Listen to today’s devo!

Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away. (Ezra 1:7)

Expanded Passage: Ezra 1:7-11

Consistent investments made over time yield results. Several years ago, my husband and I were led to a small group Bible study that explained how this financial principle works in relationships as well. We must invest often, wait for growth, and withdraw rarely. Occasionally, we lose our treasure altogether—it is stolen from us, and all we can do is pray, wait, and hope to see it returned. This is true of financial matters, and it is certainly true of relationships: in marriages, with children, and in the workplace.

After a very long wait, the children of Israel saw their silver and gold returned. This treasure was a stolen investment, “articles” belonging to the Lord that would, in turn, be used to build the temple. In other translations, “articles” of gold and silver are called “vessels” of gold and silver. In the New Testament, Paul spoke of Christ followers as earthen vessels (or “jars of clay”) that proclaim the gospel (2 Cor. 4:7). As vessels of the good news, it is through his Spirit that we become the hands and feet of Christ, children compelled to pour ourselves out to build the kingdom.

We must be aware that our greatest earthly treasures are the relationships that we build here on earth. It is not simply silver and gold that will build the kingdom of God; but rather, it is his people.

Invest in relationships to build Christ’s kingdom.

Dalene Fisher is a full-time wife, mother, and grandma. She is a former associate professor of English, dean, and assistant provost at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:5)

Expanded Passage: Ezra 1:4-6

Large families are often depicted in the media as sources of stress and chaos. Mothers-in-law are overbearing and meddling; children are rebellious and ungrateful; fathers are unreliable and dull; aunts and uncles are poor role models. The list is endless. But God did not design families to be dysfunctional. Recently, my daughter married a lovely young man. His family, like ours, is large and unwieldy, which inevitably meant a beautifully chaotic wedding. Without prompting, the bride’s family, led by her uncles, stepped into the middle of the chaos any time they saw something unraveling. They took charge and accomplished much. It’s what good families do.

The children of Israel similarly worked together. In this case, it was to bring about God’s plan. They approached the task of building God’s temple organically and selflessly. They gave of their time, their money, and their resources. As a family, God’s children, they worked together to accomplish his will. Even their neighbors were inspired to follow their lead and to help them, selflessly following their example.

In our families—individual and church—we must reclaim this type of devotion to one another, setting an example of selfless fidelity that builds the kingdom. When we are willing to follow God’s appointed leaders, and when we work together as a good and loving family, God’s plans will prevail.

Be willing to work together to accomplish God’s plan.

Dalene Fisher is a full-time wife, mother, and grandma. She is a former associate professor of English, dean, and assistant provost at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple.” (Ezra 1:2)

Expanded Passage: Ezra 1:2-3

As a young wife and mother, I struggled with the rules of domesticity. I remember attending several Bible studies looking for answers. At the time, I was drowning in my new roles, and I knew I needed to dig deeper into God’s Word. To my dismay, several studies focused on the importance of making the beds every morning or having a hot meal on the table every night. I was learning to build my home, and this was good, but I wasn’t learning to change my heart—and in all actuality, while it certainly was important to care for my husband and children, it was my heart that needed reconstruction.

In today’s passage, a very well-intentioned leader—a leader appointed by God—similarly undergirded the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem and to build the temple of the Lord. This was a welcome and needed step in the construction of God’s kingdom. But, of course, we know that what the people of Israel needed more than anything was to have their hearts wholly reconstructed, devoted, and transformed.

It’s very easy to be distracted by good things and consequently miss the best things. We tend to construct our lives externally, forgetting that the most important work we must do is on the inside. We must first invite God to do his work within us.

Focus on inward transformation.

Dalene Fisher is a full-time wife, mother, and grandma. She is a former associate professor of English, dean, and assistant provost at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

The Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing. (Ezra 1:1)

Expanded Passage: Ezra 1:1

It is God’s job, not ours, to move hearts. While our particular choices are our own, oftentimes, others determine our circumstances. As a college professor, I spend a great deal of time encouraging young adults to learn to navigate this tension between choice and circumstance. The middle point is a place of conscientious waiting. While we actively serve him, we must also know that God can and does move hearts according to his will.

The book of Ezra begins in this place of waiting. The Israelites, exiles in Babylon, had acclimated to captivity in spite of the fact that their circumstances had been chosen for them. But God fulfilled his promise to give them hope and a future (Jer. 29:11). At the appointed time, God moved the heart of King Cyrus, just as the prophet Isaiah had predicted (Isa. 44:28; 45:1). The Israelites were not only invited to return to Jerusalem, but they were also accommodated in their going by King Cyrus.

There are times in our lives that we simply must accept our circumstance as exiles. Perhaps a family member has rejected us. Maybe we have struggled to find favor with an employer despite our best efforts. Whatever has suspended us between choice and circumstance, we must continue to live godly lives in the waiting. At the appointed time, God will move hearts.

Be willing to wait; God has a plan.

Dalene Fisher is a full-time wife, mother, and grandma. She is a former associate professor of English, dean, and assistant provost at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? (Ps. 113:5–6)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 113

Currently, there are over 8 billion human beings alive on this planet. God not only created them all, he knows them all. He knows every single thing about all 8 billion of them. The same can be said to be true for every human that has ever been in all of history. It can make you feel really small, insignificant even. But if God knows you personally, you are not insignificant. I would argue it doesn’t mean you are small, but that God is really big.

There is no one like our God because he doesn’t just know some fun facts about the people he has created. He stoops down to our level—the infinitely huge to the microscopically small—and cares for us. He raises people up out of the dirt and dust; he takes the barren places and brings life. He is actively involved with his creation because he loves us more than we can imagine.

What could we possibly have to offer in response? We offer him the highest praise we can muster, praise from the very depths of our heart. Praise in every place at every time for all time; that’s the praise Yahweh deserves. Think for a moment: how has God stooped down into your life and in what ways has he raised you up? If you are a servant of the Lord, praise his name

Record the ways God has cared for you and give him praise.

Ethan Zent is the pastor of worship at Follow Church in Upstate South Carolina, where he lives a beautiful life with his beautiful wife.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)

Expanded Passage: John 20:1-18, 30-31

Jesus conquered death and rose again, and it was not only so we could go to heaven. His kingdom has come near to us, and now we can experience and know what kingdom life looks like on this side of glory. When we read this account of Jesus’ resurrection, the stories of Jesus appearing to people he loved, and when we consider just how many other miraculous things he has done, we have the opportunity to believe. We believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the King of Kings, the Savior of the world. And when we believe, we get to live—we get to live life to its fullest potential forevermore.

Life with Jesus is about spending time with him. We get to be in his presence, the presence of a holy and perfect God. In his presence, we can seek answers and wisdom. In his presence, we abide, listening as he speaks new life into our very spirit. Life with Jesus is about going out into the world. We get to go into the world and share this great news with people, inviting them to see and believe and truly live. And life with Jesus is about being with the ones we love. We get to share our stories and our burdens; we can have everything in common. There is nothing greater than this life of fullness we have been invited into.

Write down all the ways Jesus has brought fullness into your life.

Ethan Zent is the pastor of worship at Follow Church in Upstate South Carolina, where he lives a beautiful life with his beautiful wife.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. (John 20:30)

Expanded Passage: John 20:30-31

There’s little I wouldn’t give to know every word Jesus spoke while he walked on the earth. If it was all recorded, the books that would be written would fill the libraries of the earth. I praise God we have the words of Scripture, the living and active Word. God reveals his story to us through the pages of the Bible. Every time I open the Word to seek God’s wisdom, knowledge, correction, and encouragement, he speaks. Even if I have read the words hundreds of different times, he brings reminders and new revelations. But I wish I could read the stories of the other signs Jesus performed; I wish I could hear the conversations he had, sermons he preached and life-altering truths he spoke over people. My hope is that we will be able to access all of that and more in heaven.

Jesus has done a lot more than what was recorded during his thirty-three years of earthbound ministry. Thousands of years of history with volumes of stories were never recorded. He has performed signs and wonders in our lives and in the lives of those around us. And those God stories are out there, ready to be told, ready to be recorded. All we have to do is ask.

Ask someone you love to tell you one of their God stories.

Ethan Zent is the pastor of worship at Follow Church in Upstate South Carolina, where he lives a beautiful life with his beautiful wife.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. (John 20:18)

Expanded Passage: John 20:17-18

I am potentially one of the worst people when it comes to keeping surprises. If I buy someone a gift or want to do something for them, I almost always spoil it. When I was planning on proposing to my wife, I told her when I had bought the ring; I almost showed it to her early on a few occasions. I think the only reason I didn’t was because on the day I finally had it, I brought it to work, and I showed every single person I could. The news was too exciting. I had to tell someone.

The news Mary carried to the disciples was the single most exciting piece of news that has ever been and ever will be uttered: The Lord Jesus is risen, and he is going to ascend to his Father! She may have wanted to just stay with Jesus for longer, but when he told her to go, she understood. This was news that was much too exciting to keep to herself.

We continue to carry this good news today. And it is way too exciting to be kept to ourselves. Now is the time to boldly proclaim the truth. Now is the time to start a conversation with someone about Jesus. Now is the time to pray with someone. Make today the day; Jesus is with you as you do.

Start a conversation with someone about Jesus and pray with them.

Ethan Zent is the pastor of worship at Follow Church in Upstate South Carolina, where he lives a beautiful life with his beautiful wife.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). (John 20:16)

Expanded Passage: John 20:11-16

We are innately wired to hear our names; it is a phenomenon called the cocktail party effect or selective hearing. Our brains are able to focus our attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli. The best example of this is that we are able to hear our name being spoken in a crowded room, even if we aren’t listening for it. This begins as early as five months old as we turn towards our parents and guardians as they speak our name. And ever since then, the neural pathway of hearing our own name, even above any other noise, has been strengthened.

Mary is lost and confused. Imagine her grief as she cries, the noise within her own mind as she spirals around the thought that someone has taken her Lord away. She cannot see Jesus through the fog of her thoughts, even as he stands right in front of her. That is, until he says her name. Instantly, the recognition is made. Through all the noise and chaos, she hears her Savior speak her name.

God knows your name and he brings life to its meaning. When the God of the universe speaks your name, every and any circumstance fades into the background. No one speaks your name like Jesus. He sees you. He loves you. He is calling your name.

Learn the meaning behind your name. What is God saying through it?

Ethan Zent is the pastor of worship at Follow Church in Upstate South Carolina, where he lives a beautiful life with his beautiful wife.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. (John 20:10)

Expanded Passage: John 20:5-10

As a child, there was one question I liked asking above all others: “Why?” And then, when my parents would ultimately give a satisfactory answer, I would again ask the question, “Why?” That would continue for a while. My curiosity has continued into adulthood, an insatiable search for knowledge about topics I know little about. And ultimately, I often discover questions without a simple answer. Sometimes, I allow myself to fall into that rabbit hole and learn all I can, but sometimes I come to the decision to put aside my curiosity to save myself the long journey of discovery.

Peter and John arrived at the empty tomb, curious as to where Jesus’ body had gone. They observed the scene before them, but they didn’t understand. So, they did what I so often do, they put their curiosity aside and left. I can only speculate, but I can’t help but wonder, would Jesus have revealed himself if they would have stayed by the tomb? A lot of times, the answers we seek can only be found through the revelation of God. And from my personal experience, I have discovered that these answers take time, requiring us to be increasingly curious.

What answer are you seeking today? Maybe it’s a next step, wisdom for dealing with a difficult circumstance, or healing from a past hurt. God has your answer, so keep asking.

Ask God your question; if you don’t hear an answer, ask again.

Ethan Zent is the pastor of worship at Follow Church in Upstate South Carolina, where he lives a beautiful life with his beautiful wife.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.