Kerusso Daily Devotional

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’s really a story of Jesus and us.

Matthew 7:7 says, “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. And maybe it’s so bad that we can’t possibly 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 where we end up. His perfect love and forgiveness are the only real healing for our self-inflicted wounds. If you think you’ve screwed up too much, or fallen too far—put that out of your mind, and simply tell Jesus you need Him.

Let’s pray. 

Lord, your willingness to welcome us back is something to behold. We are so 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.

Who likes to wait for what we need or want? Basically, nobody.

Of those nine elements that make up the Fruit of the Spirit, patience may be the hardest.

Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

And patience is learned, which makes it one of the sweetest fruits the Spirit gives us. Waiting for a “payoff” of some kind makes the end result that much more rewarding. Life teaches us that.

A childless Hannah endured mocking and ridicule, but the Bible tells us in First Samuel that she prayed, and she waited. Imagine how she felt when the date of her delivery drew near! She eventually had several children, but it was her patience in waiting on Samuel that made all the difference.

If you’re waiting for something very important, read and meditate on the Fruits of the Spirit, especially patience.

Let’s pray.

Lord, give us the patience of Hannah when we’re frustrated by waiting. Teach us humility in the process. 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.

Usually, when we’re looking for some kind of emotional lifeline to get us through the day, we only want to know what God can do for us.

How do we get that peace of mind we desperately need?

One component is obedience. At first, this sounds like a test that’s too hard. We need relief right now!

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Wow, that sounds like real peace of mind. It requires that we concentrate on ejecting all the junk in our heads and replacing it with God’s Word. Learning obedience is key, because it reveals the Father’s perfect will for our lives.

In this way, we almost back-into the peace we were already looking for. This brings us into harmony with our Creator.

A renewed, fresh, and clean mind is also a mind that is at rest.

Let’s pray.

Lord, teach us your ways. Help us uncover the peace of mind that those without God don’t have. Then help us show them the way. 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 downright stuck in a difficult situation? Maybe you’ve held a job with a colleague or supervisor you didn’t see eye to eye with, and other career opportunities were scarce. Maybe you’ve been halfway through the semester and realized you’re headed for a poor grade, but it’s too late to drop the class. Maybe you’ve struggled in a relationship with a spouse or close family member, and you are wading through heartbreak with every interaction. 

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the people at Philippi, he was in a tough spot. He wrote this letter from prison in Rome—an uncomfortable place to be sure. He was in prison not for what we would consider a crime, but for his faith in Jesus Christ. But Paul had a secret.  

Philippians 4:11 says, “I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be content.”

From the moment Paul received the Lord as his Savior, he began to love and experience Christ in a meaningful way. Chapter after chapter, the book of Philippians reveals that experiencing Christ was Paul’s secret to contentment. 

Paul preached contentment through faith in Jesus from behind bars and reached out to his brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage them to choose contentment in the Lord. Paul’s example inspired his friends at Philippi, and continues to inspire believers today. 

Let’s pray. 

Lord Jesus, we won’t achieve perfection this side of heaven, but we know your plan for us is for peace in our hearts, and contentment in our lives. Let us live by the Apostle Paul’s example, choosing contentment in all circumstances in your name.  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.

Carissa was having one of those days. Instead of hitting the snooze button on her alarm clock, she had turned it off. Now the kids were late for school, she was late for work, and the tone for the day was one mad rush—emphasis on the mad. 

As the day wore on, she thought about her impatience and frustration with her children as everyone got dressed and grabbed a granola bar on the way out the door. It wasn’t their fault the family was running behind, and she regretted sending them to school with tension, instead of hugs and kisses.

Ephesians 4:2 says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

Of all the lessons we teach our children, kindness stands out. We have an opportunity to show patience, humility, and God’s love to colleagues, classmates, neighbors, and friends—and the people in our lives learn more from watching how we behave, than they do from just being told what to do. 

We have a choice in how we treat others, and God asks us to approach the people around us with love. When Carissa arrived home from work, the first thing she did was apologize to the kids for the cranky way their day began, and let them know kindness matters morning, noon, and night—even when we’re running late.

Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you for the wisdom the Bible teaches us about kindness. Help us to be patient when we’re short on time, and to be an example of your love in every situation—even when circumstances fall short of perfect. 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.

We all screw up. We all fail in some way. We fall short of goals, or get embarrassed in some kind of career implosion or other event. It’s easy then to feel like we’ll never win again. And that is not how God sees you.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

Hope and a future. That’s what’s ahead, not depression and failure.

The Bible is full of stories of people God would not allow to slip away. Peter denied Christ, and the Savior forgave him! Sarah mocked the idea that she would ever have a child, but God let her be a mother late in life!

This is the world God created. Not one of misery and losing. Does it make sense that He would create you in very specific ways, uniquely gifted as you are, and then just give up on you?

Don’t let that be your story. Your part in it is refusing to believe the enemy when you hear that voice that tells you it’s all over. God knows the plans He has for you! Remember that. 

Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you that you don’t let us sink out of sight. Thank you for setting us on our feet, and helping us move forward. 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.

Picture what it would look like to lose everything in one fell swoop. Your house burns to the ground. The stock market plummets and all your money is gone. Worst of all, your children fall ill and die. Suddenly, you’ve lost not only your material possessions, but your family, too.

When people refer to someone as having “the patience of Job,” they say that for a reason.

Job was a man of immense wealth, the richest man in the region, and was the father of 7 sons and 3 daughters he loved dearly. He was also a faithful servant of the Lord, and grateful for every blessing.

In a terrible turn of events, Job lost his fortune in a single day. His crops, property, livestock, and servants…gone. Most devastating of all, Job lost his children. But Job didn’t blame God. He accepted that God had a plan for him, and was patient as he waited for the Lord to reveal that plan. He knew that sometimes bad things happen, and he continued to praise the Lord in the midst of trial.

Exodus 14:14 says, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Job lost everything, but he didn’t take matters into his own hands to seek justice for what he had lost. He fell to his knees and worshiped the Lord, and then he was still. In the quiet of his soul, Job knew God had a plan, and in the end, God restored to Job twice as much as he had in the beginning.

A godly man is patient.

Let’s pray.

Lord, waiting is hard to do. Waiting for an answer. Waiting for resolution. Waiting for things to get better. Restore peace and patience as we grow in faith and learn to wait on you. We 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.

Have you ever thought much about grace? We hear the word, but the concept itself might be a little elusive. That might be because it’s hard for humans to understand and embrace.

Grace means simply that someone gives you something with no strings attached. Just for your good.

Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

The Bible tells a simple story, really. Mankind sinned and brought evil into the world. God made everything, so He has the right to set the rules. And in His system, sin cannot be tolerated. He made a way for us to be reconciled to Him, through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Often, we try to do things to help life along. We plan, plot, and come up with programs and agendas... Our own ideas seem like the right thing to do.

But God’s way is always the right thing to do. 

Setting aside our own ego is key to finding peace in Christ. We literally don’t have to do anything for it. We accept it in faith. That’s the gift of God.

Let’s pray. 

Lord, in your love for us, you make our path simple. Not always easy, but simple. We thank you for the gift of eternal life. 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 humans, we tend to have a problem asking for help. We can probably chalk that up to our proud hearts. Often, when we’re really up against it, that’s when we resist seeking help.

The God of the universe does away with all of 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. Sometimes what we find on the other side isn’t what we expected. And 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 the 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.

Would it surprise you to know that God has always been interested in you? Did you know He knew you before you were born? He has a vested interest in how your life turns out.

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

He isn’t some remote deity. God doesn’t pay attention only most of the time. He doesn’t form His plans here and there. He is there for us all the time.

The question is, where are we? 

Before you were born, it was God’s will that you would have a relationship with Him. He has always wanted your life to be successful. He wanted you to have joy hundreds of years before your parents were even born!

So God’s will for your life isn’t confined to now, or even now, and going forward. He has always been with you, guiding you through your life. As you look back now, you can see that this is true.

Being in God’s will is all-encompassing. It is the beginning, middle, and end of our stories.

If you weren’t exactly in God’s will in the past, you can learn from that, and move forward with Him all the time.

Let’s pray.

Lord, you hold us in your protection for the entirety of our lives. We thank you that you never get tired of 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.