The invitation Jesus gives in Matthew 11:28-30 is one of the most tender and liberating calls in all of Scripture. It is an open door for every soul weighed down by guilt, shame, or the exhausting effort of self-made righteousness. He promises two distinct rests: the first for the guilty heart seeking forgiveness, the second for the weary believer longing for freedom from self-effort.

When Paul declared that we do not proclaim ourselves but Jesus as Lord, he revealed a subtle but dangerous obstacle to the life of abiding in Him: the self-life. It can take the form of self-importance, self-interest, self-confidence, or the quiet desire to maintain our own standing before others. Even when these things seem small, they can quietly compete with Jesus for our trust and attention.

In today’s devotional, Oswald Chambers points us to a truth that cuts through our tendency toward panic in life’s storms. He reminds us that Jesus has every right to expect His followers to rest in perfect confidence in Him, no matter how fierce the winds may be. Chambers contrasts two ways of responding when fear grips our hearts: the reaction of those who do not know God, and the steady trust of those who know Him intimately.

In today’s reading from Miles Stanford, the focus shifts from the idea of simply doing for God to living from the indwelling life of Jesus. There is a difference between compulsive activity and Spirit-led fruitfulness. Many in the body of Christ might assume that the believer who seeks to grow in grace is passive, but Scripture shows that the life of abiding in Jesus produces genuine, Spirit-initiated action. True service flows from His life within, not from our own effort to prove ourselves or keep up with the expectations of others.

Today’s devotional from Witness Lee draws from Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13, where He calls His followers the salt of the earth. Salt’s purpose is clear—it preserves, protects, and keeps things from decay. In a fallen and corrupted world, God’s people are meant to carry His preserving influence. Just as salt slows decay and wards off corruption in food, believers are called to live in such a way that the presence of Jesus in them pushes back spiritual decay around them.

When T. Austin-Sparks speaks of “opening a window,” he invites us to look into something infinitely greater than ourselves. The focus is not on theological curiosities, but on the surpassing greatness of Jesus. Everything God intended in creating mankind, the world, and the universe is bound up in knowing Jesus. Our growth, transformation, and joy are tied to Him—not as an abstract figure, but as a living Person who embodies the eternal order of God’s kingdom.

Jeremiah’s heartfelt plea for Israel is as raw as it is reverent. He prays not only for mercy, but for the sake of God’s name. His argument is not based on Israel’s worthiness—he readily confesses their sin—but on God’s character as the One who heals, restores, and keeps covenant. He reminds God that His glory is at stake among the nations, urging Him to act in a way consistent with His own nature. This is prayer at its highest level: appealing to God’s own faithfulness rather than human merit.

The promises of God are described as “exceedingly great and precious” because they are far beyond human imagining and worth more than any earthly treasure. These are not ordinary assurances. The Greek root behind “exceedingly great” gives us our English prefix “mega,” underscoring their unmatched scale. And they are “precious” because they are priceless, beyond anything this world can secure.

When God opens our eyes to His promises, He is not teasing us with visions of something we will never experience. Just as He gave the migratory bird both the instinct to travel and the conditions to welcome it when it arrives, so He provides for the journey and the destination. The God who stirs your heart with hope is the same God who brings that hope to fulfillment in His perfect time.

In today’s devotional, Oswald Chambers speaks to the moment when God removes the guiding presence of a trusted mentor, spiritual parent, or close companion, not as a loss to grieve endlessly, but as a divine step into a new season of direct dependence upon Him. Just as Elisha had to stand without Elijah, we too face moments when the person we leaned on is no longer there to hold our hand. That absence is not abandonment; it is God’s invitation to lean on Him alone.

When many think of the Cross, they stop at its most visible truth: Jesus died for our sins. That truth is essential, but it is not the whole story. The Scriptures reveal another dimension, an internal work, where we are always delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake so that His life might be made manifest in our mortal bodies. This is not simply about pardon for sin but deliverance from the very power of sin itself.

In this world, there are moments when the reason for another’s hostility toward you is not hidden—it is simply because you belong to Jesus. The devotional explains that persecution for righteousness’ sake (Matthew 5:10) is not quite the same as persecution for Jesus’ sake (Matthew 5:11). In the first case, you may be misunderstood or opposed because you are committed to what is right. In the second, the opposition is personal—it is aimed at Him who lives in you, and you bear it because you follow Him.

E. Stanley Jones points to Ephesians 2:15 and names the secret to real peace. Jesus creates in Himself one new man out of the two. The way to peace is not for one side to win and the other to lose. The way is a third reality formed in Jesus, a union where no party conquers the other, and both are transformed by a shared life.

Today’s reading from E. Stanley Jones celebrates Jesus as our peace. Not a principle, but a Person who brings those who were far off near to God and near to one another. The atonement is not cold arithmetic. It is at-one-ment, a shared life in the Son where rivalry and ladder-climbing finally end.

We are not rescued by our performance. We are rescued by grace through faith, and that same grace sets the tone for everything that follows. The reading reminds us that we are God’s workmanship, newly crafted in Jesus for good works that fit who we now are. The works do not create salvation. They flow from it.

Why are so many believers downcast even when outward pressures are not the issue. Today’s reading compiled by Nick Harrison says it is often because we forget where we belong. We forget to look up into the realities that are ours in Jesus, and we begin to look on the world as a desirable place rather than a wilderness. When our gaze lowers, joy lowers with it.

Todays reading compiled by Nick Harrison centers on a simple, freeing rhythm for generosity. On the first day of the week, each believer sets aside a portion as the Lord has prospered them. It is not a tax. It is grace-guided responsibility that turns giving into a steady expression of love. Money laid aside becomes a ready store for the poor, for gospel work, and for everyday needs the Spirit brings to our attention.

We are creatures of habit, often letting old patterns dictate our reactions. Even as believers, it is easy to settle into familiar ruts of selfishness, complaint, or thin-skinned pride. Today’s devotional compiled by Nick Harrison points out that these tendencies, though subtle, are still expressions of the flesh—old ways of thinking and reacting that do not belong in the life of one who has been raised with Jesus.

The disciples, with sincere yet misplaced enthusiasm, pointed out the grandeur of the temple to Jesus. They wanted Him to share their admiration for the building’s beauty and scale. But their focus revealed something deeper: they still measured importance by earthly standards. After all their time with Him, they still thought in terms of visible greatness, permanence, and human approval.

In today’s devotional from T. Austin-Sparks, we are invited to step beyond the common view of salvation as simply an escape from sin and entrance into heaven. Sparks shows us what Paul saw, a reality so expansive that everything else was counted as loss compared to knowing Jesus Christ. Paul understood that God’s eternal purpose for His people began before the foundation of the world and extends into the ages to come. Our significance as believers is rooted in this eternal plan, not in temporary measures of success or human achievement.