Month: March 2026

Do you have an accurate view of our loving and holy heavenly Father?

Revelation 4:9-11

How do you see the Lord? Our view of God impacts three areas of life: 
1Prayer. As we come to know the Lord better, our desires will start to look like His and our petitions will align more closely with His will. What’s more, as we recognize His greatness and power, we’ll become more confident that He can accomplish mighty things through us (1 John 5:14-15; Ephesians 3:20).
2Behavior. Our understanding of His righteousness and goodness influences our actions. We realize, If God has these attributes, surely it’s in our best interest to obey gladly. And as we, too, desire righteousness, we’ll be quick to repent of sin.
3Faith. Grasping that Jesus is holy, good, and powerful increases our trust in Him. Knowing our awesome God and remembering His great works will further build our confidence.
Do you personally know our loving and holy heavenly Father? He desires that we have an intimate relationship with Him. But as with any good human friendship, time and intentionality are necessary if we’re to understand Him and learn His ways. Make a priority of knowing Him better, and watch how your prayers, behavior, and faith are impacted.
Bible in One Year: 1 Samuel 22-24

Seek God with all your heart, and you will find Him.

Deuteronomy 4:29-30

People long to be understood. This is because we were created in God’s image—He is a relational being who desires for His children to know and understand Him.
Just as you don’t want to be known for only superficial details, it’s not enough to simply know about the Lord. He wants us to learn how He thinks and feels, what’s important to Him, and what His purposes are. Of course, it’s impossible for us to completely know the mind of the Creator. Isaiah 55:9 tells us, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
However, we can better understand God’s heart and character by seeking Him and learning daily from His Word. If we truly desire to walk in His ways, we must first genuinely know Him. We come to know our friends better by sharing more experiences together. Similarly, we will also understand God better the longer we walk with Him and meditate on His Word.
God wants you to seek Him with all your heart, and He promises that when you do, you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). So, the next time you’re feeling misunderstood, turn to the One who knows you perfectly. Even more importantly, ask the Lord to help you know Him better.

God sometimes acts in ways we don’t expect.

Luke 19:28-44

We say, “Hindsight is 20/20,” meaning, “If only I had known then what I know now!” Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem must have been one of those moments for the disciples. It had appeared to be such a wonderful day for them—and it was, but for different reasons than they realized.
The disciples weren’t the only ones who had misconceptions about the Messiah. Many Jews expected Him to be an earthly king. When the crowds heard Jesus was coming, they cheered, “Hosanna!” which means, “Save now!” (Mark 11:9). They saw Him as their new ruler, come to bring salvation from political oppression. He raised the dead, so there was no doubt he could also restore David’s kingdom and free them from Roman rule.
Seated upon a donkey, Jesus resembled a ruler returning to his city in peacetime—one whose subjects would have lined his path with coats and palm fronds in celebration (Mark 11:8). Even the Pharisees were there, watching in indignation and saying, “Look, the world has gone after Him” (John 12:19).
This week, think back to times when circumstances turned out to be something you didn’t expect or when you realized God was different than you’d imagined. And look for an opportunity to share your insight with a friend or loved one.

Hardship is inevitable in life, but the Holy Spirit helps believers survive and heal.

Romans 8:33-39

Modern society has many solutions for unhappiness, but worldly “happiness” will inevitably falter. Only God’s transforming power can change someone with a broken spirit into a content Christ follower who understands his or her own value.
To find wholeness, a person must start by receiving Jesus as Savior—for that to occur, the sin that stands between him and God has to be wiped away. Then, with the Holy Spirit’s strength, he’ll be able to find the courage to confront past disappointments, hurts, and sins that perhaps left him feeling unworthy.
Someone with a sense of wholeness feels satisfied with life. Hardship is inevitable in this world, but it doesn’t devastate the born-again believer. Why? Because he knows God has promised to work everything out for his good (Rom. 8:28).
In contrast, someone who feels fragmented or empty often has the opposite experience. He may look okay on the outside while struggling within. This can even be the case with Christians who haven’t learned to experience God’s love fully.
The Lord can and will make His love known to believers who ask. And through it comes the wholeness that they have been seeking.

Jesus offers living water that quenches the thirst in our soul.

John 6:32-35

God created us to be comfortable in our own skin. In spiritual terms, humans are designed to experience peace, joy, and contentment. But many people go through life feeling fragmented and empty.
In John 4:7-30, Jesus talked with a Samaritan woman who was clearly feeling incomplete and disillusioned with the way her life had turned out. Attempting to fill her soul with human love, she’d experienced many heartbreaking relationships and was presently involved in a sinful one. This woman had dipped her “bucket” repeatedly into the well of human love to get the acceptance that she hoped would make her whole. But each experience left her thirsty. Standing before Jesus, she was a broken soul and social outcast.
People throughout history have been drinking from false wells. The truth is that only a relationship with Jesus can make a person whole. From Him comes living water that quenches our thirst forever (John 7:37-38). This means He meets our every need in this life. In a world marred by sin, we will not have a perfect existence, but through Christ, we can expect to live with a sense of deep and lasting satisfaction.

Jesus came to serve others, and He calls us to do the same.

Matthew 25:34-40

Stop for a moment and consider the purpose of your life. Are you living to pursue your own interests or success? Is your energy spent only on those things that bring you comfort or security? Perhaps your ambition is to change the world for the better.
All these aims—even the last one, which sounds so selfless—are futile and without lasting value unless the underlying goal is to serve Christ. As Jesus’ followers, we should model our life after His. And Matthew 20:28 tells us that even the Lord “did not come to be served, but to serve.”
Yet sometimes we can feel overwhelmed when we hear about great things other believers achieved when they responded to their calling. With God on his side, David led great armies into war. How could anything we do compare with that?
But God’s call for each person is unique. He’ll provide the situation, words, and ability so we can achieve what He wants done. Remember, He makes the difference—and we’re blessed to be used by Him, even if our part looks small (John 6:9-12).
Are you demonstrating your love for the heavenly Father by serving others? As Christians, we should all live in such a way that every evening we can say to Him, “Lord, in the best way I knew how, I attempted to serve Your purpose today.”

All who trust in God are invited to participate in His work.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Think of a time when you were asked to handle a task for the Lord but felt you didn’t have the knowledge, experience, or ability to do it. We’ve all felt like this before—and perhaps even offered God excuses why we can’t be the one to take on the project. But He doesn’t always use strong, influential, or accomplished people to do His work. In fact, He often chooses the opposite.
The Lord is looking for humble people who are totally dependent upon Him and willing to make themselves available for whatever He calls them to do. Moses didn’t feel God could use him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt because he wasn’t eloquent, but he became one of the greatest leaders in Israel’s history (Deuteronomy 34:10-12). David was young and had no experience as a warrior, but the Spirit of God empowered him to fell a giant with one small stone (1 Samuel 17:48-49).
By accomplishing great things through unexceptional people, the Lord proves that the world’s wisdom is foolishness. We have no power to save ourselves and no ability to serve Him apart from His strength and wisdom. It doesn’t matter how experienced you are or how qualified you feel. If you’ll simply depend on Jesus, make yourself available, and obey Him, He’ll use you for His glory.

Through Jesus, we can live without guilt, free from the weight of past mistakes.

1 John 1:5-9

For some of us, guilt is a constant companion.We live under the weight of past mistakes and the fear of future wrongdoing. Even if we try to move forward, self-reproach tags along.
Guilt that results from breaking biblical or man-made laws is legitimate. When we transgress, the Holy Spirit points out what is wrong and how to correct it. Then, in response to our confession, God offers us forgiveness and cleansing from guilt every single time (Psalm 32:5).
But some guilty feelings we experience are false. Where do they originate? There are several answers. Through lies and accusations, the enemy seeks to replace inner peace with turmoil and joy with discouragement. Legalism, too, can be a source of guilt. God’s Word establishes the way we are to live, but some Christians and churches impose additional rules. Childhood experiences can also bring out the negative emotion of guilt. Whether this stems from the aftermath of traumatic events or the feeling that we didn’t meet parental expectations, the experience can prompt us to judge ourselves harshly.
Romans 8:1 tells us, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” If you struggle with false guilt, ask the Lord to help you remember who you are in Him.

Like a master sculptor, God carefully chisels away anything in us that doesn’t reflect His character.

Hebrews 11:32-40

Most of us would love to have the heroic faith of the saints mentioned in Hebrews 11—it’s exciting to read about the great victories and accomplishments of those who relied upon the Lord. But the descriptions in verses 36-38, well, those are another matter, if we’re being honest. Enduring the process God uses to develop this kind of trust is less attractive.
Picture the Lord as a master sculptor standing before a block of marble. That slab is you. Envisioning the hidden work of art within the rock, He lovingly and carefully chips away at everything that does not fit the masterpiece He’s creating.
One of the first areas the Lord deals with is your character. His goal is to shape you into the image of His Son. And His chisel lays bare roots of sin and selfishness.
When anything or anyone becomes more important to us than the Lord, we have an idol in our life. To protect us, God sometimes uses adversity to strip away everything we have relied upon so that we will cling only to Him.
The chisel hurts—it sometimes feels as if God is taking away everything we hold dear. But if we trust Him and yield to His shaping tool of adversity, our faith will be purified and strengthened through challenging times (James 1:2-4).