Today Daily Devotional

After his suffering, he . . . gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

— Acts 1:3

Jesus could have talked to his apostles about all kinds of things after he had risen from the grave. He could have talked about what it was like to have nails driven into his hands and feet, and what it was like to come back to life and breathe again.

While Jesus might have mentioned those things, we know that he especially talked with his closest followers about the kingdom of God. His entire three years in the public eye were all about proclaiming and pointing to God’s kingdom and the full life it offers for everyone.

The kingdom of God means full life forever for all who believe in Jesus as the Savior whose death has paid for all our sin. And with this promise Jesus captured his followers’ imagination.

He wanted to help them under­stand that what they were signing up for was not a stale form of religion, directed by laws and rituals, but a new movement of God’s realm and reality that has entered human history through Jesus’ suffering and resurrection.

Jesus knew that what captures our imagination will shape how we live—and, more importantly, what we are willing to die for.

He talked about the kingdom of God so that his followers would be prepared to have a deep sense of awe over what was about to happen.

Holy Spirit, please renew and grow my imagination of what the kingdom of God is and what it can do in and through my life. Amen.

Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

— Acts 2:43

People can argue and debate faith, and they can talk about possible contradictions in the Bible, but a life transformed by Jesus is a powerful mystery that cannot be denied. It’s a work of the Holy Spirit that can fill you with awe. With this in mind, let’s explore sections of the Bible’s book of Acts.

Acts tells the story of the beginning of the church built by Jesus Christ. It also shows how God, by his Spirit, was doing something new and powerful by coming to live within people whom he called to have new life in Christ. Luke, the writer of Acts, captures moments and events in the development of the church that brought a deep sense of awe.

As we look to Acts for inspiration, we do this not to try to revive the past. We look back to find a way forward as we embrace the possibility that God by his Spirit is doing something new even today.

So, if you are new to the Christian faith, this can help to draw your heart and mind to the possibilities of what God can do. And if you have been a Christian for a while, this exercise may help to refresh your focus and imagination on the amazing things God can do in our lives and for his kingdom.

Lord and God, I long for more of you. I desire a deep sense of awe as I see you work and move in my life. Help me to set aside my ideas of how I think you work, and please renew my eyes, ears, and heart to sense what you want to do. Amen.

He was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

— Hebrews 11:10

From the time he received God’s call, Abraham became a sojourner. He lived in tents and frequently moved around. While Abraham appreciated the blessings of God, he came to realize that everything on this earth is temporary. Everything has an expiration date. Over the years Abraham grew in perspective. He began to desire an even greater reward that comes by faith—an eternal home “whose architect and builder is God.”

Abraham didn’t live long enough to see all of God’s promises fulfilled. Neither do any of us. Yet throughout his life, Abraham kept moving forward, following after God. By faith, he knew that the best was yet to come. He looked forward to enjoying life with God in a city that God would build—a reference to the New Jerusalem (see Revelation 21-22). Abraham came to believe that the promised land was more than a plot of dirt in the land of Canaan. It was not only a place where Abraham and his descendants could live but also a place where God’s Spirit dwells in all his glory. Abraham believed in having life with God in heaven, and that made all the difference while he was here on earth.

We too live as sojourners on this earth. We experience partial fulfillments of God’s promises. And, like Abraham, we keep our eyes on the glorious prize that awaits us someday—when Jesus will return and make all things new.

Lord Jesus, we can get so distracted in this world. Help us to look forward to life with you in your kingdom when it fully comes. Amen.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. . . .

— Hebrews 11:13

In Abraham’s remarkable life, his faith in God is what stands out. Throughout the course of his ups and downs and his moves to various places, Abraham believed. He not only believed God existed, but he was willing to stake his future on God’s faithfulness. Abraham believed, even though there was no cloud of witnesses around to support him or spur him on (Hebrews 11:1-2).

Abraham had some amazing adventures along the way. But every act of worship and following God’s call was motivated out of faith. Faith was not a one-time expression for him but a life-long experience. Although Abraham’s faith ­wavered at times, it never collapsed. Against all odds, he kept on trusting in God’s promises. God gave him the gift of faith, and Abraham believed.

The Chinese bamboo plant barely grows during its first five years. For a long time, nothing seems to be happening. Then, during the fifth year, the plant can grow more than 50 feet. God’s work in our lives can be like that, taking a long time to develop and then bursting with visible growth. Yet this growth won’t happen unless we are patient and keep on believing. And with God’s leading, we can do that.

Father, as you work out your good plan in our lives, help us to exercise patient, unwavering confidence in you. Amen.

Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.

— Genesis 25:8

It’s not how fast we run the journey of life that counts, but how we run it. The object is to follow the Lord, who calls and leads us. The point is to live God’s way, trusting him with our destiny rather than charging ahead and doing life our own way.

God called Abraham on a journey of faith that took him many hundreds of miles and lasted throughout his many years. Abraham died at the age of 175 and was buried with his wife Sarah. Though Abraham hadn’t always acted faithfully on this journey, God was always his faithful guide. Abraham eventually learned that he could trust God with everything in his life. In faith, he grew to trust that he could always depend on God to keep his promises.

Many people come to the end of their life and look back with regret and remorse rather than fulfillment and joy. Abraham had his share of both. Ultimately, because of God, he could look back over his many years and be grateful, joyful, and satisfied. Abraham had become a believer in God. He had learned that God can be trusted fully. He had seen promises fulfilled and amazing deliverances. He had discovered that the real adventure of life is in following God’s call.

May we, too, run the race of faith as God calls us and, in the end, enjoy the fulfillment of God’s promises.

Lord, be our ever-true guide on this journey of faith. May we trust in you and find ways to share this faith with the people around us. Amen.

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram. . . . He . . . took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

— Genesis 22:13

Abraham’s faith is tested with the ultimate challenge: Is he willing to give up his most precious treasure to God? And at the last possible moment, God intervenes, telling Abraham to stop. So Isaac is spared, delivered from a death sentence. And God provides a substitute, a sacrificial ram to be offered instead. The place is then called “The Lord Will Provide.”

Abraham could not have known that about 2,000 years later an even greater sacrifice would be made. God would again provide a substitute, who actually became “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). That substitute was Jesus, God’s only Son, who gave up his own life to pay for all our sin so that all who believe in him may have eternal life (John 3:16).

God’s judgment against sin fell on his own Son. Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb, stepped in and took our place. On that day, through Jesus’ death on a cross outside Jerusalem, a sufficient sacrifice was provided (see Mark 15:33-39).

Abraham could not have known all this, but by the grace of God he had received the gift of faith and could trust that God would somehow keep his promises.

Lamb of God, thank you for being our substitute and dying in our place, opening the way for us to be saved. Give us faith to believe in you and to serve you every day. Amen.

“Do not lay a hand on the boy. . . . Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

— Genesis 22:12

Abraham’s faith is severely tested in this episode. How it must have pained him to look into the face of the son he loved so dearly, knowing that this long-promised child was to become a sacrifice. Yet Abraham trusted that God would somehow make a way when there seemed to be no way out. Abraham displayed a surprising, unshakeable faith in the almighty, good God, who keeps his promises.

Here God put Abraham to the ultimate test of faith. God needed to know who really held first place in Abraham’s heart. And Abraham needed to know that God could be completely trusted. For this reason Abraham was asked to surrender his most precious treasure to God.

What is your most precious treasure? What might you be holding on to because it’s more important to you than life itself? My guess is that it’s probably a very good thing. But if a good thing becomes a distraction that pulls you away from God, it can become an idol, and that is a bad thing.

Sometimes God has to do the painful work of prying our fingers off that treasure so that we can give back to him what belongs to him in the first place. Nothing is truly safe or secure until it is surrendered and dedicated to God.

Father, help us to release our treasures into your hands. May we hold loosely what you have given us while holding tightly to you. Guide us to find our true joy in you. Amen.

God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and . . . sacrifice him . . . as a burnt offering.”

— Genesis 22:2

Abraham’s journey of faith involved some painful twists and turns. This episode can tend to leave a knot in nearly every parent’s stomach. Here God tests Abraham by telling him to offer up his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice—and Abraham very nearly goes through with it!

The request seems unthinkable—asking Abraham to ­offer up his own son. After all, this was the son of promise—the one through whom God promised to bless the nations of the world. This command likely made no sense at all to Abraham. Isaac was God’s great gift. But now it seemed that this gift was to be given back, surrendered up to God. Could Abraham let go of his son—the one thing that meant more to him than life itself? And what about God’s promise to bless the nations through him?

This surely was a challenging, excruciating test of Abraham’s faith. But somehow Abraham had learned to trust God enough to provide a solution. He even told Isaac, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And as Abraham was about to slay his son, God told him to stop.

At times our faith may be tested too. Will we trust God to keep his promises, however challenging it may be to obey? Through Jesus, God’s only Son, who laid down his life for our sake, we can trust God with the outcome.

Lord, give us deeply trusting faith in you. Help us to know that you will see us through every trial we encounter. Amen.

When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him.

— Genesis 21:4

The long-awaited son finally arrived. Abraham and Sarah were overjoyed at Isaac’s birth. Yet this stunning birth came with new responsibilities, which Abraham took seriously. First, he circumcised Isaac, as God commanded. And as Isaac grew, Abraham instructed his son in the ways of the Lord (see Genesis 18:19). Later Abraham also helped to find the right woman for Isaac to marry (Genesis 24). Despite his advanced age, Abraham diligently worked to share his faith in God with the next generation.

God instituted the home to be an environment where children can be raised to grow in faith: warmed by God’s love, nurtured in his Word, and protected from influences that would damage or destroy. Like tender vegetation, children are especially vulnerable and in need of constant care. This is where godly parents come in—providing an environment that instills faith and encourages spiritual growth. (See also Deuteronomy 6:1-9.)

If we are parents, we can’t pass along what we don’t have. To pass faith along, we need to have a deep love for God that helps to shape the rhythms of family life. This includes intentional times of spiritual training as well as informal conversations about God and his love as we go about our lives each day.

Father, may we create holy habits that bolster our love for you. Help parents and other family members to plant seeds of faith in children’s lives, that you may bring the increase. Amen.

“The day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down. . . . It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. . . . Remember Lot’s wife!”

— Luke 17:29-32

“Remember Lot’s wife!” Even though this is one of the shortest statements in the Bible, it packs a wallop. It offers a ­solemn warning about choosing foolishly. Lot’s family is ­given clear instructions: Sodom is about to be destroyed, so head for the hills and don’t look back. But, tragically, Lot’s wife cannot resist looking back. She steals a peak and is turned into a pillar of salt. She is frozen in time at the moment of her disobedience, a monument to the dangers of spiritual compromise.

Most societies memorialize significant achievements in some way. We build statues to honor war heroes, great leaders, and athletes. But what do we do with figures of failure and ruin? They are embarrassing rather than inspirational, so we keep them out of sight. God, however, is so concerned with our spiritual well-being that he immortalizes failure. Through the story of Lot’s wife, the Lord calls generations to remember the high cost of sin.

It breaks God’s heart to see his children fall into disgrace because temptation has gotten the best of them. Although the sin may be forgiven, often the scars and collateral damage last a long time. That’s why he says, “Remember Lot’s wife”—who held on too tightly to the things of this world.

Lord, forgive us for holding on to worldly desires and failing to obey you fully. Guide us to follow you. Amen.