Today Daily Devotional

“Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and . . . has crossed over from death to life.”

— John 5:24

I was with a group going house to house in the Philippines to share the way of salvation. We used simple tracts that featured the Bridge Illustration—showing Jesus as the bridge from death to life. In the doorway of a palm-thatched house I spoke with a middle-aged woman and her teenage daughter, who was nursing an infant.

The illustration pictured a chasm with a cliff on each side. One cliff represented death, with a figure of a man on it; and the other cliff represented life, with a symbol for God on it. The chasm represented sin, which separates us from God. The illustration then showed a cross—representing Jesus—bridging the chasm. Focusing on our text-verse for today, I explained to the mother and daughter that by putting our faith in Jesus, we cross that bridge from death to life.

“Where are you in relation to life, death, and the bridge?” I asked them. They pointed to the center of the bridge—halfway across the chasm. I went on to explain that Jesus spoke in the past tense, saying, “has crossed over”—and this means that we already have eternal life right now through faith in Jesus. They weren’t so sure about that, but they were interested to learn more.

Where are you in relation to death, life, and the bridge (Jesus)?

Lord Jesus, strengthen our faith to trust in you alone to bring us from death to life, and please give us the assurance of eternal life today. In your name, Amen.

“Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?”

— Acts 2:7-8

When I arrived in Iloilo City in the Philippines, I lived with a Filipino family for several months. They had two girls, ages 5 and 6, who loved having a kuya (older brother) in their home. When they started unexpectedly entering my room to chat with me, I realized that boundaries were needed. So I said in Ilonggo, “You need to ask first before entering my room.” Then they would approach my door and ask questions like “Do you have any sisters?” and “Where were you born?”—and then they would come right in.

I soon realized that I had used the wrong word for “ask.” I had used the word for “asking a question,” but I should have used the word for “asking permission.” It can be tricky to learn a new language!

Because the language barrier is so common, it’s symbolic of other barriers between people groups. It’s also the first barrier that was broken when the Holy Spirit was poured out on Jesus’ followers. The Spirit enabled the disciples to speak in other languages so that all who had gathered from other nations could hear the good news in their native tongues.

That miracle of language has happened in rare moments in mission history. But normally, missionaries like me have to spend many months learning the local language. It can be hard, but it can also be fun! And it’s a very important bridge for sharing the gospel.

Lord, help missionaries who are learning a new language. And may all of us listen more attentively and speak more clearly to overcome barriers between us. Amen.

[Jesus] himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.

— Ephesians 2:14

When you pour syrup on a breakfast waffle, the little ridges and squares in the waffle catch the syrup and keep it from spreading out evenly. So you end up putting lots of syrup on your waffle, and that may not be so good for your health. On a pancake the syrup spreads more easily.

The world is more like a waffle than a pancake. A map of Nigeria, for example, showing where the various ethnic groups live, would look like a waffle—except that the lines wouldn’t be straight. Now, we might think that when the good news of Jesus enters a country, it can easily spread all over. But barriers between the groups, like differences in language, culture, and history—and sometimes hostility—can make it difficult for the gospel to be shared with everyone.

In the early church there was a huge barrier between Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews). The Spirit of God had to work hard in Jesus’ followers to get them to cross that barrier. As Ephesians 2 points out, Jesus destroyed that barrier through his death so that people of all groups can be reconciled to God and to one another. But putting that teaching into practice is not easy.

What are the barriers in your life that can tend to block friendships and the sharing of God’s love with other people?

Lord, overcome any attitudes and fears in me that can set up barriers and prevent me from connecting with people who are different from me. In Jesus, Amen.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

— Acts 1:8

Here Jesus tells his followers that his purpose in sending the Holy Spirit is to empower them to be his witnesses. They are to bring the good news of his coming kingdom “to the ends of the earth.” Jesus’ witnesses testify to what they have seen, learned, and experienced, describing how the Lord has worked in their life and in this world.

In the book of Acts, as we read about the spread of the good news, we observe Jesus’ followers giving testimony about how they have experienced God working—through healings, answers to prayer, transformed hearts, and changed lives.

As Jesus’ followers, we grow in Christ by the work of the Spirit in our lives, and we become “good news” people. The message of God’s work in our lives and the Bible’s message about God’s grace in Christ become powerful aids in our witness to others. People are drawn to stories about personal experience. Sharing our stories can break down barriers and build bridges to help others know the Lord.

In what ways are you experiencing God’s work in your life, and how will you share that with others?

Ask God’s Spirit to reveal how he is working in you, and to help you see what he is calling you to do. We all need the Spirit to work powerfully in us as his witnesses.

Spirit of God, work in us to shape us into the image of Christ. Guide us to share with others how you are working in our lives. In Jesus, Amen.

Before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.

— Revelation 7:9

God gave the apostle John a magnificent vision of a diverse multitude—people from every part of the human family—forming a great chorus worshiping the Lord and proclaiming his victory over evil.

This vision portrays what believers in Christ have been laboring and praying for through the centuries. The goal of God’s mission in Christ is that people from all over the earth will receive his salvation and worship him. But this great chorus is not yet complete. Not all of God’s people are gathered in; many are missing. There are still language groups and people groups that have no followers of Jesus.

The original Greek word used for “nation” in the New Testament is ethnos, from which our word “ethnic” comes. Sometimes ethnos refers to major countries in Bible times, like Egypt, Syria, and Persia. Sometimes it is translated as “Gentiles,” referring to non-Jewish groups of people. And sometimes ethnos refers to smaller cultural and linguistic groups. One country can include many such groups.

So even though there are Christians in every country on earth today, there are still many people and language groups that have no Christians. As Jesus’ followers, we need to bring the gospel (the good news of Jesus) to them. What role does God want you to play in this task?

Use me, Lord, in your great mission to bring people from every group on earth into your family. In Jesus, Amen.

When Jesus had cried out . . . in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

— Matthew 27:50-51

At the moment Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn open “from top to bottom.” The temple represented God’s presence among his people. The innermost section was called the Most Holy Place, and God’s presence was focused especially in that room. A thick curtain separated it from the rest of the temple, and only one person, the high priest, could go into that room once a year, on the Day of Atonement, after going through an elaborate cleansing ceremony (Leviticus 16).

In a sense, that curtain was a lasting reminder of the barrier God had used to keep Adam and Eve from the garden when they had fallen into sin. It wasn’t that God didn’t want people in his presence. The problem was that because of sin, no person could survive in God’s presence. God’s holiness and purity cannot mix with human sinfulness.

But Jesus’ death for our sake changed all that. Hebrews 10:19 puts it this way: “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body. . . .” Jesus took away our sin by his death, opening the way for us to approach God again and enjoy life in him.

The way is open. Have you entered?

Thank you, Jesus, for laying down your life to open the way for me to enjoy fellowship with God and abundant life with you now and forever! Amen.

The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

— Genesis 6:6

Ancient Greek philosophers imagined a perfect supreme being. It would know everything and be in control of everything. It could not be influenced by people or other creatures, because that would imply weakness or lack of control. It could not have emotions or be truly responsive to humans. The Greeks called this supreme being God.

The early Christian church developed in a world that was heavily influenced by this Greek thinking. So Christian theologians often used those ideas to explain Christian teachings to Greek-minded people. Even today, our concepts of God tend to be influenced by those perspectives.

So when we come to a passage like Genesis 6:6, we might think, “What?! God regretted what he had done? He changed his mind? Human sin hurt God to the depths of his heart?” That doesn’t fit well with our Greek-minded ideas of a perfect supreme being. So we try to explain such verses away and not take them at face value.

But God wants us to realize that our actions—good and bad—affect him. When I hurt a friend, that puts a barrier between me and that person. Similarly, our wrongs against God set up a barrier between us and him. As we confess our sins to God and receive his forgiveness through Jesus, let’s pause and realize that those sins have truly hurt him.

My sins have hurt you, Lord, and I’m sorry. Please work in me by your Holy Spirit so that my thoughts, words, and actions can bring you joy. In Christ, Amen.

The Lord God banished him from the Garden . . . [and] placed . . . cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

— Genesis 3:23-24

God placed our first parents, Adam and Eve, in a beautiful garden filled with wonderful plants, wildlife, and abundant food (Genesis 2:8-25). God himself was present there and took walks with them in “the cool of the day”; but Adam and Eve fell into sin, disobeying God’s command to them (Gen. 3:1-11). And as we read at the end of Genesis 3, they were banished from the garden and locked out.

This can seem like pretty extreme punishment for just eating some forbidden fruit (see Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-7). Actually, though, a lot more was involved. God had entrusted Adam and Eve with representing him by managing this beautiful garden—to develop and care for it. But they shifted their allegiance from the Creator to following the way of the enemy—Satan (see Revelation 12:9). In doing this, they ruined their relationships with God, with each other, and with the creation. So God banished them and blocked the way to the garden.

Maybe you’ve been shut out—fired from a job, shunned by family members or neighbors, barred from society by imprisonment. Maybe you have been at fault, either partly or fully; or maybe you are innocent. Either way, it feels awful.

Thankfully, God provided a way to be reconciled with him. God sent his Son, Jesus, to defeat the devil and remove the barrier so that we can have fellowship with God again (Genesis 3:15; Hebrews 2:14-18).

Thank you, Jesus, for reopening the way into God’s presence. Amen.

No one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

— Deuteronomy 34:12

Moses remained committed to the Lord until the very end of his life. He was a child of God, a diligent leader of God’s people, a prophet, and much more. Moses is described as a “man of God” and a “servant of the Lord” in the closing chapters of Deuteronomy. He knew who he was and whose he was. That makes a difference in one’s life. Moses was faithful. Though he was certainly not perfect, Moses finished well.

When we think about finishing well, we realize it is not a last-minute commitment. We can stay focused even when we must take detours and alter our plans. When we fall, we get up with the Lord’s help. When things do not go the way we thought they would, we cannot allow our feelings and thoughts to get in the way of doing God's will. We know we depend on the Lord in all things, and we stand firm in his strength.

When our time comes to leave our home on earth to go to our eternal home in heaven (unless Jesus returns before then), we want to say, “I have fought the good fight . . . I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). And we want to hear our Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21).

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, help me to be fully committed to doing your will until the very end of my life. May you be glorified! Amen.

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

— Deuteronomy 34:10

What an incredible privilege to have intimacy with God!

The Lord initiated his relationship with Moses at Mount Horeb in the wilderness by appearing to him from within a bush that was full of flames but did not burn up (Exodus 3). God called to him, “Moses! Moses!” and told him to take off his shoes, for he was standing on holy ground. Moses obeyed God and was assured of God’s presence from that initial encounter. God instructed Moses in carrying out his mission, and he listened when Moses spoke to him. It was the beginning of an intimate relationship.

Being in God’s presence is a spiritual encounter, whether private or public. We cannot make it happen on our own. The Lord must draw us to himself. We can experience God’s presence anywhere at any time because God is always with us, no matter where we are (Psalm 139:7-18; Matthew 28:20). We may experience God's presence while reading the Bible, praying, worshiping, serving a prison sentence, lying in the hospital, or washing dishes.

Sometimes we are desperate for intimacy with God. Like David, we may thirst and long for God’s presence (Psalm 42). The spiritual practices of solitude, reading the Bible, fasting, and prayer can help us cultivate intimacy with God.

Holy Spirit, draw me near. Help me to cultivate an intimate relationship with God. Fill me with your refreshing presence each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.