09 Feb 2026
What is making you anxious? Is it a health issue, or finances or family relationships or work/business? Jehovah cares for all of us. He is concerned about everyone. Severally, His word admonishes us not to be anxious and to be sure that He will help us, no matter what we are going through. 1 Peter 5:7.
Quiet Waters
Is there hope for those stuck in the long stretches of life without peace? Sitting on the fishing deck of a nearby lake, all I see is peaceful and serene. A light breeze stirs the surface to quiet ripples. Flags on the docks of the lake-dwellers indicate an early start to the winds that will follow. An egret glides smoothly across a small inlet to fish in the shallow water. What could be more peaceful? Somewhere in the distance, however, there is the sound of what is to come. A motor ignites with a healthy roar and the day is on. Shortly, the lake will be filled with the noise of boats – ski boats, fishing boats and those angry little hornets called Sea-doos, the motorcycles of the waterways. This rhythm is the daily cycle, the transformation from peace to chaos and back again. This rhythm of a day on the lake strikes me – life is not so different. Few of us can hold on to those peaceful moments very long without interruption. Most of us have the promise of the return of peace. As the old country song says, “Life has its little ups and downs.” For some, however, a time of peace never seems to appear. Their lives are stressful from daybreak to dark – and often stressful through the night. Those long stretches without peace are difficult times! Most of us have experienced them for periods, but few of us for what seems to be forever. Is there hope for those stuck in the long stretches of life without peace? For most, the return of pace can be found in focus. If I am seeking silence, every noise is an irritant! On the other hand, if I am hammering loudly, few extraneous sounds have meaning. Perhaps we should learn a lesson here. To seek quiet in a time of noise can be perplexing, but to chose to follow the natural cycle of time and place may well be enjoyable. If you look for the quiet on the lake in the middle of the day, then you will be disappointed. Quiet comes in quiet times and quiet places. Don’t try to force life against the grain or you will constantly be irritated! Now, does this mean “go with the flow” when choices of sin and righteousness are involved? Of course not! Choosing the wrong never brings peace! I am only referring to the natural flow of life, busy-ness, and noise. When it comes to inner peace, there is no true peace without God. All the adjustments to the times and places will not compensate for the stress of an undirected life. Regardless of the question, God is always the answer – He can be our peace in the middle of life’s busy-ness and noise. I may choose to sit on the dock in the early morning to find the quiet of the lake. David, the shepherd king, knew the true source of real peace and quiet: [The LORD who is my Shepherd] makes me lie down in green pastures;He leads me beside quiet waters.He restores my soul;… (Psalm 23:2-3 NASB). Many are searching for the quiet waters in a world of raging storms; we all need the constant restoration of our souls. May you find this grace in your quiet place and the restoration of your soul! About the author: Bill is a long time minister in Nacogdoches, Texas who loves world missions. His passion for ministry has led him all over the world. In addition to his work as a minister, he is also a licensed professional counselor. Bill’s family is also involved in ministry and service to the world and community.
A Dry Time
Who around you needs more than just a drink? A friend of mine calls them dry times. Dry times are those times in your life, more specifically in your spiritual life, when there seems to be a void. A time when all the things you typically do to nourish your soul seem to have stopped working. Some of you understand the dry times very well. You have lived through them. You may be going through one right now. Maybe you have recently come out of such a time. Here are a few examples of how a dry time may express itself. You are going through life pretty much like you always have, but one day things seem different. The sky is not as blue. The breeze is not as cool. The sunshine is not as bright. The snowfall is not as white. Rainbows don’t provide much of a thrill. And very few things seem to give your heart much of a thrill. You are doing the same things you have always done. Except now you are enjoying it less. Very few things seem to excite you. When you try to describe how you feel you use the word “bored” more than you have in a very long time. Your job once gave you a reason to get up in the morning. It was challenging. It was rewarding. Now, it is a job. You go. You put in your time. You come home. Nothing has changed. It is the same job. Nothing has gone wrong. You still like the people you work with and you still are paid well for your efforts. But, it just seems to bore you. You have a great family. You love them. You would die for them. You long to be with them every opportunity you have. When one visit ends you begin planning the next one. When you are together you laugh, you cry, you really enjoy your family. You have a wonderful marriage. Your children are healthy. They are doing well in school. Life is good on the home front. But, something seems to be missing. You have an amazing spiritual network. You have been on mission trips with some of them. You have taken vacations with some of them. Your children have grown up together. You have attended weddings, funerals, ball games, parties, seminars, workshops, and baptisms together. You look forward to being with them every opportunity you have. But, it seems stale. Your personal spiritual life seems to be going well. You are doing all the right things. You read you Bible regularly. You pray consistently. You participate in an enriching small group. You occasionally teach a class. You sing on the praise team. You are even thinking about chaperoning a youth trip. You love your church. You love God. You love God’s people. But, you feel empty. Songs that once moved you to tears now seem old and tired. Sermons that should touch your heart do not. Prayers seem shallow and repetitious. When people around you are weeping with compassion you are gazing out the window or checking your phone for messages. There is no place you would rather be than in an assembly worshiping God, but you just don’t feel anything. It is a dry time. What do you do? Where do you go when your well is dry? Where do you go when your heart is empty? Where do you go to find joy? Where do you turn to when you need to be refreshed? Where do you go when your soul needs to be restored? Where do you go when you need hope? John tells a story about a woman going through a terribly dry time (John 4:4-42). In fact, dryness was about all she knew. Her home life, if you call it that, was a complete mess. She was lonely. She was rejected. She was isolated. Perhaps the saddest part of her story was that she had reached the point that she was resolved that this was all that her life would ever be. At one time she longed to have a real relationship, but that was so long ago she could barely remember what it was like. As was her routine when this Samaritan woman needed to refill her water jars, she went to the same well where she had always gone for water. She made sure she went during the middle of the day so that she would not bother anyone, and would not be bothered by anyone. When Jesus initiated a conversation with her, she was reluctant. Almost annoyed. Yet, there was something about Him that caught her attention and took her completely by surprise. He seemed to care about her. He had no ulterior motive. He listened to her. He answered her questions. He actually heard her. He knew her even though she had never met him. He talked to her like a real person. He treated her like she mattered. He gave her hope. He offered her a solution to her dry world. “This water,” Jesus said, “if you will drink it will quench your thirst. You’ll never be thirsty again. This is living water.” She drank the water. She came to the well to fill her jars with water. She left having had her dry and empty spirit refilled and refreshed. As she shared her story others came from their dry world to drink of the living water. Are you in a dry time? Follow the example of the woman at the well. Spend some time with Jesus. Get alone with Him. Dig into the Word. Go to a place of beauty and soak it in. Be still. Call or visit an old friend. Listen to your favorite music. Take a long walk. Rest. Listen. Play with a child. Serve someone who cannot return the favor. Drink from the well of living water. After you drink, share your story. You never know who else might be going through a dry
Lay Your Burden Down
How long are you going to keep carrying all that luggage? On August 15, 1930, a New York State Supreme Court Justice named Joseph Carter hailed a cab and was never seen or heard from again. The FBI thought his disappearance might be related to his work as a judge because of mob cases heard before his court. But since there was no hard evidence to support this theory, the case remains open to this day. All the work led investigators to a dead end. The only clue was a note Joseph Carter left for his wife, which said: “I am very, very tired. Love, Joe.” That was it, no one ever heard from him. I can’t help but feel that there are a lot of us who feel the same way. And Jesus has something to say to the person who is exhausted, worn out, frustrated, and weary. Jesus invited us to accept his offer of rest. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). While we are looking forward to the rest that awaits us in heaven, I don’t think Jesus is talking about heaven in this situation (Matthew 11). I think he’s offering rest for our souls here and now. Somebody to help carry our burden. The apostle Paul would later say, “Bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). We can do that for one another. There have been some times in my life when I’ve gone through some things that I just don’t think I could have handled if I didn’t have brothers and sisters in Christ to be there for me. But what we do for one another in a small way, Christ does for us to a much greater measure. Whatever burden you are carrying right now, Christ says he’ll be there for you. Whether it’s problems in your marriage or your children are in trouble at school or with the law. Maybe it’s burdens of loneliness, burdens of taking care of sick relatives, burdens of disappointment, or burdens of rejection, or the oppressive burdens of addictions. Maybe it’s the burden of not knowing which way to turn next. Life is filled with stress, with cares, and with worries. The reality is that life can be very difficult, but these are the very kinds of burdens that Jesus wants us to bring to him. Jesus is saying, “Come to me all you who are struggling with life in any way, and those of you who have burdens that you can’t carry alone, and I will help you with your struggles.” Do you remember the last time you made a trip to the airport with all your luggage? A couple of years ago, we took our daughter to the airport. She had absolutely crammed her suitcases as full as she could get them because she was moving to Germany. One of them weighed 65 pounds and the other one weighed 83 pounds. Fortunately they had the little wheels on them because I can’t imagine what it would have been like if we had to lug those things all over the airport trying to find the right ticket counter. And, I want to tell you, when the ticket agent took those suitcases from us and we didn’t have to carry them around anymore, that was a wonderful feeling. No more burden. That’s what Jesus does for us. Jesus is always on the lookout for hurting people. People who are bold enough to admit, “Lord, I need some help. I can’t carry these problems alone.” And he’s promised to do it. He said, “Come to me … and I will give you rest.” About the author: Alan Smith ministers with the Church of Christ in White House, Tennessee and publishes the email devotional “Thought for the Day.”
Today’s Verse – Matthew 5:43-45
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” —Matthew 5:43-45 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… We often talk about the privileges of being a child of God. We’re blessed with things like forgiveness, salvation, an eternal future in glory with him, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our ultimate victory when Christ comes. One of the greatest privileges we get, however, is the opportunity to act toward those who dislike and even hate us in ways that reflect the character of God as demonstrated by Jesus. Anyone can return hate for hate, but it takes children of God to return a blessing and a prayer of deliverance for their enemies. My Prayer… Father, thank you for loving me when I was still an enemy to you – ungodly, powerless, and a sinner (Romans 5:5-8). Thank you for using the death of your Son to gain my attention and offer me the opportunity to accept or reject your love. As you have promised, please pour your love into my heart through the Holy Spirit, so that I can love my enemies as you have loved me. In the name of your ultimate Gift of love, Jesus Christ, 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.
When You Think You Know Better
Note from Jesus Dear Friend, Frustrated! Yes, I was frustrated at this precious man in today’s verses who disobeyed My direct command not to tell anyone except the priests that he had been healed of leprosy. I understand why he did it. Most mortals would have difficulty not telling everyone they had been healed. Most people would find it very hard to do what the law required first. But showing the priests that you were healed was what the Torah required. The priests were already starting to think I was trying to upstage them. So I had very good reasons to instruct the man not to tell anyone else after showing himself to the priest. Besides, you have seen in previous days’ readings how the people wanted a miracle-worker more than they wanted a Lord Who called them to change their lives so they could live for the kingdom of God. Frustrated! Not only was I frustrated, but the Father’s plans for Me were temporarily frustrated. So I want to remind you of something essential: I want you to obey Me even when you think you know better what to do! However, there is also another important truth I want you to learn from My interaction with this man who had leprosy: My miracles were not for My benefit. Recall that I refused to use my miraculous power for My benefit and My reputation when the devil tempted Me in the wilderness. Notice carefully how I healed this man with leprosy: I touched him — sharing his uncleanness and ostracism — then I healed him with a direct command. I shared a touch of grace before I spoke his healing. Why is it so important to Me for you to see this truth? Simple. This event tells you a major reason why I came. I am One with the Father. My words have power — creative and healing power. Just as the Father spoke the universe into existence, when I speak, My words have power. Demons are cast out, people are healed of their diseases, and you should obey. I speak the very words of God! I have the authority to ask you to obey Me because of Who I AM. But if you listen to My words and watch My actions, I demonstrate how much God loves you. So I ask you to obey — not just because of My authority, but also because you recognize My great love for you and My desire to make you whole! Verses to Live I am One with the Father. My actions show the Father’s heart. God is not a god far off, but a Savior Who has come near to you in Me, Jesus of Nazareth. What I do shows the Father’s love for you. In this story, you see God touch a man who would not be touched by another mortal because of his illness. Fear of contracting the disease, societal pressures, and the laws of the Torah to protect the people of Israel prevented human touch with someone who had leprosy. So with the stretch of My arm and the touch of My hand, I demonstrated My love. I AM willing to bear your uncleanness and ostracism so you can be made whole. Another time in a city nearby, a man covered with skin lesions [leprosy] comes along. As soon as he sees Jesus, he prostrates himself. Leper: Lord, if You wish to, You can heal me of my disease. Jesus reaches out His hand and touches the man, something no one would normally do for fear of being infected or of becoming ritually unclean. Jesus: I want to heal you. Be cleansed! Immediately the man is cured. Jesus tells him firmly not to tell anyone about this. Jesus: Go, show yourself to the priest, and do what Moses commanded by making an appropriate offering to celebrate your cleansing. This will prove to everyone what has happened. Even though Jesus said not to talk about what happened, soon every conversation was consumed by these events. The crowds swelled even larger as people went to hear Jesus preach and to be healed of their many afflictions. Jesus repeatedly left the crowds, though, stealing away into the wilderness to pray. (Luke 5:12-16) Response in Prayer Father God, forgive me. I confess that there are times when I see Your commands, Your call to certain behavior — Your demand for holy character and gracious compassion — to be hard, burdensome, and limiting. I know, O God, that You have the authority to demand this of me. I realize that Your desire is for my wholeness as well as my holiness. I realize that You have demonstrated Your great love for me in Jesus — entering my world, bearing my sin, sharing my burdens so that I can be Your child. Thank You! In the name of Jesus, I thank You. Amen. ‘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.
Winter Gardening
What kind of spiritual work is going on in the quiet work of your life? A temperate day in the middle of winter beckoned. I ventured outside with only a light sweater – no gardening gloves. The sky was clear above me as I moved along our deck to the flower pots that just a few months ago had held vivid, flowering geraniums, and begonias, and petunias. Now only the skeletons stood, the remnants – brown and brittle. I pulled one dead geranium from a terra cotta pot and then another. I ended up clearing all the pots – not really having intended to, but I liked the results and so moved to the planter boxes surrounding the back deck. Then I went to the shed and picked the hoe and the pruners off the wall and on my way back to the beds, trimmed back the indigo and oregano in the miniature herb garden. By the time I was done with all the pots, beds, and boxes, my hamstrings were tight and my fingernails were dirty, but what a sense of satisfaction. The tilled dirt looked dark and rich and ready for spring planting. Some years this chore doesn’t get done until the moment I’m ready to replant in April. When this happens, there’s no period of time that could be called, “ready and waiting.” What a shame because there is something beautiful in “ready and waiting.” There’s something beautiful about clearing out the clutter – the ugly stuff, the stuff that isn’t serving a purpose – and being left with what is clean and ready and waiting. We may have less, but here’s a great example of when “less is more.” While I was admiring my debris-free planter boxes, the evergreens suddenly became noticeable. These plants, while not “showy” in the petunia sense, maintain their color in spite of seasonal changes around them. “I want to be an evergreen,” I thought, looking at my dwarf fir, “steady and lovely no matter the circumstances swirling around me.” I also noticed how just one evergreen, whether a boxwood or a juniper or a fir, kept an entire planter box from looking barren. This was God’s reminder that it doesn’t take much for life to be pleasing and winsome, even joyful. It just takes something of lasting value to be our focus. And what is of ultimate lasting value? The Ever-Loving, Ever-Gracious, Ever-Faithful Savior planted in a ready and waiting heart – more than evergreen, He is Everlasting. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom (Isaiah 40:30 TNIV). Winter gardening has its perks. About the author: Lisa is a Christian, a wife and a mother of three. Lisa shares, “I know how my story began and Christ divulged the ending, so now I’m concentrating on developing the middle. May the setting, characterization and plot twists all work to His glory.” You can email Lisa using this link!
Don’t Forget
Can you remember what you most recently forgot? Fumbling my way through the dark, I found the bed, re-adjusted the pillows, and collapsed into a heap, exhausted from my long day. As I lay there during the few minutes before sleep enveloped me, I prayed about several of the situations that had come my way that day. Shortly after my prayer’s, “Amen!” a sudden flurry of thoughts about a great message for Heartlight popped into my head. Rolling the ideas around in my mind, I was suddenly excited about these great insights and the great article they would inspire. I tried to place a few memory cues to help me retrieve the idea in the morning, then fell fast asleep. Now looking back, I’m sure that the article and ideas must have been great ones, but for the life of me, I couldn’t tell you what they were. Despite trying the memory cues, going over what I had been doing as I got into bed, reviewing the things that I had done that day, and even rehearsing the prayer I prayed that night, I have not been able to grab hold of those thoughts. I simply forgot them. I can’t remember what they were. I forget things quite frequently. This is not a new problem, but one I’ve had all my life. I’ve learned all sorts of tricks to set aside memory cues and to use memory trigger points to help me recall things. They work most of the time. Sometimes, however, what I wanted to remember is gone … forgotten … never to return to me again. Having worked with many people over the years, I’ve learned that I have a lot of company with this memory problem. (If you don’t think you have this problem, then I would kindly suggest that you’ve forgotten that you’ve forgotten a bunch of stuff!) We human beings are a forgetful lot. This is especially true with memory of God and the many things he has done to bless us. So we shouldn’t be surprised that one of the most powerfully convicting books in the Old Testament stresses that God’s people must not forget what the Almighty has done for them and remember all they have comes from him. Knowing that we are forgetful people, God built into our lives, faith events that stir our memory and re-awaken us to his ongoing presence and work. During the Old Testament times, he gave his people the yearly pilgrimage feasts. Many of the people would journey to Jerusalem and take part in rituals, celebrations, and activities where they would re-live the great acts of God’s deliverance. Today, God has given us the Lord’s Supper and baptism as regular reminders and opportunities to re-live the center of his saving work – Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection and to remind us that he will return in glory. God wants us to work at remembering … remembering his grace, his love, his great acts of redemption, his promises, and his ultimate salvation offered to all of us. So many other thoughts crowd into our minds that we often can’t remember what is most important. Before long, we end up living based upon the most urgent or most flashy immediate thoughts that catch our attention. We forget the crucial, life-giving, and eternal truths necessary for our Christian faith to truly shape our lives. So the next time you forget something, please remember how easy it is to forget what is most important to you. Make a conscious effort to go back and rehearse, remember, and re-live the great acts of God in your life. Don’t lose your spiritual passion in the sea of forgetfulness or the sloth of not intentionally remembering the greatness and goodness of our Father. Watch out! Be very careful never to forget what you have seen the LORD do for you. Do not let these things escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. (Deuteronomy 4:9 NLT) About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God’s Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com. Phil has also authored four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels.
Lonely Places as Usual
Is my life shaped by intentional time away from the noise to be with the Father? Prayer holds my heart captive today. I can’t get the idea of prayer out of my head. I can’t satisfy my heart with the quality of my prayer life. I am frustrated by my times of ineffective prayers and my lackadaisical approach to prayer in my life. What makes this all the more bewildering is that I love to pray. Prayer is something most are willing to discuss and would like to trust. However, most of us admit that we don’t pray as much as we should and that we would like to know how to pray more effectively. Most of all, we don’t understand why praying can become such hard and tedious work. Prayer seemed so natural for Jesus. Why is it so hard for us? To make my feelings on prayer even more complicated, much of my work with congregations in transition focuses on prayer. We pray for the Holy Spirit to lead our process. We pray for the Lord to strengthen and sharpen our focus as we wait for their new ministry partner. We pray for their new minister and the congregation from which he comes. We pray for the new minister’s family and their transition to a new place. We pray for us to be patient and to wait on the Lord, not rushing things to make them fit our timetable. We pray for God’s mission and vision for the congregation to become the lifeblood of what they do in the community and around the world. We pray for the impact on the lost people the congregation is trying to reach. We pray for the search team as they seek to be led by the Spirit. We pray for the elders to be true shepherds during this time that often feels so unsettling to their church family. Prayer is the fabric that holds the interim season together as we yearn for our hearts to be in tune with the Lord’s work. Prayer is also very important to me and to my ministry online.[NOTE] Unfortunately, however, I know my life is not framed and filled with prayer as much as Jesus’ life was. I want it to be, yet this “less than Jesus” feeling points to a shortcoming in my spiritual life that can only be filled with meaningful prayer time with the Father. Most importantly, however, I am interested in prayer because I want it to be more pervasively woven into my life. I want prayer to be the “spirit-natural” air I breathe. I want prayer to be present in every aspect of my life. I want prayer to be my vital link to God, yet I fear I don’t cherish the “lonely places” and my time with the Father with the same passion my Savior did. When Luke puts together his “orderly account” (Luke 1:1-4) of Jesus’ life, he makes clear that prayer framed the life of our Savior. Jesus’ teaching on prayer and his time in prayer reoccur throughout his story of Jesus. Luke wants us to know that prayer was the fabric that held Jesus’ life and ministry together. Nearly every key event is touched by prayer. Nearly every key movement of Jesus’ teaching mentions prayer in some way. Jesus’ life was so characterized by prayer that when Judas needed to find the Lord to betray him, Judas knew where to go: to Jesus’ garden of prayer! Each of Jesus’ moments in prayer and his teaching about prayer deserves special mention. Two, however, hold my heart today. These two instances matter so much to me because they frame his story. They reveal where to find Jesus when he is away from the crowds. Jesus had no earthly address, but no matter where Jesus was in his journey from the manger to the cross, you knew where to find him. He could be found in “lonely places” spending time with the Father, “as usual,” in prayer. Notice the emphasis in the two passages below, one which occurs near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and the other at the end. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:15-16) Jesus went out, as usual, to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed… (Luke 22:39-40). If you are like me, you avoid “lonely places”. They are not our usual habitat. I fill lonely places with music, reading, television, computer work, hunting, fishing, hiking, conversation, and people. None of those “lonely places” fillers are bad in themselves. They can be, however, distractions from our deepest need: to walk with God “in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:4 ESV). So today, I’m asking you to join me in a prayer. This is not a long prayer or an elaborate prayer or an eloquent prayer. It is a simple prayer asking for our hearts to yearn for the Father – to intentionally seek him in “lonely places” so that the “as usual” part of our lives are characterized by prayer! O Father, thank you for choosing to meet with me and hear me even though you are glorious, mighty, and transcendent. I ask that the Holy Spirit make my heart yearn for “lonely places” and to fill those lonely places with you. Help me find delight in my time with you in prayer. Strengthen me to make my “as usual” to be times of prayer. In Jesus’ name, I ask for this grace. Amen. About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God’s Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit),
Today’s Verse – Psalm 97:10
Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. —Psalm 97:10 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Hate – what a bold and powerful word. Jesus does not want us to hate people, not even our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). However, we MUST HATE evil and the evil one. While balancing our hatred of the evil one with our love for others can be challenging, it is absolutely vital. Evil is here because of the evil one – the champion of hate, lies, murder, and death (John 8:44). We can and must daily pray for deliverance from evil and the evil one (Matthew 5:13). So, when evil rears its ugly head, let’s be courageous and oppose the evil one and his work. As we resist the evil one, he will flee from us (James 4:7) as we draw near to God and are strengthened by his presence (James 4:8; Hebrews 10:22). Let’s choose to be used by God to be redemptive as we pray for those trapped by evil and the evil one’s tentacles. In so doing, we are not overcome by evil and the evil one, but we overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). My Prayer… Almighty God, make my heart pained by the evil in the world around me. Please also give me a holy revulsion to things opposed to your will and character that emanate from the evil one and propagate evil in your world. At the same time, dear Father, I know that you redeemed me by grace and rescued me while I was a captive to sin and the evil one. So, please give me the courage and compassion to care for those in the evil one’s embrace and are captive to his evil ways. Please bless me as I try to balance my absolute disdain for the evil one and my love for those who have been hurt and made captive by his evil ways. Through Jesus, my Savior, 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.