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Written by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), an American clergyman and author.  This is an excerpt from his book “Best Methods of Promoting Spiritual Life.”

To promote spiritual life is not to be more religious where one is already religious. It is to be religious where he is irreligious now; to let the spiritual force which is in him play upon new activities. How shall he open, for instance, his business life to this deep power? By casting out of his business all that is essentially wicked in it, by insisting to himself on its ideal, of charity or usefulness, on the loftiest conception of every relationship into which it brings him with his fellow man, and by making it not a matter of his own whim or choice, but a duty to be done faithfully because God has call him to it…God chose for him his work and meant for him to find his spiritual education there.

Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters. [Colossians 3:23]

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Written by Elizabeth Cooledge Jenkins, a contemporary writer, preacher, and campus minister. This is an excerpt from the book “A Beautiful Year in the Bible.”

God desires the holistic, long-term flourishing of our whole world and every person and community in it. As Lisa Sharon Harper writes, “If we are human, then we are created to flourish and exercise agency in the world – economic and political, as well as social and cultural agency.” Flourishing holds many dimensions; God invites us to partner in creativity and hope, courageously building a world where all can thrive…The instructions God gives us are not arbitrary. Rather, they are wise guidelines, written with our best interests in mind…God is trustworthy. We can choose to trust God’s ways of sharing unconditional love, courageous peacemaking, and a steady commitment to all people’s flourishing.

The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. [Psalm 92:12]

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Written by Vivian Bricker, a contemporary writer.

There are many false gods in this world today. While we often think of false gods as golden calves, shrines, or other created objects, they can also be in the form of our career, relationships, or appearance. Anything can become an idol if we place it above God. This also includes good things like a spouse, children, or parents. The moment we put something or someone above God, it becomes the “god” in our lives and can cause us to turn away from Christ. As one can imagine, this is not our purpose in life. Our purpose in life is to know the Lord, love the Lord, and make Him known. We won’t be able to do this if we have put other things above the Lord. For example, if we have made our career the god of our lives, we will make it our priority and focus above all else, placing God on the back burner.  Rather than serving the Lord and equipping other believers to know Him, we will become obsessed with our job, deadlines, and how to keep climbing the company ladder. While nothing is wrong with wanting to be successful or enjoy our jobs, we don’t need to place them as more important than God. God is greater than our careers because He is the One who has created us, saved us, and loves us. Our career or any other “god” we have created in our life does not do these things… Whatever has taken the place above God in your life, choose to give it over to Him and rest in His forgiveness. 

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. [Exodus 32:7-8]

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Written by Abidan Shah, a contemporary pastor and writer.

What are you relying on to bring you peace, joy, or courage—and is it truly satisfying your soul? In a world that promises peace in a bottle, joy in a purchase, or comfort in a distraction, God offers something better—His Spirit. Instead of filling our lives with what leaves us empty, we are called  to be filled with the Spirit—finding our peace, courage, and joy in the One who will never fail us…True freedom in Christ is not doing whatever we please, but loving others enough to lay aside anything that might cause them to stumble…Choosing the Spirit over substitutes not only strengthens our own walk, it points others to the hope found in Jesus.

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. [Romans 14:17]

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Written by Jennifer Waddle, a contemporary author.

To be considered blessed or prosperous in our culture, is to be affluent in wealth, success, or notoriety…The Hebrew word for blessed is esher, which means internal happiness and contentment. It has nothing to do with worldly achievements, but rather peace and joy that is rooted in God alone. The promise of blessedness comes for those who find delight in the Word of the Lord, who meditate on it day and night. Of course, we can’t spend every minute reading the Bible, but we can hide the Word in our hearts and carry the Scriptures with us through every season. It’s not about head-knowledge, but rather heart-knowledge, filling our souls with words of life.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. [Hebrews 4:12]

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Written by Ray Pritchard, a contemporary pastor, author, and president of Keep Believing Ministries.

There are many days where I feel an overwhelming sense of discouragement, exhaustion, or frustration. It might be little things that bring about these feelings in me, or it might be major life events that have left me weary and hurting, but either way, I know I don’t have the strength on my own to make it through. It’s days like those where I find prayer comforting. When we feel those feelings creeping in, may we instead choose to kneel before our Father in heaven and ask him for the strength and courage we need to carry on.  We often don’t think about the connection to prayer and courage. But prayer is how we remind ourselves of what God has done in the past and who he is. He is infinitely good, wise, strong, loving, and perfect. And that infinite wisdom, goodness, love and perfection is what he uses to care for us every day. When we look back on our lives, we can see how all God has promised is true – he has never left us alone in our problems. He is always with us, always providing for our needs, always loving, carrying and strengthening us each day for the challenges ahead. When we take time to pray a prayer of gratitude for what God has done, it will encourage us to pray boldly, for the help we need in the present and future moments to come.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:6-7]

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Today’s prayer is written by David Mathis, a contemporary pastor and blogger.

Lord, thank you for your abundant, abounding grace. Thank you that we don’t have to earn a drop of the mighty river of grace that flows freely for us today. Thank you for the unexpected, unmerited favor you’ve showered on my life. Help me put myself in the path of your love and grace. Help me not neglect the disciplines I need to meet with you regularly and to drink from the water of life. Thank you for your rich love. Amen.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. [2 Corinthians 12:8-9]

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Today’s devotion is based on Ephesians 4 and is from the Pray.com team.

Love isn’t just a feeling—it’s a choice to bear with one another’s imperfections. Paul paints a picture of a Christian community marked by humility, gentleness, and incredible patience. “Forbearing” means we carry each other’s weaknesses rather than exposing them. It’s choosing to see past the irritation to the image of God in that difficult person. This isn’t doormat Christianity but strength under control. When we’re humble enough to admit our own flaws, gentle enough to handle others’ hearts with care, and patient enough to let love do its slow work, we create space for transformation. This is how the body of Christ becomes beautiful.

With all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love.  [Ephesians 4:2]

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Written by Jim Burns, a contemporary speaker and author.

I once heard it said, “I would rather attempt something great and fail than attempt nothing and succeed.” What dream is God placing in your heart? Don’t sit back and wait for someone else to make a difference when you can be that person. The world doesn’t need more armchair quarterbacks; the world needs people like you to get in the arena and give it everything you can! It was President Theodore Roosevelt who said: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually try to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” Our Lord plants a dream in everyone’s heart. Most often the dreams are mighty, life-changing dreams with long-term positive results. Take your dream  and make a difference in this world!

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. [Philippians 4:13]

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Written by Dallas Willard(1935-2013), an American philosopher, speaker  and writer on spiritual formation. This is an excerpt from his book. This is an excerpt from his book “Life Without Lack.”

Faith—trust—is the key that unlocks our readiness to receive God’s sufficiency in our lives. Given how we commonly use these words today, it is helpful to replace all occurrences of faith in the Bible with trust…To have faith in God is simply to trust God, to rely upon him in the face of all fears. The best known definition in the Bible is this: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).  Substance means what stands under something (sub-stance or under-standing).  Faith is the substance of things hoped for in this way: when we have faith, we act in relationship with God to bring what we hope for into reality. Faith is also “the evidence of things not seen.” What are the things not seen? In the same passage a few lines later, we are told that “the worlds seen were not made of things which are visible. The phrase “things not seen” refers to the word, or the energy of God in action. When we have faith, that is sure evidence that the word of the unseen God is active in us. Faith is a gift; God creates it in our hearts.

For by grace you have been saved through faith [trust]. [Ephesians 2:8]

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