“Nothing Compares 2 U” is a lament of absence. Time is counted (“seven hours and thirteen days”), freedom expands (“I can do whatever I want”), comfort is purchased (“a fancy restaurant”), substitutions are attempted (“every girl I see”), advice is offered (“try to have fun”)—and the ache remains. It’s all deeply human, and painfully honest.

1 John 2:5 says that God’s love is perfected in the one who keeps His word. Today’s reading reminds me that perfect love is beyond human ability. The call exposes our weakness, not to shame us, but to steer us away from self-effort and into the life of Jesus within. I appreciate how Nick Harrison gathers voices that point us to the Source. We do not squeeze love from ourselves. We receive love from the Lord and watch Him express it through us.

Philippians 3:1 calls me to rejoice in the Lord. E. Stanley Jones reminds me that joy is not squeezed from circumstances. It springs from Jesus Himself. Habakkuk learned to sing when the fields were empty and the stalls were bare. His song was not denial. It was a choice to delight in the God of salvation.

Philippians 2:3 calls me to turn away from selfish ambition and to count others as more important. In today’s selection from T. Austin-Sparks, I hear a fatherly caution. Natural ambition can slip into Christian work with a new coat of paint, yet it is the same engine underneath. The invitation is to let go of chasing prizes and to want God Himself. That is not a scolding, it is a rescue. When Jesus is the goal, doors and outcomes return to their proper size.

Romans 3:19 to 20 reads like a mirror, not a mallet. The Law speaks to those under it, every mouth goes quiet, and the whole world stands accountable to God. No one is declared righteous by the works of the Law. Through the Law we become conscious of sin. That could sound like the end of the road, but Ray Stedman shows it as mercy. God is not looking to wipe us out. He is rescuing us from false hope.

Psalm 36 opens a doorway into God’s covenant love. David names it lovingkindness, a steady, loyal goodness that shelters people who draw near to Him. Today’s reading lingers on that promise, that the Lord satisfies the thirsty with the fullness of His house, and that from Him flows the fountain of life. Bob Hoekstra’s reflection invites me to trust this steadfast mercy in the real world, not just in quiet moments.

Habakkuk’s words land like a steadying hand. Yet I will exult in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Today’s reading from A. B. Simpson reminds me that joy is not a mood I chase, it is a Person who meets me. The passage does not ignore sorrow. It invites a different center of gravity, a grace-filled choice to look to Jesus when feelings dip low.

John 4:14 pictures something more than a spiritual trickle. Jesus promises a spring within, rising and overflowing with His life. Oswald Chambers reminds me that this is not about scraping together enough willpower to act kind for another day. It is about staying right with the Source, then letting His life pass through me to others.

Hebrews says we have boldness to enter the Holiest because of Jesus. Miles Stanford points out that the veil is torn, not for us to admire from a distance, but so we go in and abide. We do not wait on a priest to come out to bless us. The Father has opened the way, and He welcomes us to live from His presence.

1 John 2 reminds me that when a believer stumbles, Jesus Christ the Righteous is already speaking for us before the Father. The Scripture does not push us into shame. It points us to an Advocate who stands on finished work and draws us back into the light. Today’s eManna reading helped me slow down and really hear that kindness, so thank you to Witness Lee for the way he highlights this grace.

Philippians 2:29 to 30 calls believers to receive one another in the Lord with joy. In today’s entry, E. Stanley Jones puts the spotlight on our shared center. Jesus Himself is the meeting place. When He is the center, minor differences stay at the edges. When anything else becomes the center, we drift into labels, scowls, and distance.

Matthew 6:9 to 13 frames life with a Father who is near, a kingdom that is present, and a will that is good. Today’s HVI reading paints “abandonment” as a glad release of self-management into the Lord’s hands. It is not indifference. It is a steady confidence that God’s will is wise and kind, so I can entrust this moment to Him. The heart grows free as our concerns go into His care. Desire begins to line up with what He desires. Peace rises where grasping used to live.

Philippians 3:3 reminds us that true worship is by the Spirit of God, that our confidence rests in what Jesus has done, not in human effort. In today’s Open Windows reading, T. Austin-Sparks points to the biblical picture of circumcision as an inward reality. It is the heart set apart to God, the self-reliant life closed off by the Cross, so that life in the Spirit can be our new normal.

Romans 2:12 to 16 reminds me that God is fair. He does not judge by what a person never knew. He judges according to the light each person has. Conscience bears witness. Thoughts accuse and sometimes defend. Ray Stedman’s reflection points us to this steady truth and then lifts our eyes to Jesus, because conscience can expose but only the Lord can cleanse and renew.

Psalm 36 paints a tender scene. God’s lovingkindness is not thin or distant. It is near, strong, and welcoming. David calls it precious. He describes people taking refuge under the shadow of God’s wings and being abundantly satisfied with the fullness of God’s house.

Philippians 3:1 says, rejoice in the Lord. Simpson reminds us that joy in Jesus is not a luxury, it is a safeguard. He points us away from gloomy self-inspection and back to the cross where the debt was paid and the heart is made clean. One grateful look to Jesus outweighs a thousand downward glances at our failures.

Jesus promised that those who come to Him would have living water within that does not run dry. Oswald Chambers points our eyes to the Source, not to our output. He reminds me that God is responsible for the outflow, while my part is to trust Jesus and stay turned toward Him.

Philippians 3:10 names a desire that keeps growing in me. To know Jesus, to share in what concerns His heart, to find joy in Him that is not fragile. In today’s Abide Above reading, Miles Stanford points us to a hard but freeing truth. Nothing outside the Lord will finally satisfy. Circumstances can be sweet or harsh, people can cheer or oppose, yet the Father means for our gladness to rest in His Son.

Matthew 6:13 brings us to a tender part of the Lord’s Prayer. Do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Witness Lee points out that Jesus invites kingdom people to be honest about human weakness, and to look to the Father’s care in the face of testing. That honesty is not self-condemnation. It is a simple posture of trust.

Philippians 2:24 records a simple sentence. I trust in the Lord. E. Stanley Jones invites me to notice those three words, in the Lord. That tiny phrase changes everything. Trust is not a bargain I strike, or a willpower exercise I audit all day. Trust rests in a Person who is wise and good.