FOCUS OF THE MONTH (FOM)
GOD GIVES GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION
SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK (SOW)
Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. — Isaiah 48:17 KJV
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. — Isaiah 48:17 ESV
Wednesday Corporate Fasting Scripture – Isaiah 58 (ESV); Isaiah 58 (KJV)
Friday End of Week Scripture – Ephesians 3:20-21 (KJV)
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ESV Translation Philosophy
The ESV is an “essentially literal” translation that seeks as far as possible to reproduce the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. As such, its emphasis is on “word-for-word” correspondence, at the same time taking full account of differences in grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. Thus it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and exact force of the original.
In contrast to the ESV, some Bible versions have followed a “thought-for-thought” rather than “word-for-word” translation philosophy, emphasizing “dynamic equivalence” rather than the “essentially literal” meaning of the original. A “thought-for-thought” translation is of necessity more inclined to reflect the interpretive views of the translator and the influences of contemporary culture.
Every translation is at many points a trade-off between literal precision and readability, between “formal equivalence” in expression and “functional equivalence” in communication, and the ESV is no exception. Within this framework, we have sought to be “as literal as possible” while maintaining clarity of expression and literary excellence. Therefore, to the extent that plain English permits and the meaning in each case allows, we have sought to use the same English word for important recurring words in the original; and, as far as grammar and syntax allow, we have rendered Old Testament passages cited in the New in ways that show their correspondence. Thus in each of these areas, as well as throughout the Bible as a whole, we have sought to capture all the echoes and overtones of meaning that are so abundantly present in the original texts.
As an essentially literal translation, taking into account grammar and syntax, the ESV thus seeks to carry over every possible nuance of meaning in the original words of Scripture into our own language. As such, the ESV is ideally suited for in-depth study of the Bible. Indeed, with its commitment to literary excellence, the ESV is equally well suited for public reading and preaching, for private reading and reflection, for both academic and devotional study, and for Scripture memorization.
PRAISE & WORSHIP
DAILY DEVOTIONALS
Sunday, February 16, 2025 – REFLECTING GOD’S MERCY – Matthew 7:7-12
Our Daily Bread Focus: Beatitudes; God’s love & care; love for others; Mercy
Today’s Insights
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) wasn’t His first public address. Matthew 4:13-17 tells us that His teaching ministry had already begun: “Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum . . . . From that time on Jesus began to preach.” The Sermon on the Mount, however, was His first recorded public message. He shares what life in His kingdom looks like—in sharp contrast to the kingdoms of this world.
The Beatitudes (5:3-10) show that His kingdom values people and things differently than the surrounding cultures. It describes how we’re to impact the world around us and relates to issues of the heart (as opposed to the letter) of the law. It even calls His kingdom citizens to love their enemies. Life in His kingdom is characterized by care for the poor, prayer that rests in God’s good will, and a trust in the Father that precludes the need for worry. A very different kind of kingdom indeed!
Today’s Devotional
A Finnish soldier in the three-month Winter War with Russia (1939-1940) lay wounded on the battlefield. A Russian soldier walked his way, pointing his rifle. The Finn was certain he’d met his end. However, the Russian handed him a medic kit, then kept moving. Remarkably, the Finn later found himself in a similar situation, only the roles were reversed—a Russian soldier lay wounded and helpless on the battlefield. The Finn handed him medical supplies and walked on.
Jesus gave us a central, guiding principle for our lives: “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). Can you imagine how different our world would be if believers kept this one simple principle? Can we calculate how much oppression would end if we collectively obeyed Jesus’ wisdom? If only, as He guides us, we would give others the same compassion and mercy we’d hope to receive ourselves. As we “give good gifts” to others, we reflect the heart of our “Father in heaven [who gives] good gifts to those” He loves (v. 11).
It’s vital that we see others as not merely enemies or strangers or people with whom we compete for resources or opportunities. Instead, we should see their need for mercy and kindness just as we need it. And as we do, our posture and perspective will change. Then, as God provides, we can freely offer them the love He’s freely offered to us.
Reflect & Pray
Why is it vital to treat others the way you’d like to be treated? How can Jesus help you?
Dear God, please help me reflect Your mercy and love in how I treat others.
Today’s Insights
Proverbs 29 cautions us to restrain and overcome our anger. “The wise turn away anger” (v. 8), whereas “fools give full vent to their rage” (v. 11). An angry person inevitably “stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins” (v. 22). Unrestrained anger resulted in humanity’s first murder. God warned Cain to rein in his anger lest he be consumed by it. Succumbing to his anger, Cain killed his own brother in cold blood (Genesis 4:6-8).
Moses, another classic example, killed an Egyptian taskmaster in a moment of rage (Exodus 2:11-12). Years later, angered by the Israelites’ persistent grumblings, Moses disobeyed and dishonored God and unsympathetically disparaged God’s people by striking the rock (Numbers 20:1-13). The psalmist says that “they made Moses angry, and he spoke foolishly” (Psalm 106:33 nlt). Indeed, “A quick-tempered person does foolish things” (Proverbs 14:17). Paul warns, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you . . . for anger gives a foothold to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27 nlt).
Today’s Devotional
Following the South’s catastrophic loss at Gettysburg in the American Civil War (1863), General Robert E. Lee led his battered troops back to Southern territory. Heavy rains flooded the Potomac River, blocking his retreat. President Abraham Lincoln urged General George Meade to attack. But Meade’s men were just as weary as Lee’s. He rested his troops.
Lincoln picked up his quill and wrote a letter in which he confessed he was “distressed immeasurably” at Meade’s reluctance to pursue Lee. On the envelope are these words in the president’s handwriting: “To Gen. Meade, never sent, or signed.” And indeed, it never was.
Long before Lincoln, another great leader grasped the importance of reining in our emotions. Anger, no matter how justified, is a dangerously powerful force. “Do you see someone who speaks in haste?” King Solomon asked. “There is more hope for a fool than for them” (Proverbs 29:20). Solomon knew that “by justice a king gives a country stability” (v. 4). He also understood that “fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end” (v. 11).
And in the end, not sending that letter prevented Lincoln from demoralizing his top general, helped win a necessary war, and contributed to the healing of a nation. We do well to learn from examples like his of wise restraint.
Reflect & Pray
Why is it important to cautiously give vent to your emotions? How will you do this the next time you’re angry?
Father, I give my emotions to You so that Your Spirit will help me avoid speaking in haste.
For further study, read Why Am I Angry? Understanding Anger’s Roots.
Today’s Insights
In Ephesians 4:17-32, Paul contrasts the deceptive ways of ”the devil” (v. 27) with the truth of God’s ways. The “Gentiles” (who don’t believe in God) are lost in “the futility of their thinking” (v. 17) and “darkened in their understanding.” Paul notes how this “ignorance” is “due to the hardening of their hearts” (v. 18). This reflects their conscious choice to reject God’s truth. In contrast, we’ve been “taught . . . the truth that is in Jesus” (v. 21) so that we will “put off [our] old self” and “its deceitful desires” (v. 22). We’re to live in God’s truth.
Today’s Devotional
A ride-sharing customer shared that he had endured a driver eating the world’s smelliest fruit, another driver who was bickering with a girlfriend, and one who tried to get him to invest money in a Ponzi scheme. In each case, instead of a poor rating, he gave the drivers five stars. He explained, “They all seemed like nice people. I didn’t want them to be kicked off the app over my bad rating.” He gave false reviews—keeping the truth from the drivers . . . and others.
For different reasons, we might withhold the truth from others. But the apostle Paul encouraged the Ephesian believers to lovingly speak the truth to one another as new creatures in Christ. This required cultivating habits of “righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24)—living lives that were set apart for Him and that reflected His ways. They were to replace lying with telling one another the truth because lies divide and disrupt, while truth unites us as believers. He wrote, “Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body” (v. 25).
Jesus empowers us with the courage to resist lying and giving one another “fake ratings”—things that can disrupt our unity with other believers. Living a life of love, as He guides us, will lead to our sharing “kind and compassionate” expressions of truth (v. 32). from God.
Reflect & Pray
When are you tempted to withhold the truth from other believers? Why is it vital to share what’s honest and true?
Dear God, please help me to be authentic in my relationships out of love for You and others.
For further study, read Clothed in Him.
Today’s Insights
Genesis 29:31–30:24 and 35:16-26 tell of the births of the twelve sons of Jacob, whose name means “deceiver.” His name was later changed by God to Israel, which means, he “struggled with God” (32:28). Jacob’s life was characterized by favoritism (29:18, 30), spousal neglect, jealousy, and rivalry (29:31–30:1). That God would name His chosen nation after Jacob and use his twelve sons to become the ancestral heads of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel points to His covenantal love and unmerited grace (see Romans 9:10-18).
Equally noteworthy in Leah’s sad story is that two crucial institutions of the nation of Israel—the Aaronic-Levitical priesthood (Numbers 18:1-7) and the kingship (Genesis 49:10)—come from her third and fourth sons, Levi and Judah (29:34-35). These two sons were from a marriage in which she was unwanted and unloved. Yet God honored Leah and graciously looked after her (vv. 31-35; 30:17-21).
Today’s Devotional
As a child, when asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Ben would say, “I want to be like Dave.” Ben’s older brother was athletic, sociable, and an honor student. Ben, on the other hand, says, “I was clumsy in sports, timid, and struggled with a learning disability. I’d always wanted a close relationship with Dave, but he didn’t. He called me ‘the boring one.’ ”
Ben spent much of his life pursuing his older brother’s love in vain. It was only when Ben became a follower of Jesus that he learned to rest in the love of his Savior instead.
Leah, the first wife of Jacob, spent much of her life pursuing her husband’s love (Genesis 29:32-35). Jacob, however, remained devoted to Rachel. But God saw Leah’s plight and made up for the rejection in her life. He blessed her by allowing her to be a mother, a great honor in her culture at that time (v. 31). Leah, unseen and unheard by her husband, was lovingly seen and heard by God (vv. 32-33). She gave birth to a daughter and six sons (35:23), one of whom was Judah, a forefather of Jesus Himself. She said at his birth, “This time I will praise the Lord” (29:35). Leah lived a long life in Canaan and was buried in a place of honor—with Jacob’s family (49:29-32).
When we experience rejection, let’s find comfort in Leah’s story. We can rest in the love of God, who makes up for what we lack.
Reflect & Pray
How can you rest in God’s love when you’re rejected? How might you entrust your pain to Him?
Dear God, thank You that Your love heals me in all the places where I’ve been rejected.
Thursday, February 20, 2025 – THE SIMPLE TRUTH – Romans 10:9-11
Daily Bread Focus: Salvation
Scripture(s): Mark 1:15; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 11:1
Today’s Insights
The context of the promise in Romans 10 that “if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (v. 9) is the full inclusion of gentiles—non-Jewish people—into God’s people and into a saving relationship with Him. Before Christ came, gentiles could only become part of God’s people by converting to Judaism and following Jewish law.
But Paul argued that gentiles were no longer required to follow Jewish law to be considered righteous before God. Instead, “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (v. 4). This means that a relationship with God is accessible to all—“there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him” (v. 12).
Today’s Devotional
When my wife and I go biking, we like to know how many miles we’ve pedaled. So, I went to a bike shop to buy an odometer and came home with a minicomputer that I discovered was a bit too complicated for me to program.
I headed back to the bike shop, where the person who had sold it to me had it working in no time. I realized it wasn’t as difficult to understand as I thought.
In life, new things and new ideas can seem complicated. Think about salvation, for instance. Some people might think becoming a child of God is complicated.
Yet, the Bible spells it out in simple terms: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). No set of rules to follow. No mysteries to solve.
Here’s the simple truth: We’ve all sinned (Romans 3:23). Jesus came to earth to save us from the penalty of our sin—death and eternal separation from Him (Matthew 1:21; 1 Peter 2:24). He arose from the dead (Romans 10:9). And we’re saved from spiritual death to eternal life by trusting in what He did for us (John 3:16).
Consider what it will mean for you to simply trust and believe in Jesus. Let Him give you “life . . . to the full” (John 10:10).
Reflect & Pray
What will it mean for you to receive salvation in Jesus? If you’ve been saved, what difference has faith in Him made in your life?
Loving God, I realize that I’m a sinner—I do things that are wrong in Your eyes. I also realize that You sent Jesus to earth to die on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me for my sins and redeem me. Thank You for the salvation You’ve provided!
Learn more about having a personal relationship with God.
Today’s Insights
Proverbs 22:17–24:22 includes the heading “Thirty Sayings of the Wise.” This section is a collection of wise words “of counsel and knowledge” (22:20) to encourage the reader to trust in God and live honest and God-honoring lives (vv. 19-21).
Each saying in this section of Proverbs encourages the reader to adopt or avoid certain behaviors and uses the characteristic injunction “Do not . . .” followed by the reason or consequence of obedience or disobedience (see 22:22-23; 23:3, 4-5; 24:1-2). Proverbs 24:15-22 focuses primarily on our attitude toward evildoers. We’re not to imitate their evil deeds, gloat over their downfall (vv. 17-18), or envy their successes (vv. 19-20). Instead, we’re to fear both God and his agent, the governing authorities, for they will punish evildoers (vv. 21-22).
Today’s Devotional
As a teen, I was enthralled with the sport of figure skating. I loved the blend of artistry and athleticism on ice, with the fast spins, high jumps, and perfect poses. After watching many professional skaters perform, I finally got the opportunity to go ice skating and be part of a group lesson. Along with learning how to glide and stop, we learned some of the most important skills for a skater at any level—how to fall and get back up quickly. Later, I learned many spins and jumps in private lessons, but always had to rely on the basics of how to get up after a fall.
We don’t have to be athletes to know that “falling” is part of life. Perhaps we fall because we’ve sinned, we stumble due to a mistake, or we get knocked down by an overwhelming circumstance. Maybe we find ourselves being attacked by the devil one way or another. “We are . . . persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). No matter the reason, we all fall and experience failure in life.
But we’re not meant to live in defeat, shame, or regret. When the enemy is lurking nearby and trying to plunder from us (Proverbs 24:15), we need to remember that God is fighting for us and will help us get back up, “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again” (v. 16).
When we fall, let’s quickly turn to God and fix our eyes on Him who gives us the strength to get back up.
Reflect & Pray
How do you handle the falls in life? How has God helped you get back up?
Dear God, thank You for helping me get up after a fall.
For further study read, Do Not Rejoice.
Saturday, February 22, 2025 – LEGACY OF LOVE IN JESUS – John 13:31-36
Our Daily Bread Focus: Christ, character; Love for God; Love for Others
Today’s Insights
John’s words which close the section preceding John 13:31-36 are elegant and laden with meaning: “And it was night” (v. 30). Here John implies much more than the mere passage of daylight. Judas has been possessed by Satan himself (v. 27) and has left the company of the disciples (v. 30). At this pivotal point, Jesus says, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him” (v. 31).
It may seem odd that Christ speaks triumphant words at such a dark time. Judas has left to betray Him, Peter will deny Him (v. 38), and the disciples (except John) will abandon Him (Matthew 26:56). Yet Jesus prayed, “I have brought you [His Father] glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). In Christ’s death and resurrection, the Father revealed the full scope of His love for us.
Today’s Devotional
In Sweden, there’s a concept known as döstädning. It literally means “death cleaning.” The idea is that as we grow older, we should stop accumulating “stuff” and begin to cut out the clutter we have amassed throughout our lives. “Swedish death cleaning” is actually a gift of love to children and friends, for it simplifies for them the task of wading through what we leave behind.
As believers in Jesus, at a certain age we think about our legacy—what survives us. This is often framed in terms of money, inheritance, or charitable giving—and there’s much to be said for that. But it might be helpful to look at Jesus in His final hours with His disciples: “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later” (John 13:36). In two verses (vv. 34-35), He uses the word love or loved four times—His legacy was love. He told them: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (v. 34).
It may be good to do some “Swedish death cleaning” in our lives, removing clutter to leave behind only the most important things. But it really isn’t about things or money. The most important legacy you can leave behind is your love for Jesus. When children and friends remember you as one who loved Jesus, that’s the best gift of all. It gives new meaning to the phrase “left behind.”
Reflect & Pray
How do your family and friends see your love for Jesus demonstrated? How might you share that love more openly?
Dear God, thank You for Your love and for the gift of Jesus in my life. Please help me to show Your love to those around me.
Discover the weight of the words “When he was gone…,” written by the disciple John.
THIS WEEK’S INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT BY SISTER CLOVIA
WE FALL DOWN, BUT WE GET UP!
The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. — Psalm 145:14 KJV
Not if, but when you make mistakes, there is always another chance for you, even when the mistakes are serious. What we consider failure is not falling down but staying down. No mistake or failure is as bad as staying down, stopping, and not trying again.
Because when you fall, God promises to pick you up. To him, our failures are not permanent. Even when you fall, God holds your hand, ready to help you stand.
Falling and failure are natural courses in life. Most of us have or will have great falls. It may be financial, relational, health-related, or even moral, but falls and failures will become familiar. The good news is that it’s not the end whenever you fall.
For Christians, a fatal fall never has to happen. Lean on the truth that you can and will survive as a child of God. Get back up, brush yourself off, and keep moving forward in the name and faith of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Jesus is the One who picks us up when no one else has even noticed we have fallen.
For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ – Isaiah 41:13 NKJV
In the encouraging words of Donnie McClurkin, a gospel artist, “We fall down, but we get up — for a saint is just a sinner who fell down but he couldn’t stay there…”
So, in the name of Jesus, GET BACK UP!
CHRISTIAN-BASED MOVIE OF THE MONTH
***The Daily Devotionals are taken from Our Daily Bread Ministries and the Scriptures are from the BibleGateway.***
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