Devotion Blog

Love Beyond Counting
By: James Banks

I have loved you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” Those words from Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese are among the best-known poetry in the English language. She wrote them to Robert Browning before they were married, and he was so moved that he encouraged her to publish her entire collection of poems. But because the language of the sonnets was very tender, out of a desire for personal privacy Barrett published them as if they were translations from a Portuguese writer.

Sometimes we can feel awkward when we openly express affection for others. But the Bible, by contrast, doesn’t hold back on its presentation of God’s love. Jeremiah recounted God’s affection for His people with these tender words: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3). Even though His people had turned from Him, God promised to restore them and personally draw them near. “I will come to give rest to Israel,” He told them (v. 2).

Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s restorative love, giving peace and rest to any who turn to Him. From the manger to the cross to the empty tomb, He’s the personification of God’s desire to call a wayward world to Himself. Read the Bible cover to cover and you’ll “count the ways” of God’s love over and over; but eternal as they are, you’ll never come to their end.

Reflect & Pray:
What are some of the ways God has loved you? How can you return His love today?

Thank You for loving me so fully and personally, Jesus! Help me to love You with my life today.

Who You Are
by Sheridan Voysey

Set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

In 2011, after a decade of childlessness, my wife and I chose to start afresh in a new country. Exciting as the move was, it required my leaving a broadcast career, which I missed. Feeling lost, I asked my friend Liam for advice.

“I don’t know what my calling is anymore,” I told Liam dejectedly.

“You’re not broadcasting here?” he asked. I said I wasn’t.

“And how is your marriage?”

Surprised at his change of topic, I told Liam that Merryn and I were doing well. We’d faced heartbreak together but emerged closer through the ordeal.

“Commitment is the core of the gospel,” he said, smiling. “Oh, how the world needs to see committed marriages like yours! You may not realize the impact you’re having already, beyond what you do, simply by being who you are.”

When a difficult work situation left Timothy dejected, the apostle Paul didn’t give him career goals. Instead, he encouraged Timothy to live a godly life, setting an example through his speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity (1 Timothy 4:12–13, 15). He would best impact others by living faithfully.

It’s easy to value our lives based on our career success when what matters most is our character. I had forgotten that. But a word of truth, a gracious act, even a committed marriage can bring great change—because through them something of God’s own goodness touches the world.

Reflect & Pray:
Who has touched your life and what qualities did they have? How can you set an example of faithfulness today?

Dear God, help me to remember that the work I do isn’t as important as the person I become. Please make me more like You.

So Beautiful
by Cindy Hess Kasper

We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Ephesians 2:10

I was very young when I peered through a hospital nursery window and saw a newborn for the first time. In my ignorance, I was dismayed to see a tiny, wrinkly child with a hairless, cone-shaped head. The baby’s mother standing near us, however, couldn’t stop asking everyone, “Isn’t he gorgeous?” I was reminded of that moment when I saw a video of a young dad tenderly singing the song, “You Are So Beautiful” to his baby girl. To her enraptured daddy, the little girl was the most beautiful thing ever created.

Is that how God looks at us? Ephesians 2:10 says that we’re His “handiwork”—His masterpiece. Aware of our own failings, it may be hard for us to accept how much He loves us or to believe that we could ever be of value to Him. But God doesn’t love us because we deserve love (vv. 3–4); He loves us because He is love (1 John 4:8). His love is one of grace, and He showed the depth of it when, through Jesus’ sacrifice, He made us alive in Him when we were dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:5, 8).

God’s love isn’t fickle. It’s constant. He loves the imperfect, the broken, those who are weak and those who mess up. When we fall, He’s there to lift us up. We’re His treasure, and we’re so beautiful to Him.

Reflect & Pray
What does it mean to know that “God is love”? How can you accept the truth of God’s endless love for you when you feel undeserving of it?

Precious Father, thank You for Your love for me.

LOOK UP - DON'T GIVE UP!
by Rick Warren

“When I am ready to give up, he knows what I should do.”
Psalm 142:3 (GNT)

God doesn’t want you to get discouraged and quit at the halfway point of life. He wants you to make it to the finish line. He’s called you to look up, not give up.

Psalm 142:3 says, “When I am ready to give up, he knows what I should do” (GNT).

Yesterday we discussed two causes of discouragement: fatigue and frustration. As we continue reading through Nehemiah 4, we find two more.

The third cause of discouragement is failure. When the Israelites got to the halfway point in rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls, they wondered if they were going to succeed: “Will we ever finish this wall?” (Nehemiah 4:10 CEV). It was taking longer than expected, and they felt defeated and discouraged.

The truth is, nobody succeeds at first. The only way you succeed in life is by failing and learning what doesn’t work. Failure is the stepping stone to success. The difference between successful and unsuccessful people is this: Successful people see failure as a temporary setback. Unsuccessful people see it as a mark on their character. Proverbs 24:16 says, “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again” (NLT).

The fourth cause of discouragement is fear. Not only did Israel’s enemies ridicule the rebuilding efforts, but they also made threats: “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work” (Nehemiah 4:11 NLT). Hearing your enemies talk like that is legitimate reason to be discouraged!

The next verse says, “The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, ‘They will come from all directions and attack us!’” (Nehemiah 4:12 NLT) Those who lived closest to the enemy were most fearful. Why? Because they were constantly surrounded by extreme negativity.

If fear is discouraging you right now, surround yourself with good things and positive voices. Don’t pay attention to negative media. Turn it off, or you’ll only become a more frightened, paranoid, and worried person.

What is discouraging you today? Fatigue, frustrations, failure, or fear? Whatever it is, give it to God and “run with endurance the race God has set before [you]” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT).

Talk It Over:
📌 What feelings of discouragement can you give to God today?
📌 Think of a time you failed at something but later realized it was actually a stepping stone to success. How did your mindset affect your progress?
📌 What are the negative influences you need to turn off this week?

Enduring Hope
by Xochitl Dixon

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Revelation 21:4

Doctors diagnosed four-year-old Solomon with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive muscle-degenerating disease. A year later, doctors discussed wheelchairs with the family. But Solomon protested that he didn’t want to have to use one. Family and friends prayed for him and raised funds for a professionally trained service dog to help keep him out of that wheelchair for as long as possible. Tails for Life, the organization that trained my service dog, Callie, is currently preparing Waffles to serve Solomon.

Though Solomon accepts his treatment, often bursting out in song to praise God, some days are harder. On one of those difficult days, Solomon hugged his mom and said, “I’m happy there’s no Duchenne’s in heaven.”

The degenerating effects of sickness affect all people on this side of eternity. Like Solomon, however, we have an enduring hope that can strengthen our resolve on those inevitable tough days. God gives us the promise of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1). Our Creator and Sustainer will “dwell” among us by making His home with us (v. 3). He will “wipe every tear” from our eyes. “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (v. 4). When the wait feels “too hard” or “too long,” we can experience peace because God’s promise will be fulfilled.

Reflect & Pray:
How has acknowledging God’s promise for a new heaven and a new earth comforted you? How can you encourage a hurting friend with the enduring hope of God’s promises?

Loving God, thank You for strengthening my resolve with the surety of my enduring hope.

JESUS HAD TEAM SPIRIT. HOW ABOUT YOU?
by Rick Warren

“Two can accomplish more than twice as much as one, for the results can be much better. If one falls, the other pulls him up; but if a man falls when he is alone, he’s in trouble. And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12 (TLB)

God never meant for you to go through life isolated, trying to do everything by yourself. Success happens when you work alongside others.

One reason Nehemiah succeeded in rebuilding Jerusalem is because he broke the work down into manageable tasks among many different people. In Nehemiah 3, 18 teams helped to make repairs, and you see the phrase “next to him” or “next to them” 21 times.

Nehemiah wanted the people to understand something. He gave them a pep talk that went something like this: “If you get tired and discouraged, just look to your left and look to your right, and you’ll see people working next to you. You’ll realize you’re not alone. You’re part of a team.”

He helped people feel part of something bigger than themselves. He did this by creating a spirit of teamwork among the people.

The New Testament uses the phrase “one another” 58 times. The Bible says we’re to love one another, help one another, serve one another, bear one another’s burdens, and so on. This is how you develop a team spirit.

Why is a team spirit essential to reaching your goals?

The Bible says, “Two can accomplish more than twice as much as one, for the results can be much better. If one falls, the other pulls him up; but if a man falls when he is alone, he’s in trouble. And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12 TLB).

The Apostle Paul understood this principle of developing a team spirit. He never did any of his ministry alone. He always took a team with him. The same is true with Jesus. His entire ministry was done with a group of 12 people. In fact, the first thing Jesus did in his ministry was build a small group.

Maybe you’re struggling to accomplish your goal because you’ve been going at it alone. Remember, you were never meant to live without community. The work God has for you will always be accomplished in partnership with others.

Talk It Over:
Look at the people who are working “to your left and to your right.” What is the sense of team spirit like with them by your side?
What consequences have you seen in your life when you tried to accomplish something on your own? If you could go back, what changes would you make?
How does it work better to have three or more people—not just two—working together on a task?

HOW TO DEVELOP A LIFE PLAN
by Rick Warren

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)

When you make your life plan, God’s contribution toward its success is far greater than your own—but your contribution is still vital. In the Old Testament, Nehemiah offers a good example of someone who knew that his plan depended on God.

When Nehemiah was cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, he heard his hometown of Jerusalem had been destroyed and lay defenseless. This troubled Nehemiah, so he decided to go home to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls. But he knew he wouldn’t get very far without a plan.

The Bible says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps” (Proverbs 16:9 (NLT).

Nehemiah’s plan for how he would get to Jerusalem gives you sevens steps in developing a life plan. Here are the first two:

Step 1: Ask God for favor on your life.

Nehemiah knew he couldn’t just impulsively suggest that the king let him go home to rebuild. So he prayed, asking for God’s favor: “O Lord, please hear my prayer! . . . Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me” (Nehemiah 1:11 NLT).

God’s favor is God’s grace, and you need it to make and fulfill your plans. Notice Nehemiah also prayed, “Please grant me success.” Sometimes you might think you shouldn’t ask God for success. But there’s nothing wrong with praying for success when you’re trusting God to do the work.

Step 2: Prepare for an opportunity, and then wait.

Nehemiah had to wait before he was given an opportunity to present his plan to the king. Then one day, “four months later, when Emperor Artaxerxes was dining, [Nehemiah] took the wine to him” (Nehemiah 2:1 GNT). Because Nehemiah had plenty of time to prepare, he knew exactly what he wanted to say to the king.

When you begin praying about a plan, vision, or dream God has given you, he usually doesn’t answer right away. God often waits to see how serious you are about it. Are you going to keep praying and planning while you wait? If so, you’ll be prepared to open the door when opportunity knocks.

Tomorrow we’ll look at three more steps Nehemiah took in developing his plan, all steps that you can use as you make a life plan.

Talk It Over:
📌 Think of a time you made plans without asking for God’s wisdom and grace. What was the result?
📌 What step of faith can you take today as you wait for doors of opportunity to open?
📌 What needs to be rebuilt in your family, your job, your community, your city, or your nation? Pray and ask for God's wisdom, direction, and favor as you develop a plan.

The Love of God
by Kenneth Petersen

Great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Psalm 57:10

In 1917, Frederick Lehman, a California businessman beset by financial setbacks, wrote the lyrics to the hymn, “The Love of God.” His inspiration led him quickly to pen the first two stanzas, but he got stuck on the third. He recalled a poem that had been discovered years earlier, written on the walls of a prison. A prisoner had scratched it there into the stone, expressing a deep awareness of God’s love. The poem happened to be in the same meter as Lehman’s hymn. He made it his third stanza.

There are times when we face difficult setbacks as did Lehman and the poet in the prison cell. In times of despair, we do well to echo the psalmist David’s words and “take refuge in the shadow of [God’s] wings” (Psalm 57:1). It’s okay to “cry out to God” with our troubles (v. 2), to speak to Him of our current ordeal and the fears we have when “in the midst of lions” (v. 4). We’re soon reminded of the reality of God’s provision in times past, and join David who says, “I will sing and make music. . . . I will awaken the dawn” (vv. 7–8).

“The love of God is greater far,” this hymn proclaims, adding “it goes beyond the highest star.” It’s precisely in our time of greatest need when we’re to embrace how great God’s love really is—indeed “reaching to the heavens” (v. 10).

Reflect & Pray:
What are the difficulties you face today? How has God provided for you in times past?

Loving God, I am facing difficult matters, but I am reminded of Your love for me and Your provision throughout my life. Thank You.

Small Kindnesses
by Alyson Kieda

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

Amanda works as a visiting nurse who rotates among several nursing homes—often bringing her eleven-year-old daughter Ruby to work. For something to do, Ruby began asking residents, “If you could have any three things, what would you want?” and recording their answers in her notebook. Surprisingly, many of their wishes were for little things—Vienna sausages, chocolate pie, cheese, avocados. So Ruby set up a GoFundMe to help her provide for their simple wishes. And when she delivers the goodies, she doles out hugs. She says, “It lifts you. It really does.”

When we show compassion and kindness like Ruby’s, we reflect our God who “is gracious and compassionate . . . and rich in love” (Psalm 145:8). That’s why the apostle Paul urged us, as God’s people, to “clothe [our]selves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). Because God has shown great compassion to us, we naturally long to share His compassion with others. And as we do so intentionally, we “clothe” ourselves in it.

Paul goes on to tell us: “over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (v. 14). And he reminds us that we are to “do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (v. 17), remembering that all good things come from God. When we’re kind to others, our spirits are lifted.

Reflect & Pray:
When have you been the benefactor of someone’s kindness? How can you show kindness to another?

Jesus, thank You for showing me overflowing, unlimited kindness. Help me to find joy in doing kind acts for others.

sharing:

Bigger, Greater, and More Powerful

Today’s Scripture:
1 John 4:4, NIV
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Today’s Word:
We all have times when we feel like we're surrounded by difficulties, surrounded by a sickness, or surrounded by debt. When you're in a difficult time, the enemy will do a lot of talking. He'll tell you, "I have you surrounded. You're never going to get well. You've had this addiction for so long that you'll never break it. You're never getting out of debt. No matter how hard you work, you'll never get the promotion. You're stuck." Don't believe those lies. The enemy thinks he has you surrounded, but the Most High God has him surrounded. God knows every attack, every difficulty, every unfair situation that's going to happen.

When you feel like you're surrounded, come back to the place of peace and say, "I know my God is still on the throne, and He is surrounding what's surrounding me. He's bigger than this opposition, greater than this sickness, and more powerful than these enemies. I will not be discouraged or worried. The forces for me are greater than the forces against me."

Prayer for Today:
Father, thank You that You know everything that the enemy brings against me and surrounds me with. Thank You that You are bigger, greater, and more powerful than any of these enemies. I believe that the forces for me are greater than any that are against me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

sharing:

Stir it Up

Today’s Scripture
2 Timothy 1:6, NKJV
Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

Today’s Word
One of the saddest things would be to come to the end of life and wonder what we could have become. "What if I hadn't neglected to use the gift that God gave me? What if I had broken away from the people who were causing me to compromise? What if I had controlled my temper and treated my spouse with respect? What if I had taken that step of faith in my career and not played it safe all the time?"

You don't have to wonder. You can start today. You can still become who God created you to be. The question is, do you want it badly enough? You have to go after what God has for you. Being passive and indifferent will keep you from your destiny. Stir your passion up and make the decision, "I'm going to pursue God and all that He has put in my heart. I'm going to take steps to grow the gift He gave me. I'm going to come up higher."

Prayer for Today
Father, thank You for entrusting me with gifts and talents. Thank You that I have greatness in me because You put it there. Help me stir up my faith and let the passion become a flame. I'm going to take steps to grow the gift You gave me. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I'm going to come up higher. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

sharing:

There are days when we don’t feel like praising God especially when going through bad patches of our lives. We would rather complain about how hard our lives have been and how many of our needs God seems to be ignoring. And we wondered how on earth the Bible can tell us to rejoice always (Phil 4:4). That’s really a great challenge. But in reality, the best way to change our mood from complaining to rejoicing is by singing and praising God. When we engage in the practice of singing, it can change our perspective. It’s hard to sing about joy and not feel a little more joyful as a result, isn’t it? Don E Saliers says: “The act of singing ... is deeply and indelibly human. When we sing, words are given greater range and power than when we speak.” When we try to make Christian songs the soundtrack of our lives, we will find that God will bring a song to mind that fits our situation. In times of struggles, words of assurance will echo through our minds. When we feel joyful, words of praise will flow. So try it even today.