- Today's Devotional
Prayers of Surrender
King Solomon writes the proverbs to guide his son and all who read them in the way of God’s wisdom. Proverbs use short, memorable sayings to teach general truths about right living, not specific promises for every situation. In this proverb, Solomon presents two paths: one crooked, bent by human understanding, and one made straight by trusting God and his ways. He calls his readers to surrender their own understanding and trust the Lord’s leading in every area of life, believing God will make their paths straight...

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For every step of your journey.
Jesus’s Power Over Spiritual Forces
The boat barely touches shore before the next battle begins. Jesus and his disciples land in the region of the Gerasenes, Gentile territory across the lake from Galilee. A naked man stumbles out from the tombs. No chain has ever held him for long. So many demons possess him that they call themselves Legion ( Luke 8:30 ). Nearby, a large herd of pigs, animals Jewish law considered unclean, feeds on the hillside. The demons beg Jesus not to send them into the Abyss, so he lets them enter the pigs. The herd stampedes down the bank and drowns in the very lake Jesus just calmed. Wind, waves, and now demons obey him.
Prayers of Surrender
King Solomon writes the proverbs to guide his son and all who read them in the way of God’s wisdom. Proverbs use short, memorable sayings to teach general truths about right living, not specific promises for every situation. In this proverb, Solomon presents two paths: one crooked, bent by human understanding, and one made straight by trusting God and his ways. He calls his readers to surrender their own understanding and trust the Lord’s leading in every area of life, believing God will make their paths straight...
Growing in Faithfulness
A new generation stands at the edge of the promised land. Their parents never reached it. After forty years of wandering, they camp on the plains of Moab, ready to cross the Jordan. Moses looks back and reminds them why God let them go hungry before feeding them manna. God was humbling them and teaching them to depend on him instead of themselves, one day at a time. The hunger made room for something greater: real life comes from God's Word. Jesus speaks these same words to the devil ( Matthew 4:4 ). Where Israel failed to trust God, Jesus trusts his Father's Word above what he can see...
Jesus in the Wilderness
Heaven opens over the Jordan River. The Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove as John baptizes him, and the Father declares, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” ( Matthew 3:16–17 ). Straight from this moment of blessing, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. Jesus fasts for forty days, echoing Israel's forty years in the wilderness. Israel gave in to grumbling and distrust, but Jesus remains faithful. The devil tempts him with bread, spectacle, and power, and each time Jesus answers with Scripture from Deuteronomy. Jesus is fully God and fully human, and in his humanity, he shows complete trust in God's Word. He proves himself the faithful Son that Israel never was...
Provision in the Wilderness
God's presence has hovered over Israel for a full year. Now the people leave Mount Sinai with his law and instructions for the tabernacle ( Numbers 10 ). Complaints rise almost immediately. A rabble among them—likely non-Israelites who left Egypt with them—craves meat, and soon the whole camp weeps for the food of Egypt, the place of their slavery. They have God's presence, his direction, and fresh manna every morning, yet they focus on what they lack. Their complaining angers God because they are rejecting his faithful care. The grumbling so overwhelms Moses that he begs God to take his life. God responds with both anger and compassion. He provides quail and appoints seventy elders to help Moses carry the burden of leading the people...
Complaint in the Wilderness
Israel's song of victory still rings in their ears. Days earlier, they walked through the Red Sea on dry ground and watched the waters swallow Pharaoh's army ( Exodus 14 ). The people sang and danced, praising a God with no equal ( Exodus 15:1–21 ). Now the song fades into the silence of the desert. For three days, they trudge under a blazing sun without finding water. What they finally find at Marah is too bitter to drink. Even with the miracle fresh in their minds, the people grumble against Moses instead of bringing their need to God. Moses responds differently...
Constantly in Prayer Together
The book of Acts details the explosive growth of the early church following the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. At first, the disciples are trembling in an upstairs room, unsure of what Jesus’s death on the cross meant. After his resurrection and ascension, however, the Spirit emboldens the disciples and empowers them to share the gospel. At the heart of that transformation is their commitment to pray together. The early church “joined together constantly in prayer.” This was not a haphazard rhythm they occasionally practiced, but a way of life to which they consistently devoted themselves.
Growing in Humility
Paul writes from a prison cell, chained for the same gospel he once tried to destroy. The believers in Philippi face opposition too, threatened from outside and battling division within their own church body. Into that pressure, Paul doesn’t call them to fight harder or defend themselves. He points them to Jesus, who left heaven’s glory and walked the hardest road imaginable, all the way to a cross. If anyone had the right to self-promotion, it was Jesus. Instead, he emptied himself to serve his people and obey the Father. His humility becomes the church’s example for every hard road they’ll walk.


