Daily Devotional

“Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with […]

Our lives are filled with opportunities to bless other people. When we take a moment to consider how we can use our resources to help others, we can truly make a difference. We can help others, even when we are going through difficult times. Kindness is the light that brightens even our darkest days.

During our Wednesday Night Alive class, we had a brief conversation about the gift of music, and especially the hymns of the church. We talked about how hymns have the ability to lift a person’s spirit. They teach us about God. This powerful music shares the great promises of our faith in such a way that it goes beyond our minds and anchors deep into our souls. Hymns are so significant to our faith.

Reading the Bible is an important part of a person’s Christian faith journey. Though we may never fully understand God’s plan and guidance for us, I believe we can better understand those things by reading the very guidebook he provided for us. I remember as a teen, being taught that God communicates with us in several ways, through prayer and spending time in quiet meditation; through what we see in the world and people that God has put in our lives; and in the Bible—God speaking through others in the bible to tell us his plan.

The life and faith of Corrie Ten Boom is a powerful example of a person who was strengthen through the words of scripture. Corrie Ten Boom is the author of The Hiding Place. This novel is the story of her life under the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Corrie and her family did all in their power to resist the Nazi occupation. They were part of an underground movement, dedicated to helping people survive the evil that invaded their peaceful lives. They saved many lives by hiding and smuggling Jewish citizens to freedom.

Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through all the land of Egypt. During the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth abundantly, and he gathered up all the food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land of Egypt, and stored up food in the cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it. And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured. Before the year of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

(Genesis 41:46 – 52)

Now this I know:
The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.

Travel is often difficult. In the past few years, traveling by plane has become increasingly more difficult. Often, flying is accompanied by heightened tension. We wonder if our flights will be on time, or if it will get cancelled. When parents are flying with their children, it is even more challenging.

I was in high school when I first began to truly fall in love with God’s word and not just His spirit. I can remember the immense joy I would feel when I read about His promises. I had grown up knowing His love, discovering His spirit, and talking to Him like he was my best friend. But reading His word made it come to life. It was profound to see that the concepts I had been taught came from incredible stories and seeing them in print made me elated to believe them even more. I clung to verses like little snippets of hope and reasons to trust. It gave a different sort of depth to my faith. One that I didn’t know would be important later.

“I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I […]