Today's Verse - Proverbs 3:3-4

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

—Proverbs 3:3-4

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Character is measured by the love and faithfulness we genuinely display in our daily lives. These are not simple virtues that we can fake. Merciful love is shown when we have power over another but choose to treat them with kindness, forgiveness, and genuine concern. Faithfulness is being a person of truth - genuine and trustworthy in word and deed - regardless of what others do or circumstances present to us. These virtues need to be a part of our everyday lives and permeate our very identities. When they do, others will notice, we will have a good reputation, and God will notice and be pleased.

My Prayer...

Holy God - faithful and compassionate, full of mercy and steadfast love - I praise you for your example of strength and mercy, holiness and compassion, love and faithfulness. Carve this kind of character on my heart as I submit myself to your will, as I seek to honor Jesus, and as I open my life to your Spirit's transformational power. In the name of Jesus my LORD, I pray. Amen.

Today's Verse - John 8:31-32

"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

—John 8:31-32

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

At least three times in the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us how we can identify a true disciple of the LORD (John 8:31-32, 13:35, 15:8). This verse is one of those essential verses that tell us who a disciple is. Truth is not just something we know, it is also something we must live. Jesus reminds us that we must not only know his teaching, but obey it, "hold to" it, and live it in our lives. Obedience is one of the proofs of our discipleship and our doorway to freedom and truth. Doing life Jesus' way, holding to his teaching and obeying him, sets us free to live life, and life to the full (John 10:10)!

My Prayer...

Father, forgive us for taking obedience to Jesus' will too lightly. Sometimes his way seems restrictive, challenging, and even impossible to us. However, dear Father, deep in our hearts, we genuinely believe that Jesus' will is a blessing and not a hindrance - it sets us free rather than limits us, and something in our souls resonates with his truth. So please, dear Father, use me to help others find joy in obeying Jesus, too. It is in the Lord Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Today's Verse - Proverbs 16:19

Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.

—Proverbs 16:19

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

What is your source of significance? This proverb challenges us to view the world upside down compared to the rest of our culture. It's similar to how Jesus taught us to live in the Sermon on the Mount - to not live for the here and now, but to live for the Kingdom of God here and now because we know our Father in heaven sees us and values what we do (Matthew 6:1-4, 6, 17-18). God values humility and our willingness to be identified with the lowly and oppressed - again, similar to how Jesus lived. Abusive power and arrogance are not pleasing to God. God didn't just give us this proverb; he sent us his Son to demonstrate it (Philippians 2:5-11). Now, if we will only choose to live this truth. And Jesus challenges us to display it when he says, "Follow me!" For...

Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.

My Prayer...

Father, I do recognize my weakness and vulnerability to temptation, to the lure of my culture's facades, and to the pressure to be like the "popular crowd." Thank you for Jesus: You had power but displayed humility, and you had position but identified with the abandoned, forgotten, and rejected. Please use me to be a difference-maker in my world by including those who are left out, forgotten, and disenfranchised. In Jesus' name. Amen.