Devotionals

Jesus desires to feed us with eternal life every single day. Scripture reminds us that the Father fed the Israelites with manna in the wilderness—and now, He feeds us through His Son. This is not physical nourishment, but spiritual sustenance. There is no way to partake in life with God apart from believing in Jesus—“eating and drinking” the Truth—receiving the spiritual nourishment and complete wholeness He alone provides.

For this reason, Jesus declares in John 6:35 that He is the Bread of Life. Unlike the temporary manna that sustained Israel for a moment, Jesus is the eternal Source who continually feeds us with truth, righteousness, and life. If we want to know the heart of God, we need only look to Jesus—the Bread of Life—and witness the fruit-producing work of the Holy Spirit.

In John 6, near the time of Passover, Jesus performs a miracle—feeding more than five thousand people with just two fish and five barley loaves. Everyone eats and is satisfied, and twelve baskets of leftovers remain—nothing wasted. Soon after, in the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus deepens the message.

He says something startling: unless we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we cannot have life within us. The people struggled, taking His words literally. But Jesus was revealing a spiritual truth—believing in Him, receiving Him fully, and abiding in Him is the only way to eternal life. He explains that those who “feed on Him” will live because of Him. This Bread from heaven is not like manna—those who ate manna eventually died, but those who receive Christ will live forever (John 6:54–58).

Even some disciples found this teaching difficult. Jesus asked them, “Does this offend you?” (John 6:61). The reality is, truth can challenge us. Jesus is God made flesh (John 1:1, 14). He is the Savior (Luke 2:11). He is the Truth (John 14:6). Yet He was misunderstood, rejected, and spoken against—and the same will happen to those who follow Him.

If we are devoted to Christ and desire to be transformed into His likeness, we must be prepared to walk that same path. When others speak against us, will we respond as Jesus did?

Even on the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Agape—God’s perfect love—is our eternal aim. It is not just something we receive, but something we practice. As we feed daily on Christ, His life transforms us from the inside out.

John 6:63 NLT Jesus tells His disciples, “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

Prayer: Lord, this world often leaves us spiritually malnourished—hungry and thirsty for something more. Today, we come to You, the Bread of Life. Feed us with Your truth and fill us with Your Spirit. Quench our thirst from Your River of Life. Strengthen us to remain committed to Your ways, and help us surrender our flesh so we may fully receive Your life. Teach us to love as You love, and to walk in Your truth daily. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

One of my favorite songs is, Because of Your Love by Paul Baloche. The chorus retells the salvation story like John 3:16 does in the Gospels:

Because of your love
We’re forgiven
Because of your love
Our hearts are clean
We lift you up
With songs of freedom
Forever we’re changed
Because of your love!

In Scripture, God is Love. In my heart, everything about God and his salvation and eternal life is based on His great love for the world.

On our journey to Jerusalem and the cross of Christ, we recognize the Gift of God’s love. We must also recognize the serious nature of sin to our relationship with God. Salvation is such a perfect Gift for humanity, but let’s not forget there was a great price paid for it…the death of God’s unique and holy Son. All we have to do is receive God’s Gift and invite Him to love us!

Romans 6:23 NLT  “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your unfailing love that loves each of us unconditionally. We were created to be loved by you and when we receive Jesus we know we are home in your heart. Thank you for the Gift of redemption and for setting us free from the penalty of our own sin. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I love celebrating the Lord, life, people, and special events! Years ago, I helped organize a worship opportunity called Celebration. It was a wonderful and meaningful time because we all knew we needed Jesus to lift our vision from ourselves. Even when we began in lament, we ended in celebration, because God’s presence was sweet, and we knew He was transforming us by His grace and shaping us for His purpose.

I must also say that not everyone in the church appreciated our worship service. In fact, some souls were sour and negative. It did not matter to them that people were growing in their love for God and learning how to live and serve according to His purpose. They had simply made up their minds to remain disgruntled. I never let it trouble me, because I knew Jesus was guiding us.

As we continue on our spiritual journey toward Jerusalem and the cross of Christ, we take one more glimpse at the story of the prodigal son. The Father sets up a celebration because the younger son has come home. True, he wasted his money on worldly living, but he finally came to his senses and realized the power of the Father’s presence. He understood that he had valued the wrong things. The older son, however, resented the celebration. His nose was out of joint because he had remained faithful to the Father, yet had never been given a party. In fact, he chose not to enter the celebration and instead carried a poor spiritual disposition.

Remember, the story is about the Father. In our passage, the Father reassures his older son: “You are always with me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!” (Luke 15:31–32, NLT)

It was time to celebrate. God shows no favoritism, and He celebrates each of our hearts when we abide in His love. Besides, God’s presence is the greatest gift. He is the source of every good and perfect gift. We must learn to be content and to rejoice when people turn back to God to be renewed in mind and transformed in soul.

Hebrews 13:5 (NLT) “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’”

Prayer: Father, thank You for celebrating our hearts when we seek You and long to enjoy Your presence. Help us to trust You and to be satisfied with the goodness You extend to each one of us. Help us guard our hearts against having a sour spiritual disposition. Fill us with joy, and help us glorify Your name even as we remain a work in progress. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In recent days, I have found myself asking the Lord to help me remain in a place of peace. The world around us is filled with strife, irritability, and actions driven by anger and division—none of which reflect the heart of God. These things may surround us, but they should not rule within us.

Our souls—our mind, will, and emotions—can easily be pulled into reaction. But as followers of Christ, we are not called to be led by our emotions; we are called to be led by the Spirit. When we sense irritation rising, judgment forming, or unrest taking hold, that is our signal to pause, bow our hearts, and surrender those feelings to God.
We must remember, peace is not automatic—it is cultivated in His presence.

Jesus illustrated the depth of the Father’s love in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The son chose his own way, seeking fulfillment in the world, only to find himself empty and broken. Yet when he returned, the Father did not respond with anger or rejection—He responded with compassion, restoration, and open arms.

This is the same love God extends to us; it is the same love He calls us to extend to others. The standard for love is beautifully described in our passage today:

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NLT 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

This kind of love cannot be produced by human effort alone; it is the fruit of a surrendered life. When we allow God’s peace to rule in our hearts, we become less reactive and more reflective of Him—more patient, more gracious, more forgiving.

Today, let His love challenge your love walk. Receive His peace, and then extend that same grace to others.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your perfect love that welcomes, restores, and never turns away from us. Even when we fall short, You draw us back with kindness and mercy. Lord, we ask You to help us remain in Your peace. When our emotions begin to rise and pull us away from Your truth, teach us to pause and surrender. Give us the strength to take authority over every thought and feeling that does not reflect Your heart. Shape us to love the way You love—patiently, kindly, and without irritation or judgment. Remove any desire within us to hold onto offense, and instead fill us with a spirit of forgiveness and grace. Thank You for the example of Your open arms. Help us to extend those same arms to others. May Your peace rule in our souls, and may our lives bring You glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Father’s love is wonderfully supernatural and, as we reflected in our passage yesterday, we must stand firm in that love. Nothing is stronger than God’s love—it is an unbreakable bond. In Hebrew, the word “tikvah” carries the idea of a stretched rope or cord. Think of it as a lifeline, friends. God’s love is a supernatural lifeline, securely tethered to each one of us.

I often remind couples in pre-marriage counseling of King Solomon’s wisdom: “Someone might be able to defeat one of you, but not both of you… A cord of three strands is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). When each of us is rooted in the love of the Father, we are joined together with Him in a threefold cord—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—a bond that is both supernatural and protective.

According to today’s passage from the Apostle Paul, nothing can separate us from God’s love—His lifeline in Christ. We are wrapped in a partnership of pure love as we face life’s trials, challenges, and even spiritual opposition. Therefore, we must receive His love and rest confidently in His holy nature, trusting Him to fulfill every promise He has made to believers.

A beautiful picture of the Father’s love is found in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The focus is not the son—it is the love of the Father. No matter how far the son wandered, the Father was watching and waiting. Even more, before the son reached home, the Father ran to meet him, moved by a love that never let go.

Every believer is tethered to the Father through the Son—our eternal Lifeline of Love. As you read today’s passage, receive this truth deeply: nothing can break the cord of God’s love for you. Just as we were once sustained through a physical cord in our mother’s womb, we are now sustained by a supernatural cord—God’s enduring love and grace woven into our lives.

Be convinced of His love, His commitment, and the security of this eternal lifeline in Christ.

Follow Jesus. Submit to the Father’s commands of love. And when you fall short, remember that forgiveness and grace are ready to restore you as your heart yields to righteousness.

Reject fear, anxiety, and sinful desires—these were never created for you. Stand firm in the truth of who you are in Christ.

As we continue our journey toward Jerusalem and the cross, remember: nothing in all creation can separate you from the love of God. Because of His great love, He sent His Son to rescue us from sin (John 3:16). So be more concerned with staying tethered to the Father than with anything this temporary world offers. Nothing is worth losing intimacy with God or drifting from His loving will.
We may wander for a time, but there comes a moment when we remember—His love is our true home.

Romans 8:38–39 (NLT) “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love… indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Prayer: Lord, thank You for revealing Your love as a perfect lifeline in Christ. Draw us deeper into that unbreakable cord of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Help us to remain firmly rooted in Your love, trusting in Your promises and walking in obedience. Thank You for Your grace that restores and transforms us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

When I was in seminary, one of my professors reminded us that the whole of Scripture is God’s self-revelation—His testimony of who He is and how we can know Him. Period. Without engaging the written Word and learning to live in God’s character, we risk seeking a god of our own making.

God is holy Truth. He cares for us as a good Father, sending His loving Son to bring salvation and eternal life, and providing His Spirit to help and transform our souls—our minds, wills, and emotions. We need the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we can easily wander through life, blind to the powerful presence of our Creator.

In today’s passage, we read a letter of exhortation from Jude, the half-brother of Jesus. Written around 60–80 AD, it reflects a time when the early church faced corruption and distortion of the gospel. Through Jude, the Holy Spirit urges believers to remain steadfast in faith—a place of protection in the love of the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit.

As we journey toward Jerusalem and the cross of Christ, we must cling to the love of God. If corruption was present in the church then, we should not be surprised to see it today. Jude calls believers to stay true to Christ and to respond with our whole lives to His saving work. Jesus desires more than intellectual agreement—He seeks to transform us into His image, teaching us to love God wholeheartedly and to walk in obedient love toward our neighbors.

Jude vv. 20–21 (VOICE): “You, however, should stand firm in the love of God, constructing a life within the holy faith, praying the Spirit’s prayer, as you wait eagerly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, which leads to eternal life.”

Prayer: Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to make the journey to Jerusalem and offer His life for our sins. Teach us to stand firm in Your love, to love our neighbors faithfully, and to pray in alignment with Your Spirit. As Your Church, help us remain true to Christ’s likeness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

According to Scripture, to genuinely love Jesus is to keep His commandments—loving God wholeheartedly and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves (John 14:21; Matthew 22:36–40). Everything written in the Law and by the prophets reinforces this requirement of God and His love. We are stewards of God’s love, and it is important that we represent Him correctly.

In the Gospel of Luke, while Jesus is teaching about love, a religious leader stands up and asks how to inherit eternal life. Jesus Christ answers the man’s question with another question, asking what he understands from the Law. The man cites the commandment to love God and love one’s neighbor (Luke 10:27). Jesus responds, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28).

But that answer is not enough for the man. Wanting further clarification, he asks, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29). Jesus then tells the well-known story of the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

If we know the lesson of the Good Samaritan, we understand that it required mercy, grace, and love to care for the wounded Jewish stranger. The Jews despised the Samaritans, yet in Jesus’ story the Samaritan was the only one who truly fulfilled the Law by showing compassion.

If we are going to steward God’s love, we must move beyond the feelings and desires of our flesh. In fact, we need supernatural power to accomplish what Jesus expects, because nothing in our natural nature wants to love others the way Jesus loves us. But God has promised to make His power available when we make His love a priority.

In our passage today, we are reminded that we can do whatever God calls us to do. If God authors it in us, He will also fulfill it through us.

Philippians 4:13 (Amplified Bible): “I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.”

Prayer: Lord, thank You for the lesson today about Your commandments and the example Jesus gives in the Good Samaritan. Help us to extend the mercy, grace, and love You require. Empower us by Your Spirit to love others the way You have loved us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Grace is a pure blessing! Every time we say a prayer, we are asking for God’s blessing—heavenly resources—to be released. As human beings, we have limited resources and abilities, but the resources of heaven have been made available in Christ to provide spiritual riches that transform life in this earthly realm.

Followers of Christ—the Living Word of God—are containers of the Spirit who provides the power to release that blessing. If you desire to live by faith in Christ and are willing to walk by the Spirit of Truth and Love, you have the potential to bring the transforming power of God’s blessing into the world.

God told His people in the Old Testament that He set before them each day blessing and cursing (Deuteronomy 11:26). In the New Testament, Jesus essentially taught the same principle to His disciples when they wondered how 5,000 people could be fed with five loaves and two fish. The disciples could not see the potential in a small boy’s lunch, so they asked Jesus to send the people away (Matthew 14:15). But Jesus knew the potential of heaven that He carried—and what they would soon carry. So He told His disciples, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them” (Matthew 14:16).

As we make our journey to Jerusalem and the cross of Jesus our Christ, we must not minimize small potential, because in God’s hands nothing is impossible (Matthew 19:26). The disciples were astonished as the “blessing of God” multiplied when Jesus prayed.
Take that thought a step further. Can you imagine how this blessing must have affected the small boy with the lunch? He had no idea of the potential in his small sack until he placed it into the hands of Jesus.

May God help us look at life from His perspective today, because only He knows the plans He has for the blessings He desires to pour out—plans that are miraculous because they originate in heaven. In His hands, little becomes much.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Prayer: Father, help us gain Your perspective about how we partner with You in releasing Your abundant blessings each day. You have provided the Savior, the Spirit, and the grace for the work of salvation and transformation. Help us see, Lord. Open our eyes to the potential before us each day and help us release the faith necessary to accomplish Your plans. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This past week, I have spent a lot of time in my kitchen baking for our Spring Market. Yesterday morning, I was up early baking the last of our goodies to sell. I was alone doing what I love—baking and singing praises to the Lord.

CeCe Winans was singing the song Goodness of God, and all of a sudden I was filled with such gratitude and joy that it moved me to tears. There I was in my new kitchen, looking around at our restored home, and I cried my prayer of praise: “God, you have been so good to me!”

My friends, weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Gratitude is the right response when we have been touched by the love of God. Think about the ten lepers who encountered Jesus (Luke 17:11–19). All ten received a healing miracle from the Lord, but only one came back to express gratitude.

Faith and gratitude must go with us on our transformation journey to Jerusalem and the cross this Lenten season. Take time today to give thanks—even if it is a sacrifice of praise—because eventually God restores what the enemy stole. And when He restores, He often leaves us better than we have ever been before.

Psalm 107:1 (NLT) “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being so good to us. We are blessed by your faithfulness, mercy, and goodness. Receive our praise as a small offering of our gratitude today. Thank you for drying our tears and filling us with joy unspeakable and full of glory. We are so blessed, so we bow to give thanks to your name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Demands have always been a part of human culture, but lately they seem to be increasing in both number and intensity. People demand—claim as a right—more money and financial security, food, lower prices, fair trade, respect, recognition and validation, freedom, safe travel, good health, peace, resources without effort, and a variety of material possessions that promise greater comfort. These demands are often presented forcefully, as though the world owes us something. There is a big difference between the human demands and God’s Gift.

Yet when we turn to Scripture, we discover that the word demand can also describe an authoritative command—one that is not optional. However, in the Bible these demands come not from human beings, but from God. God calls for righteousness, moral accountability, mercy, and wholehearted devotion.

At first, these divine requirements might seem overwhelming. God’s holiness reveals just how far humanity has fallen short. But here is the profound difference between God’s demands and human demands: God provides the means to fulfill what He requires.

Human beings often demand things from others without offering help or provision. God does the opposite. Knowing that the penalty for sin is death and that we cannot rescue ourselves, He made a way for us to live. Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, God fulfilled the requirement we could never meet on our own. Salvation cannot be earned, purchased, or deserved—it is given freely through God’s grace when we believe.

The good news of the gospel is that eternal life is available through Christ. The sobering reality, however, is that some will refuse the gift because receiving it requires humility before a holy God. Scripture reminds us that every person has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. That means every human being needs salvation—whether they recognize it or not.

The invitation still stands today. God does not merely demand righteousness; He offers it through Jesus Christ.

As the apostle Paul reminds us in Epistle to the Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Today, instead of focusing on what the world demands from us—or what we demand from the world—let us turn our hearts toward the gracious gift God offers. In Christ, the demand of justice and the mercy of God meet together, opening the door to life everlasting.

Prayer: Father, we live in a world full of demands and expectations, yet we confess that we have fallen short of your perfect righteousness. Thank you for loving us enough to provide a way of salvation through Jesus Christ. Help us to humble ourselves before you and receive the gift of grace that we could never earn. Shape our hearts so that we seek your righteousness, walk in your mercy, and live in grateful devotion to you. May our lives reflect the transforming power of your love and the hope we have in Christ.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.