Kerusso Daily Devotional

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.

Debbie McDaniel is a writer, pastor’s wife, and mom. She knows something of how fear can derail a person’s entire life. You see, Debbie wrestled with fear and anxiety for years. And her recovery didn’t happen overnight, but she did come to think about it all in a different way. 

She turned to the Lord, and He showed her practical things she could do to alleviate her fear. 

Now, for one thing, she began to notice something. When she thought about her fear and she studied her own patterns related to being anxious, she realized that the majority of her fears didn’t actually happen. And this is where a journal can come in really handy. By keeping a log of your fears, and then after a certain period of time, say a month later, check back and see how many of those fears actually manifest themselves. And you’ll probably be shocked at how low the percentage really is.

Next, Debbie said that she began to read words of life, as she says, “Soaking them in over and over, praying them out loud.” And she makes the great point that there’s power in the Bible’s words because it is God’s Word. Isaiah 35:4 says, “Tell everyone who is discouraged, ‘Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue, coming to punish your enemies.’” 

Debbie also advocates what she calls guarding your heart. And this involves a daily concentrating power that reminds you of truth, even in the midst of confusion.

Again, this is where reading words of life is so critical. In this way, you’re making the peace in your own heart a top priority. And it’s okay to say that to yourself—as many times a day as you need. With just these few things, overcoming fear is within your reach. 

Let’s pray. 

Father God, how powerful your promises are to us. Your words of life bring harmony. Help us to be on the lookout for friends and family who are struggling so that we can remind them of the times you’ve delivered us from fear and anxiety. Help us to make guarding our own hearts a priority. In Jesus’ name, amen.

One of the extraordinary stories in the Bible involves a young woman named Rahab. This story beautifully expresses God’s love for all people.

Rahab lived in the Canaanite town of Jericho, which was near the border of the Promised Land God had promised to His people, who had been wandering for years in search of a home after slavery in Egypt.

Because the Canaanites were so powerful, Joshua sent a scouting party into the land to see what they were up against. The men sent ahead were hidden from harm by Rahab, because she had heard of the power that followed the Israelites.

When she talked with the men, she showed remarkable understanding that their God was in fact the true God, and she made a bargain with them.

Joshua 2:14 says, “So the men said to her, ‘Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.’”

In the end, as the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land, Rahab’s family was spared death. In this way, we see how God’s inclusive love for all is worked out in practical ways that lead to life.

Remember Rahab when you think that you are beyond God’s protection!

Let’s pray.

Lord, what an example of faithfulness this woman displayed. Bless all those who look for you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Have you ever gotten so tired of life that you wished you could disappear and start over somewhere else? Ever wish that fantasy would just pull you out of your circumstances? They make movies about things like that, but it’s not real.

John 14:2,3 says, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

How incredible that Jesus is actually going to do this for us someday. If you live long enough, the cares of life sort of wear you down and you need a good, long rest.

Good for us that our Lord cares enough for us that He has already gone ahead to prepare a place of peace, rest, and joy for each of us. It will be a real place, not just a scouting location for a film.

One day, in His perfect time, He will call you out of this groaning world, and take you to a spot that has literally been prepared with just you in mind! 

Let’s pray.

Lord, you are good to us in countless ways. We thank you so much for the home you have prepared for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

God does things on a big scale, but He’s also in the details. He knows our thoughts, hopes, dreams, and every detail of our lives. 

John 3:16 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.”

In Ecclesiastes, God spends considerable time speaking to our innermost needs. Through the stories of Paul and the apostles, we see that He cares about our physical needs, and comforts us in times of danger.

The diversity of God’s intervention is awesome! Hannah couldn’t have children, but she prayed and the Lord answered her…blessing her with six children! Gideon was facing an army much larger than his own, but God told him everything would be okay—and it was! 

Down through time and into the present, God speaks to us with words of comfort and courage. He is actively working in our lives now, and always. 

Let’s pray. 

Heavenly Father, thank you for intervening in our lives, in ways big and small. We are grateful for your love, and blessed that you are standing by on our behalf. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Have you ever gotten tired of treading water?

Martha is a 20-something-old lifeguard in Los Angeles. Besides dealing with deck chairs purposely thrown into the water and parents asking her to babysit poolside, she’s noticed another aspect of the job that really tugs at your heart. “Kids pretend to drown in the pool so that I will pay attention to them.” 

Wow. Think about that.

At a young age, humans need to be nurtured and cared for. They want to be loved. So a young lifeguard becomes their emotional lifeline. These kids were actually pretending to nearly die so that someone would pay attention. It’s pretty sad, but not that different from the rest of us. Everyone wants to belong, and sometimes life is like a raging storm, and problems can flood the soul.

In Matthew 14, we read the story of Jesus providing comfort to his disciples in a difficult situation. He had gone to pray on a mountain while they stayed behind in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Normally, this is a very picturesque, calm lake, but this night, a storm came up. As the waves were about to capsize the boat, the men looked and saw a figure walking on the water. Peter cried out, and Jesus told him to get out of the boat and walk toward Him. Peter, known for his passionate faith, got out. But as he took his eyes off Jesus and began looking at the storm around him, he sank. Jesus, though, grabbed his arm and pulled him up. “Why did you doubt,” He asked Peter. 

It’s a valid question—for anyone.

Jesus has proven Himself to us many times over. When you feel overwhelmed, remember to call out to Him, and He will lift your burden. 

Let’s pray.

Father God, sometimes it feels like life is just pulling us under. We thank you so much that we have examples from scripture where you rescued drowning people. You’re indeed our lifeguard. Help us keep this in our hearts and our minds daily so that we can be reminded of your blessed assurance and to call out your name, the one who provides for all of our needs. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Geraldine Mock became the first woman to fly around the world in 1964. Landing for a short stop in Saudi Arabia, she watched as a man approached her plane. When he saw her, he shouted to his friends that this was no man.

They applauded!

Jerrie Mock’s steadiness at the wheel, and in her encounters on the ground, were the very picture of self-control. Her journey was wildly successful.

Titus 2:11–12 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly…”

In order to navigate this crazy world, we have to be steady, and the Fruit of the Spirit ends with a reminder to practice self-control in all we do. Be steady. As Scripture reminds us, don’t look right or left, but ahead. God sees real value in this trait, because He knows we cannot possibly succeed if we let our emotions rule us, or we run ahead on our own instincts.

Let’s pray.

Lord, help us to practice discipline and love doing good as we walk through life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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, and 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, and teach us humility in the process in Jesus’ name, amen. 

Fighting one day in the tough Iraqi city of Fallujah, a Marine sergeant decided to put himself at risk in order to get a frightened family to safety. He stepped into a courtyard and spoke quietly for a few minutes with the father. He took time to make sure the kids had water, and the toys his men gave them.

Then it was back to the war.

Gentleness can be misunderstood. Too often we think, for example, that a man is not masculine if he’s gentle.

Not true. This Fruit of the Spirit is a real strength, no matter one’s gender. But for men, it can be more than that; gentleness can be an asset.

Romans 15:7 says, “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

No matter where we are, we are to conduct ourselves with a gentle nature. In every encounter, we are to model the love of Christ, to show a damaged world that good is stronger than evil.

Let’s pray.

Lord, you are so gentle with our tangled spirits! In our sin, you look at us with love. Thank you so much for that. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Giving kindness is healing for the soul.

A viral video made the national news: a police officer cut the hair of a prisoner being released so that he could go on a job interview. It was one of those inspiring “random acts of kindness” we love to hear about.

Proverbs 31:26 says, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”

The thing that made Jesus stand out to people in Israel was His incredible kindness. He stopped to heal someone physically, or offered kindness to a person others looked down on.

What abundance could you share with a stranger in need? Could you go to a person who is discouraged, and in need of a simple kind word? Kindness is within your power. It’s within all of our power.

Stopping to be kind bears much good fruit, and Jesus gave the ultimate kindness in His sacrifice for our sin. Isn’t passing along a human kindness the least we can do?

Let’s pray.

Lord, there is so much need in this world! Humble us at every opportunity to bring light to someone in need. Thank you for doing that for each of us. In Jesus’ name, amen.