Kerusso Daily Devotional

Emma used her hand to brush her husband’s white hair from his forehead…Edgar was near death.

Their marriage had been happy, and now she was saying goodbye. The nursing staff talked about the love between the two. Only three days after Edgar went into eternity, Emma joined him.

The Bible often uses marriage as a backdrop for what God has done for us. We know that in earthly marriages, it’s important to persevere. When we think of the Fruit of the Spirit, patience is very closely linked to faithfulness. It is the act of sticking with someone or something, all the way to the end.

Proverbs 3:3 says, “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.”

Our loving Father has been with us every step of the way. The faithfulness of God is an awesome thing to see and experience, and we know His promises always come true.

He is waiting for us at the end, with outstretched arms. In the tough times, think about that—imagine Him there. It makes the wait worth it.

Let’s pray.

Lord, you are faithful to your people all the time, in every circumstance. We are grateful that you love us this much. Amen.

Joshua was called by God to lead the 12 tribes of Israel after the death of Moses. Those were pretty big shoes to fill, and the Lord chose Joshua because he was faithful.

Joshua knew when he called on God in times of trouble, He would answer.

In one powerful example, Joshua asked God to cause the moon and the sun to stand still so that he and his army could continue fighting a difficult battle by daylight.

Joshua 10:12–13 says, “On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: ‘O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.’ So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.”

Joshua went on to lead the fight in many other battles, eventually conquering Canaan and dividing its lands among the 12 tribes.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray continually.”

As darkness began to fall, Joshua didn’t give up the fight, and he didn’t turn inward for a solution — he turned to God!

Let’s pray.

God, you led the Israelites to victory against their enemies on behalf of your faithful servant Joshua, and you hear our prayers today. Thank you for the miracles we read about in the Bible, and for those we experience in our own lives. Amen.

Today, my friends, we conclude our series all about the Bible, covering things like what it is, who wrote it, and ultimately its relevance to us and to our time. 

The Bible stands alone in historical literature. The internal evidence is that it's really the Word of God run all through scripture. Here's one. Out of the many kings who ruled various nations from 2000 to 400 BC, the Bible lists 40 of them in the correct time and place that they ruled. This means that the biblical writers had reliable knowledge of their contemporary records. No other ancient documents can claim such historical accuracy. Then there are the great Messianic prophecies in the Bible, more than a hundred specific ones that predict the coming of Jesus. 

Zechariah 12:10 says, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child.” This was recorded by the Old Testament prophet 700 years before Christ was born, and this crucifixion reference is confirmed in Matthew 24, John 19, and Revelation 1 in the New Testament. So we know there are many reasons to believe the Bible has a divine origin, but the greatest proof is the witness of believers over 2000 years. The redemptive qualities of the Messiah, Jesus, are shown in Isaiah 61, and of course, the entire New Testament is about Him bringing physical and spiritual healing. The countless numbers of missionaries, ministries, and other individual believers who have brought Christ-like love to the suffering is a testimony to the power of God's Word. 

Would the Apostles have risked torture and death to make claims about a Jewish rabbi who had no real power? Doesn't make sense that Christians being persecuted today all over the world would preach the Good News if it wasn't true. The Bible contains what God wanted to communicate to people throughout time. We can be sure of its promises, especially to us as individuals as the product of an all-loving God who has the future secure, and waiting for those who love him.

Let's pray. 

Father God, you have brought understanding to our minds through your Word. It tells us who we are, why we're here, and where we're going. And Father, we thank you for that clarity and for your eternal love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

It's part four in our series, All About the Bible, covering things like what it is, who wrote it, and ultimately its relevance to us and our time.

Even though the Bible is world famous, we sometimes hear people say that it was really written for ancient people and that it isn't relevant for us today. And in a lot of cases, this is totally wrong. It's true that ancient people compiled the Bible, but God intended it to be for all people in all times and places. Psalm 102:18 says, “Let this be written for a future generation. That a people not yet created may praise the Lord.” And this is amazing. It means that God is inclusive in both his rules for how we should live, and His promises to us are available to all people. And the good rules for living are wonderful and ahead of their time.

Ephesians 5:25 says, “Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Now, this is just as valid for us today as it was for an ancient Israelite. The Bible is even up to speed on science: Psalm 8:8 talks about the paths of the sea. And now we know about ocean currents. Proverbs 16:24, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb,” And Proverbs 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine,” describe the human psyche and good mental health. And these are also instructions for us on how to treat others.

Of course, the most relevant aspect of the Bible is the clear description of Jesus himself as our savior. This free gift of grace is available to all people everywhere. And the closer we stick to what the Bible has for us, the more harmony we will see in our lives. It isn't hard. Just pick it up and begin reading. You'll be truly amazed by the Bible's relevance for your life.

Let's pray. 

Father God, your words really are healing, and all of us need that. We're grateful for that. We're grateful that you have spoken for yourself and have shown us how powerful your Word is for each of us. Help us pass this knowledge on to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today we continue our series all about the Bible covering things like what it is, who wrote it, and ultimately its relevance to us and our time. 

Some believe that the Bible was written and compiled over a very long period of time and was sometimes shared orally, but this would mean that the likelihood of mistakes and inconsistencies could be greater.

Exodus 34:27 says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write down these words for in accordance with these words, I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.’” Now, it's not unreasonable to believe that the Bible was written at or near the time the events recorded actually happened. This would mean that the patriarchs who were the heads of the families mentioned early in the Bible, wrote down their own histories. Moses, living not long after the patriarchs, compiled all these histories into one long account of early earth history.

From there, the prophets largely wrote down what God wanted to communicate to the people, and this took place from the time of Moses until the time of Jesus who scholars believe was born in 4 BC. That would mean that the bulk of the Old Testament was formally written over a period of maybe 1500 years from Egypt to Judea, which is modern Israel. By the time the last letters and histories were written down in the New Testament times, the Jewish writers of the Bible were still under the control of the Roman Empire, which was at its height.

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, the language of the Jewish people. The New Testament was written in Greek, one of the major powers in the times of Jesus. The first council of the church was held in 325 AD at Nicea, which is in modern Turkey. It was there that church leaders put into a final form the Bible that we have today. In this way, we have the same books that were available to Christians who actually knew Jesus. There are tens of thousands of manuscripts from the earliest church that match the Bibles we can buy in stores or get online today.

Let's pray. 

Father God, you are not a God of confusion. You've made our past, present, and future knowable. Thank you for making sure that history is accurate, including the future, when you will reign over your kingdom in glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.

We're in a series all about the Bible covering things like what it is, who wrote it, and ultimately its relevance to us and our time. 

One of the most interesting features of the Bible is that it wasn't written or compiled by the most impressive people. If we think a person who recorded God's Word had to be Shakespeare, we're misunderstanding how God works through ordinary people. Many of those who compiled the books of the Bible were more ordinary than you can imagine.

1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” In fact, Moses, who's considered to be the editor, compiler of the first five books of the Bible, wasn't very good at communicating when God chose him to lead the Israelites to freedom out of Egypt.

In the early chapters of Genesis, the Bible's first book, there are style elements identical to ancient clay tablets that show us how people recorded family histories. This is seen in such phrases as, “These are the generations of.” From this, we can see that the people involved in various Bible accounts wrote their own histories. This gives us even more confidence that the Bible is true.

Many of the Old Testament books were written by the prophets, people that God communicated with, so that people would have some idea of where history was going. Beginning with the New Testament, most of the books were written by the disciples who knew Jesus. The four gospels or accounts of the ministries of Jesus were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Then we see many of the letters that the Apostle Paul wrote to various churches and individuals. The traditional view is that the New Testament was written in the first century AD. This would have included the time that Jesus was born until about 60 years after his resurrection.

The final books of the Bible were written by John, a young apostle of Jesus at the time of his earthly ministry. All in all, the Bible was recorded by men and women who were both blue-collar and white-collar types. God used all types of people, because the Bible is meant for everyone.

Hebrews 1:1 gives us an important clue about how God communicated with people. It says, “Long ago, God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.” The fact is he used humans to communicate through human language, which is just one of the things that makes the Bible timeless. 

Let's pray. 

Father God, we thank you for your recorded word. In it, we see how much you love us and care for us. We thank you for using people like us. We love you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Today, we begin a series all about the Bible, covering things like what it is, who wrote it, and ultimately its relevance to us and our time. 

It seems that even today, even in the United States, a country some folks consider a traditionally Christian nation, there's a severe lack of knowledge about the Bible. Now some would say otherwise, but the Bible is really a pretty straightforward account about how God has worked in the world from the beginning. In fact, in Genesis, which literally means beginnings, we see a rundown of God's creative powers.

Compiled over time, the Bible is not a single book, but rather a collection of 66 books that trace human history from beginning to end. There's disagreement as to exactly when the Bible was written and compiled. But we do know from archeology that writing had developed even before the time of Moses in Egypt. The conservative view is that the biblical accounts of history were written down at or near the time they occurred. In general, the 66 individual books of the Bible were at least written down over a period of 1,500 years by as many as 40 writers. 

Jeremiah 2:4 says, “Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel.” This concept of people being able to hear and read God's Word is all through the Bible. Luke 11:28 says, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” 

Structurally, the Bible is made up of 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. From the original written accounts, some were broken into two books. The Old Testament, sometimes called the Hebrew or Jewish Scriptures, reveals history from the creation of the world until a few hundred years before Jesus Christ came into the world. 

The New Testament is the account of the rise of the church. It begins with the family tree of Jesus and finishes with the Book of Revelation, a vision of the future into eternity. Overall, the Bible is the most famous book of all time. For believers, it is the very Word of God. 

Let's pray. 

Father God, you've told us that your Word is available to all, that we can claim your promises for our lives. Thank you for communicating to us in this way. The Bible is our guide for life, and tells us how we can be reconciled to you and saved. In Jesus' name. Amen.

If you're working your way toward belief and away from doubt, by now you must assume that God exists. Second Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what he promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but he is long suffering or extraordinarily patient toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.” 

A cornerstone of the Christian faith is a belief that scripture is God's word. Psalm 138:2 tells us that God has elevated the Word above His own name.

So we have the opportunity to tell God that we accept His promises. Luke 1:77 tells us that He has raised up Jesus to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. At some point, faith is just believing God. Some critics will say that this is making an idol out of the Bible. It's called bibliolatry, but in fact, we learn who Jesus is and what He has done for us in scripture. It is a conscious decision to embrace what God has told us. Act 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” It really requires you to at least open your mind to the possibility that it's true.

God's plan to reconcile people to himself after sin entered the world is a start. Decide to be bold. Lay aside your fears and doubts and find that rest you've been looking for. Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” One of the great metaphors of the Bible is the strong hand or the strong arm of God that rescues us from danger. John 10:28 says, “I give them eternal life. They'll never be lost, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

No one is saying that you will never have a shred of doubt again, but what we can know is that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God as outlined in the book of Romans. Jesus Christ is waiting for you, and you can be sure of that. 

Let's pray. 

Father, there are so many lonely people in the world and they want to believe. You've put that in our hearts, God. Help them and help us by your spirit know that they are loved and that they can have an encounter with you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

A political science major at a major university was having coffee with a campus pastor. The pastor knew that the student was wrestling with doubt about the existence of God, and said to him, “John, you know, all of us wonder at some point if it's all real or not. For example, there are quite a few stories in the Bible that are just hard to believe. Jonah and the whale and all that.” John smiled and said, “No, that's not my problem. What I wonder about is how God could care about me. I've done some really bad things, and have had some really bad things done to me. I just can't understand the concept of forgiveness.”

There you have it. Doubts about the faith come from all directions. While one person cannot bring herself to believe in miracles, another cannot forgive himself for the wrong things he's done, and can't fathom how God could.

Thomas Jefferson actually cut out the miraculous sections of the Bible. He couldn't believe in what some would call the God of the Bible. Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of DNA, thought that Christianity was just a collection of mythical stories. And what about those who want to see the proof? They lack evidence and feel a need to make an intellectual case for our faith. The New Testament writer, Luke, was like that. He wrote in Acts and the Gospel of Luke about the importance of eyewitness sightings of Jesus and His miracles. Lots of people debate whether evolution and religion are compatible or not, and this is a big stumbling block to belief for many.

We all believe something, but our minds can struggle at times to grasp the big stuff—the infinite universe. While for others who doubt, the struggle was more internal: they're so grieved by their own sin, they can't accept that God could love them. 

Maybe the most famous verse in the Bible is John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” However, few quote the next verse which says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

It isn't God's wish to condemn you. Instead, he loves you and wants to give you assurance that life is more than struggle and molecules. Whether you're looking for evidence to believe the Bible, or you just need to know that God loves you, try not to focus too much on your objections, own them, but just tell God as a child would that you're struggling to understand it all.

Will you pray with me? 

Father, your grace saves us from a life of struggle with sin, and we are accepted by you. Thank you for putting up with our up and down faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Because there's so much easy access to information and ideas today, we can take in a huge amount of stuff. The downside is that much of it is just noise, and a lot of it simply isn't true. What we hear, even if it sounds good, is not always good for us, especially when we're talking about spiritual doubt. 

There are many opinions floating around out there on the subject. For instance, some will say that doubt is really something to wrestle with continually, never finding a satisfying answer. While at the other end of the spectrum, some will say that if you doubt, you are permanently cut off from God. Both of those extremes are not helpful at all. The Bible is clear that God gives us a choice whether to believe in him or not.

John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." Within each person is longing to understand our place in the world and to know if there is something or someone beyond this life. 

The Bible says that he has set eternity in our hearts, that curiosity is in all of us. And if you're wondering about God, then your curiosity is a good starting point. A bedrock truth for Christians is that God sent Jesus in human form to atone for the sins of mankind. This is not an easy concept to grasp honestly, but it's what is known as the gospel, the foundation of our faith. Christianity's exclusive claims are too much for some seekers. In Mark chapter 10, the Bible describes a wealthy young man who asked Jesus what he had to do to be saved, and Jesus replied that besides following the 10 commandments, he should give his money to the poor, and the story ends with that man sadly walking away.

It's likely that Jesus was helping him to see that his heart was not yet ready to receive anything that would require any sacrifice on his part. In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me." Believing in the true God is not a bed of roses. But if you can make the search for God your starting point, you'll likely find what you're looking for. 

Let's pray. 

Father, you've given us the knowledge of saving faith in your word. Thank you for giving us a free choice to decide our path in life. In Jesus' name. Amen.