Today Daily Devotional

Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.

— Proverbs 23:17

It’s tempting to admire rich and famous people who seem to have every pleasure in this world. They seem to have every­thing at their fingertips—money, fine food, adventurous travels, sleek cars and other toys, beautiful houses in beautiful places, power in business and politics. Don’t they have it all?

The Bible often cautions against having too much desire for the things other people have. That can lead to internal unrest that’s unhealthy for the soul.

Envy often involves not only a desire for something but also a demand that no one else should have it. And the sin of envy might tempt us to commit more sin in order to get what we want—to lie, cheat, steal, or even kill for it.

However, says the writer of our passage today, it is far better to pursue doing things God’s way. When we live God’s way, our future will be secure, even if it doesn’t seem exciting or extravagant by the world’s standards. In fact, when we are truly wise and in tune with God, we will have as much desire for God’s way as we might be tempted to have for the life of people who seem to have everything.

Provider God, give us our daily bread today, and help us not to be tempted to do anything sinful to get more. Amen.

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

— James 3:18

Peace is so much more than an absence of conflict. Peace involves people and systems working in harmony together. Peace is an existence full of well-being, in which our ­bodies, our relationships, our environment, and even our governments and economies are healthy. Peace even grows righteousness, which brings flourishing and justice for all. Where there is righteousness, people treat each other with love, patience, and all other virtues. Peace is an existence we dream of, which Jesus promised to bring us.

Peace is not here yet. But we can have tastes of it. We can even build little communities of it for a time. The Holy Spirit built a community of peace among the early Christians (see Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37). And some examples today include Christians living in “intentional communities” together.

Sometimes our calling and our God-given responsibilities in this world prevent us from creating a community where we can live mainly with ­others who share our desire for peace. But we can learn a lot from such communities, and we can be peacemakers in the world at large.

Where do you see a lack of peace in the community you are a part of, and what can you do to sow some peace there? Do you already know how to do that? Whom could you learn from?

Lord Jesus, come quickly to bring your peace for­ever. In the meantime, teach us practical ways to be peacemakers where we are today. Amen.

Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

— Ecclesiastes 7:9

God leads us into good times and bad times. Both can serve God’s purpose in helping us grow. This does not mean God causes our suffering, nor that something good will always come from every bad situation. But sometimes our bad times can be used by God for our greater good, if only we’ll pay attention.

If we get annoyed or angry too quickly, we’re not likely to consider that what seems like a bad time to us might just be a hard but important lesson for our personal growth.

What provokes you? Home­work? Rules? Traffic jams? Having to wait in line? Having to work hard? Not getting a promotion? Not winning a game? It’s easy to get annoyed when things don’t go our way or we don’t get what we want. But how often do we see these kinds of things as learning opportunities?

Working on being less easily annoyed by a learning opportunity can give us a great start on this virtue. It can help to apply problem-solving skills as well, preparing us to move on to harder situations. And in cases where someone is actually at fault for a problem in our lives, this can help us handle the problem in a constructive way—even if it’s necessary to apply consequences.

Anger is a powerful tool. When it’s used too quickly, it tends to cause more harm than good. God is slow to anger, and we do well to follow his example.

God, thank you for not quickly getting angry with us. Help us to be slow to be provoked as well. Amen.

“Encourage [Joshua], because he will lead Israel to inherit [the land].”

— Deuteronomy 1:38

If you have become an expert in your work, how you would feel if someone younger and less experienced were chosen to take up your role?

Moses had led God’s people out of Egypt and across the Red Sea (Exodus 1-15). He had received God’s law and taught it to the people (Exodus 20-50), and by God’s grace he had brought them to the edge of the promised land. But the people had rebelled, and God had turned them back to wander in the wilderness for forty years (Numbers 13-14). Now they were about to enter the promised land again, but Moses would not be leading them in. God had chosen Joshua to do that instead.

In Deuteronomy, Moses gives his farewell address, and here he says God told him to “encourage” Joshua. More literally, this means “strengthen.” But couldn’t God have given Joshua all the strength he needed? Was that a bit like rubbing salt in Moses’ wounds?

This seems counterintuitive at first, but it is actually a great gift to Moses to be the one to strengthen or encourage Joshua. As Moses empowers Joshua in front of everyone, Joshua steps in to continue Moses’ success rather than just being his replacement. Joshua’s success becomes part of Moses’ legacy.

How might you encourage and strengthen someone taking up the role you have had?

Lord, grant us success where you want us to serve, and help us to raise up people to continue your work after us. Amen.

Watch out for those who cause divisions. . . . Keep away from them.

— Romans 16:17

A couple of days ago we looked at the trouble that discord can cause among us as Christians. It’s sinful to have that kind of disunity, and it’s even worse to try to create disunity.

Causing dissension may be one of the vilest forms of deception we see in the church. It preys on some of the best impulses Christians have toward loving one another. It happens when a person or a group starts focusing on the flaws of others. And slowly they make that focus a central and necessary part of being in a relationship with them. Unsuspecting friends will slowly find their relationships eroding with the people who are supposedly flawed. This process has ended up destroying congregations.

Paul tells us to be on guard against people who cause dissension, and to leave them alone. That might sound like Paul is building dissension, but unity in serving Christ cannot grow if a person or group is trying to destroy that unity. Actually we often find that people who sow dissension want relationships just as badly as the rest of us do. When they are shown that having a relationship with the body of Christ means being unified with others, dissenters will ­often come back around, and we can welcome them back gladly.

Jesus, you offered relationships that would unite everyone with you. May we live that way also. Amen.

Encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with ­everyone.

— 1 Thessalonians 5:14

The Greeks had a word for “encouragement” that was quite similar to our understanding of empathy. It came from the idea of being with someone in their story. That’s the word Paul uses here for helping the disheartened. Disheartened peo­ple are basically those who have lost some of their hope.

In our reading for today, Paul urges us to be our best selves for everyone we encounter. Some people find that easier to do than others do. People who are disheartened can be a bit difficult to spend time with. The emotions of others tend to affect us, so we might prefer to be with people who have happiness and excitement to share. But Paul points out that to be truly Christlike, we also need to give our time to those who are struggling.

It’s interesting that Paul also goes on to tell us to “rejoice always” (v. 16). Entering into a disheartening story should not dishearten us. It might make us sad or angry, but it shouldn’t cause us to lose hope.

With hope we retain joy despite the sadness or anger we may feel with a disheartened friend, because we know that the disheartening things of this world do not have the final say. And we can bring that hope and joy into the other person’s story, doing so in a way that shows they are not alone. With that simple action, we can help to change their story by being a part of it.

Jesus, as you have entered into our stories, shared our pains, and yet become our hope, let us be like you for others. Amen.

Since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly . . . acting like mere humans?

— 1 Corinthians 3:3

We live in a world of discord, and Christians are not immune. “Discord” is another possible translation of the word for “quarreling.” Other options could be “contention,” “strife,” and “rivalry.” The idea here isn’t just intellectual debate, or even strong disagreement. Discord has to do with allowing our disagreements to separate us.

Christians are supposed to have the Spirit of God, who knows the deepest things of God. Over time, the Spirit helps us to understand God and to live more and more in line with God’s will.

When we don’t understand other Christians or we flat-out disagree with them, perhaps instead of trying to lecture them about what we think, we should engage in times of healthy and humble sharing and questioning together. We should try to recognize the signs of the Spirit’s work in each other and wonder what the Spirit is doing in the person we do not understand. The most likely scenario is that God has each of us on different learning paths, and perhaps by intertwining those paths, even uncomfortably, we could advance in the process of maturing in Christ.

In your relationships today, what can you do to work toward unity in the Spirit rather than discord?

Lord, we make slow progress against our vices and toward your virtues. Help us to recognize that people who have a sincere but different relationship with you might have some understanding that can help us grow closer to you. Amen.

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

— Hebrews 13:2

When this passage in Hebrews was written, people were expected to show generous hospitality to travelers who might have nowhere else to stay as they went from town to town.

The context of this advice urges believers in God to show love and care for one another as well for others who may be in need, such as strangers, travelers, and people in prison. This advice echoes the words of Jesus in Matthew 25, where he teaches that caring for the needs of others is like doing the same for him.

This passage in Hebrews also invites us to consider that a stranger or visitor we encounter might be an angel—that is, a messenger from God (see also Genesis 18). The point is that we should treat anyone we meet as being so valuable and worthy of our time that they might be sent from God, and that showing love and care to them would be like doing the same for the Lord himself.

This can be hard to imagine, especially if hospitality is not common in our culture and we need to be wary of danger. But here the Spirit of God is challenging us simply to treat others well, showing love and kindness to everyone, no matter who they are. In other words, we are called to love and care for others just as the Lord has done for us.

Lord, in a world that can often be scary, help us to treat strangers as if they were sent from you. Amen.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.

— Philippians 2:3

People who are filled with vain conceit pretend that they are better, stronger, and more ­capable than they really are. This applies to anyone who thinks they have made it on their own, without the help of God or other people or opportunities.

When I think of conceited people I have known, they are not usually those who have had to work the hardest or who have had to climb very far up the social ladder. Ironically, conceited people are often those who have done very little for themselves while benefiting from lots of privileges and oppor­tunities.

Whom would you rather follow? Someone who realizes that other people and circumstances have helped them gain success in their lives—such as supportive parents, teachers, mentors, friends, and coworkers, as well as opportunities for education, training, and work experience? Or would you follow someone who thinks they have gained success entirely on their own?

Jesus was the opposite of vain. All of the glory and majesty of God were his, and yet he came to live and serve among us in a humble way that would cause people to find his glory in the kind of person he was and the kinds of things he did. He gloried not in himself but in building others up. If we want to be truly successful, we ought to have the mindset of Jesus.

Jesus, the truth about you came through in the way you lived among us. Help us not to be selfish or vain but instead to be like you. Amen.

The grace of God . . . teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives.

— Titus 2:11-12

In this passage self-control literally means “having a sound mind, or being reasonable.” It is basically the opposite of living in confusion, ignorance, or indifference about making choices that support healthy living.

God’s grace saves us from ungodliness (literally, “an unworshipful life”) and from being a slave to the world’s ideas of what we need or want. We are not born with the ability to just say “no”—at least not on a regular basis and not without something else to say “yes” to. If we are without God in our life, all of our “yes’s” are basically guesswork. Our guesses sometimes make things worse, and sometimes a little better—but without God we cannot find the path to full life.

In his grace, however, God has already said “yes” to something else for us. Through the work of the Savior, Jesus, God has said “yes” to our redemption, giving us a whole new way of life. And because of this, God can now train us to say “yes” to better and better choices in our everyday living. That’s self-control.

Self-control is the God-trained ability to understand and choose which options bring us closer to being our best selves.

Jesus, make our path clear today, and give us the self-control we need to choose that path. When we choose wrongly, correct us gently. And when we choose correctly, encourage us, we pray. Amen.