Daily Devotional Free

  In his sermon titled "What is the Recession For?", Pastor John Piper suggests that when the economy plummets, God has His own purposes. Some of them might be: 1) To expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing; 2) To wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of the developing world, where there is always and only recession of the worst kind; 3) To relocate the roots of our joy in His grace rather than in our goods, in His mercy rather than in our money, in His worth rather than in our wealth; 4) To advance His saving mission in the world - the spread of the gospel and the growth of His church - precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it; 5) To bring His church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love. What else does God want to teach us in difficult times? That nothing is impossible with Him (Luke 1:37). That He who owns "the cattle on a thousand hills" (Ps. 50:10) is not limited by an eco

Dear Lord, as I come before You this morning, my spirit is filled with thanks that You have given me a life and filled it with meaning. Knowing that You have a purpose for me is such a gift as I cannot express. Even when the world or my own thoughts fill me with feelings of worthlessness, I can turn to You and know, fully certain, that You are in charge and have filled my existence with meaning and purpose I cannot fully understand. You promised that if we love You and obey Your teaching, You and the Father will make Your home with us. I declare my love for You. And, there is nothing I want more than to have You live with me, present in my life. Help me to follow Your teaching in every way, for you have given us grace, that by Your death and resurrection, we may be perfect before You. Accept my love and be with me, today and always. I pray, not by my merit, but by Your grace. Amen

  When it comes to jigsaw puzzles, we all know that to enjoy a satisfying outcome, you need all the pieces. In many ways, life is like that. We spend our days putting it together, hoping to create a complete picture out of all the scattered parts. Yet sometimes it seems like a piece is missing. Perhaps we've been pursuing the wrong pieces to the puzzle. Even though we may know that life without God at the center is a life that has lost the most important piece. Do we live as though He isn't particularly relevant? And even though we may attend church regularly, is He the throbbing center of our lives? Sometimes we grow accustomed to feeling distant from God. This makes it easier to sin, complicating the sense that something important is missing.  But no matter how far we may drift from God, He wants us near. He appealed to His people through the prophet Isaiah: "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, a

Dear God, in the morning I call upon You. Come to my aid and the aid of all Your servants. As I travel through the rest of my day, may the God of hope fill me with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit I may abound in hope. I wander off like a lost sheep, my eyes front, and cannot find my way back; but a shepherd seeks me out and calls me, gently. Bless You, and bless You seven times seven, for You admit no failure in finding those who seek You, no matter how lost they may believe themselves. I pray that I may hear Your voice, oh Lord, for I know You call, and my desperation is only my willful deafness. Thank You for Your promise to walk with us through all of life. In moments of doubt, help us to have the confidence You are in control and we can trust You. We glorify Your Name, forevermore. Amen

Today is National Honesty Day in the United States. It is a little-known designation for April 30, but an important one nonetheless. Author M. Hirsh Goldberg established National Honesty Day in the early 1990s as a way to honor the honorable and encourage honesty. He said that April 30 was selected because "April begins with a day dedicated to lying [April Fool's Day] and should end on a higher moral note". Honesty Day would be a good time to review the value of this trait according to God's Word. Honesty is not as easy at it seems - but we please God by striving for it. An understanding of honesty begins with recognizing that God - our ultimate example - is truth (Deut. 32:4) and that He cannot lie (Num. 23:19; Heb. 6:18). Also, He hates falsehood (Prov. 6:16-19). Beyond that, all lies have as their originator Satan himself (John 8:44). For our part, we can use these Scriptures as our guide: "A righteous man hates lying" (Prov. 13:5); love rejoices in truth

Dear Lord, as You gave us the sun to lighten our days, so You have given us Your Word to lighten our minds and our souls. I pray that You will pour out on me Your Spirit as I pray today. Let my heart and mind may be open to Your Word, and that I may learn and accept Your will for my life. Help me to be honest and true in all that I say and all that I do. Give me the courage to do what is right, to bring to the world a glimpse of Your light. Give me a broken heart that yet carries home the water of grace. Shine within my heart, loving God, the pure light of Your divine knowledge. Open the eyes of my mind and the ears of my heart to receive Your Word, this day and always. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen

  Is your life too busy? Business deadlines, productivity quotas, and shuttling children to lessons and sporting events can really fill up your schedule. It's easy to think, "if only I didn't have so many responsibilities, then I could walk in vital union with God". Yet C.S. Lewis wisely points out that no one was busier than Christ. "Our model is the Jesus. . . of the workshop, the roads, the crowds, the clamorous demands and surly oppositions, the lack of all peace and privacy, the interruptions. For this. . . is the Divine life operating under human conditions". In Mark 1:32-34, we can witness Jesus' experience in Capernaum. "At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those we were demon-possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then He healed many". The next day Christ sought out a solitary place and prayed. There He received direction from His Father to pursue a demanding ministry in

  Dear God, purge me and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  Grant me by the same Spirit to be guided in my work today, and in my every thought and deed and in everything I say. Let my decisions be wise and holy, and my ears open to Your wisdom. And let me always be open to change; unstop my ears and soften my heart, so that I can learn your way better and better every hour of this day. If you are with me, O God, who can be against me? For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus my Lord. This I ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

  When Hans Egede went to Greenland as a missionary in 1721, he didn't know the Inuit language. His temperament was often overbearing, and he struggled to be kind to the people. In 1733, a smallpox epidemic swept through Greenland, wiping out almost two-thirds of the Inuit people - and claiming Egede's wife as well. This shared suffering melted Egede's harsh demeanor, and he began to tirelessly labor to care for the people physically and spiritually. Because his life now better represented the stories he told them of God's love, the Inuits could at last grasp His desire to love them too. Even in suffering, their hearts turned to God. Perhaps you are like the Inuits in this story, and you are unable to see God in the people around you. Or perhaps you are like Hans Egede, who struggled to express love in a way that taught people about God. Knowing we are weak and needy people, God showed us what love is like. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins (John 3:16).

  Dear Jesus, in fear of You and in the hope of mercy, I worship you. Lead me in Your righteousness. Make Your way straight before my face.  Let me find in You a sense that I am loved. And may my heart not grow cold and cluttered by anger and wounds from the past so that others can see Your reflection in me. In You, all things are possible.  Let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them shout for joy, because you defend them; those who love Your name, grant them mercy and joy. And evermore let Your word spread throughout the world, and make me Your servant in this task. In Christ's name, I pray. Amen

  The ancient Israelites gathered at Gilgal for the coronation of Saul as their first king (1 Sam. 11:15). The Lord was not pleased that His people had asked for a king, yet on this occasion, Samuel uttered these words: "The Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people" (1 Sam. 12:22). We too are God's "own special people" if we have trusted Jesus as Savior (1 Pet. 2:9). He will not forsake us even though He knows we will fail Him. He knows what we are like - sinful, weak and frail. He knew it before He called us and drew us to Himself. The certainty of our salvation rests not in ourselves but on the character of God (1 John 5:20). He will keep us to the end. This does not give us an excuse to continue in sin. Paul said, "Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Rom. 6:2).

  Dear Lord, I offer to Your divine majesty my sincere praise and thanksgiving for all Your mercies towards me. You made me first and have ever since sustained the work of Your own hand. Thank You for giving me the assurance of salvation. I have sinned and done very wickedly, be merciful to me, O God. Pardon me for Jesus Christ's sake; instruct me in the particulars of my duty. And, suffer me not to be tempted above what You give me strength to bear. May my life be so pleasing to You that You are pleased to have Your face shine on me. As You graciously smile on my life, may I find someone today with whom I can share Your love through a smile. I ask you, Lord, to defend me this week from all evil, and do more for me than I can think or ask. Amen

  "Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you." For the meantime, you are in grief. And then, your hearts will rejoice. And, no one will take away from you your great joy. This will all be because of God. No one can snatch your joy that was given by our all powerful God! The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain that you are feeling, but the coming joy is also similar. When God sees you again, you’ll be full of joy. And it will be a joy no one can rob from you. You will be so happy that no one will be able to change the way you feel.

  Dear God, please give me the patience to make it through this busy day with all the hustle, demands and distractions of modern life. Let me find the quiet time to hear Your voice and feel Your calming presence. Thank You, loving Father, for blessing me with the beautiful privilege and opportunity of prayer. We ask for hope and perseverance to continue reaching out to others. Give me a desire to grow spiritually. I want to honor You with my life and experience the joy of the Spirit’s work inside of me. I pray that You may lift up the light of Your countenance upon me, and give me peace; in my going out and in my coming in; in my sitting down and my rising up; in my work and in my play; in my joy and in my sorrow, in my laughter and in my tears; until that day comes which is without dawn and without dark. I ask this in Your son's Name. Amen

  The bumper sticker "Jesus is my co-pilot" may be a well-intentioned sentiment, but it has always troubled me. Whenever I'm in the driver's seat of my life, the destination is nowhere good. Jesus is not meant to be just a spiritual "co-pilot" giving directions every now and then. He is always meant to be in the driver's seat. Period! We often say that Jesus died for us, which of course is true. But there's more to it than that. Because Jesus died on the cross, something inside of us died - the power of sin. It's what Paul meant when he said, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). We were essentially co-crucified with Him.  With Jesus in the driver's seat, the old destinations are off-limits. No more turning down the streets of self-centeredness, greed, or lust. No more off-road ventures into the swamp of pride or the ditch of bitterness. We were crucified with Him and He

  Dear God, the author of all good, I come to You for the grace another day will require for its duties and events. I step out into a wicked world; I carry about with me an evil heart. I know that without You I can do nothing, that everything with which I shall be concerned, however harmless in itself, may prove an occasion of sin or folly, unless I am kept by Your power. I pray to You for all the graces I need to know You, to love You and serve You faithfully unto death, and to save my soul. Give me a tender and fervent devotion to Your sacred passion by which I was redeemed, venerating You each day in prayer. And, teach me how to unite sorrows and sufferings of my life with Your own. I thank You for salvation, for your mercy, full and free. Take my all in consecration. Glorify Yourself in me. Amen

  "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Being crucified with Christ means in Him, we have shared His crucifixion. It is not by physical crucifixion, but spiritual. It is being one with Christ, which means Christ is living in our bodies and hearts. Our ego is no longer central. When we are crucified with Christ by faith in Him, we are to completely surrender every selfish desire and ambition to the perfect will of God. Self-promotion and self-pleasing desires are the greatest obstacle between man and salvation because it is the nature of man to want to please himself, and this self-recognition is a building block for sin. All sin erupts from the desire to please self, and this is what must be crucified with Christ in surrender to the will of God before salvation can bear fruit.