Loving Jesus Style

  Scripture: Daniel 4:1-3 (NIV) King Nebuchadnezzar, To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth: May you prosper greatly! It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation. Devotion: In this passage, the pagan King Nebuchadnezzar confesses that the God of Israel is the only true God. The king has just passed through a time of great mental illness from which he was delivered by confessing that God is God and he is not. In the chapter that follows these opening words, the king makes it clear that he now believes in God. He finally knows his place in the world and that there is a God who is in power and rules over everything. These verses stand as a remarkable testimony, not from a prophet or a priest, but from a man who once believed himself to be th...

  Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Devotion: This verse, located at the end of an explanation of how God is reconciling us to Himself, shows us the true power of the cross in the life of the believer. Paul gives us one of the most breathtaking summaries of the gospel found anywhere in Scripture. It is a single sentence, yet it contains the depth of eternity. Every word is deliberate. Every phrase is heavy with meaning. And every part of it reveals the astonishing grace of God toward sinners who could never save themselves. Paul begins by reminding us that Christ “knew no sin.” Jesus lived the only truly righteous human life. He never rebelled, never wavered, never entertained a sinful thought or committed a sinful act. His obedience was perfect, not only outwardly but inwardly. He loved the Father with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength. He fulfilled the law not...

  Scripture: Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Devotion: This verse should humble us. When we think we understand what God is doing, we often miss the mark. God’s plans for our lives and indeed the course of the world’s events are completely beyond us. We need to be open to God doing new things, things we never imagined He would do. The cross and resurrection prove that not even the devil knows all things. If he did, he would never have inspired men to kill Jesus. These verses press this truth into our hearts with a force that is both unsettling and deeply comforting. God declares that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. We hear those words often, but rarely do we let them sink in. They are not a poetic flourish or a gentle reminder that God is a little ...

  Jude is a letter written under pressure. Its author, who identifies himself as a servant of Jesus Christ and as the brother of James, had intended to write a calm and constructive letter about the salvation that believers share. Instead, the urgency of the moment compelled him to take up a different pen entirely — a letter of alarm, calling his readers to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. That phrase alone is worth pausing over. The faith is not a developing conversation or an evolving consensus. It is a fixed deposit, delivered once, held in trust by the church, and worth fighting for. The occasion is the infiltration of the congregation by ungodly persons who have turned the grace of God into sensuality and denied the only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Jude does not speculate about these men or treat their presence as a minor concern. He reaches deep into the Old Testament and into Jewish tradition to demonstrate that God has always deal...

  Scripture: Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Devotion: This verse declares that faith is essential to the Christian’s life. Faith is essential because it is the means by which we lay hold of Christ Himself. The Christian life is not built on self‑effort, moral achievement, or religious performance. It is built on trusting the One who has already accomplished everything necessary for our salvation. Faith looks away from self and toward Christ. It acknowledges weakness and embraces His strength. It confesses sin and clings to His righteousness. It admits need and receives His sufficiency. In this way, faith becomes the lifeline that connects the believer to the living Christ, drawing from Him the grace, wisdom, and power needed for every step of the journey. Faith is also essential because it shapes how we see the world. It tea...

Scripture: Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Devotion: The word of God is essential for us to see where God wants us to go and what to do. Jesus teaches us that we are to be the light of the world in the Sermon on the Mount. We cannot be that light if we do not receive that light from study and application of the word found in the scriptures. This brief verse from the longest psalm and indeed the longest chapter in all the Bible shows us the truth of that statement in one brief sentence. Psalm 119:105 tells us, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” It is as though the psalmist is reminding us that God’s people have always been a pilgrim people, walking forward into a future they cannot fully see, yet guided by a God who sees all things clearly. The lamp does not flood the landscape with brilliance. It does not reveal the entire journey in one sweeping vision. Instead, it casts just enough light for the next faithful st...

  Scripture: John 6:35 (NIV) Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Devotion: This passage stands as one of the most gracious and sweeping invitations Jesus ever spoke. He is speaking directly to the deepest longings of the human heart. Bread in the ancient world was not a luxury but a necessity. It was the daily sustenance that kept life going. By calling Himself the bread of life, Jesus is saying that He alone is essential for the soul. He is not an optional addition or a spiritual supplement. He is the One without whom true life cannot be found. When Jesus invites us to come to Him, He is inviting us into a relationship of trust and dependence. Coming to Him is not a single moment but a continual turning of the heart toward Him. It is the daily recognition that our strength, identity, hope, and purpose are found in Him alone. Many people come to Jesus for what He can give...

  Scripture: 1 John 2:1-2 (NIV) My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. Devotion: John’s words in 1 John 2:1–2 carry a tenderness that reveals the heart of a shepherd who knows both the frailty of believers and the faithfulness of Christ. He begins with the gentle address, “My little children,” a phrase that conveys affection, care, and deep pastoral concern. John is not writing as a distant theologian but as a spiritual father who longs for the people of God to walk in holiness. He tells them plainly that his purpose in writing is that they may not sin. The Christian life is not indifferent to sin, nor does grace make sin trivial. John calls believers to pursue purity, obedience, and a life shaped by the character of Christ. Yet he also knows the realit...

  Third John is the most personal and situationally specific of John's three letters, a brief pastoral note addressed not to a congregation but to an individual — a man named Gaius, whom John calls his beloved four times in the span of these fourteen verses. The letter addresses a concrete crisis of church leadership and hospitality. Yet, in doing so, John lays down principles of enduring importance for the life and governance of the local church. It is a window into the practical struggles of the early Christian community, and what it reveals is both encouraging and sobering. John opens with a prayer for Gaius that is as theologically rich as it is personally warm. He prays that Gaius would prosper in all things and be in good health, even as his soul prospers. The connection John draws between the flourishing of the soul and the flourishing of the whole person is characteristic of a biblical anthropology that refuses to divide the spiritual from the physical. John does not pr...

Scripture: Matthew 5:14:16 (NIV) “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Devotion:   This passage presents one of the most vivid and compelling images Jesus gives His disciples. He tells them, “You are the light of the world.” This is not merely a description; it is a calling. Light is meant to be seen. It reveals what is hidden, guides those who are lost, and brings comfort to those who sit in darkness. When Jesus speaks these words, He is not offering a suggestion about what believers might become someday. He is declaring what they already are because they belong to Him. The One who is the Light of the world shares His light with His people so they may shine in a world desperate for ...

Psalm 111:10 (NIV) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; All who follow his precepts have a good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Devotion: With these words, the psalmist reminds us that true wisdom does not begin with human insight, intellectual achievement, or life experience. It begins with God Himself. Wisdom is not something we discover apart from Him; rather, it is something we receive as we learn to revere, trust, and submit to Him. In Scripture, the fear of the Lord is not terror or dread but a posture of awe-filled reverence. It means recognizing God as holy, sovereign, and infinitely worthy. It means acknowledging that He is God and we are not. This reverence shapes how we think, choose, and live. When the psalmist says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, he is telling us that every wise decision, every righteous path, and every understanding of truth flows from a heart rightly oriented toward God. Without this foundation, e...

  Scripture: Romans 14:17-18 (NIV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. Devotion: Romans 14:17–18 offers a profound reorientation of what life in God’s kingdom truly looks like. Amid a chapter in which believers wrestled with disagreements over food, customs, and personal convictions, Paul lifts their eyes to a far greater reality. The kingdom is not defined by external practices but by the inward work of the Spirit, which shapes the heart and transforms the community of faith. Paul begins by reminding believers that the kingdom is not about eating and drinking. This does not mean such matters are unimportant, but they are not ultimate. The early church struggled with disputes over dietary laws, holy days, and personal freedoms. These issues threatened unity and tempted believers to judge one anothe...

  Scripture: Psalm 103:1-5 (NIV) Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Devotion: This psalm opens with a stirring call from David’s soul. This is not casual praise or half-hearted worship. David summons every part of himself—mind, heart, strength, memory, and affection—to rise in gratitude before the Lord. He knows how easily the human heart drifts into forgetfulness, how quickly blessings can be taken for granted, and how subtly anxieties and burdens can overshadow God’s goodness. So he speaks to his soul, urging it to remember, rejoice, and bless the Lord with fullness and sincerity. As the passage unfolds, David grounds his praise in God's character and actions...

  Second John is the shortest book in the New Testament, a mere thirteen verses, yet it carries the full theological weight of the Apostle John's mature pastoral concern. It is addressed by "the elder" — John's self-designation that speaks not merely of office but of earned authority, the gravitas of a man who has walked with Christ and shepherded his people through decades of struggle — to "the elect lady and her children." Whether this refers to a specific woman and her household or, as most Reformed interpreters have understood it, to a local congregation and its members, the pastoral situation is the same. A community John loves is in danger, and he writes to warn and to strengthen them. The letter opens, as John's writings characteristically do, with truth and love bound tightly together. John loves this community in truth, and so does everyone who has come to know the truth, because the truth abides in believers and will be with them forever. T...

 From AW Tozer's book God's Attributes "Did you ever stop to think that God is going to be as pleased to have you with Him in heaven as you are to be there?"

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 16:23-25 (NIV) Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. Devotion: This is a call to worship that rises from the heart of Israel’s celebration as the ark of the covenant is brought to Jerusalem. These verses form part of a larger song of thanksgiving, but even on their own, they capture the essence of what it means to praise the Lord with joy, reverence, and proclamation. In these words, David invites God’s people into a worship that is not passive or private but vibrant, public, and overflowing with the greatness of God. The call begins with singing. Worship in Scripture is never merely an internal feeling. It is expressed, voiced, and shared. Singing to the Lord is an act of delight, a declaration that God is worthy of joy-filled praise. When David says “all the ea...

Scripture: Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Devotion: With these words, God does not merely offer guidance; He offers Himself. He does not simply point out a path and leave us to walk it alone. Instead, He promises instruction, teaching, counsel, and watchful care. This verse reveals a God who is intimately involved in the lives of His people, a God who leads with wisdom and watches with love. The promise begins with instruction. God knows the way we should go, not only in the grand movements of life but in the small, hidden decisions that shape our days. His instruction is not cold or distant. It is personal, rooted in His perfect knowledge of who we are and who He is, shaping us to become. When He teaches us, He does so as a Father who delights in His children, guiding them step by step. His teaching is not meant to burden us but to free us from confusion, fear, and the weight of trying to n...

  Scripture: 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Devotion: The verse under consideration today offers one of the most tender invitations in all of Scripture: “casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” Though brief, it carries the weight of a lifetime of discipleship. Peter does not simply tell believers to stop worrying or suppress their fears. Instead, he directs them to a Person—the God who sees, knows, and loves His people with unwavering faithfulness. The call to cast our anxieties on Him is not a command rooted in shame or rebuke; it is an invitation grounded in the character of God Himself. To cast something is to deliberately place it elsewhere, to take what burdens us and transfer it to another. Peter’s language implies intentionality. Anxiety does not drift away on its own. It must be handed over. Yet the beauty of this verse is that God does not demand strength from us before we come. He does not require u...

Scripture: John 14:27 (NIV) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. Devotion: Following Jesus ' promise of the Holy Spirit to His disciples, He assures them that they will have peace. The disciples were probably not understanding what Jesus was saying to them. They had no clue what was to befall Jesus in the next 72 hours. Jesus’ betrayal, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection were not what they were expecting. They were hoping that Jesus would establish an earthly kingdom. Their hopes were about to be shattered. This peace Jesus left them and still leaves with us today is very much to be desired as much as the disciples needed that peace in the days that would follow. We still need that peace just as much today. Just as their word was about to go spinning out of control, the world today seems to be doing the same. Somehow, Jesus, who calms the sea with a word, can still ...

  First John is not so much a letter in the conventional sense as it is a pastoral theological meditation, written by the Apostle John in his old age to a community of believers he clearly loves with a father's heart. There is no formal greeting, no named recipients, no closing salutation. What there is instead is a sustained, circling reflection on the most fundamental realities of the Christian life — light and darkness, love and hatred, truth and deception, the Son of God and the spirit of antichrist. John writes because false teachers have gone out from the community, and their departure has left confusion and wounds in their wake. His purpose is to assure genuine believers of their standing before God and to expose the marks of those who, whatever their claims, do not belong to Christ. The letter opens with a declaration of eyewitness testimony that echoes the prologue of John's Gospel. What John proclaims is not speculation or secondhand report — it is something he he...

  Scripture: Romans 12 9-13(NIV) Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Devotion: This passage calls the believer into a way of life that is both beautifully simple and profoundly demanding. Paul does not describe a faith that stays hidden in the heart or confined to private belief. Instead, he paints a picture of love that is active, discerning, sacrificial, and persistent. The passage begins with the command that love must be genuine. True Christian love cannot be reduced to politeness, niceness, or outward gestures that mask an indifferent heart. Genuine love is rooted in the character of God Himself, who loves with purity, truth, and unwavering faithfulness. To love genuine...

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Devotion: These words stand as the closing heartbeat of Jesus’ earthly ministry, a commission spoken not in the quiet of a private room but on a mountain where the risen Christ gathered His disciples for their sending. These verses are not merely instructions; they are a revelation of God’s heart for the world and His ongoing presence with His people. Jesus begins with authority, declaring that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. This means the command that follows is not a suggestion or an optional assignment. It flows from the One who reigns over every nation, every heart, every moment of history. The Great Commission is grounded in the greatness of Christ. When Jesus say...