4/4/2026 | God Speaks
May God empower us to quiet ourselves today in his presence.
In today’s First15, we’re going to look at the value of solitude in making space to hear from God. In all the noise of our world, solitude is more important now than ever. We need quiet to tune our ears to the still, small voice of God. We need the type of peace that only comes from quieting our hearts and minds. We need the type of relationship with God that can only be formed in solitude. May God empower us to quiet ourselves today in his presence.
Psalm 46:10 ESV
Solitude—a time set apart where the rush, noise, and anxiety of the world fall mute on the ears and heart of a child of God completely lost in the peace and presence of the Creator. Solitude is a time to be with your heavenly Father, free from the distractions the world offers us at seemingly every moment. We are made for consistent time spent in solitude.
C.S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory, “We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” Most of us have grown accustomed to what truly does amount to being “starved” for solitude. We never fully realize how great our need is to be alone with our Sustainer. Let’s take some time today to recognize our need for solitude and then learn how to best practice solitude on a daily basis.
You can know that you need solitude for one reason—Jesus needed it. All over the New Testament we see examples of Jesus going off on his own to pray. One example, Mark 1:35, tells us that Jesus, “rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark . . . departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” Jesus, who practiced perfect communion with his heavenly Father while here on earth still needed to spend time in solitude. Jesus, who loved parties, loved people, and was God and man simultaneously, needed time alone. If he needed it, you and I can be sure we need it. When God incarnate was up against his hardest task, the Crucifixion, he didn’t just toughen up and get through it. He spent time alone in the Garden of Gethsemane in conversation with his heavenly Father. He needed solitude to accomplish his purpose here on earth and so do you and I.
Solitude is life-giving. It’s necessary to the Christian spiritual life. Richard J. Foster said, “Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment.” Solitude is one of the most important and life-giving spiritual disciplines. If you want to hear God, you must practice solitude. If you want fortitude in your life, a steadfastness that surpasses your circumstances, you must practice solitude. You are designed for time spent in the quiet, simply being with your heavenly Father.
So how can you best practice solitude? The first step is finding a place where you can spend time with God free from distractions. Find a place where you know you won’t be interrupted. If you live with others, find a time when they will not be around or awake. If you live alone, designate a place and time that you will spend in solitude free from any distractions. Second, give yourself an amount of time to spend with God just being in solitude. It could be ten minutes or an hour. Spend this time free from reading, free from worship or prayer unless solitude leads you to those things. Madeleine L’Engle said, “Deepest communion with God is beyond words, on the other side of silence.” Solitude is a point of deep communion where words aren’t required in light of God’s glorious nearness.
Take some time today to practice the incredible discipline of solitude. Be patient with yourself. Be patient with God. Fill the emptiness of silence with the satisfaction of God’s presence. Your heavenly Father loves just simply spending time with you, enjoying deep communion with his crown of creation. You are his child. Climb into the comforting and sustaining arms of your heavenly Father today as you enter into a time of solitude.
1. Find a place free from distractions. Ask the Spirit to calm your heart and mind and help you to spend time in deep communion with God.
2. Spend a few moments simply resting with God in solitude.
3. Reflect on how solitude made you feel. If you felt uncomfortable or frustrated, that’s alright! Solitude and silence is something most of us have never practiced. Have patience with yourself.
Solitude is a practice. The more you do it the better and more fulfilling it will become. Once you connect with God’s heart free of words and just look at him face to face, his gaze will become one of the most important parts of your life. Knowing experientially that your heavenly Father sees you and loves you is meant to be at the foundation of everything you do. Commit yourself to spend time in solitude with God and learn what it is to be a child simply enjoyed by the Father.
Extended Reading: Psalm 46 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
Commit yourself to spend time in solitude with God and learn what it is to be a child simply enjoyed by the Father.
]]>4/3/2026 | God Speaks
May God reveal his heart for us to meditate as a central discipline of our faith. And may he empower us to make room for his presence in a meaningful way today.
In today’s First15, we’re going to look at the role of meditation in hearing from God. Meditation for many reasons, seems to have found its way out of our Christian context. But the reality is that meditation has been central to our faith throughout its history. And the Bible is chocked full of encouragement to meditate on who God is, on his word, allowing space for God to fill in our daily lives. May God reveal his heart for us to meditate as a central discipline of our faith. And may he empower us to make room for his presence in a meaningful way today.
“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.”
Psalm 119:15 ESV
The spiritual discipline of meditation does for the heart of a Christian what nutrients and good soil do for the seed of a plant. Through meditation the seed of God’s word takes root and produces life-giving, abundant fruit. Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline wrote, “The purpose of meditation is to enable us to hear God more clearly. Meditation is listening, sensing, heeding the life and light of Christ. This comes right to the heart of our faith. The life that pleases God is not a set of religious duties; it is to hear His voice and obey His word. Meditation opens the door to this way of living.”
The Christian practice of meditation is, at its core, ruminating on the word of God. Meditation creates space for the Spirit to speak directly to our hearts and apply God’s word to our lives. When we ruminate on a passage of Scripture like Lamentations 3:22, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end,” we give God space to reveal all the ways in which his mercy and steadfast love are available to us. Meditation creates a pathway for Scripture to go past our minds and affect change within our hearts.
Another powerful aspect of Christian meditation is mulling over the character of God. Sometimes when I feel hopeless I will take a few passages of Scripture about the hope God provides and meditate on them. And in the process of meditating on God’s perfect character my thoughts, perspectives, and emotions come in line with the unchanging nature of my heavenly Father. Meditating on who God is powerfully affects the way we view the world. It’s for this reason Psalm 1:1-3 declares,
Take time to meditate on Scripture today. Make space to listen to God and apply the seed of his word. Ruminate on his unchanging, perfect character. May your day be filled with abundant life as you bear the fruit of meditation.
1. Choose a verse or aspect of God’s character to meditate on.
2. Make space to hear from God as you meditate on his word or character. Allow the Spirit to apply God’s word to your life as you meditate. Allow God’s character to lay a foundation for your emotions.
“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” Psalm 119:15
3. Now take note of how the verse or phrase seems to have made an impact in the way you think, feel, or desire to act. Rejoice in the power of God’s word to transform lives and hearts.
Meditation should be a daily practice for Christians. God’s word was never meant to just be understood but to be alive and active in his children. Scripture is meant to direct us into becoming more like Jesus both internally and externally in our actions. Meditating is one of the best tools God has given us in taking the Bible from words on a page to a living and active lifestyle. May engaging in meditation transform your spiritual life into one filled with joy, power and fruit of the Spirit.
Extended Reading: Psalm 1 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May engaging in meditation transform your spiritual life into one filled with joy, power and fruit of the Spirit.
]]>4/2/2026 | God Speaks
May God reveal his heart today to speak through his Creation. And may our hearts be stirred to listen.
As we arrive in the middle of this week-long focus on hearing from God, today we’re going to look at the role of Creation in God speaking to us as his children. Throughout human history mankind has gone to nature to get a deeper sense of the divine. And I believe that when we open our ears to hear what God is declaring to us through that which he’s made, we’ll find a wonderful avenue to stay in communication with our heavenly Father. May God reveal his heart today to speak through his Creation. And may our hearts be stirred to listen.
Romans 1:20 ESV
Nature has an ability to bring me peace in a way nothing else does. Sure I get annoyed by bugs or tired from hiking. But seeing the beauty, creativity, and complexity of what God has made has had a profound effect on my spiritual life. Have you ever just spent some time in God’s creation? Maybe it was hiking, lying on the beach, swimming in an ocean or a lake, fishing, gazing over the Grand Canyon, driving through the mountains, watching a thunderstorm or just playing in the rain. Take a minute to reflect on that time and what you felt. Looking back, do think you might have felt God’s presence? Did the awe and wonder of nature’s splendor bring you peace, or even lead you to thoughts about God?
The more I’ve come to know God the more there has grown in me an adoration and appreciation for his creation. Romans 1:20 states that God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” Nature is meant to declare to us the “invisible attributes” of God. And Scripture is clear that God is at work in his creation—maintaining and facilitating all that happens in the world. Psalm 147:8-9, 15-18 tells us,
He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry… He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes. He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold? He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
When you see animals eating, you are witnessing God’s provision in the earth and can, as a result, know that he will provide for you. When you see snow fall, ice form, and springtime come to melt away the cold you can know that God is at work around you and in your life. To miss out on all creation speaks to us is to miss an important part of God’s voice.
You see, while God does an incredible job taking care of a world wrought with the effects of sin, he promises to take care of you even more. Jesus commands us in Matthew 6:26-30,
Jesus teaches us to look upon creation and listen as it declares to us the nature of God. In fact, he commands us to do so. You can look at the grass of the field and know of God’s unwavering faithfulness for you. You can look at the birds and never wonder if you will get your next meal. Nature declares to us that God has and will provide for us all of our days. Nature tells us not to worry because God is both powerful and near. Nature tells us that God is creative, practical, brilliant, loving, and full of mystery and wonder. Nature tells us that God speaks.
God created the cosmos so that you might have another mysterious yet clear way of hearing his voice. Whether you live in the city or country, look upon God’s creation and listen for his voice. Ask him what he wants you to know as you see all the wonders of his hands. Let the beauty and mystery of all of God’s creation fill you with a deeper longing to know your heavenly Father. Listen to God today and allow your heart to be stirred as you discover his unwavering desire to speak to you through his creation.
1. Take some time to go out in God’s creation.
2. Now ask God what he wants to tell you through his creation. Let him speak in whatever way he desires.
3. Meditate on the truth he reveals to your heart and take some time to rest in his presence.
As children of an infinite, paradoxical God we must learn to embrace and value mystery. God longs to speak through his creation. He longs to satisfy your longing for fascination as you ponder the mystery and beauty of that which we will never fully understand. May you hear the loving voice of the Father today as you allow the Creator to speak through his creation.
Extended Reading: Psalm 19 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May you hear the loving voice of the Father today as you allow the Creator to speak through his creation.
]]>4/1/2026 | God Speaks
May God stir up our hearts to hear his voice through the pages of Scripture today. And may we align our hearts with the principles found in its pages.
As we continue our series looking at different ways God speaks to us as his children, today we’re going to look at the role of Scripture in hearing God. The pages of Scripture contain so many amazing stories of how God spoke to his people. Within these stories we see the power of a people focused on following God’s leadership, and the destruction that takes place when people go their own way. May God stir up our heart to hear his voice through the pages of Scripture today. And may we align our hearts with the principles found in its pages.
Deuteronomy 8:3 ESV
Deuteronomy 8:3 teaches us that, “Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” The word of the Lord when planted in good soil produces abundant, life-giving fruit (Matthew 13:20-22). We have in Scripture a feast that satisfies the deepest places of our hearts no food or drink could ever satiate.
When you open your Bible, you are literally opening the words of God. Scripture is God’s voice available for you in every moment, situation, and predicament you face. You can know God desires to speak to you because you have in your possession his voice through the Bible. God desires to reveal to you his will because he has given you his Spirit to “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” (John 16:13).
When you read Scripture with the help of your teacher, the Holy Spirit, the Bible is no longer just a book written thousands of years ago but a source of life-giving revelation. Read the Bible prayerfully, paying attention to any words, phrases, or ideas that stand out to you. Allow God to apply Scripture directly to your life through his Spirit. And as you read, submit yourself to God’s word with a continual “yes” in your heart. Choose to be a doer of the word that you might be blessed in everything you do (James 1:22-25).
God’s word is only as impactful as you are willing to be obedient. The power of Scripture becomes evident as you daily submit yourself to it. So today as you read God’s word, ask the Spirit to highlight phrases and ideas, submit yourself in obedience to what Scripture says, and be a doer of the word. God is ready to speak to you. He is prepared to sow the seed of his voice wherever it’s welcome. Open your heart to the word of God, and allow it to produce the fruit of joy, peace, and purpose in your life.
1. Ask the Spirit what you should read today. Pay attention to anything you feel like reading or pick from John 17 or Proverbs 3. Meditate on any phrases, words, or ideas that stand out to you.
“Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:3
2. Submit yourself to the word of God. Allow Scripture to be the foundation for all your thoughts, emotions, and perspectives. Allow God’s word to influence and transform any parts of your life that don’t align with it.
3. Now commit yourself to follow through with any action that God’s word requires. Ask God what he would have you do with what he’s shown you. Choose to be a doer of the word.
If you aren’t in the habit of reading God’s word daily, look for a Bible reading plan or book of the Bible you can read consistently. We were made to feast on the life-giving words of Scripture. God’s word can’t produce abundant fruit in your life if you aren’t consuming it. May your day be transformed as you seek to live in faithful obedience to the word of God.
Extended Reading: Proverbs 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Proverbs.
May your day be transformed as you seek to live in faithful obedience to the word of God.
]]>3/31/2026 | God Speaks
May he guide each of us into a fuller understanding of what it means to hear his voice, and may we grow in grace and confidence today to make space to simply listen to whatever it is God wants to say.
As we continue this series looking at different ways God speaks to us as his children, today we’re going to look at what it means to hear God’s voice. The idea of hearing the voice of God is something I get asked about all the time. And I think it’s because, honestly, it sounds kind of crazy! But Scripture and Christian History tell us clearly that God loves to communicate with his people. So may he guide each of us into a fuller understanding of what it means to hear his voice, and may we grow in grace and confidence today to make space to simply listen to whatever it is God wants to say.
John 16:13 ESV
God desires to speak directly to you. As a good Father, he longs to engage with you in continual conversation. So great was his longing for communication that he’s given you the gift of the Holy Spirit. You now have access to the heart of God through the Spirit. You can know his will, hear his voice, and live with the knowledge of his love.
John 16:13 says, “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.” If you are a Christian, the “Spirit of truth” has come. He dwells within you. He longs to tell you how God feels about you. He longs to guide you to the Father’s perfect, hopeful, and pleasing plans (Jeremiah 29:11). His voice is perfect, full of love, and always truthful. He will never guide you into something that isn’t best for you. He will never speak hate or condemnation to you. As John 16:13 promises, he will declare to you what he hears the Father say.
Let the truth that God desires to have real, life-transforming conversations with you sink into your heart for a minute. Think about what it means for your own life to have communication with God. Your Creator longs to help you with your decisions, relationships, work, finances, and identity. God himself wants to talk with you about your life—to fully know you and be known by you.
Just as any good parent loves talking with their children, your heavenly Father loves talking to you, his child. You see, God speaking to you is so little about your ability to hear his voice and so much more about his desire for you to know him. His voice in your life is just another product of grace, God’s unmerited favor for those who believe. Like any conversation, you will only hear him when you are listening. And just like any good conversation, God longs to hear from you as well.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Have faith that God longs to speak to you. Draw near to him in the assurance that he is already filled with love for you. The Holy Spirit longs to have a communicative relationship with you. Let the weight of conversation with God rest on his shoulders, trust in his word and his character, and listen to whatever he would speak to you today.
As you enter into guided prayer, take time to quiet your heart and listen to the voice of the Spirit.
1. Take a moment to quiet your mind and soul. Receive God’s presence and meditate on the important truth that the Spirit speaks.
2. Now listen to God. If you have a situation, question or anything you want to ask him, now is the time! God longs for you to tell him what you want help with. If you just want to know how he feels about you, ask him! Again, the weight of God speaking is on him. Trust him and his timing. God does desire to speak to you.
3. Write down whatever God tells you. Rest in the goodness of what he’s spoken.
Communicating with God is similar to engaging in conversation with a close friend. I don’t go to my friend and ask them to tell me anything so I know they are real. Rather, I seek to know them as a person and conversation takes place as a result. Seek to know God as deeply as possible. Trust that he is real and that he speaks. Talk with him because you simply want to know him. And rest in the fact that you will have conversation with your loving heavenly Father throughout eternity. May your day be marked by life-giving conversation with the Holy Spirit.
Extended Reading: Psalm 27 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May your day be marked by life-giving conversation with the Holy Spirit.
]]>3/30/2026 | God Speaks
May your communion with God flourish as you engage in continual conversation with your loving, present heavenly Father.
You and I have been given the invaluable gift of communication with God. Last week we learned about the process of making the soil of our hearts soft and receptive to God. This week we’ll learn some different ways to receive the seed of his word. May your communion with God flourish as you engage in continual conversation with your loving, present heavenly Father.
Jeremiah 33:3 ESV
For too much of my Christian life I believed God didn’t like to talk. My experience led me to think that God only spoke a few times in history and only to people like Moses, David or Paul, but never to a person like me. Then one day God spoke to me. I asked him a question out of desperation and he spoke. The Creator of the universe broke through the walls of my misconceptions and spoke to my heart in a voice so clear it couldn’t be mistaken.
After God spoke to me so clearly, I began to take time to listen. And in making space for God to speak, my life began to be transformed by consistent, internal conversation with my heavenly Father. You see, Scripture makes it clear that God loves to talk with his children. John 8:47 says, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God.” Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Isaiah 55:3 says, “Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live.” Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” The list of Scriptures goes on and on. In story after story the people of God hear God and know his will. The Bible is clear that God speaks to all of us as his children in a way we can understand through any and every means possible.
God speaks through all sorts of avenues. Most assuredly, he speaks to us through his Word. The Bible is one of our greatest gifts as Christians. It is the very word of God, “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). God also speaks directly to us through his Holy Spirit. John 16:13 says, “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.” And Scripture reveals how God speaks through his creation. Romans 1:20 says that God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”
God loves to speak. He isn’t silent. He isn’t distant. He longs for you to live with the knowledge of his love and perfect will. The question isn’t whether God speaks. The question is, will you listen? Will you choose to submit yourself to him—to receive and obey what he would tell you? The first time God spoke directly to me he asked me to do something incredibly difficult. It didn’t make total sense. But I knew he spoke. And in submission I obeyed his command and my life has been different ever since.
Listen to God today. Quiet your soul and receive the gift of conversation with your heavenly Father. God has placed his Spirit within you—closer to you than you can fully comprehend. You are unified with God. Ask the Spirit to reveal to you God’s word today. Ask God to make you aware of any and every avenue he desires to speak through. Then listen with an obedient, receptive heart to all the wonderful things he longs to tell you.
1. Take time to quiet your soul. Confess anything that you feel is in the way of your relationship with God. Hand over to him anything that’s troubling your mind. Receive his peace, and wait patiently for him to speak.
“Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live.” Isaiah 55:3
2. Listen. Ask the Spirit how God feels about you. Ask him for his will and direction. Pay attention to any thoughts, inclinations or changes in your emotions that come from the Holy Spirit. Allow God to speak in any way he wants.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Jeremiah 33:3
3. Now thank God for speaking. Worship him because he isn’t distant. Let the truth of his nearness transform your perspective and emotions today.
Listen to God throughout your day. Engage with him in consistent conversation. Practice listening to him in all circumstances. Ask for his help and understanding in anything that troubles you. The rest of this week we’ll be practicing hearing God through different ways he chooses to speak. May this week lead you into a deeper and more satisfying relationship with your heavenly Father as you engage with him in continual conversation.
Extended Reading: John 8 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 1-12.
May this week lead you into a deeper and more satisfying relationship with your heavenly Father as you engage with him in continual conversation.
]]>3/29/2026 | Experiencing God
May we simplify what it means to experience God’s presence today and gain a greater sense of confidence to experience the presence of God for ourselves at all times.
One of the greatest gifts of my life has been experiencing the presence of God. His presence is essential to experiencing and knowing him. And God has made himself so available to us through all that Jesus accomplished. May we simplify what it means to experience God’s presence today and gain a greater sense of confidence to experience the presence of God for ourselves at all times.
Psalm 27:4 ESV
Experiencing the presence of God sounds like such a mystery. It sounds like this wonderful but evasive thing that some people get sometimes, but isn’t concrete enough to expect or place your hope in. We associate God’s presence with emotions and music as if it were a breeze so light and momentary you almost couldn’t be sure it happened at all.
But in reality God’s presence is as simple as being in the presence of a friend or spouse. It’s as simple and concrete as being around a person except for one simple truth: God never leaves. And just as you can be in the same room as a friend and not know it, you can live the Christian life apart from experiencing God’s nearness. Just as you can be sitting right across from a friend and be so busy with technology or your own thoughts to even remember they are there, you can go through life focused on the busyness of present circumstances and miss out on the fact that God is closer than your breath.
But we find hope for encountering the presence of God in Psalm 27:4. Scripture 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.” This pursuit, this action of seeking the living God, never comes back empty. To seek God is to encounter God. Emotions aside, complexities cast away—God is already with you. He is already closer than he could ever be. His Spirit, his presence in the earth, never leaves you and never forsakes you. And when you turn your attention toward him, just as you can to a friend sitting across a table from you, you can encounter him.
Psalm 139:7 says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” His presence is always available. He’s not a friend who turns away from you or hides his heart. He’s not a small gust of wind that comes and goes as he pleases. He’s a God who would suffer and die that he might tear the veil and make his presence fully, continuously available to all those who would seek him. He’s a God who’s working tirelessly to restore his crown of creation to himself that we might walk with him like in the Garden of Eden, but this time for all of eternity with no possibility of a fall or barrier between us.
Your ability to meet with God is as simple as turning your attention toward him and allowing yourself to be known. May you meet with your heavenly Father in profoundly simple ways today as you enter into a time of guided prayer.
1. Meditate on the availability of God’s presence.
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
2. What’s your greatest fear regarding God’s presence. What’s something that would keep you from seeking after him like you would a close friend?
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John 4:18
3. Surrender any hesitation you have to him and seek him in faith that he is already with you. Turn your heart toward him and talk to him honestly and openly. Allow him to reveal his nearness to you in any way he wishes.
The best place to start with God is always honesty. He doesn’t meet you in a place that isn’t real. So if you’re trying to seek him but avoiding something, you are attempting to sew back together the veil he so lovingly tore in two. There’s no need to veil your heart from him. There’s no reason to act as if everything is all right if it isn’t. Whether you’re at church, with friends, or meeting him in the secret place, he only asks for honesty from you. Tell him how you feel. Open up the places of your heart that you are too shameful or scared to let into the light. Allow him to flood your fears with his relentless love and experience the presence that only grace has to offer.
Extended Reading: Psalm 27 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
Allow him to flood your fears with his relentless love and experience the presence that only grace has to offer.
]]>3/28/2026 | Experiencing God
Christ said his work was finished on the cross, and it’s about time we start living in the new reality he instated for us.
Today we’ll explore the experience of God’s freedom as it relates to our identity and what we believe about ourselves. Many of us have yet to truly taste the freedom available to us through the finished work of Christ. There is nothing else like it in the world. It is my prayer you are liberated today, and that your thinking toward yourself changes and in result changes your actions. Christ said his work was finished on the cross, and it’s about time we start living in the new reality he instated for us.
Romans 6:1-4 ESV
The Christian experience of freedom was not established by the power and endurance of mankind, but by the sacrifice and love of our God. The freedom we experience is not our own, but his. Apart from the redemption bought for us, we have no strength to resist sin. And apart from continually renewing our minds to the truth of this redemption, we’ll continue to act as if chains that were broken long ago still tie us down to the world from which we’ve been successfully ransomed. Paul says in Romans 6:1-4,
To experience freedom here on earth is to continuously acknowledge that our old ways—our former self—was buried with Christ the day we accepted him as Lord. To sin is to live outside of the reality that we’ve been given a new resurrected identity in Christ, our resurrected King.
How do you see yourself in regard to your sin today? How do you believe you experience freedom? In what areas of your life are you still trying in your own strength to fight for something Jesus already bought with his blood? What sin have you not yet brought to the glorious light of God’s powerful resurrection that you might see it for what it truly is?
There is freedom for you today in Christ that’s available apart from any past failures, present downfalls, or future concerns. You can “walk in newness of life” as you live in the reality of the inner working of the Holy Spirit and follow his leadership away from your old identity. Your mistakes don’t change the reality of God’s grace. Your sin is powerless to bind you. Your freedom is just as sure as the limitless love of your Savior.
Take time today to renew your mind to who you are in Christ. Take time to bring your sin to the light and confess it that God might take it from you as far as the east is from the west. May you experience the freedom of your risen King today as you live in light of his powerful grace.
1. Meditate on what the Bible says about freedom from sin. Align your understanding of your sin with the truth of God’s word.
2. What sin do you need to bring to God today in confession? What feels too dark and too powerful to gain freedom from? Bring it to him that you might see it in light of his power and sacrifice.
3. Ask God to reveal how he sees you. Ask him to reveal your new identity in him. Ask him how you can experience freedom from that which doesn’t align with your new identity.
Renewing our minds to our new identity takes time. Often, while we are gaining a correct understanding of our freedom, we need to set up boundaries to gain separation from darkness. Take time to identify things that continuously lead you into temptation. It could be friends, media, or actions that seem beneficial, like lifting weights or going shopping. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you establish boundaries that will guard your heart from the outside as he does a powerful work in you on the inside. May you experience the freedom purchased for you by the blood of Jesus as you “walk in newness of life” with the power of the Holy Spirit.Extended Reading: Romans 6 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Romans 5-16.
May you experience the freedom purchased for you by the blood of Jesus as you “walk in newness of life” with the power of the Holy Spirit.
]]>3/27/2026 | Experiencing God
Everything with God starts and ends with relationship, and he simply wants to co-labor with you.
Today we’ll explore the concept of partnering with God in his purposes in the earth. God is already at work all around us. He is asking us today to have eyes to see it, and step in with him to see his will fulfilled in the earth. As we assess our hearts today, may you go forward with a deep sense of purpose and calling. Everything with God starts and ends with relationship, and he simply wants to co-labor with you.
1 Peter 2:9 ESV
True friends are those who are willing to partner with us in things that really matter to us. True friends are willing to help simply because they love us, even if the task isn’t something they would have ordinarily valued. In John 21:15 we gain insight into a conversation between two friends, Jesus and Simon Peter. Scripture says,
Jesus didn’t ask Simon Peter if his heart burned for taking care of his people. He didn’t ask Peter his plans after Jesus had gone. After being established in the heart of Peter as Lord, Jesus simply asked him if he loved him.
I’ve spent so much of my life trying to figure out what I liked—what I felt like doing. I’ve taken all the gift tests, personality tests, and strength tests. And while God absolutely fashions, forms, and equips us for unique purposes, I believe God is asking the same question of you and me that he did of Peter. I believe that our purposes are to be foundationally birthed out of utter devotion to Jesus above what we want or feel equipped to do.
Jesus is looking for disciples who will say yes to that which is greater than they could have ever imagined doing. He’s looking for friends like Simon Peter who will follow him wherever he leads, even if it means to their death. He’s looking for those who are so in love with him that at a single statement from his lips we willingly and obediently respond by taking up our cross as he did and living a surrendered, purposeful life.
Take time today to hear the voice of your Lord saying, “Do you love me?” Assess today whether he truly is your greatest love. And in response, open your heart to receive any command he would speak to you today. If you are faithful to respond with your life, you will find his strength to accomplish any purpose and the reality of his love to be your unshakable joy.
1. Meditate on John 21:15. Allow the word of God to search your heart.
2. Next, assess whether Jesus truly is your greatest love. If he isn’t—if you wouldn’t follow him anywhere—take time to surrender anything you’ve placed above him. Confess any idols you have in your life that he might truly be crowned King of your heart today.
“Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.” Jonah 2:8
3. Ask him to speak his will to you today. Ask him what he would have you do and where he would have you do it. Be faithful to respond in obedience and trust today.
In John 15:12-14 Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Rather than placing yourself at the center of your thoughts, actions, motives, and emotions, choose to center your life around others today. Choose to serve and love others as Jesus did. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you his heart for those around you that you might be a reflection of his great love in the earth. Seeing God’s kingdom come is nothing more than choosing to love and live as Jesus did. You can be a conduit for his purposes in the earth today. May your day be filled with spectacular wonders as God manifests his kingdom through your life.
Extended Reading: John 12 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 1-12.
May your day be filled with spectacular wonders as God manifests his kingdom through your life.
]]>3/26/2026 | Experiencing God
Bring whatever fears, stresses or worries you have to the risen Christ today, and experience the very real breath of heaven.
Life this side of heaven is plagued with all kinds of stress and anxiety. None of us is immune to this reality, but thankfully we have Jesus who the Bible tells us is himself our peace. What a beautiful comfort we have found in him. May you lose yourself in Jesus today and allow him to wrap you in his peace afresh. Bring whatever fears, stresses or worries you have to the risen Christ today, and experience the very real breath of heaven.
2 Thessalonians 3:16 ESV
One of the most heavenly aspects of experiencing God is his abounding peace. Peace is not something this world can offer us. This world is run on chaos, stress, confusion, striving, and frivolous pursuits with no satisfaction. Even in this life, God offers us the peace of heaven, the peace that comes from having our hearts wrapped up in true relationship with him.
Philippians 4:6-7 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.” God exchanges our earthly cares and stresses for his heavenly, sustaining peace. He is such a good Father to us that he takes that which troubles our hearts, promises to take care of us down to the smallest burden, and offers us incomprehensible peace from his Spirit.
Jesus says in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” When we seek relationship with Jesus we are seeking relationship with the One who conquered death and destroyed any and every scheme of the enemy against us. To know him is to know a true Conqueror. And in knowing him our lives become wrapped up in his. Our worried and fearful hearts become wrapped up in his heart of peace.
Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” God longs for us to so encounter his trustworthiness that our lives are marked by his peace. He longs for us to so trust him that this world cannot rob us of the peace that comes from knowing our God will always prove himself faithful. All he has promised to do he will do. All he has said of himself he truly is. Peace comes from keeping our mind stayed on the perfect character of our heavenly Father and letting who he is be at the foundation of all we do, think, and feel.
God has heavenly peace in store for you today. The peace he offers you isn’t of this world and therefore will sustain you through any of its troubles (John 14:27). Come before your loving heavenly Father and cast your cares on him. Let your requests be made known to him. Place your trust in his trustworthiness. And receive the perfect, sustaining peace of your loving Father.
May your day today be marked by the fruit of wholehearted relationship with the God of peace.
1. Meditate on the peace available to you in relationship with God. Allow Scripture to help you not settle for stress, burdens, and cares that aren’t your portion in Jesus.
2. What has been causing you stress? What’s been stealing your peace? What thoughts, people, situations, fears, or spiritual attacks do you need to bring before your loving heavenly Father?
3. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Take time to bring before God all that’s bothering you. Lay all your anxieties at his feet, choose to trust that he will take care of them and help you through them, and receive his peace that surpasses all understanding.
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.” We have the choice moment by moment to set our minds on the things of this world or on the things of God. When we choose to set our minds on the Spirit, we are positioning ourselves to be people marked by the fruit of his presence in our lives. When we choose the world we are only setting ourselves up for failure, anxiety, and trouble. Choose today to set your mind on the Lord in every situation. The things of this world are fleeting, but our God spans throughout the farthest reaches of eternity. May his power, faithfulness, and nearness bring you peace today.
Extended Reading: Philippians 4 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Philippians.
May his power, faithfulness, and nearness bring you peace today.
]]>3/25/2026 | Experiencing God
I hope today you will feel the pressure or weight lift off your shoulders as you learn just how simple relationship with and knowing God truly is.
As we continue our week on knowing God through experiencing him, today we’ll explore what it means and looks like to experience his voice. This can often be an intimidating topic. Many of us feel inadequate or even unable to hear the voice of God—but nothing could be further from the truth. I hope today you will feel the pressure or weight lift off your shoulders as you learn just how simple the relationship and knowing God truly is.
John 8:47 ESV
To seek the fullness of relationship with God is to hear his voice. “Whoever is of God hears the words of God” (John 8:47). Just like when I seek true relationship with a person, a conversation must happen; when we seek to truly know God, he talks with us. He is not a God who is silent but a God who speaks to us in any and every way he can.
All throughout the New Testament, there is both teaching on hearing the voice of God and instances where the people of God had conversation with him. In John 14:16-17 Jesus says, “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.” And later in John 16:13 Jesus says, “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.”
God himself dwells within us and longs to speak to our hearts. He longs for us to know the will of our heavenly Father the way Jesus did. He longs for us to follow his leading moment by moment the way the apostles did. And he longs for us to engage in conversation with him as all those who are in true relationship with one another do.
God is constantly speaking to us. The problem is that we don’t know how to listen. Scripture tells us that he is declaring the invisible attributes of his nature through creation (Romans 1:20). When I take time to experience firsthand the things God has made, I feel his presence. There is a reason it’s peaceful to be in creation. There is a reason it’s restful to be in the mountains, lay on a beach, or swim in the sea. All of creation is declaring the wonderful character of our loving God. We just need to learn how to listen.
God speaks to us through his revealed word. The inspirer of Scripture dwells within us and longs to use the Bible as a wonderful avenue to encountering its Author. The Bible is not a biography written after someone has died. Rather, it is the living, active words of a living, active God who longs for relationship with us (Hebrews 4:12).
God speaks to us through one another. All of us as believers have been given the same Spirit who has called us to a lifestyle of encouraging one another. We are called to be a critical part of the process of discovering God’s heart and will in each other’s lives. If we will make time to learn how God speaks to us for others, we will discover the very words of God given by grace to the lips of man.
And God speaks to us directly from his Spirit to our spirit. The Holy Spirit is a vocal God. He longs for us to know his thoughts. He longs to direct us whether it be through words, a sense, a desire, an uneasiness, or a prompting. He is always speaking to us. In order to learn to hear his voice moment by moment, whether we’re in solitude or in chaos, we must make time in the secret place to seek the fullness of relationship with him. It’s in seeking relationship with God that we become familiar with his voice and are able to follow him as sheep with their Shepherd.
Take time in guided prayer to seek the face of your heavenly Father and hear his voice however he is choosing to speak. Don’t limit yourself to hearing him in only one way. The path to the fullness of relationship with him is marked by his voice in each of these ways and more. Open your heart to hearing him through any and every way he is speaking that you might grow in your relationship with a good and loving God.
1. Meditate on Scripture that declares God to be a vocal God. Allow Scripture to stir up your desire to hear God in every way he speaks.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
2. In what ways are you comfortable hearing God? What ways might be new to you? Know that there is grace to grow in every facet of your relationship with him. Don’t limit yourself to only what you’ve known or experienced up to this point. Rather, seek the truth of God’s word by his Spirit and discover a wealth of relationship you might not have yet experienced.
3. Choose one of the ways God speaks that’s new to you and ask him to help you have conversation with him through that avenue. Again, hearing his voice through all of these avenues is meant to be the byproduct of simply seeking relationship with him. Just as we don’t seek to hear the voice of another person but seek relationship with them and get a conversation as a result, simply seek to know God and talk with him.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Jeremiah 33:3
To have conversation with God might sound strange for some, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Rather, to have conversation with God available to us and to not take advantage of it is strange. God longs to speak to you. The Creator of all longs to have dialogue with you. The King of kings and Lord of lords is inviting you to meet with him that you might have true relationship. Seek God with all your heart. Look to Scripture and the lives of biblical believers as your source of truth and normalcy. Because of God’s heart to speak to you, you can live your life in constant conversation with a God who is both near to you and loves you.
Extended Reading: John 10 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 1-12.
Because of God’s heart to speak to you, you can live your life in constant conversation with a God who is both near to you and loves you.
]]>3/24/2026 | Experiencing God
God’s love is most radical and life-changing upon encounter, and it’s my hope today you’ll press into him and really feel first hand yourself how much God truly loves you.
As we spend this week wholeheartedly seeking to know God with all we are, we’ll take time today to experience God’s love for us. We all may live with the head knowledge that God loves us, but go long s purts of time without actually experiencing God’s love. God’s love is most radical and life-changing upon encounter, and it’s my hope today you’ll press into him and really feel first hand yourself how much God truly loves you.
Romans 5:5 ESV
There is nothing in this world like experiencing the unconditional love of God. His love extends farther than the width of the skies. His love goes deeper than the deepest sea. His love is more powerful than a raging fire, and it is closer than the heartbeat within your chest. Experiencing his love is like becoming new again and again. With each taste of his affection, the wounds of the past become healed and restored that one no longer regrets pain but rejoices in the opportunity it gives to experience the love of a good and near heavenly Father once again.
When we seek to know God we gain experiences with his love because it’s who he is. 1 John 4:8 says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” To know love is to know God because every bit of true love comes from him. 1 John 4:16 says, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” It’s time for you and me to “believe the love that God has for us.” It’s time that we cease questioning whether we are loved and instead seek the face of our heavenly Father that we might know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he loves us.
Almost all of my energy goes toward being loved. I look for love everywhere. I look for it from my wife, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and total strangers. I constantly concern myself with whether I am, moment by moment, loved or not. But Jesus came that we might no longer ask ourselves that question. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God already loved us so much that he died for us (Romans 5:8). There’s nothing we have to do to earn his love. If we need a fresh reminder of it, all we have to do is simply seek his face and love will come as the result.
We have unlimited access by the grace of God to the love of God. Unconditional, limitless love awaits us at every turn if our hearts will simply seek his. Scripture says in Psalm 27:8, “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.'” May we be children who constantly seek the face of our loving heavenly Father. May we be a bride wholly wrapped up in the love of our Bridegroom. And may we experience as the result of simply seeking God the powerful affections of a God who laid down his own life for the sake of his creation.
1. Meditate on the love of your heavenly Father. Allow Scripture to stir up your desire to seek God and as a result experience an encounter with his love.
“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8
2. Where are you seeking love? To whom or what are you turning for love other than God?
3. Take time to seek the face of your heavenly Father and encounter his love. Open your heart to him and simply desire relationship with him. He will take care of the rest.
1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” We have no reason to fear seeking God. All that he would say to us, do in us, and lead us to comes from a foundation of his perfect love. There is no reason to fear in this life. There is nothing here that can separate us from eternal, unbound relationship with our heavenly Father. Allow his love to cast out any reservations you have today. Receive an awareness of his perfect love and rest easy in his kindness.
Extended Reading: 1 John 4 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1-3 John.
Allow his love to cast out any reservations you have today. Receive an awareness of his perfect love and rest easy in his kindness.
]]>3/23/2026 | Experiencing God
May you encounter wonderful aspects of relationship with your heavenly Father this week as we wholeheartedly seek to know him with all we are.
To know God is to experience God. Just as we experience aspects of one another as we grow in friendship, we experience the wonders of God as we seek to simply know him. God is calling us to a life of seeking him with all we are. He is calling us to value relationship with him above all else that we would love no other but him. May you encounter wonderful aspects of relationship w ith your heavenly Father this week as we wholeheartedly seek to know him with all we are.
Psalm 46:10 ESV
The single greatest privilege in life is to know God. The God who formed you, provides for you and sent his Son to die for you longs to have real relationship with you. He longs to be known by you. And through the powerful sacrifice of Jesus, we truly can know him like any other person. And in fact, in some respects he is infinitely more knowable than any other person. Jeremiah 31:33-34 says,
“From the least of them to the greatest,” says the living God. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, you can know the God of love. Knowing God is no longer reserved for those individually appointed as his leaders. Knowing God is no longer reserved for those like David, Isaiah, Peter, or the clergy. All of us have equal access to the living God.
And from the place of knowing God, we are granted the ability to experience his incredible attributes and be blessed by a greater awareness of our union with him. When we seek to know God, the Bible is clear that we begin to experience his love (Romans 5:5), hear his voice (John 10:27), and feel his peace (2 Thessalonians 3:16). We can partner in his purposes (1 Peter 2:9), experience his freedom (Romans 6:4), and rest in his presence (Psalm 16:11).
When we center our lives around knowing God, we gain experience with him like we do any other person. I don’t seek to hear my wife’s voice, rather I seek to know her and have conversation with her as a byproduct of that. I don’t seek just the emotion of love from my wife; rather, in getting to know her and walking in relationship with her, I experience her affections for me. So it is with God. When we simply seek to know him we gain experience in return.
I pray that as we look at the individual aspects of experiencing God this week your heart is stirred to simply seek deeper relationship with your heavenly Father, whatever may come as the result. Your Father loves you enough to pay the ultimate price to have relationship with you. Seek him and discover the wealth of his affections for you.
1. Meditate on the availability of knowing the living God. Allow Scripture to stir up your desire to seek him with all your heart.
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10
2. Is your life centered around the pursuit of knowing God? Check the posture of your heart today. Look at the way you spend your time, your emotions, your thoughts, and your actions. What seems to be your greatest pursuit?
3. Spend some time centering your heart around true relationship with a knowable God. Ask him to help guide your heart through your day toward this pursuit. Ask him to give you a check in your heart when something takes his place as the greatest desire in your life. Live today with him as your highest priority.
“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” Psalm 119:10
Jeremiah 9:23-24 says,
May we be those who boast solely in our relationship with God. May his love and nearness be our highest joy. And may it be said of us at the end of our days that we sought the Lord above all else.
Extended Reading: Psalm 46 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalm 46.
May we be those who boast solely in our relationship with God. May his love and nearness be our highest joy. And may it be said of us at the end of our days that we sought the Lord above all else.
]]>3/22/2026 | God's Manifest Presence
Find rest today as we encounter the Spirit of the living God and allow him to minister to us.
As we wrap up our week exploring the tangible, life changing presence of God, we’ll look to the baptism of Jesus and how the Spirit of God descended and rested upon him. What does this mean for us as Christ’s followers? Is the Spirit’s presence available to us just the same? Find rest today as we encounter the Spirit of the living God and allow him to minister to us.
Matthew 3:16-17 ESV
The baptism of Jesus lays the foundation on which you and I can return time and time again to experience the abundant life made available to us at salvation. Matthew 3:16-17 says, “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'” Through the baptism of Jesus the Spirit of God powerfully enters into the scene of humanity. The Holy Spirit’s always been moving and working, but through Christ the way was paved for him to fill us and rest on us. Through the baptism of Jesus, we can all be baptized with the Spirit (John 1:33, John 3:5).
Peter says in Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” And Romans 6:4 tells us, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” At salvation the Spirit descends on us and fills us. He is the promise of God for our eternal life. He is our Helper, Teacher, and Comforter while we are here on earth. And he is the one who leads us into the abundant, new life made available to us through Christ.
You see, just as the Spirit rested on Jesus, through his presence in our lives we have untapped resources of unconditional rest. God desires that we would rest in him as he rests on us. He desires for his children to find the only consistent source of peace available to us through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Where do you need rest today? What trouble, situation, thought, or person is stealing your peace? The Holy Spirit wants to descend on you today as he did on Jesus. He wants to guide you into the rest of your heavenly Father. Isaiah 40:28-31 says,
You have the one who never faints or tires and gives power and might dwelling within you as a follower of Jesus. You have an inexhaustible resource of joy, strength, renewal, and rest readily available to you in the Spirit. All that is required of you is to make space in your life to enter into the rest God longs to provide you. Allow him to lay a foundation of his presence in your life by spending time simply being with him, and he will transform you into a person of the Spirit who fellowships and receives from the Spirit constantly. Learn to listen to his voice, follow his guidance, and enjoy his presence today.
Wherever you need rest today the Holy Spirit is waiting to provide it for you. As you pray, make space in your heart and day to rest in him as he rests on you.
1. Meditate on the Spirit’s desire to descend on you as he did on Jesus. Allow your faith to be stirred to have a real, tangible encounter with the Holy Spirit.
2. Now, reflect on your own life. Where in your life do you need rest today? Where do you need a fresh encounter with the Holy Spirit? What trouble seems to plague you? What brokenness needs healing and peace?
3. Ask the Spirit to descend on you and bring you rest. Ask for him to make his presence a reality to you. Follow him as he guides you into his presence. Worship, pray, and read the word. Do whatever will guide you into an encounter with the presence of God. God longs to bring you rest. It’s his desire that brings his presence, not your ability to feel him. He makes himself known when we open up our hearts and wait on him. Spend time waiting on his presence and resting in his love.
May you discover today the path to continual encounter with the Holy Spirit. He isn’t a God who separates himself into different sections of your life. You are created to live in continual, tangible relationship with your heavenly Father. You are created to find consistent rest in his loving presence. When you begin to feel the burdens of the world weighing you down and robbing you of the abundant life that is yours in Christ, take a minute and receive his presence again. Find consistent times throughout your day to press into the heart of God and discover his continual, new, and refreshing presence that’s available to you anytime and anyplace. Don’t allow a mediocre day to be enough today. Press into the Spirit for more and find all that God intended for your life.
Extended Reading: Isaiah 40 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Isaiah 40-66.
Don’t allow a mediocre day to be enough today. Press into the Spirit for more and find all that God intended for your life.
]]>3/21/2026 | God's Manifest Presence
May your heart grow in gratitude and friendship with the Spirit today as a result of your time with him.
Pentecost means so much to us as believers. The day of Pentecost changed everything for us. Today we’ll explore walking with the Holy Spirit and how he affects our daily life so much. May your heart grow in gratitude and friendship with the Spirit today as a result of your time with him.
Acts 2:1-2 ESV
Pentecost marks the powerful beginning of a global movement of the power of God’s presence sweeping across the earth. As we read the account of what happened as the Spirit descended with power on God’s people, place yourself in their midst. Imagine what it would look like, sound like, and feel like to witness firsthand such a powerful movement of God’s Spirit:
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Holy Spirit is our greatest gift. When the disciples received the Spirit they began living as Jesus did. They began speaking to, healing, and transforming a world that had known no restored relationship with their Creator since Adam and Eve. And Scripture makes it clear that our lives are to follow their example. We’ve been given the same Spirit as the disciples, who moved so powerfully in revealing our loving heavenly Father to a world in desperate need of relationship with their Creator. I feel that there are three areas in which the Spirit would anoint us more powerfully today as he did the disciples at Pentecost. Let’s boldly seek out all that the Spirit would do in our hearts and lives today.
The first act of the disciples upon being filled with the Spirit at Pentecost was to speak to all who would listen, explaining all the powerful acts that were going on around them. And with the preaching of Peter three thousand listeners accepted the free gift of salvation. We who are marked by the Spirit’s presence are to be disciples who move in the power of love. Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The Spirit longs to use us to proclaim the goodness of God’s love to this lost and dying world. He longs to fill us with the desire to love this world the way he does. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Let all that you do be done in love.” Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love.” And in Mark 12:31, Jesus says that the second greatest commandment is, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Is your life marked by love for others? Do you live your life in service to your heavenly Father and his children? Seek out a fresh encounter with the Holy Spirit today. It’s the Spirit who bears the fruit of love in your life. You cannot love others on your own, for true love comes solely from God. But, the Spirit longs to fill you with a desire and anointing to love others around you that they might better know the love of the heavenly Father.
The coming of the Holy Spirit also brought powerful unity to the disciples. Acts 2:44-47 says,
Only the Spirit can bring unity between broken, competitive, and needy people. Only through the Spirit do we have the ability to love and accept others regardless of our differences and unite toward the common goal of loving God and others wholeheartedly. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:1-3, “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.” Are you a disciple marked by a desire to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace?” Are you a Christian marked by grace-filled love for your fellow believers? We all need to seek out greater anointing and desire from the Spirit toward unity. We cannot be selfless in our own strength. We need the help of the God of perfect love to pursue unity through humility. Seek out a desire and anointing to be a person who works toward the goal of unity instead of division today. Spend time in God’s presence allowing him to transform your heart to look more like his.
Lastly, Pentecost filled the disciples with the ability to connect directly to God through the avenue of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:10, “These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” Acts 15:28 says, “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements.” The disciples knew God’s desires, received revelation from him, and were transformed into the likeness of Christ through fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit. We as disciples are to be marked by direct connection with the Holy Spirit. Paul and Peter had no special human ability to talk to God. Prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit, Paul was killing children of the very God he was trying to serve, and Peter chose his own safety over Jesus, who had shown him such immense love and grace. It was only with the Holy Spirit that these men were able to connect to God so deeply, and we can have that same connection today. So, are you a believer marked by direct connection with the Holy Spirit? Do you spend time seeking his presence, counsel, and anointing? Let’s be children of God who pursue deeper connection with our heavenly Father today. Let’s seek the face of God as the early disciples did and be believers marked by relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Spend time during guided prayer pursuing all that the Spirit would do in you. Open your heart and mind to be transformed by his love. And commit to living your life with direct connection to the God who dwells within you.
1. Meditate on the Spirit’s desire and ability to anoint us with the power and desire to love others. Ask him to show you how to better love others today. Ask his forgiveness for any way in which you have been hurtful to those whom he loves. And receive the anointing to love people from his heart and strength rather than your own.
“Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14
2. Now meditate on God’s desire to use you to bring unity to his children. Confess to God anyone who annoys you or angers you. Confess anyone whom you have a hard time loving. Ask him for his heart for that person. Ask him to fill you up with a supernatural ability to love those who are difficult or different. Ask him to help you be a person who pursues unity.
3. Now seek after a direct connection to the Holy Spirit. Ask him to guide you into the knowledge of his presence. Ask him to show you the overwhelming love, grace, and anointing he has for you today. Seek out answers to any questions you have of him. May you discover a wellspring of friendship in the Holy Spirit today.
It’s crucial that we as children of God seek out all that he longs to give us. Relationship with God is meant to be anything but stale, stagnant, and weak. The disciples demonstrated that those filled with the Spirit of God are to be marked by adventure, mystery, and the miraculous. God has a story for the ages written with you in mind. He has a plan beyond what you could ever imagine if you will seek him out, trust him, and follow him. Rest today in the fact that God loves you enough to lead you away from a mundane life. Pursue his plans and watch as he fills your life with adventure and wonder.
Extended Reading: Acts 2 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Acts 1-12 and Studies on Prayer Volume 1 & Volume 2 by Janet Denison.
Pursue his plans and watch as he fills your life with adventure and wonder.
]]>3/20/2026 | God's Manifest Presence
As we learn of all Jesus’ sacrifice accomplished, may our hearts swell in worship and thanks to our King.
Today as we look at the Holy of Holies, we’ll see how Jesus fulfilled the requirements of God’s law and is the perfect High Priest on our behalf. As we learn of all Jesus’ sacrifice accomplished, may our hearts swell in worship and thanks to our King.
Hebrews 10:19-22 ESV
Descriptions of the Holy of Holies strike fear in my heart. Leviticus 16:1-5 describes the work a priest would have to go through in order to enter into the presence of God and not be killed. Scripture says,
The holiness of God required absolute purity from all who would enter into his presence. And so powerful was God’s presence that it killed the two sons of Aaron, the high priest. When I picture the terrifying, powerful presence of my God as told in the Old Testament, my heart is filled with reverence and awe. How could this holy God love me, a broken and helpless sinner? How could I come before God and enter into his presence when his holiness requires such purity?
But Hebrews 9:11-12 says,
Our high priest entered into the holy places on our behalf and secured safe passage for us all to enter into God’s presence. Hebrews 10:19-22 describes this powerful truth in saying,
What’s more, through the death of Jesus, God is now able to flood the earth with his presence. Christ defeated the power of sin and death and made the way for you and me to be the new temple of God’s holy, powerful presence. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 states, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” Later, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “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, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
The question before you today is this: are you experiencing the fullness of what has been made available to you through Christ? Are you experiencing the power and nearness of the God who has made his temple within you? Are you living out of the holiness of the very Spirit who dwells within you and has made you a righteous new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Corinthians 5:21)?
1 Corinthians 6:20 commands us to “glorify God in [our] body” as a response to being filled with the presence of God through the work of our high priest, Jesus Christ. It’s in living our life out of the inner working of the Holy Spirit that we begin to experience all that God intends for us. We must first acknowledge that the very presence of God who dwelled within the Holy of Holies and was so powerful that it killed men now dwells within us. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives within us. And in acknowledging the reality of God’s presence in our lives we must begin to realign our lives with the will of the Spirit. We must react to God’s grace with our obedience. So great was God’s desire to provide you with an abundant life in him that he sent Jesus as the final, perfect sacrifice. The fact that you are now the temple of the Holy Spirit means that you have God himself to guide you, love you, fill you, heal you, and deliver you. You have access to a more real and intimate relationship with your heavenly Father than you can fathom.
Spend time in prayer acknowledging the presence of God within you and responding to his presence with humility and trust. Allow the Spirit to transform you in his presence and guide you into who you were created to be. May you encounter the power of the God who loves you too much to allow you to lead a life apart from his holy and loving presence.
1. Meditate on the power of the presence of God that dwells within you. Reflect on the holiness of God as described in the Old Testament accounts of the Holy of Holies.
2. Now meditate on the fact that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Acknowledge the reality of the Holy Spirit in your life. Open your heart and mind to experience his nearness, love, and power.
“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
3. Come before God with the boldness made available to you through Christ. Ask the Spirit to guide you deeper into God’s presence. Ask God to reveal to you new parts of his love for you. Take time to rest in the wonderful, real, and loving presence of your heavenly Father.
In God’s presence you can experience all he longs to do in you. Allow the Spirit to guide you to past wounds that need to be healed. If you are suffering from a physical ailment, ask the Spirit to heal you. God’s Spirit is as alive and active today as ever, working to heal the brokenness of a world wrought with the destruction of sin. Allow him to work in you, that you might be a picture to others of the reality of your heavenly Father’s love for his children. Open your heart, ask him to move and work, and receive whatever it is he desires to give you today. There’s no time like being in the presence of God to experience all that he has to offer us in his love and grace.
Extended Reading: Hebrews 9-10 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Hebrews.
There’s no time like being in the presence of God to experience all that he has to offer us in his love and grace.
]]>3/19/2026 | God's Manifest Presence
Open your heart to trust him afresh today, and remember he is for you.
Today as we explore the stories of the Israelites being led by the pillar of God’s presence, we’ll examine what that means for God’s leadership in our own lives. As we submit to his leadership, may we find how truly faithful he is to lead us in every single season. Open your heart to trust him afresh today, and remember he is for you.
Exodus 13:21-22 ESV
One of the greatest realities of God’s presence is the way it guides us. Exodus 13:21-22 provides an illustration for an important truth God would have us know today: when we need guidance we can run to his presence and discover his leadership in abundance. Scripture tells us, “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.”
Even in the Israelites’ sin, God faithfully led them. Even in their lack of faith, he still provided miraculous leadership. And now, through believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have been filled with the presence of God himself. We’ve been given the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit who is always present with us and in us. As amazing as it is that God led his people with pillars of cloud and fire, how much more incredible is it that we have been filled with the very presence of God by the work of Christ? Jesus made a way for us to know the will of God with every moment as we fellowship with the Spirit of God himself.
So, how can we follow the Spirit as the Israelites followed the pillars of fire and cloud? How can we discover the abundance of leadership available to us through the presence of God? First, we must acknowledge our need of his leadership and seek out his counsel. He can only guide those who choose to follow. If you choose to go your own way in life you will step outside the guidance of his presence. It’s in seeking his will that we discover the vast reservoir of the Spirit’s perfect leadership. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “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.” Acknowledge him. Acknowledge the reality of his presence in your life in all your ways. Trust in his guidance rather than your own understanding, and watch as he makes straight all of your paths.
Second, you have to believe that God can and will guide you when you ask for his leadership. Isaiah 58:11 says, “And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” This world is suffering from a lack of God’s guidance. We live in a world continuously searching, striving, and yearning for some sort of message of leadership. All around us the blind lead the blind into greater depths of darkness, continually searching for what we have already found in God. God longs to satisfy your desire for leadership. He longs to make you “like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” All you have to do is ask him. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” God will guide you when you seek him for wisdom. He will lead you to the perfect will he has for you if you humble yourself before him and commit to following him. All you have to do is ask and follow the Spirit’s guidance in however he chooses to lead you. He will make his leadership clear if you stay behind him and listen.
Last, you must follow his leadership to experience the fruit of his guiding presence. The prize of a winning lottery ticket remains worthless until it is cashed in. The contents of a gift remain useless until it is opened. You have been given the most incredible gift of all: God’s guiding presence in your life. Proverbs 3:13-18 says,
But until you choose to follow the wisdom of God in your life, you won’t experience an ounce of its value. Until you follow the wise guidance of the Holy Spirit, you won’t experience the incredible, abundant life he has in store for you. James 1:22-25 commands us,
Persevere today in God’s presence. Seek out his wisdom and counsel during guided prayer. Lay the burden of leading your own life on his mighty and loving shoulders, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into the abundant life he has prepared for you.
1. Meditate on God’s desire and ability to lead you.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Jeremiah 33:3
2. Now meditate on the value of God’s leadership in your life. Trust in his word. Believe that his wisdom is far greater than your own. Trust in Scripture that what he leads you to is far beyond anything you could discover yourself.
3. Now ask the Spirit for wisdom and guidance in your life. Where do you need the mind of Christ today? What issue before you do you not know how to handle well? Where do you need the leadership of God? Lay your questions at his feet, and pay attention to how he responds to you.
The prayer of Paul to the Ephesians is my prayer for you today. May you be blessed with the vast reservoir of God’s wonderful guidance:
Extended Reading: Proverbs 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Proverbs.
The prayer of Paul to the Ephesians is my prayer for you today. May you be blessed with the vast reservoir of God’s wonderful guidance.
]]>3/18/2026 | God's Manifest Presence
Know that as you come before him, you are loved by him and made right with him through the blood of Jesus. He simply wants you to come.
Today we will look at the stories of Moses and Isaiah. They encountered the holiness of God and were changed forever. As we look upon him, may we be changed just the same. Know that as you come before him, you are loved by him and made right with him through the blood of Jesus. He simply wants you to come.
Exodus 3:2 ESV
Two of the most powerful recorded encounters of God’s presence are found with Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-7 and with Moses in Exodus 3:2-6. Let’s open our hearts to both learn from these encounters and allow them to guide us into a powerful encounter with the living God ourselves.
Isaiah 6:1-7 says,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Isaiah demonstrated that experiencing the holiness of God and seeing our own sin in light of his holiness are consistent and important parts of encountering God’s presence. Time after time in Scripture, God’s people see their own sin, repent, and are healed after having an encounter with the presence of God. In fact, Moses has a similar response to being in the presence of God for the first time in Exodus 3:2-6:
In light of God’s astounding holiness, Moses was filled with fear to look at the face of God. These two descriptions of God’s presence illustrate an important truth for all: the light of God’s holiness has the ability to pierce into the depth of our soul, bringing to light the darkness that destroys us from within. My prayer today is that we would follow the examples of Moses and Isaiah and allow God’s holiness to shine light on our sin and draw us to repentance. And may we experience healing today the way Isaiah did as the angel of the Lord cleansed him with the coal.
God’s presence casts light on our sin and brokenness because in order for us to live the fullness of life God desires, we must walk in righteousness. It’s because of God’s love that he reveals our sin. It’s because God longs for us to experience a life of holiness and freedom as his children that he shines light on our darkness and draws us out into the glorious light of righteousness.
God promises in Isaiah 42:16, “And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.” And 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” God’s desire has always been to lead his children into his righteousness. God’s longing for us to partake in his divine nature has been a chief desire of his from the first sin of Adam and Eve. And through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ our nature has been transformed. Ephesians 2:1-6 says,
You have been set free from what once separated you from your heavenly Father. But the key to experiencing this freedom is allowing God to shine light on what does not belong to you anymore: your sin. You must walk as a child of the light, not as a child of wrath, and it’s spending time encountering the holiness of God that will transform you from the inside out. Spending time on holy ground as Moses did will heal you from the sins that entangle you. Spending time allowing God to reveal your sin and purge it from you as he did with Isaiah will empower you to choose the light over the darkness. A vital part of encountering God is repenting of our sin in light of his wonderful, holy love for us.
Experience the holiness of God today as you enter into guided prayer. Repent of whatever is in you that’s not in line with your new nature in Christ and walk as the child of God that you are in light of his wonderful and powerful grace.
1. Meditate on Moses and Isaiah’s encounters with the holiness of God. Put yourself inside the story. Imagine yourself as their character. Feel what they would have felt. See what they would have seen. Allow the stories of Scripture to come to life around you.
2. Allow the holiness of God to shine light on the darkest parts of your soul. Where do you have unconfessed sin? What’s holding you back from walking fully in the light? What sin does God want to heal you from today?
3. Confess your sins to God. Repent from any area of darkness and turn fully toward the light of holiness. Rest in his forgiveness and allow it to be the foundation on which you can live in the freedom bought for you by the blood of Christ.
Psalm 30:11 says, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.” When we give our sin over to God he turns what the enemy meant to harm us into our greatest source of gladness. Forgiveness is something to dance over, to sing about, and to enjoy wholeheartedly. Our God takes what was dark and makes it light. He took what tied us to this world, placed it on the shoulders of Jesus, and put it to death with the last breath of his perfect Son. May you discover today a freeing joy in the presence of the God of holiness and forgiveness. And may you live your life in light of the glorious grace you’ve been shown through the love of God.
Extended Reading: Romans 8 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Romans 5-16.
May you discover today a freeing joy in the presence of the God of holiness and forgiveness. And may you live your life in light of the glorious grace you’ve been shown through the love of God.
]]>3/17/2026 | God's Manifest Presence
May God make all our faces shine in his presence today, that the world would see the goodness that comes from spending meaningful time alone with God.
In today’s First15, we’re going to build on the foundation we built yesterday by looking at different stories in which God made his presence known in a perspective-changing way. Today, we’ll look at Moses and the Tent of Meeting.
Exodus 33:7 ESV
Stories of Moses and the presence of God stir up my desire to meet with my heavenly Father face-to-face. We read in Exodus of God’s faithfulness to lead, speak to, and encounter Moses. We read of Moses coming before his God boldly and asking for his hand in delivering and forgiving his people. Today, let’s look at the story of Moses and the tent of meeting found in Exodus 33, and allow it to guide us into more consistent and impactful encounters with the living, all-powerful, and all-loving God.
Exodus 33:7-11 says,
Moses, a sinful, murdering, and fearful man, was able to see the living God “face to face” and speak with him “as a man speaks to his friend.” Picture that tent in your mind’s eye. Picture the cloud of God’s presence descending from heaven in a way that everyone could see. Place yourself in that tent, hearing Moses talk with God, seeing the glory of God face-to-face with a broken, sinful man. What a picture of God’s heart for us! If Moses could enter into the presence of God, surely all of us can. If Moses could speak with God face-to-face, surely we who have been bought with the blood of Christ can. If God would encounter Moses, speak to him, and guide him, he will surely do the same for each of us. In humility today, let’s learn from this man who so faithfully encountered and followed God. Let’s allow this story in Exodus to teach us how we might more fully and consistently meet with our heavenly Father.
The first thing we learn from this text is that Moses set up a place to meet consistently with God. It is crucially important that we find a place we can consistently seek the face of our heavenly Father. We need an uninterrupted time and place to rest in his presence in order to live our lives with his Spirit, word, and love as our foundation and fuel. Where can you meet with God consistently? What time in your day can be uninterrupted? The best time for me to meet with God is early in the morning before the rest of the world awakens to rush and busyness. When I don’t make time at the beginning of my morning to seek God’s face, I scramble to find pockets of time throughout the day. And without this dedicated meeting with God, I have a much more difficult time living my life in light of the glorious goodness I can only discover in his tangible presence. Without consistently encountering my heavenly Father, I struggle to remain free from the burdens, lies, and sin that so easily entangle me though I have been set free by the blood of Jesus. May we be children of God who learn from Moses and make space and time in our lives to meet with our One, True Source of abundant life.
Next, we must believe that God longs to encounter us just as deeply as he longed to encounter Moses. God loves each of us to the absolute fullest extent possible. You are created for intimacy with your heavenly Father. There is no other path to the abundant life and destiny he has called you to than life lived in his presence. And there is no other way to live in step with his Spirit than spending time consistently encountering his presence. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” God’s greatest satisfaction is spending time with his children. His greatest joy is meeting with you face-to-face as he did with Moses. So great was his desire to encounter you that he offered up his only Son as payment for restored relationship. Believe in his desire to encounter you, believe that he will reward you when you seek him, and believe that you will discover a deeper reality of God’s presence than you have ever encountered.
Lastly, know that as you encounter God consistently and abundantly, you will draw others to worship and seek a greater relationship with your heavenly Father. Exodus 33:10 says, “And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door.” We are designed to encounter the presence of God. We are made to see him face-to-face. So, living as God designed you—by consistently encountering his presence—will lead others to do the same. Others will see in you what they were created for and begin to pursue deeper relationships with God. The best way to lead others to God is out of consistent encounters with him. In encountering him, we naturally begin to become like him and therefore reveal his heart in all that we do.
May you be drawn into deeper encounters with your heavenly Father, whose love for you knows no bounds. Follow the example of Moses and find a consistent place to spend time seeking God’s face. Have faith that God longs to encounter you and to make himself known to you. And as you spend time in his presence, may you naturally lead others to do the same.
Spend time in worship and guided prayer allowing God to reveal himself fully to you.
1. Meditate on how Moses met with God face-to-face and spoke with him. Allow God’s word to stir your desires to meet directly with him as Moses did.
2. Now seek the face of God in faith. Come before his throne boldly by the blood of Jesus. Believe that he loves you and longs to encounter you. And open your heart to receive all the love he would pour out on you in this moment.
3. Rest in the presence of God. Spend time talking with him, receiving more of him, and being transformed by his nearness. Receive his love. Cast your burdens on him. Talk with him about anything that is weighing you down today.
While we only see a glimpse of God here on earth, a glimpse of him is unequivocally better than any other sight. A glimpse of God is more powerful than a rushing wind, more real than your own skin, more vast than the oceans put together, and more satisfying than time spent with your closest friend. Whatever longing that feels unsatisfied can be quenched with a glimpse of your God. Run to his presence when you have need, or when you feel attacked or unfulfilled. Run to your tent of meeting when you need refreshment or guidance, or to talk with God. May you grow in your desire and ability to meet with your heavenly Father face-to-face, to talk with him and to be satisfied in his love.
Extended Reading: Exodus 34:29
May you grow in your desire and ability to meet with your heavenly Father face-to-face, to talk with him and to be satisfied in his love.
]]>3/16/2026 | God's Manifest Presence
May God open our eyes and hearts to see and sense his nearness in a meaningful way today.
God’s presence is real, full of love, and completely transformational. It takes what was broken and brings healing. It takes what was lost and guides us to our rightful place in the Father. It satisfies the weary, brings light to the darkness, and pours out the refreshing rain of God’s love on the dryest, deepest parts of the soul.
Today we’re beginning a new series, focusing on deepening our understanding and practice of God’s presence by focusing on the reality of his presence. May God open our eyes and hearts to see and sense his nearness in a meaningful way today.
Psalm 139:7-8 ESV
It’s a troubling truth in Christianity today that many believers don’t know about or aren’t experiencing continual encounter with the real, manifest presence of God. The Bible contains story after story of life-changing, world-altering encounters with the reality of God’s presence. From Moses and the tent of meeting to the disciples at Pentecost, we continually read about God supernaturally encountering his people in real, transformative ways. Jesus died so that we might walk in communion with our heavenly Father not only in heaven, but here on this earth. Biblical characters modeled what it was to experience God consistently in both the New and Old Testaments. God, in his desire to have restored relationship with you, has made the reality of his presence fully available to you. Through the death of Christ there is nothing separating you from him. Before we dive into different stories of God’s manifest presence on the earth, let’s take time to focus on the biblical basis for encountering God. Open your heart and mind to the truth about God’s nearness and allow your faith to be stirred for all the ways your heavenly Father would transform your life through encounter with him.
Psalm 139:7-8 says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” Acts 17:26-28 says,
Scripture is clear that God is omnipresent and his presence can be tangible to us. David describes God’s presence this way: “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
The sons of Korah wrote in Psalm 84:1-2, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.” Then in verses 10-12 they declare,
There is no doubt in looking at Scripture that God’s presence is real, good, and available to us. Rest in the truth of that for a moment. You can consistently enter into the tangible presence of your heavenly Father anywhere and anytime. Have faith today that God created you to experience him. Encountering his presence is made possible entirely by his grace, so it is available apart from any good or bad thing you do. But, know that God will never force his presence on you. He only fills up what is open and ready to receive. He sweetly calls you to meet with him and waits for you to make space in your life to receive what he longs to give.
There is no more life-giving pursuit you can embark on than the pursuit of God’s presence. Spending time resting in him is meant to be the satisfaction that lays a foundation for you to live the life of abundance made available to you through Jesus. Your role in encountering God is simply seeking him. If you will make time to encounter him, open your heart, and have faith in his word, then you will discover the wellspring of life, joy, love, and transformation that is the presence of our heavenly Father.
Deuteronomy 4:29 says, “You will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Seek and find the presence of the living God today as you meditate on his word and pray.
1. Meditate on the availability of God’s presence. Allow your faith to be stirred up in response to God’s word.
“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Psalm 145:18
2. Now meditate on the goodness of God’s presence. Allow your desires to be stirred as you read about the wonders of encountering the living God.
3. Open your heart to receive his presence. Ask the Spirit to make known God’s nearness. Seek his presence and have faith in his word that when you seek him you will find him.
“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29
In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer wrote, “With our loss of the sense of majesty has come the further loss of religious awe and consciousness of the divine Presence. We have lost our spirit of worship and our ability to withdraw inwardly to meet God in adoring silence.” May his statement not be true of you. May you discover the majesty of your God. May you be a child of God who consistently spends time in the presence of the Father. May you be a believer who is empowered with the very presence of God himself working in and through your life. Grow in your pursuit of his presence this week. Commit to earnestly seeking him and allow this week to be transformational in the way you spend time with God.
Extended Reading: Psalm 84 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
Grow in your pursuit of his presence this week. Commit to earnestly seeking him and allow this week to be transformational in the way you spend time with God.
]]>3/15/2026 | The Holy Spirit
I pray that God would reveal to you how he’s wired and gifted you in the Spirit today, that you would find joy and deeper relationship with him in walking out your unique calling on the earth.
In the final First15 of this series on the Holy Spirit, we’re going to look at what God’s word has to say about the gifts of the Spirit. God has called and equipped each of us uniquely, and importantly to co-labor with him. I pray that God would reveal to you how he’s wired and gifted you in the Spirit today, that you would find joy and deeper relationship with him in walking out your unique calling in the earth.
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.”
1 Corinthians 12:1 ESV
Paul’s heart for the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 12:1 is God’s heart for you and me today. Scripture says, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.” Within the church today are defenders of multiple positions on spiritual gifts, each as staunch as the other. But God’s desire for you and me is that we would be informed directly from him about the incredible gifts of this loving Holy Spirit who dwells within us. God longs for us to receive all he has to give. He longs to teach us about the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives that we might live with greater purpose and affections for him and others. Let’s surrender our hearts and minds to God on spiritual gifts. And let’s seek out every last bit of what God has planned for us today.
The first aspect of spiritual gifts to note is that they are indeed a gift. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 says,
The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to each of us. He “apportions” them according to his perfect wisdom. Spiritual gifts are never birthed by man and never given for selfish purposes. The Spirit gives us gifts because he loves us and others. All that he does is in perfect love and is for “the common good.” Whether you’ve been given the gift of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, or interpretation of tongues, your purpose in the gift is to be the same as the Holy Spirit’s: love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (emphasis added). Spiritual gifts are all about love. Operating in a gift of the Spirit is always to be done in love. Paul is clear that gifts are annoying (1 Corinthians 13:1) and worthless (1 Corinthians 13:2-3) if they are not filled with love.
1 Peter 4:10-11 says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Spend time in prayer discovering what gift the Holy Spirit has given you and how he would intend you to use it for the benefit of the “common good.” Choose to align your understanding and belief on spiritual gifts with the word of God alone. And live today operating in love with the amazing gifts God has given you, whatever they may be.
1. Meditate on God’s word about spiritual gifts. Try and align your understanding of spiritual gifts with his word. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 says:
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the gift he has given you. Ask him to show you if he’s given you multiple gifts! Reflect on your life and the ways God has used you in the past. If you know someone who you believe has a close relationship with the Spirit, ask them what gift they believe God has given you!
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to use you today for the glory of Jesus. Decide to be a believer who lives empowered and purposed with the gift God has given you. Ask the Spirit to show you ways he would use you. Stay in tune and ready to be used by the God of love today.
2 Timothy 1:6-7 says, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” Keep the fire of the Holy Spirit kindled within you today by intimate relationship with him. Talk with him. Ask for his help. Stay close to him and allow him to burn passionately within you to see the lost saved, loved, and freed.
Extended Reading: 1 Corinthians 12-14 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1 Corinthians.
Talk with him. Ask for his help. Stay close to him and allow him to burn passionately within you to see the lost saved, loved, and freed.
]]>3/14/2026 | The Holy Spirit
May you be encouraged as we open our hearts and seek sanctification in the Holy Spirit today.
In today’s First15, we’re going to explore the concept of sanctification in the Holy Spirit. Every day, every moment, God is working to mold us into his likeness. We were made in his image. And the Holy Spirit is so insightful, so good at molding us and correcting. There is so much peace in store for us if we’ll allow God to take away anything in our life holding us back from what we were originally created for, to live free from sin, free from shame, free from the weight of the world, and holy and righteous in him. May you be encouraged as we open our hearts and seek sanctification in the Holy Spirit today.
1 Peter 1:2 ESV
The word “sanctification” typically renders images of fire, struggle, pain, and toil in my mind. It makes me think of my own sin and wonder how I could ever be transformed into a sanctified child of God. I believe sanctification is one of those words commonly used within the church but often misunderstood. We might understand the definition of sanctification (the process of being made or becoming holy), but I don’t know if we have fully grasped God’s plan for the process. I don’t know if we’ve been taught on sanctification in light of God’s grace.
1 Peter 1 gives us wonderful insight into God’s heart for the process of sanctification:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
The first thing we see in 1 Peter 1:2 is that sanctification is “of the Spirit.” Sanctification comes from God working in us, not from our own strength. In fact, Scripture is clear that righteousness is ours as the result of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. 1 Corinthians 6:11 says, “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” And 2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” Sanctification comes from God’s work and power. In our own strength we can’t produce anything like sanctification because we have no holiness within ourselves. But in the Holy Spirit we have access to a vast, deep well of righteousness and godliness. Through Christ we’ve been made clean, and through the work of the Holy Spirit we are growing up into a life of holiness.
1 Peter 1 is most definitely clear that sanctification is a tough process. Dealing with our sin will never be easy. But it is a process full of the work of our merciful God (1 Peter 1:3), and it always results in rejoicing (1 Peter 1:8).
If you desire holiness, righteousness, and godliness, seek out relationship with the Holy Spirit. Open your heart and mind to his work. Allow him to reveal to you the dark places of your heart that have yet to be touched by the capable, loving hands of the God who formed you and knows you. Allow him to heal the wounds and brokenness that have tied you to the world, which you’ve been set free from through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Sanctification is ours by God’s grace and mercy. Spend time in prayer allowing God to deal with your sin and lead you to a life of rejoicing and joy where only sin and sorrow dwelled before.
1. Meditate on God’s desire to produce holiness in you by his grace, love, and mercy.
2. Open your life up to the Holy Spirit. Ask him to reveal areas that are keeping you from a life of holiness and godliness. Ask him to show you past wounds that are still hurting you today. Confess your sin to him and receive his forgiveness.
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” Proverbs 28:13
3. Now ask the Holy Spirit to come and heal you. Ask him to show you where he was at times when you were wounded. Ask him to reveal to you truth that has the power to cover the damaging lies the enemy has spoken to you. Live your life healed, set free, and delivered by the power of the Spirit.
May you experience the joy and freedom that comes from receiving God’s forgiveness and healing. When we give our sins over to him and receive his forgiveness, the chains that entangled us to the cares of the world are shattered. Our portion in God is love, peace, and joy. Jesus died to set us free from the burden of sin. May you be a child of God marked by the holiness of your heavenly Father that is available in the Holy Spirit who dwells within you.
Extended Reading: 2 Peter 1 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 2 Peter.
May you be a child of God marked by the holiness of your heavenly Father that is available in the Holy Spirit who dwells within you.
]]>3/13/2026 | The Holy Spirit
May you experience the richness of God’s presence, the water of his peace, and the warmth of his love today as we seek to allow God to bear his fruit in our lives.
In today’s First15, we’re going to explore how we can bear the life-giving, world-changing fruit of the Holy Spirit. Your life is meant to be marked by love, joy, and peace. And plants don’t bear fruit by trying harder, but by simply receiving abundantly whatever they need to bear fruit. May you experience the richness of God’s presence, the water of his peace, and the warmth of his love today as we seek to allow God to bear his fruit in our lives.
Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
The fruit of the Spirit passage in Galatians 5:22-23 gives me tremendous hope for my own life. Scripture 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.” When I read that list I receive a vision of who I long to be. I long to be a person full of love, joy, and peace. I long to have patience, kindness, and goodness. I long to be marked by faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Who wouldn’t? I see within those incredible characteristics the marks of a fully abundant life. I see Jesus.
At the same time, I see myself in light of these incredible fruits of the Spirit. I see all the ways in which my life doesn’t line up with what the Holy Spirit desires to birth in me. How can we, in all our sin and brokenness, live a life marked by these characteristics? How can we be a people so full of the Spirit that our very being portrays the Spirit of God who dwells within us?
God longs to tell you and me today that by his grace, a life marked by the fruit of the Spirit is entirely possible—but only by his grace. In and of myself, I can produce none of these wonderful characteristics. In my own strength, I will only produce selfishness, laziness, and pride. “But with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). The Bible calls these characteristics fruit for a reason. They are birthed out of the glorious working of God in us. They come entirely by God’s grace.
So how do we allow the Holy Spirit to work at the core of our being and produce these wonderful fruits? How do we become children of God marked by the working of the Spirit in our lives? It comes from being connected to our source, that he might plant seeds that grow within us. As we spend time with God we become like him. In his presence our heart transforms into a greater reflection of his glorious love. He can do incredible and miraculous things in us if we simply open our hearts and spend time abiding in him. The more time we spend receiving his love for us, the more areas of brokenness and sin become healed and transformed. If you want to bear the fruit of the Spirit—if you want to be a person marked by the working of God at your core—then you must spend time each day simply being loved by God.
There is no shortcut to holiness. There is no trick to godliness. Jesus has made a way for us to enter into the holy places and see the face of God. God will do magnificent things in you today if you will follow the path laid before you by Jesus and spend time resting in the presence of your heavenly Father. Receive his love. Allow the words he speaks over you to transform the way you view yourself and the world around you. Spend time in prayer meditating on his word and allowing your heart to become more like Jesus’ today.
1. Meditate on God’s desire and ability to produce the fruit of the Spirit in you. Allow his word to fill you with hope that you can be a person marked by these characteristics.
“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. Now receive God’s presence and rest in his love. Take time to simply abide in him. Rather than thinking about all the places you’re lacking, reflect on his goodness. Allow him to draw you near that you might simply rest in him.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to bear fruit in you today. Ask him to lead you to a lifestyle of love, joy, and peace. Ask him to fill you with patience, kindness, and goodness toward others and yourself. Ask him to make you a person marked by faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
It’s vital that you understand these characteristics are not something you strive toward in your own strength, but they are a natural result of being loved by God. You will never be able to be consistently faithful, gentle, or anything else good in your own strength. It takes the work of the Spirit to be marked by the Spirit. Engage with the Holy Spirit throughout your day. When you find yourself in a situation and are struggling to be a person full of the fruit of the Spirit, take a minute and ask for the Holy Spirit’s help. Ask him to share with you his perspective and heart. He is with you in every moment and longs to help you live your life to the fullest. Enjoy his love today and live your life out of the abundance of God’s presence available to you.
Extended Reading: Galatians 5 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Galatians.
Enjoy his love today and live your life out of the abundance of God’s presence available to you.
]]>3/12/2026 | The Holy Spirit
May we be good students of God’s word today, and allow him to guide us into a lifestyle of learning with him. For his glory, and our good.
In this life there are constant lessons for us to learn. And in the Holy Spirit, we have been given an amazing teacher. In today’s First15 podcast we’re going to explore what it means to be taught by the Holy Spirit. May we be good students of God’s word today, and allow him to guide us into a lifestyle of learning with him. For his glory, and our good.
“But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.”
1 John 2:20 ESV
We have in the Holy Spirit the same Teacher who faithfully breathed the perfect and practical words of Scripture to imperfect men across thousands of years. And Jesus said in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Not only did the Holy Spirit teach the disciples, but he also longs to teach us. He longs to reveal to us the depths of God so that we might learn what it is to be a true follower of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He longs to show us the wisdom of God so that we might live as men and women inspired by God rather than fools who find their knowledge only in the matters of the world. Let’s open our minds and hearts to receive the wisdom that can only come from God himself in the Holy Spirit.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:10, “These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” The Holy Spirit who dwells within us searches the depths of God and longs to reveal to us the ways of our heavenly Father. He longs to teach us what it is to be a lover of God in a world set in opposition to the ways of God. He longs to reveal to us the wisdom of God’s plans and show us the folly that comes from living for the world.
The Holy Spirit desires to be your Teacher today. The questions before you today are: are you willing to be his student? Are you willing to submit your understanding to the Holy Spirit and live in light of his teaching? Are you willing to appear foolish at times when the world doesn’t understand the wisdom of God? Are you willing to live wholeheartedly for the pleasure of your heavenly Father over the fleeting opinions of man? If you will open your heart and mind today to being taught by the Spirit, you will discover a wealth of truth that has the power to set you free from the bonds and burdens of this world. Scripture will begin to change your life as the Holy Spirit reveals to you how these words written thousands of years ago are entirely applicable to your life today.
Receiving the teaching of the Holy Spirit is as simple as submitting our lives to him one day at a time and making time to listen to him and study the word with him. As important and helpful as they are, we don’t have to be pastors, ministers, theologians, or scholars to understand what the Bible means. The Holy Spirit will be our teacher the way he was for the disciples. He will teach us how Scripture applies to our life and guide us into the way of truth. It’s incredibly important that we make time to study Scripture, but it’s equally important that we read the Bible along with the Spirit instead of apart from him. The Bible is a practical book meant to impact the lives of those who read it under the influence of the Spirit. It’s a manual for living life in the abundance of relationship with God, not a book to be read apart from the reality of God’s nearness. Scripture is meant to guide us into direct communication with our heavenly Father, not substitute real, direct relationship with him.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “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.” Trust in the teaching of the Holy Spirit today. Lean on his wisdom instead of your own. Acknowledge the reality of his nearness in your life. And discover knowledge that has the power to fill you with abundant life.
1. Meditate on the Holy Spirit’s desire to be your teacher.
2. Choose to be a student of the Holy Spirit. Choose to follow what he reveals to you to be wisdom over the ways of the world. Make the decision to choose his opinion and ways over man’s opinion and ways.
3. Now ask the Holy Spirit to teach you something specific about God’s character. Pray and ask the Spirit to reveal to you what wisdom he wants to show you. Take a few moments of silence, and pay attention to any ways in which God wants to speak to you today. It could be a thought or a feeling or an image that pops into your mind. Just be at peace and take a few moments to listen.
“These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:10
We have perfectly powerful guidance in Scripture and the Holy Spirit. The pairing of God’s written word and the very God who authored the word have the power to lead us into a life of all wisdom, understanding, and revelation. But we must choose to live this life in light of eternity. We must choose success in heaven over success in the world’s eyes. Scripture and the teaching of the Holy Spirit only have power in our lives if we follow their leadership and principles. Choose today to be a doer of the word instead of a hearer only and discover freeing and empowering wisdom that has the power to transform your life.
Extended Reading: 1 John 2 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1 John 1-3.
Choose today to be a doer of the word instead of a hearer only and discover freeing and empowering wisdom that has the power to transform your life.
]]>3/11/2026 | The Holy Spirit
I pray that your ears would be opened to hear the loving voice of your Creator today, as we discover together what it means to pray with the Holy Spirit.
Today we’re going to look at one of the most life giving topics we can discuss, Praying with the Holy Spirit. We’ve been given an incredible gift in God that most of us fail to use enough, and that’s real communication with God himself in the Holy Spirit.
I pray that your ears would be opened to hear the loving voice of your Creator today, as we discover together what it means to pray with the Holy Spirit.
Jude 1:20-21 ESV
God loves to respond to the prayers of his people. We see him respond to the desire of Adam for a helpmate with Eve, the prayer of Abraham in saving Lot and his family, the prayer of Moses in the salvation of his people, the prayer of Elijah in sending down fire upon an altar, and the cry for a Savior in sending his only son, Jesus. And through the death of Jesus we’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit, God himself sent as our Helper. Our Helper not only longs to guide us and empower us, but also to help us pray and to pray for us.
Jude 1:20-21 says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” We’ve been given the incredible gift of praying with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who searches the deep things of God desires to help us pray. He desires to reveal God’s desires to us in the midst of our circumstances, relationships, and opportunities and longs to help us pray in line with God’s will. When we pray in the Spirit we are praying along with the will of God himself. When we pray in the Spirit we are asking God to do the very thing he desires to do. It’s crucially important that we as children of God learn how to discern the will of our Father through the Holy Spirit and pray according to that will.
Matthew 21:22 says, “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” And Romans 10:17 teaches us, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Scripture tells us to pray in full faith that God will give us what we ask for because faith is always meant to begin with the word of God. Prayer is meant to be as simple as asking God to fill us with the knowledge of his desire and then praying in accordance with that desire in full faith because God will always fulfill his promises.
What’s more, when we don’t know what to pray we can trust in and lean on the groanings of the Spirit. Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Did you know that the Holy Spirit prays for you? Did you know that he intercedes on your behalf? So great is his love for you that he asks God to help you. So great is his desire for you to walk in abundant life that he intercedes on your behalf when you don’t know how to pray.
Aren’t you thankful for the grace of God? In his grace he’s blessed you with the Holy Spirit to help you pray and intercedes for you, all because he loves you. You’ve been given an incredible, powerful gift in praying with the Holy Spirit. Take time today to listen to your Helper as you enter into a time of prayer.
1. Meditate on the Spirit’s desire to help you pray and to intercede for you.
2. Ask the Spirit to fill you with the knowledge of God’s will for whatever it is you desire to pray about. Before you speak, listen.
3. Pray in line with what the Spirit has revealed to you. Ask God, in faith, to bless you with whatever you feel he has shown you. Pray along with Scripture! Rest in the assurance that God will provide you with any and everything that is in his perfect will for you when you ask him to.
“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22
God loves to make the Christian life simpler than we often make it out to be. I used to believe that to discover God’s will I had to ask God for things and wait to see if life’s circumstances panned out in line with those prayers. But God longs to fill us with the knowledge of his will even before you ask so that we can simply pray in full faith and joy in accordance with what he already desires to do. He blesses us with a life of simplicity if we will simply, wholeheartedly follow him. Take time today to search out the will of God for your life and rest in assurance of his faithfulness as you pray.
Extended Reading: Hebrews 11 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Hebrews.
He blesses us with a life of simplicity if we will simply, wholeheartedly follow him. Take time today to search out the will of God for your life and rest in assurance of his faithfulness as you pray.
]]>3/10/2026 | The Holy Spirit
May we discover the pathway he’s laid before us to grow in friendship with him today, as we take time to experience him in a fresh way.
Today we continue our week long focus on the Holy Spirit by exploring what it means for us to grow in friendship with him. We’ll never have a kinder, more present friend than the God who dwells within us. May we discover the pathway he’s laid before us to grow in friendship with him today, as we take time to experience him in a fresh way.
“The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.”
Psalm 25:14 ESV
In friendship with the Holy Spirit we begin to experience a sense of wholeness and joy unattainable through any other relationship or aspect of life. Rapid and wonderful transformation results when you discover the wealth of love that comes with continual, real friendship with the living God. In friendship with God comes peace, security, honesty, healing, and freedom. As you live your life in step with the Spirit, you experience what Adam and Eve experienced as they walked with God himself in the Garden of Eden. You discover the vast reservoir of love, affection, and perfect help that’s available to you in the Holy Spirit. Open your heart today to receive a fresh revelation of God’s desire for friendship with you through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” God longs for friendship with his people. And through the Holy Spirit we have a continual connection with God available to us. The Spirit desires to do life with you. He wants to guide you, speak to you, and love you. He wants to satisfy your longing for relationship and can do so in greater ways than you can imagine.
John 14:16-17 says, “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.” By God’s grace you have been filled with God himself. You have dwelling with you the same Spirit who authored Scripture, raised Christ from the dead, empowered the disciples, and hovered over the waters at the creation of all things. And Scripture says that he longs to help you! Jesus calls him the “Helper.” How incredible is the grace of our God to offer us relationship with the Holy Spirit! How great is his love that he would send his Son to die that we might have abundant life for all of eternity, including right now!
So, how do we grow in friendship with the Holy Spirit? How do we allow him to satisfy our desire for relationship? Psalm 25:14 says, “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” And Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Friendship with the Holy Spirit starts like any other true friendship. We must respect, love, and make time for him. We must learn what he likes and dislikes. And we must apologize when we do something that hurts him. The Holy Spirit has feelings like any other person. But he is also full of grace, forgiveness, and unconditional love. Friendship with him comes about by following his leadership, making time to ask him how he feels about things, and following his guidance away from a lifestyle of sin into the righteousness available to you through Christ Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is waiting right now to guide you into friendship with him. He’s excited about the idea of pouring out his love and affections on you. He longs to lead you away from the sins that hurt you and grieve him. And he longs to guide you toward a life of walking with him in relationship. Spend time in prayer being filled with the Holy Spirit afresh and making room to discover the reality of his presence in your life.
1. Meditate on God’s desire for friendship with you.
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to pour his love out on you. Ask him to make the reality of his nearness known to you. Allow his nearness to fill your heart with desire to live your life in relationship with this real, tangible God who loves you.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit what he likes and doesn’t like. Open your life and let him speak to you about whatever is causing you trouble. Ask him how he feels about relationships, situations, thoughts, and perspectives you have. The Spirit loves to speak to us and help us.
Often we separate out what we think God cares about and what just seems to be normal, worldly parts of life. But God wants to be involved in every part of our lives. He wants to be there for us in everything we do. He wants to fill us with grace and joy to do all the things set before us, from taking out the trash to washing dishes to leading thousands of people in prayer. Allow the Holy Spirit to come in and work in every area of your life and discover the wealth of knowledge and love your God has to share with you.
Extended Reading: John 14 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 13-21.
Allow the Holy Spirit to come in and work in every area of your life and discover the wealth of knowledge and love your God has to share with you.
]]>3/9/2026 | The Holy Spirit
May he reveal himself to each of us in real and fresh ways this week.
As believers, we’ve been given the Holy Spirit as a Helper, Teacher, Friend, and seal for the promised inheritance of eternal life with God. His presence, guidance, and wisdom in our lives are our greatest gifts while here on earth. Through him we have access to direct connection with our heavenly Father. Through him we receive spiritual gifts to empower us. And through him we are able to bear the incredible fruit of abundant life.
Today we begin a week long focus, looking at how we can grow in our understanding and in our relationship with the Holy Spirit. May he reveal himself to each of us in real and fresh ways this week.
Romans 8:14 ESV
Where do you need leadership in your life? What challenge, decision, or circumstance is weighing on you? Where do you need a word from God today? We have available to us the most perfect guide to lead us throughout the twists, turns, and challenges of this adventurous life. The Bible says in Romans 8:14, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” As children of the Most High God, we are granted full access to the leadership of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. No child of God is exempt from the leadership of the Spirit. We don’t earn access by our own merit. We don’t gain more favor to receive more leadership. God has given us all the gift of the Holy Spirit because he loves us. He has filled us with his Spirit because he longs to lead us into the abundant life he has planned for us. So, let’s learn today how we can better discover and follow this gift of leadership we’ve all been granted through Christ in the Holy Spirit.
First, it’s crucial to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit and the word work perfectly together. One does not contradict the other. Both the Holy Spirit and the word he inspired are vital in living the Christian life. And God’s word says in Galatians 5:16-18, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” The leadership of the Spirit is in direct opposition to the lifestyle of the world. His desire is always to lead us away from sin that entangles us in the perspectives and pressures of the world toward a lifestyle of peace, joy, and intimate relationship with our heavenly Father. All of his leadership is purposed toward the goal of abundant life in God, of the fullness of satisfaction in God rather than the weak and fleeting pleasure in things of the world.
So how do we follow this person of the Holy Spirit toward that abundant life? Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” How do we “keep in step with the Spirit”? It all starts with spending time getting to know what the Holy Spirit is like. He has a personality. He has a voice. His leadership feels a certain way. Just as you get to know a person, you can get to know the Holy Spirit. And the absolute best way to learn about him is one-on-one. Often we wait until we are in public, or right before a highly stressful situation, to ask for the guidance of the Spirit. But it’s in the secret place that we learn what his voice and leading sounds and feels like so that we can discern his guidance out in the rush and stress of the world. It’s in the secret place that we grow in relationship with the Holy Spirit so that we can follow his steps throughout the twists and turns of our day.
John 16:13 says, “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.” The Holy Spirit is excited to speak to you what he hears from the heavenly Father. He longs to declare to you God’s plans to love you, provide for you, heal you, transform you, and deliver you. He longs to lead you to the fullness of life available to you here. Spend time getting to know the Holy Spirit in the secret place today. As you pray ask God to reveal himself to you. Spend time in prayer resting in the presence of the God who dwells within you, who is nearer to you than the very ground beneath your feet.
1. Meditate on God’s desire to lead you into abundant life.
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Romans 8:14
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal himself to you. Spend time learning about who he is. Ask him to speak to you and to reveal the way his leadership feels.
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Romans 8:16
3. Open up your life to the Holy Spirit. Ask him to reveal to you things he wants to lead you away from. Ask him to show you the life he wants to lead you to. And commit to following his leadership today.
When you have opportunities to indulge in the flesh, choose life in the Spirit instead. When you feel a desire to avenge yourself, promote yourself, slander someone, or engage in a sinful activity, choose life in the Spirit instead. Choose to love God and others. Live in step with the Spirit and discover the amazing life he longs to guide you into today.
Extended Reading: Romans 8 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Romans 5-16.
Choose to love God and others. Live in step with the Spirit and discover the amazing life he longs to guide you into today.
]]>3/8/2026 | Sharing God's Heart
There is nothing to fear, and God is ready and excited to use us for his kingdom purposes. Will you accept his invitation?
As we wrap up our week on being used by God, today we’ll ask God to fill us with courage to live uncomfortably. May we bare our hearts before God, and ask him to change us, to rid us of all that hinders us. There is nothing to fear, and God is ready and excited to use us for his kingdom purposes. Will you accept his invitation?
Joshua 1:9 ESV
To live as an authentic disciple of Jesus is to live courageously. Jesus didn’t call us to a life of shrinking back. We’re not commanded to sit on the sidelines. He didn’t call us to to pursue comfort, stability, approval with man, or societal status. He’s called us to love unconditionally, give sacrificially, obey him unreservedly, and to live courageously.
In John 15:19 Jesus clearly 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.” To be of God and practice the things of God is in powerful, direct opposition to the things of the world and its ruler, our enemy. For this reason God offers encouragement to those who face trial—to those who live courageously. 1 Peter 4:12-14 says:
God is calling you to a life far greater and more important than comfort and worldly pleasure. He’s calling you to live by faith, believing that true blessing and true pleasure is found in him alone. He’s calling you to step out of your former ways and live in accordance with his will that you might experience fullness of life in him.
For this reason Scripture says in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” In the midst of any trial you can have transcendent, tangible comfort in God. In this midst of any suffering or pain you can find rest in the loving arms of your heavenly Father. And in the face of great opposition you can choose to live courageously. Your God is with you. He will never leave you. Courage comes from acknowledging the reality and power of God’s nearness.
As we finish this week on sharing God’s heart, find courage today to boldly love others. Take time to receive God’s unconditional love and grace that you might share him with a world who desperately needs transcendent comfort and peace. Live courageously today and see heaven come to earth around you. Seek life and love in God alone. May your time of guided prayer be filled with encouragement from the Holy Spirit and the word of God.
1. Meditate on the call of God to live courageously. Reflect on his promise to be with you always.
2. Assess your own life. In what ways are you seeking worldly comfort over living courageously in God? What fears do you have about sharing God’s heart that are winning out over courage from God?
3. Go to God with your fears and receive encouragement in him. Take time to rest in God’s presence. Ask him for his perspective on that which hinders you from sharing his heart and living courageously. Journal his response.
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7
When you choose to respond to God’s call in faith, know that he will fill you with courage and boldness. The disciples were not naturally courageous people. Prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit they were weak, selfish, and cowardly. But in God they were made strong. In God they accomplished the impossible. In God they were used for eternal purposes that bore fruit you and I are still experiencing. Decide today to partner with God in seeing his kingdom come to earth through your life. Decide to jump in and be an active part of the spiritual awakening happening all around us. Decide to get off the sidelines of the Christian life and share God’s heart with all those he leads you to. May your day be filled with boldness and courage in the Holy Spirit.
Extended Reading: Luke 8 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Luke 1-9.
Decide to get off the sidelines of the Christian life and share God’s heart with all those he leads you to. May your day be filled with boldness and courage in the Holy Spirit.
]]>3/7/2026 | Sharing God's Heart
After we experience his great compassion for us, may we have no choice but to mimic that with others.
As we begin to wrap up our week on being used by God, today we’ll explore what it means to live compassionately. This radical way of living will transform the people around you and expose them to the beautiful nature of Jesus. After we experience his great compassion for us, may we have no choice but to mimic that with others.
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32 ESV
One of the most impactful ways we can share God’s heart with others is by living compassionately. To show compassion is to step outside of yourself and love another in times of weakness. And to live compassionately is to posture your heart continually toward giving grace and love to those who need it most.
Very little stirs my heart to God more than compassion. When someone sees me in my imperfection and chooses to love me rather than cast me aside, my affection for them and God is automatically stirred. Oftentimes the world is too busy or self-focused to show compassion. We get too caught up in our plans, our needs, and our image to see the hurting and share God’s heart.
But God is calling us to a life lived humbly and sacrificially. Philippians 2:4 says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” The world is in desperate need of compassion. People need mercy and grace when they fail, show weakness, or are experiencing hard times. God’s heart is to use us that we might show mercy and grace as a reflection of his unconditional love. He’s calling us to be light in the darkness that the world might see in us the compassionate heart of our heavenly Father.
It’s for this reason Paul writes in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” You can forgive because you’ve been forgiven. You can be kind because your Father has been nothing but kind to you. And you can be tenderhearted because God was so tender in heart toward you. He was so compassionate that he gave his life to free you, empower you, strengthen you, and ground you in his grace and love.
Take time in guided prayer to receive a fresh revelation of God’s kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness. Open your heart and let him transform you to be more like him. Allow his heart to become your own. And live today in response to God’s love by showing compassion to others that they might know the tenderness and mercy of your heavenly Father.
1. Meditate on God’s heart of kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness.
2. Take a moment to receive the love of God. Open your heart to him and experience his kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness.
3. Ask God to empower you to show compassion today. Choose to live with your eyes not only set on your needs, but also on the needs of others.
“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” 1 Peter 3:8
The only way we can live compassionately is by abiding in the love of our heavenly Father. 1 John 3:17 says, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” God’s love transforms us. His heart empowers us to live differently. You can abide in the love of God today. You can live filled up with the knowledge of his grace and presence moment to moment and allow him to be your source. Don’t live as if you serve a distant God. Live today in acknowledgement that he is closer to you than your breath—nearer to you than your own skin. The Holy Spirit dwells within you and longs to empower you with his love today. May you live compassionately today and see the lives of others impacted as you reflect the heart of your heavenly Father.
Extended Reading: Colossians 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Colossians.
May you live compassionately today and see the lives of others impacted as you reflect the heart of your heavenly Father.
]]>3/6/2026 | Sharing God's Heart
As we assess our hearts, may we remain soft and open to the commands and will of God for us.
Today we’ll explore the concept of evangelism. There are so many fears and misconceptions wrapped up in this topic, and my hope today is that we’ll simplify it, and get straight to the heart of the issue. As we assess our hearts, may we remain soft and open to the commands and will of God for us.
“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”
Mark 16:15 ESV
The idea of evangelism has always been terrifying to me. Going up to someone and interrupting their day to tell them about Jesus, no matter how real and good I know him to be, has never been comfortable for me. But you can’t read Scripture and escape God’s command to share the gospel. You can’t read through the New Testament and discount the reality that the disciples gave themselves entirely—to the point of death—that the world might come to know Jesus.
Verses like Mark 16:15-16 couldn’t be more clear. Jesus commands us, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Evangelism is meant to be a part of our normal lives. It’s not just for the few. It’s not just for pastors or the intensely extroverted. It’s for you and me.
When I assess my own heart I discover that my fears related to evangelism are entirely selfish. In fact, I don’t know if I could do something more selfish than hold back the one hope for the world just to protect my own image. Jesus is clear in Mark 16:16 that those who don’t believe in him will be condemned. It’s like I contain the cure for a deadly disease and rather than sacrificing my image to love them by sharing the one cure, I just let them continue to suffer.
In pondering my own heart I realize that the way to engage in evangelism isn’t fixing myself; it’s getting over myself. Is my image really so important that it’s worth condemnation for another? Are the opinions of others really so important to me that I would withhold from them eternal, abundant life with a God who loves them relentlessly and perfectly?
I am made to share God’s light. I have been commissioned by my King to go out and share his heart. It’s time that we obey God’s command in Philippians 2:3: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Sure, people might think I’m weird. Sure, it might be a little awkward. But God is after the hearts of his creation, and he’s called me to help. May we be those who set aside our pride, seek humility, and love others whatever the cost. May we be so bold as to set our eyes on heaven and sacrifice this life for the sake of eternity. And may the world change around us as we humbly and courageously proclaim the goodness of our heavenly Father.
1. Meditate on God’s call for you to engage in evangelism.
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20
2. What are your fears in regard to evangelism? What holds you back from telling others about the good news of God’s unconditional love?
3. Take time to humble yourself before God and others. Ask him for grace to love others above yourself. Set your eyes on him and open your heart to receive his affection.
In Jesus’ conclusion of the Great Commission he tells his disciples, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Our power for evangelism is that God is with us. He doesn’t send us out alone. His love, power, and presence are fully available to us when we seek to share the gospel with others. When you tell others about Jesus, don’t speak of him as if he’s not with you. Don’t pray as if he doesn’t move and work miracles. Instead, share the reality of God’s nearness with a world that needs to be touched by a revelation of his love. May you be empowered to share the gospel with someone today that they might come to know the power and presence of God.
Extended Reading: Matthew 28 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Matthew 14-28 and Studies on Prayer Volume 1 & Volume 2 by Janet Denison.
May you be empowered to share the gospel with someone today that they might come to know the power and presence of God.
]]>3/5/2026 | Sharing God's Heart
May you be encouraged today in your identity in Christ and freed from any unnecessary weight you’ve been carrying.
One of the best ways we can be used by God is by simply being ourselves. The identity Christ has given us as daughters and sons is meant to shine forth and be a witness to those around us. May you be encouraged today in your identity in Christ and freed from any unnecessary weight you’ve been carrying.
Matthew 5:16 ESV
Jesus’ teaching on salt and light in the Sermon on the Mount is one of my favorite passages of Scripture related to sharing the heart of God with the world around us. In Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus taught:
One of the most powerful aspects of this passage is how Jesus begins by speaking identity over us. God doesn’t tell us to go get some salt and share it. He says we are salt. He doesn’t tell us to go get a light and shine it. He says we are a light. Sharing God’s heart is a part of who we are. As believers we’ve been redeemed—washed clean—that we might proclaim the excellencies of our Savior by living in line with our new identity.
The world is a dark place. It is without hope. It’s filled with the blind leading the blind and the needy seeking fulfillment from the needy. Our only hope is Jesus. The one, true Guide is the Holy Spirit.
We are called to a lifestyle of expelling the darkness around us with the powerful proclamation of God’s heart to love, provide for, and redeem all those who would simply say yes to him. We are called to respond to Jesus’ call and cease putting a basket over the light he’s placed within us.
We don’t have to be apologetic for the hope we have. We don’t have to fear the opinion of man. We can love relentlessly, offer grace unexpectedly, and sacrifice ourselves so that others might see a glimpse of God’s heart. “Let your light shine before others” today. Don’t cover up who you are in Christ. Seek to reveal God’s heart in all you do. And watch as the world around you is drawn to the light of God’s unconditional love revealed through your life.
1. Meditate on Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount. Renew your mind to who you are in Christ.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16
2. In what ways are you covering up your light? In what ways are you living in fear or according to the ways of the world? Take time to engage in confession and receive God’s forgiveness and love.
3. Receive courage from God to live in accordance with your new identity as salt and light. Ask God how you can be light in the darkness today. Ask him for specific ways you can reveal the hope you have in Jesus to others. Journal his response.
Oftentimes we see the things of God as a part of our life. As soon as God starts trying to change the way we live day-to-day, we put a wall up over our hearts so we don’t have to change. But to sequester God is to value this life over eternity. To care more about the world’s opinion of us than who God says we are is to try and make God a servant of the world and its systems. God is the Creator. He alone is King. And he alone knows best as our loving Father. To section off your life and allow God only into parts is to live foolishly. Crown God as King over every part of you. Choose to live as salt and light. And experience life where God is allowed to manifest himself, bless you in every way he can, and use your life to change the world for the better. May your day today be filled with all the fullness of God.
Extended Reading: Matthew 5 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Matthew 1-13.
Crown God as King over every part of you. Choose to live as salt and light. And experience life where God is allowed to manifest himself, bless you in every way he can, and use your life to change the world for the better. May your day today be filled with all the fullness of God.
]]>3/4/2026 | Sharing God's Heart
Today we’ll take a deeper dive in our own hearts and examine who is actually enthroned there.
Being used by God requires inward humility and exaltation of Jesus as King. It’s the only way being used by the Lord can work. Today we’ll take a deeper dive in our own hearts and examine who is actually enthroned there.
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
To declare the glory of God is to put all things in their proper place. Chaos and struggle are always the result of humanity trying to gain glory for ourselves. God alone is worthy. God alone is above all else. And God alone can handle the weight of receiving glory.
1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We were made to declare the glory of God. We were made to proclaim through word and deed the majesty, splendor, and worthiness of the God of heaven and earth.
Proclaiming God’s glory to the world always begins by taking a look at our own hearts. We can’t declare that God is above every other name if we’re still on the throne of our hearts. We can’t proclaim his excellencies and then seek to gain success, approval, and affirmation from others. Declaring God’s glory starts with our own humility. It begins with living a life of sacrifice to the one who’s given up everything for us.
When we remove ourselves from the throne of our own hearts we are set free to magnify Jesus. It’s when we set our eyes on our Savior King that we are freed from the weights and pressures that come from living selfishly. And in this freedom we find the life we were always meant for—a life of continual, incredibly satisfying worship.
In Revelation 19:6-8 we see a beautiful picture of heaven at the marriage supper of the Lamb. At this feast a great multitude cries out saying:
One day all of creation will see Jesus for who he is and give him the glory he is due. One day everything will be set right, and we will discover the abundant life that comes from living for God’s glory alone. But you have an opportunity to give God glory today and lead others to do the same. You have an opportunity to live with your eyes set on heaven and experience the abundant life that’s already available to you. Choose today to place God on the throne of your heart and live a lifestyle of worshiping your worthy King. May your time of guided prayer be filled with a revelation of Jesus’ worthiness and an empowering to declare his glory in all you do.
1. Meditate on the glory of God. Allow Scripture to fill you with a desire to place God on the throne of your heart and live for his glory.
2. Is Jesus enthroned upon every part of your heart today? Are there any areas in your life that you are living for your own glory—to build your own kingdom? Take time to confess those areas and receive God’s forgiveness and grace.
3. Ask God how you can declare his glory on the earth today. How can you live to see Jesus lifted up and seen for who he truly is? How can you lead others into a lifestyle of worship?
God doesn’t want glory to satisfy some selfish need. He knows that he alone can handle a throne. He alone can handle adoration and worship. And when he is magnified it is absolutely the best thing for all of creation. It’s for this reason Solomon writes in Psalm 72:19, “Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!” May the prayer of Solomon be our prayer today as we seek to glorify God in all we do.
Extended Reading: Psalm 8 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May the prayer of Solomon be our prayer today as we seek to glorify God in all we do.
]]>3/3/2026 | Sharing God's Heart
The weight is not on our shoulders—the pressure is off. I hope today you’re freed up to be used by God out of joy and delight rather than obligation or stress.
If we are going to be used by God, we must first acknowledge that he is already at work all around us, and that his work isn’t contingent upon us. This is not something we’re starting up. The weight is not on our shoulders—the pressure is off. I hope today you’re freed up to be used by God out of joy and delight rather than obligation or stress.
“It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:13 ESV
God is calling you and me to a lifestyle of joining him where he is already at work. Foundational to co-laboring with God is acknowledging that he is in constant pursuit of humanity. There is nowhere you can go that God won’t be. There is no one you could talk to whom God doesn’t already see, love relentlessly, and have amazing plans for.
Sharing God’s heart begins and ends with his grace. His grace empowers us to step outside of ourselves and love others. In grace he pursues us, even in our sin. Grace sent Jesus to die for us that we might have salvation through him. And it’s by grace we receive that free gift of salvation.
It’s important to understand God’s grace because without it we work in vain. If we operate under the perspective that salvation, healing, deliverance, and freedom for others hinges on our ability or our mercy, we will achieve nothing. But when we understand that we are merely carriers of God’s heart and fellow recipients of God’s lavish grace, we work from a place of power and truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 says, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” And Philippians 2:13 says, “It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” You are not called to go off on your own into the darkness. God doesn’t just meet you when you read Scripture or spend time with him and then send you off to do his will. He is always with you. He is always available to you. And he always longs to empower you.
Cultivate a lifestyle of seeing where God is at work that you might co-labor with him. Ask the Holy Spirit for eyes to see the way he is pursuing people. Ask him for his heart for your friends, family, co-workers, and those you might only encounter once. God’s most likely not asking you to drop everything and move to an unreached people group right this moment. Instead, he’s asking you to be used by him to minister to others you encounter in your daily rhythms of life.
Meet God where he’s already at work today and seek to share his heart with a world that desperately needs to know a God who passionately pursues them.
1. Meditate on the truth that God is already at work. Allow Scripture to change the way you see co-laboring with God.
“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4
2. Now, ask God where he is already at work around you. Ask him to bring to mind a person or a group of people whom you can minister to today.
3. Ask him how he is already at work. Ask him for a revelation of what you can do to see his kingdom advanced through your life today. Ask him for specific ways you can love others well. Journal his response and pray to receive courage and empowerment by the Holy Spirit.
Healing didn’t happen in Scripture because a disciple had a greater level of mercy or compassion, but because a disciple chose to co-labor with God where he was already at work. God is constantly loving, beckoning, and drawing everyone you know to himself. And he will work through you if you seek to join with him in his purposes. If you want to live a life of purpose that has eternal value, you need not look any further than the faces of those you see every day. May you love others as God does. May you show mercy and compassion in response to God’s mercy and compassion. And may God’s kingdom come to earth around you today as you minister with God.
Extended Reading: Philippians 2 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Philippians.
May you show mercy and compassion in response to God’s mercy and compassion. And may God’s kingdom come to earth around you today as you minister with God.
]]>3/2/2026 | Sharing God's Heart
May you discover this week that you were made to share God’s heart. And may you find joy and passion in God’s longing to use you in powerful and unique ways.
In response to knowing the heart of God we are called to share the wonders of his invisible nature with a world in desperate need of him. God has chosen to use us to reveal himself. He filled us with the Spirit and empowered us to proclaim the good news of salvation and restored relationship with our Creator. May you discover this week that you were made to share God’s heart. And may you find joy and passion in God’s longing to use you in powerful and unique ways.
Ephesians 2:10 ESV
Ephesians 2:8-10 says:
God’s grace is meant to be our catalyst to living passionate lives that bear fruit of eternal value. You aren’t meant to go through the motions. You weren’t created to live a normal life whose impact only lasts for this life. God in his grace and love has called you to more. You were made for a life of deep and lasting impact. You were made to share God’s heart with the world.
It can be difficult to understand God’s heart in wanting to use us. For some, we write ourselves off as too sinful, weak, selfish, or inept to be used by God. For others, we view God as a taskmaster who wants to use us solely for his motives. Still others of us believe that serving God is less fun, less fulfilling, and far stranger than anything we’d like to do. We’re fine with a God who would give us a “get out of hell free card,” but that’s about as far as we’d like him to go in relationship with him.
The truth is that your life will never be fulfilling until you allow God to use you. Ephesians 2:10 is clear that you were “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” You won’t find fulfillment in anything besides the work of God because it’s not what you were made for. Material possessions apart from the provision of God become more like weights tying us down to the cares and ways of the world than sources of satisfaction. Spending your life working to become successful, appreciated, and loved in the world’s eyes is more like a treadmill than a path to abundant life. If you want to live an abundant life you have to allow God to use you.
God longs to use you because he loves you. He’s not selfish. He doesn’t need your help. He wants to work with you. He wants your life to matter. He wants you to have eternal reward for the things you do here on earth because he’s a good Father who longs to give good gifts to his children. He wants you to stop segregating your life into “God time” and “me time” and start living in continual communion with him. He wants your time at work, with friends, at church, driving, resting, relaxing, and having fun to be filled with the fullness of life that comes from doing life with him.
Take time in guided prayer to discover God’s heart to use you. May your time in prayer be filled with a revelation of God’s goodness, grace, and loving desire to co-labor with you.
1. Meditate on God’s desire to use you. Find your true identity, not in the way you’ve lived up to this point, but in the unshakable truth of Scripture.
2. Next, how do you feel about being used by God? What in your heart needs to come into alignment with the truth that you were made for good works of eternal value? Lay down any hindrances at the feet of Jesus in confession.
3. Ask God how he wants to use you today. Ask him for a specific way you can reveal his heart to others. Journal his response. Take time to rest in his presence that you would find courage and faith in the reality of God’s nearness.
Learning to do good works is a lifelong pursuit. God has grace for you today. He has love and compassion for you in these moments. But he longs to meet you where you are that he might lead you to a more fruitful and abundant life. Allow God to transform your heart. Let him into every part of you that your life would be flooded with his grace and mercy. Allow him to discipline you, change you, and speak new identity into you. May you find joy and passion today as you allow God to use you in powerful, eternal ways.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 2 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Ephesians.
May you find joy and passion today as you allow God to use you in powerful, eternal ways.
]]>3/1/2026 | The Posture of Our Hearts
To experience the fullness of life, it’s imperative that we take up God’s perspective on all things and allow him to enlighten the eyes of our hearts. May you walk away from today with a new, eternal perspective.
Today as we wrap up our week of diving deeper into the fullness of life available to us, we’ll explore what it means to gain spiritual eyes. Our human perspective is so utterly limited this side of heaven. We see ourselves, God, and others incorrectly on a regular basis. To experience the fullness of life, it’s imperative that we take up God’s perspective on all things and allow him to enlighten the eyes of our hearts. May you walk away from today with a new, eternal perspective.
Ephesians 1:18 ESV
In order to go deeper in God, we must allow him to open the eyes of our hearts to see him as he truly is. So often we settle in our relationship with him for that which can only be seen with our physical eyes. We settle for community apart from unity in the Spirit, God’s word apart from revelation from the Spirit, and look to “open” or “closed” doors as our guide rather than making space to ask for the Holy Spirit’s leadership. It’s time for us as the body of Christ to truly live in the fullness of relationship afforded to us by his sacrifice. It’s for this reason, in Ephesians 1:16-19, Paul told the Church in Ephesus,
We need the “eyes of our hearts” to be enlightened today. We need the Holy Spirit to come and do a mighty work that we might no longer live only for that which is seen, but by faith pursue the unseen. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” God longs for us to pursue the deeper things of him in faith. He longs for us to grow in our relationship with the Holy Spirit and learn to live life with his presence, leadership, voice, and love as the foundation for everything we do.
To live only by the things we can physically see is to live only for that which is temporal and fleeting. Psalm 101:3 says, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.” God has worthwhile work in store for us. He has a plan to bring heaven to earth through our lives every day. But in order to make an impact on eternity we must be able to see and know the heart of God. We must become increasingly aware of how God feels and what he wants to do moment-by-moment.
Growing in our relationship with the Holy Spirit is the foundation of seeking the deeper things of God. Learning to live by and with him is the only way to advance his kingdom. Take time in guided prayer today to ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart. Ask him to guide you into a deeper and more connected relationship with him. And choose today to pursue a life marked by deep connection with your heavenly Father and powerful works of his Spirit.
1. Ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart. Meditate on Scripture and take time to rest in his presence.
2. Where have you been doing life apart from connectivity to the Spirit? Where have you been living temporally instead of for eternity?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you live connected to him today.
“Be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18
Jesus promised us in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” When we seek all the blessings God has to give such as being loved, being known, being provided for, and being filled with the Spirit, we can know that we will find what we seek. The door to going deeper in God will always be opened whenever we come to it and knock. God will never withhold himself from us when we purely desire more of him. Have faith today in the goodness of your heavenly Father and pursue the deeper things of him that you might live in greater union with him today.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 1 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Ephesians.
God will never withhold himself from us when we purely desire more of him. Have faith today in the goodness of your heavenly Father and pursue the deeper things of him that you might live in greater union with him today.
]]>2/28/2026 | The Posture of Our Hearts
May you be encouraged instead of burdened and take whatever next steps necessary to give Jesus your all.
Fullness of life and surrender are inextricably linked. As we begin to wrap up our week on diving into the fullness of life, today we’ll explore the concept of surrendering to Jesus. May you be encouraged instead of burdened and take whatever next steps necessary to give Jesus your all.
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 10:39 ESV
Jesus makes an important and paradoxical statement in Matthew 10:39: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” What does it look like to lose your life for his sake? How is it possible to find life as the result of losing it? You and I are only truly living to the degree that we’ve surrendered our lives to Jesus. True life is eternal, kingdom-based, and fueled by the love of God. Life apart from God is fleeting and meaningless. It’s for this reason Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:14 says, “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.”
We have opportunity every day to lay our lives down at the feet of Jesus in response to his great love that we might experience the abundant life only he can give. Surrender positions our hearts to receive the incredible reward of being fully God’s. God won’t force his blessings on us. He won’t force his presence or his love. He patiently draws us near, hoping that in response to his overwhelming affections we will lay down our lives that we might experience all the wonders he has in store for us.
Humbling ourselves before God as our King, Creator, and Sustainer is absolutely vital in going deeper. Pride so often stands in the way of God’s conditional promises. Scripture is clear in James 4:6, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Promises like “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” found in Matthew 6:33 require a level of humility and surrender most aren’t willing to give.
We often associate humility with weakness when in reality declaring our weakness before an Almighty God is the only posture of strength we can take. It’s for this reason that Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:30, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” When we humble ourselves before God and surrender, we position ourselves to receive all the abundance of help, power, guidance, and love we could ever need.
God is an endless ocean of love, help, healing, and power. The Holy Spirit who dwells within you longs to empower you with everything you need to truly live in the fullness of life available to you. If you will choose to lay down your life in surrender to God’s plans, purposes, truth, and perfect will, you will experience a life unlike anything you’ve known. Take time today to lose your life that you may find it in God. Cast aside all pride and selfish ambition that you might pursue the wonderful, abundant life of one submitted to an Almighty, omnipotent, omnipresent, and fully loving Father.
1. Meditate on the need for surrender in fully pursuing God.
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39
2. In what ways have you been allowing pride, fear, or selfish ambition to keep you from fully surrendering to God? In what ways have you been seeking glory for yourself?
3. Lay your life down at the feet of your good and loving Savior that you might experience the fullness of his love, grace, and affection for you. Rest at the feet of Jesus. Choose the good portion today rather than spending all your energy seeking fleeting admiration and temporal possessions.
While surrender in the world results in defeat, surrender to God brings ultimate victory. When we stop pursuing our own glory and worldly acclamations, we begin building up treasure in heaven that will never be taken away from us. God’s plans for us are infinitely better than anything we could do on our own. His heavenly rewards for us vastly outweigh any sense of earthly accomplishments. Surrendering our lives completely to God releases us from the constraints of this world that we might live for the kingdom that will never end. May your life be completely wrapped up in the goodness of your loving Savior.
Extended Reading: James 4 or watch The Bible Project’s video on James.
May your life be completely wrapped up in the goodness of your loving Savior.
]]>2/27/2026 | The Posture of Our Hearts
What’s beautiful about God is that no matter where you’re at in your walk with him, there is always more.
This week as we dive deeper into the fullness of life available to us, we’ll look today at the biblical concept of understanding and how it relates to experiencing God. May God shift your perspective today and bring you into greater fullness of life in your relationship with him. What’s beautiful about God is that no matter where you’re at in your walk with him, there is always more.
“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”
Psalms 145:18 ESV
For most believers, understanding and experience seem to be mutually exclusive. Theology and spirituality are believed to be separate, and while one might help the other, they don’t belong together as one wholehearted pursuit of God. The truth is that understanding and experience couldn’t be more intertwined. In fact, one does not truly exist without the other. To experience God is to have understanding. To understand God is to experience. It’s for this reason Jesus said in John 4:23-24, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
God longs for us to know him in spirit and truth, in experience and understanding. I can’t truly know someone by just reading a book about them. I can’t say that I know C. S. Lewis, Martin Luther, or Dietrich Bonhoeffer just because I’ve read a biography or some of their works. It is the same with God. Scripture is intended to give us understanding about God and guide us into a true relationship with him. Its words are intended to be an avenue to the Author who wrote them. And if we will adopt a perspective of gaining as much understanding about our heavenly Father as possible in order to know him more, Scripture will become a priceless resource to our lives we cannot do without.
Having understanding about the God we’re pursuing is absolutely vital to going deeper. Psalm 145:18 tells us, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” And Jesus commands us in Matthew 22:37 to “love the Lord your God with all your . . . mind.” Your mind is the gateway to your heart. If you believe lies about who you are or who God is, you will never seek him fully or properly. If you don’t know of his goodness, faithfulness, and nearness promised to you by Scripture, you’ll never have a reason to pursue truly knowing God.
God longs to guide you in a process of daily renewing your mind through Scripture. The Holy Spirit longs to help and teach you the truth of Scripture that you might know the God you serve. If you will commit yourself to a process of renewing your mind, new avenues will be created from your understanding to experience. If you will truly love the Lord by giving him your understanding to be molded and transformed, the truth of his love for you will flood from your mind to the untouched, dry, and weary places in your life. Commit to growing in your understanding of the Lord today that you might grow in your relationship with your loving, near, heavenly Father.
1. Meditate on the importance of worshiping God in spirit and truth.
2. In what ways have you been pursuing experience or understanding as if they are mutually exclusive? In what ways have you allowed a head knowledge of God or an experience of God to be enough?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what it’s like to truly pursue God in spirit and in truth. Ask the Lord what it’s like to live your life where understanding and experience are never separated. Rest in his presence and commit yourself to knowing God in every part of your life.
God is after redemption and transformation in every part of our lives. Our spirit, soul, and body are not separated as if we can work on one part without developing the others. Our understanding affects both our hearts and bodies. Our emotions are impacted directly by our thoughts. And our bodies carry the weight of our stress or joy. To truly be transformed by God is to invite him into every facet of ourselves and allow his love to do a mighty and necessary work. May you experience the fullness of joy and redemption today as you invite God to transform every part of your life.
Extended Reading: John 16 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 13-21.
May you experience the fullness of joy and redemption today as you invite God to transform every part of your life.
]]>2/26/2026 | The Posture of Our Hearts
The Lord is a firm foundation, and the only solid place to place your trust. In diving deeper today, we’re going to secure our foundation in the only steady hope—Jesus.
Are you standing on sinking sand? Or do you feel the ground firm beneath your feet? Assess your heart in this moment. Are you living in fear? Are you shaken as things appear to be falling apart? Allow your answers to be indicators of whether or not you’re placing your faith and trust in God alone. The Lord is a firm foundation, and the only solid place to place your trust. In diving deeper today, we’re going to secure our foundation in the only steady hope—Jesus.
Psalm 9:10 ESV
Where we place our faith and trust is like the currency of our hearts. We have a limited amount of faith and trust to invest and real returns to gain or lose depending on where we choose to invest them. Scripture is clear that we cannot place our faith and trust in both God and the world. We cannot choose money and God as our anchors of hope. We cannot choose both the opinion of man and God’s opinion. We cannot choose our own will and his. We must, moment-by-moment, choose where we will invest our limited, valuable currency of faith and trust.
If we as children of God truly believe that his word is truth, a vast reservoir of peace and joy is available to us today. The Bible is clear about what we get in return for placing our faith and trust in God alone. Jesus said in Matthew 6:30, “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” And then later in verse 34, Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” What would it look like for us to truly have faith in God to the level that we really didn’t worry about tomorrow? What kind of peace would it bring to truly place the cares, burdens, and stresses of this world squarely on the shoulders of the Almighty, all-loving God?
To go deeper into the fullness of life available to us in Jesus requires putting our faith and trust in God alone. We will never experience the peace of heaven if our hope is in this earth. We will never experience the power and help of the Holy Spirit if our hope is in our own abilities, talents, and strengths. We will never fully experience the satisfaction of truly being loved if we place our hope of affirmation in the opinions of others. The only path to truly experiencing the abundant life available to us in Jesus is placing our faith and trust in him alone.
Jeremiah 29:13 promises, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Choose to place your faith and trust in God alone today that you might seek him with “all of your heart.” Place your hope in him alone for he alone is faithful. Do as 1 Peter 5:7 commands and “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (NIV). You will never find a return on your investment of faith and trust in anything of the world like you will in God. God will take your faith and trust and multiply it until your life is a perfect reflection of his loving-kindness. May you find true satisfaction, peace, and joy in God today as you crown him King of your heart.
1. Meditate on the importance of placing your faith and trust in God alone.
2. Next, what have you been placing your faith and trust in other than God? What have you put your hope in? Where have you been storing up treasure on earth rather than with your Father in heaven?
3. Confess those sins to God, and place your faith and trust in him alone. Receive his love and rest in his faithful presence. Allow him to reveal his heart for you that you might know the wonders of his amazing hopes and dreams for you.
To place your faith and trust in God alone is not to free yourself from the need to act, be responsible, and work, but rather to position yourself to receive empowerment, guidance, and grace for every action, responsibility, and work. To place our faith and trust in God alone is to humble ourselves before God as our King, Shepherd, Helper, and Provider so that all we do is done through him. May your life be filled with his loving presence, guidance, and power as you place your faith and trust in him alone.
Extended Reading: Hebrews 11 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Hebrews.
May your life be filled with his loving presence, guidance, and power as you place your faith and trust in him alone.
]]>2/25/2026 | The Posture of Our Hearts
The only path to true power and freedom comes through embracing our need and lack. May you experience that freedom and strength from God today.
As we dive deeper into the fullness of life available to us this week, looking at the concept of acknowledging our need for God is essential. We will never taste the fullness of God’s sufficient grace until we learn to live low, acknowledging our need and weakness before the Lord. So many of us are f earful of appearing weak and work our fingers to the bone to feel sufficient within ourselves. The only path to true power and freedom comes through embracing our need and lack. May you experience that freedom and strength from God today.
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Psalm 73:26 ESV
The greatest place for our hearts to be is in constant acknowledgment of our need for God. Our God never forces his help on us. He never forces us to follow his perfect, pleasing will. And he never forces us into the encounters with him we were created for. But, as soon as we acknowledge our need of him, his love comes rushing in, satisfying every dry and weary place of our heart.
In Luke 10:38-42, we find one of the most important lessons in all of Scripture. The Bible says,
Jesus’ words here draw me to a higher calling. I long for the “good portion” that won’t be taken away. I see here a truth I so often don’t pursue. The absolute best thing I could “do for God” is to sit at his feet. The thing he most desires of me is to simply open my heart and let him love me, teach me, heal me, and be with me. Mary acknowledged her need of God and sat at the feet of Love. Mary looked to Jesus as her source, not the opinion of her sister, and got the affirmation of God himself.
How often do we allow the temporal, fleeting parts of this life to be enough? How often do we settle for so much less than what’s available to us? How often do we allow the fickle affirmations of man to be enough when we can know the thoughts of our heavenly Father toward us (Psalm 139:17-18)?
Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Let’s pursue that which is lasting and truly satisfying. Let’s set aside the ways of this world and spend our days living for the presence of God. Let’s center our lives around Jesus. Let’s acknowledge our need of God that we might receive all the love, help, healing, and transformation he longs to provide today.
Take time in guided prayer to choose the good portion and spend time at the feet of your loving Savior.
1. Meditate on the importance of acknowledging your need of God.
2. Where have you been self-sufficient? Where have you been allowing the things of the world to be enough?
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
3. Cast aside the things of the world, the worries, stresses and fears and take time to sit at the feet of Jesus. Ask Jesus to make you aware of his nearness. Ask him to fill you with his presence. Take time to rest in his goodness.
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
May Matthew 11:25-30 guide you to the rest available to you anywhere, anytime. May you experience peace that surpasses all understanding:
Extended Reading: John 15 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 13-21.
May Matthew 11:25-30 guide you to the rest available to you anywhere, anytime. May you experience peace that surpasses all understanding.
]]>2/24/2026 | The Posture of Our Hearts
May you learn to value to honesty above all else in dealing with those around you and find joy and peace abundant.
As we continue to dive deeper into the fullness of life available to us, today we’ll explore what it means to live honestly before man. In a world of facades and striving, God wants to offer us freedom and confidence to be fully who he has made us to be. May you learn to value to honesty above all else in dealing with those around you and find joy and peace abundant.
“For we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man.”
2 Corinthians 8:21 ESV
The world is right now in an identity crisis. With the global rise of social media and the Internet, we can now project ourselves to the world as anything we want. We’ve been given the option of only being partly known by countless people rather than really known by a few. We can attempt to fill a gap in our souls for love and relationship with the online world rather than being fully known in our strengths and weaknesses, our greatest faults and soaring successes. We’re in need of an awakening of honesty.
Having an honest heart before man is the only path to experiencing true liberation from the binding opinions of others. When we work tirelessly to build up a false self so that we can receive affirmation from others, we never truly experience love. For our false self to be loved is not truly love at all because we constantly have the thought, “If they really knew me, they wouldn’t love me.” We have an enemy aimed at the destruction of our greatest need: truly being loved. And exaggeration, false projections, and outright lies guide us exactly where our enemy wants us, into a lifestyle of never truly being known and therefore never truly being loved for who we are.
Throughout Scripture we see that wherever the Spirit is at work, the acts of confession, repentance, and truly being known to others are the result. Acts 19:18 tells us, “Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.” And God commands us in Colossians 3:9, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.” You see, to project a lie or exaggeration of ourselves to others is to declare that we value the opinion of man over the opinion of God. Every time we work to create a better image of ourselves, we step outside of God’s grace and work for the love of man.
The path to truly being loved starts with being honest before God and man. It starts with positioning ourselves to truly be loved by God. In his book The Furious Longing of God, Brennan Manning describes what happens when we encounter God’s furious longing for us. He says, “The praise of others will not send your spirit soaring, nor will their criticism plunge you into the pit. Their rejection may make you sick, but it will not be a sickness unto death.” God longs to set us free from the emotional roller-coaster of living for the affirmation of man. God loves you where you are, as you are. You don’t need to strive for the fleeting, burdensome affection of people any longer. The Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe is waiting right now to pour out a love so rich and true that it will set you free from ever needing what the world has to offer.
Take time in guided prayer today to meditate on the importance of being honest with others around you. Receive the love of God and be filled with courage to be fully known. Posture your heart at a place to be truly loved by God and others for who you are. May you experience the power of true, honest love today.
1. Meditate on the importance of being honest with others around you.
“Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.” Proverbs 28:6
2. Confess to God any ways in which you’ve been striving for the approval of the world. Ask the Lord to overwhelm you with his love today that you might receive all you need from him. Ask him to show you how he feels about you. Receive his forgiveness.
3. Commit yourself to being fully known today. Ask God to fill you with courage to not project yourself as better or different than you are. Ask him to help you live today as you truly are, trusting that his love is all you need.
One of the most powerful ways to be free from creating a false self is to engage in consistent confession with fellow believers. Your spouse needs to know your sin. Healing and freedom comes from bringing what was in the dark into the light so that we might gain proper perspective and have victory. The enemy longs to keep our sins in the dark until the day that bringing them to the light will do the greatest damage to us and to God. Don’t allow fear to keep you from the fullness of life God has for you. Confess your sins to others today, and ask for their help in being fully known. May you have faith that God will only ever guide you to a more abundant life. And may you receive the freedom and love that comes from truly being known today.
Extended Reading: Colossians 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Colossians.
May you have faith that God will only ever guide you to a more abundant life. And may you receive the freedom and love that comes from truly being known today.
]]>2/23/2026 | The Posture of Our Hearts
May your relationship with God be enriched this week as you position yourself to receive all your loving heavenly Father has to give.
God’s goodness over our lives far exceeds anything we’ve experienced. We’ve only yet splashed around in the shallows of God’s deep love and mercy. In order to dive deeper into the fullness of life available to us, we must learn how to posture our hearts. May your relationship with God be enriched this week as you position yourself to receive all your loving heavenly Father has to give.
Hebrews 4:13 ESV
I’ve spent countless, exhausting hours in my fleeting life working to portray myself as a person I know I’m not. Whether in relationships with friends, family, my spouse, or God, I find myself consistently creating a facade for myself I hope others will like better than who I actually am. I feared that if I truly opened myself up to others and got rejected, I would have nothing left. If I am fully myself, will I be enough?
Hebrews 4:13 says, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Scriptures like this used to seriously frighten me. The idea that an all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly holy God knew everything I had ever done was too invasive for me. If I couldn’t even muster up the courage to truly be myself to man, how could I handle being “naked and exposed” to my heavenly Father?
It wasn’t until I began experiencing the powerful, overwhelming love of my heavenly Father that these frail, false constructions began to fall apart brick-by-brick, lie after lie. The process God takes us through in unveiling our hearts represents his perfect kindness, patience, and pursuit of us. He waits for us to come before him, openly and honestly, patiently beckoning us with his love. He is perfectly accepting of us as long as we don’t fake it with him. As soon as the prodigal son came home in a posture of humility and honesty, he was immediately embraced, accepted, and offered intimate relationship with his Father once again.
It’s absolutely vital that we pursue honesty before God because he will not address what is not true. He will not try and help this false projection. He will not meet with that which doesn’t truly exist. Brennan Manning writes in his book Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging, “The false self is frustrated because he never hears God’s voice. He cannot, since God sees no one there.” Thomas Merton says of the false self, “This is the man I want myself to be but who cannot exist, because God does not know anything about him” (Merton’s Place of Nowhere, James Finley).
To be honest before God is to invite a perfectly loving, powerful, and grace-filled Father into the places of our lives that need him the most. He longs to be asked into the very wounds we work so tirelessly to cover up. He longs to heal and transform the darkest, hardest places of our hearts we’ve hidden into fertile soil that can bear the fruit of his Spirit. He longs for us to be fully known by him in every way that we might experience the full depths of his powerful, transformational love.
Take time in guided prayer to truly open your heart to God and be honest. Tell him your doubts, fears, and failures. Open up the parts of your past that you have worked so hard to cover up. And let his love in that you might experience healing in his powerful presence.
1. Meditate on the importance of being honest before God. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with courage to be vulnerable before God in faith.
2. Open up your heart to God and be truly honest with him. How are you feeling right now? How have you acted toward him? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any places of your heart that are veiled and kept in shadows.
3. Ask God to help you receive his love in the areas of your heart that are in desperate need of him. Open up to him the places of your past that have plagued you for so long. Ask him how he feels about you that you might receive healing.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
Making space in our lives to receive healing for our hearts from the Lord is a vital exercise in spiritual growth. We don’t have to be plagued by the wounds from our past. We don’t have to spend so much of our time and energy trying to cover up times we were genuinely hurt. The only path to growth passes through God’s healing presence. He wants to address and heal that which you might feel has formed you. He wants to tear up all the work you’ve done to harden your heart that you might truly live healed, free, and vulnerable. Pursue healing for your heart and experience the life available to you in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Extended Reading: Psalm 103 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
Pursue healing for your heart and experience the life available to you in the power of the Holy Spirit.
]]>2/22/2026 | Honesty
Let’s open up our hearts in real, intentional ways today, as we experience the power and love of our heavenly Father.
In the last devotional in our series on honesty, today we’re going to focus simply on what it means to live honestly every day. My hope for today is that God will empower us all to continue this journey of honesty and humility on a daily basis. Let’s open up our hearts in real, intentional ways today, as we experience the power and love of our heavenly Father.
James 1:26 ESV
There is no substitute for the peace and joy of living honestly. When you find courage from the unconditional love of your heavenly Father to truly be yourself, you alleviate yourself of the pressure and stress of keeping up appearances. And when you’re free from keeping up appearances you have time and energy to devote to that which is real—that which is eternal.
James 1:26 says, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” Did you know you were capable of deceiving your own heart? James makes an incredibly strong statement here. How could my religion be worthless if I simply tell a small lie here or there? How could a little deception in my heart make my religion null and void?
This verse illustrates just how important our hearts are to God. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Your religion is only as valuable as it is true. The parts of you that are outward, e.g., your words, actions, and appearance, are only as valuable as they are a true reflection of your heart.
James is speaking here to those who think that what they say and do defines them. He’s speaking to those who believe their value and identity are wrapped up in their good works. But God flips our worldly paradigm on its head. He values actions done from the heart. He values appearances that are a reflection of the beauty in our hearts. He values words that come from a place of deep honesty and vulnerability. He values religion that is the fruit of his Spirit loving, leading, and filling our spirits.
As we close out this week on honesty, take time to truly assess whether you’re deceiving your own heart. Are you looking to that which is outward to define you? Do you see yourself related to what you do, or are your actions the result of who you are in Christ? May your time be filled with the loving-kindness of your heavenly Father and clear revelation from the Holy Spirit.
1. Meditate on what Scripture says about living honestly.
2. Are you looking to that which is outward to define you? Do you see yourself related to what you do, or are your actions the result of who you are in Christ?
3. Take time to receive revelation of how God sees you. Let him show you how deeply he values who you already are. Let him reveal his grace and loving-kindness to you. Take time to rest in a fresh revelation of his love and grace.
To live honestly is to value what God values. Only in consistently encountering God’s value of the heart can we begin to live out of who we are rather than working to become who we feel we should be. Only in seeing ourselves as God does will we value the wonderful identity we have as his sons and daughters. May your life be forever changed as you value honesty above appearance. May you find freedom and rest in the unchanging affections of your heavenly Father.
Extended Reading: James 1 or watch The Bible Project’s video on James.
May you find freedom and rest in the unchanging affections of your heavenly Father.
]]>2/21/2026 | Honesty
Any part of our lives in which we’re walking in darkness, living isolated and unknown, makes space for our hearts to be chained to thoughts and temptations God wants to set us free from. So may the Spirit lead us into the light today, and may we find the courage to follow him.
As we near the end of our week on honesty, today we’re going to discover together how there is freedom in the light. Any part of our lives in which we’re walking in darkness, living isolated and unknown, makes space for our hearts to be chained to thoughts and temptations God wants to set us free from. So may the Spirit lead us into the light today, and may we find the courage to follow him.
Isaiah 42:16 ESV
The imagery of light and darkness is used throughout Scripture as a metaphor for freedom and sin, and God and that which is without God. Jesus consistently refers to himself as the light. In reference to Jesus, Matthew 4:16 says, “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” Scripture also refers to us as the light in Ephesians 5:8 saying, “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” And in John 3:19-21, Jesus describes a freedom that comes from bringing ourselves to the light:
One of the worst effects of sin is the shame it brings that causes us to hide from God and others. Adam and Eve hid from God because of the shame of the first sin. And still today, even though Christ has paid the price for every sin we could ever commit, we hide ourselves from God.
God longs for us to run to him when we make a mistake. He’s the father in the prodigal son story whose arms are eternally extended to us no matter what we’ve done. He longs to embrace us, restore us, and free us in his eternal embrace. He longs for us to step out of our shame, bring ourselves fully into his light, and be delivered from the destructive effects of our sin.
In Isaiah 42:16 God says, “I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.” Nothing you could do could cause your God to forsake you. He’s not surprised by your sin. He knows you are dust. But he longs to embrace you in your weakness. He longs to free you from the power of darkness. You don’t have to hide from him. You can come before your God honestly and live as a child of the light (Ephesians 5:8). You can experience true freedom as your sin is forgiven and times of refreshing come (Acts 3:19-20).
Take time as you enter into guided prayer to bring that which has caused you shame into the light. May you find freedom today as God reveals to you the power of his forgiveness and grace.
1. Reflect on what Scripture says about light and darkness. Allow God’s word to stir up your desire to bring yourself fully to the light.
2. What do you need to bring to the light? What is causing you shame?
3. Bring yourself to the light. Ask God how he feels about that which is causing you shame. Take time to receive his forgiveness and grace and rest in his love.
1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” When you commit yourself to walk with God throughout your day, he will guide you to the light. Jesus’ blood is powerful enough to cleanse you from the inside out. There is freedom when your heart is totally and completely his. May you be set free from shame and darkness today as you live openly and honestly before the Lord your God.
Extended Reading: John 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 1-12.
May you be set free from shame and darkness today as you live openly and honestly before the Lord your God.
]]>2/20/2026 | Honesty
May God love us powerfully today as we make space to be more honest with him and ourselves.
As we continue our week focusing on honesty, today we’re going to look at how true honesty affords us the ability to be more fully loved. At the foundation of it all, we’re all searching for love. And the fullness of love can only be experienced when we allow true love to find its way into every part of us by bringing who we fully are into our relationships. May God love us powerfully today as we make space to be more honest with him and ourselves.
Isaiah 54:10 ESV
The ultimate result of honesty—the reason for being fully known—is that we might be fully loved. You weren’t made to live without a continuous, total revelation of God’s love for you. His love is the foundation. It’s the reason for being. Without his love we have nothing. And without honesty we’ll never fully experience his vast wealth of affection for us.
Isaiah 54:10 is God’s promise for you and me today. He says to us, “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you.” The question today is not whether God loves us. And the question is not whether we have the ability to experience his love. Scripture commands us in Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” The question is whether we’re receiving the love already made available to us.
You see, unless we come before God fully honest we only present part of ourselves for him to love. Unless we let him in to every area of our lives, we’ll live with a separated notion of God’s love. Most of us know that he loves us when we worship. We know he loves us when we serve. We’ve experienced his love when we engage in community, read Scripture, and pray. But do we know he loves us when we fail? Do we know he loves us when we say the wrong thing, doubt him, miss an opportunity to share the gospel, or run away from him?
God doesn’t just love us part of the time. He doesn’t just love us when we succeed. His love is complete and transcendent of us. He is love. He loves all the time. Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God has loved you at your worst. If he loved you enough to die for you while you were without one ounce of good, he will love you now.
If you want to experience the full depth of God’s love for you, you must come to him fully. You must let him in to every part of your day. You must let him in to your past, your present, and your future. You must live out of a revelation of his unconditional love for you rather than living a works-based relationship with him.
May you encounter the fullness of God’s love for you today as you enter into guided prayer. And may his love for you draw you deeper into the unhindered communion that’s already available to you.
1. Meditate on the unconditional nature of God’s love. Allow Scripture to paint the picture of who God is rather than our limited, worldly perspective.
2. Come before God and be fully known. Open every part of your heart to him. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal how God wants to love you today. Journal his response.
“But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” 1 Corinthians 8:3
3. Take some time to simply receive and rest in God’s love. Experience the unconditional nature of his love. Let his love lead you to a life founded on grace rather than works.
To live by grace is to choose to believe God at his word. It’s choosing to live based on Scripture over everything we’ve known from the world. Grace isn’t found here. It’s a product of heaven alone. But God has ransomed us from a life based on the ways of the world. We belong to heaven now. And we have so much more available to us than the world offers. We are totally and fully loved regardless of our weaknesses and failures. May you live out of a revelation of grace and receive God’s love in every part of your day.
Extended Reading: Romans 8 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Romans 5-16.
May you live out of a revelation of grace and receive God’s love in every part of your day.
]]>2/19/2026 | Honesty
May God replace fear with faith today as we experience his grace and love right now.
As we hit the middle of our week on honesty, today we’re going to explore how being truly honest, or living fully known, is critical to experiencing fullness of life. There may be nothing more terrifying to me than being fully known, but I also know there is nothing more liberating than being my full self with those closest to me. May God replace fear with faith today as we experience his grace and love right now.
1 Corinthians 8:3 ESV
While we absolutely serve an all-knowing, omnipotent, omnipresent God, there is a stark difference between God’s knowledge of everything and allowing ourselves to be known by him. To be known by God is a two-way street. It’s a conscious decision to open our hearts to this all-knowing God that we might experience him in even the deepest, most secret places of our lives. Galatians 4:8-9 says,
Being known by God is the birthplace of freedom. When we allow our Creator and Savior to truly know us he brings with him all his power, love, and deliverance. Only when we allow him to know the wounds of our past do we position ourselves to receive his healing. Only when we discover that he cries, mourns, laughs, and celebrates with us will our hearts be founded on the reality of true relationship with him.
Your God doesn’t just want to teach you, lead you, empower you, or use you—he wants to know you. You don’t have to go through this life on your own. You don’t have to process decisions, pains, relationships, or doubts on your own. You can be known by your Creator and know him. Unhindered relationship with your perfect, loving Father can be your source.
It is entirely possible to go through this life as a believer without letting God fully know you. As tragic as it may be, many Christians do it every day. We live as if God is distant from us. We live as if we don’t have full access to his heart, will, love, and presence in the Holy Spirit. We live as if all Christ came to do was give us a “get out of Hell free card” rather than restore us to right relationship with the Father. And when you live fully known by God you will experience a love more sure, more real, and more transcendent than any love you’ve experienced.
Take time as you enter into guided prayer to truly let God know you. Open up the secret places of your heart. Tell him about your insecurities, fears, doubts, and wounds. May you find a deeper level of intimacy with your loving Father than you thought possible.
1. Meditate on the importance of being known by God.
2. Are you living your life known? Or are you hiding pieces of your life from your heavenly Father?
3. Tell God about anything in your life that’s stayed in the dark. Bring it to the light with him. Allow him to fully know you. And experience powerful freedom as he reveals the depths of his love for you.
“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27
Ephesians 5:8 says, “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” You can live with confidence and joy today. When you are fully known by God and still fully accepted and loved, your heart is unshakable. God will not reject you. He has loved you at your worst. Trust in him today and experience life in the light of his presence.
Extended Reading: 1 Corinthians 13 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1 Corinthians.
God will not reject you. He has loved you at your worst. Trust in him today and experience life in the light of his presence.
]]>2/18/2026 | Honesty
Let’s come before God today with courage, trust, and humility.
In today’s First15, we’re continuing our focus on honesty by looking at how we can tear down walls we’ve built up in God’s presence every day. There is true life in vulnerability. And if we can trust God to be our shield, living with openness and love towards him, ourselves, and others, we’ll experience a greater abundance of life than we thought was possible. Let’s come before God today with courage, trust, and humility.
“I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.”
Acts 24:16 ESV
In order to protect our hearts from the pain and wounds of the world we both consciously and subconsciously build walls. These walls take all sorts of forms. Some walls are built for appearance so that outward beauty covers up inward brokenness. Some walls are built to be strong and tough so that pride and strength cover up inward vulnerability and self-consciousness. Some walls are built in order to blend in so that people pass us by altogether and never try to know us. Whatever wall we choose to build, one thing’s for certain: the walls might guard us from harm, but they also keep us from ever experiencing true life.
Abundant life comes from being both fully known and then fully loved. We can’t experience the love of God and others if we don’t allow ourselves to be known. We can’t experience God’s grace and affection for us if we shield ourselves from him out of fear that he will see us and reject us. And whenever someone tries to love us fully we will always reject their love by saying, “If you truly knew me, you wouldn’t love me.” Living with walls up isn’t really living; it’s surviving.
God knows our pains. He knows our wounds. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” God is for you. He longs to be near to you and save you. But in order for you to experience the fullness of his love and healing you have to let him in. And in order for you to experience true life you have to stop trusting in your walls to protect you and start trusting in the powerful, capable hands of your loving Father.
In Psalm 57:7 David writes, “My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident” (NLT). God is the one who protects our hearts. There is nothing we can do to fully shield ourselves from the wounds this world causes except allow our hearts to be fully open to God. Only in God can we have confidence. Only in God can we trust. And only in God will we experience true, abundant life.
Take time today to tear down your walls brick by brick. Stop placing your hope in that which can’t ever truly protect you. And look to God as your great protector that you might be fully known and fully loved today. May your time of guided prayer be marked by freedom and deliverance in the Holy Spirit.
1. Meditate on the importance of living without walls up.
“I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.” Acts 24:16
2. Where do you place your hope for protection? What walls have you built that you might not be truly known? In what ways are you guarding yourself?
3. Confess to God any places you’ve given your trust, and place your hope for protection in him alone. Journal about any walls you’ve built up and respond to God’s promise of nearness and healing by giving him your heart.
“My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident.” Psalm 57:7 (NLT)
It’s important to take note when you begin to build walls around your heart. Run to God when you feel insecure. Rather than building up walls that have to be torn down again, seek to live openly and honestly. May you feel God’s hand of protection around your heart today.
Extended Reading: Psalm 57 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May you feel God’s hand of protection around your heart today.
]]>2/17/2026 | Honesty
May God show you how loved you are, just as you are. And may his love bring you freedom and life as we rest in his presence right now.
In day two of our series on honesty, today we’re going to look at the temptation to build a façade and invite God to tear it down as we seek to live more honestly. May God show you how loved you are, just as you are. And may his love bring you freedom and life as we rest in his presence right now.
Matthew 23:27 ESV
The greatest testimony you could possibly give is to have the audacity to live honestly. It takes courage to be yourself. It takes security in the unconditional love of your heavenly Father to acknowledge not just your strengths and successes, but also your weaknesses and failures. But in doing so your life will proclaim the powerful, beautiful work of God. And in doing so you will experience the peace and joy only freedom from building a facade can produce.
A facade is “an outward appearance that is maintained to conceal a less pleasant or creditable reality.” So often, to cover up what we know to be imperfect we devote ourselves to creating a false picture for others. We even devote so much energy to building a facade that we try and deceive ourselves. We muster up our pride and look only at what we’ve done well, all the while ignoring what we need help with. As a result, we spend all our time living a life apart from reality. And to live apart from reality is to live apart from the grace and love of our ever-present, wholly real Father.
In Matthew 23:27, Jesus passionately rebukes those who try and build facades: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” God solely cares about the heart. He’s not worried about perception. He’s not worried about status or societal acceptance. He cares about what is real. He knows that any energy spent devoted to building a facade is energy you can’t devote to receiving help, healing, and grace for what’s real and important. He knows that all your efforts to be accepted aren’t of value because the opinions of others are nothing in comparison to his unconditional love for you. And he knows that ultimately all facades will be torn down, and we will be seen and known by him for who we truly are.
God longs for you to live fully known and fully loved. He longs for you to live out a revelation of his love and grace rather than striving for affection and acceptance by building up facades. Take time to experience his love and grace today. Assess your heart and tear down your walls. May freedom burst forth in your life today as you proclaim the glory of God’s grace by being who you really are.
1. Reflect on the importance of living in reality. Allow Jesus’ words to stir up your desire to tear down any facade you’ve built up.
2. Where are you striving for acceptance or affection by building up facades? Where are you portraying yourself to be something you aren’t? Why are you doing it?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit for the courage to be yourself today. Tell others of your weaknesses today. Don’t be afraid to be yourself with all your strengths, successes, weaknesses, and failures.
May God’s grace and love empower you today as you live honestly. May you stop devoting your energy to appearances and give yourself to what’s real. And in doing so may you encounter the unconditional acceptance and affection of your loving Father.
Extended Reading: Matthew 23 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Matthew 14-28.
May God’s grace and love empower you today as you live honestly.
]]>2/16/2026 | Honesty
May God give us the courage to be who we truly are with him, with ourselves, and with others today. And may newfound freedom be the fruit in our hearts and lives.
Today we’re launching a brand-new series, looking at the role of honesty in getting the most out of our time alone with God, and the most out of life. And we’re starting that series off by looking today at how honesty is the foundation. May God give us the courage to be who we truly are with him, with ourselves, and with others today. And may newfound freedom be the fruit in our hearts and lives.
1 Peter 3:10 ESV
Deciding to live openly and honestly is foundational to experiencing fullness of life in God. God doesn’t deal with our facades. He doesn’t speak to, love on, heal, deliver, or empower the fake self we try and portray. Rather, he faithfully pursues who we really are, drawing us out from the walls we’ve built up around our hearts.
1 Peter 3:10 says, “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.” When the Bible talks about honesty, it isn’t just talking about God’s heart for us not to speak lies, but also that we wouldn’t believe or live out lies. In living honestly we will love life and see good days. Nothing good comes from being dishonest. There is no life in trying to appear as something we’re not. Abundant life comes with communion with God, and God always meets us where we’re at.
Assess your life today. Are you living honestly? Are you trying to portray yourself as something you’re not? Are you deceiving yourself or looking at yourself honestly? Are you coming before God just as you are or trying to appear like you have everything together?
Honesty is at the foundation of encountering God, loving others, experiencing abundant life, and doing good, eternal works. Everything God does is about the heart. He’s about that which has substance, that which is real. He’s not calling you to share your “picture-perfect” life with others. He’s calling you to be vulnerable with others that they would see the unconditional, grace-filled nature of relationship with God. He’s not asking you to clean yourself up before you worship him or meet with him. He’s asking you to come as you are that he might reveal the love he already has for you, even in your imperfections.
Take time to make honesty a core value in your life. Reflect on the importance of being open and vulnerable. Allow the Spirit to illuminate any ways in which you are valuing appearance above reality. And choose today to be who you truly are. May you find new peace and joy today as you remove the pressure of appearance.
1. Meditate on the importance of honesty. May Scripture help you make honesty a core value.
“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
2. Assess your heart. In what ways do you value appearance above reality? Where are you working to try and appear as something you’re not. Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate any ways in which you need to live more honestly.
3. Ask God to reveal his love for you even in your imperfections. Allow his love to fill you with the courage to be honest today. Rest in his unconditional love for you.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
The only confidence available to us to live honestly is the unconditional love of God. Christ died for you while you were in your sin. He gave his life just to have relationship with you just as you are. Choose to receive his love. Choose to value his opinion over others’ opinions. Let his love be your source over the fickle affections of people. May you find courage to be yourself today and thereby experience true freedom in your heart.
Extended Reading: 1 Peter 3 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1 Peter.
May you find courage to be yourself today and thereby experience true freedom in your heart.
]]>2/15/2026 | God is After the Heart
May God use our time today to empower us to advance his kingdom in meaningful, authentic ways.
In the last devotional of this series on God’s pursuit of our hearts, we’re wrapping it all up by looking at what it means to live from the heart. There are so many places to live from, so many different ways to go about a day. But God, in his power and love, wants to free us to live from the heart, to share with the world who we truly are, and how he is fully meeting with us. May God use our time today to empower us to advance his kingdom in meaningful, authentic ways.
“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”
Psalm 62:8 ESV
God has formed us to be creatures of the heart. He made us to live from a place of communion with him—an eternal relationship with our hearts deeply connected. And in response to the communion you have with God you can choose to live from your heart. You can choose with confidence to think, feel, act, and believe not just with what’s logical, but with what God’s Spirit is speaking to you.
Oftentimes we disclude our hearts as if they are unfounded and fickle. We stop paying attention to our emotions because we doubt their validity and value. But God formed you with emotions. And it’s oftentimes your emotions that best reveal your beliefs. You don’t feel stress, worry, doubt, or anger without cause. You don’t experience joy, peace, passion, and purpose for no reason. Your heart is the window to your beliefs. It reveals where you’ve placed your trust and hope. It reveals what truly matters to you.
Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” God longs to hear your heart. He longs for you to so trust him that you honestly and truthfully assess your heart and pour it out before him. He cares about the way you feel. He’s not all right with you going through life stressed, angry, doubtful, worried, or unconfident. He wants your heart to be filled with the fruit of communion with him that you might live an expressive, passionate, and satisfied life.
Acknowledging your emotions isn’t weakness. Rather, it’s a sign of confidence and security that you can take an honest look at your life and assess how you’re doing. Living from the heart is a crucial aspect to authentic, abundant Christianity. God doesn’t want robots. He doesn’t just want to influence our minds or just make us work for him. He wants all of us. He wants your mind to be renewed and your hands to be set to good work from a place of wonderful, life-giving communion with him.
Take time as you enter into guided prayer to value your heart. Assess how you’ve been feeling. Pour out your heart to your loving, patient, and understanding heavenly Father. And go out today in confidence that you might live openly, receptively, and passionately.
1. Meditate on the importance of living from the heart.
“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62:8
2. Assess how you’ve been feeling. What’s been bringing you life? What’s been causing you stress, anger, or frustration. What do your emotions tell you?
3. Pour out your heart to God on paper. Ask the Holy Spirit for revelation about anything you don’t understand. Write down his responses.
Oftentimes, if we will begin our quiet time by assessing our emotions we’ll be able to go deeper with God quicker. God longs for our time spent with him to be open, vulnerable, and honest. He longs to help us with those things that are truly robbing us of abundant life. And because emotions are often windows into our beliefs they are a great way to assess where we need a fresh revelation of what’s true. May your life be filled with the fruit of the Spirit today as you choose to live from the heart.
Extended Reading: Psalm 62 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May your life be filled with the fruit of the Spirit today as you choose to live from the heart.
]]>2/14/2026 | God is After the Heart
May he come and meet us right now, and reveal God’s love in a fresh way.
As we near the end of our week looking at how God is after our hearts, today we’re going to look at how the Holy Spirit connects with the heart, and take time to today to invite the Holy Spirit to do a meaningful work in and through us. There’s no greater gift God gives every day than the gift of relationship with him through the Spirit. May he come and meet us right now, and reveal God’s love in a fresh way.
1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV
Abundant life is given in the communion of the Spirit and the heart. It’s our hearts the Spirit speaks to. It’s our hearts he fills with love, joy, peace, and hope. It’s our hearts in which he dwells. To acknowledge the communion between the Spirit and the heart is to open ourselves to the wellspring of life abundant. And to live seeking a greater awareness of the union that was formed in us with the Spirit at salvation is to position ourselves to receive all that God longs to give us.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 says, “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, for you were bought with a price.” Scripture tells us of a greater level of communion with God than we are right now experiencing. Scripture tells us that when Jesus died God tore the veil in two from top to bottom. Prior to Jesus’ death, God’s glory had to be contained within the temple. Now through the sacrifice of Jesus we have become the temple of God. We now have union with our Creator in the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:17 says, “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” Romans 8:9 says, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” To say that God dwells in our hearts isn’t just a figure of speech. If you are a believer, you have been sealed and filled with the Holy Spirit. You have constant communion with God. All that’s left is to grow in your understanding of this wonderful, supernatural union you have with your Heavenly Father.
The Spirit longs to reveal how near he is to you. He longs to make you more aware of his manifest presence. He longs to lead you, speak to you, fill you, satisfy you, heal you, set you free, and empower you. He longs for your heart to find freedom and security in him. He longs to be your best friend, companion, and teacher.
Take time today as you enter into guided prayer to gain a greater revelation of God’s nearness. Ask him to reveal himself to you that you might know to greater depths how unified you are with him. May your time be filled with a greater measure of God’s presence and love.
1. Meditate on what Scripture says about the Spirit and the heart. Reflect on the communion you already have available to you with the Holy Spirit.
“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, for you were bought with a price.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
2. Ask the Holy Spirit for a greater revelation of his nearness. Open your heart to God and receive his presence. Take notice of how close he is to your heart.
3. Rest in the presence of God. Allow a revelation of his nearness to establish within you a new reality founded on God’s manifest presence.
Allow the Spirit to permeate everything you do today. Seek to live in constant awareness of his presence and love. You don’t have to strive to be with God. You don’t have to strive to encounter him. He is already with you. He is already in you. All that’s left is for you to simply open your heart to him moment by moment. Don’t live as if God is separate from you. Don’t talk to him or worship him as if he is distant. Rather, live in light of Scripture and experience all the abundant life he has for you in his nearness. May your life be changed by the powerful, constant, unfailing, and wholly satisfying presence of God.
“In your presence there is fullness of joy.” Psalm 16:11
Extended Reading: 1 Corinthians 6 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1 Corinthians.
May your life be changed by the powerful, constant, unfailing, and wholly satisfying presence of God.
]]>2/13/2026 | God is After the Heart
As we open our hearts to his loving pursuit today, I pray that God would do a mighty work of freedom in our hearts.
In today’s First15, we’re going to look at the opportunity God gives us every day to simply be who we are. His pursuit of our hearts frees us as we experience his unconditional, all-encompassing love. So as we open our hearts to his loving pursuit today, I pray that God would do a mighty work of freedom in our hearts.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”
Psalm 139:13 ESV
God will never ask you to be anyone other than who you are. He’s not asking you to be just like other believers. He’s not asking you to copy those around you that seem to be well-liked or accepted. So often we view God as a parent who spends all his efforts trying to fix us on the outside that we might keep up appearances. But it couldn’t be more the opposite. God doesn’t spend time trying to cover up who we are. Rather, he devotes himself to uncovering who we truly are—who he made us to be.
Psalm 139:13 says, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” God formed you wonderfully and uniquely. He gave you a personality and calling all your own. He sees past all the exteriors we create to try and fit in. He sees through all our efforts to cover up what makes us unique and different. He sees us for who we really are. And he is calling us to cast down our facades and live out of the revelation that we are already, right now, fully loved and accepted by our Creator.
Discovering your identity begins with a journey with God to your heart. If you’re wondering who you truly are, you need not look past yourself, but rather, with the Holy Spirit, take an honest look at yourself. Don’t shy away from your insecurities. Don’t shy away from that which makes you different. Allow God to reveal how he sees you. Allow him to reveal to you the true desires of your heart. And allow him to lay a secure foundation for you built on his unconditional love that you might live vulnerably and honestly.
Allow God to fill you with the courage to be yourself today. Stop trying to change yourself to fit in to the expectations of others. And live with your identity and value securely founded in the love of your heavenly Father.
Spend some time in guided prayer looking at your heart with the Holy Spirit. Allow him to reveal how he sees you. Ask him how he has formed you and made you unique. And allow him to empower you to be yourself today. May your time in guided prayer be filled with freedom and courage as you cease striving to be someone that you’re not.
1. Meditate on God’s call for you to be who you are. Allow Scripture to fill you with a desire to live honestly.
“As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.” Proverbs 27:19
2. In what ways are you striving to be someone you’re not? How are you seeking to keep up appearances rather than live honestly?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal how he sees you. Ask him to fill you with courage to cast down any facades and be who you truly are.
Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If you choose to place value and identity on what God says about you, then your heart will find freedom that transcends the ways and cares of the world. Treasure what God says about you. Store up his words and truth over you. Let them be your source of hope and life. May your heart be with your loving, kind heavenly Father as you seek to find freedom to live as you truly are today.
Extended Reading: Matthew 6 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Matthew 1-13.
May your heart be with your loving, kind heavenly Father as you seek to find freedom to live as you truly are today.
]]>2/12/2026 | God is After the Heart
May he fills us with courage and grace today as we experience his nearness together.
In the middle of our week looking at how God is after our hearts, in today’s devotional we’re going to focus on what it means to live with an open heart. Every day, every moment is an opportunity to live with an open heart, or to live with walls up around our hearts. And God’s pursuit of us, his steadfast love, affords us a pathway to open ourselves with confidence and security. May he fills us with courage and grace today as we experience his nearness together.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Proverbs 4:23 ESV
In order to experience all the fullness of life God has in store for us we must live with an open heart. Oftentimes, whether it be from wounds or simply bad teaching, we live closed off and self-focused. We go throughout our days with walls up around our hearts and rarely allow ourselves to receive the reality of God’s nearness moment to moment. But God is calling us deeper. He’s calling us to a lifestyle of encountering him. He’s calling us to tear down the walls we’ve built up and trust that living openly and receptively will bear life, peace, and joy.
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.” God longs to be with you. He longs to speak to you, guide you, pour out his love on you, and remain with you throughout your day. He’s not just a God of Sundays. His presence isn’t only available at conferences, worship services, or monasteries. He is God of every moment. He is Lord of all eternity. And he longs to give you good gifts all the time. He longs to bear wonderful, life-giving fruit in you. But you must be willing to abide in him. You must receive all he has to give.
Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Life comes from the heart both physically and spiritually. Just as the heart pumps blood out to the rest of your body, your heart pumps out spiritual life. Your heart is the place where God is constantly speaking. Your heart is what he cares about. It’s not enough to just give him your mind for understanding or your hands for good works; he wants you at your core. He wants your life to be wrapped up in his.
Take time today to open your heart to your loving heavenly Father. Look for any walls you’ve built up around your heart. Stop believing any lies or misconceptions that would keep you from experiencing God’s love moment to moment. May your time in guided prayer be filled with new life as your heart is open and receptive to the freedom of God’s presence.
1. Meditate on the importance of having an open and receptive heart to God.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23
2. Do you have any walls up between you and God? Are you living at times as if he isn’t with you? Are you fully open and receptive to the things of God throughout your day?
3. Cast down any walls you’ve built up at the feet of Jesus and open your heart to him. Receive a revelation of his nearness and spend some time simply resting in his presence. Ask him to give you eyes to see all the good gifts he has given you today.
God is constantly blessing us. He constantly has good gifts to give us. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” God longs to demonstrate his love to you by giving you good and perfect gifts. Cultivate a lifestyle of noticing and receiving God’s blessings. Look for all the ways he is providing for you and give thanks to him. Live your whole life in light of the reality of his nearness and experience all his goodness throughout your day. May you be filled with abundant blessings as you seek to live with an open heart.
Extended Reading: Matthew 12 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Matthew 1-13.
May you be filled with abundant blessings as you seek to live with an open heart.
]]>2/11/2026 | God is After the Heart
May God call out from within us who he’s truly made us to be as we draw near to him in his presence.
In our third devotional discovering the reality that God is after our hearts, today we’re going to look at how our hearts reveal our identity. May God call out from within us who he’s truly made us to be as we draw near to him in his presence.
Isaiah 43:1 ESV
Many of us spend our entire lives just trying to answer one simple question: “Who am I?” We look to our accolades and our strengths and weaknesses to define us. We look to other people to determine who it is we are. We allow circumstances and open or closed doors to tell us who we’re supposed to be. We look everywhere but to the One who actually knows the true answer.
But God says to you and me, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). 1 John 3:1 says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” And in Ephesians 2:19, scripture says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
We need a renewing of our identity. We need to look at the word of God and choose to believe that we truly are who he says we are entirely. We need to let our Creator define the identity of his creation. You serve a God who has called you his child. Regardless of anything you’ve done well or poorly, regardless of your successes or failures, you are first and foremost the redeemed child of the Most High God. It’s time to anchor your identity to the unshakable truth of Scripture.
You see, it’s not enough just to know what Scripture says. It’s not enough to be able to recite verses like, “we should be called the children of God; and so we are.” Until in your heart of hearts you believe the truth of Scripture, you will base your entire life on whatever it is you value most. If you value the opinion of man over God’s word, your identity will be founded on the fleeting and fickle opinions of others. If you look to your circumstances to define you, then your identity will change with the passing of seasons. But if the identity you believe in your heart is founded on God’s truth, then your self-worth, perspectives, decisions, and beliefs will be unshakable and yield abundant life.
Take time today to assess your own heart. Look honestly at your beliefs. Where are you looking for your identity? Place your trust in the truth of God’s word that the identity of your heart would come from your loving Creator. May your time in guided prayer be marked by a powerful revelation of truth.
1. Meditate on the truth of your identity.
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine” Isaiah 43:1
2. What are you allowing to define you? What, in your heart of hearts, do you value above the truth of Scripture?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit for a heart-level revelation of who you are in Christ. Open your heart to God that he might reveal to you the truth of his perspective. Align your beliefs with the truth of Scripture.
It’s absolutely critical to take an honest assessment of your heart when it comes to your identity. Don’t let going to church, talking about Scripture, or even spending time reading God’s word be enough. Take a look at what is actually sinking into your heart and changing your life. Don’t rest until your life—your emotions, actions, and beliefs—align with God’s truth. May you be energized and renewed to seek out the fullness of life God has in store for you.
Extended Reading: Psalm 139 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May you be energized and renewed to seek out the fullness of life God has in store for you.
]]>2/10/2026 | God is After the Heart
May God reveal his purpose behind our creation today, and may he make central to our lives his pursuit and love in a fresh way.
In our second devotional seeking to discover God’s pursuit of our hearts, today we’re going to spend time looking at our true purpose, why you and I were created. Every day, every moment is an opportunity to choose the purpose for which we’re living. But only living in line with our true purpose has the power to produce an abundant life. May God reveal his purpose behind our creation today, and may he make central to our lives his pursuit and love in a fresh way.
Jeremiah 24:7 ESV
We were made for relationship with our heavenly Father. We were made to know and be known by him. That one fact is meant to define both our identity and our actions. It’s meant to lay the foundation on which we live, think, feel, and do. And it’s only in living in relationship with God as our chief and central pursuit that our lives reflect his unceasing love and devotion.
For a long time I’ve lived with wrong things at the center of my life. I’ve allowed earthly success, admiration of others, identity in my works, and an image of perfection to be the things that drove me moment by moment. And in those pursuits I only found disappointment, exhaustion, and unfulfilled longings. Even within the context of Christianity there is temptation to be led by that which is worldly, that which will never satisfy.
But in God there is another way. In the love of a grace-filled heavenly Father we can cease striving and start enjoying life founded on relationship with our Creator. Jeremiah 24:7 says, “I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.” Within each of us is a longing to ground ourselves in our identity as the people of God. We are created to live out of the powerful knowledge that our God is real, knowable, loves us unconditionally, and has made his nearness wholly available to us.
You were made to live with the knowledge of God’s love in every season. You were made to taste and see that your heavenly Father is good. You were made to live in constant communion with your Creator, that every moment would be filled with the abundance of his presence. God has life for you. He has love for you. And he won’t rest until the entirety of your heart is his. God’s love is entirely jealous while at the same time wholly sacrificial.
Give God your heart today. Center your life around relationship with him. Root and ground yourself in his unceasing love and faithfulness. May your life be forever changed as you set your eyes on the author and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).
1. Meditate on the truth that you were made for relationship with God. Allow Scripture to stir up a desire to center your life around God’s unconditional love.
2. What are you valuing above relationship with your heavenly Father? What are you spending all your energy on? What’s truly your greatest desire?
3. Tell God anything that you have valued above relationship with him. Know that his heart is not to condemn, but to set free and give abundant life. He longs to fill you with vision for the way in which you can most enjoy him and the life he’s given you.
Oftentimes we look to the world to tell us what we should value over the Creator of the world. But in reality the world is a place filled with dissatisfaction and unrest. It’s a place where even the rich, successful, and most loved must strive and work constantly to fulfill a longing only God can satisfy. Look to the Creator of heaven and earth for truth. Look to Scripture to decide what to pursue and value. And place your hope in God’s promise of eternal, tangible satisfaction if you will center your life around relationship with him. May your heart find peace and rest in the always open arms of your loving Father.
Extended Reading: John 15 or watch The Bible Project’s video on John 13-21.
May your heart find peace and rest in the always open arms of your loving Father.
]]>2/9/2026 | God is After the Heart
May we openly accept his gaze today, with faith in our hearts that he always looks at us with grace.
In today’s First15 we’re beginning a brand new series, focusing on the fact that God is first and foremost, after our hearts. In a world that defines us by what we do, God looks at who we are. May we openly accept his gaze today, with faith in our hearts that he always looks at us with grace. And may his pursuit of our hearts stir up a pursuit within us of his heart, setting out every morning to experience the fullness of his love and compassion.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
Psalm 23:6 ESV
The foundation for our faith is not meant to be built on our works or our understanding, but rather on God’s relentless pursuit of us. We have relationship with our Creator not because we sought him out, but because he is always pursuing us. Any elements of Christian spirituality at work in our lives are the result of his constant grace drawing us deeper and deeper into the abundant life Jesus died to give us. Faith built on anything else but God’s pursuit is faith built on our own strength—an unsure and consistently failing foundation. Ephesians 1:16-18 says:
If we need a fresh understanding of God’s pursuit we need only to pray as Paul did: asking God to enlighten the eyes of our hearts. We need only to look to the pages of Scripture and see story after story of God pursuing those who rebelled against him. The entire book of Hosea describes the heart of God to pursue Israel in a real-life metaphor of Hosea pursuing Gomer, who time and time again left him to prostitute herself.
There is nothing we could do to keep God from pursuing us. There is no sin too great, no distance we could run, that would discourage God from loving us. From the moment you were born God has been pursuing your heart. His greatest longing is for relationship with us. Don’t let a wrong understanding of who God is cause your relationship with him to be works-based. Don’t let your sin and failures get in the way of running to the open arms of your heavenly Father.
God is after your heart right now. He’s sweetly knocking on the door of your heart that you might simply let him in. More than he wants you to do something for him today, he simply wants you to know he is with you and for you. Respond to God’s pursuit today by giving him your heart. May your time of guided prayer be marked by a revelation of his loving-kindness toward you.
1. Meditate on God’s relentless pursuit of your heart. Allow Scripture to lay the foundation for a relationship built on grace.
“Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.” Psalm 23:6 (The Message)
2. Where has your relationship with the Father been founded on works rather than his pursuit? Where have you been trying to earn his affection? What parts of your heart have you withheld from him thinking he would reject you or chastise you?
3. Give God your whole heart in response to his great love and grace for you. Open the door of your heart to him and rest in a revelation of his loving-kindness.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
In Psalm 17:8 David prays, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” May your pursuit of God be built on the truth that you are the apple of his eye. May your security be founded on the truth that he hides you in the shadow of his great wings. May your heart find peace, joy, and fulfillment today in the fact that God will never stop pursuing you.
Extended Reading: Psalm 23 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
In Psalm 17:8 David prays, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” May your pursuit of God be built on the truth that you are the apple of his eye. May your security be founded on the truth that he hides you in the shadow of his great wings. May your heart find peace, joy, and fulfillment today in the fact that God will never stop pursuing you.
]]>2/8/2026 | Abiding in the True Vine
May we be filled afresh with joy today as we seek these answers out.
As we end our week today on abiding in the True Vine, today we’ll explore how to abide in God’s promised joy. What does it mean for us to walk in joy and be people marked by joy in this world? How do we even go about doing that? May we be filled afresh with joy today as we seek these answers out.
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
John 15:11 ESV
The kingdom of our God is one of joy, rejoicing, and gladness (Romans 14:17). Our heavenly Father is the one who throws a massive party for the prodigal returned home (Luke 15:11-32). He’s the God of the angels who rejoices over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). He’s the God who celebrates with us, sings over us, and rejoices in us (Zephaniah 3:17). And at the end of this age he will throw a wedding feast in celebration of the joy he has over total restored relationship with us, his bride (Revelation 19:6-9).
Scripture is clear that our God doesn’t desire to keep his joy to himself, but longs to fill us with it to overflowing. Toward the end of the John 15:1-17 passage we have been studying this week, Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). God’s plan is to fill us with the fullness of joy that is grounded solely in him rather than the ever-changing circumstances around us. That’s why Galatians 5:22 tells us that, “The fruit of the Spirit is . . . joy.” Joy is meant to come from the Holy Spirit within us. It’s in relationship with God that we experience his abundant joy. Let’s go wholeheartedly into the heart of God today and find the reservoir of joy he longs to guide us to. Let’s be believers marked by the joy of our heavenly Father rather than the dissatisfaction we experience from the world.
So how do we experience the joy of God? How can the joy of Jesus be in us as he spoke of in John 15:11? Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” As children of God we must rejoice in our heavenly Father above all else. There is always joy to be found when our highest priority is God. Our God is always turning what the enemy meant for evil into our good if we will choose to love him above all else (Romans 8:28). When we lean on God as the source of our contentment rather than the opinion of man or success in the world, we will have a sure foundation on which to experience joy. But, when our emotions change with the tides of the world, our joy will come and go like the waves. Ground yourself in God. Rejoice in the Lord always because he’s always worthy of rejoicing in. And in placing him first you will experience vast and unshakable joy.
To experience the fullness of joy God has for us we must also trust in his plans. Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Each day of our life was created by God. And while the world operates apart from his leadership, when we trust in him and allow him to work in and through us he takes circumstances that would normally harm us and turns them into miraculous examples of his unceasing love. Acts 16:25-26 tells us a story in which Paul and Silas exemplify a lifestyle of trusting in God. Scripture says, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.” Paul and Silas knew that God can and will work in our lives when we place our trust in him. So they were able to praise and worship God in joy through any circumstance, and God did the miraculous. James describes this principle in James 1:2-4 when he writes, “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.” We can have joy in trial when we trust in God and live for him above all else.
You and I were not created solely for this world. Our home is with our heavenly Father in heaven. Unceasing joy comes from living with the perspective of God rather than the world. Rejoicing comes from trusting that our God is perfectly loving, perfectly real, and perfectly powerful. Spend time in God’s presence experiencing his joy. Allow the Spirit to bear the fruit of joy in your life. Trust in God alone to bring about all that he has planned for you and live your life on the unshakable foundation of his love and joy today.
1. Meditate on God’s desire to fill you with abounding joy.
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11
2. Reflect on your own life. Where are you not experiencing joy? What do you think is stealing your joy in those areas? Ask the Spirit to lead you into the fullness of joy in every area of your life. Trust him as he guides you into a life of faith and submission to God.
“Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24
3. Receive the joy of Jesus. Rejoice in him. Rejoice in his plans for your day. Thank him for his love and desire to celebrate in you. Spend time resting in his joyful and peaceful presence.
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
Seek out the joy of your heavenly Father all day today. When you begin to feel down, burdened, or depressed, spend time rejoicing in God. Allow God to reveal to you his heart for situations in your life. Respond to hard times with celebration in the fact that God will turn what was meant for evil into good if you will commit yourself to his plans and purposes. God’s plan is to fill you with unceasing joy every day of your life. He longs to lay a foundation of his love for you every morning so that you can go out into your day filled with unshakable joy. May his promise in Isaiah 55:12 come to fruition in your life today:
Extended Reading: Isaiah 55 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Isaiah 40-66.
Seek out the joy of your heavenly Father all day today. When you begin to feel down, burdened, or depressed, spend time rejoicing in God. Allow God to reveal to you his heart for situations in your life.
]]>2/7/2026 | Abiding in the True Vine
Discipline can often be a tricky subject, but it’s my hope our hearts would remain soft and open today as we remember how good and loving the God is that we serve.
As we start to wrap up our week on different ways we are to abide in the true vine of God, today we’ll look at how God prunes us in his love. Discipline can often be a tricky subject, but it’s my hope our hearts would remain soft and open today as we remember how good and loving the God is that we serve.
John 15:2 ESV
The world teaches that discipline is about shaming us into acting perfectly. Discipline from the world usually comes from a place of selfishness rather than love, a pursuit of perfection rather than godliness, and intends to lead us to the appearance of morality rather than molding and shaping the heart. For this reason, we so often run away from the discipline of our heavenly Father. But, Hebrews 12:5-6 says, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” God loves us, so he disciplines us. He has such incredible plans for us that he must mold and shape us into children ready and equipped for authority, influence, and the power of the Spirit. His discipline is always intended to lead us to abundant life, not to tear us down or shame us. As we look at God’s desire to discipline us, allow his love to open your heart and lead you into the process of pruning intended solely to refine, help, and produce fruit in you.
John 15:2 says, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” The only way for us to bear more fruit in God is to allow him to prune us. The pursuit and cares of the world are like weeds that crowd out and steal nourishment from the good, fruitful branches rooted in God. God’s plan is to prune, heal and transform us into children who live in the world but are not of it (John 17:14-19). He longs to tear down the strongholds of pride and sin that have kept us from experiencing the fullness of his promises. And he plans to lead us to a lifestyle of important and eternal fruit which will fill us with the fullness of joy.
So how do we allow God to prune us? How can we engage in his process of healing and transformation? It all starts with seeing the depth of his love for us. Psalm 103:2-4 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” God’s process of discipline is so different than the world’s because it is all rooted in his unconditional love for us. In order to consistently engage in his loving discipline, we must consistently encounter his love. We have to spend time with the all-loving heart of our heavenly Father to separate his discipline from the unloving discipline of so many of our earthly fathers. His discipline is always solely for our benefit and completely to our good. In order for us to fully give ourselves over to his discipline, we must have continual revelation of the depth of his love for us.
Next we have to choose his ways over the ways of the world. We have to sacrifice what we thought mattered for what he says matters. Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” His discipline will be painful because it will lead you to look different from the world you grew up in. He will take our living sacrifice of the world’s opinions and transform us into children who solely value his opinion. Most of us have valued the ways and opinions of the world so highly that living apart from them feels completely foreign and frightening. So we must choose to trust God over what we have understood to be important or valuable. God will lead all of us to a lifestyle of humility in opposition to the world’s values of pride and success. He will lead all of us to a lifestyle of loving others rather than getting all we can out of others. He will lead all of us to a lifestyle of dependence on him rather than self-empowerment. And he will most certainly lead all of us to a life of relationship with him as our highest priority over the opinions and friendship of others. Every piece of the pruning process is difficult. But, every time you agree with and follow the Holy Spirit through the process you will come out more satisfied, joyful, free, empowered, and fruitful than you were before. Hebrews 12:11 says, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” After you throw off the weight of the world you will wonder how you ever lived under its burden.
Engage with your loving heavenly Father in the process of pruning. Open your heart and allow him to tear down the walls that have been keeping you from experiencing the flood of abundant life and works he has planned for you. See his love and respond to it by sacrificing your ways of thinking and living. He has plans to heal, transform, and free you today if you will simply follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit through the pruning process.
1. Meditate on God’s desire to prune you. Reflect on how God’s discipline is always rooted in his love. Compare God’s desire to discipline you to the world’s. Separate his desire from other discipline you have received in the past if it wasn’t done with his heart.
2. Open you heart to the Spirit and ask him to tear away any parts of your life that are not bearing the fruit of God. Follow his leadership as you think about parts of your lifestyle that aren’t filled with the abundant life God desires. What does he want to change about your perspective, time or relationships? What is he asking you to do or give up so that you might live more free, empowered and fruitful? Take as much time to listen to the Spirit as you need.
3. Agree with his pruning and follow-through with whatever he is leading you to do. Make plans to cut out of your life anything he has revealed to you. Call a friend and ask for accountability to hold you to the discipline God has for you. Commit to engaging in the process of discipline on an ongoing basis so that God can continually transform any areas of your life that are hurting you rather than guiding you to abundant life in your heavenly Father.
One of the greatest gifts of the Holy Spirit we can receive is a desire to be disciplined and pruned by our heavenly Father. May we all have the heart of the Psalmist who wrote in Psalm 51:10-12,
Extended Reading: Hebrews 12 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Hebrews.
One of the greatest gifts of the Holy Spirit we can receive is a desire to be disciplined and pruned by our heavenly Father.
]]>2/6/2026 | Abiding in the True Vine
Make room in your heart and mind to rest in the love of your heavenly Father as we look at the different ways we are to abide in true vine of God.
Did you know God has plans for your life specifically? He has dreams for you and vision for you. Things in store that would make your heart swell and soar. What does it look like to live a life that brings God glory? How does abiding in Christ bear fruit in our lives? As we explore these concepts and more, may our hearts be open to God’s word and all he has to say.
John 15:16 ESV
You have been chosen and appointed to bear eternal and impactful fruit. John 15:16 says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” God created all of us with a longing to make an important and lasting impact with the intention of satisfying that longing in him. He has a plan for your life that doesn’t belong to anyone else. You alone can accomplish the works set before you, and you won’t find true satisfaction until you do. Your heavenly Father has placed desires in you which he has plans to satisfy in magnificent and joyful ways. He knows for what purposes you were created and longs to lead you into a lifestyle of good works that will fill you with all the abundance of life available to you through Christ.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” You were created to live a lifestyle of good works. It is not outside of your nature to accomplish amazing things no matter how you’ve lived your life up to this point. God takes what the world has deemed broken and useless and transforms it into the very likeness of his son, Jesus. He has plans to transform you into his disciple: ready, equipped, and useful for every good and fruitful work. Believe today that God would use you and discover the wealth of plans he has set before you. Surrender to the truth that God has better plans than you can ask or imagine in store for you if you will follow him. Come before him with expectation today, ready to receive all the he would guide you to. Let’s dive wholeheartedly into God’s word and presence as we learn from him how to live the fruitful life he has appointed for us.
In order to bear the fruit God has set before us we must abide in him. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit without the nutrients the vine provides, we cannot bear fruit without being connected to our only source of true life, our heavenly Father. God leads us into the plans he has for us as we spend time in his presence and his word. Psalm 1:1-3 says,
It’s in God’s presence and word that we are molded, refined, and transformed. It’s only in spending time with him that we become nourished and ready to bear fruit. Just as a tree must be pruned in order to bear more fruit, we must allow God to tear away parts of our life that are keeping us from the good works he intends for us. We must spend time in God’s presence being fashioned, healed, and transformed.
In order to bear the fruit God intends, we must learn to allow the Spirit to work in and through us. God not only transforms us as we spend time with him and his word, but empowers us through the Holy Spirit to do good works we could never accomplish in our own strength. It’s only through God working in us that our weaknesses are turned into strengths so we can truly love one another. And it’s only through the Spirit that hearts are changed and drawn to our heavenly Father. God longs to give you his heart for people. He longs to empower you to speak and work with his authority. He longs to do works through you that can’t be explained except by his reality. If you will choose to humble yourself before God and allow him to work in and through you, you will begin to bear the very fruit of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. The disciples had no great gifts or power on their own. It was only by the working of the Holy Spirit that Christianity exploded in size and influence and changed the world. Co-labor with the Holy Spirit in all that you do. Allow him to move and work in every part of your life and experience all the incredible ways he desires to use you to bring the kingdom of God to earth.
Spend time abiding in the true vine of God today. Open your heart and mind to his word. And allow the Holy Spirit to teach you how he desires to work in and through you. May the amazing plans God has for you bring peace, purpose, and joy to your life today.
1. Meditate on God’s desire to produce important and lasting fruit through your life.
2. Spend time in God’s presence allowing him to nourish and empower you for good works. Ask him to reveal what he has set before you to accomplish for his kingdom today. Ask the Holy Spirit to work in and through you.
3. Commit to following the leadership of the Holy Spirit today as he guides you to producing good fruit. Choose to love others as God has loved you. Choose to live a lifestyle of agreeing with the Holy Spirit in every way that he leads you.
How vast is God’s love for us that he would not only save us, redeem us, and set us free, but he desires to use us, a broken and needy people, to change the world. God desires to anoint his people with his Spirit to accomplish his work. May your life be marked by the wonderful and lasting fruit of a child of God surrendered to and in love with our heavenly Father.
Extended Reading: Romans 8 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Romans 5-16.
May your life be marked by the wonderful and lasting fruit of a child of God surrendered to and in love with our heavenly Father.
]]>2/5/2026 | Abiding in the True Vine
May you fall deeper in love with God today as you learn what it means to abide in God’s friendship.
Today we will look at what it means to be a friend of God. Friendship with God is a beautiful, sought after thing. And he has made his friendship fully available to us. What a gift! May you fall deeper in love with God today as you learn what it means to abide in God’s friendship.
John 15:14-15 ESV
Do you know that God calls you his friend? John 15:14-15 says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” As a believer you have gained friendship with a God who exemplifies perfect, unconditional love. You have gained relationship with your Creator whose greatest desire is simply to spend time with you. Allow the love of your heavenly Father to sink in for a minute. Allow the Spirit to reveal to you God’s motives today as we look at what it means for us to abide in the friendship of God.
John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus committed the greatest act of love this world has ever known in laying down his life. And he did so willingly out of his desire for relationship with us. God desired friendship with you to the level that he would send his only Son to die in order to restore what sin had destroyed.
The questions before you today are: are you experiencing the fruits of friendship with Jesus? Are you receiving the satisfaction that comes from abiding in relationship with God? The Holy Spirit’s desire today is to lead you into a greater depth of friendship with your Creator, the one who laid down his own life for your sake. What he asks of you today is to make time to invest in your friendship with him as you would any other relationship. He asks that you would value relationship with him to the level that you would commit time and energy to it. Just as marriage cannot be fruitful or enjoyable without investment from both parties, we must invest in our friendship with God to receive all that relationship with him is designed to bring us.
John 15:14 makes it clear that true friendship with God is following his commands. Jesus has revealed the pathway to abundant life. And he’s led us to that path by laying down his own life that we might have the Holy Spirit working within us. To be friends with Jesus is to choose to lay down our own lives in response to his loving sacrifice. To walk in friendship with God is to choose humility over pride and follow the path set before us in Jesus. We are no longer servants unaware of the plans and will of our master, but friends who have heard, seen, and experienced the truth.
Will you choose friendship with God over the world today? Will you choose to follow the will of the God who laid down his life for yours? Will you walk down the pathway of life today, or will you choose to go your own way? True friendship with God is fully available to you today if you will follow the life-giving commandments of Jesus and make space and time to invest in your relationship with him. Nothing will bring you greater satisfaction than living out of the abundance of friendship with Jesus. Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Open the door of your heart to the God of love today and spend time fellowshipping with him.
1. Meditate on your status as a friend of God. Allow Scripture to change your perspective on how God views you and how you should view God.
2. Reflect on your own life. What relationships do you invest in over your relationship with God? Who have you made the highest priority? In what ways are you not following the commands of Jesus?
3. Repent of any way in which you have valued other relationships over God. Confess any ways in which you have not been following the commands of Jesus and receive the forgiveness of God. Spend time investing in your friendship together.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
The only day we are promised is today. Don’t wait to invest in your relationship with God. Don’t set it aside while you take care of what seems to be more pressing. Loving God is always first priority. Spending time with him is always the most important thing. Choose to be a follower of Jesus who values his commands over any other. Choose his way over your own or the world’s. Walk today with the fruit of friendship with God as your source and guide. If you do, you will experience favor and grace on even the most mundane tasks set before you. You will experience a foundation of love on which you have the grace to follow God wholeheartedly and love others purely and fully. Value friendship with God above all else and experience the abundant life available to you.
Extended Reading: 1 John 1-2 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1-3 John.
Value friendship with God above all else and experience the abundant life available to you.
]]>2/4/2026 | Abiding in the True Vine
Take a moment even now to open your heart to trust God afresh.
As we continue our week on abiding in true vine of God, today we’ll explore obedience and how it relates to abiding in God. Take a moment even now to open your heart to trust God afresh. He will always be for us, and know what is best for us in every part of life. He is so good. He is so kind. And he simply wants to walk with us.
John 15:9-10 ESV
The concept of obedience has become shrouded with a connotation of negativity. When we think of obedience we normally infer a feeling of doing a task apart from a desire or longing. We associate obedience with obligation rather than fulfillment. But when Jesus walked on the earth he carried out a very different lifestyle of obedience. Jesus’ life demonstrates what obedience to our heavenly Father is meant to look like. Obedience to God is choosing to live a lifestyle of love and devotion to our God who has loved us completely.
Jesus says in John 15:9-10, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” Too often we miss the heart of God when he calls us to obedience. Jesus illustrates here that he lived his life reciprocating the love he was shown by his Father. He lived his life in obedience to God out of the wealth of relationship he had, not out of obligation. And Jesus simply asks us to do the same. He invites us into the process of receiving and giving love as the foundation of our life that we might abide in the depth of relationship with our heavenly Father as he did.
In Luke 10:27, Jesus states the greatest commandments, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” How incredible is the heart of our God that he doesn’t call us to a lifestyle of obligation or undesired sacrifice, but a lifestyle in which we reciprocate the vast love we’ve been shown in Christ to all the earth. God doesn’t merely set rules before you but relationship as the goal. He’s after your heart totally and completely.
In a world wrapped up in a self-seeking, self-satisfying agenda, God sets us free to step outside of the burden of ourselves and frees us to live for others. In a world wrought with the weight of pride, God pours out his unceasing, selfless love which has the power to transform us into children who abide in our heavenly Father. If we will choose to abide in God’s commandments and love wholeheartedly, we will experience a satisfaction unknown to those with the attitude of selfishness and pride. We will experience the abundant life only those who abide in God can obtain.
So, abide in God’s commandments today. Choose to live a lifestyle of wholehearted love of God and others. Choose to live in obedience to God in response to his amazing love. And discover the power, purpose, and freedom that comes from ministering to others with the very love you’ve been shown in Christ.
1. Meditate on God’s commandment for us to love him and one another. Receive the call to a lifestyle of love as you reflect on God’s word.
2. Spend time receiving the love of your heavenly Father. God always desires to fill you up with the knowledge of his love before he would have you love him or others in return. Our obedience is always meant to be a response to his loving nature. So take time and receive a fresh outpouring of the love he has for you today.
“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
3. Ask the Spirit to guide you to a lifestyle of love today. Spend time allowing him to reveal different ways in which he would call you to love others. How can you love your spouse better today? How can you love your best friend, coworker, neighbor, etc.? Ask the Spirit to pour out the love of God through you today. And commit to loving others even when it goes against the tides of comfort and culture.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22
May we abide in the love of our heavenly Father today. May we choose to live a lifestyle of love. And may our prayer be like that of the Psalmist in Psalm 119:32-35 as we go about our days living to see God’s glory come on earth as it is in heaven:
Extended Reading: 1 John 4 or watch The Bible Project’s video on 1-3 John.
May we abide in the love of our heavenly Father today. May we choose to live a lifestyle of love.
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