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Written by Max Lucado, a contemporary pastor and author. This is an excerpt from his book “Trade Your Cares for Calm.”

Fear may fill our world, but it doesn’t have to fill our hearts. It will always knock on the door. Just don’t invite it in for dinner, and for Heaven’s sake, don’t offer it a bed for the night. The promise of Christ is simple: we can fear less tomorrow than we do today…Imagine your whole life untouched by worry. What if faith, not fear, were your default reactions to threats? Envision a day, just one, absent the dread of failure, rejection, and calamity.  This is the possibility behind Jesus’ question, “Why are you afraid?” in Matthew 8:26.

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the Kingdom. [Luke 12:32]

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Written by Mark D. Roberts, a contemporary author.

Our culture is obsessed with appearance. We experience this all the time. This obsession can easily dominate our lives. So much concern about outward appearance can distract us from what matters most: the state of our heart. When we realize that God knows our hearts, we are motivated to pay more attention to what’s on the inside than what’s on the outside.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” [1 Samuel 16:7]

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Written by the Lead Like Jesus team, an organization founded by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges that promotes a transformational leadership model based on following Jesus

In contrast to Jesus’ purposeful movement through life, many of us live like jugglers who are trying to keep too many balls in the air. Being busy defines our days. We move between family, work, church, and community activities with scarcely time to breathe. In the mix, Sabbath and solitude often get lost. “Later,” we think, only to find that we have worn ourselves out with all our coming and going. What about you? Is your relationship with God the top priority in your life, or just one part of your life?

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [John 15:5]

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Today’s prayer is from the “Book of Common Prayer.” It dates from at least the early 8^th century and is associated with Archbishop Thomas Cranmer

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. [James 1:17]

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Written by Richard Foster, a contemporary theologian and author.

Douglas Steere said, ​“To pray is to change.” Frankly, none of us will keep up the work of prayer for long unless we are willing to change. We will either give it up, or we will turn it into a little system that keeps the form of godliness but denies the power of it — which is the same thing as giving it up. In prayer, if we are not into the life and the power of the Spirit we are not into prayer. When we begin to walk with God he is gracious, and marvelously answers our feeble, egocentric, greed-motivated prayers. We think, ​“Hallelujah, this is great! God is real after all.” Then, after a time, we try to push that button again and God says, ​“Wait a minute! I would like to be your teacher and to lead you into a more excellent way. I want to set you free of your greed and avarice, your fear and hostility.” We may chafe under that and struggle against it for a while, but in time we learn the goodness of God’s grace. We begin to be set free of our bondage to ourselves. We begin to live in obedience.

Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.  [Psalm 118:5]

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 Written by Tamar Tyler, a contemporary editor.  This is an excerpt from the book “A Beautiful Year in the Bible.”

Being generous with each other is a natural outgrowth of God’s generosity with us…God, as ultimate creator, made all things and set the world into motion. We are but a small part of the vastness of creation, and every resource or possession we have is a blessing from the Lord. Therefore, as an act of gratitude for God’s faithfulness, we give because God first gives to us…When we choose to give without reservation or expectation, we deepen our connections to community. We remember our shared purpose…We might think of generosity as a river flowing through a community; it nourishes everything it touches. Through acts of giving, we cultivate a richer world…Each act of generosity, no matter how small, is a step towards a more supportive and connected community. We are not merely giving away resources, but giving thanks for these blessings and bringing forth a more beautiful world.

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.  [2 Corinthians 9:10]

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 Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Zondervan’s “The Weekly Rest Project.”

The entire world runs on cycles. Day becomes night. Night becomes day. Winter melts into spring. Spring blooms into summer. Summer fades into autumn. And autumn freezes into winter. Years pass by, and people are born and eventually die, but these cycles that God created remain the same. He set each cycle moving at creation, including the ones that govern our days. The Bible models this cycle for us. It is a rhythm of work, play, worship, and rest. Days for work, nights for rest, Sabbath each week, and everyone pausing to come together to worship and celebrate for holidays and feasts. Everything in balance to keep us healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually. The seasons have always played a role too. Work was limited by daylight and the weather until very recently. There was less outdoor work to be done in the winter and more time to rest. Now, of course, thanks to technology, we can work anytime and anywhere, even when we shouldn’t. Our modern, busy, go-go-go, I’ll-rest-when-I’m-dead mentality doesn’t truly disrupt or circumvent the cycle God provided us, even if it feels like working around the clock is some sort of cheat code to getting to the good life. It may lead to financial success, but it always comes at a cost — usually our health and overall well-being. We’ve turned away from living in community and working together to carry the load in favor of doing it all on our own, in our own ways. As a result, we’re a society of people who are sick, unhappy, burned out, lonely, and overwhelmed. And that is definitely not God’s plan for us. Prioritizing rest is about more than catching up on sleep. It’s about living our lives in sync with the rhythms God laid out for us that are designed to bring us closer to Him.

On the seventh day — with the canvas of the cosmos completed — God paused from His labor and rested. Thus God blessed day seven and made it special — an open time for pause and restoration, a sacred zone of Sabbath-keeping. [Genesis 2:2-3]

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 Written by Kelly Balarie, a contemporary writer. 

What would happen if you tried to help a friend with their groceries, but they wouldn’t let go of their grip on the grocery bag? Would you effectively be able to assist them with the load they are carrying? The same happens when we don’t release our load to the Lord. Scripture encourages us to cast our cares, but we will still carry their heavy load if we don’t let them go. What load might you need to cast on the Lord?

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. [1 Peter 5:7]

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 This is an excerpt from “A Beautiful Year in the Bible” published by Alabaster and edited by contemporary editor Sabrina Dawson.

Through his words and deeds, Jesus articulates a Kingdom in which extending help to one another is essential to our way of life, transforming competitive instincts into collaborative strengths. This call to service is not about diminishing oneself but about elevating communal well-being, where every action and choice can significantly impact another’s journey. Through his words and deeds, Jesus articulates a Kingdom in which extending help to one another is essential to our way of life, transforming competitive instincts into collaborative strengths. This call to service is not about diminishing oneself but about elevating communal well-being, where every action and choice can significantly impact another’s journey.

Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For the Son of Man came not be be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. [Mark 10:43-45]

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 Written by Ann Spangler, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks.”

The Hebrew Scriptures normally depict God, not as the Father of individuals but as Father to His people, Israel. Pious Jews, aware of the gap between a holy God and sinful human beings, would never have dared address God as Ab(Hebrew) or Abba, the Aramaic word for “Daddy,” which gradually came to mean “dear father.” Jesus shocked many of His contemporaries by referring to God as His Father and by inviting His followers to call God “Abba, Father.” Rather than depicting God as a typical Middle Eastern patriarch who wielded considerable power within the family, He depicted Him primarily as a tender and compassionate Father, who extends grace to both the sinner and the self-righteous.

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” [Romans 8:15]

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