T. Austin-Sparks invites us to shift our gaze away from the exhausting struggle of trying to live for God, and instead to look through a “window” that reveals what it means to live from God. He contrasts two approaches to the Christian life. The first is a burdensome cycle of striving and failing, marked by rules, regret, and recurring guilt. This is a life powered by conscience and effort, a treadmill existence where any joy is short-lived and fragile.

This closing meditation on Acts reminds us that while the book ends, the story of Christ through His Body does not. Paul’s final recorded setting, confined yet unshaken, highlights the beautiful paradox of the gospel: though messengers may be bound, the message is never chained. From his Roman house arrest, Paul poured out encouragement, clarity, and power through letters that continue to shake the world. Ephesians. Philippians. Colossians. Philemon. These timeless epistles were not born in ease, but through hardship yielded to Christ.

Today’s devotional from Bob Hoekstra draws our hearts back to a central truth: the promises of God are not overridden by the law. Long before the law was given through Moses, God had already made a covenant promise to Abraham and to his Seed, Christ. That promise wasn’t just a shadow or a hint. It was the foundation of the grace we now stand in.

Today’s devotional from A.B. Simpson reflects on the pressures and trials that seem to surround the believer, especially those walking in intimate fellowship with Christ. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 7:5, it highlights Paul’s transparent description of having no rest, facing external conflict, and inner fears. It reminds us that such circumstances are not signs of abandonment but rather divine settings for learning trust and dependence.

Oswald Chambers reminds us that God’s transforming work is thorough. He does not only concern Himself with our major moral failures but also with the small, often unnoticed remnants of our old self-life. Whether it’s sloppiness in thought, laziness in practice, or impulsiveness in response, God continues His patient work of shaping us into the image of Christ.

Today’s devotional from Miles Stanford reminds me that everything in my life, from the smallest habits to the most significant moments of ministry, is to be done with one aim: God's glory. The Holy Spirit's mission is to glorify the Son, and the Son's mission is to glorify the Father. As I abide in Christ and yield to His Spirit within me, I am participating in that same holy mission.

The invitation to receive the kingdom of heaven does not begin with spiritual superiority. It begins with emptiness. When Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” He was not celebrating poverty for its own sake. He was calling us to an inner emptiness that makes room for the King and His kingdom to fill us.

E. Stanley Jones turns our attention to the mystery and marvel of our identity in Christ, highlighting the phrase from Ephesians 1:12 that says we have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of His glory. This calling is not something we strive to earn but something rooted in God’s eternal purpose and sealed within our very being. Jones suggests that the phrase “we who first hoped in Christ” could mean we were once hopeless until we found hope in Him. Hope, he affirms, is not a natural virtue but a spiritual one, birthed in Christ alone. Outside of Him, the world may offer illusions of hope, but they wither in the face of suffering and death.

Today’s devotional compiled by Nick Harrison invites us to let go of self-assessment and emotional proof as the basis for confidence with God. Too many believers live as if they must continually earn or confirm their standing with Him. Instead of walking in the security of what has been accomplished through the resurrection of Christ, they look inward for feelings, evidences, or experiences that validate their faith. The result is a shaky and uncertain walk, prone to fear and discouragement.

T. Austin-Sparks opens a window, not into a system or tradition, but into a spiritual reality centered in Christ alone. He warns against the trap of resting on heritage, history, or institution. Though these once held value in God’s unfolding plan, they were only shadows. Now, the substance has come, and His name is Jesus Christ.

In the closing scenes of Acts, we find Paul imprisoned in Rome, still clinging with unwavering clarity to the calling God placed upon him. He had always been led to bring the gospel “first to the Jew,” and though now bound in chains, his heart remained unbound in its passion. He invited the Jewish leaders to come to him, not to accuse or debate, but to share the hope that tethered him—Israel’s long-awaited Messiah.

A.B. Simpson’s message today points us to the tender authority of the Lord as our Healer. He calls us to trust the Great Physician not just with belief, but with obedience. The key is not striving to earn healing, but resting in the One who has already declared Himself to be our Healer. Simpson uses Exodus 15:26 to remind us of God’s promise to bring wholeness to His people when they walk in step with Him.

Today’s devotional by Bob Hoekstra opens our eyes to a glorious reality: Gentiles, once outside the promises of God, have now been brought fully into His family through faith in Jesus Christ. This wasn’t an afterthought. Though Israel had a unique calling as God's chosen nation, the inclusion of the Gentiles was always part of God's overarching plan. Throughout the Old Testament, glimpses of this coming light for the nations flicker—promises that one day all peoples would praise the Lord and walk in His light.

When we first read that Jesus “did not entrust Himself to them,” it may seem distant or dispassionate. But Oswald Chambers helps us see something freeing in this kind of divine clarity. Disillusionment, when it comes from God, is not cruel but cleansing. It is the process by which He gently strips away our fantasies about people, about ourselves, and about life, leaving us with what is real.

Today’s reflection from Miles Stanford calls our attention to a difficult but liberating truth. The real enemy in the Christian life is not the world around us, but the self-life within us. Though it may feel more natural to direct anger or frustration outward, true victory in the Christian life begins when we stop defending the old man and instead count him crucified. The victorious life is not about exerting more willpower or achieving more moral perfection. It’s about surrendering to the grace of God that refuses to let sin have dominion over us.

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He did not start with signs and wonders or demonstrations of supernatural power. He simply walked along the shore as a man among men. But those around Him sensed something entirely different. There was light in Him that pierced through the shadow of death. This light was not a concept, it was a Person—the Lord Jesus Himself.

E. Stanley Jones reflects on the remarkable unity between God’s moral character and His expectations for us. He draws attention to Ephesians 1:11, which proclaims that God works all things according to the counsel of His will, emphasizing that His will is confined to the boundaries of Christlikeness. That is, God does nothing inconsistent with the nature and spirit of Jesus. Christ is not only God’s ideal for man but also God’s own standard for Himself.

Many believers live in quiet tension with God because they don't fully believe He is a good Father. Somewhere deep in their experience, He is seen more as a demanding judge than a gentle parent. They fear failing Him. They fear disappointing Him. And as a result, they live in anxiety rather than assurance.

Hebrews opens with a breathtaking sweep across redemptive history. The writer begins by pointing to the way God once spoke through prophets in many parts and in many ways. Those revelations were true, but partial. Now, something greater has happened. God has spoken in His Son, the One through whom He made the universe and to whom all creation belongs. This is not just a message about Jesus. Jesus is the message. He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of His nature. In Him, the story of the world finds both its origin and its purpose.

The book of Hebrews is a Spirit-breathed call to behold Jesus Christ as the culmination of all God’s promises. The Grace and Truth Study Bible introduces it as a rich and layered letter that ties the redemptive themes of the Old Testament directly to the work and person of Christ. Jesus is not merely a continuation of the story. He is the fulfillment.