Isaiah gives a clear warning about where we look for guidance. Some of Israel ran to Egypt for help, quick plans, and human strategies. The Lord called it counsel that was not from Him. Bob Hoekstra’s devotional brings that warning close to home with a gentle reminder. Grace looks to the Lord for wisdom, and that wisdom comes by His Spirit through His word.

Isaiah says, because the Lord God helps Me, I have not been disgraced. He sets His face like flint and knows He will not be put to shame. Today’s reading reminds me that our Savior walked this path first. He endured the cross because of joy set before Him. He trusted the Father through pain, and now reigns with every enemy under His feet. A. B. Simpson points us to Jesus as the pattern and the power for real life today.

2 Corinthians 11:3 points to the simplicity that is in Jesus. Oswald Chambers puts a hand on our shoulder and reminds us that spiritual fog rarely lifts by overthinking. We do not logic our way out of a muddle. We walk our way out by simple trust and responsive obedience. He is not scolding. He is helping us find the path where the Lord’s life flows.

Colossians 1:19 says that all fullness dwells in Christ. Miles Stanford reminds us that the point of Bible study is not to collect theories. The point is to know the Lord Jesus and to see our life in Him. When Scripture is handled without careful context, we can chase promises that were not written to us, then feel disappointed. When Scripture is handled in step with the Spirit, we see Jesus, we see our union with Him, and the heart rests.

Matthew tells a tender story. A leper kneels near Jesus and says, if You are willing, You can cleanse me. Jesus reaches out, touches him, and answers, I am willing. Be clean. In a world that kept lepers at a distance, the Lord moves toward the one who feels disqualified. His touch changes the man’s present, and his future place among God’s people.

Acts 8 tells the story of Philip. An angel sends him onto a desert road, and the Spirit says, go near that chariot. Philip steps toward an unexpected assignment, and a man goes home rejoicing. Today’s reading in His Victorious Indwelling reminds me that the Spirit plans and appoints our days. Nick Harrison’s curation nudges us to stay open to changes of program, not tying the Spirit to our comfort zones.

Philippians 4 shows two faithful women who once worked side by side with Paul. Somewhere along the way they drifted apart. Paul does not take sides. He points them to the one place they already agree, in the Lord. E. Stanley Jones helps us see the wisdom in that move. Shared loyalty to Jesus becomes the meeting place when preferences pull us in different directions.

Ephesians 4:3 calls us to guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. T. Austin-Sparks helps me hear that call with fresh ears. He reminds us that this unity is not wishful thinking. It is very practical. It lives where misunderstandings happen, where feelings get bruised, and where little barriers try to grow into big walls.

Romans 5:3 to 5 says that suffering is not wasted. It becomes the workshop where perseverance is shaped, character is proven, and hope stands taller. Ray Stedman helps us see that rejoicing in trials is not pretending the pain feels good. It is trusting that God uses pressure to produce something solid in us because His love is already poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

David’s honesty helps me breathe again. He admits that his sins felt like floodwaters over his head, and like a weight he could not carry. He also admits that fear and slander pressed in from every side. In that place he did not polish himself. He turned, and said, You are my God. My times are in Your hand.

Peter tells us not to be surprised when a fiery trial shows up. Many of us expect calm seas after a step of faith, then feel confused when the wind rises. Today’s reading in Days of Heaven on Earth helps me name what is happening. Opposition is not proof that Jesus has left. Often it is the trace of His nearness.

Philippians 3 reminds us that our confidence is not in the flesh, it is in Jesus. Oswald Chambers helps us see that surrender is not mainly about handing over things, it is about yielding the will to the Father. When the will bows, the heart finds rest. It is not a one time rush of emotion. It is a settled yes that carries into ordinary moments.

The heart of today’s reading is simple. In Jesus, we are not managed by the old rulebook. We are new creation people, and the Spirit teaches us how to walk. The law is holy and good, yet it was never designed to be the believer’s day to day power source. Grace gives us a Person, not a checklist.

Jesus teaches in Matthew 7:6 that holy things and precious lessons are not for trampling. That is not a call to stinginess with the gospel. It is an invitation to care for people as we share. Today’s reading in eManna, from Witness Lee, helped me slow down. I do not share because I am excited to unload. I share because I love the person in front of me.

Many of us know the scene from Genesis 32. Jacob wrestles till daybreak, then limps into a new name. J. Sidlow Baxter uses that moment to help us see a common pattern. We chase spiritual highs, then fade back to the old average. We live on the battery system, charged by a conference or an all night prayer push, then drained again.

Philippians 4 calls us to stand firm in the Lord. E. Stanley Jones points us to the place that steadies the stance, the cross of Jesus. He reminds us that some try to live in Christ while sidestepping the cross, and that never holds. The cross is not a side note. It is the center where the heart is kept steady.

Romans 5:1 says that because we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Ray Stedman helps us slow down and really hear that. Peace with God is not a mood we try to maintain. It is the settled result of what Jesus finished. The war is over. God calls us family.

David teaches me something simple and steady. Surrounded by slander and fear on every side, he kept saying to the Lord, You are my God. Bob Hoekstra points out that David’s confession did not rise from a calm season. It rose in the middle of pressure. The man had enemies, plots, and family heartbreak. Yet his mouth kept agreeing with God’s faithfulness.

Proverbs 17:3 says the Lord tests hearts. Today’s reading reassures us that temptation itself is not sin. Sin requires the consent of the will. When the pull shows up and the spirit says no, the Father sees that refusal as obedience. In fact, strong pressure only highlights how precious that yes to Jesus really is.

Matthew 20:22 records Jesus saying, you do not know what you are asking. That line feels honest about real life. Some days with God feel bright and simple. Other days feel foggy. Oswald Chambers helps us sit with that reality without panic. Confusion does not mean we are off the path. It often means the Lord is taking us by a way we do not yet understand.