Daily Devo

Listen to today’s devo!

But if you are led by the Spirit. (Gal. 5:18)

Expanded Passage: Galatians 5:16-26

My mentor constantly reminds me to create space for God in my life. I struggled to understand why I needed to make space if God is always with me. It then dawned on me that so many things in my chaotic life bring distraction and misguidance to what life is supposed to be like. I can quickly go down the rabbit hole of discontentment with what I have, grieve when it feels I don’t have as much time as I would wish for my relationships, and wonder if I am enough for my family, friends, and church.

A spiritual battle surrounds us. Voices of discouragement and messages from the world emphasize money, material possessions, and attention to have a whole and happy life. But often, we come away feeling less ourselves—more lonely, depressed, discouraged, and in a downward spiral of unhappiness.

But there is hope. “If you are led by the Spirit,” Paul says, we will have fruit that bubbles out of us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We can embrace a life that creates a community of unity, love, humility, and people who are entirely more themselves. Being led by the Spirit is a daily calling and choice to deny ourselves, go against the grain of our world, and let God lead us into a new way of being alive.

Reflect on how you are creating space for God in your life.

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®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Gal. 5:25–26)

Expanded Passage: Galatians 5:25-26

When Paul the apostle wrote Galatians, he wanted to urge and encourage believers to live in the Spirit. The Spirit is powerful, wise, and life changing. As believers, we are called to a different form of living that denies ourselves and takes on the attributes of God. When we restrict ourselves, we are not becoming less, but we are becoming more—more of who God created us to be, fully ourselves in him.

I wonder if Paul’s invitation is for us to create a community that brings unity, love, and humility. Did he envision a beautiful life that brings peace in the chaos, joy in all circumstances, and unconditional love to all we encounter? We can agree this sounds like a great idea, but how beautiful does it seem when life together means forgiving someone we think doesn’t deserve it? Or when we come face-to-face with our envy of another person and have to confess that we have coveted their life? Or when we confess our sin to someone, even though it’s risky?

Learning and practicing, listening, and discerning, and understanding where the Spirit is leading are all essential. But when you’re used to habits that lead toward a culture of death, habits that lead to life are unnatural—and you need companions with you on that difficult road. As we step with the Spirit, we all need encouragement, prayer, and wisdom.

Consider how honest you are being with your trusted community.

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®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal. 5:24)

Expanded Passage: Galatians 5:24

When we decide to belong to God, we ultimately decide his way is better than ours. We give him our decisions, dreams, hopes, and plans for something much better than we can imagine. At times, I feel like I have this surrender figured out and everything seems to be going well. But then—sometimes during delightful seasons, and other times during seasons of hardship—I come to a crossroads and have to choose whether I believe God’s way is actually better, or if I think I’m pretty capable of running my life without the Spirit’s leadership.

It's an inner battle. In moments when I think I have my flesh crucified, a part of it rears back up and reminds me of how far I have to go. It can be discouraging to see what parts of me the Spirit will need to crucify to walk the Jesus way. But then there is a shimmer of hope when I am able to stop and reflect on how far I have come, how I am becoming more myself and getting clearer glimpses of who God is.

Each layer I discover about God is more mysterious than the last layer I discovered, and hope, love, joy, and an all-surrounding sense of his Spirit seem even nearer than before. The invitation to become less allows him to become more—and here we find belonging.

Reflect on your testimony: How has God been faithful?

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®.

Listen to today’s devo!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Gal. 5:22–23)

Expanded Passage: Galatians 5:22-23

As a young believer attending children’s church, I remember singing the song “The Fruit of the Spirit.” It didn't matter how fast or how many times I would recite these words, it didn't make living into them more manageable.

Living the fruit of the Spirit is an everyday journey and an everyday chance to see what God is cultivating in us, even as we admit when we miss the mark. It is humbling to know how much we need the Spirit to have the fruit of the Spirit dwell and bubble out of us. But I wonder how it would look if we committed to focusing on one fruit weekly and seeing what we can learn about ourselves and what God is teaching us.

I have heard people say, “I don't want to pray for patience because he will put me in situations that I need to be patient about,” or, “I know I am called to love this person, but they hurt my feelings.” Ironically, God doesn't care how hard it is. He knows we are his, and we can do it, which is why we have him leading and guiding us, even when it is hard.

So I wonder what it would look like to “fruit it up” and bear what the Spirit invites us to, leading us to a more fulfilled life than we can imagine.

Pick one fruit of the Spirit to live out this week.

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®.

Listen to today’s devo!

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Gal. 5:18)

Expanded Passage: Galatians 5:18-21

Every summer as a child, we would camp at the beach with our family. I loved this time of being together, playing in the sun, and feeling the water get warmer as the day wore on. The best part was at night when we walked the boardwalk to get treats. My parents were attentive to where we were going and ensured that we all stayed together. I stayed close to my parents and clutched my dad’s hand in those highly crowded areas. I remember the safety of holding my dad’s hand, knowing I would reach the destination safely and encounter a delicious treat.

I wonder if God, like my dad, is inviting us to reach out, hold his hand, and let him lead us to the destination that will bring fulfillment instead of getting lost in the shiny, appealing things that ultimately bring destruction and chaos. The Spirit invites us to be ourselves through God and embody the self-giving love of God.

And as we face the temptation of the flesh, we can be reminded that God is calling us to do something better, to take his hand, embrace who we are as his beloved child, and be more fully ourselves as we walk with him throughout life.

Ask God: Where do I need You to lead me?

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®.

Listen to today’s devo!

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Gal. 5:16)

Expanded Passage: Galatians 5:16-17

Not having our desires met feels unnatural. Whether it’s adhering to a budget or an exercise plan, there are moments when our impulses—what we want at the moment—are at war with what we really want (our long-term intentions). This kind of life seems to go against the grain of a joyful life. However, the people who tend to be the most joy-filled are content with what they have, and the most loving people I encounter have been the ones who go against the grain of our culture, giving up the desires of the flesh.

These people lean into the Spirit. They seem to be tuned in to how God is moving and active in their lives and the lives of others. They appear to have a life dedicated to discipline, seeing the good, and curiosity about themselves, others, and God. They want a life that isn’t narrow or rigid but brings freedom in the Spirit.

This passage describes a holy life—one that doesn’t gratify sinful desires—as a life of “walking by the Spirit,” putting one foot in front of another and exploring the way of Jesus. His ways give us all the desires and joy we will ever need. Our walk with God—even when it leads us away from the things we most immediately crave—will lead us down a path to deeper fulfillment.

Reflect on what other disciplines you can explore with the Spirit.

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®.

Listen to today’s devo!

But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes. (Ps. 78:56)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 78:40–72

Can you remember a time, parents, when one of your children was disobedient? “One time?” you say. “There isn’t a book that can contain all the times!” After reading this psalm, I wonder if that was how God felt as well.

As you were reading today’s passage, could you get a sense of the number of times the Israelites disobeyed God? While God was often justifiably angry with them, he never abandoned them. He stayed with them. Yes, he disciplined them along the way, but he loved his children so much that he continued with his plan to redeem them. The psalm ends with David reigning over God’s people, but out of the line of David came a better king—the ultimate, eternal King—who will not only reign over a small region in the Middle East, but will reign in the new heavens and the new earth. This is the King who will make all things new and establish his throne forever.

Parents, raising children can be a challenge, but I am glad that my heavenly Father never gave up on me. That same grace that was shown to you and me through Jesus is the same grace that is available for all our relationships.

God, help me to have grace and compassion for the relationships in my life today.

Ask God for grace and compassion within all relationships.

Branden Petersen is the cofounder/pastor of Resurrection Life NYC in Manhattan with his wife, Jenn. He is also the founder and director of the urban church planting network, Global Cities Network.

Listen to today’s devo!

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Eph. 5:21)

Expanded Passage: Ephesians 5:22—6:9; Colossians 3:18—4:1

Our wedding day was a hot, humid August day in 1995. The Scripture passage we chose for our wedding was Ecclesiastes 4:9–12, which spoke of the power and strength in relationships. “Two are better than one” because we can help each other in the difficult seasons of life (Eccl. 4:9). Yet, relationships in our culture today are often transactional and self-centered, defined by what we can get out of the relationship, not what we are contributing to it. This week, we looked at Paul’s teaching about various redemptive relationships in our lives. Today, I want to return to the very first verse of the entire week, found in Ephesians 5:21.

In the New Testament world, relationships were defined by hierarchy and subordination. In the family, the husband ruled over his wife and children. The wives and children had few rights and little voice. Paul, though, is redefining all human relationships, including our family relationships, starting in Ephesians 5:21 by instructing us to submit to one another. Mutual submission is God’s idea for relationships, including our marriage relationships. Jesus modeled this by giving up the riches of heaven to come and sacrifice himself for us. We are called to live this way toward one another.

God, please forgive us when we are self-centered in our relationships and give us the grace and strength to submit to one another.

Mutually submit to one another within redemptive relationships.

Branden Petersen is the cofounder/pastor of Resurrection Life NYC in Manhattan with his wife, Jenn. He is also the founder and director of the urban church planting network, Global Cities Network.

Listen to today’s devo!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. (Col. 3:23) 

Expanded Passage: Colossians 3:22–4:1

Did you have a lemonade stand as a child? I remember delivering newspapers and starting my own lawn-mowing and snow-removal business when I was in middle school. We were created to work, and the desire to do meaningful work is often on display at a young age. When children play, they are often rehearsing for the meaningful work they might do someday as police officers, doctors, teachers, and parents.

Work is good and can be one of the greatest sources of joy and fulfillment in our lives. For some, though, work is difficult for a variety of reasons. Perhaps your work is not a source of joy, but instead a source of dread. Job stress, burnout, and a lack of fulfillment have become common descriptors of work in the modern world.

But God created work. Before there was sin, humans worked. Doing meaningful work is part of what it means to be human. In this passage, Paul addressed all of us as Christian workers in the world today. He said that our work is important and that we should work at it as if we are working for the Lord. No matter how you feel about your work today, God can help you work at it with all your heart.

God, please help me to worship you today through my work.

As you work, keep in mind you are working for God.

Branden Petersen is the cofounder/pastor of Resurrection Life NYC in Manhattan with his wife, Jenn. He is also the founder and director of the urban church planting network, Global Cities Network.

Listen to today’s devo!

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. (Eph. 6:5)

Expanded Passage: Ephesians 6:5–9

Have you ever been in a situation where someone in authority over you has asked you to do something wrong? Or maybe they haven’t asked you to go against your own Christian principles but have treated you unfairly or unreasonably? These situations can be complicated to know how to handle in our hyper-individualistic modern culture, which often bristles at the idea of submitting to authority.

Most of us probably work for a supervisor or boss who is not a Christian, so we might question how we should handle situations where a non-Christian is in authority over us.

First, let us be clear that the Bible does not condone slavery. Paul was not condoning slavery here. Instead, Paul addressed the situation in which Christian slaves found themselves in the first century, to help them understand how to relate to those in authority over them.

Paul’s instruction was to serve those in authority over you as if you are serving the Lord. We do not have to approve of the actions of those in authority to follow God’s command in this. And while there may be times when we are called to stand up for biblical principles in the workplace, we are first and foremost called to serve those in authority cheerfully because we are serving the Lord.

God, please help me to serve those you have placed in authority over me.

Serve God by serving those in authority over you.

Branden Petersen is the cofounder/pastor of Resurrection Life NYC in Manhattan with his wife, Jenn. He is also the founder and director of the urban church planting network, Global Cities Network.