Through The Bible in a Year - April 9, 2026

“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” – 1 Kings 12:14

David Brooks, New York Times columnist and former atheist, says why he now considers himself a Christian. Why? Because he believes our faith may have answers for the divisions in our nation.

He identifies five key lies that spark our divisions. The first: career success secures happiness. If you can just get to the top of the heap, you’ll be happy. If there are casualties along the way—principles, people—it won’t matter. As long as you get success, the losses will be justified. That’s the first lie.

Think of the cautionary tales that confirm the lie: Jeff Bezos, Martha Stewart, Britney Spears, Bill Cosby, Elvis. Huge success in every example, but also lots of evidence of lots of sadness. We are of course tempted to forget the sadness and believe that we will be an exception.

David Brooks himself achieved rock star status as a columnist—at the expense of a marriage and a wife. He says simply: “Success was not enough.”

Rehoboam, son of King Solomon the Wise, bought the lie. The people begged him to lighten their burden. Instead, he followed the advice of young leaders who said, “Show them you’re more powerful than your father. Make their yoke heavier and you will have more power and wealth than he.”

What did it cost? Resentment. Division. Isolation. Rehoboam got all the “stuff” he wanted, only to end up alone, abandoned and trying to fight his battles by himself.

If it’s all about “me,” then the God who wants to turn you to himself and the blessings of his grace can let you have what you want – but that means “me” is all you get. That’s the cautionary tale of all who make success their goal and their god in this life.

Respond: Where are you chasing success at the expense of others? What relationships are suffering because you’re climbing your ladder of self-glory or -gain? What principles are you compromising to get ahead? Today, ask: If you get it all with no one with you to enjoy it or wanting to draw close to you, will all you’ve gained really make you happy? Is being alone at the top where you want your life to lead? It’s not what the God of grace intends for you. He wants you, at the very least to have Him. The One who will never leave or forsake you.

Prayer: Lord, I confess I’m tempted to buy the lie that success will satisfy. That if I can just get enough—enough money, enough recognition, enough power—I’ll be happy. But Your gracious Word shows how those priorities are a path to isolation. Forgive me for the people (even the loved ones) I tend to ignore, or pass by, or forget, when I am climbing mountains of me. Help me to remember the One who valued relationships over achievements; the One who was willing to become nothing so that I would never really be alone. Thank you, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - April 8, 2026

“He shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days... Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many... he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.” – Isaiah 53:10, 12

Strange wording. We’ve been told our Savior was cut off from the land of the living. He made His grave with the wicked. Yet now: “He shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days.”

As though He’s alive. As though the grave could not hold Him. As though death was not the victor. As though the death penalty for sin was fully paid, and now that the penalty has been satisfied, death itself is conquered.

So, the same One who experienced agonizing death for us is alive again. The Prophet Isaiah says, “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”

What does this mean to your soul: He who was totally pure took the full and ultimate penalty for your sin. If you could believe that’s real—that sin comes off of you and onto your Savior—that you are accounted righteous because of him. If you could believe that His righteousness would become yours, what would the effect be in your heart? You would be reconciled to God and rejoicing in the righteousness of his provision.

These are the two halves of the gospel: Not only is our sin is removed by Christ’s death, but His righteousness becomes ours through his life, God’s love for Him, God’s approval of Him, is ours because our sins are forgiven and Christ’s righteousness is ours.

Thank God this is not just an ancient prophecy. It’s the reality of what is happening at this very moment for all who trust that Jesus bore our sins and rose the victor over death. That’s what Isaiah says. Jesus did not only accomplish something wonderful in the past; He’s doing something wonderful every day. Says Isaiah, “He bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

This same Jesus who is no longer confined to the grave is at the right hand of God making intercession for you and me. Jesus is praying for you. Jesus is praying for you right now.

2,700 years before you were even born, the Lord’s prophet promised that Jesus would be interceding for you now. This very moment, the Son of God is at the right hand of the King of Glory saying your name and praying for you.

Respond: Do you believe this? Can you believe this? That right now—this moment—Jesus is praying for you? Knowing your sin, your weakness, your failed expectations, your past that you can barely think about—He’s praying for you. How does knowing that change how you face today? What about how you pray today?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are praying for me right now. You know everything—my sin, my shame, my secrets—and You’re still interceding for me before the Father. I don’t deserve that. I can’t earn that. But You give it freely. Thank You for taking the penalty of my sin. Thank you for providing the righteousness that I lack. And, thank you for praying for me. I am at peace because of you. Thank you. Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - April 7, 2026

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter... so he opened not his mouth.” – Isaiah 53:7

This is Jesus, the Creator of the universe. The One who by His Word brought light into being, created the stars, the sun, and our world. With just a word,

He could have called 12 legions of angels to take Him from the cross and defeat His enemies. But He was silent. He did nothing to save Himself. He willingly became the substitute for our sin, taking the suffering we deserved.

Isaiah 53:8 explains God’s reason for Christ’s suffering: “…He was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.” He was stricken to fulfill God’s own plan and purpose.

The prophet also explains in words almost too intense and intentional to take in: “It was the will of the LORD to crush him.” Christ’s suffering was not simply the will of Christ’s enemies. Not blind fate. Not a failure. It was the will of the Father.

He was the Lamb slain from the creation of the world. The purposed intention of God was to wound, to slay, and to require the death of His Son. Because ultimately, for the guilt of our sin to be satisfied, Jesus would fulfill his Father’s plan to pay the full penalty of our sin with the ultimate cost: His own life.

It had to be Him. It couldn’t be somebody else. If the crushing weight of our sin were put on us, we would be crushed. If the debt of our sin had to be paid, then we could not even manage our own debt, much less everyone else’s.

The weight and the debt had to be borne by someone who could bear it and was not already in debt. Someone who had done no wrong and was able to bear our load. Only one person ever qualified: the Son of God, Jesus! It was always God’s will to provide him for us, and always Jesus’s heart to suffer for us.

Respond: Have you grasped that Jesus did this willingly to obey the will of his Father and to express His love for us? He could have stopped the suffering at any moment. But He chose the cross. He allowed the nails. He endured the thorns. He accepted the spear. For you and for me. Does that change how you see your sin? Does that change how you estimate His love? It may also change how we pray, knowing how great is the love of the One who rose from death to intercede for us now in heaven.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You could have called angels to rescue You. You could have spoken a word and ended it all. But You didn’t. You chose the cross. You chose the nails. You endured the penalty of my sin. You willingly became my substitute. I cannot fully understand the depth of your love, but I receive it with the prayer that you will deepen such love in me. Thank You for your gift of yourself. I pray, in Jesus’s Name. Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - April 6, 2026

“He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5

A Korean pastor stood before a room full of pastors and confessed:

“When I came to America, I raised my daughter with tenderness. She was my princess. But my son—I knew as the son of an immigrant, he’d have to be twice as good and twice as strong as his peers to succeed. So I pushed him with discipline and expectation and shame.

“At our church’s 20th anniversary celebration, my son flew across the country. The night before, we met at my kitchen table. He said, ‘You are hard-hearted and a cruel parent and you have no right to be a pastor.’

“We fought. I left the house. I went and lay down in a field and looked up at the stars and wept because I knew what my son was saying was true. I felt as though the sky and the stars had fallen down on me and they were crushing me because of my sin.”

This was the weight of just one man’s sin. What if the sin of the whole world fell on you? It would have been more crushing than words can express or that any ordinary person could endure.

Yet, such a crushing weight is what Isaiah says Jesus bore for us upon the cross: “He was crushed for our iniquities.” The weight that each of us carries—the errors, the failures, the betrayals, the sins we cannot forget—they weigh on us. They crush us!

But, by the grace of God that weight could be put on another? God crushed His own Son with the weight of our sin so that we would be free of its burden. What would it mean if you really believed that? Peace. The weight of your sin wouldn’t be yours anymore. Such faith would be healing to your heart and soul. This is precisely what God wants and promises to those who put their faith in what God sent Jesus to endure on the cross – the weight of my sin and yours. By His wounds we are healed.

Respond: What weight is crushing you right now? What guilt, what shame, what failure presses down so hard you can barely breathe? Today, believe this: that weight was put on Jesus. He was crushed so you could have relief from the burden and peace in your heart. He was wounded so you could be healed.

Prayer: Lord, I feel the weight. The crushing guilt of what I’ve done, who I’ve hurt, and how I’ve failed you. But Your Word says that Jesus was crushed for my iniquities. The chastisement that brings me peace was unleashed on Him. Help me trust that transfer weight was your plan and my peace. Help me believe the weight of sin is really off of me because Jesus took it on himself. Thank You, In Jesus’s Name. Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - April 3, 2026

“He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men.” – Isaiah 53:2-3

Israel had been waiting. Waiting for someone better than all the failed deliverers of God’s people: Adam (first man, first sinner), Noah (second start, greater sinner), Abraham (unfaithful to his wife), Moses (gave the law he wouldn’t follow), David (defeated a monster before becoming one), Solomon (built God’s temple, then temples to other gods).

If God’s people were going to have a true Deliverer, they wouldneed a second Adam. A nobler Noah. A faithful Abraham. A dependable Moses. A better David. A wiser Solomon.

Finally, Isaiah 52:13 says that He will come: “He shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted.” Hooray!

Except... He’s a servant. His appearance will be marred—like an animal in agony at sacrifice. His blood will be sprinkled on the nations (not just Israel). He will grow up like a twig trying to thrive in dry ground—making for bad roots, bad reputation, despised and rejected.

He will be as disreputable as a child born in a stable, or as one whose mother was pregnant before marriage, or as the son of a blue-collar worker from Nazareth from which nothing good comes. He will be so without honor in his own hometown that his neighbors will try to throw Him off a cliff. Even his closest disciples will deny and curse Him.

When expecting their Deliverer, God’s people anticipated Babe Ruth. God sent Pee Wee Herman. They wanted a lion. God sent the Lamb. Like us, they wanted a king who would rule in their favor. God sent a servant who would earn God’s favor for themand us.

Jesus isn’t the Messiah the Jews expected, and He’s not the Savior we sometimes want. But He’s exactly the Messiah they needed then and we need today.

Respond: What are you expecting from God that He’s not giving? What did you think following Jesus would look like? Are you disappointed because God’s plan doesn’t match your expectations? Today, consider the Biblical evidence that God’s plan is better than yours. Even if what you are facing isn’t exactly what you wanted, the accounts that lead to Jesus and the salvation accomplished by Jesus display the perfection of God’s plan that you can trust.

Prayer: Lord, I confess I sometimes want You to be who I expect rather than who You are. I want power, comfort, easy victories. But Jesus came as a servant to teach me what it means to submit to God’s will and to be blessed by it. You were despised and rejected to enable me to be loved and accepted. Forgive my misplaced expectations. You gave exactly the Savior I need. Help me to trust You because of Him this day. Thank You, In Jesus’s Name for Jesus. Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - April 2, 2026

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” – Isaiah 53:6

Bill Buckner. 1986 World Series. Game 6. The Red Sox are one out away from victory. A weak ground ball rolls toward first base. An injured and hobbling Buckner moves to field it. The ball goes between his legs. The winning run scores. The Mets win.

For the rest of his life, Buckner was booed, jeered, received death threats. Every sports channel replayed and replayed the error. One error, an error anyone could have made and he was unlikely to make if healthy, defined a man’s life.

It was so unfair. He had hit .340 that season—his bat carried the Red Sox to the World Series. He had 2,700+ hits across 22 years. He was a multiple All-Star. And he was playing with a bum ankle in excruciating pain.

And here’s the eerie part: Days before the World Series, a reporter asked about the pressure. Buckner said: “The nightmares are that you’re going to let the winning run score on a ground ball between your legs. Those things happen, you know.”

Yes. We know.

Some of us – maybe all of us – can identify the error we can’t forget. That moment replaying endlessly in our minds. That failure that defines us more than all our successes combined. The thing other people won’t let go—or worse, the thing we won’t let go.

This is why we have Isaiah 53—written 700 years before Christ. So we won’t forget that, when we can’t let go of our errors, we have a God who won’t let go of us. He provided a way for our errors to be forgiven. The Lord laid on Jesus the spiritual errors that would otherwise define us. He bore our sins on his cross, and our sins no longer define us in the court of heaven.

Respond: What’s your error? What moment plays on repeat in your mind? What failure defines you more than it should—in others’ minds or your own? Today, know this: God has taken the blame off you. He sent Jesus to take the weight—the shame, the guilt, the memory—of that very error, and He promises to remember it no more.

Prayer: Lord, I have an error I can’t forget. A moment that replays endlessly. A failure that crushes me. I confess I’ve gone astray. I’ve turned to my own way. But You laid that iniquity on Jesus. Help me believe the weight is off. Help me let go because You haven’t let go of me. Thank You, In Jesus’s Name. Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - April 1, 2026

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” – Revelation 21:4

Where do you go after your church services?

To family gatherings? To meals with friends? To face another work week? To face challenges in school, home, or heart? Some listening to me or reading this devotion right now are in hospitals, nursing homes, or prisons of justice or addiction. All need to hear not only is God right there with you, listening to you, and loving you. What you are experiencing is not the final chapter of his care.

Here’s the promise of what’s coming:

The new Jerusalem—the Holy of Holies in final form will descend to earth. Then, “the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.”

There we are told, in the most tender words in all of Scripture,,,,

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Death shall be no more.

Neither shall there be mourning,

nor crying,

nor pain anymore.

For the former things have passed away.”

No more suffering. No more hurting. We will be made right with God in every way because of the One who is already near and hears and loves us.

The Book of Revelation tells us that we won’t even need a lamp for light in that place. Why? Because the Light of the World is the Lamb. Because He will sit on the throne, there will no night there. No darkness. No pain.

Yes, the troubles and trials of this life and this world will continue for a while, but the heart of the One who will wipe away every tear has already come, is already at God’s right hand praying for you, and is already working everything for your eternal good.

He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Think about that image for a moment. Not “tears will stop.” Not “you’ll get over it.” God Himself—personally, tenderly—will wipe away every single tear. The Creator of the universe—the One in charge of all things past, present, and future – will wipe your tears.

I don’t understand it all. I don’t fully perceive how he can show us how everything has turned out for good, how every sin has been forgiven, every wrong made right, every trial used for glory, all suffering turned to joy that outweighs it. But this is God’s promise and our assurance: Jesus will comfort you and wipe all your tears away

Respond: What tears are you crying today? What pain are you carrying? What loss, what mourning, what death haunts you? Today, know this: God sees. God cares. And one day—personally, tenderly—He will wipe away every single tear. Hold on. Trust Jesus. The best is yet to come.

Prayer: Father, I have tears You haven’t wiped away, yet. Pain You haven’t healed, yet. Mourning that continues. But I trust that one day—personally, tenderly—You will wipe away every tear. No more death. No more crying. No more pain. Former things passed away. Help me hold on until that day. Thank You hearing this prayer. Thank You for bringing heaven’s reality to my heart today. Thank you in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 31, 2026

Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.” – 1 Kings 8:63

142,000 sacrifices to dedicate the temple, plus more burnt offerings in the outer courts.

The ceremony lasted seven days. That’s about 20,000 sacrifices per day. A sacrifice every four seconds. Imagine what that was like:

Confess your sin. Sacrifice a sheep. Confess your sin. Sacrifice an ox. Not enough. Do it again. Again. Again. Again. Again….

The bronze altar designed for the temple sacrifices became too small. The priests had to use the middle court—the place where those who weren’t born Jewish could come for worship. Even where non-Jewish people were ordinarily excluded from worship, sacrifices were made – and God’s mercy extended outward.

The magnitude of the sacrifices made does not only express the magnitude of the sins that needed to be covered, the magnitude of the sacrifices expresses the magnitude of the mercy that God provided to his people.

But here’s the problem: In the fine print of the business deal that funded Solomon’s temple in which sacrifices were made to honor God, there’s a poison pill. Solomon’s contractors used forced labor—slaves—against God’s command. The temple was not an expression of personal devotion as much as an expression of the king’s power and pride. Further, Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter from Egypt, re-introducing idolatry into Israel. This marriage then became the door through which Solomon decided to marry many wives and introduce many more gods to compete with the One for whom he built a temple.

God knew it. God knew Solomon’s sin would be this awful. He also knew that Solomon’s sacrifices—as many as there were—would never be enough. How many more would be needed? Just One.

Just one more.

The one sacrifice still needed would come from David’s lineage. When that one sacrifice came, glory would again surround God’s provision as angels announced Him. But, then, no more sacrifices would be needed because the angels said, “He will save His people from their sin.” As John the Baptist would declare about this same Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

In Revelation’s new Jerusalem—whose features reflect the Old Testament temple in perfection—there are 144,000 souls made perfect by the blood of this Lamb. We should praise God that John also writes in his vision, “I saw no temple in the city, for the temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” As many sacrifices as Solomon had to offer to try to consecrate the temple to make God’s people right with Him, that’s as many souls as the Holy Spirit reveals are covered in heaven by Christ’s one sacrifice. These perfect numbers are symbols to tell us that Christ’s one sacrifice is sufficient for all who need Him and believe in Him.

Respond: Do you grasp the magnitude of what Jesus did? 144,000 sacrifices couldn’t ultimately cover sin. But one sacrifice—by the Lamb of God—covers those and everyone else. The perfect sacrifice; the final sacrifice, the full sacrifice has been made. There is even enough provision for you and me in God’s perfect plan that provided Christ’s perfect sacrifice.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the perfect sacrifice. What 144,000 animals couldn’t accomplish, You did in one offering. You covered my sin completely. Thank You for being the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Thank You for providing enough grace for me. Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 30, 2026

“Listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray… And when you hear, forgive.” – 1 Kings 8:30

God isn’t just near—He listens. The words God gives to Solomon in his dedication prayer make this astonishingly clear. These are the types of things God promises to hear:

Disputes: “When people are in conflict—even if caused by evil toward one another—they can bring it to Me.” Some of us won’t go to family gatherings or meetings with old friends because of lingering disputes. God says, “Take it to Me. I’ll listen.”

Difficulties caused by your own sin: “When they’re in trouble because of what they did—family failures, integrity failures, moral failures—when they confess it, I’ll listen.”

Distress from the heavens or on earth: “When there’s drought or flood, affliction or disaster, ask Me. I’ll listen because I know the hearts of My children.”

Distance caused by birth or betrayal: “When foreigners come who don’t belong to My people—I’ll listen. When My people are in exile because of their idolatry—call on Me and I’ll still hear.”

God isn’t a genie in a bottle—rub the Bible enough and get what you want. He’s saying something better: “I know the hearts of My children. I will do what is best for their eternity. Wheneverthey ask for my help, I will listen.”

And here’s the greater marvel that Solomon adds as he addresses the Lord: “Heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house” (v. 27). God does not just listen. He is infinite in his power and intimate in His expression of it. Hepromises to be in the temple and He promises to provide his power, pardon, and provision wherever His people seek Him. He is listening even now.

Respond: What have you been afraid to bring to God? A dispute? Difficulties from your own sin? Distress you’re walking through? Distance you’ve created? Today, talk to your God. He knows your heart. He will answer in whatever way that’s best for your eternity. He’s listening now.

Prayer: Lord, You hear me. Not just my words but my heart. You know what I’m going through—the disputes, the difficulties, the distress, the distance. I bring it all to You today. Listen and answer in the way that’s best for my soul. Thank You that there’s no place I can go where You won’t hear me. Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 27, 2026

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people.” – Revelation 21:3

From the first page of Scripture to the last, God is on a mission. And the mission sounds a lot like what fathers and grandfathers say to little kids: “I’m going to get you. I’m going to get you!”

Consider God’s pursuit of his children across the story of the Bible:

Eden: God walked in the cool of the day, talking with His people. He delighted to come near to them;

The Tabernacle: After sin separated us from God, He said, “I haven’t forgotten the way we were close in the garden. So, wherever you go, I’ll dwell among you in a tent that travels with you.”

The Temple: Solomon builds his magnificent worship structure—whose features echo Eden with light, water, fruit, fragrances, and a way for people to come near to their God. God says, “Here’s Eden again. I still want us to walk together.”

Jesus: The glory of the Lord again shines around shepherds, as angels declare: “His name is Immanuel—God with us.” Now God comes to his children, not in a garden or a building, but in a person.

The Holy Spirit: Jesus says to God’s people, “Now you are God’s temple. I will be in you by my Spirit.” God desires such closeness to his children that He actually indwells us, uniting His Spirit with ours.

The New Jerusalem: The heavenly city—made to reflect features once preserved for the Holy of Holies—finally descends to earth for all God’s children. Heaven and earth join with Christ inside us and the Holy of Holies is all around us.

In every phase of biblical history, God is saying, “I’m coming closer. I’m coming to get you.” As a father pursues his children with a beaming smile, your God is ever pursuing you, delighting in you and coming closer and closer.

Respond: Where do you picture your God? Distant in heaven? Remote in ancient Bible stories? Confined to church buildings? Or pursuing you with delight? How does knowing God has been pursuing you and preparing to embrace you from Eden to eternity change your relationship with Him?

Prayer: Father, You’ve been pursuing me from the beginning. From Eden to the temple to Jesus to Your Spirit in me—You keep saying, “I’m coming to get you.” Thank You for not giving up on relationship with me. Thank You for delighting in me. Help me delight in You. Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 26, 2026

“When the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD… for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.” – 1 Kings 8:10-11

A Christian, former Muslim named Abdu Murray went to visit a dying, older Muslim in the hospital. The elderly Muslim asked the usual theological questions of the Chrisian: Isn’t the Bible corrupted? Isn’t the Trinity a denial of one God? How could God die on a cross?

Abdu answered every question with philosophical, theological, and historical precision. But with each answer, the older man became stonier. Until Abdu asked about his children. The man’s lip quivered: “They are all I have in this life. Without them I die alone.”

Abdu asked gently, “What would happen if you believed in the God who wants you to know Him and cares for you?”

“My children would disown me. It would be a shame to them.”

Suddenly the real issue became clear. The primary objection to faith in Jesus wasn’t historical, theological, or philosophical—it was deeply human: Why would I risk the loves I know for a God I do not know?

This is the problem that the ancient temple dedication was meant to address. As God’s glory filled the temple, he was proclaimingto people that so often acted as if they did not know Him, “You can know Me. I am not distant or unknowable. I am still with you, and I will stay with you.”

The presence of God that filled Solomon’s temple—the same glory at Mount Sinai, the same pillar of cloud and fire that led Israel through the wilderness—that same glory came near in the presence of Jesus and stays near by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Since each Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit our God still says, “I am near – right here with you.”

By his abiding presence, our God declares, “I will love you more than any love you have, and I will stay with you when no other loves will.” God makes essential to the display of his ownglory his willingness to stay near to people whose patterns and pasts cause deep and hurtful shame, The One who sent Jesus to cover the shame of sinners will never leave or forsake you. He will abide with you more faithfully, powerfully, and lovingly than any love you think you must put aside to know his love.

Respond: What love – a relationship, career, pattern, or path – are you holding onto because you’re afraid God’s love will not be enough to compensate for its loss? Yes, God’s love will need to exceed all other loves, but when you know how faithful, loving, and powerful is his love, then living for Him is the love you will most cherish because you are the love he will forever cherish.

Prayer: Lord, I confess I sometimes treat Your love as something unknowable and distant. I hold onto familiar loves because I’m afraid of what loving You will cost. But You provided your Son so that I can know how loving and faithful You are—and You promised never to leave or forsake me. Help me believe that You’re love is worth more than any other love I might lose—and that the love more fulfilling than any other is Jesus. Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 25, 2026

“Everything that was written in the past was written for us so that through endurance and the encouragement of Scripture, we might have hope.” – Romans 15:4

How close to the heart are you willing to cut in order to save a life?

The Bible is brutally honest and calls us to be about things we may not wish to face. Consider how appalled we are now by the sin or slavery but how much of our history was infected by this evil. Cambridge University was built on slave trade profits. Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello was built by slaves. Even church founders and denominations—had slave owners, slavery advocates and, later, defenders of segregation. Other sins run deep in our roots. Family lines are marked by alcohol, abuse,addiction, adultery, divorce.

The stories aren’t new. King David himself was descended from incest, prostitution, a Moabite half-breed. And the King himself would become an adulterer and murderer.

Why does the Bible tell us all this? Why does God cut so close to the bone and grieve our hearts with painful pasts? Because without diagnosis, there’s no surgery. If you don’t see the spiritual disease at work in you and others like you, then youwon’t perform the spiritual surgery needed for your soul’s health.

When someone asks, “Do you know the Bible is full of messed up people?” agree with them. “Yes, it is. The Bible is full of messed up people—except for One who came to save all the messed up people.”

For those starting on life’s course after years of school, it’s easy to think the hard years of study and testing are behind you. But,those more mature in years know, those were only years of preparation. The same is true of those early on their journeys of faith. Always, we must remember that the hardest spiritual challenges aren’t behind you—they’re ahead. Each year is a preparation year. The greatest temptations, toughest questions, deepest struggles are still coming. Once you may have faced professors who mocked your faith. Tomorrow there may be employers who will threaten your family’s security if your live your faith.

Today peers may label you as hateful for your Biblical values; tomorrow you may be persecuted or imprisoned for your values.

All transitions—graduation, new jobs, marriage, moves—are opportunities to ask yourself:

What do I need to stop doing to prepare for what Christ needs to do through me?

What do I need to start doing with Jesus to be used by Jesus?

Be willing to do the heart surgery. Face uncomfortable truths. Acknowledge brokenness.

Because only when we admit we’re the “messed up people” the Bible is designed to rescue can we receive the help of the Saviorwho came for us – and designed us for his glory by showing others the grace we need and have received.

Respond: What spiritual surgery have you been avoiding? Where do you need to admit brokenness instead of defending perfection? What one thing do you need to stop or start as you move forward?

Prayer: Father, give me courage for the heart surgery I need. Help me face uncomfortable truths about myself, my family, my past. I don’t need to be perfect—I just need to be honest and humble about my need of your grace. Thank You for sending Jesus to save messed up people like me. I will followHim. By your grace, no turning back. Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 24, 2026

“When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him… But my steadfast love will not depart from him.” – 2 Samuel 7:14-15

David’s failures were great. Yet, God made a covenant with David to provide steadfast love that would not depart.

The covenant came before David’s sin with Bathsheba. Before the murder of Uriah. Before the king’s failed parenting. Before the king’s terrible expression of pride. God knew it all and stillpromised steadfast love.

Would David face consequences? Absolutely. Terrible, painful consequences. His family was torn apart. His son Absalom rebelled. David had toflee Jerusalem barefoot and weeping, his kingdom in ruins.

But even at his lowest point, climbing the Mount of Olives with nothing left, David had one thing: God’s steadfast love.

Discipline doesn’t mean God has walked away. It means He loves you enough to correct you, to bring you back, to keep pursuing you even when you’ve run from Him.

God told David his offspring would build an eternal kingdom. Solomon would build the temple—but Solomon would also turn away from God, marry foreign wives, dishonor everything. Yet God’s love for David continued with the promise: “Your throne shall be established forever.”

A successor would eventually come through the line of David, one who was a greater David—Jesus Christ. He would come from this broken, messy lineage to be the perfect King who saves all the broken, messy people because of God’s covenant love that is not based on human perfection but on divine mercy and steadfast love.

Respond: Where have you experienced God’s discipline in your life? How does knowing discipline isn’t departure change your view of God’s correction? What past failure do you need to release to God’s mercy, trusting in God’s steadfast love?

Prayer: Lord, I have failed You and I will fail You again. Thank You that Your love is steadfast—unchanging, unshakeable, never departing. Help me receive Your discipline as proof of Your love, not evidence of rejection. When I cry out, You provide pardon and peace even in the midst ofconsequences. When I turn around from my wandering from you, You’re right there. You never left. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 23, 2026

“I will make for you a great name… And I will appoint a place for my people Israel.” – 2 Samuel 7:9-10

God promised David two essential things: a name and a place.

David needed both. His lineage was shameful—descended from Judah (who sold Joseph into slavery and slept with his daughter-in-law), and Ruth (the Moabitess from one of Israel’s most hated enemies). Many saw David as a half-breed from a line of disgrace.

Yet God said: “I will give you a name—My name. You shall be called ‘The Lord is my righteousness.’ Not your righteousness. Not your doing. Mine.”

A father, my father, once told his son heading to college: “You are my son. I don’t know how you’ll do at the university—if you’ll do well or poorly. But you are my son and you will always have a place in my home.”

That security didn’t remove all challenges, but it gave confidence. Peace. A foundation for rising from falls and for forging into the future.

This is what God offers you: His name—His righteousness, not your own. His place—a secure home forever with Him. Even when earthly homes aren’t safe (one in four women will experience abuse in relationships; one every two or three marriages come undone, so many children suffer where they should be protected), Jesus promises: “I will give you rest for your soul.”

Respond: Do you truly know you have a secure place in God’s home? Where do you need “rest for your soul” right now? How does knowing you bear God’s name (“The Lord is my righteousness”) change how you see yourself? May the source of your peace be your assurance of God’s name and place.

Prayer: Father, thank You that I am Yours—that I have Your name and a secure place in Your home forever. When circumstances shake me, anchor my soul in this truth. I don’t have to earn my place. You’ve given it freely. You are my rest. Thank you. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 23, 2026

“I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people, Israel.” – 2 Samuel 7:8

David was the least likely king. He was the youngest son in a culture that honored firstborns. He was small, sunburned, and “stinking of sheep,” when Samuel came to anoint the next king. His father, Jesse, didn’t even bother calling David in from the fields.

Seven brothers paraded before Samuel—tall, handsome, qualified. God said no to all of them. Why? The Bible answers, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

This is God’s consistent pattern: He takes “the weak things of the world to shame the strong, the things that are not to make nothing the things that are.” He specializes in using the unqualified, the overlooked, the inadequate.

Consider a young man in our church with Down syndrome. His practice was to ask everyone who met him in church: “Do you love Jesus? Do you know Jesus is coming back?” Perhaps, that sounds foolish or even a nuisance. But, when a young child in our church died from a brain tumor, this young man ministered profound gospel truth to a grieving friend, saying, “Johnny loved Jesus and now Johnny can walk and he can talk and he can see and he’ll come back with Jesus.”

Sometimes “the least of these” get the gospel better than the experts. God uses hearts fully devoted to Him, regardless of worldly qualifications.

Respond: Where do you feel unqualified or overlooked? In what area do you think, “I can’t be Used by God”? How might God want to use the very weaknesses you despise to display His strength? And, who in your life might you be overlooking that God values deeply and can use to show his glory?

Prayer: Father, thank You that You don’t measure value the way the world does. You took a shepherd boy and made him king. Help me see myself and others through Your eyes.

Use my weaknesses to display Your strength. I don’t need to be qualified—I just need to be committed to your purposes for you to use me for your glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 19, 2026

“I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people, Israel.” – 2 Samuel 7:8

David was the least likely king. He was the youngest son in a culture that honored firstborns. He was small, sunburned, and “stinking of sheep,” when Samuel came to anoint the next king. His father, Jesse, didn’t even bother calling David in from the fields.

Seven brothers paraded before Samuel—tall, handsome, qualified. God said no to all of them. Why? The Bible answers, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

This is God’s consistent pattern: He takes “the weak things of the world to shame the strong, the things that are not to make nothing the things that are.” He specializes in using the unqualified, the overlooked, the inadequate.

Consider a young man in our church with Down syndrome. His practice was to ask everyone who met him in church: “Do you love Jesus? Do you know Jesus is coming back?” Perhaps, that sounds foolish or even a nuisance. But, when a young child in our church died from a brain tumor, this young man ministered profound gospel truth to a grieving friend, saying, “Johnny loved Jesus and now Johnny can walk and he can talk and he can see and he’ll come back with Jesus.”

Sometimes “the least of these” get the gospel better than the experts. God uses hearts fully devoted to Him, regardless of worldly qualifications.

Respond: Where do you feel unqualified or overlooked? In what area do you think, “I can’t be Used by God”? How might God want to use the very weaknesses you despise to display His strength? And, who in your life might you be overlooking that God values deeply and can use to show his glory?

Prayer: Father, thank You that You don’t measure value the way the world does. You took a shepherd boy and made him king. Help me see myself and others through Your eyes.

Use my weaknesses to display Your strength. I don’t need to be qualified—I just need to be committed to your purposes for you to use me for your glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 19, 2026

“I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling… I have been with you wherever you went.” – 2 Samuel 7:6, 9

God reminded David that, despite our Lord’s deserving, He had never occupied a permanent house—He moved with His people.

In the form of a cloud by day and fire by night, the Lord’s portable tabernacle traveled wherever Israel traveled. That meant that the Lord’s presence and promise weren’t stationary; they were mobile: “I have been with you wherever you went.”

This is still God’s promise today: “Wherever you go, I will be near. I am still Emmanuel—God with us.”

But here’s the reality check: this promise comes with a path. When our church’s graduates sang, “I will follow Jesus, no turning back,” they were declaring allegiance in a culture that increasingly views biblical Christianity as hateful and bigoted. Al Mohler says young Christians today are “the new moral outlaws of this nation.”

If you stand for biblical truth about gender, sexuality, marriage, the sanctity of life, and salvation through Christ alone, you won’t just face people who think you’re naive or prudish. You’ll face those who consider you dangerous and want to push you to the margins of society. It’s a different time. A harder path. Which is exactly why we need to know: wherever I go, God goes with me.

Respond: Where are you heading that feels uncertain or challenging? College? A new career? The military? A new relationship? How does knowing God’s presence travels with you change your perspective? What would “no turning back” require of you practically on the path your heading in future days – or even this day?

Prayer: Lord, I don’t know what lies ahead, but I know You go before me and beside me. The path may be costly, but Your presence is more valuable than comfort or approval. Give me courage to follow wherever You lead because I know you will never leave or forsake me, even when the path is hard. I will follow Jesus. By your grace, no turning back. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 18, 2026

“Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD.” – 1 Samuel 1:28

Hannah got her son. Then she gave him up—permanently.

Which is harder? To never have a child, or to have a child and then give him up?

There is great pain either way, but Hannah finds peace in verse 28: “I have LENT him to the LORD.” Even as she gives herchild to the Lord’s service, she indicates that she hasn’t eternally, fully, or actually lost him. He has been LENT to the Lord’s service, even though he will serve the Lord apart from her the rest of her earthly life.

For those who have lost children, this is profound truth. The child you’ve lost is not eternally lost. When Christ comes, so will come those who have slept in Him. You will see them again.

But there’s more. Hannah’s song in chapter 2 reveals why she can give up her son with peace: “The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his King and exalt the power of his Anointed” (2:10).

“Anointed” is the Old Testament word for Christ, the Messiah.

“Yes, I give God my son,” Hannah says, “but He will give me His Son.”

She turns earthly things over to God, knowing He is working for eternal things of surpassing beauty and blessing – that were beyond her full comprehending, as they often are for us. Peace lies not in knowing God’s outcomes, but in trusting his heart for eternally good purposes.

Hannah is not the only one meant to claim peace from trusting God’s eternally good plans. I can think of dear ones in ourchurch—families who prayed for an earthly child only to haveGod ultimately take that child overseas, or to other bodies of faith, or to different places of work, or to heaven – all being used to bear witness to his eternal goodness and grace. Through such children ministry reaches thousands. Lives nurtured here touch nations. Children of godly parents have become kingdom leaders.

We’re not just mothering and fathering our own children. The whole church—the bride of Christ—is nurturing workers and witnesses for God’s eternal kingdom.

Respond: How is God calling you to “mother or father for eternity”—whether your biological children, adopted children, foster children, or children you mentor and disciple? Never forget the eternal purpose God is working through your earthly prayers?

Prayer: Father, we who are mature in your church are mothering or fathering for eternity—whether my own children or the children You’ve placed in my influence. My earthly prayers are being used for eternal purposes. Help me trust that even when I face pain, loss, or struggle, You’re working beyond what I can see. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 17, 2026

“For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him.” – 1 Samuel 1:27

“Mommy, I need you right now. Barbie’s clothes won’t fit.”

A mother is trying to fix dinner but her four-year-old won’t stop demanding attention.

“Mommy, I need you!” “Barbie will be late.”

“Late for what?”

“Everything. She’ll be late for everything if you don’t stop to help me.”

The words sink in and sting. The mother turns from the stove, wipes her hands, and picks up the child now crying over Barbie’s “lateness.”

The mother sings gently, “I see the moon and the moon sees me. God bless the moon and God bless me. God looked down from up above and He picked you out for me to love. He picked you out from all the rest because He knew I’d love you the very best.”

A simple lullaby with a profound truth: The Lord of Hosts, sovereign over heaven and earth, has worked through all time, all generations, all possibilities to grant particular children to particular parents for His particular and eternal purposes.

The children with special needs and special talents. The adored and the abandoned. The long-anticipated and the lovingly adopted. The easy to love and the hard to love. Those desperate for love and delightful to love. All are specially chosen from all eternity and from all geography, for our families, in the time and condition and circumstance that God knows is best for the eternal destiny of that child – and his or her parents.

You’re on a mission from God with this child—regardless of their abilities or inabilities, what God is teaching them, your neighbors, the world, and your own heart is according to his specific and eternal purpose.

Respond: Which child in your life needs to hear this truth today? Whether biological, adopted, fostered, mentored, or discipled—tell them: “God picked you out for me to love.”

Prayer: Lord, thank You for picking out [name the child/children] for me to love. Help me see them through Your eyes—specially chosen, eternally purposed, divinely placed in my life. Give me wisdom to love them the very best. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Through The Bible in a Year - March 16, 2026

“Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” – 1 Samuel 1:18

Something remarkable happens in Hannah’s story. After she prays, the High Priest Eli says, “Go in peace, and may God grant your petition.” She responds, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.”

Then comes verse 18: “The woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.”

Wait—we need to catch what did NOT happen yet? Considerverse 19 that comes next: “They rose early...and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.”

Hannah’s countenance changed BEFORE her condition changed. She hadn’t even conceived yet, but she already had peace that pushed away her sadness.

Why? She wasn’t trusting Eli—he was one of the unfaithful priests who raised bad children.

She was trusting the Lord of Hosts.

She put her pain into God’s hands and believed that was enough for peace—even before she saw or could experience the answer to her prayer.

This is the path to drowning pain in purpose: trusting God’s care beyond what we can see.

Believing that putting things in His hands is itself part of the path to peace.

Sometimes our circumstances don’t change immediately. Sometimes they never change the way we want. But our countenance can change when we truly place our burden in the hands of the Lord who loves us, trusting that he will work all things together for our good.

Respond: What burden are you carrying, waiting for your condition to change before you’ll have peace? Today, try changing your countenance before your condition changes. Put your burden in God’s hands and rest in the knowledge that your Sovereign Lord will do what is best for your good and his glory—that’s enough for peace.

Prayer: Lord of Hosts, I’m tired of waiting for my circumstances to change before I can have peace.

Today, I put this burden in Your hands: [name it]. Help me to have faith in your nature and power so that your peace changes my countenance even before You change my condition. Your love and promises are enough to calm my heart. I trust you. In Jesus’ name, amen.