Daily Devotion - May 7, 2025

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Pet. 5:5)

How can humility be a conduit of grace for us – and others? That depends on how you define humility. Humility is often not prized in our culture because it is confused with shyness or backing down, making it hard to understand as a powerful force for God.

Humility is a combination of two things: confessing our need of God and prioritizing the purposes of God. When people are willing to put the Lord’s interests above their own and confess that they will need God’s help to do that, then honoring God has become their focus. 

God has no greater priority than his own glory – so that his will would be done and his goodness would be shared. So, when true humility is present, so is God. His attention, power, and grace flow through the conduit for his glory that our humility supplies.

Remember Jesus’ greatest achievement was not done with pomp and circumstance, but with the humble offering of his life for us. His perfect humility was the greatest conduit for God’s glory and grace the world has ever known.

Others have said that there is no limit to what God can do, if it doesn’t matter which of us gets the credit. There is no limit to the glory Christ can receive, when we confess the grace we require to do his will and to receive his mercy when we don’t.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for demonstrating what it means to be humble through your servant life and sacrificial death. Help me today to put your interests above my own so that I may be a conduit of your glory flowing into this world.

Daily Devotion - May 6, 2025

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. (1 Thess. 4:13-14)

The most powerful Christian testimonies don’t usually come from “easy street” but are instead brought about by serious heartache. One such story came after the tragic passing of a young woman of faith. After she died, her aged father felt that there was little left in life for him.

But, then, this faithful woman’s recent words of hope in a heavenly future with a reunion of loved ones began to fill his mind. Simple, unplanned conversations with his daughter about her understanding of God’s promises would replay in the father’s mind. 

Though she was with the Lord, her ministry to him was still alive, echoing in the hope that her father began to share. He discovered profound comfort in the assurances of heaven’s promises. Faith in these truths that God had so graciously planted in his heart through those past conversations with his daughter restored hope and meaningful life for the father – and for those his life now touches. 

The beauty of our testimonies of grace can never be fully assessed until we are with the Lord. There we will see how the Lord uses us beyond all our expectations and, perhaps, beyond our lives to replace ashes of tragedy with new life and eternal hope. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that there is hope beyond the grave – restoration of our bodies, our hearts, and our relationships! May my life be a testimony to others of heaven’s promises so that they can share in this eternal hope.

Daily Devotion - May 5, 2025

Lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. (Heb. 12:12-13)

God’s discipline is an incredibly gracious display of the presence of God. Of course, no one wants to be disciplined, but when God acts in our lives to “put out of joint” the legs, knees, and ankles of our souls that are walking us into sin, we cannot deny he is here, he is real, and he really cares about my walk.

Discipline is evidence of God entering our world to rescue us from spiritual dangers we cannot handle or would not avoid without his intervention. 

So, God’s discipline is not contrary to his grace but is, in fact, grace, itself. Just as we discipline our own children for their safety and maturity, God disciplines us to turn us from harm and to help us conform to the image of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Yes, God sometimes allows difficult and painful paths, but his intention is always to lead us to the spiritual fruit of righteousness and peace. As we partake of this fruit, we are healed from this world’s trials and strengthened for our journeys by our Father’s loving care. That is why his discipline not only confirms that he is here, but also that we are his. 

Prayer: Father, when your discipline is painful, help me to trust your gracious plan for healing and strengthening me so that I treasure this confirmation of your presence and care.

Daily Devotion - May 2, 2025

You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Col. 3:3-4)

When all her older siblings had left home, my youngest daughter only had me to play with at the dinner table. One of our favorite games was “napkin war.” 

We would wait until the meal was mostly done. Then, one of us would ball up the paper napkin in our lap, wait for the other person to get distracted, and hurl the paper missile at the other’s head. 

 Then, the war of the flying napkins was on – a war that I always won because I have a better aim than my daughter. But, whenever she began to lose, she knew exactly what to do. She would get up from her chair and hide behind her mother. Because I won’t throw at her mother, my child was safe. 

The game reveals and contrasts the grace of our Heavenly Father. He could have hurled his wrath upon sinners, but instead he poured it out on his Son. Now, when are hidden in Christ, there is no wrath that touches us. We are safe. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I know that my life is hidden with Christ. As I am tempted by the assaults of guilt and doubt, please help me to remember that I am safe in your love because of your assurance that he took the wrath I deserved.

Daily Devotion - May 1, 2025

I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6)

When an architect designs a building, he plans all the details. He draws in the spiral staircase, the dormer windows, and even the attic and basement. But while the structure is under construction, onlookers need some imagination to envision the final product. It can often look like a disorganized mess until final stages.

The Apostle Paul describes God as a divine builder, working for our good now, and also planning for our future glory. But day after day our human frailties remind us that we are still under construction. God is still framing our lives and installing proper supports, because he is working to bring us into conformity with his ultimate plan.

We can get discouraged that the construction takes time, and that we are not yet all we desire to be. So, the Apostle Paul encourages us to be patient with this assurance: “He who began a good work, will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.”

 Until then, we are all “Christians under construction,” thanking God that, though we are not all we should be, we are not all we were or shall be. God’s not done with us, yet, but he promises to bring us to completion according to his design. 

Prayer: Lord, thank you that I am forgiven, even though I am still under construction. Give me patience and encouragement as your plan unfolds for my life, knowing you promise to bring everything to completion through Christ!

Daily Devotion - April 30, 2025

Do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance (Rom. 2:4)

One night in high school, I stayed out well past my curfew. I was having fun, and the time had gotten away from me. I was wrong, and no excuses would have made things right. As I realized what was waiting for me at home — a set of angry parents with arms crossed and toes tapping — I lost all desire to hurry back. Why rush back to the wrath I deserved?!

When I finally did make it home, my parents hugged me instead of scolding me. Being so long overdue had worried them far more than I anticipated. Their joy at my return exceeded their anger at my absence. 

My parent’s reaction was far different than what I had anticipated. I immediately felt more chastened than if they had yelled at me. They were so happy I was safe that, even when they later corrected me, I had no doubt I was deeply loved. Their kindness sparked resolve in me not so to burden their hearts again. 

Such is God’s intention for us. His unswerving grace, even when mixed with parental discipline, is to convince us of his love so that we turn from the sin that hurts him and us. The kindness of God leads to true repentance.

Prayer: Lord, help me not to sin. And thank you that, when I do err, assurance of your kindness turns me from sin to my Savior.

Daily Devotion - April 29, 2025

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” (2 Thess. 2:16-17)

If you only measured by the attitudes and actions of your life, would you be a sinner or a saint? If you measure by the Bible’s standard that counts even our best works as “filthy rags” before God, the answer is pretty clear. There is so much humanity in our motives and deeds that no one is going to brag of earthly performance before a holy God in heaven.

Since God’s standard for our actions and attitudes is perfect holiness, Jesus said, “that even when we have done all that we should do, we are still unworthy servants” (Lk.17:10). Because God knows our thoughts as well as our deeds, honest reflection leads us to the Bible’s conclusion: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).

That is bad news for everyone who hopes for a heavenly future – were it not for the grace of God. The Bible says that God our Father has loved us and given us eternal comfort and hope through the grace he has provided in Jesus Christ!

If you confess that sinner more than saint is your life’s label, but you welcome Christ’s grace, then you need not despair. Eternal comfort is yours!

Such comfort is a calling. It so changes the motives of our hearts that we desire to honor God with works and words that confirm to others – and our own hearts – the reality of his transforming grace.

Prayer: Father, thank you for granting the grace that is eternal comfort to a sinner like me. May that comfort be such encouragement to my heart that I have transformed desires to please you, and may my words and deeds confirm this change!

Daily Devotion - April 28, 2025

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zeph. 3:17)

A small statue at our door displays a Middle-eastern father with robe and turban, on his knees, holding a small child over his head. The child is “airplaning” over his father – arms out, feet back, and head forward, confident of his father’s grasp. 

What makes the statue so special to us is the look of rapturous joy on the face of the father and the child. The child delights in the father’s care, and the father rejoices in the gladness of his child. When we first saw the statue, we knew the verse that had to go with it – Zeph. 3:17.

In this portion of his Word, the Lord reminds us that the One who is mighty to save does not begrudge his care. The One who humbled himself to lift us to heaven, exults over us with singing. He rejoices with the gladness that he brings to our souls. 

When I must seek his grace for my sin, I come burdened by grief to my Heavenly Father. But the One who humbled himself to lift me from guilt, does not delight in prolonging my shame. He who saves me from the consequences of my sin by a mighty hand, holds me in love and delight no less strong. 

I seek him, return to him, and daily depend upon him knowing that he holds me and rejoices over me with gladness – which makes my heart glad and my life his.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the mighty hand that saves me, lifts me from sin, and holds me forever. And thank you for the glad heart that exults over me, even me!

Daily Devotion - April 25, 2025

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

We all want to experience intimacy with God. We speak to him in prayer, and we listen for his voice as we study his Word, hear sermons, and consider the counsel of fellow Christians.

But along with talking or listening to God, there’s another component to spiritual intimacy: loving others. When we express Christ’s love for the those easy to love and for those hard to love, our hearts are experiencing the nature of his affection.

By expressing Christlike love, we get familiar with it and Christ’s care becomes more meaningful and precious – moving us closer to him. 

So vital is loving others to intimacy with God, that the Apostle John says we cannot really know God at all without loving relationships. 

Sadly, we will meet those even in the church who do not realize this. They substitute doctrinal correctness and personal criticism for loving others, thinking they are honoring God when, in fact, they are distancing themselves and others from him.

If you really want to experience the love of God, love those easy to love, and those hard to love.

Prayer: Lord, help me to know you more intimately by loving those easy to love and those hard to love. Make Christ’s love dearer to me by how I love those dear to you.

Daily Devotion - April 24, 2025

We know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28-29 BSB)

We can throw the words of this verse around with casual ease, and not understand the richness or seriousness of its meaning.   

Laura Story’s song Blessings includes these lyrics: 

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy? 

What if the trials of this life – the rain, the storms, the hardest nights, are Your mercies in disguise?

 When I hear these questions, I think of Joseph in Genesis, speaking to brothers who sold him into slavery: “What you meant for evil, God has used for good.” 

Joseph was explaining to them, and to us, this profound truth: God works all things together for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. God was working Joseph’s bitter circumstances for a sweet purpose that would result in the provision of Jesus for you and me.

Even though we face difficulties and tears, God will weave all – from beginning to eternity – into his tapestry of salvation for us and those our lives touch.

Prayer: Father, help me to realize that you are using everything in my life – both bitter and sweet – to conform me to the image of your Son and to help others know him.

Daily Devotion - April 23, 2025

His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa. 9:6)

There are times when we all could use some good counsel — someone on our side who can understand our needs. In Scripture, Jesus is called Wonderful Counselor, but translators could just have easily rendered: “He will be a wonder of a counselor.”

What does a wonder of a counselor do?  We seek a counselor because we desire good advice. But that advice can only come when the counselor understands us (perhaps better that we understand ourselves) and reveals a path to help and heal. 

Our “wonder of a counselor,” fulfills these responsibilities with greater insight and care than any human counselor. He knows us through and through. He created us. He listens to us. He watches over us. He sent his Son to be like us. He knows our hearts. He knows your heart. He knows the path to help and heal each broken life. 

Because of God’s great love for you, Jesus sympathizes with you. He has endured trials so that he can understand your pain, and he rose from awful loss so that he can reveal a path to help and heal your brokenness. If you need One who can truly understand, comfort, and guide you from pain and loss, then seek the Wonderful Counselor, Jesus.

Prayer: Jesus, I’m grateful that you care for me and know me far better than I know myself. Now so reveal your will in your Word that I will marvel at your understanding, trust your care, and honor your counsel in my times of need.

Daily Devotion - April 22, 2025

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Eph. 5:25-27)

Have you wondered how husbands are supposed to live out God’s command to sacrifice themselves for their wives? It’s a tall order, for sure. We understand more of the obligation from its goal.

The apostle Paul says, “Christ’s sacrifice was to “sanctify” his bride [the church] so that she would have “splendor” to him. 

Giving oneself for the good and glory of another seemed far from the pattern of a friend whose idea of biblical headship meant his wife had to get his approval for everything she wore, to whom she spoke, and whenever she left the house. 

So much did he use his authority to control and dominate his spouse that she was constantly fearful and depressed – and, consequently, less pleasing to him. His selfishness (driven by his own insecurities) deprived him of the splendor he wanted in her.

As Christ’s glory was enhanced by the splendor of his bride, so also is the blessing of spouses whose goal is to give themselves for the splendor of another.

Prayer: Lord, help me draw understanding from how your grace builds up and beautifies my heart to understand how I can love my spouse as Christ loves.

Daily Devotion - April 21, 2025

The disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it [a demon] out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:19-21)

An old story tells of two widows living together in a cottage at the foot of a mountain. Soaking rains loosened the soil on the mountain’s slope, and a huge boulder threatened to roll onto their home. So, the women prayed that God would anchor the stone. But – the rain continued, the stone rolled, and crushed the house, prompting one of the women to say, “I knew prayer wouldn’t work.”

Well, of course, doubting prayer doesn’t work, but what is believing prayer. Are we supposed to imagine that our desires are God’s commands – that we are as wise as God about what should happen to shape his eternal plans? 

True faith is never rooted in our designs, but in our God – his power, wisdom, and love. Nothing is impossible for him, not even working beyond our prayers to fulfill his plans. Pray, believing that God can move mountains, anchor stones, and melt hearts of stone by earth’s blessings or trials.

Through such believing prayers, God will do even more than we can ask or imagine to accomplish his will on earth as he intends in heaven. When we pray, “Heavenly Father, I believe in your wisdom, power and love to accomplish what is absolutely best,” then we will be most blest. Trust the God of grace to be better than your prayers.

Prayer: Lord, help me to pray, and to trust you more than my prayers. Do on earth what is best for eternity.

Daily Devotion - April 18, 2025

When they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:33-34 KJV)

On Good Friday, we remember our Savior suffering and dying on our behalf. But his work did not start then. The seed of our salvation was planted at the dawn of humanity, blossomed in a manger in Bethlehem, matured in Nazareth, and lived through obscurity, poverty, persecution, and humiliation. 

Jesus’ journey eventually led him into the jaws of prophecy, as the King of Glory took the hill of Calvary, dying there for you and me. On Calvary, our Savior descended to a hell of affliction, dishonor, and torment to save us from the hell we deserved. 

Jesus did all of this not only for disciples who should have understood, but for those who heaped pain upon him. For them, too, he prayed, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”

That prayer would have been pitiably futile were Calvary the end of Jesus. But Good Friday is not the end of his story! Jesus now reigns as our Risen Lord, having rescued those who believe he suffered to pay for their sins and rose to save them from the pains of hell forever.

If you think such grace could not possibly apply to you, remember the prayer he made for his tormenters: “Father, forgive them.” He not only made the prayer; he gives the pardon for those who sin is as great – or greater – than yours. Believe the pardon is for you, and it is!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for dying the death that I deserve to provide the grace I could not earn. When I doubt the sufficiency of your grace, remind me of your prayer for pardon and the heart that makes it available by my faith in you. 

Daily Devotion - April 17, 2025

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, God said to the one who tempted them, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head; and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15).

Bible scholars call this Genesis verse the “first gospel” because it is God’s first promise to redeem a fallen world and people from the catastrophes of Adam’s sin by an eventual child of Eve. 

God refused to give up on those who sinned against him. Instead, he promised the divine provision of One who would come through the line of humans who had just betrayed him to redeem them. That’s a profound grace, but it was not the end of grace. 

God’s plan will continue to unfold until all the works of the devil are destroyed. No human conflict or natural disaster or family failure or personal sin has ever derailed God’s plan – nor will it.  

The Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil, even while experiencing an awful attack from him. Satan bruised Jesus – wounding him on the cross – but our risen Savior more seriously bruised Satan, eternally crushing his influence.

We should take daily comfort from knowing God’s grace is greater than all the evils of the world, including the failures of our hearts. Grace of that magnitude puts our problems in proper proportion.

 When our God is so great, no difficulty is beyond his power. When his grace is so sure, no sin is beyond his pardon. God’s grace triumphs!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for proclaiming the triumph of Jesus from the beginning of your Word. Strengthen my heart to stand for you by remembering the greatness of your grace.

Daily Devotion - April 16, 2025

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. (Luke 4:18)

We see grace emerge on the pages of Scripture whenever God provides for those who cannot provide for themselves. Most often these reflections are not the full story of God’s work of salvation but highlight aspects of his character and care that become fully revealed in Christ Jesus. 

We hear early strains of the music of grace throughout the Old Testament as God provides food for the hungry, strength for the weary, freedom for slaves, a family for the fatherless, faithfulness to the faithless, and forgiveness for the undeserving. 

The music rises to a crescendo in accounts of Jesus’ ministry to the poor, blind and oppressed, then climaxes in his death and resurrection, and continues reverberating through the ministry of the church that carries the music of grace to the world by his Spirit. 

The difference this concert of grace makes comes on the days our sin or circumstances have made God seem silent. Then the bass drums, cymbals, and trumpets of Scripture announce Jesus afresh in a symphony of praise to stir weary or wandering hearts to beat in rhythm with the assurance of his grace and to live in harmony with his glory.

Prayer: Father, as Scripture’s message of grace culminates in the ministry of your Son may my heart harmonize with his joy and beat for his glory.

Daily Devotion - April 15, 2025

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Pet. 2:2-3)

A minister friend from a tradition that only considered the Bible a human invention, wandered from the faith. Still, when offered a free trip to the Holy Land, he jumped at the opportunity, only to discover that the tour was loaded with ministers. 

He laid low, not participating in any of the worship duties until the final day of the trip. Then, he was asked to do his part by conducting a communion service at one of the sites commemorating Jesus’ resurrection. As he mouthed the familiar words about eating and drinking Christ’s provision “until he comes again,” the wayward minister discovered real faith. He believed the truth of God’s Word. 

The rest of the ministers continued to walk the historical site, but my friend immediately returned to the bus. He could not wait to return to his hotel to read a Bible there. “For the first time in my life,” he said, “I was thirsty for the Word.”

Too many people read God’s Word as a religious ritual to bribe God to be nice to them. When we understand instead that it the bread of life, providing nourishment for our souls, then we long for it. 

Like newborn infants longing for a mother’s milk, those who have been born again by the Spirit of God thirst for the spiritual nourishment of Scripture. That’s not a chore; it’s the joy that strengthens.

Prayer: Father, as I read your Word today, may you give me the nourishment I need to grow in Christ. Help me not to read to bribe you but to feast on the bread of life you offer.

Daily Devotion - April 14, 2025

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Col. 3:1-4)

To be “raised with Christ” (which is resurrection language) requires that we first die. But how could the Apostle Paul write these words to believers still alive? 

Their death was signaled by their baptism, when they identified with Jesus for a new life. We rarely think of baptism as a death certificate, but it certifies that the values and priorities of a previous life are past. 

Those coming into the Christian faith from other religions know this is so. Their own families may say to them, “If you claim Jesus instead of our God, or our way of life, then you are dead to us.” 

But that is not end of their story. Their baptism (and ours) also signals a new life spiritually united to Christ. Since he is raised, we are. Since he is privileged to sit at God’s right hand, we are. Since the wrath of God for sin was exhausted in him, we are hidden from it. Because he will come in glory, we shall. 

We do not yet fully experience all of these blessings, but by the grace of God we can already taste them. The Holy Spirit is the foretaste of these “things that are above” as he confirms them in our hearts. Trials and temptations are still here, but they no longer determine your future or create your identity. As Paul proclaims, “Christ … is your life!”

Prayer: Father, thank you for raising me from a dead way of life, and for uniting me to my Savior. Now when trials or temptations come, when failures or doubt oppress me, help me remember they are not my ultimate identity. Christ is my life!

Daily Devotion - April 11, 2025

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. (1 Pet. 1:3-4)

A while back, I was invited to a very fancy party. I was feeling out of place amid the high-society crowd in their tuxedos and black ties when a young man in tattered jeans, flannel shirt, and hiking boots strolled over to me and struck up a conversation.

I enjoyed the opportunity to converse with someone who seemed more like me in social and economic status. Despite his apparent poverty and casual attire, he exuded a relaxed ease and personal confidence. Only later did I understand why. 

Another friend asked me, “Do you know who you were talking to?” I had no idea. My friend said, “That is the heir to one of the largest chemical company fortunes in the world.” 

The man’s father had insisted he live without the benefits of wealth for a time to learn the “real” world. But the young man was still confident of his inheritance. He was not bothered by his current challenges because his future status was sure.

In a similar way, we can face real, current challenges without crippling anxiety, because our relationship with Jesus assures us of an eternal inheritance that nothing in this world can deny.

Prayer: Father, thank you for the inheritance that awaits me in heaven because of your gift of eternal life in Christ! Help me so to lay hold of your assurance that I am an heir of your kingdom that I am not overwhelmed by any deprivation or discouragement that current circumstance may bring. 

Daily Devotion - April 10, 2025

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. (1 Thess. 4:13-14)

God’s resurrection promises of loved ones’ security in heaven until our eternal reunion can provide profound comfort. My wife, Kathy, and I witnessed this vividly when visiting a grieving friend. 

Days before our visit, our friend’s daughter had been killed in a farming accident. The sweetness of the girl made the seeming senselessness of the tragedy all the more acute.

Still, with a deep faith in God’s ultimate care, the girl’s mother told us how she trusted God had already rescued her young daughter from the trials and temptations of an adult world. 

After the funeral, the family gathered for a meal. A neglected TV in the room aired a public service ad graphically warning of drug-infested streets. The ad caught the mother’s attention. She shook her finger at the screen, declaring, “But you can’t touch my baby. She’s with Jesus.” 

Despite her heartache over being separated from her daughter for a time, the mother was comforted that her child was safe in Jesus’ arms. She claimed the victory of grace that would reunite her with her child forever – a reunion that death itself could not deny.

Prayer: Father, thank you for the confidence I will be reunited with loved ones who are “asleep” in Christ and that we will be together for eternity with him.