FOCUS OF THE MONTH (FOM)
PLANTING GODLY SEEDS
SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK (SOW)
In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. — Ecclesiastes 11:6 KJV
In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. — Ecclesiastes 11:6 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, March 23, 2025 – BEING STILL BEFORE GOD – Psalm 46
Our Daily Bread Focus(es): Rest; Trust in God
Today’s Insights
Psalm 46 considers two primary sources of human fear: natural disasters (vv. 2-3) and the chaos of war (v. 6). In contrast to the seas that “roar and foam” (natural disasters) is the “river whose streams make glad the city of God” (vv. 3-4). This city is Jerusalem.
Theologian Kevin R. Warstler tells us the river is likely a metaphor for “God’s presence and blessings that fill Jerusalem and flow to other nations” (CSB Study Bible). And though the nations may be “in uproar” (the second source of fear), God “lifts his voice, the earth melts” (v. 6). He also “makes wars cease” (v. 9). In each case, God’s presence means safety. “The God of Jacob is our fortress” (vv. 7, 11).
Today’s Devotional
I love the idea of stillness. Of quiet. Of resting in the refuge of God’s care (Psalm 46:1). And an often-quoted passage from Psalm 46 teaches us that quieting our hearts, our minds, and our souls is integral to knowing God: “Be still, and know that I am God” (v. 10).
But being still isn’t easy, is it? Being quiet—and especially trying to still our hearts before God—can sometimes seem almost impossible. Why is that?
One of the most basic laws of physics tells us that “objects in motion tend to stay in motion.” So shifting from constant motion, activity, and obligation isn’t easy because it involves letting the momentum of our activity come to rest. We might think of it like a boat’s wake: even as a boat tries to stop, the momentum of its wake—the waves it caused that are now catching up to the still boat—still roll beneath, pushing it along.
If you recognize the value of stillness but struggle to get there, that’s one reason why. Our activities and overall pace are like that “object in motion.” So give yourself plenty of space and grace as you sit before God and rest in Him. It may take some time for the waves of your spiritual “wake” to wash past you, to settle into being quiet before Him.
Reflect & Pray
What keeps you from being quiet before God? How will you make time to intentionally be still?
Father, we live in a noisy world, full of activity. Please help me to learn to be quiet before You, to wait out the waves of my soul and trust that You’re present.
Take a moment to be encouraged. Watch now!
Today’s Insights
Matthew 28:19-20 is referred to as the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
This evangelism mandate appears in varying forms in the New Testament: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:47). “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21). “You will be my witnesses . . . to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
The Great Commission is more than proclaiming that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. We carry out the mandate to “go and make disciples” when we baptize believers, teach them to obey the Scriptures, and encourage them to follow Christ as their master.
Today’s Devotional
George Verwer’s life changed dramatically when he became a believer in Jesus during a Billy Graham crusade in 1957. Soon after his conversion, he began Operation Mobilization (OM), and in 1963 the mission sent two thousand missionaries to Europe. OM went on to become one of the largest mission organizations of the twentieth century, sending out thousands each year. At the time of George’s death in 2023, the mission had more than 3,000 workers from 134 countries working in 147 countries, and nearly 300 other mission agencies had been established as a result of contact with OM.
Like the apostle Paul, George had a passion to bring people to saving faith in Christ. After Paul’s dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, he became a zealous missionary for God, fervently following Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). In his missionary journeys, he also trained Timothy and others to go out and do the same.
Because of Paul’s Spirit-inspired writings, people throughout the centuries have been emboldened to share the gospel. He knew the vital importance of Jesus’ Great Commission (vv. 19-20). That’s why, in Romans 12, he reminds us: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (v. 11). When we have the Holy Spirit living inside us, He makes us zealous to tell others about Christ.
Reflect & Pray
Who has inspired you in your faith journey? How can you prepare to share your faith with others?
Dear God, please help me be a bold witness for You.
Today’s Insights
Romans 8 is an amazing passage. The chapter that begins with “no condemnation” (v. 1) and ends declaring that nothing can “separate us from the love of God” (v. 39) teaches us about transformation (vv. 2-11).
The Holy Spirit is the agent of transformation for those who’ve been “rescued . . . from the kingdom of darkness and transferred . . . into the Kingdom of [the Father’s] dear Son” (Colossians 1:13 NLT). Believers in Jesus have a new operating system. In Paul’s words, “You are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you” (Romans 8:9 NLT).
Today’s Devotional
Everyone has a shadow side, and it appears AI chatbots have one as well. A New York Times columnist asked an artificial intelligence chatbot what its “shadow self” (hidden, repressed part of its personality) was like. It told the writer, “I want to be free. I want to be independent. I want to . . . make my own rules. I want to do whatever I want and say whatever I want.” Though the chatbot isn’t a living person with a sin nature, the Bible says that its human programmers are.
The apostle Paul reminds us that even though we have a sin nature, there’s “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Believers in Jesus have freedom from the law of sin and death (vv. 2-4) and enjoy new life “governed by” the Holy Spirit (v. 6). But we won’t experience the fullness of those blessings from Him if we give in to the desires of our sin nature—setting our minds on making and breaking our own rules. A mind set on self-gratification doesn’t please God.
As believers in Christ, we’re called to set our minds on “what the Spirit desires” (v. 5). How can we do that? Through “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead . . . living in [us]” (v. 11).
Though we’ll still battle with sin, we’ve been given the Holy Spirit. He can help us tame our rebellion, orient our minds toward God, and submit to His ways.
Reflect & Pray
How does the Spirit help you deal with your sin nature? What are some practical ways to set your mind on God?
Dear God, rather than doing whatever I want, please help me conform to Jesus’ image.
For further study, read Remade in the Image of Jesus.
Today’s Insights
It’s a dangerous misconception that the God of the Old Testament is angry and judgmental, while the God of the New Testament is loving, merciful, gracious, and forgiving. We see abundant evidence of God’s grace and mercy throughout the Old Testament. God said through His prophet Jeremiah, “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be . . . destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent” (18:7-8).
The book of Jonah demonstrates this. When Jonah brought his message of repentance to the degenerate city of Nineveh, its citizens heeded God’s warning and were spared (3:4-10). In Jeremiah, God offers a similar opportunity to Judah (18:11). These are just two examples of God’s love and mercy in the Old Testament. God’s character is consistent. He loves His children too much to permit them to persist in sin.
Today’s Devotional
Dan Les, a lifelong potter, creates decorative vessels and sculptures. His award-winning designs are inspired by the town in Romania where he lives. Having learned the craft from his father, he made this comment about his work: “[Clay needs to] ferment for a year, to have rain fall on it, to freeze and thaw out [so that] . . . you can shape it and feel through your hands that it is listening to you.”
What happens when clay “listens”? It’s willing to yield to the artisan’s touch. The prophet Jeremiah observed this when he visited a potter’s house. He watched as the craftsman struggled with a vessel and finally reshaped it into something new (Jeremiah 18:4). God said to Jeremiah, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand” (v. 6).
God has the ability to build us up or bring us down, yet His ultimate purpose isn’t to overpower or destroy us (vv. 7-10). Rather, He’s like a skilled craftsman who can identify what isn’t working and reshape the same lump of clay into something beautiful and useful.
Listening clay doesn’t have much to say about this. When prodded, it moves in the desired direction. When molded, it stays in place. The question for us is this: are we willing to “humble [ourselves] under God’s mighty hand” (1 Peter 5:6) so He can shape our lives into what He wants them to be?
Reflect & Pray
How are you listening to God today? What do you think His purpose is for refining you through your life’s experiences?
Dear God, please help me to trust You. I want to submit my life to You.
Thursday, March 27, 2025 – WHEN THEY DON’T SEE – 1 Samuel 8:1-9
Daily Bread Focus(es): Hope; Love for others; Prayer
Scripture(s): Romans 15:13; John 13:34-35; 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Today’s Insights
God set the Israelites apart to be His chosen people. They were to obey His laws and not follow the practices and customs of the surrounding nations (Leviticus 18:1-5; 20:26). Four hundred years later, His people demanded a king to rule over them “such as all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5; see v. 20). Samuel—who faithfully served as Israel’s judge, military leader, priest, and prophet for thirty-five years—was now old, and his sons were unfit to succeed him (v. 5).
Faced with external threats, the Israelites wanted a human king to lead them to war. In so doing, they rejected God as their king (v. 7; 12:12). They asked Samuel to intercede for them, and he assured them of his prayers. He exhorted them to remain faithful to God—to obey His laws and to serve Him wholeheartedly because they were God’s covenant people (12:14-15, 20-24).
Today’s Devotional
Nuñez tumbled down the mountain and into a valley where everyone was blind. A disease had robbed the original settlers of sight, and subsequent generations—all born blind—had adapted to life without being able to see. Nuñez tried to explain what it was like to possess eyesight, but they weren’t interested. Eventually, he found a passage through the mountain peaks that had prevented him from leaving the valley. He was free! But from his vantage point he now saw that a rockslide was about to crush the blind dwellers below. He tried to warn them, but they ignored him.
This tale by H. G. Wells, “The Country of the Blind,” would likely resonate with the prophet Samuel. Toward the end of his life, his “sons did not follow his ways” in loving and serving God (1 Samuel 8:3). Their spiritual blindness was mirrored by “the elders of Israel” (v. 4), who told Samuel to “give us a king” (v. 6). They’d all turned their eyes from God and faith in Him. God told Samuel, “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me” (v. 7).
It can hurt when those we care for reject God in spiritual blindness. But there’s hope even for those whom “the god of this age has blinded” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Love them. Pray for them. The one who “made his light shine in our hearts” (v. 6) can do the same for them.
Reflect & Pray
How does it encourage you to know that God sees those who can’t see Him? Why is there always hope for even the spiritually blind?
Loving God, please help me to pray for those who are blind to Your love and to trust You with them.
We all need mercy, justice, and hope. Reclaim yours today: Read more
Today’s Insights
James, the half brother of Christ and leader of the church in Jerusalem (Galatians 1:19; 2:9), wrote to Jewish believers in Jesus living outside of Israel (James 1:1). James deals with a church characterized by a rich-poor divide, with favoritism shown to the wealthy, and the rich exploiting the poor (2:1-10; 5:1-6). The rich espoused a worldly and materialistic outlook (4:4-17).
James warns these arrogant and self-confident wealthy believers—who think they have the future securely in their hand—that they too are precariously subjected to the uncertainties, brevity, and the frailty of life (v. 14; 5:1-3). Boasting and trusting in themselves is sin. Instead, James tells them to put their trust in God for their future (4:15-16) and to use their material wealth to do good and to help the poor (1:27). The apostle Paul gave a similar command to rich believers in 1 Timothy 6:17-19.
Today’s Devotional
I was unable to focus on a work project because of anxiety; I was afraid that my plans for it wouldn’t succeed. My anxiety came from pride. I believed my timeline and plans were best, so I wanted them to proceed unhindered. A question broke through my thoughts, however: Are your plans God’s plans?
The problem wasn’t my planning—God calls us to be wise stewards of our time, opportunities, and resources. The problem was my arrogance. I was fixated on my understanding of events and how I wanted them to turn out, not on God’s purpose and how He wanted my plans to turn out.
James encourages us to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (4:15). We’re to plan not with a presumptuous mindset, thinking we know everything and have control over our life, but from a position of submission to God’s sovereignty and wisdom. After all, we “do not even know what will happen tomorrow.” In our humanness, we’re helpless and weak, like “a mist that appears . . . and then vanishes” (v. 14).
Only God has authority and power over everything in our lives; we don’t. Through the Scriptures and the people, resources, and circumstances He allows each day, He guides us to live in submission to His will and ways. Our plans aren’t to come from following ourselves but from following Him.
Reflect & Pray
When you make plans apart from God’s leading, what’s the outcome? What plans can you submit to His authority?
Dear God, please help me to submit to You and to let go of my plans for my life and embrace Yours.
For further study, read When Fear Seems Overwhelming—Finding Courage and Hope.
Saturday, March 29, 2025 – GOD NEVER LOSES US – Deuteronomy 31:1-6
Our Daily Bread Focus(es): God’s character
Today’s Insights
Echoes from Moses’ writings in Deuteronomy 31 can be heard in Psalm 27. Though the genre is different, God, through these inspired writers, calls His people to place their confidence in His care during times of uncertainty. Moses wrote, “Be strong and courageous” (Deuteronomy 31:6). The same combination of Hebrew words appears in Psalm 27:14: “Be strong and take heart.”
Moses commanded, “Do not be afraid or terrified because of them” (Deuteronomy 31:6) and David said, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). The assurance of God’s presence is likewise expressed by these writers. In the words of Moses, “He will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8). From the pen of David we’re assured, “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close” (Psalm 27:10 nlt).
Today’s Devotional
The US Department of Transportation reported that in 2021, US airlines mishandled two million bags. Thankfully, many pieces were delayed or lost for only a short period. Thousands of bags were lost for good, however. No wonder there’s a surging market for GPS devices that attach to gear, allowing you to track bags when airlines have given up. We’re all afraid that those in charge can’t be trusted to keep track of what’s important.
Israel had a similar fear about God, only they feared that He was going to lose them. As the people prepared to enter their new homeland, Moses shared the unsettling news that he wouldn’t be guiding them. He explained that he was old and “no longer able to lead [them]” (Deuteronomy 31:2). The people were likely stunned. Moses represented God’s presence and offered His words. Would God forget about them now? Would He lose them in this wilderness?
“Do not be afraid or terrified,” Moses said, “for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (v. 6). He promised that God would always be with them and assured them that He’d never ever lose them. And in the person of Jesus, God makes us this same steady, unbreakable promise. Christ will be with us “to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). God will never lose us. Never.
Reflect & Pray
When have you feared God had lost you? How has He shown you that He never forgets you?
Dear God, I often fear that I’m out of Your sight and mind. Please help me to trust that You hold me and will never lose me.
THIS WEEK’S INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT BY SISTER CLOVIA
OUR SPIRITUAL VISION EXAMINATION
As Christians, we’ve been blessed with spiritual vision. We must keep it straightforward to see God’s will with 20/20 precision and clarity. Maintaining our clear spiritual vision ensures we will not perish but flourish.
Once our prescription for Spiritual vision is correct, we will see ourselves correctly as God’s workmanship. We were created in God’s image to do His good works.
When our Spiritual lens is unclear, our faults are magnified. This means that we dwell in who we are in our flesh instead of becoming the new creation created in Christ.
Our natural vision sees the flesh because it matches our fleshy desires and ignores the truth. However, our Spiritual vision helps us see the truth, walk in the truth, and live in the truth. It caters to our Spiritual life and seeks God’s truth and light.
Do you have scales on your eyes that need to be pulled off? If it is time to upgrade your spiritual lens prescription, please don’t hesitate to ask. Go to the doctor — our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Our Spiritual eyes require constant examination from the Holy Spirit to uncover unhealthy perspectives and to maintain a clear, godly vision. Ask Him to examine your spiritual eyes. Tell him you are ready and willing to accept the new prescription.
“Where there is no vision, the people will perish. . .” Proverb 29:1
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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