Tag: devotional

August 11, 2026

August 11th, 2026

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Numbers 29-30

Highlight Verse:

““Five days later, on the fifteenth day of the same month, you must call another holy assembly of all the people, and you may do no ordinary work on that day. It is the beginning of the Festival of Shelters, a seven-day festival to the Lord.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭29‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The practices of Old Testament Israel may seem a little foreign to us nowadays, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from them.

And they liked festivals!

While we have no more need for animal sacrifice since Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice, the festivals each gave good reminders that we can still learn from today.

Passover reminds us of the sacrificial lamb that saved Israel from Egypt. That was a foreshadowing of Jesus giving the ultimate sacrifice to atone for all the sin for all who trust Him.

The Festival of Harvest reminds us to give the first of our increase to the Lord.

The Festival of Trumpets reminds us to heed the call of God and search our lives for anything that needs correction.

The Day of Atonement is a day of fasting and repenting, renewing our commitment to the Lord annually.

The Festival of Shelters reminds us of when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. It reminds us that we can rely on God for our provision regardless of the circumstances.

A common theme in these festivals is assembling as God’s family.

We may not be a genetic family but, as followers of Jesus, we are bound together in the family of God.

We do well to gather not just for weekly worship but for celebrations to remember what God has done for us.

What is your favorite holiday?
How do you honor God in the way you celebrate?
August 10, 2026

August 10th, 2026

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 8

Highlight Verse:

“But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought!”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭8‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Simon had ministry envy.

(Read the verses around today’s Highlight Verse if you haven’t already.)

He was accustomed to being called “The Great One” and having people turn to him for the miraculous.

That doesn’t mean he didn’t believe in Jesus.

But his heart was not fully there yet.

I must admit, I have been envious of those who were successful in ministry before.

Granted, I didn’t try to buy their blessing.

But my situation kept me from finishing Bible college and my ministry stayed on a lay person level.

But that’s okay.

I can look back and honestly say that God has used me in ways I didn’t expect.

He didn’t call me to be the pastor of a big successful church.

He called me to reach people from wherever He plants me.

He has a call for each one of us.

It may not look as flashy as someone else’s call, but we can trust in the fact that God has chosen the best place to use each of us.

There is no need for envy.

Have you ever been envious of how someone else was being used by God?
How has God used you in your unique situations?
August 9, 2026

August 9th, 2026

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Job 1-2

Highlight Verse:

“Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!””
‭‭Job‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Yesterday I mentioned the question, “Why doesn’t God intervene when bad things happen?”

Clearly, Job is an example of a good person to whom bad things happened.

Really bad things.

And God gave Satan the go ahead to do those things.

Why?

As it is likely that Job was just a literary character, like someone in one of Jesus’s parables, I will look at that question in more general terms.

First, if we were all forced to love and obey God and did not have the ability to rebel, we would be like robots.

Robots cannot love; they can only follow their programming.

That programming might mimic love, but if we do not have the option to disobey, we cannot choose to love.

That means that disobedience (sin) must be an option for love to exist.

And if disobedience exists, so does pain, and loss, and crime, and war.

At the first sin in the Garden of Eden, corruption and mortality entered the world.

Mankind had been protected from death but now the effects of our imperfect world can affect us.

Crime, earthquakes, fires, famine, and storms can harm anyone.

That said, there have been instances where some have been miraculously spared.

I cannot say why since I do not have God’s omniscient perspective.

I will always pray in faith for the miraculous.

When the answer is “no,” I will try to accept it and remember that this life is but a tiny fraction of the eternity that awaits us.

That is a perspective that is difficult to keep when the pain of loss is overwhelming.

When our loved ones go through those times, we do well to just be present to comfort.

When we go through those times, we can only cling to faith and cry out for God to send His comfort.

As I mentioned yesterday, He will.

Do you have a perspective to share on this topic? Please do.
Do you have any other difficult questions that you would like to explore here? Let me know.
August 8, 2026

August 8th, 2026

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Psalm 34

Highlight Verse:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

One of the drawbacks to getting older is outliving friends.

We lost another this week.

Julian Pierce was a good friend in high school.

When I saw him a few years ago, we hung out for hours with a couple other friends after a class reunion. It was like no time had passed.

He was still a super nice guy who was easy to get along with.

I am saddened at the loss of yet another friend.

My heart goes out to those who were closest to him.

Loss is always hard.

Julian knew that from the loss of his wife some years ago.

We have all experienced loss on one level or another.

It is easy to blame our losses on God.

Why didn’t He intervene?

That is a question that I could go into detail about but for now let me bring what today’s highlight verse tells us.

When we suffer from loss, He is right there with compassion.

If we allow Him, He will comfort us like no other could.

Sometimes He even uses us or others to bring that comfort.

If you are broken-hearted, please allow the Holy Spirit to bring healing and comfort.

When have you felt the Lord’s comfort?
When have you seen God use you or others to bring His comfort?
August 7, 2026

August 7th, 2026

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Jonah 3-4

Highlight Verse:

“This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry.”
‭‭Jonah‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Do you like it when your plans are changed unexpectedly?

Neither do I.

But if my plans changed because a whole bunch of people got rescued, I’d like to think I would handle it better than Jonah did.

But sometimes we don’t grasp the effects of change.

What may seem like hardship to us can pave the way for relief or even salvation for others.

It brings to mind when I was moving to Colorado and my van’s engine blew.

That brought both financial and time stress into my life, but it provided much needed work to the mechanic who replaced the engine.

I remember being stressed but amazed at how God provided the mechanic, the engine, the money, and much needed rest for me while I waited for it to be fixed.

Image credit ChatGPT (They almost got it right except for the Dodge grill and the model year was off by one. And how did I get facing the wrong direction?)

Yesterday, I heard someone quote Ephesians 4:13 (‘I can do all things through Christ…”) in context.

It was refreshing to not here someone using that verse to say that we can be successful and healthy.

In context, Paul wrote that to say that he can make it through hardships with Christ’s help.

Jonah could have used some of that attitude.

So can we.

When was the last time that your plans were drastically changed?
How did you react?
Have you ever had to suffer that others could be rescued?
August 6, 2026

August 6th, 2026

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Revelations 2

Highlight Verse:

““But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

These letters to the seven churches in Asia are loaded with wisdom that we can use today.

Verse 4 stood out to me because I usually think of the idea of losing our first love in terms of our love for God.

This verse includes our love for each other.

I would assert that the two go hand in hand.

If we truly love God, we will share the love He has for mankind.

He loved us enough to send his Son to suffer and die just so we can be in His presence.

If we love God, we will sacrificially lead people to eternal life.

Like Jesus, we will care for them, bring healing, and bring truth.

So, the next time you are expressing your love for God in worship, ask yourself, “What are you doing to love people?”

When your faith was brand new, did your love for God overflow as love for others?
What are ways that we can live out God’s love to those around us?
What else stood out to you in this chapter?
August 5, 2026

August 5th, 2026

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Chronicles 25-27

Highlight Verse:

“Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?” The man of God replied, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this!””
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭25‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Have you ever made a bad investment?

Amaziah did when he hired the wrong soldiers.

It’s a terrible feeling when you have to write-off a bunch of money with no return on the investment. That’s especially true when you can’t really afford it.

Sometimes we put a bunch of money toward something only to realize that thing was not honoring to God.

It could be a hobby or skill that distracts us from following after God.

Or buying something that robs your time with God or your family.

I’m sure you could come up with your own list.

I still remember my social psychology professor telling us about the time he bought a canoe. For a while after that purchase, he spent as much time as he could canoeing just so he could justify the expense in his mind.

If we have invested in something, we have a psychological tendency to want to get the most out of our investments. For that reason, we will spend more time and money to get the most out of it.

But if that investment is in something that does not honor God, we would be wise to cut our losses and move on.

If today’s passage is true (and it is), God will honor our decisions with blessings greater than what we gave up.

I’m not saying he will dump money in our laps (though sometimes He does).

But the blessings of God bring great joy both now and eternally.

Is there something you’ve put a lot of money and/or time into that is distracting you from God? What would it take to walk away from that?
Have you ever had God greatly bless you for taking a financial hit to follow Him more closely?
August 4, 2026

August 4th, 2026

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Numbers 27-28

Highlight Verse:

“Then Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭27‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have known managers who failed to train successors for fear they would be laid off. (One of them did get laid-off, partly because of his attitude.)

I’ve known others who failed to share their skills because they didn’t like it when someone did the same job a little differently.

Moses demonstrated not only a willingness to share his insights but actively asked the Lord to provide a successor.

Because of Moses’ attitude toward leadership, Israel was able to successfully enter into the promised land with a strong leader to guide them.

I have benefitted greatly from those who passed their skills on to me.

And I’ve had to deal with a few people who refused to help when I needed their skills.

I know from experience that those who take the time to share their skills and leadership abilities make this a much better world.

What skills do you have to pass on to others?
Are you training someone who could succeed you in work and or ministry?
How are you doing that?
August 3, 2026

August 3rd, 2026

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 7

Highlight Verse:

“Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭7‬:‭57‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s easy to think that refusing to listen to opposing views is a modern issue.

It is.

But it has been going on for thousands of years.

In Stephen’s case, it resulted in his death.

One could argue that, if Stephen had not preached at his accusers, things may have turned out differently.

I assure you that, at this moment, Stephen is in the same place he would have been if he had lived a longer life on earth.

But would he have lived out his purpose? Would his message have been preserved as it has been? Would Saul have become Paul and had as effective of a ministry if he had not participated in Stephen’s death?

I cannot answer those questions with certainty, but I can say that

Stephen spoke the message the Holy Spirit gave him with a boldness that arose from great faith.

I’m not saying that we should provoke those who oppose us.

In fact, we should always listen to those who oppose us and be sure to reply with the grace of God rather than our own anger.

But we should also always be ready to proclaim what the Holy Spirit gives us to say with boldness that can only come from deep faith.

Do you have the depth of faith that Stephen possessed?
Have you had the opportunity to speak the truth of God in the midst of opposition? How did it turn out?
August 2, 2026

August 2nd, 2026

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Song of Solomon 7-8

Highlight Verses:

“O my darling, lingering in the gardens, your companions are fortunate to hear your voice. Let me hear it, too! Come away, my love! Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.”
‭‭Song of Songs‬ ‭8‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In today’s highlight verses, the young couple we’ve been reading about wraps up the book looking forward to the adventures together.

Once a year, my wife and I make a point to get away for a few days together.

Sometimes it’s just a night or two in the mountains nearby.

This year we spent a week in the Carolinas including three nights by ourselves exploring the western reaches of North and South Carolinas
(the photo is from downtown Greenville, SC).

I admit that I’m not to most romantic husband, but I believe that adventures together are inherently romantic.

Discovering the beauty of nature and unique aspects of culture in different areas builds the bonds of our relationship.

It certainly doesn’t hurt to throw a little romance in there too.

It is true that there are about as many definitions of adventure as there are people. But discovering new things together is not only good for a relationship, but biblical in the light of today’s reading.

How do you define adventure?
What adventurous things have you and your spouse done (please keep it family friendly)?

Tag: devotional

The practices of Old Testament Israel may seem a little foreign to us nowadays, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from them.

A common theme in these festivals is assembling as God’s family.

We do well to gather not just for weekly worship but for celebrations to remember what God has done for us.

Simon had ministry envy.

I must admit, I have been envious of those who were successful in ministry before.

He has a call for each one of us.

Yesterday I mentioned the question, “Why doesn’t God intervene when bad things happen?”

When the answer is “no,” I will try to accept it and remember that this life is but a tiny fraction of the eternity that awaits us.

One of the drawbacks to getting older is outliving friends.

Loss is always hard.

If you are broken-hearted, please allow the Holy Spirit to bring healing and comfort.

Do you like it when your plans are changed unexpectedly?

What may seem like hardship to us can pave the way for relief or even salvation for others.

Jonah could have used some of that attitude.

So can we.

Verse 4 stood out to me because I usually think of the idea of losing our first love in terms of our love for God.

He loved us enough to send his Son to suffer and die just so we can be in His presence.

So, the next time you are expressing your love for God in worship, ask yourself, “What are you doing to love people?”

Have you ever made a bad investment?

But if that investment is in something that does not honor God, we would be wise to cut our losses and move on.

But the blessings of God bring great joy both now and eternally.

I have known managers who failed to train successors for fear they would be laid off. (One of them did get laid-off, partly because of his attitude.)

Moses demonstrated not only a willingness to share his insights but actively asked the Lord to provide a successor.

I know from experience that those who take the time to share their skills and leadership abilities make this a much better world.

In Stephen’s case, it resulted in his death.

Stephen spoke the message the Holy Spirit gave him with a boldness that arose from great faith.

But we should also always be ready to proclaim what the Holy Spirit gives us to say with boldness that can only come from deep faith.

In today’s highlight verses, the young couple we’ve been reading about wraps up the book looking forward to the adventures together.

Discovering the beauty of nature and unique aspects of culture in different areas builds the bonds of our relationship.

It certainly doesn’t hurt to throw a little romance in there too.