Kerusso Daily Devotional

Humans have a problem asking for help. We can probably chalk it up to our proud hearts.

Often, when we are really up against it, that’s when we resist seeking help.

Jesus does away with all that.

Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Ask yourself: is my pride keeping me from asking for help? If so, mull that over. And then, take a step toward the Lord and ask for what you need.

God opens doors when we ask Him to. And sometimes what we find on the other side isn’t what we expected. When that happens, we choose patience, and we remain open to His good plans for us. 

When you’ve asked God to help and your prayers are answered, share the Good News with people you meet. Tell anyone who will listen that the Lord of the Universe cared about you and delivered you from a problem no one else could solve. 

And if the answer He gave was totally unexpected and sent you in a different direction — share that, too. Accepting God’s plan when it doesn’t match up with our own best-laid plans is what faith is all about.

Let’s pray. 

Lord, please give us a heart that seeks you. God, we want to be obedient, and we know that your blessings, whatever they look like, will follow. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

You’ve heard of heat-seeking missiles. They are weapons so sophisticated that they appear to have a mind of their own. The missile is launched and finds its target, and destruction happens. 

What if a heat-seeking missile could be used for good? What if one has been launched…in your direction?

Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

If you open your heart to God—even if you aren’t a believer—then it’s as if Jesus is now the missile launched and He is coming toward your still-beating heart. The heart that has been wounded. He finds you and connects in such a powerful way, but the connection is for life, and not for destruction.

The Word tells us to simply ask Him and He will find us.

Let’s pray. 

Lord, your unwavering promises to stay with us during trials is unique in history. Thank you for loving us that much. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

The story of the Prodigal Son is one we can all relate to. The Bible tells the story of a brash young man who leaves his home after asking for his inheritance. His loving father complies, and let’s just say the son learns some valuable lessons on his travels.

Eventually, he humbles himself and comes home; he needs his father and his family.

It is really a story of Jesus and us.

Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

We screw up sometimes. Maybe it’s so bad we can’t see a way back.

That’s when Jesus stretches out His arms and welcomes us home. He isn’t as concerned with where we’ve been as He is with where we end up. His perfect love and forgiveness are the only real ointment for our self-inflicted wounds. If you think you’ve screwed up too much, put that out of your mind and simply tell Jesus you need Him. 

Let’s pray. 

Lord, your willingness to welcome us back to fellowship is something to behold. We are grateful for your grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Have you ever seen the film, “Saving Private Ryan?” If not, it’s about a group of American soldiers sent into enemy territory during World War 2 to find one lost soldier. The order comes from top leadership.

This small group has a single focus the whole mission. Eventually—at great cost—they locate him and return him to his loved ones. Much of it is difficult to watch, as we see the incredible sacrifice the many make to find the one.

Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Long ago, Jesus did the same thing for all of us. God sent His Only Son to find those that are lost.

If you feel totally lost, call on the Lord. Just tell Jesus you really need Him.

Then you’ll have your own memorable story to share! Jesus loves you and will find you if you call on Him. 

Let’s pray. 

Lord, thank you forever for the sacrifice Your Son made for us, to take our sin. We love you for it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Have you ever hunted and hunted for something, maybe your car keys, and you finally find them? The old saying goes (it’s very unhelpful!) that you find them in the last place you looked. There’s a lot of truth to that, though.

It also is very relevant to our walk with Jesus. Often, we work really hard to solve our own problems, then we finally give in and ask Jesus for help.

Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

As with every other promise in the Bible, the really cool thing about this is, it is true. The promises Jesus has made are literally true. So, for example, if you’re looking for a solution to an impossible situation, ask Him.

It works!

Let’s pray. 

Lord, forgive us for not placing our trust in you all the time. You are our sustainer. We need to remember that. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Have you ever watched a war movie and realized that the actors didn’t know how the conflict would turn out? World War 2 movies are like that. When they filmed “Casablanca,” Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman weren’t sure whether the Germans would win or lose.

Life can be like that.

Matthew 28:20 says, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In your own life, you might be facing some really serious stuff. And it’s not unusual to be staring at several problems at once. That’s when God’s Word is so valuable to us. 

Jesus has promised us that He will stick right with us all the way through. Human friends often go a long way with us, but only Jesus is sure to never, ever leave us.

That’s the best way to beat the uncertainties of life. Tell Jesus you can’t make it without Him.

It’s then that the future no longer scares us at all.

Let’s pray.

Lord, we don’t know a fraction of what you do, including what our future looks like. But we do know that we can trust you, and we thank you for that. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Have you ever been fooled by someone? Doesn’t feel good, does it?

But the absolute worst is when we fool ourselves. We try to manage some problem on our own, or analyze a situation gone awry.

The Bible has a better way of thinking about it.

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

We have to do two things here: give total control to God, and de-emphasize our own judgment. Sometimes our gut is wrong. Following our heart often ends in heartache.

God doesn’t mess up. He doesn’t get it wrong. And He really longs to make it better for you.

Do you remember a time when you put your life in God’s hands? Maybe it was a really important career choice. Or a relationship that needed healing. Maybe your body needed healing. Whatever it was, recall that situation today as you wrestle with a new problem.

Let’s pray.

Lord, every time we learn to trust you, it builds our faith a little more. You are a good God who always has our back. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

The Bible is full of what many would call difficult stories. Some of them don’t make a lot of sense at first. Others seem contrary to what we think should happen.

One such story is breathtaking if we follow it through. It involves a father trusting God more than his own instincts.

2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we live by faith, and not by sight.”

In Genesis, we read about Abraham being instructed by the Lord to offer his young son, Isaac, as a sacrifice.

As a sacrifice?! Nothing could be more repulsive! Telling a man to kill his son? Why?

We gain a different perspective when we trust God to the end of this story.

Climbing a high mountain, Abraham intends to obey God all the way. As he raises a knife over his son, God stops him.

God’s compassion hadn’t taken a vacation. He taught Abraham an important lesson about obeying Him no matter what. In fact, Abraham and Isaac would go on to become two of the greatest men of all time.

Learn to trust God—even if you don’t understand. 

Let’s pray. 

Lord, your ways can at times be mysterious to us, but you always want the best for us. God teach us to trust you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Of all the gifts God gives His children, joy is perhaps the one closest to heaven on earth

Who isn’t aware just how wonderful it feels to experience true joy? It is as if the Lord has freed a prisoner.

When American POWs returned from captivity in Vietnam, the looks on their faces as they emerged from the planes carrying them to freedom…well, no one will ever forget that!

Psalm 16:9 says, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.”

Scripture tells us that we don’t escape trouble in this life, but that for the believer, eternal joy waits for us, and the Holy Spirit gives us joy in our daily walk in the here and now.

It’s also ours for the taking—to reach up and pick this fruit that feeds our souls. Sometimes simply making the choice to embrace a joyful spirit is the key to having a blessed day.

Let’s pray.

Lord, you did not create us to be defeated or to be sad. Father, your Spirit brings joy in big and small moments, sustaining us for our journey. Thank you for joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

When trouble is on the horizon, it can be hard to trust in God’s promises, and to believe He has a plan for us.

The book of Judges in the Old Testament gives us an awesome example of trusting God in the story of Gideon.

God called Gideon to lead Israel into battle with the Midianites, who had a sizable army of 135,000 men. Gideon gathered an army of 32,000 men to battle with the Midianites, but despite odds in favor of the enemy, God told Gideon there were too many men in his army. Through a selection process, God whittled the Israelite army down to just 300 men.

Though Gideon was afraid, he trusted God to fulfill His promise. And God told Gideon they needed a smaller army so people would know God won the battle, and not some large army.

The night of the battle, Gideon and his servant snuck into the camp of the enemy and overheard the telling of a dream. The two Midianites interpreted the dream to mean that Gideon’s small army would wipe out their larger army.

Reassured, Gideon returned to camp to begin the battle. The Midianites were so frightened, many of them began fighting and killing one another, thinking that Gideon’s army was all around them.

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” 

Gideon trusted God’s plan, even when he didn’t understand. Because of his faith, God helped Gideon and the Israelites to conquer the Midianites with an army a fraction of the size of the enemy’s.

Let’s pray.

Lord, you are mighty to save. Help us to trust you in every battle. We love you, and believe you have a plan for us. Give us courage to face the challenges in our lives, knowing you are here with us, and you have a good plan. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.