Today Daily Devotional

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. . . .”

— Psalm 98:1

Hearing the invitation to “sing a new song,” I’ve written one. These lyrics go with the tune for “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” To God be all glory, honor, and praise!

In Christ Jesus God befriends us, comes to meet us in our need;

by his wounded flesh Christ heals us, from the powers sets us free.

With a shepherd’s eyes he finds us; in his arms we are embraced.

Through his teaching we learn wisdom, at the cross we meet God’s grace.

God brings help for those who struggle, and relief from poverty

when we act with love toward strangers, risk ourselves to set them free;

lay the walls of hate to rubble till the cries of war are ceased;

when the rich in generous measure share with those who have the least.

Creeds cannot dispel the hunger that brings children to their knees,

nor can weekly rites of worship ease the pain of dread disease.

Only love, made real in service, reaches others in their need;

Holy Spirit, move our faith from holy words to holy deeds.

All my neighbors, near and distant, must enjoy God’s friendship too.

They are waiting to be welcomed to the feast where life’s made new.

Let us join our hands together, raise our voices, shout our prayers;

live the life that Christ commands us till there’s justice everywhere.

“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

— James 2:17

If you have ever gone bowling, you know that the real value of a strike lies in what follows. A strike by itself is worth 10 points, but the real benefit lies in the pins you knock down in the next two throws. Throwing well could make that first strike worth 30 points!

The life of faith and discipleship is something like that. Following up is all-important. It is one thing to hear the gospel, and it is quite another to embrace the gospel fully and be transformed by it. It is wonderful to receive forgiveness, and yet a richer blessing awaits all who extend that forgiveness to others. It is a joy to be welcomed into the family of God, and even greater joy comes with inviting and welcoming others.

The good deeds that James is talking about are “follow-up throws” that multiply and expand the gift of faith—so much so that failing to follow up can render that faith lifeless.

We’ve been reflecting on God’s heart for the poor and what that means for us. Learning about poverty is one thing. Be­lieving that we are called to compassionate service is another. And following up with action for the poor and others in need makes knowing and believing genuine.

After all, what good does it do a hungry person if all you give are caring thoughts and words?

God, we thank you for teaching us in your Word and showing us in Jesus how to live. Make our faith alive in good deeds for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. . . . Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. . . .

— Romans 12:9-12

The people I’ve met who live in poverty have needed many different things: housing, new skills, friendship, advocacy. And the one thing they have all needed is hope, the sense that life is still full of possibilities. Hope convicts us that the world-as-it-is is not the world-as-it-can-be. Christians are above all a people of hope—and this does not refer to wishful thinking or naïve optimism but hope as “resurrection thinking and living.” In Jesus Christ, God has assured us that the future is open to God’s grace.

St. Augustine said that hope has two daughters: “Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” Because God desires shalom for the whole creation, we are right to be angry at poverty and all that interferes with shalom. “Hate what is evil,” says Paul. Indifference or apathy about injustice, oppression, and the suffering of others cannot produce hope.

But anger by itself cannot bring positive change. Anger at evil must be accompanied by courage to act in ways that overcome evil. Paul describes that hopeful courage as consisting of patience, sharing both joys and sorrows, showing hospitality, bearing each other’s burdens, and more.

Some of the poorest folks I have met are also the most hopeful. They are wise enough to hate evil and determined enough to face each day with courage. Theirs will be the kingdom of heaven.

Lord, teach me to long for a world of justice and peace, and use me to do your will. Amen.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

— Revelation 21:5

Have you ever wondered what the future will be like? I do. I wonder if doomsday forecasts will come true or whether we will find pathways toward a better future. If I look only to myself and what I know now, I am not always especially hopeful. Some problems seem impossible to solve, and reasons to feel gloomy abound.

But God gives us many good reasons to be hopeful. First, God loves his creation, including us. God sent his Son to redeem us and to show us a better way of life, the kingdom way. God offers us forgiveness and new life: more than pardon, this is the gift of a new future made possible through Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul says that when we are “in Christ,” the old is gone and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). And in Revelation 21:5 we read that God is “making everything new.”

Isaiah paints a picture of God’s new future in very practical terms. People will live long. Infant mortality will be gone. People will stay in their own homes. They will reap the rewards of their labor, not toiling merely for the benefit of others. There will be peace—so much so that even natural ­enemies will cooperate.

That’s a beautiful picture of the future into which God invites us already today.

Lord, help us to do justice, love mercy, trust Jesus, and follow him. Help us to enter your good future. Give us hope as we participate and invite others. Amen.

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge. . . .”

— Psalm 91:2

It was a scene of great joy when three siblings and their family members were reunited after a long separation. Seeking safety, they had fled their homeland in the midst of a civil war, and for eight long years they had lived in different refugee camps, moving from one place to another and searching for each other. Now, in a crowded airport, they were finally reunited. Our church, responsible for their resettlement, had provided housing, but it would not be “home” until the arrival of their loved ones.

Home is supposed to mean safety, belonging, and welcome. But for millions of people their home region has become dangerous and unwelcoming. War, violence, discrimination, and even natural disasters have forced millions to leave their homes. Some get to start a new life. Others languish, homeless and growing hopeless.

Baby Jesus was a refugee when his family fled to Egypt to ­escape death (Matthew 2). He later said that he had nowhere to rest his head. He understands the pain and sorrow of a refugee.

God has great concern for ­refugees. Psalm 68 says that God will give the desolate a home, and in Isaiah 65 we read of a “new” time when people can build houses and stay in them. More than that, God offers the deep shelter of belonging to him—under his wings we find refuge.

Heavenly Father, we give thanks for our homes. Please care for the homeless. Thank you for being our dwelling place. In Jesus, Amen.

Praise the Lord . . . who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion. . . .

— Psalm 103:2-4

Her name was Shapla, and I could see the fear in her teenage eyes. When strangers came to her village in rural Bangladesh, she feared they would take her away. This had happened to her sister. Shapla’s family was very poor; they had become indebted to a ruthless moneylender. Her sister had been “traded” to pay some of the debt, but part of the debt remained.

These new visitors, however, had come to help launch a vil­lage savings and loan program. This would help Shapla’s parents and their neighbors to save money and take low-interest loans so that they could buy seed and fertilizer to grow healthy crops. This new venture would also put the local moneylender out of business and free Shapla’s family from their debt to him. They were “redeemed” from that debt.

In the Bible redemption is not only a spiritual concept but also a practice by which one person can “redeem” another by paying a price. The book of Ruth tells a story about that. Similarly, Shapla’s family was redeemed of their debt by the intervention of their village savings and loan program.

Ultimately, of course, only God can redeem us from sin and guilt, and he graciously does this through the precious gift of Jesus, who gave his life so that we can live with him.

Dear God, thank you for redeeming us in Jesus Christ. And thank you for programs that liberate people from crippling debt. With our whole being we praise you, Lord! In Christ, Amen.

“I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys.”

— Isaiah 41:18

Quebrada Honda is a village in Honduras. The name means, literally, “deep creek.” When our team of volunteers came to build a water system, there was no creek in sight. The river­bed was dried up and dusty. Drinking water was either hauled in for a high fee or carried a long distance by women and children. There were no household vegetable gardens because there was no water for growing produce.

That was a few years ago. Since then a water system has been constructed to bring ­water to a faucet at every home and smiles of joy to every face. Everyone has access to drinking water; laundry can be done at home; and splashy baths are frequent!

Abundant vegetables are growing there also—not just in gardens but also in aquaponic tanks, where the water is alive with both vegetables and fish. Living water to sustain living people!

The Bible makes many references to living water, promising springs in the desert and rivers whose streams bring gladness. There are waters of cleansing, waters of healing, and waters that refresh dry and thirsty lives.

Jesus said that all who are thirsty can come to him for living water and never thirst again (John 4:13; 7:37-38). Doesn’t that sound good? Doesn’t that sound like something you need? Ask him today, and discover the deep joy of knowing him.

Bountiful God, thank you for providing water for our bodies and living water for our souls. Fill our cup, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. . . .”

— Isaiah 43:2

These words about passing through waters had a special meaning for the people of Israel. When they fled from Egypt, they came to the impassable Red Sea, and it seemed they would be trapped by the pursuing Pharaoh and his army. But God miraculously opened a way so that they could cross on dry land (Exodus 14). Later they also crossed the Jordan River on dry ground to enter the promised land (Joshua 3-4). So the idea of passing through waters became a shorthand way of saying that God would watch over them through all kinds of adversity.

These words have special meaning for the people of Satkhira in southern Bangladesh. They live on a huge flood plain near the world’s largest mangrove forest. They often experience cyclones and storm surges that cause massive flooding. Rising sea levels are also flooding miles of rice paddies with saltwater, destroying farmland, displacing families, and leading to economic hardship, food insecurity, and climate refugees.

As these folks “pass through the waters,” they are not alone but are being accompanied by Christian organizations who help them learn new skills, find new employment, and adapt their farming techniques. And they are learning to trust God.

All of us can trust God in the storms and challenges of life. He is right there with us.

God, grant your mercy in the lives of everyone facing challenges. As you promise, be with us all as we “pass through the ­waters.” Amen.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth. . . .

— Romans 8:22

The creation has been groaning, says the apostle Paul in Romans 8. We have all been distressed by news of natural disasters around the world. Wildfires, droughts, floods, hurricanes, cyclones, blistering heat waves! God’s good creation, designed to function beautifully and predictably as our dwelling place, suffers ­under the curse of sin.

The groaning of creation is echoed in the groaning of people whose lives are affected by extreme weather events: subsistence farmers who wait in vain for rain; coastal people whose land erodes under their feet; refugees in tent cities who cannot escape rains that have swept their homes away; farmers who watch floodwaters destroy their life’s work; whole communities that have to evacuate their homes to flee firestorms.

As always, the impact is greatest on people who are most vulnerable, living on the edge of survival. Many gains made against global poverty in the past decades are being undone by climate events.

The Bible teaches that God loves his creation, summons it to sing forth his praises, and gives it to us for our care and enjoyment. Our sin has spoiled creation, but God promises that creation itself will be “liberated from its bondage to decay” and brought into freedom!

Let’s live in a way that shows we care for God’s creation—for the sake of all people and ­especially our Savior!

Creator God, help us to live in the hope of your liberation for us and for our home, the earth. In Jesus, Amen.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.

— Psalm 145:15

One of the most heartbreaking scenes that I remember from living and working in Bangladesh was when I saw a couple of children, who were obviously malnourished and hungry, staring at pictures of delicious food in a glossy magazine they had found in the garbage. One of the children lifted the magazine to her mouth and licked a picture of an ice-cream cone.

We were there to help alleviate hunger and its cause—poverty—but I felt incredibly helpless and useless in the face of such misery. I groaned a lament based on Psalm 145: “Lord, when will you give them their food? Is now not the proper time?”

Since those days in the early 1990s, the number of people who experience hunger and food insecurity has declined as poverty alleviation programs have increased. I am grateful for that and for organizations that have led the charge. But those children still haunt me, as they should, because today hunger is again on the rise. More than 780 million people will go to bed hungry tonight. Each one matters to God. Each one must matter to us.

When I pray for them, as I must, I know that God has called me to be part of the answer to my own prayer.

O God, we lament the reality of poverty and hunger that causes so much suffering among the people you love. We know that each one matters to you. We pray for your mercy in their lives, and we ask that you use us for your purposes. In Christ, Amen.