- Today's Devotional
David’s Prayer of Worship
As King David’s reign over Israel comes to an end, he gathers materials for the temple that his son Solomon will eventually build. Willing and joyful generosity mark this time of collecting. Seeing the wholehearted devotion of their leaders, the people rejoice, and David breaks out in a prayer of praise to God. He worships God for his faithfulness, provision, and rightful rule over the kingdom. He acknowledges God as the giver of all things and humbly recognizes that it is God who stirs up his people’s devotion. Evident by their generosity, the Israelites’ hearts are fully oriented toward God. This culminates in joy, praise, and worship for the entire nation...
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Latest Devotionals
For every step of your journey.
- Devotional
David’s Prayer of Worship
As King David’s reign over Israel comes to an end, he gathers materials for the temple that his son Solomon will eventually build. Willing and joyful generosity mark this time of collecting. Seeing the wholehearted devotion of their leaders, the people rejoice, and David breaks out in a prayer of praise to God. He worships God for his faithfulness, provision, and rightful rule over the kingdom. He acknowledges God as the giver of all things and humbly recognizes that it is God who stirs up his people’s devotion. Evident by their generosity, the Israelites’ hearts are fully oriented toward God. This culminates in joy, praise, and worship for the entire nation...
- Devotional
The Sacrifice
Every morning and evening, priests offer sacrifices at the temple on behalf of God’s people. Many faithful Jews pause to pray during these times, allowing the daily sacrifices to remind them of their continual need for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Jesus tells a story about a Pharisee and a tax collector praying at the temple, likely at these set times of prayer. The tax collector’s prayer is rooted in the character of God. Knowing that God is merciful to receive the daily sacrifice, the tax collector asks for such mercy to cover him...
- Devotional
The Tax Collector’s Posture
Jesus’s story involves a proud Pharisee who puffs his chest over his spiritual accomplishments. It also features a humble tax collector who beats his chest in repentance before God. The tax collector has a right view of God’s holiness, his own sin, and dependence upon God’s mercy. And the shocker of Jesus’s story is that it is the tax collector—the one known for his sin and rebellion—who walks away justified (or declared right with God) rather than the Pharisee...
- Devotional
The Pharisee's Prayer
As people gather around Jesus, he has a story to tell. Jesus’s stories, or parables, are fictional tales that connect everyday realities with deeper spiritual truths. Here, he tells a story involving a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisees are a strict sect of religious teachers who maintain a high view of God’s law and their own traditions. The problem is that in their devotion to spiritual things, many of them have developed a proud attitude. Rather than a posture of humility and dependence, they look down on others out of a sense of superiority...
- Devotional
The Confrontation
As Jesus’s popularity grows, so does the hostility of the religious leaders. The Pharisees are a group of leaders known for meticulous devotion to God’s law, yet they consistently oppose the very One the law points to. Rather than humbly receiving Jesus’s teaching, they respond with increasing resentment, even plotting to kill him. Jesus confronts their hardened, wayward hearts, patiently calling them to the life of God’s kingdom, but they are unwilling to listen...
- Devotional
Worship in Prayer
The psalmist's voice rings out, calling people to attention. In ancient Israel, many of the Psalms are sung as God's people head toward the temple to prepare their hearts for worship. Psalm 95 opens with a burst of joyful noise, then slows to a reverent hush: bow down, kneel, come before your Maker. The psalmist’s words remind people of who God is—the great King, Creator of oceans and mountain peaks—and who they are: his flock, safe under his care. Their worship flows from the truth of who God is...
- Devotional
Skipping Meals
When John the Baptist’s disciples approach Jesus with a question about fasting, there is palpable confusion. Both John’s apprentices and the Pharisees have good reasons for fasting. They want to show God how serious they are about their faith. Like Daniel in the Old Testament, who studied God’s Word and responded through prayer and fasting, these men fast because they want God to return to set up his kingdom ( Daniel 9:3 ). So, when they see Jesus and his disciples celebrating and feasting, they are bewildered. “They must not be desperate for God’s kingdom to come,” they think. Yet, in that accusation, they miss who Jesus really is. The kingdom has come, and it is in him. He doesn’t fit their expectations. While committed to their faith, they miss the object of their devotion...
- Devotional
Tax Collector’s Feast
Before Jesus shares his parable about the patches and wineskins, he joins a feast at a tax collector’s house. The table is set by Levi, a tax collector whom Jesus has just invited to follow him. Levi has dropped everything to do so. The entourage sitting around the table this evening includes the “who’s who” of cheats and hated men. These people cooperate with Rome and steal money from their own people. For Jesus to sit and laugh with them is beyond radical. It’s jaw-dropping! Yet, through his presence, Jesus proclaims that the kingdom of heaven is here. The promised one has arrived. The people around the table, captivated by his presence, will be changed forever...
