02 Feb 2026
Through His death on the cross and the resurrection, Christ set us free from the burden of the law. We were set free, not to do whatever we want, rather we were empowered to live for Him. That can only happen by faith expressed in love. Galatians 5:1-6.
A Walk with Our Shepherd
What does it really mean for us? I’m not sure on what David originally wrote down the famous shepherd psalm. It probably was sung in the field to calm his sheep before it finally made it into written form. Yet this psalm has brought comfort to millions over the years. With the words to the psalm are simple reflections on the meaning of each phrase. No one is quite sure of the origins of these simple reflections. Hopefully the words and the reflections will be a reminder to each of us how much God loves us and longs for us to build our lives around our his grace. The Lord is my Shepherd … — that’s relationship! I shall not want … — that’s provision! He makes me to lie down in green pastures … — that’s rest! He leads me beside the still waters … — that’s refreshment! He restores my soul … — that’s healing! He leads me in the paths of righteousness … — that’s guidance! For His name’s sake … — that’s purpose! Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death … –that’s testing! I will fear no evil … — that’s protection! For You are with me … — that’s companionship! Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me … — that’s security! You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies … — that’s hope! You anoint my head with oil … — that’s consecration! My cup runs over … — that’s abundance! Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me … — that’s blessing! All the days of my life … — that’s faithfulness! And I will dwell in the house of the LORD — that’s home! Forever! — that’s eternity!
It Doesn’t Fix Everything
What can money fix in your life? Money fixes things. At least, it fixes some things. It keeps a roof over your head and puts food on the table. It makes possible things such as education, medical care, and travel. If yours is a generous heart, it allows you to grace other people with blessings and opportunities they would miss otherwise. Contrary to the opinion of some, the Bible isn’t negative toward wealth and the things it can do. In the very same context where Paul gives his famous and oft-quoted warning about the “love of money being a root of all kinds of evil,” (1 Timothy 6:10) he affirms that it is God “who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1 Timothy 6:17) But money has its limits. While it has the potential for fixing certain things and providing gratification, it won’t fix everything. It can also create a special set of problems unique to substantial wealth. Take Jack Whittaker as an example. Whittaker, 57, burst onstage on Christmas Day, 2002. He won the biggest-ever undivided lottery prize when he hit a record $314.9 million Powerball jackpot. There he was on everybody’s TV screen. Smiling. Big cowboy hat. Already a successful contractor. Ready now to donate ten percent of his lump sum payout of $113 million after taxes to his church and to help other good causes. A picture of the same man two years later hardly looks like the one we saw back then. He looks old. Tired. Whipped. And there are reasons for the change. Whittaker has had hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen from his cars, house, and office. He has pleaded no contest to assaulting and threatening to kill a bar manager. He has been arrested twice on drunk-driving charges and ordered into rehab by a judge. He faces charges of groping women at a racetrack. Shortly before Christmas, his 17-year-old granddaughter disappeared. She had been there on the day of his big win. The apple of Whittaker’s eye, he was going to make everything possible for her. She said she wanted a car. She wanted to meet her favorite hip-hop star. Life was going to be wonderful! She was found dead – her body wrapped in a tarp outside her boyfriend’s house. Press reports say she died of a drug overdose. No wonder Whittaker looks whipped and confused. Who wouldn’t be? His story isn’t so much a warning about quick wealth or the dark side of gambling as it is simply a tragedy of major proportions. God help him to get himself together. The next time you are tempted to think money would fix everything for you, remember Jack Whittaker. And focus again on what really matters. True religion with contentment is great wealth. After all, we didn’t bring anything with us when we came into the world, and we certainly cannot carry anything with us when we die. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:6-10 NLT) Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19) About the author: Rubel Shelly preached for decades, been a professor of medical ethics, Bible, and philosophy at multiple universities and a med school. He is currently Professor of Philosophy & Religion at Lipscomb University. He is the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of inspirational articles.
Have You Caught This Aroma?
What do you smell like? But thanks be to God! For through what Christ has done, He has triumphed over us so that now wherever we go, He uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Gospel like a sweet perfume. As far as God is concerned there is a sweet wholesome fragrance in our lives. It is the fragrance of Christ within us, an aroma to both the saved and unsaved all around us. (2 Corinthians 2:14-15 LB) In February our thoughts turn to love as Valentine’s Day approaches! Can’t you smell the aroma of perfume and the fragrance of the roses that will be in abundance? Beautifully decorated boxes of sweet chocolates will be given to our cherished ones. Hearts of every color and size will be splashed across those gifts so carefully selected in love. We can be grateful for these delicacies God has given us to enjoy, but the aroma that pleases Him most is the fragrance of Christ within us. That is the sweet perfume that He desires we spread to those all around. This year as that special day of love arrives again, I pray that our lives will send forth the pleasing aroma of Christ to both the saved and unsaved. May these hearts that beat deep within us be full of the sweet wholesome fragrance of Christ, as we allow Him to use us to help spread the good news of Jesus around the world. About the author: Melva Cooper is a member of the Just a Minute writing team.
Today’s Verse – Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. —Deuteronomy 6:4-5 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… So many times the evil one seduces us into a flat, 2-dimensional Christianity – going to church and doing good things. However, God calls us to a three-dimensional faith – one that involves our heart, soul, and strength (body). He wants us to love him with all of our heart, all our inner being, and all of our actions used mightily for him. God wants us completely aligned with his ways, his character, his compassion, and his faithfulness in every facet of our being. Hear, O [people of God]: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Yes! Three-dimensional faith. Three-dimensional discipleship. My Prayer… Dear Heavenly Father, I honor you as God Almighty. I appreciate all the kindness and blessings you have lavished on me. I love you because you first loved me in Jesus. I honor you as the universe’s Creator and greatest power. I am humbled by the sacrificial and redemptive love you have shared with me in Jesus. I worship you with all I am – heart, soul, and strength – because you are worthy of my worship. Father, my heart desires to demonstrate my love, respect, appreciation, and worship for you in all I love, am, and do. I offer this prayer to you, dear Father, in the mighty name and through the intercession of Jesus. 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.
The Greatest Treasure
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved of the Father, You are a child of God; so I want to open your heart to hear two incredible truths found below in two simple stories that I told long ago. Truth One: You are the Father’s treasure! Yes, I know that is not normally how the two stories below are read, but I want you to think about it for a minute. There is a truth that you must not miss behind this understanding of these stories. The Father sent Me, His greatest gift, to pay the price to ransom you back to Us. You are Our treasure — Our discovered treasure and Our searched for treasure. I was the willing purchase price paid to buy you back from sin and death. Truth Two: The kingdom is the greatest treasure you can ever find. For some, it will seem like an accidental and great discovery as in the first story — almost like the treasure found them! The key, however, is that when you have “accidentally” discovered this treasure, then you should be willing to give up everything else to make it your own! Others, as in the second story, will find the treasure of the kingdom because they have longed to find it and have searched far and wide to find it. Again, the key is that having found it, they rejoice in giving up everything else to make this treasure of the kingdom their own! Notice the truth that ties these two understandings together: true treasure is worth any price necessary. That is true with the ultimate price I paid in coming to redeem you. It is also true for the price you must be ready to pay for the kingdom if you are willing to follow Me! Verses to Live What is your greatest treasure? I made clear that you are My treasure when I left the Father’s side and came to give My life to buy you out of slavery to sin and death and to reclaim you as a child of God. Will you choose to see My way, My kingdom, as your greatest treasure? Jesus: The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that is hidden in a field. A crafty man found the treasure buried there and buried it again so no one would know where it was. Thrilled, he went off and sold everything he had, and then he came back and bought the field with the hidden treasure part of the bargain. Or the kingdom of heaven is like a jeweler on the lookout for the finest pearls. When he found a pearl more beautiful and valuable than any jewel he had ever seen, the jeweler sold all he had and bought that pearl, his pearl of great price. (Matthew 13:44-46) Response in Prayer O Father, all I can think about in response to these stories is Your great love that sent Jesus to ransom me and Jesus’ great love to come and pay the price for my sin. The words to the old hymn speak the emotions of my heart in response to this great love: Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.* May the lordship of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven rule my heart just as the sacrifice of Jesus has captured my heart and made me Your child. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. * From Isaac Watts’ hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” 1707. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2026, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Expertise and Artistry of God’s Grace
Grace is the mercy and love of God freely shared with us. Grace is also the style, the way in which God shares this mercy and love For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:8-10). Throughout the Bible, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God’s grace has a definite rhythm. God pours out his grace freely on us, and then we respond by living to bless others out of that grace. God’s grace always comes first; our actions are our response to what he has already given us (1 John 4:10). But, what is grace? Grace is the mercy and love of God freely shared with us. Grace is also the style, the way in which God shares this mercy and love. A ballerina displays both an artistic expertise mixed with an emotional flair of performance to bring us a gift of grace. Similarly, but on a grander scale, God gives us what only he can supply (his expertise of grace, mercy, and love), yet he also offers this grace with an emotional flair and beauty that is breathtaking – his beautiful rhythm of grace is both the gift and how he presents it to us. This combination of love and mercy first, then our response, along with both the expertise and the artistry of grace, make up God’s incredible rhythm of grace. This rhythm is displayed first in his creation, yet throughout human history, he re-displays this rhythm again and again. Listen to how James describes it in today’s video message: If you can’t see the video, and you sure don’t want to miss it, view it online. For additional ideas to consider and some things to discuss with others, we encourage you to look at the Study Guide. The environment where each of us was raised impacts our approach to grace. However, we must not define ourselves by our problematic pasts, our previous painful relationships, or our current difficult circumstances. We must choose to let God define grace for us. We must allow God to deliver grace with his expertise as he pours mercy and overflows love into our lives. We must allow God to display his artistry in grace as he reveals his beauty in creation, his word, his people, and especially, in his Son. When we allow God to exercise both his expertise and artistry in grace, our lives can be re-written, begun fresh, and re-defined by his beautiful rhythm of grace. But, what does that mean for us? Can we actually discover this rhythm? Is God’s grace accessible to us personally? Can mercy, love, and beauty re-write our story? Can the rhythm of grace add depth and meaning to the beauty already woven into our lives? We certainly believe so. We hope you will choose to join us in seeking and celebrating this grace together! Until next time, let’s stay the course and keep seeking lasting truth about God, life, and the meaning of our journey! About the author: In this series, James Nored and Phil Ware partner two pioneering ministries providing resources to reach coming generations. James is a minister, Executive Director of Next Generation for Christ, and author of the Story of Redemption Film Series, filmed in the Israel, U.S., and around the world. This series is designed to lead seekers to faith and strengthen the faith of believers. Divided into 5-6 minute video segments, it is great to use with social media, small groups, sermon series, families, and friends. Phil is President of Heartlight, Inc., a preacher for 40 years, author of five books along with hundreds of articles & 11 years of daily devotionals, coach for churches in transition, and a resource for missionary renewal. Phil’s verseoftheday.com devotionals are read by hundreds of thousands every day.
Relationships Are Worth the Effort
Excellence in every area of life means relationships, too! Most of us know that excellence doesn’t come through shortcuts or along the path of least resistance. By its nature, quality requires exacting standards and attention to detail. So premium products cost more. More has been invested in them, so their value goes up. You understand that about your company and the product or service. Do you understand the same is true with relationships? A friendship maintained over time is costly. Not only does it take effort just to keep up with someone when both of you are moving around in your first few years of your careers but it also requires even more to deal with personality quirks, misunderstandings, and slights. Lacking the willingness to pay attention and to invest emotional energy, friends become mere acquaintances – and eventually become strangers all over again. Ever wonder why Scripture represents the church as the family of God? Why it pictures its members as sisters and brothers to one another? Maybe your cynical response is to say it is because we are so much like children fussing in the back seat in the family car. Granting that, the deeper truth is that we belong to one another in a significant way and are expected to look out for one another in a pinch, to take up for one another when the neighborhood bully (i.e., Satan) comes calling with the sinister intent of doing real harm to one of us. The most intimate of human relationships is the one between husbands and wives in our marital covenants. With sociologists telling us that about half of all first marriages are failing, something must be wrong with our thinking. Where is the “excellence” we are building into our roles as mates and parents? Research tells us that “till death do us part” has been laid aside as an archaic convention in wedding ceremonies of late. In its place are things like “for as long as our love shall last” or “until our time together is over.” How’s that for being open-ended? For leaving a way out? For some people, what they call “love” doesn’t last into the third month. Their “time together is hardly enough to unpack. “Make it easy on yourself” seems to be the rule of thumb for too many of us. So we are shallow in our faith, careless about our character, and weak in our commitments. We betray our spiritual potential. We abandon the ethical path. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive the one who offends you. Since the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive each other. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts (Colossians 3:13-15 NLT). Don’t forsake your highest ideals. True enough, you might still fall short of some worthy goals. But you will never achieve them on the path of minimal effort. About the author: Rubel Shelly preached for decades, been a professor of medical ethics, Bible, and philosophy at multiple universities and a med school. He is currently Professor of Philosophy & Religion at Lipscomb University. He is the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of inspirational articles.
Lord, Change Us. Change Me!
Has God really grabbed your heart enough to change your life? God said, “I will also put a new spirit in you and change your way of thinking. I will take out the heart of stone from your body and give you a tender, human heart. (Ezekiel 36:26 ERV) Lord, change us. Change me. How can I remain the same when I’ve seen what I’ve seen and heard what I’ve heard and experienced what I’ve experienced. I cannot remain the same. I am not the same person. You have changed me. You are working in me and around me to make me more like You. Lord, change us. Change me. I have heard about children being neglected, abused, kidnapped, ignored, aborted and discarded. Because I have heard these stories I must change. I scan the channels on my television, and I see the faces of children starving to death in a land far away. I hear of programs designed to help these children, your children, and help is being given. I want to do what I can to make sure they are not forgotten. Because I have seen and heard these stories, I have been changed. Lord, change us. Change me. I heard that crime continues to rise. Robberies. Home invasions. Abductions. Murders. Rapes. Some are considered almost acceptable. Some crimes are too horrendous to mention. Because I know these things I am not the same. I know that families are falling apart. A husband walks away from his wife and his children. A wife tells her children, “I just don’t love your daddy any more.” Somehow that is supposed to help them understand why she does not come home at night. Because I know these things happen, because I know some of these people, I have been changed. Because I have stood with my brothers and sisters and poured out my heart in praise and honor to You, I am not the same. Because I have publicly committed my life to You, I am not the same. Because I have surrendered my heart to You, I have been changed. I am not the same. Lord, change us. Change me. Continue to put these truths in my mind. Put these experiences in my path. Put Your people in my life. Show me what it means to worship You. Continue to convict me that I must continue to change so that I can become more like Your Son. Help us to continue to change until we fully become Your people. Lord, change us. Change me. About the author: Tom Norvell is the author of “A Norvell Note” — Thoughts and reflections on God, life, people, and living as a follower of Jesus. He has ministered with followers of Jesus for four decades and loves Jesus, his family, and those seeking Jesus, passionately.
Today’s Verse – Psalm 86:5
You are forgiving and good, O LORD, abounding in love to all who call on you. —Psalm 86:5 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Forgiveness is such a sweet blessing. But God does more than forgive! Jesus cleanses and purifies us, then presents us to God as “holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:21-22). God does not grudgingly meter out his love. He does not ration out his forgiveness. He lavishly pours his love upon us, and into us, as we genuinely seek him as our Father (Romans 5:5; 1 John 3:1). So, let’s cry out and ask for God’s forgiveness as we praise the mighty and holy name of The Almighty, confidently knowing that our Father longs to bless us with his overflowing goodness, mercy, and love. My Prayer… O Precious Father, I call to you, wanting you to know how important your love and forgiveness are in my life. Thank you for sending Jesus to show your love for me and pay the debt of my sin. Please help me to live today as your child, shaped to be like Jesus, and may others see my joy and my passion for you as I seek to live for your glory. In the name of my Savior, Jesus, 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.