FOCUS OF THE MONTH (FOM)
SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS
SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK (SOW)
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. — 2 Corinthians 9:8 KJV
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency[a] in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. — 2 Corinthians 9:8 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, April 20, 2025 – THE BEST EVIDENCE – Acts 2:29-36
Our Daily Bread Focus(es): Christ, death; Christ’s resurrection
Today’s Insights
In Acts 2:34-35, Peter quotes Psalm 110:1 in his Pentecost message: “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ ” James Montgomery Boice, in his commentary Psalms, Volume 3, notes that this verse “is quoted directly or alluded to indirectly at least twenty-seven times,” making it the most quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament. Peter was likely in the audience when Jesus quoted this psalm in Matthew 22:44 as He challenged the Pharisees’ understanding of the Messiah.
While Christ was the son of David and therefore human, He was also David’s “Lord”—He was Himself divine. Convinced of Jesus’ resurrection and exaltation to the Father’s right hand, Peter proclaimed that Christ is “both Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36). Such is the message that believers in Jesus proclaim on Easter and every day.
Today’s Devotional
Lee didn’t believe in God, and he didn’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus. But Lee was a journalist with an analytical mind. When his wife believed in Jesus, he decided to study her new faith for himself. After two years of research, he gave in—to God, to the resurrection, to faith in Christ.
The change in him was noticeable. After a few months, his five-year-old daughter said to his wife, “Mommy, I want God to do for me what he’s done for Daddy.” And the daughter of Lee Strobel put her faith in Jesus too.
Many people refuse to believe in the resurrection. But reputable eyewitnesses saw the risen Jesus. One of those eyewitnesses, the disciple Peter, told a large crowd that King David was certainly dead and buried (Acts 2:29). Then Peter pointed to a prophecy David had made. “[David] spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah,” he said (v. 31). Peter concluded, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it” (v. 32).
The best evidence for the resurrection is the changed lives of the eyewitnesses, including Peter. At the crucifixion, the disciples had gone into hiding. Peter actually denied Christ (John 18:15-17, 25-27). Once they saw Jesus alive, everything changed. Filled with courage, they began to share the truth of the one great hope of the world—the risen Christ.him close.
Reflect & Pray
What do you believe about the resurrection of Jesus? How does that belief affect your life?
Father, I’m so grateful for the reality of Jesus’ resurrection that changes my life and gives me real hope.
For further study, read Hunting for Resurrection Hope.
Today’s Insights
Matthew 23:13-29 records seven “woes” as Jesus confronts the teachers of the law and the Pharisees for their ritualistic piety and hypocrisy. Woe means “how dreadful or terrible.” It’s a severe condemnation (see Isaiah 3:11; Matthew 11:21-22) in stark contrast to the description “blessed” in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12). The teachers of the law, or scribes, were the scholars of the day, professionally trained in Old Testament law.
The majority of these scribes were themselves Pharisees (Mark 2:16). The Pharisees—the “separated ones”—were self-appointed guardians and enforcers of the Mosaic law. They considered the “tradition of the elders”—interpretations and regulations handed down by tradition—to be more authoritative than the Scriptures (7:3-5, 8-9). In six of the seven denunciations, Jesus called them “hypocrites” (Matthew 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29), “for they do not practice what they preach” (v. 3), and “everything they do is done for people to see” (v. 5). Instead, Christ is concerned with what’s inside—our hearts. He alone can clean us from the inside out (v. 26).
Today’s Devotional
On a frigid November day, our church hoped to fill two hundred backpacks for the homeless. Preparing to help fill them, I sorted through the items donated, praying to find new gloves, hats, socks, blankets. Bowls of chili and sandwiches would also be shared with those who were to receive the gifts. Then I noticed an item that surprised me: washcloths. I’d been focusing on helping people stay warm and fed. Someone had remembered to help our recipients feel clean.
The Bible speaks about another kind of “clean”—cleanliness of heart and spirit. Jesus pointed this out as He decried the hypocrisy of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. They kept the smallest requirements of the law but “neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23). Christ told them, “You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean” (vv. 25-26).
Acting as if we are spiritually spotless is just a show if we don’t seek the cleansing found in Christ. “What can wash away my sin?” asks an old gospel song. “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” A new washcloth can be a gift to wash us on the outside. Jesus cleans us on the inside, washing away even the worst of our sins.
Reflect & Pray
Where do you need spiritual deep-cleaning? How can you pray for Christ to cleanse you today?
Please clean me spiritually on the inside, dear Jesus.
Learn more about having a personal relationship with God.
Today’s Insights
In Deuteronomy 10, God commanded Moses to “chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones” (v. 1). These tablets contained God’s law and replaced the first tablets that were broken in anger by Moses in response to the people’s apostasy (Exodus 32:19). Israel is called once more to obey God’s law in a renewal of their covenant relationship with Him.
n summarizing how God’s people were called to live, Moses emphasizes that they ought to “fear the Lord [their] God, to walk in obedience to Him, to love him, to serve the Lord [their] God with all [their] heart and with all [their] soul” (Deuteronomy 10:12). He says that “you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt” (v. 19). Scripture shows that loving God and loving our neighbor are inseparable; it’s the heart of what God calls us to. Jesus emphasized this in Matthew 22:37-40.
Today’s Devotional
The people of Le Chambon, France, risked everything to help save the lives of as many as five thousand individuals, many of them Jewish children, during the Nazi occupation. The refugees fleeing their homes were hidden in the community’s homes and farms. The townspeople were inspired by pastor André Trocmé, who called on his congregation to help by referencing the words of Deuteronomy 10:19, “You are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.”
This command given to the Israelites comes in a passage that begins with the reminder that the whole earth belongs to God, who is “mighty and awesome” (v. 17). Yet God chose to love the Israelites (v. 15). He also cares for people in vulnerable or unfamiliar situations (v. 18), including foreigners who weren’t part of the nation of Israel. As the Israelites settled in their new home, they were to imitate God’s love and care for those needing help, especially because they knew the unique struggles of being a foreigner (v. 19).
If we’ve been at a job a long time or lived in the same home for several years, God may give us the opportunity to show kindness to someone who feels like a “foreigner,” perhaps by providing helpful advice to a new coworker or assistance to a recently relocated family. When we do, we demonstrate God’s love to those in unfamiliar, and often vulnerable, situations.
Reflect & Pray
When did someone show you kindness recently? How might you care for someone else?
Heavenly Father, please help me to extend Your love and care to others.
Discover a personal relationship with God → Learn More.
Today’s Insights
Throughout Matthew 18, Jesus used extreme examples to make His point—become like a child to be deemed “greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (v. 4); cut off your hand or foot to keep from sinning (v. 8). In this parable of the man who owed “ten thousand bags of gold” (v. 24), Bible commentator John D. Barry notes the monumental size of the debt: roughly 150,000 years of wages. Christ’s point is that our sin is a debt we can’t possibly repay. Since we’ve been forgiven such a great sum, our own willingness to forgive others is to be likewise limitless.
Today’s Devotional
In the animated movie Toy Story, a child’s toys come to life whenever he leaves the room or falls asleep. One character, a space ranger named Buzz Lightyear, shouts his signature catchphrase while flying about the bedroom: “To infinity and beyond!”
It’s a phrase that has confused many. Isn’t infinity as far as you can go? How can there be anything “beyond” infinity? Drawing on wisdom from ancient Greek philosophers, mathematician Ian Stewart suggests that what is beyond infinity are yet bigger infinities. On and on and on.
Jesus seems to employ such exponential effort in the realm of forgiveness. When Peter asked Jesus about forgiving another person, “How many times must I forgive him . . . seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22 ncv). Jesus goes on to tell a parable comparing a merciful king and an unmerciful servant, making the point that when someone truly regrets their error, there is no limit to the number of times we’re to forgive. We’re to forgive others the way God forgives us (v. 33). Over and over, on and on.
That may seem impossible to us. That’s why we constantly need to ask God for His help.
Only in His strength can we do this. Forgiven people forgive people. To infinity and beyond!
Reflect & Pray
Who longs for your forgiveness? What does it mean to forgive another in a way that honors them and God?
Dear Father, please help me to be as generous and wise with forgiveness as You are.
Hear more on how finding the strength to forgive others can bring you peace.
Thursday, April 24, 2025 – CONFESSING TO CHRIST – Proverbs 28:9-13
Daily Bread Focuses: Atonement; Salvation
Scripture(s): John 3:16; Hebrews 7:25
Today’s Insights
The book of Proverbs is followed by Ecclesiastes, yet the two seem to conflict with each other. Proverbs provides advice for living and assumes a good outcome if we live by its counsel. In contrast, Ecclesiastes says, “The righteous . . . get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked . . . get what the righteous deserve” (8:14). But Proverbs and Ecclesiastes aren’t in conflict.
These two books are wisdom literature and communicate general truth. For example, when Peter advises husbands to treat their wives with “respect . . . so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7), he affirms the principle in Proverbs 28:9: “If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.” Similarly, the principle of Proverbs 28:13 that “whoever conceals their sins does not prosper” is seen in Acts, where concealing sin cost Ananias and Sapphira their lives (5:1-11). And the writer of Ecclesiastes noted, “I know that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him” (8:12).
Today’s Devotional
Hidden and ignored sources of toxins can have severe consequences. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, telecom companies have left behind more than two thousand lead-covered cables across the United States. The toxic lead runs underwater, “in the soil, and on poles overhead.” As the lead deteriorates, it ends up in places where people “live, work, and play.” Many telecom companies, some of which have known for years about the dangers of toxic exposure, are taking the potential risk of lead leaching into the environment very seriously.
The toxin of unconfessed and unaddressed sin can also pose serious consequences in our lives. When a person sins, there’s a natural tendency to try to cover up or conceal it from God and others. But it’s foolish to indulge in things that go against Him and His “instruction” (Proverbs 28:9)—attempting to ignore, hide, or excuse them. As the writer reveals, “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (v. 13).
When we confess our sins to God, Scripture reveals that He will purify us from them in His abundant grace: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive . . . and purify us” (1 John 1:9). So let’s ask God to help us honestly confess our sins before the toxins leach into our hearts and into the lives of others.
Reflect & Pray
When are you tempted to conceal your sin? What are the consequences of doing so?
Dear God, please help me to confess my sins honestly and forsake them completely.
Today’s Insights
Poverty and the mistreatment of the poor by the wealthy and powerful might be part of what James has in mind by “trials” and “testing of your faith” (James 1:2-3). In verses 9-12, he encourages “believers in humble circumstances . . . to take pride in their high position,” suggesting God is with the poor, while emphasizing “the rich will fade away” (v. 11).
James warned against showing favoritism to wealthy persons: “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith . . . ?” (2:5). “Is it not the rich who are exploiting you?” (v. 6). As we grow in Christ, He’ll help us avoid favoritism.
Today’s Devotional
Four of us hiked through the beautiful Watkins Glen Gorge in New York. At times we stood together in awe as we gazed in wonder at waterfalls and two-hundred-foot cliffs. Other times, we had to stop to catch our breath and rest our hurting legs as we climbed wet rocks and endless steps. When we neared the top, a hiker heading back down said, “You’ve got only 10 steps to go of your 832.” Maybe it was best we hadn’t known how difficult the journey would be because we might have stayed back and missed the beauty of it all.
The journey of life has difficult steps too. Jesus and Paul warned believers about trouble and persecution (John 16:33; 2 Timothy 3:12), and this requires some perspective. James said, “Consider it pure joy . . . whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). Why pure joy instead of pure agony? God knows and we “know that the testing of [our] faith produces perseverance” (v. 3). But to what end? So that we may be “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (v. 4).
If we’ll stop and look, despite the pain, we may see the beautiful strength of character God is producing in us and those around us. And we’ll learn to appreciate the truth that one day we’ll “receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (v. 12). Let’s keep climbing together.
Reflect & Pray
What troubles are you facing? You might not see it yet, but which character traits could God want to grow in you?
Thank You, God, that You understand everything going on in my life and have good plans for me.
Saturday, April 26, 2025 – ACTION – NOT DISTRACTION – Joshua 1:1-9
Our Daily Bread Focus(es): Decision-making; Union with Christ; Wisdom
Today’s Insights
Joshua first appeared as the military commander who “overcame the Amalekite army with the sword” (Exodus 17:13), and he was one of the twelve spies Moses sent to survey the promised land (Numbers 13:1-16). His name was changed from Hoshea, meaning “salvation,” to Joshua, meaning “Yah [Yahweh] saves” (vv. 8, 16).
In Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8, the Greek equivalent for Joshua is Iēsous or Jesus (Matthew 1:21). Joshua succeeded Moses as national leader when he was already an octogenarian (Joshua 14:10). He died at age 110, some 25 years after he entered the promised land. His epitaph reads, “The servant of the Lord” (24:29)—a servant who clearly kept his eyes on God.
Today’s Devotional
A school bus driver passed out at the wheel, and his large vehicle loaded with sixty students was careening out of control. Seventh grader Dillon Reeves burst from his seat, rushed to the front of the bus, and slowly stepped on the brake in the nick of time. While most students were busy texting or playing games on their phones, Dillon—who didn’t have a phone—had his head up and reacted. He knew to depress the brake slowly as he’d seen the driver do many times. Remaining alert and not distracted helped him save the lives of all aboard, including the driver who later revived.
Joshua had to step up courageously after his leader, Moses, was no longer “in the driver’s seat”—leading the people of Israel. God said to him, “Moses my servant is dead. Now . . . get ready” (Joshua 1:2). What’s more, He instructed, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to . . . not turn from [the Book of the Law] to the right or to the left” (v. 7). God was telling Joshua not to get distracted and to keep his focus, and to keep his eyes on the instructions He’d given—meditating on them “day and night” (v. 8).
We can be distracted by screens and other things that cause us to take our eyes off God and the wisdom found in Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Instead, as we remain alert “by keeping our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2 nlt), we can spring into action when God calls.
Reflect & Pray
Why is it vital to keep your eyes on Christ? How can you be ready for His call today?
Dear Jesus, please help me to avoid distractions as I follow You.
THIS WEEK’S INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT BY SISTER CLOVIA
WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” This is what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “Walk by faith, not by sight,” which means, even though you might not be able to see where you’re going, trust God and keep moving!
It also means that we live today according to God’s promises, even though we cannot see them, and not according to the temporary things that our eyes often focus on here on earth.
When you face uncertainty and fear, trust that God has a plan for you. When you feel lost and overwhelmed, turn to His Word for comfort and direction.
Remember, God is with you no matter what you are facing. He is guiding and protecting you. Let’s keep rejoicing and praising Him through the hard times, knowing that God is still in control.
“Faith is when you praise God in the storm, you trust Him in the valley, and you follow Him in the dark.” (anonymous)
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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