Through The Bible in a Year - March 6, 2026

“He did not know that the LORD had left him.” – Judges 16:20

Samson is strong and broken. Blessed and struggling. Publiclyrighteous and privately compromised. His Sunday School face hides his real face.

Which is the real you?

If you’re wondering because you know what it means to be dedicated in your Sunday appearances but sexually compromised in private—you may need Reality check #1 from this account of Samson: You are not the only one with a problem. Samson, David, Judah,

Herod, the church at Corinth—sexual temptation is not new, not strange, not unique to you.

Reality check #2: Sexual compromise is often the gateway drug to spiritual distance. When we border off part of our lives saying, “God cannot enter here,” then we create a pattern that distances us from God when pressure comes in other areas.

Reality check #3: Men are not the only problem. Delilah uses her beauty for money and power. Women who sexualize themselves for music or movie careers, or simply for attention, approval, and success are nothing new.

“I weep for fear at the examples and temptations put before my daughter,” writes a father. “But then I weep with joy for the power of grace. There’s Jesus lifting the head of the woman of the night. There’s Jesus healing the woman who’s trying to cover her shame. There’s Jesus at the well transforming a woman tossed aside by multiple men.”

Why mention such dirty secrets in the life of a biblical hero like Samson? Because they are no secret. We are all people of claywho struggle. What God made for good like the loving intimacies of marriage, we warp and damage. But if Samson can be redeemed, so can you.

Respond: Are you living with two faces—one public, one private? Today, confess it. Find someone safe to tell. Then seek the help the Lord provides through his Word, people, and prayer. Remember: you’re not alone, and God’s grace is greater than your struggle.

Prayer: Father, I’m tired of pretending. Tired of the two faces. Tired of the secret life. I confess my struggle with this sin [name it]. Thank you for letting me know that I’m not the only one, and that I can come to you for Your help because your grace is greater than my sin. Restore me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 5, 2026

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.” - 1 Corinthians 10:13

A news story tells of Frank Warren who collects secrets—over half a million postcards sent anonymously to his house:

“I had an abortion and wonder if my baby forgives me.” “I give decaf to rude customers.”

“Everyone who knew me before 9/11 thinks I’m dead.”

“I was not faithful to my wife, but I still love her.”

Why do people write their secrets? Warren says: “They’re sharing the secrets with themselves. The greater burden isn’t the secrets we’re keeping—it’s all the energy we put into concealing them. The walls and barriers we develop between who we are and what we fear we cannot accept about ourselves.”

Which brings us to Samson—the dirty little secret of the Bible.

Why is this ugly character presented as a hero? A man who’s a liar, thief, adulterer, killer, bully? We tell the Sunday School sanitized version of this strong man’s life, but rarely read the details.

Here’s why we should tell all the details: No temptation has taken you but such as is common to man. In Samson’s strength and flaws, we are meant to see our own secrets. And we are meant to understand that God is affirming: “Such secrets are notbarriers to My love. Face them so you’ll understand how great is my grace.”

Despite his great strength, Samson shows us three things about human weakness: our core (who we really are), our capacity(what we’re really capable of), and our context (God’s plans for us despite it all).

Respond: What secret are you keeping that you think would disqualify you from God’s love? Today, hear God say: “It’s no secret to Me. I sent Jesus for that. Face it so you can be freed by My grace.”

Prayer: Lord, I have secrets I’m afraid to face—things I’ve done, things I struggle with, parts of me I wish You didn’t know about. But You know it all. Thank You that Your grace is greater than my secrets and my strength to overcome them. Help me face what I’ve been hiding so I can experience the freedom of Your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 4, 2026

“Caleb...wholly followed the LORD.” – Deuteronomy 1:36

Who’s the hero of this text? Surely Caleb—he wholly followed the Lord.

But who would Caleb say is the hero? The God who said, “I’ll fight for you. I will carry you. I have been with you. I will be with you.” Caleb believed that.

The Hebrew says Caleb “fully got behind the Lord.” The Greek translators used a word found nowhere else: “Caleb attached himself to God.”

Isn’t that the gospel? “God is our refuge and strength.” “He will lift us up on eagles’ wings.”

“As I am in the Father, you are in Me,” Jesus said. And the apostles echo, “Be strong in the power of His might.”

Picture Caleb like a running back on the goal line, trying to get into the Promised Land. He knows he can’t get through the giants on his own. So, he’s got this huge lineman in front of him—God. Caleb puts his hand on God’s back, his shoulder on God’s back, his head on God’s back. He’s going to get through the line. But it’s not his strength. He just has to keep his feet moving.

Whose strength is he depending on? The One in front of him.

To fulfill God’s purposes, we don’t depend on our strength, our courage, our resolve. We find out where God is going and get behind Him. We attach ourselves to Him. And when we do that, God leads us through.

Respond: What’s God calling you to do that you’ve been trying to do in your own strength? Today, stop pushing on your own. Get behind Him. Attach yourself to Him. Keep your feet moving and let Him do the heavy lifting by doing what he requires but trusting him for the results. Take the next right step and trust God to do the rest.

Prayer: Lord, show me where You’re going, and I will follow. Not in my strength, but Yours. Not through my work, but Yours. I’m not leaning on my accomplishment—I’m attaching myself to You. Get me through this. I’m right behind You, leaning on you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 3, 2026

“The LORD your God...will himself fight for you...In the wilderness you have seen how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son.” – Deuteronomy 1:30-31

God doesn’t just offer us His power—He offers us His care.

Remember Derek Redmon, the Olympic sprinter? Ten minutes before the race for which he has spent years preparing, his tendon tore. He had waited four years until after another set of Olympic games. Then, he trained and entered again, but in the heat before the finals, he heard the pop of a hamstring.

There he was in agony on the track, barely able to hobble toward the finish line. Suddenly, his father pushed through the crowd, through the officials, grabbed his son, and carried him across the finish line.

This is a picture of our God. He has said, “I’m not just giving you My strength—I’m carrying you. I’m giving you My heart so you know I’ll be with you and help you. I am your refuge, your strength, yourhope.”

God says, “I fought for you in Egypt—horses and riders thrown into the sea. I fought for you in the wilderness – against hunger, thirst, and exposure. And I will fight for you now.”

But he offers more than power; our God offers love. As a man carries his son—this is how God carries us.

When you can’t make it on your own, when the hamstring pops and you can’t finish, your Father pushes through the crowd and carries you across the line.

Respond: Where do you need God to fight for you today? Where do you need Him to carry you? Stop Trying to finish on your own strength. Seek the Lord and let your Father carry you.

Prayer: Father, I’m hobbling. I can barely make it. The giants are too big, the obstacles too great.Fight for me. Carry me. I can’t do this on my own—but You can. Help me to believe that You offer not just Your power, but Your heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 2, 2026

“The LORD your God who goes before you will himself fight for you.” - Deuteronomy 1:30

What are common denominators in the experience of any faithful church of God in any era? Here they are:

1. Giants opposing the purposes of God. That’s normal for any age that’s doing God’s will.

2. Persecution that is normal. It’s not strange or new. Often, times of persecution are when the church thrives most—when people are forced to their knees saying, “God, You must do something beyond us.”

3. Obstacles are also par for the course. If being faithful were going to be easy, we wouldn’t require God’s help at all.

4. The last common denominator – a God who is greater than everything or everyone else. The presence of our God is the game-changer.

Churches exist for supernatural change. There has never been a time when it was natural for people to repent of sin. Christian work has always depended on God doing what we cannot do.

Which means our present cultural challenges make our work zero more difficult. Why?

Because God’s work never depended on us in the first place. Always we could do nothing apart from him, but we can also do all things he requires through Him who strengthens us.

Is it hard to raise Christian kids in this culture? Yes—that’s a giant challenge!  But our God is bigger.

Is it hard to be a faithful, united church despite generational, cultural, ethnic, political, and economic differences? Yes, that’s a giant concern! Our God is bigger.

Is it hard to do ministry when friends and family and bosses pressure us to yield to the present values of a secular culture? Yes—that’s a giant problem! Our God is bigger.

Remember it is not the size of the dog in the fight that matters nearly so much as the size of the fight in the dog. And greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Respond: What obstacle feels impossibly big right now? Remember: churches exist for supernatural change. What God calls you to accomplish or oppose has never been about your ability—it’s always been about God’s. Trust Him to do what you cannot against the obstacles that seem giant.

Prayer: Supernatural God, I’ve been looking at obstacles like they’re giants bigger than You. Forgive me. You’ve always worked through impossible situations. You specialize in what I cannot do. Fight for me. Work through me. Do the impossible. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 27, 2026

“Yet you would not go up, but rebelled...and you murmured in your tents.”
-Deuteronomy 1:26-27

When the giants of fear and doubt loom large and God looks small, we have three bad options to try:

Option 1: Turtle Mode – Just pull in. Stay put. Don’t go forward. Retreat into what’s comfortable. Conclude, “It’s too hard to proceed on the mission God is calling me to.”

But here’s the problem: Giants don’t run from turtles. When we go into turtle mode, we never see the power of God working in our lives.

Option 2: Crawfish Mode – Don’t just pull inward, look backward. “It wasn’t so bad back in Egypt. Those were the good old days.” Never mind that we were slaves, making bricks without straw, watching our children murdered. Whenever the church says “the good old days are behind us,” we have reason not to move forward. We don’t just go into turtle mode—we back up.

Option 3: Rebellion – In this passage, God calls not moving forward in His purposes exactly what it is: rebellion. “It’s a good land I’m giving you,” God says. “Because I said so.” Not to do what God says is not simply regrettable; ultimately it’s rebellion.

When our hurt and bitterness is a giant our forgiveness can’t get past—that’s rebellion.

When our need for profit or position is a giant our integrity can’t get past—that’s rebellion.

When our loneliness or lust is a giant our purity can’t get past—God says, “I love you too much to call this anything other than rebellion that will hurt you.”

Respond: Which mode could you be in right now? Turtle (staying put)? Crawfish (backing up)? Rebellion (refusing to move forward)? Today, confess it and ask God to help you move forward in His calling.

Prayer: Father, I confess if I’ve been in turtle/crawfish/rebellion mode. I sometimes resist Your calling because the giants opposing me can seem too big for you in my too-easily-doubting heart. Forgive me. You’ve called me forward—not because it’s easy, but because it’s good. Help me trust You and move forward in faith. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 26, 2026

“They took in their hands some of the fruit of the land...and said, ‘It is a good land.’ Yet you would not go up, but rebelled.” – Deuteronomy 1:25-26

Remember the internet sensation? A computer-generated word that some people heard as “Yanny” while others heard “Laurel”—the exact same sound, heard as completely different words. What you heard had little to do with what came out of your computer. It had everything to do with what was inside you—your background, your state of mind, your language patterns.

The same thing happened when Israel sent spies into the Promised Land. Some heard, “Great grapes!” Others heard, “Giant people!” And which report you heard depended not on what the spies said, but on what was going on inside you.

This still happens in our hearts every time God calls us to challenging responsibilities:

Should we forego a promotion for our family’s spiritual good? Do we hear warnings about Giants to fear or hear God’s promises of grapes to harvest?

Should we give sacrificially to God’s purposes? Giants or grapes?

Should we have/adopt/foster a child? Giants or grapes?

Should we speak to a friend about our faith? Giants or grapes?

Grape reports are opportunities to see God work. Giant reports are obstacles standing in the way of God’s work. Which we hear largely determines what we believe.

Here’s the truth: When your God is big, your problems are small. But when your God is small, your problems are giant.

The people looked at the giants in the promised land and said, “God hates us. He brought us here to destroy us.” But the giants were GIANT only because God was small. The immature people of God perceived his as mean, petty, and unable to care for His people.

Respond: What “giant” is looming in your life right now? Be honest—is it really the obstacle that’s giant, or has your view of God become small? Today, ask God to show you how big He really is so that you can fulfill his calling through confidence in his greatness and goodness.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for shrinking You down to the size of my faith. You are bigger than my obstacles, stronger than my giants, greater than my problems. Help me hear “grapes” when I’m tempted to hear reports of “giants.” Make Yourself big in my heart again so that I will be faithful to yours. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 25, 2026

“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

When Tiger Woods put on the green jacket after his 2019 Masters victory, he said two words: “It fits.”

As though the coat had been specially tailored for him. But what if all he had experienced prior to that victory – the news of the family betrayals, the DUI, the embarrassment, the broken promises, the body breaking down, all the pain – also fit? Could it possibly be that it all fit in a way he never wanted or perceived, but God was designing for him?

That green jacket was the convergence of the many colors of his past. And maybe, just maybe, we were seeing a better man as a consequence of it all – God taking what was evil and using it forspiritual good that was far more important and lasting than anygreen jacket.

This is what God does. He takes twisted vines and with an artist’s hand turns them into baskets of beauty.

Yes, the baskets of our lives have sometimes been formed from disappointments, failures, and shame. The shattered marriage, the addictions, the unfulfilled dreams, the lost job, the test failed,or friendships broken. Everything we’ve done wrong and everything done wrong to us.

God bundles it all up and says, “What you meant for evil and what was done to you in evil, I mean for it to be the means by which you will hold and treasure the good I intend for you—to save your soul eternity, to give you life with the hope that no evil is the final chapter for you, and to bring you before me in eternity with nothing but joy in what I have done for you.”

Respond: What’s in your basket today? What pain, what regret, what twisted vine needs to be given to God’s hand? Believe that He can take it all and use it for good—for your redemption and for showing his salvation to those whose lives yours touches.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, take my basket—all the twisted, ugly vines of my life. The evil I’ve done and the evil done to me. The pain, the regret, the shame. Bundle it all up and use it for good – for my good and for the good of those whose lives my life touches. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 24, 2026

“God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”* – Genesis 22:8

Abraham is about to sacrifice his son—the son he waitedthrough the decades of old age, the son he loved. But now God says, “Take your son, your only son whom you love” and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. What tragedy! Abraham must think this is the consequence of all his failings.

This is the ordinary expectation of humanity: You mess up, you pay up. Fix your wrongs, or pay your dues. You are the one who must make things right with God through your sacrifice.

Yet, when Abraham’s son, Isaac, asks, “Where is the lamb” we are supposed to sacrifice? Abraham speaks more than he understands: “God will provide for himself the lamb.”

God will provide what He requires. That’s the core definition of grace.

God requires holiness—entire, complete, perfect holiness. “Be holy for I am holy.” How can we do that? We can’t. But God provides what we cannot.

God’s provision is not through your measuring up. Not your extraordinary works. Not a sacrifice of the fruit of your body for the sin of your soul. God provides the lamb. For all of us, he ultimately provides the Lamb of God, Jesus, who takes away the sin of the world.

This is the first explicit mention of substitutionary sacrifice in the Bible: Instead of Abraham’s sacrifice of his son, God says he will provide the sacrifice, and we know it will ultimately be his Son. God provides Jesus for us.

Two thousand years later, Jesus carries wood on His back to the same mountain and offers Himself for your sin and mine. Through it all God is saying, “I told you I would provide.”

Respond: What are you trying to sacrifice to make yourself right with God? What measuring up, what good works, what religious activity? Today, stop, trusting what sacrifice you can make to make things right with God. Trust what God provides instead.

Prayer: Father, forgive me for trying to earn what You freely give. I cannot provide enough sacrifice to make things right with you. I cannot measure up. I cannot be holy enough. But You provide what You require. Thank You for the Lamb. Thank You for Jesus who paid it all. I trust in the sufficiency of His provision. In His name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 23, 2026

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” – Genesis 50:20

We all want 20-20 vision. But what we see in Genesis 50:20 is “50-20 vision”—the ability to see that God means for good, what others intend for evil.

This isn’t rose-colored glasses. Joseph doesn’t say that his brothers’ betrayal didn’t really hurt. He calls the wrong what it is: “You did me evil.” And yet at the same time his heart of faith affirmed: “But I believe God has been working in all this.”

This is profound faith. Faith to see beyond the immediate circumstances. Beyond the betrayal. Beyond the pain. To see, with the eyes of faith, the blessings God is still providing.

The good God was doing was enabling Joseph to help the covenant people through famine. By maintaining the covenant people, God also maintained the nation from which Jesus would come. Ultimately, through Joseph, many people were saved—including everyone who believes in Jesus Christ today. We are a direct consequence of the evil Joseph’s brothers did that God meant for good.

Any one of us, standing at the cross, would have also said, “This is wrong. This is evil. This cannot possibly be right.” It wasn’t right. But God meant it for good—to save many.

Can God take what is evil and use it for good? Yes. He bundles up the twisted, ugly vines of our lives—the disappointments, the betrayals, the failures—and turns them into his baskets that hold future blessings.

Respond: What evil has been done to you that you cannot see God using for good? What twisted vine of pain in your life needs to be given to the Artist’s hand? Today, ask God for 50-20 vision—to see by faith that He’s filling the future with good, despite the evil others intend.

Prayer: Lord, give me 50-20 vision. Help me see beyond my circumstances to Your purposes. Take the evil that’s been done to me, the pain I’ve endured, the twistedness of my story—and use it for good. Save through what I’ve suffered. Fill up my basket of ugly vines with the beauty of your purposes. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 20, 2026

“Do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones.” – Genesis 50:21

Joseph’s brothers knew payback time had come. Their father, Jacob, was dead—the only shield protecting them from Joseph’s revenge. They trembled: “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil we did to him.”

If vengeance is a meal best served cold, this would be a refrigerator feast. Joseph, whom the brothers had betrayed, controlled their fate. They were in deep trouble.

But Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Not rage. Not vengeance. Not a death sentence. Instead, mercy: “Do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones.”

These are the same words God used with their ancestor, Abraham: “I will provide.” Now Joseph, to his abusers, speaks God’s mercy: “You betrayed me. I will provide for you.”

We should feel the pain behind Joseph’s tears. “You threw me in a pit. I was your brother, and you betrayed me. You sent word to my father with blood on my coat that I was dead. I’ve lived the hurt and consequences for decades. The betrayal was a moment for you. I’ve lived a life of hurt because of it.” And still: “I will provide for you.”

How can someone show such mercy after such hurt? Because redemption isn’t about controlling circumstances or fallen people around us. It’s about what’s happening inside us. Joseph’s heart had been made right with God, and that was overflowing with mercy—filled up with God’s grace, now fountaining over to others.

Respond: Who has hurt you deeply? Betrayed you? Abused you? What would it look like to say to them, “I will provide mercy for you”? I know that sounds unreasonable, but it’s what Jesus has done for us, and the reality of his mercy becomes all the more precious and powerful to us when we are merciful. So, ask God to fill your heart with His grace so it fountains over to those who’ve wounded you, and at the same time it will fill you.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I cannot manufacture mercy for those who’ve hurt me on my own. So, please fill me with Your grace until it overflows. Heal my heart. Make me right with You. Then fountain Your mercy through me to those I never thought I could forgive to know the fuller joy of your forgiveness in me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 19, 2026

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” – Genesis 50:20

Joseph went from pit to palace—thrown into a pit by his brothers, sold as a slave, falsely accused and imprisoned, then elevated to second-in-command of Egypt. Dead again and again, then alive again. A kind of resurrection.

But resurrection without redemption isn’t enough.

Even in the palace, Joseph was separated from his family. He remembered the betrayal. He knew it was evil. The man who had new life still had baggage—hurt, pain, memories of abuse from those he loved. Even with resurrection, there was pain within.

I am reminded that even when we have new life externally, it’s not made right if things aren’t right internally. If our hearts are still struggling, new life is not enough.

We don’t just need a do-over. We need a makeover. We don’t just need to know we can get back on top—we need to know things can be made right with the people and problems of our past. We need resurrection and redemption.

Regret and guilt and shame—are not all made right by resurrection alone. Think of when Tiger Woods surprisingly won the Masters late in his career – it was hailed as a resurrection, but it happened after an epic fall from grace with his family that still haunted him. He said, “My regret will last a lifetime.” New life, but a heart still in pain.

The message of Joseph’s life isn’t just that we can rise after a fall, but that God can heal our hearts, too. The new life that God provides links redemption to resurrection, providing new hope and purpose with new life.

Respond: What “pit to palace” story are you living? Where have you experienced new life, but your heart still isn’t right? What baggage from the past still weighs you down? Today, cry out for more than resurrection—ask God for redemption, redeeming what is past with assurance that his pardon makes you whole and his plan will provide new purpose for your future.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I don’t just need new life—I need things made right. I need my heart healed, assurance that you will not only erase the shame of my past but will use all things to redeem the future. Give me more than a do-over; by your grace, grant me a makeover that makes me an instrument of your loving purposes. Link resurrection to redemption in my life by making me right for you. In Your name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 18, 2026

Moses asked, “Who am I that I should go?”  The Lord said, “I will be with you.” “I AM WHO I AM.” – Exodus 3:11-14

Moses asks the realistic question, the wrong question, and the right question all at once.

“Who am I that I should deliver God’s people?” It’s realistic—Pharaoh wants Moses dead, he’s guilty of murder, he’s just a runaway shepherd. Surely it’s wrong for Moses to think he could deliver anyone. So he says, “Send someone else, Lord. Anybody but me.” He’s right, of course, in his human logic—“I’m not capable. I’m not able. I’m not the one You should pick.”

Which sets up the very best question: “So Lord, who are You?” to ask such things of someone like me?

The Lord answers, “I AM WHO I AM,” meaning, “I have no origin, no end. I cannot be contained in words or definitions. My power is beyond expression. I AM. I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I am the God who will be remembered forever. And I am the God for now. I came down to deliver you. You confessed you are not able, but I have no limits. I have all power. I AM, and I will deliver you.”

We are the ones who say, “I’m not able. I’ve got these other things to do, these things that disqualify me.” And God says, “Am I not with you? Is this not holy ground? I AM with you, and I’m sending you.”

“I’m not capable, Lord.”

“But I AM.”

Jesus said it over and over: “I AM the light of the world. I AM the bread of life. I AM the good shepherd. I AM the way, the truth, and the life.” Here is Christ saying, “I know you’re not capable. I AM.”

Respond: What is God calling you to do that you feel unqualified for? Stop focusing on your “I am not” and start trusting His “I AM.” He doesn’t need your ability—He needs your availability.

Prayer: Great I AM, I confess I am not able. I am not qualified, not capable, not strong enough, not wise enough. But You are. You have no limits. You have all power. You are with me, and that makes this holy ground. Send me. I am in the care of the Great I Am. Help me to remember and trust you because you are I Am. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 17, 2026

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” – John 1:14

A hospice nurse on Christmas Eve, still grieving her mother’s death, grumbling about being called to the ER. “Christmas Eve, bah. No one really cares.”

Then she met her patient—confused, afraid, alone. No family. Nobody. Lost in dementia. All of this desperation amid the ER cacophony: loud voices, monitors blaring, expletives, vomiting, doctors’ pages blasting on the intercom.

Just to calm and distract the patient, the nurse made a blanket into a puppy named Barney. She mentioned it was Christmas Eve and the patient’s banged-up nose made her look like Rudolph.

The woman’s face lit up with joy. She began singing Christmas carols at the top of her lungs. “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” For an hour, in her wobbly 96-year-old voice.

The nurse was embarrassed at first. But then she heard it—orderlies, janitors, and nursing staff starting to sing along. Voices from other rooms. Patients and families joining. An odd, holy Christmas choir.

The nurse wrote: “I should have taken off my shoes because the icky, germy hospital floor had become holy ground. When she was finally leaving, she raised her arms and said, ‘I am so full of joy.’ Christ was here tonight, swaddled in dementia and desperation. Even there the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This was holy ground.”

You begin to see your world differently when you see that wherever God is, that is holy ground. And God is everywhere His people love Him, recognize His hand at work, and do His service.

Respond: Where is your “icky, germy hospital floor”—the place that feels anything but holy? Look for Christ there. He’s swaddled in the most unlikely places, making holy ground everywhere.

Prayer: Lord, help me see You in the icky, germy places of life. In the chaos, the confusion, the places I’d rather not be—You are there, making it holy ground. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear Your presence everywhere. In Jesus’ name, amen.*

Through The Bible in a Year - February 16, 2026

“I have come down to deliver them.” – Exodus 3:8

Here’s what we learn about holy ground from Exodus 3: The ground is not made holy by the people, the time, or the place. The ground is made holy by the presence of God.

God came down to terrible people—descendants of the brothers who sold Joseph into slavery, a nation that forgot their God, Moses himself, who was a murderer and had abandoned God’s ways.

God came down at a terrible time—His people were slaves in awful conditions.

God came down to a terrible place—not a palatial temple, but a desert mountain in a harsh wilderness.

And yet this was holy ground. Why? Because God was there.

Through the Exodus accounts, we hear God Saying, “I was in the bush with your father Abraham. I was in the bulrushes when Moses was launched on the Nile. I am in the bush now. I’ll be with you at Pharaoh’s palace and amongst his military guard. I’ll be with you when you come back to this mountain. I’ll take you to the Promised Land. I am the God behind you, the God ahead of you, the God with you. I am the God of all times, all places. Wherever I am, that’s the holy place. And I am everywhere.”

Where is holy ground? Here and at your home. In the hospital room. In the moment of crisis, in the moment of anger, in your marriage, in your sin. Despite our weakness and fault and frailty and doubt, every one of these places is the holy place of God because he is there.

Respond: Where do you think God isn’t? What place feels too broken, too sinful, too mundane to be holy ground? Hear God say: “I came down to harsh and awful lands in harsh and awful circumstances to sanctify them by my presence for my purposes. I’m here. Wherever I am, that’s holy ground—and I am everywhere with you.”

Prayer: God, whose name is Emmanuel, God with us, open my eyes to see that You are everywhere. In my home, my workplace, my struggles, my failures—You are there, making it holy ground. Help me recognize Your presence in every place and circumstance so that I honor and trust you there and everywhere. In Jesus’ name, amen.*

Through The Bible in a Year - February 13, 2026

“The bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.” – Exodus 3:2

Other texts tell us that our God is a consuming fire. When His holiness is revealed, it refines the taint, the sin, the iniquity from us. Like Moses, when we hear God call our names from his burning glory, our first reaction is to hide: “Oh God, don’t come close. Don’t look at me. I don’t want You to see this. I don’t want You to know what I have done.”

But here’s the miracle of the burning bush: It burned, but was not consumed.

This is the mark of God’s great compassion alongside His great purity. The image of the burning bush has been used throughout history:

- Israel sees itself as burned through persecution but surviving—burned but not consumed

- The early church: persecuted but not destroyed.
- Believers: deserving God’s wrath for our sin, yet not consumed.

God in His compassion preserves those who ought to be consumed.

And who is speaking from that burning bush? God is speaking. At other times he would speak from the thorns of a bush—just like He did when He provided a ram in a thorn bush for Abraham. Just like He would when He wore a crown of thorns on the cross and said, “It is finished.”

When we want to hide our faces and run from His holiness, God shows us His provision. His purity and His provision are wrapped together. His compassion and care are not denied by his holiness.

Respond: What sin makes you want to hide from God? What failure makes you think you deserve to be consumed? Today, look at the burning bush that is Christ’s cross. There we see the holiness of God on display, but we also see the heart that calls you close. In light of the guilt you feel before the cross, you may feel burned up with guilt and shame, but you will not be consumed there. At the cross, Christ’s compassion is providing grace beyond the fire—not because of your worthiness, but because of His care.

Prayer: Lord, I deserve to be consumed by Your holy fire. My sin is real, my failures undeniable. But You are compassionate. You preserve those who ought to be consumed. Thank You for speaking from the burning bush—from the thorns of other bushes and from the cross—to show me Your provision alongside Your purity. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 12, 2026

“Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” – Exodus 3:5

Why did God tell Moses to take off his sandals? The command wasn’t only about hygiene. If you’re a shepherd in the desert and you take off your sandals, your feet are still dirty.

Taking off your shoes means you’re not going anywhere else. This becomes the priority. The holiness of God is attracting and focusing.

Sometimes the reason we’re not on holy ground is that we’re still going about our business. “God, I’ll get back to You later. I’ve got this contract to think about. Lord, I’ll get back to You later. This game is right ahead of me. Lord, I’ll think about this when I’m a bit older and not so concerned about what people think of me right now.”

When you take off your shoes for spiritual priorities, you’re saying, “This is what I’m focused on.” The holiness of God is my priority, and it drives every other concern to second place in my life. God’s holy fire is consuming the distractions because the holiness of God has caused me to focus on him and his purposes.

We long for holy ground—that place where we can be close to God and believe He is close to us. Where there’s been a clearing made in our circumstances, our worries, our crisis, where God is close and we are close to Him.

The good news? We can still find such holy ground. Not by looking for burning bushes, but by (metaphorically) taking off our shoes—by making God’s purposes our priority instead of a secondary concern.

Respond: What keeps you from “taking off your shoes” with God? What distractions, priorities, or concerns keep you from focusing on His holiness? Today, take off your shoes. Make God your priority, not your afterthought, so that his purposes become the blessing and joy of your life.

Prayer: Holy God, forgive me for treating You like an afterthought, thinking I’ll get back to You later, Lord—after this meeting, after this game, after I’ve taken care of everything else. Today I take off my shoes for you. You are my priority. Consume my distractions. Hold me with Your holiness. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 11, 2026

“I drew him out of the water.”* – Exodus 2:10 

“God drew him out of the water.” – (The truth behind the words)

It started in a rail car in downtown Peoria, Illinois—maybe 40, maybe 60, maybe 70 children gathered for a Bible lesson. Noone knows the number for sure. What we know is that the town had about 14,000 people, swollen with 7,500 Union troops. Nine distilleries and six breweries—the world capital of alcohol. Docks and drunks and drugs. Floating casinos and taverns and brothels.

And we know that there were some 1,200 children throughout the town whose voices someone heard above the din and the sin. Someone remembered God’s mission and theirs was to reach the hearts of children. Someone saw the opportunity. Someone knew that if faithful people would reach out for God’s purposes, then God would do His work.

So, from a re-purposed rail car to the now historic Grace Church in Peoria, Illinois, God’s people have been able to celebratemore than150 years of faithfulness. Generations of children have been reached for Christ, tens of thousands of people have come to faith, and countless souls across the nations have devoted themselves to Jesus through expansive missions.

Yes, the train of God’s purpose seemed to run slow in some decades. Sometimes it seemed off schedule – even off the tracks. But as the prophets long ago declared, the train of God’s grace has continued toward a sure destination—his glory and our good.

This is just the way God works. Consider how, even at the cross, it looked like the train of God’s gospel purpose had derailed. The hiss of the brakes—the gasp as they put thorns on His brow. The rattle of the rocks—the roll of the dice gambling for His garments. The roar of the engine—the clamor of “Crucify Him!” The pounding of the pistons—the hammers driving nails into hands and feet. The wail of the whistle—the cry of the Lamb: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

All of this was so that you and I would be God’s children—not forgotten, but cherished. All of this was so that we who had our sins placed on Him would be freed of our guilt and blessed by His righteousness.

So the mission of Grace Church still, and the mission of all saved by the grace of Jesus is to say to everyone, “This train is bound for glory. Get on board, little children. There’s room for many a more.”

Respond: God is faithful to any people who are faithful to His mission. So consider what He is calling you to do—however small, however obscure—to invite people onto his train. Consider who needs to hear the gospel from you today?

Prayer: Lord, your train is bound for glory, and You’ve put me on board. Use me to invite others on board. Make me faithful to Your mission—not dismayed by my obscurity, my weakness, or my trials. Help me to remember you’re accomplishing Your purposes. Help me trust You and move forward in faith. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 10, 2026

“These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt.” – Exodus 1:1

The Book of Exodus begins with the names of those who father the nation of Israel from which Jesus would eventually come. But before it lists their names, Exodus reminds us that their father was originally named Jacob—a name meaning liar, conniver, deceiver. What his sons did to betray Joseph, they apparently learned by example. Jacob was a man who thought he could make his way by his own wit and wiles.

But now he’s called Israel. God changed his name. And his new name means “God rules.”

God is saying something profound: “You may think you can make your way, but you need a God to rule. And if you call out to Him, He will help you.”

Despite betrayal—Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, the sons of Jacob.

Despite famine—forcing the family to Egypt for food.
Despite slavery—400 years of brutal oppression.
Despite time—four centuries of waiting.

God was ruling over it all. Over the sin. Over the betrayal. Over the slavery. Over the famine. Bringing about a plan that was amazingly gracious – and greater than Jacob’s wit and wiles could ever have manipulated.

Seventy people went into Egypt. Two to four million came out—a great nation with great resources, ready to make God’s plan in the Promised Land flourish. God kept His covenant promise to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob even when it seemed impossible.

Your name may not be changed like Jacob’s, but the truth remains: God rules over your sin, your failures, your trials, your waiting. You cannot make your way by your own wit and wiles. But God can—and will—accomplish what you cannot by his wisdom, rule, and love.

Respond: What area of your life are you still trying to control by your own wit and wiles? Today, surrender all to the God who rules. Let Him accomplish what you cannot—as he works for his glory and your good.

Prayer: God who rules, I confess I too often try to make my own way. I trust my strength, my plans, my ability. Forgive me. You rule over my sin, my trials, my waiting. Accomplish what I cannot. Change me from a Jacob to an Israel—from self-reliance to God-reliance. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - February 9, 2026

“By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months…By faith Moses…chose to be mistreated along with the people of God.”* – Hebrews 11:23, 24-25

Just by chance, Moses’ mother puts him in a basket of reeds in the Nile River.

Just by chance, she places it in an inlet where Egyptian women bathes.

Just by chance, the woman who bathes that morning is Pharaoh’s daughter.

Just by chance, she’s more merciful than her father.

Just by chance, Moses’ sister is watching and suggests a Hebrew nurse.

Just by chance, it’s Moses’ actual mother who gets to nurse her own son.

Just by chance, Moses learns the ways and faith of Israel while growing up in Pharaoh’s household.

Just by chance? No. None of these things were by chance. God was working a plan.

The details seemed so minuscule. So insignificant. A baby in a basket in a patch of weeds along a river in a vast nation whose power is controlling the ancient world. But God was taking faithfulness and using it for purposes beyond what any could imagine.

At age 40, Moses flees to the desert for 40 years. What kind of plan is that? But God was preparing him. In Pharaoh’s household, Moses learned Egyptian ways, laws, and leverage—everything he’d need to free God’s people. In the desert, he learned to survive in a desperate land—exactly what theIsraelites would need to survive for the next 40 years.

God was working His plan all along. The things that seemed like chance, like waste, like tragedy—God was weaving them together for His eternal purposes.

Respond: What “just by chance” moments in your life might actually beGod’s perfect plan? Consider what seems wasted—time, opportunity, pain—and believe that can God use it all to prepare you for something far greater in his time, for his glory, and for your good.

Prayer: Sovereign God, nothing in my life is by chance. You are weaving together every moment—even the painful ones, even the ones that seem wasted—for Your purposes. Help me trust Your plan when I can’t see the purpose. You’re preparing me for something greater. I believe; help my unbelief. In Jesus’ name, amen.