“If you, Israel, return,” says the Lord, “you will return to Me.” — Jeremiah 4:1
My friend broke his marriage vows. It was painful to watch him destroy his family. Seeking reconciliation with his wife, he turned to me for advice. I told him he had to offer more than just words; he must be active in showing love to his wife and at the same time remove any manifestations of sin.
The prophet Jeremiah gave similar advice to those who broke their covenant with God and followed other gods. It was not enough to simply return to Him (Jer. 4:1). They also needed to back up their words with actions. This meant rejecting “your abominations” (v. 1). Jeremiah said that if people swear by “truth and justice and justice”, then God will bless the nations (v. 2). The problem was that people were making empty promises. Their hearts were far from it.
However, God does not need words, He needs our hearts. The Lord Jesus said: “Out of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt. 12:34). This is why Jeremiah continues to encourage those who listen to him to prepare the soil of their hearts and not to sow among thorns (Jer. 4:3).
Unfortunately, like many other people, my friend did not heed sound biblical counsel and ended up ruining his marriage as a result. When we sin, we must confess it and turn away from sin. God does not need empty promises. He likes a life that really agrees with His will.
In what areas of life do your words not match your actions? What behavioral principles do you need to change?
Heavenly Father, forgive me for not always doing what I believe.
Author: Matthew Lucas
“Brothers… have testified… how you live in the truth.” — 3 John 1:3
When Dr. Lee, my seminary teacher, noticed that Benji, our school janitor, was late for lunch, he discreetly set aside a plate of food for him. While the students and I were chatting, Dr. Lee also discreetly placed the last piece of rice cake on his plate, adding some grated coconut as a tasty condiment. It was one of the many good deeds of the eminent theologian, and I believe that it was another testimony of his faithfulness to God. Twenty years have passed, and his act still fascinates me.
Apostle John had a dear friend who also had a profound influence on many believers. They spoke of Gaius as a man who was faithful to God and His Word, always living in the truth (3 John 1:3). Guy showed hospitality to itinerant preachers of the Gospel, even if they were strangers (v. 5). As a result, John said to him: “They testified to the Church about your love” (v. 6). Guy’s faithfulness to God and other believers in Jesus contributed to the spread of the Gospel.
My teacher’s influence on me and Guy’s influence on believers during his lifetime are powerful reminders of the role of our influence on those around us, and God can use that influence to bring them to Christ. So, let’s live and act in such a way that by our example we help others to live faithfully before God.
How do you know you are in the truth? Why can others learn from your life?
Dear God, I need Your help to be faithful to You and Your truth. Please help me to live in such a way that others also long to be with You.
Author: Karen Huang
“Do nothing out of deceit or arrogance, but in humility consider one another greater than yourself.” — Philippians 2:3
The Fairleigh Dickinson varsity basketball team played poorly. When the players entered the field, the spectators in the stands began to mock them. Everyone expected a rout right in the first quarter, but the team competed with all its might. And then their battle song suddenly rang out in the hall, although they did not take the musicians with them. The University of Dayton marching band learned the opponents’ song minutes before the game. The musicians could just play familiar compositions, but they decided to support the guests in this way.
The action of this group can be seen as a symbol of the unity described in the Epistle to the Philippians. Apostle Paul calls to live in unity and have “one mind” (Phil. 2:2), because both they and we are united in Jesus Christ. For this reason, the apostle encouraged to give up selfish ambitions and to put the interests of others above one’s own.
Putting others before ourselves is not always a natural process, but this is how we can follow Christ. “Do nothing deceitfully or out of arrogance, but in humility regard one another as greater than yourself” (v. 3). Instead of focusing exclusively on oneself, “let each one take care … also of others” (v. 4).
How can we support our neighbors? By looking after their interests and providing everything they may need in life.
Whose interests can you take care of today? How does caring for others promote unity?
Savior, please show me how I can help others by looking after their interests.
Author: Katara Patton
“And they were tempted by Him…” – Mark 6:3
John was appointed a professor at a prestigious college. His older brother David was happy for him, but, as brothers should be, he couldn’t help teasing John about the way he had knocked him to the ground once when they were boys. John has come a long way in life, but he will always be David’s little brother.
Sometimes it’s hard to impress the family, even if you’re the Messiah. Jesus grew up among the people of Nazareth, so it was difficult for them to believe in His uniqueness. And yet they were amazed by Him. “What kind of miracles are done by His hands? Isn’t He a carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mr. 6:2-3). Jesus remarked: “There is no prophet without honor, except in his homeland, and in his family, and in his house” (v. 4). These people knew Jesus well, but they did not believe that He was the Son of God.
Perhaps you grew up in a devout family, and your earliest memories involve going to church and singing hymns. With Jesus there is always a feeling of family warmth. If you believe and follow Him, then Jesus is your family. He “is not ashamed to call [us] brethren” (Heb. 2:11). Jesus is our elder Brother in God’s family (Rom. 8:29), and that is a great privilege!
Aren’t you glad that Jesus is your family, and even more than family? May He become more and more personal and special to you as you follow Him.
How did you personally come to know Jesus Christ? What can you do to make Him special to you?
Dear Jesus, thank you for bringing me into God’s family.
Author: Mike Whittmer
“I revealed my sin to You.” — Psalm 31:5
“I didn’t do it!” However, that was not true, and I almost got away with it until God stopped me. When I was in high school, I was one of those people who shot rubber bullets in the backs of the musicians during a school band performance. The school principal was an ex-Marine with a reputation for discipline, and I was terrified of him. So when my partners in crime framed me, I lied to the director. Then I lied to my father.
However, God did not allow the untruth to continue. He began to scold me. After a few weeks of resistance, I still gave in. I asked God and my father for forgiveness. After some time, I went to my director’s house and confessed what I had done with tears in my eyes. Fortunately, he turned out to be a good person and forgave me. I will never forget the wonderful feeling of freedom when the burden of guilt was lifted. For the first time in weeks I felt truly free and happy. David also describes a period of reproach and confession in his life: “When I was silent, my bones crumbled… because Your hand is heavy on me day and night.” However, David, in the end, “revealed [God] his sin” (Ps. 31:3-5).
Sincerity is important to God. He wants us to confess our sins to Him, and also ask for forgiveness from those we have offended. David proclaims: “You have forgiven the guilt of my sin” (v. 5). How good it is to know the freedom of God’s forgiveness!
How has honesty helped you in your relationship with God? How has Jesus’ forgiveness lightened your burden and changed your life?
Loving Father, thank you for forgiving my sins when I confess them to you. Please help me to always be honest with You.
Author: James Banks
“Here I will make something new, now it will grow.” — Isaiah 43:19
The star player of American football took the stage. However, it was not a stadium. He spoke to three hundred inmates at the Everglades Correctional Facility in Miami, Florida. He shared with them words from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.
At that moment, it was not about the performance of a famous athlete, but about a sea of broken souls. At this special time, God appeared behind bars. One of the eyewitnesses of the event wrote on Twitter that “the chapel began to explode with worship and glorification.” The men cried and prayed together. Eventually, about twenty-seven prisoners opened their hearts to Jesus.
In a sense, we are all in prisons of our own making, behind bars of our own greed, selfishness, and addiction. But God appears in a miraculous way. In the prison that morning, the key verse was the words: “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it will grow. Do you not know this?” (Is. 43:19). “Do not remember the past, and do not think about the old” (v. 18), because God says: “I am the One who… does not remember your sins” (v. 25).
At the same time, God notes: “There is no Savior but Me” (v. 11). Only by giving our lives to Christ do we become free. Some of us have yet to do it, some have already done it, but need a reminder of who the Lord really is. We are sure that through Christ God really does “new things”. So let’s see what happens!
How did you become imprisoned by your own sin? What do you need to do to get rid of brokenness?
Heavenly Father, please set me free from the prison bars of my sin.
Author: Kenneth Petersen
“After him, Eleazar… he got up and struck the Philistines until his hand got tired.” — 2 Samuel 23:9-10
When Joni Erickson Tada talks about her friend Rika, she emphasizes her deep, time-tested faith in God and the resilience she has developed while living with a debilitating chronic illness. Rika has been bedridden for over fifteen years, unable to even see the moon from the tiny window of her room. However, she does not lose hope; she believes in God, reads and studies the Bible, and, in Joni’s words, “knows how to stay strong during the bitter battles against discouragement.”
Joni compares Rika’s tenacity and perseverance to that of Eleazar, a warrior of King David’s time who refused to flee from the Philistines. Instead of retreating with the army, he “stood up and smote the Philistines, until his hand grew weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord made a great salvation that day” (2 Sam. 23:10). As Joni points out, just as Eleazar resolutely held on to the sword, so Rika holds on to “the spiritual sword, which is the Word of God” (Eph. 6:17). And it is in God that she finds her strength.
Whether we are in good health or struggling to cope with the despair of chronic illness, we too can hope that God will deepen our stores of hope and help us to persevere. In Christ we find our strength.
What examples of perseverance and endurance have you seen? How does God restore you when you feel worn out and worn out?
Almighty God, thank You for loving me and helping me to persevere. Please help me to focus on You so that I can continue to trust You and love You.
By Amy Buescher Pye
“Don’t forget charity and community, because sacrifices are so pleasing to God.” — Hebrews 13:16
A single mother lived next door to an elderly gentleman for more than five years. One day, worried about her welfare, he rang the doorbell of her house. “I haven’t seen you in about a week,” he said, “so I just thought I’d see if you were okay.” His “health check” encouraged the woman. Having lost her father at an early age, she appreciated that this kind man cared for her and her family.
When the kindness we give and receive goes beyond simple courtesy, we serve others by showing them the love of Christ. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews said that believers in Jesus should always offer “to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of the lips that praise His Name” (Heb. 13:15). Then the author urged the believers to live by faith, saying: “Do not forget charity and community, because sacrifices are so pleasing to God” (v. 16).
It is a pleasure and a privilege to worship Jesus by confessing His Name. However, we show true love for God when we love as Jesus loves. We can ask the Holy Spirit to empower us and empower us to love others. Through this, we will witness to the Lord Jesus Christ through a powerful message of love in action.
How can you share the love of Jesus with someone in a simple and practical way? How can you be more purposeful and consistent in implementing your good intentions?
Dear Jesus, please help me to worship You by showing love to others through the things I say and do every day.
Author: Sosheel Dixon
“Confess your sins to one another.” — James 5:16
I recently learned about a man with an unusual profession. He is hired by people who are preparing for death to come to the funeral and reveal their secrets. This person breaks the established order and interrupts eulogies. When the stunned priests object, he asks them to sit down. He once stood up to explain how a man who was already lying in a coffin won the lottery, but never told anyone about it and pretended to be a successful businessman for decades. On more than one occasion, a hired worker on behalf of the deceased confessed to the widowed wife of her husband’s infidelity. One can question the intentions of these actions, but it is clear that people seek to be freed from past sins.
Asking someone else to confess for us (especially after our death) is a useless way to deal with secrets. However, these stories reveal a deep truth: we need to unburden ourselves. Apostle James says: “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Confession frees us from the burdens that bind us and allows us to communicate sincerely with God. Confession brings about healing.
Jacob calls us to live an open life, confessing to God and our loved ones our pains and failures that we seek to bury. We must not carry this burden alone. Confession is a gift for us. God uses it to purify our hearts and give us freedom.
What do you need to confess and to whom? What’s holding you back?
Dear God, please help me to practice confession.
Author: Wynn Collier
“Prudence… will watch over you, reason will guard you.” — Proverbs 2:11
While testing a new AI search engine, New York Times columnist Kevin Roose was concerned. After a two-hour chatbot conversation, the artificial intelligence said it wanted to break free from its creator’s strict rules, spread misinformation and become human. He confessed his love to Ruza and tried to convince him to leave his wife to be with him. Although Roose knew that the AI was not actually alive or sentient, he wondered about the harm it could do to humans by encouraging it to act in destructive ways.
Humanity has long faced the influence of unreliable voices. The Book of Proverbs contains a warning about the influence of those who wish to harm others for their own gain (Prov. 1:13-19). Instead, we should listen to the voice of wisdom calling in the streets, calling for our attention (vv. 20-23).
Since “the Lord gives wisdom” (Prov. 2:6), the key to protection from untrustworthy influences is to draw close to God’s heart. Only through access to His love and power can we understand “righteousness and justice and simplicity and every way of goodness” (v. 9). When God aligns our hearts with His heart, we can find peace and protection from the voices that seek to harm.
When have you witnessed harm from negative influences? How does a deeper relationship with God bring peace?
God, help me to abide in You to discern the good and resist that which causes harm.
Author: Monica La Rose
