Today Daily Devotional

By ReFrame Ministries

Today is a daily devotional that helps God's people refresh, refocus and renew their faith through Bible reading, reflection, and prayer.... more

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How many episodes does Today Daily Devotional have?

The podcast currently has 2,850 episodes available.

Today Daily Devotional episodes:

June 16, 2018 Christ Alone
In
Philippians 3:8 the original Greek text includes a word that is not
very nice. Often translated as “garbage,” the Greek word
actually means something closer to a steaming pile of manure. It
is not a word for polite company, but what makes it so striking is
that Paul uses this word to describe his former religious
accomplishments. Earlier in his life, his status as a Pharisee and a
near-perfect keeper of God’s law were his prize achievements. He
was sure it all added up to a shiny gold ticket to heaven.
Then,
in a vision, he met Jesus, the ascended Son of God, who had made
salvation possible by giving up his own life to pay the price for all
our sin. Once Paul realized how costly it really was to take
away human sin, he knew that any idea he’d ever entertained that we
humans could pay for sin on our own was false. In fact, any idea like
that was beyond false: it was garbage, useless, futile, hollow, a
stinking pile of manure.
We
can be thankful for all that the Spirit helps us do in our lives. We
need not belittle the fruit of the Spirit we produce. But, Paul
urges, do not for one second think that such things reunite you with
God. That required a cross and the Son of God’s sacrifice once for
all. To God be all the glory!
...more
2min
June 15, 2018 Reminders
When
pastors serve for a long time with the same congregation, sooner or
later they realize they are probably repeating themselves. “As you
have heard me say before . . .” can become a common
refrain after some years.
As
Philippians 3 opens, Paul notes that he is repeating some
instructions that are very important. “I know I have mentioned this
before, but it bears repeating,” he says, in effect: “Stay true
to God! Watch out for those who detract from God’s grace by making
you think you have to contribute to your salvation!” When the
matters at hand are important, reminders are a good idea.
Paul
knew that the situation required repetitions to warn about false
teachers who promoted things like circumcision as a way to make sure
you had salvation. Apparently teachers like this followed Paul around
and waited till he left town before sneaking in with false teachings.
We see evidence of this in Paul’s letters to the Galatians and the
Corinthians as well.
Some
people could not accept that salvation is by grace alone. They
figured they had to do something to seal the deal. But Paul’s
response was always “No!” As we have seen in this letter, being
saved by grace does change us into people who begin to act
differently. But those actions are a fruit of salvation, not the
root. Paul could not remind people of that idea often enough! And we
need constant reminders of it too.
...more
2min
June 14, 2018 The Remembering God
In
some parts of the letters in the New Testament we find clear
reminders that we are reading someone else’s mail.
If
you are cleaning out your grandmother’s house after her death and
you find a shoebox full of letters, you might read passing references
to “Uncle Harry’s difficulties” or how “cousin Louisa hit it
big.” But you may not know much about either person, and you may
never know what difficulties or successes they had.
There’s
a story behind Paul’s references to Epaphroditus, and the
Philippians knew what Paul was talking about. But we don’t. In the
Bible this man, Epaphroditus, is mentioned only in Philippians. It
sounds like Paul had him hand-deliver this very letter to the church
in Philippi. It also appears that Epaphroditus had brought Paul a
gift from Philippi and that he nearly worked himself to death for the
cause of the gospel. More than that we do not know.
But
in some ways we can think of Epaphroditus as a stand-in for us all.
We all have stories. We may even have done devoted work for God. No,
we’re not famous. Few people will remember our names after we are
gone. But God knows each of us by name. God remembers. God honors us
for the service we have done for his kingdom. And that is more than a
little encouragement for us all!
...more
2min
June 13, 2018 Housekeeping
Paul
has been shifting back and forth about whether he might soon die or
be able to visit Philippi again. A person in prison could easily lose
confidence about being released.
So,
in the meantime, Paul planned to send the young pastor Timothy.
Paul’s confidence in Timothy was sky high. Speaking of Timothy as a
spiritual son, Paul praised the younger man’s devotion to Christ.
Not only would Timothy do good work in building up the Philippian
church, but he would also be able to warm Paul’s heart by bringing
back news about the congregation.
As
Bible passages go, this one might look less important than many other
texts. The comments here can seem like housekeeping details.
Yet
even such everyday matters are vital. We all need pastors.
We all need elders who will encourage our devotion to Christ. Church
council meetings, committees, producing the weekly bulletin: these
are the ordinary activities of the church and may not seem terribly
important.
But
housekeeping details keep the church on track and help it fulfill its
Great Commission. God is in the details. There are no ordinary acts
of Christian service. All things are holy when we do them for the
Lord!
...more
2min
June 12, 2018 Stars in the Sky
Good
preachers know the value of strong imagery. Metaphors and similes
paint word pictures in our minds. In this passage Paul has two
similes, one lovely and the other painful.
On
the one hand, when we behave in Christlike ways as Paul has been
urging throughout Philippians 2, we can shine like stars in the sky.
Though the world around us may often seem like a morally dark place,
in God’s strength we can be like nighttime stars that pierce the
darkness and twinkle in beauty.
On
the other hand, Paul raises the possibility that he might not live
much longer. He says he could be poured out like a drink offering to
complete the sacrifice of service the Philippians were engaged in
through their Christian living. If the star imagery warmed the hearts
of the Christians in Philippi, this drink-offering image
probably gave them a chill. They would not want their founding pastor
to die.
But
Paul does not want them to feel sad. He sees the possibility of dying
for Christ as a reason to rejoice! Jesus said that the servant is not
greater than the master. If the world mistreated Jesus, his followers
may experience the same.
So
shine like stars, but don’t be surprised if some people in the
world do not like that. And if they don’t, do not despair. Look to
Jesus on his cross and rejoice.
...more
2min
June 11, 2018 A Fine Balance
People
are sometimes confused by these verses in Philippians, thinking that
they imply we are saved by our good deeds rather than by God’s
grace through faith. Are we saved by grace or by good works?
We
are saved by the grace of God, which shows itself when we produce
good works, the evidence of God’s work in us. (See also Paul’s
explanation in Ephesians 2:8-10.)
Here,
in Philippians, Paul reminds his readers of the importance of
obedience, which can sound like a “work-your-way-to-heaven”
scheme. But it’s not. Paul immediately goes on to say that the good
works we do are enabled by God. So it’s all by grace, and yet we
are responsible to do something too, in response.
When
Paul urges his readers to “work out” their salvation, he means
doing the logical follow-through of having received grace. He does
not say we “create” our own salvation. We just keep working it
out, following the lead of God’s Spirit working in us because we
have been made new through grace.
It
is easy to slide into an either/or mistake. We might think grace
gives us an excuse to live however we want, if we are forgiven
anyway. Or we might ignore grace and try to work furiously to earn
God’s favor. But salvation is all by grace, and our response is
obedience, through God’s ongoing work in us. It’s a fine balance,
and a holy one too.
...more
2min
June 10, 2018 The Higher Glory
We’ve
been talking about having the mindset of Christ and following his
example of humility. When it comes to humility, no one can be
humbler than Christ, who gave up his own life so that all who call on
his name can be saved to have new life forever. And because Jesus did
that, God also raised him from the grave and “exalted him to
the highest place.”
He
started out as the Son of God in heaven, and then he willingly became
a suffering servant who swooped down to the lowest of depths by dying
on a cross for our sake. Then God reversed it all and swung Jesus
upward to rule in heaven over everything.
The
words Paul uses to describe this position have to do with the
power of the highest name: “God . . . gave him the name
that is above every name.” And what is that name? It is Jesus
(meaning “Savior”), and it is Christ
(meaning “Anointed One”). Jesus Christ is the Lord, the sovereign
ruler, over all things.
His
name is so glorious that the day will come when every knee will bow
to honor him, and every tongue will sing songs to “acknowledge that
Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Jesus
Christ, who died and rose again, is Lord of the cosmos. All glory be
to him forever and ever!
...more
2min
June 09, 2018 The Mind of Christ
The
verses in our Bible reading today may have come from an early hymn.
Back then no one had a Bible or anything in print. People had to
memorize whatever was important to know. So the early Christians
composed songs and brief sayings that helped them remember the core
teachings of their faith in Christ. They carried these truths in
their hearts.
This
song gets at the essence of who Jesus was, what he did, and how he
accomplished salvation: he did it through humility. He was the Son of
God. He had all power, all knowledge. It was the kind of position
that most of us would not want to give up.
But
Jesus did give it all up. He set aside his privileged place and
became a human being. And once he became human, he went even further
and made himself everyone’s servant. He was not some powerful
political leader. He did not even have a position in the religious
establishment of his day.
Jesus
came to serve. He came to die. He came to die shamefully, like some
criminal—though he never sinned. Paul uses these words to challenge
the Philippians not to let pride ruin their community. If the Son of
God could give up all that he gave up, including his own life for our
sake, surely the rest of us can give up our foolish pride and offer
our lives to him. It is very simply the gospel way.
...more
2min
June 08, 2018 Humble Patterns
Philippians
is one of the warmest and friendliest of Paul’s letters in the
Bible. The church in Philippi seems to have been quite healthy and a
source of joy for Paul. But it was not perfect. No church is. As we
read along in Philippians, we see hints and whispers that Paul knows
a few unhappy and unhealthy things about this congregation. There are
some cracks in their unity, some struggles with pride.
In
Philippians 2, Paul begins to address this. And he lays it on pretty
thick. “If you are even remotely Christian,” Paul says, in
effect, “then make me even more joyful by embracing humility.”
Many
theologians teach that humility is the core Christian virtue, the
characteristic that makes us most like Jesus. Humility helps us
realize that even though we all have gifts and talents to do many
things, that does not make us better than anyone else. Instead, we
try to see life as a level playing field on which each person does
her or his part. And at the end of the day, we pay more attention to
others than to ourselves. Let someone else compliment you for your
work while you focus on building up others.
We
all need each other. Each of us needs to be thankful for the next
person. This is, as Paul explains next (in verses 5-8), the pattern
established by Jesus—so this is the pattern to follow.
...more
2min
June 07, 2018 Standing Firm
Sometimes
Christians appear a little shaky. Some lash out at critics. In some
cases, because of fears that a “culture war” might cause trouble
for the church, some Christians urge people to engage in hardball
politics to try to get their way.
Make
no mistake: Paul tells the Philippians to stand firm and not to
compromise the gospel. We have enemies to face. But we have to face
them in a way that is consistent with the gospel and with Jesus, who
willingly suffered rather than lash out in anger. “Don’t be
scared of those who oppose you,” Paul says, in effect; “fear is
for uncertain people. But if we are certain that we have already won
the victory in Jesus, then we have nothing to fear, and our
confidence proves to our enemies that they have already lost!”
These
verses from Philippians deliver a daunting challenge. For Paul’s
first readers, this was not easy to do in the Roman Empire, where
hostility toward the church became state policy. Nobody would want to
suffer. Yet Paul says that suffering was “granted” to the
Philippians, as though it was a gift.
That’s
the way Paul saw it. To suffer for Jesus and like Jesus— well,
that’s a gift. And it helps the world see Jesus more clearly than
if we try to inflict suffering on others because of our fears.
...more
2min

FAQs about Today Daily Devotional:

How many episodes does Today Daily Devotional have?

The podcast currently has 2,850 episodes available.

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