Kerusso Daily Devotional

Have you ever been really angry at someone, and had a tough time letting it go?

Maybe a work colleague let you down, or got you in trouble with the boss. Maybe family drama is dragging you down, and there are unresolved hurt feelings. Maybe your spouse betrayed you, and you aren’t sure how to move past it.

Unforgiveness in our lives is painful, and as believers, it can affect our prayer life, and even our relationship with the Lord.

Mark 11:25 says, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

God’s amazing grace is one of the most beautiful aspects of Christian belief. He sent His Own Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in exchange for our sins. We are forgiven because of the sacrifice Jesus made, and have eternity in heaven to look forward to because of that forgiveness.

The truth about unforgiveness is it does the most damage not to the party we hold a grudge against—but to ourselves. You can’t see it on the outside, but an unhealed wound on our hearts is like cancer, spreading and growing, and preventing us from experiencing joy to the full.

God wants better for us. If you are struggling to forgive someone, give it to God today, and ask Him to help you let it go.

Let’s pray.

Lord, there may be someone reading this right now that has a person or situation to forgive that is weighing heavily on their heart, and they need your help. Please give us the strength to forgive, and renew our sense of peace. God, we give you every aspect of this situation in our lives, and we love 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.

In thinking about different kinds of love, it’s a beautiful thing to realize that God has placed certain people in our lives for specific reasons. Friendship is one of His greatest gifts to us, of all time.

Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Do you have someone in your life that’s not blood-related, but it sure feels like it? In fact, beautiful friendships often feel like a closer relation, than biological family!

Notice what the writer of Proverbs tells us. A friend does two things: First, they love us no matter what, and second, God set a time for them to stick with us when we need it the very most.

Think about that! That guy you met in third grade will impact the rest of your life. The girl who brought you a coffee on your first day on a new job was meant to do that.

As we think about all this and marvel at God’s plans, don’t forget to turn it around. Think about how we can be that brother or sister to someone in your life.

Let’s pray.

Lord, we thank you so much for the friends you bring to us. Help us to be worthy of that special love. 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 that joke about family gatherings, haven’t you?

If you weren’t related to these people, you’d never see them.

What a horrible punchline, really.

1 Corinthians 13:7 says, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

God’s world has purpose in everything. Everything.

He gave you a specific family for specific reasons. It’s super easy to be nice to people we aren’t around very much. Short-term “love” is pretty common. It’s when we get in close quarters with long-term relationships that our true character really comes out.

Sure, some family members are not nice people. There are still ways to manage that, taking our cues from Scripture.

Love—especially family style—is for the long haul. That beautifully worded verse from 1 Corinthians says it all: We bear one another’s burdens, and we hope for the best. And we endure any obstacle that blocks us from truly loving the family God gifted us with. No joke.

Let’s pray.

Lord, remind us daily of the unique gift our families are for us. Help us look for ways to enhance these special communities you’ve placed us in. 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.

As citizens of the United States of America, our nation’s leaders have always acknowledged God, even if some of them haven’t always been model Christians. For one thing, no one can occupy the Oval Office and not lay aside some pride.

And if our nation’s spiritual health has sometimes been less-than-desired, there is a unity that we all enjoy. This community spirit has made America a very interesting experiment.

Romans 8:31 tells us, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

We’re now more than 200 years into our story, and even the harshest critics would be hard-pressed to prove that God hasn’t blessed this country. Wars and economic upheavals and scandals have not phased God in His ability to keep us upright.

History tells us nations that acknowledge God enjoy blessings that others don’t. In His mercy, God has been for us—especially when it counted most.

And do you know the best part? A success story like that couldn’t have been made possible without thousands of individuals who wanted nothing more than to be in God’s will.

They make up our family, and together we look to the future. Being in God’s will for generations to come.

Let’s pray.

Lord, you hold our future in Your hands. The ancients understood that You are the Creator and the shaper of everything that is good. Help us to remember that in our time. 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 may have heard someone say before that they’ve put down deep roots. Usually, they’re not talking about gardening, but about the roots of their lives. Family. Friends. A career. A church home.

We all want to belong. We want to be planted deep in the soil of community.

Colossians 2:6–7 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

If you’re searching right now, wondering where you should be, consider this verse. In it, we find that Christ our great Savior has a deep desire to keep us growing in good soil. Spiritually, we are to put down deep roots where He has planted us.

If you find yourself far from family, either geographically or because of hurt and conflict, turn to Jesus and tell Him how you feel.

His strong hands will carry you to the place He has waiting just for you, where you will belong. And He will plant you deep.

Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you for caring about us as individuals, and knowing exactly what we need and when. We love 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.

Jesus, the greatest teacher who ever lived, spent a lot of time giving out wisdom in the form of stories. Once, he told His disciples a story that illustrated the importance of understanding that God never quits us, and we should not quit Him.

Luke 18:1 says, “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.”

That story was about a woman who didn’t give up in her pursuit of justice. Jesus then said that God hears our pleas for what we need, and He acts accordingly. He doesn’t forget, or lose interest. Ever.

Isn’t that one of the most comforting things you’ve ever heard? In all the messes of our lives, God does not give up on us, no matter where we are. He knows everything about us, and His infinite strength is far too much for evil to overcome, and His grace covers all of our brokenness.

Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you for your willingness to stay with us in the worst of times. You are our strength, now and forever. 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 in such a dark place that you wondered if God cares about you, or if He even exists? Maybe it’s all some cosmic joke, right? We’ve all been there. Humans doubt. We doubt ourselves, we doubt product labels, we doubt our kids. We question everything.

But the worst one is trying to figure out where God is in the middle of life’s great difficulties. Sometimes the world is just flat-out mean, and it seems like it’s an entity that’s trying to break you in half.

It’s in this very moment that God’s ancient and eternal words come to us.

Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Honestly, it doesn’t get better than that! Jesus lives so that you will live forever. And in the interim, He will walk with you and carry you when necessary. He never fails and what’s more, His willingness to never leave us has been proven over and over again, in a billion different ways.

If you need Him right now, don’t doubt Him. Call out to Him. Your circumstances might seem impossible and impossibly unique. But don’t believe it; believe Him instead.

Let’s pray.

Lord, you promised that you would never leave us. We know that’s true, but help us with our faith in our weak moments. God, make us believe. 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.

At an address in Columbus Ohio in 1900, former slave Booker T. Washington kept the room spellbound. This man, who had built Tuskegee Institute to lift blacks out of economic bondage, was revered around the world.

But he said something that surprised more than a few in the audience. He said that one of his main priorities for the Institute was hiring more Bible teachers!

Washington, who had been forced to work in an evil system, once felt powerless. Yes, an American president legally freed the slaves—but Washington’s faith in Christ was the real key in lifting him up.

Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

Are you down and out right now? Are you chained to problems too big for you to overcome? Take Paul’s letter to heart and realize that all things are possible for your future, through faith in Christ. He has perfect strength, all you’ll ever need. Tell him that today.

Let’s pray.

Lord, your perfect will is more than enough to help us escape a terrible past and future. Our future is what you have told us it will be. Thank you for that blessing. 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.

Bill was a very successful businessman for a lot of years. About 10 years ahead of retirement, he decided to entrust a lot of money to the investment wizardry of Bernie Madoff. And when Madoff’s Ponzi scheme imploded, Bill joined many others who now had to wonder where their money went. And he thought of suicide. 

For fully two years, he struggled to get out of bed. He felt sapped of energy every waking moment. Then, on a park bench one afternoon, he met Mildred, who shared the Good News of Jesus with him. And Bill said later that during his walk home, he could feel blood flow back into his legs. And by the time he got home, he dusted off a Bible and began his journey to Christ. He says, “He saved me in every way. I no longer felt weak and helpless. Today, I look forward to my future.”

Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” And Christ longs to give you the strength to live a full life. 

Let’s pray.

Lord, our hope is in you and you alone. Thank you for loving us enough to want the very best for us. Thank you for strength for the journey. 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.

Are you the kind of person everyone looks at and assumes you are strong and you have it all together? You too, huh? Many of us look fine on the outside, but the human condition is often much different on the inside.

Proverbs 31:25 says this of a godly woman: “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”

As believers, we can laugh in the midst of struggle because God did not make us to have a spirit of fear. He never planned for us to suffer from depression or anxiety.

Look—life happens. Sometimes…many times…we are rocked by our circumstances. But God’s Word says that we don’t stay there. We keep our eyes on Him, and He is our strength. It’s not even our job to find the strength to breathe and go about our day. It’s our reliance on God—that is our job.

The person who endures a cancer diagnosis isn’t doing it on her own. The man or woman experiencing sudden job loss doesn’t stand tall by him or herself. When Christ dwells in you, He takes the burdens and promises that in the end, we will be healed. And He will provide. That’s not a guarantee that the things of this life will all work out in a positive and favorable way, but our reliance on Christ is the answer.

If you look like a confident statue on the outside, but you’re about to lose it on the inside, take time to tell that to Jesus. Give Him your fears and doubts.

Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you that we’re not in this alone. Your grace is sufficient for all of our needs, every day. 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.