Today Daily Devotional

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

— Ephesians 6:11

Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against hostile spiritual powers. These powers are organized but unseen, a truly diabolical enemy. Led by Satan, these evil powers are always scheming against the Lord and his kingdom, trying to overthrow the rule of God in our lives and in this world.So what are our weapons in this warfare? They make up the armor of God, as Paul describes it in our text for today.  Put on the belt of truth. The beginning of evil is the acceptance of a lie. Followers of Christ who know and honor the truth are uniquely positioned to win against the deceitful spiritual powers of evil.Wear the breastplate of righteousness. Knowing and doing what is right is to live with integrity. It takes courage to do what is right, even when others may say it doesn’t matter.Be quick to share the gospel of peace. The powers of evil have already been beaten through Jesus’ finished work. This is good news that can help to convert enemies into allies.Carry the shield of faith. Faith is belief and trust in the living God and his promises, even though we cannot see him. Though it can seem that evil is winning, it has already lost to Christ, and in him we will win.Pray and follow God’s Word. God hears all our prayers, and he delights in giving us the full life he promises in his Word, which is the sword of the Spirit. God’s Word is the whole and final truth.

Lord, we need your protection in the spiritual battles we face. Help us to put on the spiritual armor that you provide for us in Jesus. Amen.

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

— 2 Corinthians 10:5

Neuroscientists have discovered that we average about 6,000 thoughts per day. What a challenge it is to “take captive every thought” for Christ!There are strongholds of thoughts within us that resist submission to God. You probably have one or two of them. They are little parts of our character and thought patterns that are opposed to God. They have signs set up that say, “God is not needed here.” Perhaps it is the way you think about sex. Perhaps it is the way you view a neighbor or a relative. Perhaps it is the way you use the earth’s resources. Or something else.Yet there is no piece of our mind that does not belong to God. Every inch of it must surrender to God. How? First, “be still, and know that [the Lord is] God” (Psalm 46:10). Admit that the stronghold you have set up in your mind is challenging the right of the King of kings to rule your life. It opposes true knowledge of God. Second, confess this sin to God, and perhaps also to a trusted Christian friend. Third, with the help of the Holy Spirit, challenge the strongholds of falsehood with the true knowledge of God. You can do this by saying to yourself, “No, that isn’t right. I know that is not what God wants.” And, if necessary, tell yourself the same thing later when the devil responds with, “Did God really say . . . ?”It is a never-ending battle. But Christ has already won it.

Holy Spirit, you live within us. Help us to recognize evil strongholds in our minds and to break them down with the power of your truth. Amen.

“When [the devil] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

— John 8:44

A lie led to the beginning of human sin. Back in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve accepted Satan’s lie: “You will not certainly die. . . . You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).Ever since then, the voice of the liar, the father of lies, has carried on. Satan apparently can’t speak the truth; lying is his native language. Today Satan keeps telling us versions of the same lies he spoke in Eden: “God doesn’t really want the best for you.” “You will never have any fun if you follow the moral standard set by God.” “You really won’t suffer any consequences for doing that.”What lies is Satan telling you lately? “It really doesn’t matter if you watch some porn.” “Paying all your taxes would be crazy, given the way the government spends money.” “You deserve a new car, a new sex partner, a higher salary.”Pay attention to what you are thinking. Listening to the father of lies can be the first step into sinfulness.These lies include conspiracy theories that flood social media. Satan is in charge of those too. He is quite capable of using politicians and media personalities to promote his lies. The fact that others may agree with Satan is no excuse.Our thought world is a war zone. Listen to the one who has already won the war. Reject the one who can never be trusted.

Father, we are surrounded by lies. We hear them at every turn. Help us to recognize and reject them. May we reject the father of lies too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

— James 5:16

None of us likes to confess sin. The first step in confession is to acknowledge that we have done something wrong. That doesn’t make us feel very good about ourselves. But we must confess our sins, even if they are only sinful thoughts.Confessing our sinful thoughts is not a natural practice. We might think that if we haven’t acted on sinful things we have thought about, why bother? We may tell ourselves that what we think doesn’t really matter, but it does. All seven of the deadly sins are based in our thoughts: envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, anger, lust, and pride. These deadly thoughts are the fertile soil from which sins of word and deed can sprout and grow.We tend to think that since they are only thoughts, they don’t need to be confessed. We might even think that we have our problem under control— or soon will. We would much rather manage our problems than confess our sins.But we need to confess our sinful thoughts, not just manage them. And if we are fortunate enough to have good Christian friends with whom we can confess our thoughts, we should talk with them. We need to admit that we cannot conquer sin on our own. We need the power of God’s Spirit to free us from sin and evil. If we wish to be like Christ, we need God’s Spirit to cleanse our thoughts.

O God, confession is hard. We would rather be in charge of our thoughts. But help us to confess to you. Give us the courage and humility we need to confess our sins. Amen.

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

— Proverbs 3:24

Have you ever had a strange dream that woke you up in the middle of the night? Many of us have. Our subconscious is active even when we are asleep.In addition, the Holy Spirit is at work in us, even when we are not conscious of it.This is one reason why we need to talk to God before we sleep. Bedtime prayers are important. What can we say to God before we go to sleep? We should thank him for his protection during the day, even if we are not always aware of it. We should thank him for keeping us from sin and from causing harm to ourself or others.We should also prepare for the next day. We can trust that tomorrow is in God’s hands. We can cast our worries on him, knowing that God has already seen what awaits us and has arranged things for our good.If you have concerns that could keep you awake, lay them before God. You might not see a way out, but God has already provided the ultimate way through Jesus Christ.The practice of bedtime prayer can and should begin at a young age. I remember my mother and father teaching me an evening prayer. And I teach this one to my grandchildren:

Jesus, tender shepherd, hear me. Bless your little lamb tonight. Through the darkness be near me; keep me safe till morning light. All this day your hand has led me, and I thank you for your care. You have clothed and warmed and fed me. Listen to my evening prayer. Amen.

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

— Psalm 4:8

We sleep, but the Holy Spirit and the demons do not. So even our subconscious can be a battleground of spirituality.C. S. Lewis recommended the following steps in prayer before we go to sleep. First, ask God to show you what sins you might have committed during the day. Those sins include thoughts, words, and actions. Confess those sins and ask God to forgive you for them, as well as other sins that might not even come to mind.Second, surrender your concerns and anxious thoughts to God. Let go of worries that might keep you awake. Give them up to God. As another translation of this psalm puts it, “You let me lie down in peace, and keep me perfectly safe.” We can be safe not only from violence or physical turmoil but also from the attacks of the devil. We live under the care of the loving God not only when we are awake but also when we are asleep.Finally, ask God to protect you while you sleep and when you are awake. God alone provides us with true rest. Rest is shalom/peace. In God’s shalom all is well. All is in harmony. This is the peace that Jesus leaves with his disciples, and all who follow Jesus are his disciples. Ask the Lord for this peace. It is available always, whether you are awake or asleep.

Thank you, God, that even while we sleep, you care for us. You give us the peace that the world cannot give. And in you we find eternal, peaceful rest. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.

— James 1:14

Temptations are thoughts. We see things or people that appeal to us, and we want them for ourselves, even though we know that would be wrong.Humans will always have sensations of desire, and we really can’t be responsible for those initial impressions. For example, I am a heterosexual male. When I see a beautiful woman, my first impression is “Wow, she is really a knockout!” That is a natural response. To stop having such a sensation would probably require that I be struck blind.After that initial impression, though, I am responsible for my thoughts. Those thoughts may lead toward temptation and evil. To think, “Wow, it would be a dream come true to get together with her,” for example, is not just an initial impression. That would be an evil thought leading to sin. Jesus said that “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). That is very easy to do. And it is sin.Every day, we see things or persons that can tempt us. It can happen when you see a car, or a house, or a person, or pretty much anything you might desire. But when we move from an instinctive first impression to a conscious thought of wrongful desire, we sin. And God is not to blame for that. God makes beautiful things, but the desire is ours— and ours to control.

O God, keep us from temptation, deliver us from evil, and forgive us our sins. By your Spirit’s work in us, help us to control our thoughts, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

— Romans 12:2

Notice the big contrast in this text. We can follow the “pattern”— or the behaviors, standards, and customs—of the world. Or we can follow the will of God. And the way to do that is to be transformed by the renewing of our mind in Christ so that we can see how to live by God’s will.Our world is influenced by evil powers, led by the devil, the prince of darkness. The patterns, behaviors, standards, and customs of this world promote selfishness, boasting, abuse of power, and disdain for others. We see it every day in the media. And it can be difficult to resist, especially when it seems normal.God wants to rescue us from destructive thoughts and patterns. Each person—empowered by the Holy Spirit—needs to seek God to be transformed.“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” writes the apostle Paul. This is a good shorthand description of the Christian’s lifelong calling. It describes how to become more like the Savior. We need to shed our old, evil thoughts and put on new, holy ones. We can leave behind the desires of the world and grasp the love of God. We can put away self-promoting customs and embrace the self-sacrificing love of Christ.We need to resist and reject the customs and patterns of the sinful world. Our minds need to discern what the true will of God is and to live by it.

Dear Lord, we need to be transformed. Renew our minds to be like the mind of Christ so that we may live by your will. Amen.

Every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

— Genesis 6:5

Wow! The people in those days must have been really, really bad. Look at all those totalizing terms: every, only, all the time. And all of this troubled God deeply.Some people, and even some societies, can go very bad. Notice where it starts—in the thoughts of their hearts. In the story that follows, God sends a flood to destroy everything corrupted by the evil and violence of that time.Today, if the Spirit of Christ is working in us, that should mean we are not at risk of being “only evil all the time,” right? Well, let’s not kid ourselves. We can still be quite bad if we regularly let the thoughts of our hearts yield to evil. Such thoughts will not remove us from the saving power of Christ, but they will allow the devil to use us for evil purposes. Evil thoughts will also set us apart from the will of God and from the good that he has in mind for us.So let’s watch the thoughts of our hearts. We need to monitor them. We need to recognize which thoughts are good and which ones are evil. We need to resist the evil ones.Jesus redeems us from the flood of judgment, but the struggle against evil will continue until he returns. In the Lord’s strength and by the power of his Spirit, we can turn from evil and seek to do what is good.

O God, thank you for redeeming us from absolute destruction. Please continue to help us by renewing our minds in Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

— Matthew 6:33

Did you play hide-and-seek as a child? I did, and I play it now with my grandchildren. (They are easy to find when they’re under a blanket on the couch.)In our text for today Jesus talks about seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness as our first priority, our main goal in life. And when we do that, all of the things we need will be taken care of. The point here is not to wish us good luck in finding something well hidden. Rather, Jesus urges us to pursue God’s will, placing his purposes first in our lives so that we may live as he calls us to.The good news is that God and his kingdom can be easily found. We can find God and his kingdom in the life of Christ and among believers who listen to God’s Word and strive to live by it. They aim to live righteously by acting justly and with mercy for all people, as Jesus did.Jesus’ teaching ministry can be summed up with these words: “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). God’s kingdom is found in Jesus, who said, “Follow me” (Mark 1:17), and taught that he is the only way to God and his kingdom (John 14:6).If we don’t have a specific destination, we will just wander. Christians know, as Jesus showed, that their ultimate destination is God and his kingdom. This is what we must aim for as we follow Jesus’ teachings by the power of his Spirit.

Dear God, may the aim of our thoughts and desires be toward you. May your Spirit help us to seek your kingdom first in all we think, say, and do. Amen.