs to make us a people so joyful that there is no other explanation for our joy other than God is with us.
So, how do we allow the Spirit to bear the fruit of joy in our lives? How do we grow in our relationship with this mysterious part of the Godhead? It all starts with a posture of humility and prayer. The Holy Spirit never forces us into deeper relationship with him. He is peaceful, powerful, loving, and patient. You must make time to respond to his small tugs on your heart in order to walk in greater relationship with him. You must humble yourself and ask for more of him, whatever that looks like. Allow the truth of God’s love and faithfulness to cast out any fear or reservation about a lifestyle of total connection with the Holy Spirit. Ask him to fill you to overflowing today and guide you to a lifestyle of bearing the fruit of intimate relationship with him.
The Spirit knows how to guide our hearts. He knows if we were made more introverted or extroverted. He knows if we were made more intuitive, pragmatic, or logical. And he knows the perfect ways to guide us into deeper, more fruitful lives. Spend time allowing the Spirit to lead you into a life filled with more joy. Allow him to speak to you and lead you in whatever ways he desires. And rest in his loving presence as you learn what it is to reach greater depths of relationship with him.
1. Meditate on the importance of relationship with the Holy Spirit in having joy. Allow Scripture to stir up your desire for deeper intimacy with the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal his nearness. Ask him to help you become more aware of his presence in your life.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to greater depths of joy. Ask him to bear the fruit of joy in your life throughout any and every circumstance. Spend time allowing him to show you what might be in your way and the portion of joy afforded to you by his dwelling within you.
The absolute best way we can live is in total and complete surrender to the Holy Spirit. When we allow him to take the reins of our lives, he guides us to far greener and more abundant pastures than we could ever find ourselves. He has the ability and desire to lead us into the fullness of God’s plans for our lives, but we must be willing to follow him wherever he would lead us. Follow his direction today. Look for his guidance. And walk into a life filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
Extended Reading: Romans 8 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Romans 5-16.
Follow his direction today. Look for his guidance. And walk into a life filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
]]>10/23/2025 | Joy
Today we’re going to make space together to simply open our hearts and minds to receive the joy of the Father. I hope and pray that you find real, life-changing joy in God’s presence today.
I think one of the hardest things to do in life is to live with joy in the midst of trials and challenges. It’s so easy to let life dictate to us our emotions and state of being. But in God, there is a joy available to us right where we are, no matter how good or bad the situation may be.
Today we’re going to make space together to simply open our hearts and minds to receive the joy of the Father. I hope and pray that you find real, life-changing joy in God’s presence today.
Psalm 126:5-6 ESV
The joy of the Lord available to us in the Holy Spirit transcends all circumstances, relationships, and possessions. It is an internal joy fed to our hearts by the wellspring of joy the Father has toward us. God longs to make us a people marked by his joy. He longs to fill us with the knowledge of how thrilled he is to be our Father. He longs to make us a joyful people in every circumstance and season. 1 Peter 1:6-9 says,
We can have joy in the midst of trial and tribulation because we have a genuine faith that this life is not all there is. Our hope reaches far beyond the confines of this fleeting age of sin and separation from God and looks toward the day when we will live in perfect, face-to-face relationship with our Creator. Every trial and tribulation is an opportunity to cling to the truth that this world is not our home and to be filled with joy at the thought of what awaits us on the other side of this life.
James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” While God may not cause the various trials we face, he most certainly uses them to cause our joy to find its source in him alone. Our heavenly Father knows that if we place our joy in the fleeting and fickle circumstances of this life our lives will be an emotional rollercoaster rather than a reflection of how consistently good he is.
Your heavenly Father has a compassionate heart toward the problems you face. He never desires for you to act or try and drum up faith that everything will be all right. He longs to meet you at the very core of your trial and fill you with abundant joy that’s rooted in his love alone. He longs to guide you through the tough seasons of life that try and rob you of your allotted portion of joy. He longs to make your faith steadfast and sure so you can meet the tribulations of this world head-on with joy. Run to your Father today with every weight and problem. Ask him to guide you to the still waters that your soul might be restored. And receive all the joy he longs to give you today as you encounter his deep and powerful love for you.
1. Meditate on God’s desire to fill you with joy in every circumstance. Allow Scripture to fill your heart with faith, that you can have joy right where you are.
2. What trial or tribulation are you facing that God longs to use to strengthen your faith with joy? Where does God want to meet you today that you might live with the joy of his love rather than the weight of the world?
3. Ask God to guide you to the source of joy for your circumstance. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you proper perspective about your life. Open your heart and allow God to come and love you where you’re at.
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:12
May Mother Teresa’s words spur you toward a lifestyle of joy today:
“Joy is prayer – Joy is strength – Joy is love – Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. God loves a cheerful giver. She gives most who gives with joy. The best way to show our gratitude to God and the people is to accept everything with joy. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love. Never let anything so fill you with sorrow as to make you forget the joy of the Christ risen.”
Extended Reading: James 1 or watch The Bible Project’s video on James.
May Mother Teresa’s words spur you toward a lifestyle of joy today: “Joy is prayer – Joy is strength – Joy is love – Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. God loves a cheerful giver. She gives most who gives with joy. The best way to show our gratitude to God and the people is to accept everything with joy. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love. Never let anything so fill you with sorrow as to make you forget the joy of the Christ risen.”
]]>10/22/2025 | Joy
May your heart be filled to the fullness today as we experience God together.
In our third day of looking at Joy, we’re going to take time today to look at David’s statement in Psalm 16:11, where he describes a “fullness of joy.”
There is a greater fullness of life available to you and in me in God than most of us will ever experience. To experience more of God almost always requires laying down more of the things of the world. But if we, today, will give a greater measure of our hearts over to God, we’ll find greater joy than we could have imagined experiencing this side of heaven.
May your heart be filled to the fullness today as we experience God together.
Psalm 16:11 ESV
By the grace of God, we have a beautiful inheritance of eternal and tangible relationship with our heavenly Father. Psalm 16:5-6 says, “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” And later in verse 11 David writes, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
God has designated the beautiful inheritance of his presence for us. Israel knew what it was to center their gatherings around the presence of God. His presence guided them through the wilderness. His presence won battles for them. His presence was powerful in the Holy of Holies. God’s presence was the sign that he was with them and for them.
And Psalm 16:11 tells us that in the presence of God “there is fullness of joy.” Imagine what the fullness of joy looks and feels like. What would it be like to have a real encounter with the fullness of joy today? In the fullness of joy there is no sorrow, worry, doubt, or fear. In the fullness of joy there is abundant life, peace, freedom, and love.
Psalm 43:4 says, “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy.” Consistently encountering the presence of our heavenly Father is the sole source of “exceeding joy” on this earth. Only in spending time going to his altar will we experience the joy that is our portion. Only in his presence will the joy of the Lord truly become our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
Heavenly joy is an essential element to the Christian life. Joy isn’t something we are created to live without. It isn’t a pursuit secondary to other pursuits. Heavenly joy is a cornerstone on which we live lives that reflect the goodness, grace, love, and reality of our heavenly Father. Joy is meant to be the mouthpiece by which we declare how wonderful a relationship with God truly is.
In his book In Our Joy, John Piper writes, “But when God gives the radical change of new birth and repentance, Jesus himself becomes our supreme treasure.” Choose the better portion today of spending time encountering the fullness of joy that can only be found in the presence of God. Allow God to bring a radical change of new birth and repentance that positions Christ as your supreme treasure. And pursue heavenly joy today that you might demonstrate the surpassing kindness of your heavenly Father to a world that is desperately seeking what can only be found in restored relationship with him.
1. Meditate on the fullness of joy available in the presence of God. Allow Scripture to stir up a desire to encounter the joy of the Lord today.
2. Ask the Lord to reveal his nearness. God is never far from you. His presence is with you. He longs to make himself known. Simply rest in the truth of his nearness and allow him to reveal himself to you.
3. Ask God to guide you into the fullness of joy available in his presence. Ask him to fill you with abundant joy that you might live today declaring his goodness to the world around you.
I pray that as the bride of Christ we would grow in our knowledge of his nearness. I pray that we would walk in the fullness of relationship with our heavenly Father available to us on the earth. And I pray that we would grow in our reflection of God’s goodness to a world that longs to know him. May you pursue the presence of God with greater fervor as you go throughout your day. May you experience his nearness and live your life with the joy of the Lord as your strength.
Extended Reading: Psalm 16 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
I pray that as the bride of Christ we would grow in our knowledge of his nearness.
]]>10/21/2025 | Joy
God not only loves you, but he likes you. He rejoices over you, just as you are. I hope and pray that you get a real, tangible sense of God’s joy over you today as we create space in his presence together.
As we continue our week of looking at Joy, we’re going to take time today to receive a fresh revelation of how God rejoices over us.
God not only loves you, but he likes you. He rejoices over you, just as you are. I hope and pray that you get a real, tangible sense of God’s joy over you today as we create space in his presence together.
Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
Zephaniah 3:17 provides a constant source of joy by revealing insight into the heart of our loving, present heavenly Father. That scripture says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” As we look at this verse today, I pray that you will be filled with an abundant joy that can only come from a fresh, tangible revelation of your heavenly Father’s overwhelming love for you.
“The Lord your God is in your midst.” You can have joy today because your God is totally and powerfully present right where you are. Scripture says that he will never leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6), his presence will go with you to the ends of the earth (Psalm 139:7-12), and at salvation you were made into a temple for the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). You can have joy because you are not alone in anything you do. God longs to make his presence known to you in every area of your life. He longs to do life with you—equipping you to live with total joy by filling you with his love every minute of every day.
“The Lord your God is . . . a mighty one who will save.” You can have joy because you have been totally redeemed from the destitution of the world that surrounds you. You are saved from the perils of a life lived without a relationship with your Creator. You have been offered to spend eternity with the God of love who laid down his own life for yours. Your God has done a mighty work. You are now his child, healed and set free through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
“He will rejoice over you with gladness.” You can have joy because your God rejoices over you. You are not a failure in his eyes. He loves who you are. He is wholeheartedly glad you are his. He longs to fill you with the knowledge of his gladness today. He longs to give you a revelation of how deeply in love with you he is. The Creator and Sustainer of all rejoices over you as his creation. You are not a mistake. You were made intentionally because your God longed to have relationship with you.
“He will quiet you by his love.” You can have joy because your God will shepherd you to the still waters. His love will guide you to quiet places where your heart can be at rest. He will calm the areas of your life that are burdened and stressed by freeing you with the depths of his affections. You can have peace today in the presence of your heavenly Father no matter what situation you find yourself in. Your God will “quiet you by his love” as you follow the leadership of his Spirit.
“He will exult over you with loud singing.” To exult is to be joyful or jubilant because of a triumph or success. You can have joy today because your God sees you as a triumph. You have been transformed. You are a new creation. You are what God has most desired in the earth. His chief longing has always been relationship with us, and by your faith in Jesus Christ you have given him what he has always wanted. God exults over you today just as you are. He longs for intimate relationship with you. He wants to give you ears to hear his “loud singing” that you might have the same perspective for yourself as he has for you.
In The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning says, “My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.” May you come to the awareness of how deeply you are loved by your God today. May you allow God to love what you have deemed unlovable in your own life. And may Zephaniah 3:17 be a foundation on which you experience the overwhelming joy that comes from God’s inexplicable love for you.
1. Meditate on Zephaniah 3:17. Ask the Holy Spirit to highlight a part of the verse that you especially need today. Take time to allow Scripture to lay a foundation of truth on which you can have abundant joy.
2. Ask the Lord to reveal his nearness. Rest in his presence and allow his love to quiet and flood the weary places in your heart.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with abundant joy for today. Ask him to teach you how to live a joyful lifestyle where you experience the fruit of his presence through any circumstance.
“The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” Psalm 147:11
In Scripture, we have a source of constancy and steadfastness for our emotions. If we will allow Scripture to be the basis on which we think and feel, we can experience a joy that is unshakable by the passing tides of circumstance. Scriptures like Zephaniah 3:17 are vital to a healthy emotional life. We need constant reminders of the truth so that we can base our emotions on who God is rather than what is going on with the world around us. May you enter into a new season of abundant joy as you allow God’s word to be your emotional source and guide.
Extended Reading: Zephaniah 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Zephaniah.
May you enter into a new season of abundant joy as you allow God’s word to be your emotional source and guide.
]]>10/20/2025 | Joy
May you discover the greater portion of joy available to you through the Spirit as you encounter the heart of your Father this week.
In a world that knocks us down, joy can feel so elusive. But Scripture is filled with encouragement, that there is a joy available to us in God that transcends the pain and suffering of the world.
This week we’re going to take time every day to open our hearts and receive the joy of the Father, that we could be children marked by the joy of heaven.
May you discover the greater portion of joy available to you through the Spirit as you encounter the heart of your Father this week.
“And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10 ESV
The strength that comes from the joy of restored relationship with our heavenly Father is unlike any other strength we can find in ourselves. The joy of the Lord is unceasing, unwavering, and powerful. It comes from a place of internal peace with God rather than external, fleeting circumstances. And it is wholly available to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord. May we be a people marked by the joy of our heavenly Father as we allow God to come and fill our lives with his powerful presence today.
Nehemiah 8 gives revelation on God’s desire to establish joy at the foundation of following him. In Nehemiah 8, the nation of Israel had just rebuilt the walls around Jerusalem and were learning again what it is to live in obedience to the word of God. As Ezra opens God’s word, the people fall on their faces in mourning and shame for their disobedience. And in response to their tears, Nehemiah proclaims to God’s people, “Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). God desires for joy to be at the foundation of relationship with him. He longs for us to be a people marked by the joy that can only come from restored relationship with our Creator. His joy is to be our strength.
The true picture of strength in the earth is total joy that comes from dependence on our heavenly Father. Psalm 16:8-11 says, “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” It’s only in utter dependence that the Lord is able to fully work in and through us. It’s only in setting him always before us that we will be fully strengthened by the joy that comes from relationship with him. And it’s only in continually seeking his presence that we will discover the fullness of joy and pleasure meant to be our portion as his children.
God wants to be your strength today. He wants to root and ground you in his unshakable joy. He longs to guide you to the still waters and do a mighty work in your heart to increase your capacity for his joy. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” May you discover the powerful medicine of joy today as you enter into a time of guided prayer.
1. Meditate on the strength that comes from joy alone. Allow Scripture to fill you with a desire to have more of the joy available to you in God.
2. What care, thought, or burden is keeping you from the fullness of joy today? What area of your life do you need to surrender in order to live in total dependence on your heavenly Father? Where is God wanting to fill you with his abundant joy today?
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22
3. Surrender every area of your life to the capable hands of God and enter into the joy that comes from dependent relationship with your Creator. Rest in his peaceful presence and allow him to fill you with joy overflowing. Ask him to guide you into a more joyful life and to free you from whatever bonds would keep you from experiencing all he has for you.
May Paul’s prayer to the Colossians be your pursuit today as you seek to live in the fullness of life Jesus died to give you:
“May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” Colossians 1:11
Extended Reading: Nehemiah 8 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Ezra-Nehemiah.
May Paul’s prayer to the Colossians be your pursuit today as you seek to live in the fullness of life Jesus died to give you: “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” Colossians 1:11
]]>10/19/2025 | Seeking God
May God open your heart and mind today to the community in which he’s placed you in this season.
In today’s First15 we wrap up our week on seeking God by looking at the act of seeking God through community. You may be a people person, or a total introvert, but either way, God wants to use his church to encourage you and draw you closer to him. The Lord loves unity in his body, and he longs for his church, his Bride to worship and seek him as one. May God open your heart and mind today to the community in which he’s placed you in this season.
Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV
We were not created to go about this life apart from relationship with fellow children of God. Without our brothers and sisters, we will never experience the fullness of life God intends for us. In community, we discover our place in the body of Christ. In community, we learn what it is to serve out of love, honor, and respect. And in community, we receive the healing and love that can only come from those who share in the same Spirit.
Acts 2:42-47 says,
Acts 2 describes community that my soul longs for. We were made for honest, vulnerable fellowship. We were created to help each other, eat together, worship our God, and love others. Through engaging with fellow believers, we become a witness to the world of what happens when God works in the hearts of his children. We declare through our love for each other the life and joy that comes from relationship with our heavenly Father.
Scripture is clear that true community requires sacrifice and vulnerability. 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 says, “That there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” God’s desire is for all his children to humble themselves and live as one body. When one part of a physical body hurts, the rest of the body feels the pain and works together to heal. God desires it to be the same among the spiritual body of believers. He desires to fill us with his love and use us to provide healing for one another. He longs to guide us to a lifestyle of humility and sacrifice in pursuit of being his hands and feet for each other.
It takes receiving the love of God to give love. It requires a work of the Spirit to fill us with courage to be vulnerable with our community in order to receive and give the love we’ve been given in Christ. So, will you be a child filled with the love of your Father today? Will you allow God to use you to help a brother or sister? Will you choose the purpose and joy that comes from living sacrificially and vulnerably? If so, you will discover a satisfaction only found in the edification that comes from believers loving one another. May you find the fellowship your heart longs for as you courageously love your brothers and sisters.
1. Meditate on the importance of community. Allow Scripture to fill you with a desire to love and be loved by your community.
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17
2. Reflect on your need for community. Where do you need the healing that comes from relationship with others? What people has God placed in your life? How can you in humility reach out to them for help?
3. Take time and pray for an increase in God-filled community in your life. How does he want to use you to help another person today? How can you lead out in being courageously vulnerable? If you lack such a thing, ask God to provide you with this type of community to share life with.
“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working… My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” James 5:13-16, 19-20
God doesn’t ask us to wait for others to step out and live in accordance with his Spirit before he calls us too. His will for us doesn’t hinge upon others’ obedience. God is calling you to a lifestyle of joyful service, sacrifice, and love regardless of people’s initiatives or responses. He longs to fill you with the courage to love others well and help them through their brokenness to a place of honesty and vulnerability. May you be the loving hands and feet of Jesus to your brothers and sisters who so desperately need a touch from God.
Extended Reading: Philippians 2 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Philippians.
May you be the loving hands and feet of Jesus to your brothers and sisters who so desperately need a touch from God.
]]>10/18/2025 | Seeking God
As we near the end of our week on seeking God, today we will focus on seeking God in solitude.
As we near the end of our week on seeking God, today we will focus on seeking God in solitude. Our world is a busy place. Our home lives are busy. Our church lives are full. When are you ever alone to simply fix your eyes on the Father, and be uninterrupted by the things going on around you? If we will take up the discipline of solitude, our lives will look very different. Imagine for a second the inner peace and sanity you could gain if you set aside consistent time to seek God in solitude. May you be encouraged to do just that as you experience the nearness of Jesus today.
Matthew 14:23 ESV
Our world is filled with hustle and bustle. We reward busyness as if always working, striving, and achieving were the true marks of a life well-lived. We elevate those who have given everything to gain success. To be tired is to be weak. To be in need is to fail. To rest instead of work is to be lazy or selfish. As believers, we’re living in a society whose values do not match that of our heavenly Father’s. We need an adjustment of perspective.
We are created for time spent alone with our heavenly Father, away from the cares and ways of the world. We are created to seek God in solitude. Jesus modeled this important principle throughout his ministry. Luke 5:15-16 says, “But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” Mark 1:35 says, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” And Matthew 14:23 says, “And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.” If Jesus needed time alone with the Father, you and I most certainly do.
Solitude is vital in our pursuit of deeper relationship with our heavenly Father. What would a marriage be if the couple only ever saw each other in large groups? What would a friendship be if you never spent time as just the two of you? Yet countless believers, Sunday after Sunday, file through church doors to meet with a God they are not encountering in the secret place. Our heavenly Father loves corporate worship to be sure, but community is intended to be an extension of the love and transformation we are receiving in solitude with God. Matthew 6:6 says, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” It’s in the secret place that we learn what our Father is really like. It’s in the secret place that we discern what his voice sounds like, find his heartbeat, and become like him.
Without solitude our faith will not stretch into the inner places of our hearts that so desperately need to be flooded with the light of glorious relationship with our heavenly Father. If you long to be loved, it’s in the secret place you’ll discover the wellspring of affections found in the heart of God. If you need someone to listen, it’s in solitude you’ll discover the always listening ear of your heavenly Father. And if you need a friend, it’s in time spent alone fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit that you will find a friend who will never leave you, forsake you, hurt you, or mislead you.
May you discover what you’ve been longing for in the secret place with God. May you pursue deeper connection with your heavenly Father through the wonderful discipline of solitude.
1. Meditate on God’s desire to meet with you in the secret place.
2. Reflect on your need for solitude. If Jesus needed time with the Father, receive the truth that you need it as well.
3. Spend time alone pursuing God in solitude. Allow the silence to draw you into a deeper place of reflection. What has been hurting you? Where do you need your heavenly Father’s affections?
St. Anselm of Canterbury wrote, “Enter into the inner chamber of your mind. Shut out all things save God and whatever may aid you in seeking God; and having barred the door of your chamber, seek him.” May you find the everlasting love of God as you seek him in solitude.
Extended Reading: Matthew 4 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Matthew 1-13.
May you find the everlasting love of God as you seek him in solitude.
]]>10/17/2025 | Seeking God
May we take the time to open our eyes and hearts, to slow down for a minute and behold the beauty of our God in all that he has made.
In today’s First15, we’re going to explore the act of seeking God through his creation. God wants to use the world around us to declare his glory, goodness and love for us. May we take the time to open our eyes and hearts, to slow down for a minute and behold the beauty of our God in all that he has made.
Nehemiah 9:6 EV
Every part of creation, from the smallest of insects to the mountains in all their grandeur, proclaims the unspoken glory of God. Every living creature, rock, grain of sand, and mountain stream was created for a specific purpose. In the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, we discover God’s faithfulness and provision (Matthew 6:28-30). With every sunrise we are reminded of Jesus’ imminent return (Psalm 19:4-5). And with every gust of wind we are beckoned to live our lives as people of the Spirit (John 3:8).
Job 12:7-10 says, “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” Are you allowing God to teach you through his creation? Are you taking in the unspeakable mystery and majesty found in the work of God’s hands? Or are you merely passing by these beautiful, intentional poems written on the pages of leaves, blades, and dirt by the hand of your heavenly Father?
Psalm 19:1-4 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” God is always speaking to you. Every piece of creation declares to you the depth of God’s love, power, faithfulness, and nearness. Will you afford yourself the opportunity to stop and listen? Will you make space to open the eyes of your heart to receive the beauty, creativity, and love of your heavenly Father faithfully displayed before your very eyes?
To seek God without taking notice of his creation is to miss out on one of the most tangible and beautiful ways he speaks to us. It isn’t too mystical or “out there” to ask God to show you his intent behind his creation. It’s wholly Christian to spend time looking at and reflecting on the work of God’s hands. Children of God across thousands of years have used creation to learn about their Creator. Scripture is filled with revelation received by God speaking through his creation. He has made everything as he did for a perfect and beneficial reason. May we be children who seek God through every avenue available to us. May we be believers who have the faith and patience to learn about our heavenly Father by the work of his hands.
1. Meditate on God’s desire to speak to you through his creation. Allow Scripture to renew your mind.
2. Take some time to reflect on creation around you. It could be a flower, water, animal or whatever you see.
3. Now ask God to teach you about his creation. What does he want to reveal about you and or himself?
A. W. Tozer said, “God dwells in His creation and is everywhere indivisibly present in all His works. He is transcendent above all His works even while He is immanent within them.” May you go about your day with the knowledge that God is near to you. May creation declare to you the limitless love of your heavenly Father.
Extended Reading: Psalm 104 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May you go about your day with the knowledge that God is near to you. May creation declare to you the limitless love of your heavenly Father.
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