Daily Devo

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I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. (Eph. 3:16)

Expanded Passage: Ephesians 3:16

It was the most significant ice storm I had ever seen. The trees were beautiful; it looked like crystal diamonds hung from their branches. The grass crunched when we walked across it. Our home’s eaves, as well as those of neighboring houses, looked like a magic ice painter had been there. It was beautiful, except for one thing—the ice hanging on power lines caused us to lose electricity for days. We gathered in one room, lit candles, and snuggled under blankets just to keep mildly warm. Then, our son-in-law brought us a generator to use. Instant lights, instant heat, instant power.

One of Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians is a plea for power—the power that strengthens. These are not physical power lines, but lines from our innermost beings, the ones that connect us with God. Paul always prayed big prayers for the family of God. He had already experienced the same kind of power he was praying for them to receive.

The origin of this strengthening power was the generator of faith. Without faith, we will never be strengthened. But with faith? We can tap into God’s power through his Spirit. With faith, we defeat the enemy with this power. With faith, we claim the promises of God for ourselves as we become secure in the truth of God’s Word. Grab the generator, and be strengthened with God’s great power.

Accept the power available to you through Christ.

Pamela J. Kuhn’s favorite word is joy, and her favorite place is anywhere that holds books and sells tea. Her husband, RB, is a professor at Indiana Wesleyan University.

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

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For this reason I kneel before the Father. (Eph. 3:14)

Expanded Passage: Ephesians 3:14-15

When I was a young child, I did not know how fortunate I was to have such a special earthly father. I thought everyone’s father must be wonderful. But as I grew into a teenager, I noticed that he was younger than most of my friends’ fathers, certainly more handsome. He was a successful businessman and devoted Christian. I also heard from my friends, “I wish your dad was my dad.” I was proud to carry his last name.

Paul felt this way about his heavenly Father. He knelt before God with pride and adoration. It was from his heavenly Father that Paul received discipline, provision, guidance, and training. It was through God that Paul found forgiveness for his sins. This one whom Paul called “Father” was the only living God in a world of clay and metal false gods. He was in such awe of God that he bowed down before him, the Father of everyone who is regenerated—those who have received salvation. In a spiritual sense, those of us who call God “Father” are children of his family.

It is through acknowledgment of who God is, a repentant heart, and a willingness to grow in Christ that we enjoy the privilege of sonship in God. We become members of the family of God. We can proudly carry God’s name.

Worship the heavenly Father with pride.

Pamela J. Kuhn’s favorite word is joy, and her favorite place is anywhere that holds books and sells tea. Her husband, RB, is a professor at Indiana Wesleyan University.

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

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Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. (Ps. 80:3)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 80

I fell asleep on duty, a big no-no. Manning my post as a military police officer in Panama at 7:30 in the morning is hard after a fitful night of sleep. The heater was on. The breakfast had settled. I was alone. My eyes were heavier than a sack of cinder blocks. I dozed for what seemed like seconds, but was awakened by a superior who promptly reported my misdeed.

I was relieved of duty and lost my right to serve until I received my punishment from the battalion commander. By God’s grace, I only lost a day’s wages. I retained my rank and with great joy and renewed determination to stay awake, my commander granted me permission to return to duty. He officially restored me to my intended purpose while on deployment to Panama in 1989.

The nation of Israel pleaded with God for restoration. They longed for God to restore them as a nation. They yearned for God to restore their joy, their freedom, their land, their prosperity, their intimacy, and their favor with God.

And we are no different. The gift of Jesus is God’s unfolding plan for our restoration. Christmas, then, is a seasonal reminder that God can revive our hopes, replace our dread with joy and peace, mend our brokenness, and refurbish our faith. With his gift, he has restored our rightful relationship with the Father.

Answer this question: What has God restored to you?

Jim Miller is a chaplain in the Army National Guard. He and his wife, Renee, live in Washington, DC, and enjoy spending time traveling with their two children. Jim recently released his first book, Vitamin T: Essential Biblical Truths for Growing Disciples (WPH).

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

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Redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. (Gal. 4:5)

Expanded Passage: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 22-23; Galatians 4:4-5

Contracts can be tricky things. This is especially true when the terms and conditions seem impossible to meet. Imagine signing a contract that required you to uphold 613 legal demands, with failure to meet some of them carrying the death penalty. That’s a bummer. And that is exactly what the Old Testament spelled out as God’s expectations for us. Testament, otherwise known as “covenant,” means “agreement or contract.” It contained an exacting law that no one could fulfill. The law was written by a holy God for unholy people; a perfect code for imperfect people—and therein lies the problem. We are a race of incredibly broken people who cannot hold up our end of the bargain.

Contrast that with a contract whose only terms require your faith, loyalty, and love for the contract writer. That is a welcome change. When Jesus paid for our contractual breach, he paved the way for our adoption into his family. Matthew 5:17 asserts that Jesus fulfilled the law. Therefore, the terms of this contract have been met for both parties by one party—Jesus. The result? You and I are no longer looking from the outside in. We are “in” God’s family and accepted because of our relationship to the Father. Receiving the Christ-child gift means we are adopted, justified, forgiven . . . and receive the promised outcome of the contract: eternal life.

Write down the benefits of being an adopted child of God.

Jim Miller is a chaplain in the Army National Guard. He and his wife, Renee, live in Washington, DC, and enjoy spending time traveling with their two children. Jim recently released his first book, Vitamin T: Essential Biblical Truths for Growing Disciples (WPH).

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

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But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law. (Gal. 4:4)

Expanded Passage: Galatians 4:4-5

It was a blistering August afternoon when I lit the match. My mom was watching soaps in the living room, and I was playing soldier in a field overgrown with weeds near our home. I had matches with me and thought I could re-create a war-ravaged scene by starting a fire and filling the air with smoke. I applied a match to a tuft of weeds and watched as the flame took hold and expanded outward in a circular pattern. What I didn’t realize was how rapidly the circle would grow.

Within seconds, panic set in as I feverishly tried to put out the fire. I rushed to the garden hose and doused what I could, but the voracious blaze consumed an entire acre of that field. Fortunately, patches of green weeds slowed the fire so I could extinguish it by stamping out sections the hose didn’t reach. My parents concluded that the burn barrel near the house must have caused it. I eventually confessed to the crime . . . in my twenties, after I moved out of the house.

When God sent Jesus into the world, the timing was perfect for a gospel wildfire. The Greek language provided a common tongue to convey an uncommon message. The Roman network of roads paved the way for traveling missionaries. The right prophetic mood prepared hearts to be receptive to the coming Messiah.

Consider how your world is ripe for a gospel wildfire.

Jim Miller is a chaplain in the Army National Guard. He and his wife, Renee, live in Washington, DC, and enjoy spending time traveling with their two children. Jim recently released his first book, Vitamin T: Essential Biblical Truths for Growing Disciples (WPH).

© 2024 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 virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matt. 1:23)

Expanded Passage: Matthew 1:23

It was a cold, pitch-black night in the West Paktika province of Afghanistan. My unit was stationed at Sharana, a large forward operating base (FOB) in an austere desert. I was their army chaplain. That evening, depression took hold like the grip of an anaconda. We had lost soldiers on this deployment. I had difficulty reaching my family back home because of connection issues. My devotions lapsed, and I felt . . . alone. This brand of loneliness gnawed at me, leaving me cold, distant, and unsettled.

Fortunately, I remembered that I am a child of God whose ubiquitous presence can be felt anywhere, no matter the geography. I cried out to God and discovered afresh, his name is Immanuel, “God with us.” Out of the pitch-black darkness came the resounding feeling that God was in that place with me, reassuring me and offering hope. In the weeks that followed, he provided me with a close brother in Christ that restored my faith. We memorized Scripture and prayed together each day in tents or sandy hills. My prayer and family connection was restored, and my devotions reacquired the warmth I desperately needed. I relearned that I am not alone. I am his own. You are too.

All of us can feel alone, even though we are never alone. The gift of God’s abiding presence can pull us out of the darkest, coldest nights we experience.

In your darkest hour, call on God first.

Jim Miller is a chaplain in the Army National Guard. He and his wife, Renee, live in Washington, DC, and enjoy spending time traveling with their two children. Jim recently released his first book, Vitamin T: Essential Biblical Truths for Growing Disciples (WPH).

© 2024 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!

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. (Matt. 1:22)

Expanded Passage: Matthew 1:22

My mother loved to garden, but I did not. In the late summer months, my mother would “invite” me to help her with inspecting the vegetables and picking what was ripe and ready for consumption. I did not admire, as she did, the size, color, and feel of the corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes. I was more fascinated with the size, color, and feel of the tomato worms that grew particularly plump in our garden.

Fortunately, my gracious mother would often reward me for my labor. The best reward was swimming. Our neighbors had a pool and a standing invitation, “Come swim anytime.” This promise I committed to long-term memory and frequently reminded her, in case she somehow forgot.

One blazing day, I pleaded with her to go swim after we were finished. She promised and delivered! I could tell that she was weary and I thought her promise might falter. To my utter amazement and joy, she kept her word and accompanied me to the pool.

When God makes a promise through his prophets, it is Jesus-clad. Our divine promise maker is a promise keeper. He has promised us peace, joy, answered prayers, strength, the Holy Spirit, and eternal life. God knows that “hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Prov. 13:12). Because he promised, he will deliver.

Find ten scriptural promises and commit them to memory.

Jim Miller is a chaplain in the Army National Guard. He and his wife, Renee, live in Washington, DC, and enjoy spending time traveling with their two children. Jim recently released his first book, Vitamin T: Essential Biblical Truths for Growing Disciples (WPH).

© 2024 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!

His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 1:18)

Expanded Passage: Matthew 1:18

It was a cold, rainy night when she made the drop. Years ago, my wife Renee worked at a department store. Her duties required her to make the night deposit at the local bank. Because of the inclement weather, Renee borrowed her brother’s large, thick coat with a long hood. The coat changed her appearance from the kind, gentle, sweet woman my wife is to an imposing, menacing character with unknown intentions. When she walked into the bank foyer, a woman near the teller window observed this hulking creature shuffle in and concluded the worst. The woman screamed and frantically pressed the emergency button to alert the authorities, hoping they would throw her in the slammer. After revealing her true identity and intentions, the fear was replaced with raucous laughter over the misunderstanding.

Appearances can certainly be deceiving. My innocent wife was not a thief, and Mary was not unfaithful. Mary was guilty of nothing. She preserved her virginity while sporting a baby bump. Joseph must have been hurt and bewildered, assuming the worst, but when the angel assured Joseph that this baby was the Spirit’s doing and her conduct was beyond reproach, Joseph was relieved, and trust was restored.

Sometimes we misunderstand God and assign wrong motives to him. Fortunately, the gift of the Christ child cleared up the misunderstanding, vindicating Mary and saving the human race.

Pause a little longer to better understand God’s character and message.

Jim Miller is a chaplain in the Army National Guard. He and his wife, Renee, live in Washington, DC, and enjoy spending time traveling with their two children. Jim recently released his first book, Vitamin T: Essential Biblical Truths for Growing Disciples (WPH).

© 2024 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!

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isa. 7:14)

Expanded Passage: Isaiah 7:14

Signs point the way—or at least, that’s their purpose. The clarity of a sign largely depends on the communication ability of the sign designer. Sometimes signs don’t point, but confuse the way. One sign at an earring store read, “We pierce ears, half off.” Out on the highway a sign was seen that gave the directive, “Cruise Ships—Use Airport Exit” while at another place, two signs, posted side by side, warned, “Right Lane Ends; Left Lane Closed.

Two thousand years ago, God provided a very strange sign that must have utterly confused those who read it, “The virgin will . . . give birth to a son.” Those reading Isaiah’s prophecy must have concluded that his words were a mistake. Impossible! The sign-giver must have been saying something metaphorically. But he wasn’t.

This child not only pointed the way for humanity’s salvation, but also embodied the way in the person of Jesus. This sign could not be properly understood until fulfilled. The arrival of Jesus was the sign that God can do the impossible: a virgin birth for Mary and a spiritual birth for sinners. Both miracles were delivered through the Holy Spirit, and that sign read with unmistakable clarity, “I love you!”

Take the sign of the virgin birth at face value.

Jim Miller is a chaplain in the Army National Guard. He and his wife, Renee, live in Washington, DC, and enjoy spending time traveling with their two children. Jim recently released his first book, Vitamin T: Essential Biblical Truths for Growing Disciples (WPH).

© 2024 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!

Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake. (Ps. 79:9)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 79

In the past few years, our world has gone through sickness, war, natural disasters, death, and so much more. Hardship has not been difficult to see. The prayer I utter the most these days is, “Lord, have mercy on us.” We desperately need God to help us and do what he does best: deliver, save, and renew. In today’s verses, we are reminded that God has the characteristics of being merciful, mighty, gracious, and restorative to things that are messy and broken.

We need God to invade our lives and “help us, . . . deliver us and forgive our sins.” This psalm is an invitation for us to pray for ourselves, for others, and our world, and see God make all things new. God takes the hopeless situations and turns them into something we couldn't imagine, offering restoration and forgiveness for all.

Let us reflect on our own lives where there is sin or characteristics that do not align with the Spirit—then take a moment of repentance to acknowledge how we have fallen short and need God to come in and change our hearts. Then, we can receive the grace and forgiveness of God that gives us restoration in him. We can live in the transformative journey from repentance to restoration in the light of Psalm 79.

Reflect on the restoration and forgiveness God has given you.

Sarah Linder is a lay minister for congregational care at College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana, and a stay-at-home mom of three boys.

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.