Sometimes the fact that our sins are forgiven sounds too good to be true. Or, maybe just too good to be acknowledged? Read this verse again. Do you believe what it says? Do you actually believe that because of what Jesus did, you’re forgiven and redeemed? Do you live like it is true? So many of us are able to mentally agree that Jesus died for us. We know in our minds that we’re forgiven. Yet we go on living as if it’s up to us to earn our salvation. We act as though we have to do enough right things in order to earn what He did for us.

If someone who didn’t know you watched you live your life, would they be able to tell that you believed this verse was true? What would your life look like if you lived out the truth that God has already given you forgiveness in accordance with the riches of His grace?

 So often we spend our time and energy focusing on our strengths. We do everything we can to cover up our weaknesses so that people will never even know that they’re there. But that’s the opposite of how Paul lived his life. He boasted about his weaknesses. Why? It certainly seems like a strange way to live. But Paul boasted in his weaknesses because he knew that God was most visible in the places where Paul was the most lacking. He knew that self-reliance was the opposite of what God desired for him. So he focused on his weaknesses, and that’s where he found God.

Are there areas of weakness you attempt to hide in your life? How can you look for Christ’s power in those weaknesses?

If part of this verse frustrates you, that’s okay! You’re not alone. A lot of believers still live as if the second half of this verse isn’t there. We may think God saved us and called us to a holy life because we were already doing a pretty good job at it, or that God loves us because we do more good things than bad things. But that’s not what this verse says. See, God saved us and called us to a holy life apart from the things we’ve done. What God did is so much more than anything we could ever do to save ourselves. His action of grace and love outweighs all of our actions. We are saved and called not because we are good enough, but because God chose us. Instead of letting this fact frustrate you, let it free you. The reality is that God gives us the freedom to embrace life—one that's no longer about performance. We can live simply by following the calling God has placed in our hearts, to the best of our ability.

Read this verse again. Pray that God would replace any frustration with the freedom He offers us through Christ.

The audience of this verse was surrounded by people telling them that they had to obey certain rules. These “strange teachings” demanded them to avoid eating certain foods in order to be okay with God. While ceremonial foods may no longer be the current “strange teaching,” we are still surrounded by people telling us that our faith is determined by how well we follow rules. What are some of the rules you feel are placed on you and your faith? Maybe you’ve been told that you’re not supposed to do certain things, if you really are a believer. Or maybe you have to do a certain thing for a certain number of times a week, or you're not a Christian. But such is not the gospel of Jesus. Instead, believers are called to rest in the completed work of Christ. It’s not Jesus and our own good works. It’s just Jesus. He did everything for us because He knew we could never do it on our own.
This is His grace.

Pray and ask God to show you any “strange teachings” or rules that surround you. Ask Him to give you the strength to trust and depend on His grace, instead of on your own efforts.

The beauty of grace is that it takes away anyone’s ability to brag. We were all equally hopeless before Jesus came along. It’s not as if Jesus came to save everyone, and found out that some people didn’t need His help because they were doing alright on their own. We all need saving. And the great news is that Jesus did just that—He saved us. His grace is the gift we get to receive, and one that we could never earn. That’s what it means to have grace through faith. It’s not grace through our own efforts toward perfection. It’s grace through our belief in Jesus. Believing in Jesus is the first and only step you have to take toward receiving grace.

Have you found yourself focused more on your own works than on the grace of Jesus? What can you do in your life to direct your attention away from yourself and toward Him?

We know that God forgives us and gives us grace, but do we really know why? What made Him want to send His Son to die for us so that we could have a relationship with Him? Why would the Creator of the universe care about us? Well, simply put, it’s because He made us. God isn’t a far-removed figure who created the world, and then left it to run on its own. No, He is here and as active as ever. He didn’t created us to leave us; He created us to love us. And that’s why He goes through so much trouble to show us His grace. Love is the reason God made us alive in Christ, even though we don’t deserve it. Love is the reason God saved us by His grace alone, instead of by our actions. God does everything for us out of His love.

Pray and thank God for the endless love He offers you, and for the fact that you have already been saved through grace.

There’s something inherently unfair in the idea of Jesus coming to Earth. He was God, so why would He volunteer to become a man? Why would He come down to Earth, when He knew what it meant for Him to be human? Not only did He allow Himself to become human, but He allowed other humans to torture and kill Him. Why? Because He knew it was the only way we could live with Him forever. God chose the poverty on Earth over the riches in Heaven, so that we would one day get to join Him and experience His riches for ourselves. That’s what Paul tells us here! Through Jesus' sacrifice we’ve been made rich, because we are now inheritors of God’s Kingdom.

How does it make you feel to know that God gave up everything so that you could one day experience eternal life with Him? Pray and thank God for what He did for you by coming to Earth.

You might look at the cross—the ultimate act of grace—and think that was enough. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He gave us the unfair gift of grace forever. But what’s amazing about the cross, is that it wasn’t just a one-time event. Not only did Jesus give us grace to cover everything in that moment, but He still shows us more and more grace each and every day. He’s like a bottomless cup that keeps pouring out. He gave you grace so that you could live an eternal life, and He still gives you grace for the Earthly life you’re currently living. How amazing is that? It’s grace upon grace! We have more grace than we know what to do with.

Pray and thank God for the amazing gift of grace He has given you. Ask Him for grace to cover your past, present, and future, knowing that He is willing and ready to do just that.

Do you ever feel like God’s grace just isn’t for you? Maybe you’ve heard church people talk about the idea of grace, and it sounded great, but something inside of you knows that you don’t deserve it. For whatever reason, you may think there’s something in your life that disqualifies you from God’s grace. But this verse reminds us such thoughts are not true. There is nothing you have done, will do, or could ever do to disqualify yourself from God’s grace. You can’t return the gift of grace. Though you may try to reject it, God will only continue to offer it to you, day after day after day. Will you accept it? Are you willing to take a chance and lean into what the Bible tells us about God’s grace?

Think about what it would do for you. Think about how different your life would be, if you no longer walked around with the burdens of guilt and shame tied around your neck. You’d be free. That’s the life God’s grace can give you, and it’s there just for you.

What if this verse stops after the first phrase? Imagine if it simply read, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And, that was it. Wouldn’t that be the worst thing ever? It’d be true, but it would also be hopeless. The good news is that the statement didn't end here. Even though we have all sinned and fallen short, it was not where God left us. Instead, He reaches down to where we have fallen, and He picks us back up. He offers us His abundant grace. He justifies us and redeems us through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That’s some great news!

Talk to God today and acknowledge the fact that you’ve fallen short. Let Him know that you know. Then, talk to Him about grace. Ask Him to show you what it feels like to be completely covered with the love and grace He freely offers. And ask Him how you can help others feeling the same way.

Have you ever taken the time to meditate on God’s creation? This week, find some time and space where you can simply sit to listen and observe what God has made. Find a place with beautiful scenery, or choose a part of town with lots of people. Think about how God made each and every thing or person you see—including you! When we have doubts about God’s character, we often forget that He is the Creator. He made the heavens and the Earth, the seas and land, and everything in between. That’s the God we worship. That’s the God who desires a personal relationship with us.

Take time today to pray, and thank God for all that He has made including you. Ask Him to open your eyes to His wonderful works, so you can give them the attention they deserve.

When God created everything, it was perfect. Life was exactly how God designed it to be in the Garden of Eden. But when sin entered the world, everything became distorted. Suddenly, the perfect world got flipped upside down, and now evil wrecked the Earth and all its inhabitants. In the midst of distraught, do you think God was ever tempted to scratch everything to start all over again? As you look around today, do you wonder why God hasn’t gotten rid of all the bad things in this world? It is because of His love. He loves people too much to destroy them, and there are too many people living today who don’t know Him.

Every day when we’re still alive, is a chance God gives us to tell people about Him. It’s not too late! His love is powerful, and His compassions never fail. Who can you talk about God to this week?

God is true—is this statement easy or hard for you to believe? Maybe it depends on what’s going on in your life right now. It is easy to believe that God, and what He says are true, when life is pleasant. But when things aren’t going the way we’d like them to, it’s not that easy at all. Still, God remains the same. No matter what is happening around us, God is still true, and knowing Him, still leads to eternal life. No circumstances will ever change God or His truths. We can find peace and rely on everything the Bible says about Him. Think back to a time when you doubted whether or not God was real, or true to His words.

What made you doubt God during that time? If you got over that doubt, how did you do it? Who helped you along the way? If you are doubting God today, who is someone in your life that you can talk to and reassure God’s truths for you?

This verse sounds a little too good to be true, because it often feels like God changes His attitude toward us based on our behaviors. We think that when we read our Bibles, pray, and go to church, God is nice to us. But when we ignore Him or close Him out from our lives, He becomes mean and vindictive. But we have to remember that feelings just aren’t true! God is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. He is as loving, kind, gracious, generous, faithful, and patient today, as He was yesterday, and as He will be tomorrow. That’s some good news we can find hope in!

How does knowing God will never change, affect the way you view Him? Would you talk to God differently if you were sure that He has loved you and will always love you? Today, pray and thank God for His consistent nature. Tell Him how His unchanging love has impacted you and what it means for your relationship with Him.

Have you ever been in circumstances you really didn’t want to be in? Maybe you had a presentation that you didn’t want to give, or a hard conversation that you'd rather avoid. Whatever those circumstances look like for you, you can trust that God is facing them with you. No matter what lies ahead of us—even when it seems overwhelming—God is by our sides. In fact, He is not just standing by to watch, He’s fighting the battle for us! Whatever struggles and difficulties we face, we can know that God has already handled them. Hard conversations and difficulties in our lives are nothing to the God who created everything. All we have to do is turn to Him. He is willing to help us fight our battles. He wants to be there for us, always!

What is a situation that you want to turn over to God? Pray and ask God to be your source of strength and encouragement today.

Do you have a hard time forgiving certain people in your life? We all have people like this. Maybe it’s a co-worker who rubs you the wrong way, or an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend that you still have hard feelings toward, or even a close family member you’ve never seen eye to eye with. How does it make you feel to know that God still calls you to forgive that person? It seems unfair, right? If God knew what that person was really like then He wouldn’t ask you to forgive them, would He? Well, that’s the thing: God does know what that person is really like, more than we do, but He has already forgiven them. He’s not asking us to do anything He hasn’t done Himself. That’s what’s crazy about forgiveness. God has forgiven everyone (including us!) So we shouldn’t withhold our forgiveness from anyone.

Who is someone in your life you need to forgive? What’s one step you can take toward offering that person forgiveness today?

Do you have that one friend whom you just click with? A person who, no matter how long you’ve been apart, you can always pick right back up with? Those are some of the best friends, aren’t they? The feeling you get when you spend time with that person is exactly the way God designed fellowship between believers to be. Of course, we don’t always get along with everyone, and that’s okay. But what God tells us, is that when we do everything in our power to live in unity with our fellow believers, we are participating in His grand design. When we set aside our differences and choose unity, we are behaving just as God designed us to behave.

Who is someone in your life that you can move toward living in unity with this week? Pray and ask God to open your eyes to the people around you, with whom you’re meant to live in unity.

At first glance, none of these virtues sound easy to practice. Where do we even start? If you feel overwhelmed by this list, just pick one thing to practice this week. Find people you share common interests and beliefs with, and move toward them. Or others who you might be different from, and choose to sympathize where they are. If you’re not sure whether or not you love someone, live like you do. You’ll find practicing acts of love will move you closer toward being able to love. And finally, try to be compassionate and humble, recognizing and being sensitive to others’ needs, as you practice putting others above yourself. This is the way toward unity. It’s not a simple step-by-step process, nor does it happen quickly. But with patience and effort, you can watch your church, community, and even your city be rebuilt with simple acts of unity.

Unity doesn’t come easy. Anyone who has tried it knows that to be true. In this verse from Ephesians, Paul reminds us that unity requires effort. It’s not something that usually happens naturally. Maybe you’ve experienced that within your own community: some people faced disagreement, and they simply gave up and stopped speaking to each other. Or, you have experienced the opposite: some people leaned in when there were differences, and chose to work through them instead. Working through differences doesn’t always mean reaching the same conclusion, but at least, they won’t disrupt unity. Here, Paul instructs us to “make every effort” to be the kind of people who choose unity. That means we don’t give up when we face differences—we lean in.

Do you have someone whom you are feeling at odds with? What would it look like to take one step in their direction for the sake of unity?

The biggest hindrance to unity is the idea that some people are better than others. Whether it’s based on social, political, or economical standing, the very idea that our circumstances make us higher or lower than someone else, is a direct threat to unity. What’s worse, it’s completely counter to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t come to just save those with a certain amount of money. He didn’t save only a certain region of people. And He certainly didn’t just save the cool folks! Jesus saved everyone. Living in unity starts by recognizing that none of us has any reason to think we’re better than anyone else. We all need the same amount of grace that God offers us. When we downplay our needs for others and for God, we grow arrogant. And we can never experience the unity and harmony we were designed for if we don’t first acknowledge our need for it.

What are some ways you’ve been proud or conceited recently? What can you do to choose harmony and humility, over hostility and haughtiness today?

Have you ever doubted the truth of this verse? We’ve all been in situations where we had needs that God didn’t seem to meet. Maybe you’ve had a mortgage payment you struggled to meet, but couldn’t find the funds. Or maybe you’ve been praying for someone you love for years, but still aren’t seeing any change. The good news is that God meets all the needs according to His plan and His purpose. We have an unavoidably narrow view of what we think we need. But God knows our needs better than we ever could. And because of that, He knows exactly how to fill them. The challenge for us is to trust Him, even if it doesn’t seem like He’s working on our behalf. Because the truth is, He’s working in ways we may never even imagine.

What are some areas in your life where you have a hard time trusting God? Pray and ask God that He would open your eyes to see what He is doing in that area of your life.

Have you ever stood outside on a windy day, and watched the shape of trees move from side to side? The sun shines through their branches, but the wind constantly changes the way their shadows appear and reflect upon the ground. Sometimes following God can feel a lot like chasing shadows. It can seem as though we’re always trying to get in line with His will, in the same way we might try to keep track of moving shadows. Thankfully, James tells us that this isn’t how God works. He isn’t a shifting shadow that changes however the wind decides. Instead, God is a consistent and faithful provider. Everything we need, we get from Him. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift!

This week, thank God for the gifts He’s given you. And thank Him for the fact that unlike shadows, He never changes or hides His love for us.

Why is it hard to say, “Thank you,” sometimes? We all know that we’re supposed to show gratitude when someone does something nice for us. When someone holds open a door, or gives us an unexpected gift, we want to show our appreciation. Gratitude is typically an obvious response when things are going well. But what about when things aren’t going well? What if we've just lost our job? Or our kids got in trouble at school, again? How are we supposed to say, “Thank you,” in those times? In this verse, Paul tells us that it’s God’s will for us to be thankful in all circumstances. Why? Because giving thanks reminds us of what God has given us. Even if you feel empty-handed right now, you have something in your life you can thank God for. It might not be obvious at first, but if we begin to open our eyes and look for reasons to show our gratitude, we’ll find them. And when we express gratitude, we’ll be able to live more content and peaceful lives.

What is one thing you can thank God for today? Pray and give Him thanks regardless of your circumstances.

Have you ever wondered what Heaven is going to be like? What is it going to look like? What will we think and feel? This verse in Psalms gives us a hint. When we enter into His gates, we’ll be full of thanksgiving and praise. Our speech will overflow with joy and gratitude. And if you want a taste of heaven on Earth, this might be the place to start. You don’t have to wait until you get to Heaven to give thanks to God and praise His name. You can do that today! You can look around and see things to be thankful for. You can think back on what God has done for you and be grateful. You can remind yourself of what is true about God, and praise Him for who He is.

What’s one reason to give God thanks and praise today? How can you express your gratitude and wonder toward God during a regular day? What can you put in your life to remind you to worship Him?

It’s easy to feel like God doesn’t have a plan for you. Many of us look back on our lives and wonder what God has been doing all this time. Where has He been? Why did He let this happen and not allow that to happen? If God is sovereign—in control of everything—then why does life look like this? Everyone asks questions like that at some point in their lives. But this verse is what we know to be true. Whether we feel like God has a plan or not, we can trust that He does. And not only does He have a plan for your life, but His plan will ultimately work out for your good. We know this is true because of Jesus. Jesus is God’s plan to give us a hope and a future. Our relationship with the Son of God is God’s ultimate plan for our lives. And we can step into that plan today! Talk to God about your relationship with Jesus.

Ask Him the questions that fill your mind. Speak honestly with Him. Tell Him about your doubts and fears, and your hopes for the future. God is ready to listen to everything you have to say, and is always working for your good according to His plan.

This verse John wrote doesn’t always feel true. Sometimes talking with God leaves us feeling like we’re in the dark—confused, uncertain and unclear. Even though we can feel like that, John assures us God is light. He is the source of all brightness. How would your prayers look different if you thought of God as light instead of darkness—that being in His presence brings clarity and not confusion? Would you approach Him any differently? For the next few days, practice praying to God like He’s someone who is in the light. Instead of viewing Him as this hidden thing that you have to find. Talk to Him like the light He really is. You’ll be surprised at how your view of Him changes when you realize that God isn’t trying to hide from you or keep you in confusion. He doesn’t want to make communication a secret that you have to work hard to discover. He's standing out in the open, in the light, happy and eager to be with you, and ready for you to experience exactly what He is—life.

What do you do when you find yourself doubting God? Doubting is normal, but how we handle it is what matters. Do you open your Bible to remind yourself of what God says? Do you share with a pastor or mentor? Do you turn to a faithful friend? All of these can be helpful and a step in the right direction—as opposed to ignoring the doubts, or stuffing them down and pretending they don’t exist. What will happen if you try to add information to those ideas? How about you starting to look around? Seeing God as the Creator. He made the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees, the mountains, the grass, and everything in between.

He is bigger and can handle your doubts. The next time you find yourself doubting God, go look at something He made. Then, remind yourself that the same God who created the heavens and the earth created you. And not only that, but He loves you no matter what.

James refers to God as the Father of heavenly lights, but the truth is, sometimes God feels more like the exact opposite—like the shifting shadow James mentions next. Connecting with God can be frustrating, sometimes it even feels impossible. But James reminds us who God is. Even when it feels like we’re talking to a shadow, we’re speaking with the source of life. Think about it. What if we’re seeing God the wrong way, because we have been approaching Him in the wrong way? To create a shadow, we have to turn our backs to the light. It’s possible that we’re seeing God as a shadow, because we aren’t seeing Him the right way—as light, as a perfect heavenly father with us in mind.

Pray today and ask God to open your eyes to see Him as the source of light instead of a shifting shadow. Ask Him to open your eyes to who He really is.

Where do you go when you need safety and refuge? Do you have people in your life to turn to, or do you rely only on yourself? Do you have something, or someone that you can rely on? What would it look like to seek refuge in God’s Words? To see His Words as a place where we find comfort when we need it? The Bible may appear to be intimidating and complicated, but within its pages there’s also a source of safety and security. In it, we find the truths about who God is and who we are in relation to Him. We see how He takes care of His people, and take cues on how to follow Him to experience the life He intended for us. We see stories of people who have failed to follow God, and we see stories of people who succeeded. In all of these stories, we find the underlying truth that God is good. In Him, we can find the refuge we’re searching for.

Today, read the rest of Psalm 18. How will your life look differently if you sought after God as a place for safety?

Maybe you read this and think it sounds nice, but too hard to believe. Does God really save us from death? Don’t we all eventually die? In a letter James, the brother of Jesus, wrote a letter and talked about death in a different way. He says sin, when fully grown, gives birth to death. And when you think about it, he’s right. When we sin, something dies: a relationship, our integrity, our character, the truth, honor, love, compassion—sin always kills something. It isn’t just about breaking a rule, it’s about breaking a relationship and a part of us. God is not saving us from the natural consequences of sin, but from the death of a relationship with Him—from the death of hope that can only be found in Him. Sin leads to death of something, every day, but when we live in light of who God is, sin doesn’t have that kind of strong grip on us anymore.

We can choose a different way, a way that brings life to ourselves and the people around us.

Have you ever been in a situation where you were proud to be the child of your parents? Maybe hearing someone say, “Oh you’re   ’s kid!” makes you beam with pride. Or maybe you’ve had an opposite experience: you can’t get far away enough from the reputation your parents left you with. Regardless of the reputation our parents started us with, God gives us a new identity in Him—as a child of God. Whether your parents got it right, or whether they were never around for you to get to know them, you have a Father in heaven who loves you and cares for you. When God looks down and sees you, He sees His child. This is the great love that He lavishes on us: a place in His family which can never be taken away. No matter what we’ve done, He views us as His children.

Do you believe that you’re a child of God? If so, pray and thank God for giving you the
perfect love of a Father. If not, who is someone you know that you can talk to, about what it means to be a child of God?

Given the chance, there are probably about half a dozen things we would change right away about ourselves. There are days we’d rather not look in the mirror because we see too many flaws, both internal and external. But in his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul tells us we are God’s handiwork. God is at work in us, and He will never give up on working in us to bring about His purposes. Nothing in us, good or bad, is wasted. This is more than just good news, this gives us purpose—a purpose rooted in the work He wants us to do. What are the good works you believe God has prepared you to do?

Today, take a sticky note and write the phrase “Child of God” on it and stick it to your mirror. Next time you see yourself, instead of focusing on your flaws, try focusing on the truth: your Father loves you and made you just the way you are!

How can you tell if someone loves you? Sure, they might tell you, but telling you doesn’t always make it feel true. Why? Because love is best demonstrated through actions. The way we show love for one another is by doing something, not just saying something. Telling someone you love them may mean a lot, but showing someone you love them means even more. God knew how we are wired. That’s why Jesus came to the Earth in the form of a baby, to live, die, and be resurrected again. God was not content with simply saying He loved us. God wanted to make sure the message was clear. You can't mistake someone's love for you when they died to show you. So that’s what Jesus did. People may have told you that God loves you, but if you want to know for sure, look at Jesus. That’s how we know how God really feels about us.

Do you have a hard time believing that God really loves you? What will you do? How can you remind yourself of the actions God took to show His love for you?

It’s easy to identify ourselves as our sin. We tend to think of all the ways we've gotten it wrong when we think about ourselves—messed up, fell short, and will fail again—sinners. But that’s not the identity God attaches to us. Instead, God views us as people who have been set free from sin and are now aligned with Him and His purposes in the world. Instead of serving sin, we serve Him. That doesn’t mean we won’t fall back into the sinful patterns we want to leave behind. But it does mean that they no longer determine who we are, and who we belong to. Once we choose to believe in God and start a relationship with Him, we’re given a new identity as sons and daughters. Nothing we can do will change that, or make it less true. We have been set free from sin’s mastery, given a new name, and a new place in God’s family. Sin no longer defines our identity. We are defined by the grace and love that God freely offers. How would your life look differently, if you truly believed you were free from sin?

Pray and thank God that He offers you freedom from sin, and ask Him to allow you to experience that freedom today.

Have you ever feel far away from God? Not like He’s mad at you, but like He is absent and distant from you. If you’ve ever felt your relationship with God was like one between you and some old, distant relative, you are not alone. Most people have experienced a similar feeling. But Jesus ensures us that even when we feel this way, God does not. Instead, He views us as His friends! Think about that for a second. God wants to be your friend, and Jesus—the person who came to the Earth, lived a perfect life, died to show us how valuable he thought we were, and then rose from the dead—wants to be your friend. We don’t have to approach God like He’s some distant and ancient old guy far removed from the details and concerns of our lives. He’s a friend who is both close by and concerned with our lives. We can talk to Him believing that’s true.

Today, pray and talk to God like He’s your friend. Don’t put on a performance. Just talk like you normally would talk, and allow yourself to grow comfortable in the presence of God: your friend.

Have you ever seen a child clinging to the leg of their parent? Children act this way when they are scared of something or someone, or when they want to be picked up and held. This imagery is powerful when we think about the things we symbolically cling to, even as adults—things that aren’t as protective and loving as a parent. When we cling to worthless idols, we are settling for less. We aren’t giving ourselves the chance to experience God’s best for us.

What are some of the “worthless idols” in your life that you can turn away from? How would your life look if you chose to turn away from those things, and cling to God instead?

This may be one of the familiar verses in the Scripture, but it’s something we all struggle with. We tend to seek first all the things we want and need, then hope God can throw in His kingdom as an added bonus. But that’s not how it works. C.S. Lewis famously said, “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” This verse communicates something similar. Seeking God takes intentionality and determination. It isn’t something we will default to doing. We need to ask ourselves, what are the things in our lives we are tempted to seek first? For many of us, these things won’t be obvious. But if we think about where we spend our time, how we spend our energy, and what consumes our thoughts, the idols in our lives will become clear.

Spend some time today praying and asking God to reveal to you the ways you seek other things first. Ask Him to show you how to seek Him above all else.

Have you ever had to shovel snow off of a sidewalk or driveway? You can only start after you figure out where the sidewalk or driveway actually is. Once you find the sidewalk, you can go from there. And as you work, the sidewalk reveals itself and you know the path to follow. Submitting to God is like trusting Him to tell you where to begin shoveling snow, which would make sense, since He is the Creator and Author of life. Sure, we can try to determine our own steps, or we can trust the One who made us, and the path we are on, to lead us in the way we should go.

What are the ways you’ve tried to find your own “straight path” on your own? How did that work for you? What would look different about your life if you submitted everything to God and trusted Him with the outcome?

During the Old Testament the Israelites had a complex sacrificial system. There were ceremonies and rituals to be observed, the right sacrifice needs to be made to God at the right time and in the right way. But Jesus changed all of that. He was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, and because of what He did on the cross, we no longer have to make the same offerings Israelites once did, or worry constantly about our standing with God. Instead, God only asks for one sacrifice—our lives. Meaning, He wants our lives to be a reflection of our gratitude for what’s He’s done for us. That’s our act of worship, which isn’t how we typically think of worship, like singing songs before the pastor talks. But what worship really looks like is a faithful and consistent offering of all we have and all we are to God. All of us are offering ourselves to something.

We all worship something, and the object of our worship determines what we believe in. If someone who didn’t know you looks at your life, who or what would they say you worship? What is one way you can offer yourself to God today?

It’s tempting to read this verse and think it means if we believe in God enough, we can do anything we set our minds to. But that’s not Paul’s intention. In the verses prior to this one, Paul talks about how he has learned to be content in any and every situation. He talks about how he knows what it feels like to be in need and what it feels like to have plenty—which he definitely did, given his experience as a respected Pharisee to an on-the-run missionary for Jesus. But in all these circumstances, Paul’s dependence on God was constant. God is the one who gives us strength to survive in our circumstances. Paul teaches that our circumstances are temporary, but God is eternal. And when we turn to Him for strength, we’re given everything we needed to endure our circumstances.

What is something you’re having a hard time getting through right now? How can you turn to God for strength today? Pray and tell God about your circumstances, good or bad, and ask Him to be with you through them all.