Daily Reading
December 21, 2023
Everyone is trying to find their way to joy, and if not joy, at least happiness. That’s a good desire, by the way: It fuels our search. It keeps us moving forward. Folks who give up even wanting to be happy are deep into what might be called depressi...
Daily Reading
December 20, 2023
The angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” (Luke 2:13–14 NLT)As I reflect upon the mystery of the incarnation, a...
Daily Reading
December 19, 2023
Walk into any large mall, museum, amusement park, university, or hospital, and you will typically meet at once a very large map with the famous red star and the encouraging words "You are here". These maps are offered to visitors as ways to orient th...
Daily Reading
December 18, 2023
When I consider all that is at stake in this journey I am on, how vulnerable are my heart and the hearts of those I love, I am moved to fall on my face and cry out to God for the grace to remember. George MacDonald says it better in poetry:Were there...
Daily Reading
December 17, 2023
As we love him, experience him, allow his life to fill ours, the personality of Jesus transforms our personalities. The timid become bold and the bold become patient and the patient become fierce and the uptight become free and the religious become s...
Daily Reading
December 16, 2023
Every age has a certain spirit or mood or climate to it. Ours is busyness. We’re all running like lemmings from sunup to way past sundown. What’s with all the energy drinks? There must be dozens now. RocketFuel. CrankYouUp. Not to mention the coffeeh...
Daily Reading
December 15, 2023
Parents will often wonder where their toddlers learned to lie or how they came into the world so self-centered. It doesn’t need to be taught to them; it is inherent to human nature. Paul makes clear in Romans, “Sin entered the world through one man ....
Daily Reading
December 14, 2023
The armies of Israel have drawn up against the armies of the Philistines, but not a single shot has been fired from any bow. The reason, of course, is Goliath, a mercenary of tremendous size and strength, renowned for his skill in combat. He's killed...
Daily Reading
December 13, 2023
They will call him Immanuel, which means “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:23 NLT)I was listening to a few refrains from “O Holy Night”: “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices” and something deep in my spirit said, O yes, dear Jesus, we need hope. C...
Daily Reading
December 12, 2023
He enables us to love. He gives us the greatest treasure in all creation: a heart. For he intends that we should be his intimate allies, to borrow Dan Allender's phrase, who join in the Sacred Circle of intimacy that is the core of the universe, to s...
Daily Reading
December 11, 2023
Fear causes us to make agreements like, “I cannot trust you will stay, so I will do everything in my power to make you stay.” Or “I cannot trust that I will not be hurt, so I will keep my distance from everyone.” Or “I cannot trust that you will not ...
Daily Reading
December 10, 2023
In the gospel of John, Jesus extends the offer to anyone who realizes that his life just isn't touching his deep desire: "If you are thirsty, come to me! If you believe in me, come and drink! For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water wil...
Daily Reading
December 9, 2023
God speaks to Israel through the prophet Isaiah when she is surrounded by enemies and making every effort to appease them through diplomacy, gifts, treaties, and bribes, and says this to her:"You went to Molech with olive oil and increased your perfu...
Daily Reading
December 8, 2023
Believing God is good in the midst of waiting is incredibly hard. Believing God is good in the midst of immense sorrow, loss, or pain is even more difficult. Those are the times that our faith, the treasure of our hearts, is tested by fire and become...
Daily Reading
December 7, 2023
“A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’“But his subjects hated him and sent a...
Daily Reading
December 6, 2023
The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies. ... Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give nat...
Daily Reading
December 5, 2023
Today’s Daily Reading is an excerpt from Morgan Snyder's book “Becoming a King”The narrow way is filled with story after story of God unearthing a man’s desire — and then hiding him. David was told he’d be king, then spent the next fourteen years hid...
Daily Reading
December 4, 2023
The book “Killing Lions” is a conversation between John and Sam Eldredge about the trials young men face. [John] There are two basic approaches to college education. Plan A is merely “career grooming.” Choose the professional trajectory your life ...
Daily Reading
December 3, 2023
Christ did not die for an idea. He died for a person, and that person is you. But there again, we have been led astray. Ask any number of people why Christ came, and you'll receive any number of answers, but rarely the real one. "He came to bring wor...
Daily Reading
December 2, 2023
"Somehow," notes Os Guinness, "we human beings are never happier than when we are expressing the deepest gifts that are truly us." Now, some children are gifted toward science, and others are born athletes. But whatever their specialty, all children...
Daily Reading
December 1, 2023
The coronation of Jesus. Perhaps the most joyful, certainly the most triumphant moment in history, second only to the resurrection. For now the glorious kingdom will come, the eternal summer romp of men and angels. His crowning ensures the triumph of...
Daily Reading
November 30, 2023
Rescuing the human heart is the hardest mission in the world.The dilemma of the Story is this: we don't know if we want to be rescued. We are so enamored with our small stories and our false gods, we are so bound up in our addictions and our self-cen...
Daily Reading
November 28, 2023
Each person knows that now his body is the temple of God: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" (1 Cor. 6:19). Indeed it is. "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temp...
Daily Reading
November 27, 2023
Most people go through their entire lives without anyone, ever, speaking honest, loving, direct words to the most damaging issues in their lives. Pause for a moment, and count the times this has been done for you. Better, pause and count the times yo...
Daily Reading
November 26, 2023
You have a heart for redemption. Your kingdom heart longs for restoration and reconciliation, for justice, for the recovery of all that has been lost. What is the redemption that your heart longs for on a global level? What passions arouse your heart...
Daily Reading
November 25, 2023
Caring for our own hearts isn’t selfishness; it’s how we begin to love.Yes, we care for our hearts for the sake of others. Does that sound like a contradiction? Not at all. What will you bring to others if your heart is empty, dried up, pinned down? ...
Daily Reading
November 24, 2023
We need God to help us understand his Word. We can’t separate a walk with God from our reading of Scripture. The two go hand in hand. Like having a tour guide as you wander the halls of the Louvre. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I...
Daily Reading
November 23, 2023
I bought a new journal this week because my old one had filled up, and I had more time this morning than usual to linger with God before heading into the day. So I pour myself a cup of coffee, sit down on the couch, and pull out the journal. I always...
Daily Reading
November 22, 2023
In Romans 8, Paul says something outrageous. He says that all our sufferings are "not worth comparing" with the glory that will be revealed in us. The human race has seen an unspeakable amount of suffering. What can possibly make that seem like nothi...
Daily Reading
November 21, 2023
Now, rest is just one of the ways we receive the life of God. We stop, set all of our busyness down, and allow ourselves to be replenished. This is supposed to happen regularly. The original prescription was weekly. So why does rest feel like a luxur...