Today Daily Devotional

Before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.

— Revelation 7:9

It’s hard to imagine what the 40 days after Jesus’ resurrection were like for the apostles. But we know this much: Jesus came and went according to his own sense of time and purpose. And whenever he was with his followers, he taught them more about the kingdom of God.

The apostles caught his drift. It was hard to miss!

Then one day they asked if the time had finally come for him to restore the kingdom of Israel. That was a bit off-track. But it’s no wonder they were thinking in terms of just their own people. That was the hope they had grown up with.

Yet the time for the kingdom would be more than just that moment. And the home of the kingdom would be more than just Israel. Over long ages, the Spirit of God would equip the apostles and the whole church to carry the good news to the ends of the earth. And all the earth, with all its kingdoms and dominions, with all its peoples and nations, would hear about King Jesus and his kingdom.

That’s how I heard about Jesus and his kingdom. That’s how you heard the good news too.

Jesus, thank you for equipping your followers and your church with good news through the power of your Spirit. May the news of your kingdom continue to ring. Amen.

The Lord Most High is . . . the great King over all the earth.

— Psalm 47:2

We usually think of kings as men who have political and military power. But King Jesus has a different kind of power. He has the power to take certain things that have gone terribly wrong and put them right. So instead of launching wars, Jesus heals the sick, gives sight to the blind, and casts out demons.

One day a Canaanite woman in the region of Tyre and Sidon comes to Jesus. She asks him for help because a demon has hold of her daughter. But Jesus says nothing. When his disciples urge him to send her away, he says that he was sent to tend the flock of Israel. But the woman spars with him, insisting that God’s goodness extends beyond Israel. And of course she is right. Jesus commends her for her great faith, and her daughter is healed immediately.

Today is Epiphany, the celebration of Jesus’ being made known to the peoples of the world. In the story of the Canaanite woman, we can see Jesus celebrating this good news too. Though he was sent to “the lost sheep of Israel,” he would soon be sending his followers to all nations (Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:8). And he had already begun showing them that this was God’s intention (Matthew 8:5-13, 28-34).

This may not be an epiphany for you, especially if you already know that God loves the whole world (John 3:16). Even so, it reminds us not to think small when it comes to God’s kingdom.

Jesus, thank you for bringing the good news to all nations, and help us to follow your lead, in faith. Amen.

“Your kingdom come. . . .”

— Matthew 6:10

Jesus’ followers have been saying the Lord’s Prayer since he taught it to them. Many of us know this prayer so well that we can say it without thinking. But if we look carefully at this prayer, we can see that it’s a kingdom prayer. This shows up in the first things we ask for when we say the Lord’s Prayer.

We ask for God’s name to be hallowed. We ask for God’s kingdom to be established. We ask for God’s will to be accomplished. And we ask for all of this to happen on earth the same as it is done in heaven.

Heaven and earth are not the same. In heaven every creature worships God. In heaven every creature welcomes God’s rule. In heaven every creature does God’s will. And all of this accomplishes God’s purposes in heaven.

On earth we often fail to honor God’s holiness through worship. We tend to save our worship for heroes. On earth we fail to fully accept God’s rule. We prefer being in charge ourselves. On earth we often ignore God’s will. We have our own projects and plans. All of this thwarts God’s purposes on earth.

When we say the Lord’s Prayer, we are begging for earthly reality to reflect heavenly reality. And we are committing to do our part by following the way of the kingdom as Jesus has taught us.

Lord, so let it be!

Our Father in heaven, may your name be hallowed, your kingdom be established, and your will be accomplished, on earth the same as in heaven. Help us to do our part. Amen.

You have . . . crowned [human beings] with glory and honor. You have made them rulers over the works of your hands. . . .

— Psalm 8:5-6

A few years ago, the prison church I serve spent 16 weeks reading the Bible books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. It was mostly a depressing experience as the story turned from bad to worse. That’s when it struck me that the Old Testament is a long meditation on the subject of kingship.

The first Old Testament story (Genesis 1) assigns to human beings a royal responsibility over God’s created world. The next story (Genesis 2) pictures that responsibility as the careful tending of a garden. In the stories that follow, human beings quickly lose interest in serving God. Instead they want to become gods themselves.

From there it’s all misery and ruin. Until God takes things in hand and begins a long, even tortured process of putting things right. God sets out to establish his kingdom among the family of Abraham. God himself will be the King. But soon enough the people of that kingdom lose confidence in their divine King. They want the kind of king everyone else has. So that’s what they get. And as we can see in the books of Samuel and Kings, it’s not a pretty picture.

No wonder a hunger develops for an ideal king and an ideal kingdom. But that’s a kingdom only God can establish.

Jesus, you are the ideal King. You are God’s answer to the world’s aching need. You are the one who will make everything right. All glory belongs to you! Amen.

The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

— Romans 8:21

First, the bad news. You and I and every last human being on this earth are damaged goods. We’re bent out of shape by sin. We’re guilty of everything from minor missteps to major crimes. We’re in desperate need of forgiveness and a fresh start. But that’s not the half of it. The bad news keeps coming. Selfishness, injustice, hatred, indifference, violence. It all cracks the foundations of our societies and sets us against each other. The earth itself suffers under the weight of our greed and pride and war. And then there are spiritual forces of evil—principalities and powers—that oppose everything good. So the problem is bigger than your sinfulness or mine. So much bigger. And if we look at it all long and hard, it can seem hopeless. That’s what makes the news of the kingdom of God so good. The kingdom is God’s salvation for a broken, twisted, suffering world. In the kingdom there will be no more war. War that ends lives and scars them; war that levels cities and poisons the ground. In the kingdom there will be justice for discarded communities and reconciliation at every level. One day the kingdom will be a new creation, aflame with the glory and goodness of God. And the news will always be good.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the big hope of your kingdom and for every little sign of its coming. Amen.

“This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations.”

— Matthew 24:14

I suppose we all have people we don’t trust. For one thing, it’s hard to trust somebody who doesn’t tell the truth. But sometimes untrustworthy people do manage to tell the truth. And sometimes even demons do.

As Jesus cast out demons at Simon’s house, those demons said, “You are the Son of God!” It was the truth, of course. Somehow the demons knew Jesus was the Messiah.

As the Son of God, Jesus was the long-promised “Anointed One” (Messiah, Christ) who would bring a new era of peace, justice, and righteousness for God’s people (Isaiah 42-43; 49-53). This was the good news (“the gospel”) that would go out to all nations.

So Jesus came as the king of God’s people (Israel). No wonder he said he was sent to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God. What else would the king do? The “good news” is “the gospel”—and that makes “the kingdom of God” the gospel chorus, the repeating theme of God’s great work through Jesus.

The apostle Paul sang this chorus. He told the elders of the church at Ephesus that he was given “the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Then he described that task as “preaching the kingdom” (Acts 20:24-25).

For Jesus and for Paul, the kingdom of God is at the center. It can’t be any other way because that’s the gospel truth.

King Jesus, I welcome the good news about you and your kingdom. That news can change the way I see everything. Please make it so. Amen.

“The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign . . . forever; his kingdom will never end.”

— Luke 1:32-33

As I write this, I’m visiting with my brother, his wife, and their cat, Bennie. Ever since I arrived, I catch myself singing the chorus of an old Elton John song: “B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets!” Meeting Bennie the cat and seeing him around the house has brought that chorus from the fringe of my mind to the center. Something like that has happened for me with the New Testament too. A theme that was on the fringe is now front and center. Because it is the center. That theme is the kingdom of God.

When we read Luke 1, we focus on angels and announcements. We focus on the birth of John the Baptist and the impending birth of Jesus. All great stuff! But here’s what we tend to miss. Jesus comes to be a king. He comes to reign over a kingdom. It’s the kingdom of his father David (an ancestor who lived about 1,000 years earlier). But, more than that, it’s the kingdom of God. That’s where our attention will be this month. Because the kingdom of God is the chorus that repeats throughout the New Testament. And like any good chorus, it’s really the point of the song.

So let’s give it a listen. It may even start us singing. I think Bennie would like that.

God our Father, may your name be hallowed, may your kingdom come, and may your will be done on earth—the same as in heaven. Amen.

Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land. . . .

— Deuteronomy 34:1

Come with me down Michigan Avenue, past Root Brothers Hardware and the blinking neon sign at the Currency Exchange. As we leave the Roseland neighborhood, in the rearview mirror we can see the people and places we reflected on this month—Lloyd, Annette, Bob, Corey, Charlene, Kimberly, Tina, Terrell, and many more.

Before Moses died, God allowed him to go up Mount Nebo for a glimpse of the promised land. But what is looking forward if there is nowhere to look forward from? What is arrival with no memory of the journey? I imagine Moses looked not just toward the promised land but also back in the direction of the wilderness, the Red Sea, and Egypt (see Exodus 12-20). What a journey.

Pausing to look back gives us the gift of perspective to celebrate God’s faithfulness over time. As we said earlier, “‘If the Lord had not been on our side,’ where would we be?” (Dec. 8).

As this year ends, look back on the journey that was 2023. Remember the wilderness moments, the mountaintops, the people we lost, the babies that were born, and the friendships that formed. Let’s look back on the faithfulness of God in 2023 as we then look ahead to 2024. What a journey.

God is good!

Lord, thank you for your faithfulness this year and for your presence with us on the journey. Thank you for the gift of looking back—and for what lies ahead. Amen.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. . . .

— Philippians 2:3-4

I heard someone say recently, “What we need nowadays is people with good character.”

What is good character? Good morals? A firm handshake and a steady look in the eye?

Tina has good character. She’s a little rough around the edges —smokes Newport cigarettes, has faded tattoos, and can slip into colorful combinations of language that would make a sailor blush. But she lives a life committed to using every resource and gift at her disposal for the good of others.

Recently a young mom in the community died, leaving behind three young boys in the custody of their 18-year-old sister. These boys are fending for themselves in so many ways. Tina noticed them and began bringing them food and clothing. She takes the boys to a young men’s mentoring program at church, and when her immediate family has a birthday party or somewhere fun to go, she includes the boys as if they are her own. I think character begins with emptying oneself for others.

David Brooks, who wrote a book on character, said in an interview: “People who really have character make deep, unshakable connections to something outside of themselves.” Character involves a commitment to service and community, outside of oneself. In Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan, for example, that is extended to include enemies (Luke 10:29-37).

How might we empty ourselves for others today?

Lord, you emptied yourself for us all. Fill us with your Spirit to live in humble service of others for your sake. Amen.

He went to the Kerith Ravine. . . . The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and . . . in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

— 1 Kings 17:5-6

Last spring Chanell sat on a bench in the vacant lot adjacent to the Roseland Christian Ministries parking lot. A few years ago, with the help of a supporting contractor, that vacant lot was excavated. Good topsoil was brought in. Grass seed was planted, and that lot has become a beautiful stretch of green between an abandoned building and our parking lot.

Chanell was sitting on a bench made by the Roseland Cadets boys club. She sat in the shade, staring at the community garden boxes, in which flowers and vegetables grow in abundance. A bird feeder invites goldfinches and other birds in. One morning I walked over to her and asked, “What are you doing out here every day?”

She smiled and said, “I like to see the flowers growing, watch the birds come and eat. I’ve been through so much—abuse, domestic violence, addiction. You name it, I’ve lived it. I sit here and receive my little peace from God until I’m able to face the world again.”

In a time of drought and famine, when the leaders and people of Israel had rebelled against God, Elijah went to the Kerith Ravine. Chanell sits on a bench at a community garden. In places like those, God provides safety, security, and a restoring of the soul. We all need a Kerith Ravine. Where is yours?

Lord, lead us to restoration and security as you care for us each day. Provide us a place where we can find peace in you. Amen.