Daily Devotionals

Romans 3:10-18

It doesn’t take a PhD in English Literature to observe that God offers us a gift in salvation. The gift is eternal life, which is directly connected to His Son. 

1 John 5:11-13

Genesis 2:1-3

Following the sixth day of creation, the Lord God deliberately stopped working. He rested. It wasn’t that there was nothing else He could have done. It certainly wasn’t because He was exhausted. Omnipotence never gets tired! He hadn’t run out of ideas, for omniscience knows no mental limitations. He could easily have made more worlds, created an infinite number of other forms of life, and provided multiple millions of galaxies beyond what He did. 

But He didn’t. He stopped. 

Genesis 2:21-22

After God made man, He observed a need inside that life, a nagging loneliness that Adam couldn’t shake. 

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18) 

As a fulfilment to the promise to help Adam with his need for companionship, God got involved: 

Matthew 6:25-34

How do you get good at getting the rest God said was good for you? How do you get good at leisure? We can, of course, nod in agreement to all we’ve discussed in the past couple days about how important it is to rest and get recharged, but our greatest need is not inclination; it’s demonstration. 

Here are two suggestions that will help. 

1. Deliberately stop being absorbed with the endless details of life. Our Saviour said it straight when He declared that we cannot, at the same time, serve both God and man. But we try so hard! 

Ephesians 5:1

Since most humans suffer from a lack of balance in their lives, our best counsel on living a steady and stable life comes from God’s Word. In Paul’s letter to the Christians in Ephesus, he includes this most unusual command: 

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children...” (Ephesians 5:1 NIV) 

Luke 9:18

Now here’s a rhyme I’ll never understand: 

Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, where have you been? 
I’ve been to London to look at the queen. 
Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, what did you there? 
I frightened a little mouse under the chair.

Matthew 6:25

Today’s devotional has one primary objective: to help you enjoy yourself, your life, and your Lord more...without feeling guilty or unspiritual. Yes, enjoy! 

In our work-worshipping society, that is no small task. Many have cultivated such an unrealistic standard of high-level achievement that a neurotic compulsion to perform, to produce, to accomplish the maximum is now the rule rather than the exception. Enough is no longer enough. 

Proverbs 5:21–23

Talk about going from bad to worse. Defiance is the classic illustration. First, defiance begins with carnal attitudes. Long before there are carnal actions, there are carnal attitudes. It can happen to adults just as quickly as it can to teens or kids. Perhaps it would help if I spelled out a few of the attitudes by describing some actual thoughts in the minds of the defiant. 

1 Kings 11:14-40

King Solomon planted seeds of wilfulness and independence that reaped a harvest of rebellion in his heart. God’s first reaction to Solomon’s defiance was a strong statement of divine anger (1 Kings 11:9). OK, what else does the Lord do? After stating His anger, He raises up human adversaries. Look at how He does this—it’s intriguing. Read carefully 1 Kings 11:14 and then verse 23.