Today’s reflection from A.B. Simpson calls us to see holiness not as our achievement, but as our adornment—something we wear, not something we work up. Just as the high priest Joshua was stripped of filthy garments and clothed in splendor in Zechariah’s vision, so we are robed in the righteousness of Christ. The apostle Paul knew this truth deeply. His maturity didn’t lead to self-confidence but to deeper dependence.

Today’s reading from Bob Hoekstra invites me to examine how I frame my intentions, goals, and promises—especially those aimed at self-improvement, success, or personal transformation. The devotional doesn’t discourage setting plans or hoping for better outcomes, but it lovingly redirects the foundation upon which such plans must rest: the will of God.

Oswald Chambers offers a sobering yet liberating insight: we must be reconciled to the fact that sin exists—not only around us but also within fallen humanity. To deny this truth is to build our lives on a false optimism that inevitably collapses under pressure. When we idealize human nature without acknowledging the bent toward self-seeking and rebellion, we set ourselves up for confusion, compromise, and disappointment.

The heart of today’s message from Miles Stanford is this: mixing grace with law is not merely unhelpful—it’s spiritually devastating. The devotional points us to a vital freedom available to believers, not through effort, obligation, or religious systems, but through the grace of God alone. The author warns that attempting to apply past dispensations—like the Mosaic Law or even the Sermon on the Mount as a present-day rule of life—undermines our position in Christ and forfeits the freedom we were meant to walk in.

Today’s reflection from Witness Lee draws our attention to John the Baptist—not as a man standing inside the established religious structure of his day, but as one who stepped entirely outside it. Though born into the priesthood, John rejected the formality and legacy of the temple and chose instead to become a voice in the wilderness. His ministry was not shaped by robes, rituals, or lineage, but by a divine calling that broke away from tradition to proclaim something entirely new.

Genesis 12 opens the door to God’s plan to bring restoration to a world that has been reeling from curse after curse in the first eleven chapters. Here, God speaks again—this time not to all humanity, but to one man. Abram is called to leave behind everything familiar: his land, his culture, his family, and to walk into the unknown based solely on the word of the Lord. It’s a calling to radical trust and total reorientation.

Hosea 4 is a sobering courtroom scene where God, as both prosecutor and judge, lays out His charges against Israel. The core issue is spiritual amnesia—God’s people have forgotten Him. This forgetfulness isn’t casual; it results in broken relationships, widespread injustice, and even environmental decay. The priests, who were supposed to model God’s ways and teach His law, have failed miserably. They’ve traded their divine calling for personal gain and indulgence.

Psalm 24 is a majestic celebration of God's ownership of all creation and His triumphant entry into the hearts and places where He is welcomed. Likely written for a temple procession after a military victory, it portrays the scene of the ark of the covenant being ushered back into Jerusalem, accompanied by formal ritual chants between priests and gatekeepers. It begins with the truth that the earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord because He made it all (vv. 1–2). But then the psalm pivots to a serious question: who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who is worthy to stand in His holy place (vv. 3–6)?

E. Stanley Jones reminds us that only one foundation holds steady: Christ Himself. Not doctrine. Not a beloved preacher. Not even the most reverent worship service. All these can shift like sand, but in Christ, we are firmly established.

He then unpacks four realities that are ours in Christ from 2 Corinthians 1:21–22:

• God establishes us in Christ.

• God commissions us in Christ.

• God seals us with His ownership.

• God gives us His Spirit as a guarantee.

Today’s reflection from His Victorious Indwelling reminds us that Christ’s indwelling presence—though always true—is not always consciously experienced. Turmoil in the soul does not drive Him away, but it does crowd out our awareness of Him. When the heart is at war with fear, anxiety, striving, or inner tension, it becomes difficult to sense the nearness of the One who never leaves.

Solomon’s majestic prayer in 2 Chronicles 6, offered at the dedication of the Jerusalem temple, stands apart as one of the most formal, public prayers recorded in the Old Testament. Set on a special platform before the altar, Solomon’s intercession reflected not only the grandeur of the moment but also the deep awareness of God’s covenant promises to his father, David. Solomon’s prayer reaches across generations, asking for mercy, justice, forgiveness, and restoration—all from the God who keeps covenant with His people.

Today’s reflection from A.B. Simpson calls us to pause and soak in a truth that is too often treated as a distant doctrine instead of a present reality: we are God’s children—right now. Not merely called His children, not symbolically linked, not legally assigned a name without essence—but born of His very life and nature.

Today’s devotional from Day by Day by Grace gently invites us to see that the only promises truly worth making are those rooted in God’s own promises to us. We are not asked to make commitments out of our own strength, nor to summon boldness from sheer willpower. Rather, we are invited to rest in God’s own faithfulness—and from that place, to speak and live with courage.

Oswald Chambers reminds us that while we often attempt to “get through” sorrow, Jesus became acquainted with it—intimate with grief in a way that was not merely emotional but deeply spiritual. He bore grief as the consequence of sin, not only around Him, but laid upon Him. The problem we often face is that we try to make sense of suffering through reason, optimism, or self-improvement, without accounting for the one unyielding disruptor: sin.

Today’s devotional from Abide Above invites us to reflect on the steady, unfailing rest found in the love of God. It contrasts the draining effects of anxiety with the soul-renewing peace that comes from abiding in Christ. When we are driven by fear or fret over life’s pressures—whether relational wounds or financial concerns—we lose spiritual vitality. But Scripture reminds us that anxiety is not from God. He has given us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, not fear.

Today’s devotional from Witness Lee takes us to a pivotal truth found in Acts 2:36—Jesus, the man who was crucified, has been made bothLord and Christ. Though He was always divine, eternally existing as God, something new happened in His resurrection and ascension. The eternal Son became the glorified Man who now holds the office of both supreme Possessor (Lord) and commissioned Savior (Christ).

Paul writes to Timothy not only as a mentor but as a man fully aware that his time is short and that the gospel legacy must not end with him. He calls Timothy—and, by extension, every believer—to be strong in the grace found in Christ Jesus, not through personal resolve but through moment-by-moment dependence on God’s provision. The mission is generational: the truth must be faithfully passed down like a treasured inheritance. To capture this, Paul draws on six vivid roles—the soldier, the athlete, the farmer, the worker, the noble vessel, and the servant—each painting a portrait of discipline, focus, endurance, and usefulness in the Master’s hands.

In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas faithfully follow their mission pattern: first the Jews, then the Gentiles, experiencing “good success.” Despite opposition, signs and wonders confirm their message. In Lystra, Paul heals a man disabled from birth—his faith ignited by the gospel leads to restoration. The townspeople, influenced by pagan belief, mistake Paul and Barnabas for gods. Horrified, the apostles tear their garments and urge repentance, proclaiming the living Creator who doesn’t live in man‐made shrines but reveals Himself in creation—even their own understanding of His invisible qualities (cf. Acts 17).

Today’s reflection immerses us in the radiant truth of 2 Corinthians 1:20: “For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him.” E. Stanley Jones invites us to see Jesus not merely as the one who fulfills God’s promises, but as the Yes to every single one of them. Whether the promise is written in nature, inscribed in Scripture, buried in the longings of our soul, or evident in the upward pull of God upon our hearts, Christ is the personal “Yes” of God to it all.

The enemy's traps are rarely obvious—they are subtle, refined, and laced with half-truths, designed not to steal your salvation, but to rob you of the joy and peace that come from your secure position in Christ. The fowler’s snare isn’t laid for the dead or the distant—it is set for the living, the near, the abiding ones. So even the strongest believer must keep watch, relying not on spiritual sharpness of their own, but on the continual anointing of the Spirit to see clearly.