18 Dec 2025
Let us never forget or get tired of praising God and acknowledging His greatness. His nature and works portray His majesty. May we have testimonies to share with others just like others share with us. May the evidence of His goodness be irrefutable. Psalm 145:1-12.
18 Dec 2025
In our quest to understand who we are, where we are and where we are going, we could easily get overwhelmed. But we are fortunate to have Jehovah on our side. He sees our struggles and knows our infirmities. May He have mercy on us and help us day after day. May we humble ourselves before God and find favour in His sight. Psalm 25:3-9.
17 Dec 2025
There are situations that are beyond our control as human beings, because we are limited. I purpose not to fret because of them. Let us surrender them to the Lord and depend on Him. May His peace be our portion even in those difficult times. And may His will be done. May God cause all things to work together for our good. Psalm 23:4-6.
Today’s Verse – 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. —2 Corinthians 4:17-18 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Life can be very tough. Eventually, our bodies are going to wear out and die. In the process of living, we’re going to face some challenging circumstances and experience some awful pain. I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but I do want to be real about life in our decaying world. So, as bad as life’s harshest realities can be, we are never abandoned by God (Romans 8:35-39) and are headed for an eternal glory beyond what we can imagine. Life’s difficulties can’t compare to this glory that awaits us (Romans 8:19). Our pain is “light and momentary” when compared to our future glory. The things that cause our pain are temporary. The treatments, the prescriptions, the therapies, the surgeries, the setbacks are all temporary. All these things that we have seen and experienced in our decaying world are passing. At the same time, our eternal glory, that fantastic future that we cannot yet see, is eternal… forever… incorruptible… and reserved for us as God’s precious children! Hallelujah! Let’s focus on what is unseen and eternal! My Prayer… Dear God, my Abba Father, please be with me during the painful and difficult passages of my life. Help me keep my heart fixed on what is unseen. In addition, dear Father, I pray that you will be tangibly present in the lives of the following people I love… (Pray for people personally you love, here!) Please grant them healing. Please pour your love into their hearts through the Holy Spirit and give them rugged perseverance and indestructible hope. Help them see your glory and anticipate the greater glory that awaits them. In Jesus’ name. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Daily Prayer for December 17
For it was life which appeared before us: we saw it, we are eyewitnesses of it, and are now writing to you about it. It was the very life of all ages, the life that has always existed with the Father, which actually became visible in person to us mortal men. 1 John 1:2, Phillips Lord our God, we thank you that you have given us the light of life, that we can now learn how to live, and that through your great grace we may understand life in direct relationship with the Lord Jesus, who was crucified and who rose from the dead. Grant that the power of Christ may be made visible in us. Grant that his life may become our life, that we may leave behind all doubts and anxiety, even though we are often surrounded by darkness and night. Keep us in your Word. Let your will hold sway over all the world, for your will must be done in heaven, on earth, and down to the lowest depths. Let your will be done on earth as in all the heavens. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Children of Terabithia Caitrin Keiper What is there of beauty in losing an unborn baby? Read now Six Ways to Resist the Machine Paul Kingsnorth The technological mindset is corrupting our souls. It’s time to fight. Read now My Mother’s Hidden Radiance Brandon Vaidyanathan For years, her mental illness kept me from seeing her beauty. Read now Dogs, Deer, Herons, and the Promise of Beauty Peter Mommsen Beauty, says the French novelist Stendhal, is the promise of joy. But is it a promise we can trust? Read now Living on Manger Street Stephanie Saldaña A current resident of Bethlehem on the meaning of Advent in a country at war. Read now
Today’s Verse – 1 Thessalonians 5:6
So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. —1 Thessalonians 5:6 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… So many sleepwalk through life. They are never really spiritually awake enough to be fully alive. However, as followers of Jesus, we choose not to do that with our lives! We are awake. We are alive because we know Jesus has come and brought us life eternal (John 5:24; 1 John 5:11-13). The Son has shown us how to live. So we are going to be alert. We are going to be self-controlled. We’re going to be fully alive because we know Jesus’ return is imminent, and our day of salvation and deliverance is near. Until then, we are not going to be like others – those who sleepwalk through life – we are going to be alert, self-controlled, and anticipating the day of our Savior’s return. My Prayer… Forgive me, Heavenly Father, for the times that I have lost my sense of urgency to live for Jesus. Please use the Holy Spirit within me to arouse my passions to serve him with my eyes wide open and heart set on great and heavenly things. I know you can and will do more than I can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21), so please, awaken me to dream great dreams and imagine great things for your glory, then astound me with even more. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
16 Dec 2025
There are situations that are beyond our control as human beings, because we are limited. I purpose not to fret because of them. Let us surrender them to the Lord and depend on Him. May His peace be our portion even in those difficult times. And may His will be done. May He cause all things to work together for our good. Psalm 23:4-6.
Today’s Verse – John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. —John 1:14 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Jesus is God’s message. It wasn’t a message contained in a book or given in a vision. This message from God wasn’t revealed on a mountain to only a watchful few. God’s most complete message was human flesh, bone, and blood – God’s incarnation in human flesh as Jesus of Nazareth. God’s message came and lived among us as God’s Word – the pre-existent Word. He faced our hardships, got our dirt between his toes, felt our disappointments, struggled with our temptations, suffered our treachery, and bled real blood to redeem us. Yet, living in our world, God’s message brought us more than truth; he delivered us from death by his grace and showed us how to live and share his message. My Prayer… Almighty God, thank you for speaking in the past through your prophets (Hebrews 1:1-3). Thank you for making the proclamation of your Word powerful today through the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. I pray I will hear your truth through your Word, Jesus! Most of all, Father, I praise you for speaking your clearest, most profound, and most accessible message in Jesus as the consummate Word, the ultimate Word, the true message you want us to see, hear, and know. Because of Jesus, I know you love me, I know you have cleansed me, and I know I will share heaven with you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and may my gratitude be seen in the quality and character displayed in my life. In the name of Jesus – your greatest Message, the Word – I thank you and seek to honor you. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
15 Dec 2025
Another week has started. There are things I am expected to do, but I don’t know where to start. The tasks that I need to complete are tough and I am unsettled. But I have Jehovah on my side. I purpose to trust Him and to depend on Him. With His help I can accomplish much. He is able to make me succeed. Psalm 18:29.
Today’s Verse – Romans 14:5
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. —Romans 14:5 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… So often, we let personal preferences, peer pressure, and peer concerns about celebrating certain days, especially holidays, have a divisive effect on our Christian relationships. We’re not to try to press our opinion or position on anyone else. We’re not to judge others because they don’t celebrate a special day to the LORD we celebrated. We’re not to judge another because she does celebrate special days. Celebrating certain days as holy is a matter of personal conviction that revolves around our desire to please the LORD and to honor him in ways we feel are appropriate. Let’s not be so insecure that we have to do what everyone else does. Likewise, let’s not force anyone to do what we prefer. Instead, let’s remember the right angle to take with everything: honor God with all that we are and do and consider the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ even before our own (Matthew 22:37-40; Ephesians 4:29). My Prayer… O Father, please forgive us for fracturing the fellowship of your people based on human observances and special holy days as we hold our preferences about them. As for me, dear Father, please give me the courage to honor Christ according to my convictions and his commands. Please also give me the wisdom to do so in ways that bless your people and do not cause division. With the help of your Spirit, I will find ways to bring you the glory due you and maintain my fellowship with your children. Please purify my heart, and guide me in all that I do and approve. In Jesus’ name, I ask for your help. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.