Today Daily Devotional

One thing I ask from the Lord . . . to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

— Psalm 27:4

The word sanctuary can refer to two different things. It describes a place that is holy, set apart for worship. It also describes a place of safety, where someone in danger can go to find shelter and protection.

Psalm 27 helps us understand how the two meanings of this word overlap. When we have received salvation from God, we are called to worship God. We go to the sanctuary to offer God our worship. We do this not for our own sake, but for God’s sake. God is holy and beautiful and calls us to worship him, so we offer God our worship.

But when we give God our worship, we receive a wonderful gift as well. Psalm 27 describes the presence of God as a place of safety. Because God is our Savior, we receive comfort and security in God’s presence. When we go to the sanctuary to worship God, we give God worship, and we receive peace from God.

This is why the psalmist longs to worship God. The beauty of the Lord compels the psalmist to go to the sanctuary of the Lord and worship him.

We can rejoice in following God’s command to worship too. For as we worship God, we receive his comfort, peace blessing, strength, and renewed energy to live for him. God is our stronghold—of whom shall we be afraid?

Beautiful Lord, help me to worship you. May I humbly offer you all my praise. Thank you also for granting me peace and security in your presence. Amen.

God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

— Romans 5:5

In the film Tender Mercies, a man and a young boy are baptized. Afterward, the boy says, “Everybody said I was gonna feel like a changed person. I guess I do feel a little different, but I don’t feel a whole lot different. Do you?” The man responds: “Not yet.”

It’s a charming, light-hearted conversation, but it gets at something true about the Christian life. When you are saved by Jesus, or when you are baptized as a sign of your salvation, you do not instantly become a good person. We even notice that sometimes non-Christians are more kind or more generous than some Christians are.

The Bible explains that the Holy Spirit is at work in every person’s life. When a person is being transformed by Jesus, the process is gradual. The person’s life begins to change, to become more beautiful—and it might happen so slowly that we barely notice it. But Romans 5 promises that the Holy Spirit is at work both now and in the future, in good times and in bad. The Spirit uses even the suffering in our lives to shape us into people of perseverance, character, and hope.

If you have committed to following Jesus, you might not feel different yet. But you can trust that the Holy Spirit is working in your life.

Holy Spirit, change me to make me more like Jesus. Give me patience with your steady work in my life. Make my life a beautiful reflection of God’s love for me. Amen.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.

— Psalm 1:3

A group of volunteers planted some new trees last spring in the neighborhood where I live. As a resident, I received the gift of two trees in front of my house. My responsibility now is to make sure the trees are well-watered so that they can flourish and grow. The huge old oak trees in my backyard do just fine with rainwater alone. But the new young trees need some extra watering until they grow deep roots and can survive on their own.

The Bible’s message is that God created us in love and has saved us through faith in Jesus, by grace alone. As people saved by grace, we are invited to live the good life that God has designed for us. We live this way not to earn our salvation, but to show our gratitude to God, to grow in faith, and to flourish in the good life God wants for us. God has given us salvation as a free gift, and we gratefully aim to follow God’s law because it’s the best way to live. It’s what we were designed for.

Psalm 1 says that living this good life is like being a tree planted by streams of water. That tree will yield fruit and will not wither, because the tree is living the way it is meant to live, nourished by the water of life given by its creator. So it is with people. When we are planted and nourished by God’s way of love, we will flourish.

God, make me like a tree planted by streams of water. Root my life in your law of love, so that I can live the way you have designed me to live. Amen.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

— 1 Corinthians 13:1

Imagine that you want to impress a friend with a special party. You put all your energy and attention into getting the details just right. But you get so stressed out in the process that you ignore your friend. Your friend might say, “I don’t want a fancy party; I just want to spend time with you!” In your efforts to make something beautiful, you end up missing the point. Your friend doesn’t require a lot of fanfare and expense; your friend just wants the beauty of your personal time and attention.

Some of the Christians in the city of Corinth had the special gifts of speaking in tongues and prophesying. They thought these gifts were impressive, and the whole community tended to focus on these displays of faith. As a result, though, they ended up missing the point of Christian community, which is to love one another. The apostle Paul wrote them a letter (1 Corinthians) to encourage them to get back to the basics. And in chapter 13 he describes the self-sacrificial kind of love (agape) that follows the pattern of Jesus himself.

Jesus has shown us the most beautiful way, the way of love. Following his example, we can let go of worrying about being impressive. Instead, we can focus on what’s truly beautiful—and that is self-sacrificial love.

God, sometimes we get distracted and forget about the most beautiful thing of all. Restore us again to the beauty of your love in Jesus. Amen.

[Jesus] gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

— Matthew 27:50-51

You might wonder why the title of this meditation is “Beau­tiful Death.” The Bible affirms life, so how could any death be considered beautiful?

But, in a way, this title is similar to the name “Good Friday,” which we use to refer to the day of Jesus’ death. In some ways that day was not good at all. We mourn the death of Jesus, and we regret the sin that caused him to die. But in other ways the day has been very good indeed. The death of Jesus is good news for the world, because in his death Jesus tore down the barrier between God and sinful humanity. Now we can be united with God because of Jesus’ death. So we can say that the death of Jesus was beautiful.

The book of Matthew adds that at the moment of Jesus’ death, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” That curtain barred the way to the holiest room in the temple. It represented the separation between the holy God and his sinful people. But because of Jesus’ death, the curtain was not needed anymore. People could be united with God again. God loved the world so much that he sent Jesus to die, uniting us with himself again—and that is beautiful!

Lord Jesus, we praise you for your great love, shown by your death for all who believe in you. Thank you for your beautiful death, which unites us with God again. Amen.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of ­heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

— Matthew 5:3-5

People often say that they are “blessed” when they are enjoying good things in life: a beautiful sunset, time with their loved ones, a comfortable place to live, exciting travels. But when we hear what Jesus taught about being “blessed,” we get a different picture. Jesus describes a number of people who seem to be the opposite of blessed. The list includes people who are broken down, struggling, or even persecuted. How could Jesus call them blessed?

Through his life and teaching, Jesus introduced a new kind of world. It was a new way of understanding what a beautiful community looks like. Jesus called this beautiful new community “the kingdom of God” or “the kingdom of heaven.” And in God’s kingdom, the typical priorities of our world (wealth, pride, winning at all costs) are turned upside down.

In God’s kingdom, Jesus says all people are welcome, not just those who are rich or respectable. In God’s kingdom, a beautiful life of mercy and peace is possible by God’s grace. We may feel disoriented at first when we follow Jesus, because his values are not the values of the world. But the right-side-up kingdom of God is good news for us and for the whole world, because it is the most beautiful kingdom possible.

Jesus, thank you for bringing the kingdom of God. Thank you for teaching us about a beautiful new kind of world, even though it can seem upside down to us at first. Amen.

“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. . . . How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God.”

— Genesis 28:16-17

I often pray that God would give me more clear examples of his presence and beauty in my life. I hear about Christians who have a vibrant prayer life, or who feel the presence of God so surely, and I wish that I had those experiences more often myself. I pray that God would show up more in my life.

Those are good desires to have and good prayers to pray. But I could also pray for the ability to see God’s beautiful salvation that is already present in my life and in the world.

That’s what Jacob was able to see. He had a dream about a stairway with the angels of God going up and down on it. God spoke directly to Jacob in that dream, reminding him of God’s promises to love him and to care for his family. When Jacob awoke, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” The beauty of God’s salvation had been with him all along.

That doesn’t always happen in dreams, but God does assure us that he is true to his promises. I am thankful that God’s presence is always with me, whether I recognize it or not.

I pray that God will be near, and I also pray that I will be able to recognize God’s presence and beauty all around.

God of Jacob, I praise you for your presence in my life. Thank you for the times when I am surprised by your beauty and your loving presence, assuring me that you are always with me. Amen.

Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you.

— Psalm 40:5

Sometimes we act as if we can fix the problem of sin in our lives. We imagine that if we improve ourselves, we can be free of sin and guilt. We think that if we just work hard enough, our lives will become better. And if our friends and family would just listen to us, our relationships would become better too.

But the problem is too big for us. We cannot save ourselves from the problem of our separation from God. We cannot even stop ourselves from sinning. Only God can do that.

Psalm 40 sings praise to the God who saves us. It sings praise to the God who is strong enough to conquer sin and is gracious enough to do that for us. It sings praise to the God who chose not to stay sepa­rated from us but came to save us and restore us to himself.

Psalm 40 sings of a salvation so great that only God could accomplish it. God has loved us in so many ways.

The psalmist says to God, “Were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.” The many wonders God has done to save us are beautiful. Our abundant and beautiful salvation comes from God, the only one who can save us.

God of salvation, I am overwhelmed by the beauty and greatness of your love for us all. Thank you for saving me; I could not save myself. Help me to praise you for the wonders you have done. Amen.

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness . . . forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”

— Exodus 34:6-7

What do you say when you introduce yourself? Most people introduce themselves by saying their name, and they might tell about something they like to do, what their work is, or where they are from. People can learn some important things about you right away, just from the words of your introduction.

In our reading from Exodus today, God meets with Moses and pauses to describe himself so that the people can know who he is. God calls himself “the Lord” and says he is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” Similar descriptions of God are included in many places in the Bible. The gracious nature of God is at the heart of his identity. How beautiful!

Knowing who God is, we can take comfort that nothing from our past, present, or future will separate us from God’s love. When we meet the God of grace, we can find peace, knowing that God is forgiving, patient, and loving. God’s grace and forgiveness lead us to know him, and his patience and lovingkindness faithfully guide us to follow him forever.

Lord, I praise you for your beautiful name. You are compassionate and merciful. I praise you for forgiving my sin, and for guiding me to follow you always. Amen.

“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”

— Genesis 9:13

If the sun is shining while rain is falling, that is often a good time to look for a rainbow. The sunlight shines through water droplets to form a beautiful spectrum of color across the sky.

The beauty of the rainbow can be surprising and spectacular. A rainbow that appears after a frightening storm can bring a hopeful promise of clearer weather ahead.

God used the rainbow to give a sign of hope to Noah, and that is a reminder for us still today. After the world was destroyed by a flood because of the people’s sin, God promised never to send such a flood again. God promised not to let sin come between him and his people. The rainbow is a beautiful sign of hope because it is like a bow without arrows, as if hung on a wall after battle, never to be fired again. That reminds us of the promise that God will always love us.

When you see a rainbow, you can see it as a part of God’s beautiful creation. You can also see it as a sign of God’s beautiful promise of salvation, a promise God is sure to keep.

God of promises, we praise you because your promises are sure. Give us hope in the future you have promised to bring. Assure us with signs of your love for us. Amen.