Today Daily Devotional

Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God. . . .

— Deuteronomy 8:11

It takes work to maintain a home. Whether you own your own residence or rent from others, there are always little maintenance projects that creep up: light bulbs need replacing, lawns need mowing, faucets begin to drip, doors need to be repainted. Sometimes we put the work off for another day, but if we wait too long the home will deteriorate. A home always needs regular maintenance.

We can also face temptations to take our home with God for granted. When times are good, we look at our material blessings, at our relationships with family and friends, or at our moral character, and we assume we are doing fine. We forget that these are gifts from God that we receive by grace.

Israel was reminded that when they arrived in the promised land, they needed to make work of remembering God. God warned that if they did not actively honor the Lord for his gifts, they would soon forget the Giver.

I read once that most divorces occur not because of an affair or a spouse’s violence but because of apathy—a husband or wife simply begins to take the other for granted. Something similar can happen in our relationship with God. Our God wants us to know where our blessings come from—and especially the gift of our relationship with him in Christ. Do you remember?

Gracious God, you have given us so much—and as if that were not enough, in Christ you offer forgiveness of sins and eternal life with you! Help us to remember and praise you. Amen.

Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise.

— Psalm 106:24

My computer shows me interesting pictures each time it starts up. As I prepare to log in with my password, I see images of beautiful places around the world: tropical islands, scenic mountain meadows, stunning landscapes, bustling city streets. These images, of course, are carefully selected to catch my attention. Not surprisingly, I often go searching for information about some of these places, even wondering what it would be like to live there.

Have you heard the old saying “The grass is always greener on the other side . . .”? Of course, I have to remember that living in a mountainous paradise would lack many of the things I appreciate at home. My family and friends don’t live there. The community connections and conveniences I have are not there. But at times I am still tempted by the lure of a new place.

Something like that can happen to us spiritually too. The psalmist recalls how God gave his people a home. God brought them out of Egypt and protected and provided for them. But Israel often longed for something different, thinking they could do better. Yet, in running from God, they ran from the One who provided their true home.

Our sinful hearts easily forget the gift of the home we have with God. Can we recognize the dangers of our restlessness?

“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.” God, remind us of the grace of serving you where you place us, and keep us near you in Jesus. Amen.

They did not receive the things promised . . . admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

— Hebrews 11:13

Every summer my wife and I load up our van and spend a week camping with our kids. The children are old enough now to help with setting up the tent and the campsite and settling in to the routines of the week. We look forward to these times away together.

But living in a tent is no substitute for a solid home. The writer of Hebrews, looking back at the stories of Israel’s patriarchs (which we’ve examined in the past week), makes clear that something deeper drives our search for home. In faith we are “looking for the city . . . whose architect and builder is God.”

Not all of us might recognize this deeper search, of course. Often we pull up stakes in search of something that will make our lives better. We imagine we can trade the hardships and heartaches of one situation for a week at the cottage, or with a new boyfriend or girlfriend, or with a stiff drink, or a new job, or a nicer home—whatever will seem to fulfill our longing. But the best this world can offer is mere tent camping compared to the home with “many rooms” that our Savior prepares for us (John 14:2).

The patriarchs, by faith, went somewhere. They followed God’s call or discovered that God was with them as they went. And they learned that just going somewhere could never satisfy the longing that only God could fulfill.

Savior, lead us by your Spirit through our journey of life. Bring us safely to the home you have prepared for us by your grace. Amen.

Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

— Genesis 50:25

“Never forget where home is.” Joseph probably didn’t say these very words, but if you stood by his deathbed that day, there was little doubt about what he meant.

Joseph’s last words were all the more remarkable because he hadn’t lived at “home” for many years. He had grown successful and prosperous in Egypt. His children lived there. For all intents and purposes, Egypt was his home.

But knowing where home is means you have to know first of all where you have come from and where you belong. Many people grow up somewhere and never leave, and they cannot imagine living anywhere else. But in our increasingly mobile societies today, “home” can be harder to recognize. Where am I from, if I’ve lived in a dozen places during my lifetime?

Joseph reminded his brothers that their home was the place God had promised to their forefathers—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And one day God would bring them back there.

No matter how successful we may become in a particular place, the Christian’s home is defined by adoption into the family of God. Our home with God is only possible because God has come to our aid in Christ. Never forget that you belong to this faithful Savior.

You have told us, Father, that there is a place where we can live with you. You have sent your Son and Spirit to lead us there. May we never forget where we belong. Amen.

“I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again.”

— Genesis 46:4

Jacob, who was now called Israel, had reconciled with his brother, Esau, and was living back in Canaan (Genesis 32-33). But after staying there for many years, he was on the move again. His son, Joseph, whom he had thought was dead (Genesis 37), had become a ruler in Egypt. And there was a great famine in the land (Genesis 41-45), so Jacob went to Egypt to live out the rest of his days.

Sometimes God moves us in unexpected and surprising ways. A new job opportunity comes our way. Our grown children move to a different part of the country, and we follow. Moving can be difficult: we leave behind what is familiar, and the new place we go—even if it’s exciting—is unknown and unpredictable.

Jacob spends time with God in worship on his way to Egypt. He needs to know that God will be with him, that God’s promises will be valid in this new place as well. He expresses his readiness to do whatever God tells him: “Here I am,” he says. And God promises to bring Jacob’s family back to their home in Canaan again.

When we face unexpected opportunities in life, do we seek God’s will in worship and prayer? As followers of Christ walking in step with his Spirit, we are assured that the Lord will always be with us. So we can journey with God’s promises—no matter where we go.

God of new opportunities, thank you for unexpected places and opportunities in which to serve you. Help us to discern your will and leading, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.”

— Genesis 28:15

Jacob was running away from home. He had stolen his older brother’s inheritance (see Genesis 27), and now his brother, Esau, wanted to kill him. So, to save his own life, Jacob was fleeing the place that should have been home. Sometimes we shatter our experience of home with our sinful actions. We betray our marriages. We ruin family relationships with our jealousy. We antagonize neighbors with our angry words. We find that we can no longer feel at home in the place we ought to belong.

Yet even when we are running away, God can meet us in unexpected places with his promises. Jacob was not looking for God; there was nothing special about the “certain place” where he stopped for the night. But in his dream, Jacob’s eyes were opened to see that no place is outside of God’s presence (Psalm 139:7). And he heard God’s assurance that even though Jacob had done wrong, God would keep his promise to Jacob’s family and bring him back home.

Jacob’s experience anticipates the way God restores sinners through the work of Jesus. Even as we are still running, God meets us with the assurance that he will watch over us and bring us back to himself. And we discover that being in God’s presence is a refuge for all who feel away from home.

Almighty God, our sins cause us to run from you. Amaze us with your grace, and help us to trust in your promises to forgive us and return us home to you, through Jesus. Amen.

“To your offspring I will give this land.”

— Genesis 12:7

For many people, owning their own home is a great dream and a great blessing. Home ownership allows people to build equity and gain financial security. It also gives them a place to call their own—with private living space and a yard.

The Bible gives us glimpses of humanity’s search for a home. But one thing we soon discover is that our dream home cannot really be the one we build for ourselves. Abram, it seems, had a good life in Harran, where his extended family was living. He had possessions and household servants. He was prosperous and successful.

But Harran could not be his home. “Go . . .” God said, “to the land I will show you.” God led Abram to the land of Canaan and said that his descendants would receive this land. So this would one day be their home. But Abram lived in tents, without a permanent dwelling. He had to learn to wait for God to build the home that he longed for.

Many of us are longing for a place of our own. We learn from the Bible that what we really long for is a place with God: a place where God is present with us, a place where we can worship God and lean on his grace. We cannot build that home with our own efforts, but only by waiting on the work of God in Christ.

Faithful God, we want a place to belong, a place where we can lean on your grace for all we need. Guide us to trust in Jesus, and restore us to our home with you. Amen.

The Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

— Genesis 3:23

As I write, the news is filled with stories of hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires. In addition to their destructive impacts on nature, disasters like these have long-term effects on the many people whose homes and towns they destroy. If we lose our home, we lose not only a place to live but also a sense of security and belonging.

Our first human home was lost because of the fall into sin. The devil tempted Adam and Eve with the false promise that they could decide better for themselves and did not need to listen to God. But that was a lie, and our first parents’ fall into sin brought judgment and death for us all. As a result, humanity is now homeless, and we cannot make our own way back to the security of God’s presence.

We still struggle under the effects of sin today. In this world we are cut off from God, and even our best human efforts fall short of repairing broken relationships or creating the paradise we long for.

But God is not finished with us. God graciously provides for us so that we are able to survive away from home. And he asks still, “Where are you?” giving us an opportunity to recognize our homelessness and to follow the path to return home through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Loving God, we long for a place of security and belonging with you. Provide for everyone who needs an earthly home, and restore us all to your presence in Christ, we pray. Amen.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

— Genesis 2:15

In the beginning, there was no reason to leave home because humanity lived in paradise. The garden God had created provided everything needed for human flourishing. Even work in the garden was fulfilling and comfortable. The Bible pictures God’s extravagant care as a free gift of grace for his creatures.

From the world’s beginning, God offered us human beings a place to live in his presence with everything we needed. We could delight in God’s being with us, and we could enjoy being at home with ourselves before God.

So why would we ever leave? As the Bible portrays it, one essential element of our sense of home is contentment, an ability to rest in God’s care for us. So when God sets limits, such as a tree from which we may not eat, can we trust that this is for our good? As we will see, humans find it difficult to be content. We prefer instead to make our own way, to find a place where we can follow our own desires. And we forever run away from the perfect home with God.

But ever since we left the garden, we have been spiritually thirsty, longing for those rivers overflowing with God’s created goodness. Only in his Son, Jesus, does God offer a return to contentment. Will you follow him home today?

Lord, we find it hard to rest in your extravagant grace and provision. Forgive us. Help us to be content. Give us rest in the finished work of Christ that brings us home with you. Amen.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

— Psalm 23:6

In many parts of North America, where I live, summer is a season of vacations. People leave their homes and go traveling to explore new places or to stay in familiar getaways. Being away offers opportunities to take a break from everyday tasks and routines.

But a lot can happen when you’re away from home. When our family goes to a vacation home, we find that cooking plans can get complicated because the kitchen doesn’t have the pans or cooking supplies we are used to at home. The roads and stores are unfamiliar too, and we have to navigate new uncertainties. Sometimes people face medical emergencies when they are away from home, and crises like that be very difficult because there is little or no support network.

“There’s no place like home,” an old saying reminds us. This is true for us spiritually as well. We are created to be at home in God’s presence. And while sin may promise adventures, the places it can bring us do not provide the security of being at home with God.

Psalm 23 reminds us of the God who cares for us along the journey of life. And God offers us a home, a place of welcome through the promises and presence of his Son and Spirit. This month, let’s explore how the Bible invites us to be at home with God.

Holy God, thank you that we can depend on you to guide and lead us. Assure us through your Son and Spirit that we can always be at home with you. Amen.