March 27, 2025

John 1:4

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The best part of a beach vacation may be the first moment of stretching out in the warm, bright sun on the sand or by a pool. It feels like life is finally perfect, for maybe 45 minutes. Then you need to find a bathroom, or the sun is too hot, or the sand starts to itch, or more likely, the children need 5,000 things. Like the sun, Jesus gives us both life and light.

He gives life to the full. Not just more of our average life but help to really start living as we were meant to. He wants to show you what life really is, what you were made for. And He isn’t a guide like the hotel employee who shows you to your room then, hopefully, leaves. That life is in Him. Are you looking to Jesus and your relationship to Him to find your life?

Prayer prompt: Lord, please show me the real life that can only be found in you.

March 26, 2025

Galatians 2:20

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Is there something you would leave everything for? Like a letter confirming you are the heir to a vast fortune, or the only true heir to a throne and a kingdom in some paradise far away. It would take a minute to confirm it, and believe it, but then how quickly would the new better life wash away the old?

The Gospel story is one of God leading you from a dark dungeon into stunning light, then into His presence and joy forever. We fail to enjoy our new life when we go back to old ways of thinking and living. Paul, the writer of Galatians, saw clearly that his old life was over, crucified with Jesus, and now a new life with Jesus has begun. Why trade that life for anything else?

Prayer prompt: Lord, remind me of the promises, blessings, and hope so that I live for your Kingdom.

March 25, 2025

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I can’t imagine how someone could achieve the goal of praying without ceasing. It seems like prayer would get in the way of the million other things you need to think about in a day. And yet, here is the command: pray without ceasing. Reading the whole sentence really helps.

Right before we are commanded to pray all the time, we are told to rejoice always and to give thanks in all circumstances. It is somehow possible to experience God’s presence in such a way that you rejoice and give thanks always. We know God is in control of everything from the horrible to the sublime. As we speak to Him, we can look up and see Him in all His grandeur and know, by Jesus, that we can rejoice. Why wouldn’t we want to speak to Him without ceasing?

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to think, all day today, about what I am thankful for so I will rejoice always!

March 24, 2025

2 Timothy 1:12b

… I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

There are two things to see and feel in this verse. Start with the fear of losing what has been entrusted to you. The first things that come to mind are our kids, spouse, job, house, stuff, and cars. Of course we feel the fear of losing those things. But this verse is focused on Paul’s ministry. He fears that the people he is leading to Jesus will fall away or that the Kingdom work he’s done won’t last.

Then comes the relief: God is big enough to guard what He gives us until He brings us home. What are the things you’ve done for the Kingdom? It can feel like a house of cards that keeps falling. Why not just quit? Spend time this morning resolving to go all out for the Kingdom because you can trust God to protect what He entrusts.

Prayer prompt: Lord, let me focus on your strength and trust you to guard what you have entrusted to me.

March 22, 2025

Genesis 1:1

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

What is standing against you today? Is there some big dream you had for your life, some amazing vision of a better world that you were going to make a reality? That kind of thing gets squeezed out of us pretty early. We fail at small things and never seem to attempt the big ones. As soon as school is out and you step into the real world horrible things like debt, ineffectiveness, and apathy drain motivation. It seems like the world is only fine with us moving in one direction: a slow slide toward feebleness.

But that’s a lie. This world is broken, no doubt, and there are people who want you to quit working for the Kingdom. That’s when you have to remember, this world isn’t theirs. This world is God’s. He made it, He owns it, He rules it. Start today by knowing, deep down, that this is God’s world. Working with Him and for His glory is always worth it. Commit to hope today.

Prayer prompt: Lord, give me the faith to see you behind, above, and beyond my enemies

March 21, 2025

Philippians 1:6

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

As soon as something godly starts to happen in your life, watch out. If you’re like me, a little increase in discipline or patience, even love, is often followed by a big flop. Maybe you finally see some growth in boldness and share about Jesus with a coworker. It feels like you’re walking on air as you sing praise to God! Then you get home and start yelling at your kids. How are we supposed to grow when it seems like failure and sin are constantly with us?

Remember who is right beside us helping us. The God who spoke and saw worlds jump into existence has promised that He will finish what He started. Life is littered with projects begun and abandoned, but not for God. Dunked in grace, covered in love, forgiven because of Jesus, we will keep walking and He will bring His good work in us to completion.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I will keep walking because I know you will finish what you start.

March 20, 2025

1 John 4:18

18 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.

Is fear a good thing or a bad thing? Like pain or anxiety, God has given us fear as a natural reaction to something we should watch out for. While we don’t want to feel fear, it would be far worse if we didn’t have the capacity. Driving, skiing, and all-you-can-eat buffets are all much safer with a healthy sense of fear.

In this verse, we see how fear and love interact. Think of God’s love, the love that came down to earth, then went down to death, to bring us from death up to His presence. While it is wisdom to feel God’s holiness and grandeur as beyond our understanding, His love should stop us from feeling a fear to approach Him every minute of everyday. Enjoy His perfect love today!

Prayer prompt: Lord, bring me into the bliss of trembling at your majesty and still walking with confidence into your presence.

March 19, 2025

2 Corinthians 9:8

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

I often think about the room in Willy Wonka’s Factory that is made completely from the most delicious sweets. If you think too long, it gets a little gross. I’m sure you would get sticky and the sweets would get dusty or dirty or people would sweat on them. But if you just let it exist as an ideal, it’s magical and attractive. Why doesn’t an all powerful God give us goodies like that?

Each word in this verse should shatter that question to pieces. Grace from God will abound, pour out, roll over like a wave, so that being totally sufficient, having everything you need, at all times, you can really get to work. Not only has He, the Supreme God, rolled all our needs to dust under His overwhelming provision, He’s also given us a wonderful task and purpose! What more could we want?

Prayer prompt: Lord, please make me always dependent on and expectant of Your abounding Grace!

March 18, 2025

Joshua 1:6

6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

Is Christianity a manly religion? I think it may have entered into some people’s heads to regard the faith as something women teach to children. Some see it like a nursery rhyme to instruct good boys and girls on the benefits of cleanliness or obedience. Helpful, maybe, but many see Christianity as something we set down when we get old enough to become our own people.

But of course not. Our faith has conquered nations and the hearts of people small and great. Our faith is one that slays dragons and upends unjust social systems. Your faith will compel you to walk endless distances and climb mountains to the clouds in order to remake the world in the way God wants it. Are you ready to be strong and courageous?

Prayer prompt: Lord, equip me with courage and strength to work for Your Kingdom today.

March 17, 2025

Zephaniah 3:17

17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

I understand that God loves me, but does He like me? Every Christian starts by trusting His grace then quickly moves back to trying to earn His favor. In grace we trust that God gives us His love, but with works, we try to earn it. Inevitably, we fail and want to hide from God. Why turn to God if He is going to greet me with frowns and whips?

Look again at Zephaniah 3:17. How is it possible that any God would treat His creation like that? God is with you, in your midst. He is mighty to save you. He will rejoice over you with gladness and quiet your excuses and your self-justification with His love. He will make the universe ring with His loud singing. God loves you because He is so so good.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I want to turn from my sin and embrace the love you have for me.

March 15, 2025

Psalm 50:1-2

1 The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

Lord Byron, a British poet, said the world has two types of people: the boring and the bored. The bored would be the worldly-wise who, having experienced much, are never surprised or delighted by anything. The boring are the simple folks who see a miracle in even the mundane like the sun rising or a child laughing. I know which I’d rather be, and which the Psalmist is. Which are you?

Are you able to look up at something as common as the sky and worship its maker? There is a lie that being regularly near something makes it less valuable, or at least less exciting. Feel the sun on your face, spilling its rays from millions of miles away, and pray again to your God. Commit to the brief time it takes to be amazed and sing praise to a God who loves you like that.

Prayer prompt: Lord, wake me up to the wonder of the ordinary.

March 14, 2025

Ephesians 3:17-19a

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…

It’s hard to believe we will receive more than we ask or imagine. We can imagine so much! How can God outdo all the delights, the wild fantasy worlds, we try to imagine for ourselves? In these verses, we begin to find out.

God’s love is so intense, He has to strengthen us to endure it. He can’t tell us how great His love for us is because our experiences to this point just aren’t big enough to create the categories. How can He describe the depth of oceans to people who have only stomped in parking lot puddles? How can He make you feel the heat of the sun when you have only seen birthday candles? Pray that God would make you strong enough to see just how big His love is.

Prayer prompt: Lord, please strengthen me to comprehend a little more of Your amazing love.

March 13, 2025

Luke 8:49-50

49 While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” 50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”

What do you do when you’re afraid? A specific fear can be stomped out, like a spider. If it can be addressed quickly, great, but most of the fears that we deal with go deeper. Most of our fears are less defined and more persistent. How do we deal with that nagging, constant fear that what we most want or love will go away?

The man Jesus was speaking to in these verses just lost his only daughter. Yet, when he was sure that what he most loved was gone, Jesus told him not to fear. Jesus assures the man that there is still a solution, a grand solution, to the most awful of problems. Address your fear by looking up to the one who defeated even death.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I hate being afraid. Teach me to believe.

March 12, 2025

In Tim Keller’s new book, Hope in Times of Fear, readers get a long look at how the Resurrection changes our lives. God has come to turn us upside down, even in ways we don’t really think we need.

“Before we become Christians, most of us also think of ourselves as sincere seekers after the truth. We feel like we’re pretty good people. But most Christians, like Paul, look back on their lives and see that they had never really been sincere seekers after truth at all. They had wanted a truth and a God that fit their desire to be in charge of their own lives. And yet God came after them, found them, and graciously helped them see their own blindness and their unwarranted distrust of him. This is what happened to Paul. He thought he knew who God was and who Jesus was, and he got it all wrong.”

Check out Keller’s book to find reasons to believe the Resurrection happened, and a million more reasons to Hope it did.

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to see my pride so I can turn and embrace real joy.

March 11, 2025

Luke 4:18-21

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Jesus came to bring good news to those who need it. Isaiah 61 tells of the Lord coming to captive, brokenhearted, mourning people. The Lord picks them up, frees them, cleans them, and fills them with joy. What does that mean for us?

Jesus said He fulfilled that prophecy. That meant he was looking at people who were dirty, captive, broken, and sad and He came to make them sing. Jesus has come to forgive you and bring you into the Lord’s favor where joy overflows constantly. Ask Him to forgive you, see your captivity to sin and come to Jesus to be cleaned. He will do it, and you will be free!

Prayer prompt: Lord, make me part of your work to bring people back to you!

March 10, 2025

Matthew 15:32

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

Ever gotten cash for Christmas? It’s the kind of gift you might expect from a generous if distant uncle. We probably expect a more personal touch from a spouse or parent. We expect the people who say they love us to know something about us. When you get gifts you really want and need, even if they’re less expensive, they mean the world.

God keeps up with the details of your life. Jesus saw how these people were hungry because He looked and cared enough to know. Love does that. Follow Jesus; He knows you enough to give you what you really need.

Prayer prompt: Lord, thank You for knowing me and loving me.

March 8, 2025

Luke 7:13-15

13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Does God really hear me when I pray? I’ve asked that question more than a pastor probably should. God is so high above us, so shrouded in glory and majesty, would He really see us? If He did, would He really care for us?

Jesus, the Lord, Yahweh in the flesh, saw the woman in Nain who had lost her only son. He didn’t just know about it or read it in the obituaries, He saw her and felt compassion for her. Then, and this is almost too much to hope, He fixed it. The cross, the grave, and then the empty grave are enough to know forever that God hears you.

Prayer prompt: Lord, kill all my doubts by turning my eyes to the glorious gospel of Jesus!

March 7, 2025

1 Corinthians 7:29a, 31b

29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. …31 … For the present form of this world is passing away.

It seems like God is saying, “Live as though the world is about to end.” Well what does that mean? If the news came that a world-ending meteor was about to hit, what would you do? Steve Carell was in a movie where some people gave themselves up to pleasure, some just wept, and some, like Steve, fell in love. In other words, they tried, in a sad way, to do as much normal stuff as possible before the meteor hit. But what does God expect of us?

It’s not a meteor that’s coming, it’s God Himself. When He comes, it won’t just be annihilation, but judgment. With time so short, our priority must be to introduce as many people to Jesus as we possibly can! We can ache for Jesus to return, but we must work flat-out to get as many ready as we can. Who can you tell about Jesus?

Prayer prompt: Lord, please motivate me to work hard for Your glory!

March 6, 2025

Isaiah 40:30-31

30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

These verses hinge on one word: wait. Before the waiting, the strongest and most healthy are falling over in exhaustion. After the waiting, even weak or old or flabby folks are flying, running, and walking without fatigue. So how do we wait for the Lord? Are we supposed to just hold still? I don’t think so.

Reading these verses along with the rest of Scripture, waiting on the Lord looks like working while trusting that the Lord will do something amazing if we will just continue. ‘Wait’ is closer to ‘hold on’. Wherever you’re at as you read these verses, if you’ve left behind what God has given you to do, or if you’ve continued but it’s getting really difficult: hold on. He will renew your strength.

Prayer Prompt: Ask for strength to wait on the Lord, to do things His way.

March 5, 2025

If there is a lie at the heart of every single sin, it has to be the one going all the way back to the Garden. There, Satan tempted Adam and Eve to believe God was holding out on them. He tempted them to break God’s law with the lure of pleasure. If we are going to fight that same temptation, we have to see the lie for what it is. The quote below is from CS Lewis’ book The Srewtape Letters. Screwtape, a demon and tempter, gives demonic advice to another tempter:

“Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable.”

Never forget that pleasure, ALL PLEASURE, comes from God! If we stop believing the lie of the enemy, “at [God’s] right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11b).

Prayer prompt: Lord, I don’t know why You would include me in the pleasure of Your presence, but thank You!