Verse of the Day

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4 (NKJV)

Quote of the Day

“The valley of the shadow of death holds no darkness for the child of God. There must be light, else there could be no shadow. Jesus is the light. He has overcome death.”

– Dwight L. Moody

Reflection

Few passages in Scripture have comforted believers more than Psalm 23. Just as God faithfully shepherded David through life’s darkest valleys, He promises to be with His children today. We don’t have to spiral into despair because our Good Shepherd guides, protects, and comforts us. Through Jesus Christ, even the sting of death has been overcome (1 Corinthians 15:55–57).

Who better to entrust with our well-being than the Creator of the Universe? He knit you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-15). God knows our every weakness, and when we face trouble beyond our capacity, He faithfully provides the grace we need to endure (Isaiah 25:4).

While we can consider the valley to represent death itself, it may also signify situations of darkness, peril, trials, or opposition. Whether facing a physical or spiritual obstacle or foe, God faithfully remained with King David. Likewise, He will not abandon His children (Deuteronomy 31:8, Hebrews 13:5).

When our faith is greater than our fears and God’s sovereignty is magnified over the world’s peril, we recognize that there’s no need to become weary in the face of adversity (Mark 5:36, Galatians 6:9), especially since God is with us and actively assists us at all times (Joshua 1:9).

The latter portion of today’s passage speaks of the rod and staff of God. The metaphor comes from the way a shepherd tends his sheep. In this case, you and I are the sheep.

Sometimes, God lovingly gives us a gentle nudge or tug back onto the right path when we’ve begun to drift. Other times, the shepherd would use the staff to protect the sheep from wild animals and other threats to the flock.

When a sheep wanders quite far from the rest of the flock, the curved edge is necessary to pull it back in with the herd. Many of us have experienced that kind of correction, and while it is unpleasant at the moment, we are so grateful that God has done so out of His vast love for us (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

There’s a reason why Jesus Christ is called the Good Shepherd. Not only does He actively protect us, but He willingly gave His life for us, His sheep, in the process (John 10:11-18). Our focus must remain on our Savior and recall His unfathomable grace towards each of us.

Today’s quote helps us remember exactly that. Jesus Christ lights the way for us. As the forerunner, He has already won the war on our behalf (Hebrews 6:20). Take comfort in His presence today and lean on Him at all times.

Application

Have you ever faced a dire season or deep trial? Perhaps you have even faced a near-death experience. Praise God that He saw it fit to help you get through it and survive that adversity. We shouldn’t wait for these times to draw closer to God (James 4:8), but when we encounter them, we are prudent to trust Him wholeheartedly (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39). That includes the “shadow of death.” Isn’t it awesome that the One who knows us better than we know ourselves, loves us more than we love ourselves, and has our best interests at heart, is always with us?

God is one prayer away from us at all times. The Holy Spirit dwells inside our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19)! Our proximity to our Savior, Jesus Christ, shouldn’t come from the ups and downs of our life’s circumstances. We will never match His unwavering loyalty and incalculable love towards us. However, we should do everything we can to seek His Kingdom (Matthew 6:33), win souls for Jesus Christ (Proverbs 11:30), make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20), discover our purpose through Him (Psalm 138:8), and follow His commands (Deuteronomy 13:4).

Though we remain imperfect, we are counted righteous before God because of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:20–25). We are fallen, but He is faithful. We are depraved sinners, but His justification makes us saints. We deserve hell, but He makes us heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ for eternity (Romans 8:17).

There is no comparison between our temporal sacrifices in this life and the eternal glory that awaits all His children (Romans 8:18). Don’t take it for granted, redeem the time (Ephesians 5:15-18), reflect the glory of Jesus Christ in all you do (2 Corinthians 3:18), and have faith that God is always faithful to His word (Romans 3:4). He is unchanging (Malachi 3:6). You can count on Him to remain steadfast in His love (1 John 4:8), grace (2 Corinthians 12:9), mercy (Ephesians 2:4–7), and forgiveness (Matthew 6:14–15).

Prayer

Dear God,

Thank You, Father, for making Your presence known to me. I know You are with me whether I feel You as close as my skin or distant as the stars. Please help me never doubt Your provision. Thank You for leading me through Your Holy Spirit, especially to help me make better decisions for Your glory.

Although this world is a fleeting breath, I am thankful that my actions can make an eternal impact for good. Thank You for giving me all the tools needed to serve You. Thank You for Your guidance, protection, and correction. Thank You for being merciful and gracious with me when I fail.

Please help me remember that You are unchanging, consistent, and reliable in a world infused with chaos. You put me at ease and order my steps. Thank You for the gift of Your peace, which, along with Your presence, empowers me to adapt to all circumstances.

Thank You for forgiving me for wandering away from the flock. Whether in a small way for a brief duration or a large way for a significant time, I am thankful for Your redirection back to where I must go. Please help me align with You in every area and every way I can so that I may continue to serve You as effectively as possible.

Thank You for allowing me to use my flaws and former struggles to bless my peers today. I want to spare them the pain I faced as I continue to learn the future pain I can spare myself if I heed the wisdom of my mentors. I am far from perfect at this, but it helps me keep things in perspective, walk in humility, and ultimately accept Your will.

Please forgive me for all my sins and thank You for Your countless provisions, which include Your grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love, which I cannot live without.

I pray in Jesus Christ’s precious, holy, and mighty name.

Amen.

Verse of the Day

²⁰ “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

Luke 15:20 (NKJV)

Quote of the day

“When a man’s heart is set on mischief, he will go a long way in it; but when God’s grace brings him back, he will find a shorter way home.” 

– Matthew Henry

Reflection

The prodigal son is a parable about a young man who left his family and squandered his father’s inheritance. Most of us are familiar with it, and many of us have even lived it for a season. The beauty of it is that it offers us an example of hope. A hope that applies directly to our relationship with Jesus Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and God the Father’s loving embrace to those of us who may have strayed.

We often underestimate the significance of our sins in God’s eyes. Yet we also underestimate the extent of His unfathomable compassion, mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness (Romans 5:20-21). While we shouldn’t ever sin more because grace abounds, it’s unhealthy for us to lose sight of God’s approachability through our connection in Christ (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

There are segments in the story that demonstrate the prodigal’s belief that he had no hope of returning to his father’s house, much less to his father’s open arms. How many of us have felt, or even feel that way now, about our Heavenly Father? He made a really bad decision, squandered a lot of money, and turned his back on his family. But his father didn’t lose hope that one day he could return.

Finally, he returned, but only after he tried to remedy the situation himself. He went from living a comfortable life with his father to living a lifestyle of sin and perdition. He had to hit rock bottom before realizing that even his father’s servants lived a better lifestyle than he did at the time.

One key that is vital for us not to miss is in Luke 15:17-19:

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

Here we can see the humility with which he approached his father. He recognized what he did wrong in his father’s eyes and, in the grand scheme, how wrong it was in God’s eyes as well. But as today’s verse of the day clearly demonstrates, his earthly father didn’t see it that way. His father chose to celebrate him instead. He gave him his best robe and essentially called for a feast to commemorate his lost son’s return. It was so much so that the other son couldn’t wrap his head around it. His brother’s expressions of disbelief and even frustration about what was happening to him were apparent. Luke 15:28-30 demonstrates this understandable reaction:

28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

Some of us may look back and think of this as a self-righteous attitude, but if we’re honest with ourselves, many of us might feel the same way in a similar situation. Ultimately, the father explained his position in Luke 15:31-32: 

31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

What mattered was that he had come back, and the welcome wasn’t about merit. It hinged on the unconditional love of a father who desired what was best for both of his sons.

Application

As we consider it in the context of our lives, we can see the parallels between our Heavenly Father and us. All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). There’s not one of us who is righteous outside the justification of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). Matthew Henry’s quote reminds me that God lovingly calls His children back to Himself, no matter how far they wander (Isaiah 55:7).

We shouldn’t take this parable as a license to sin, much less as a pattern of persistent rebellion in our lives (Romans 6:1-4). However, I would venture to say the majority of us can relate to the prodigal son. When you think back to that season and how far away you felt from God, I hope you can find solace in how God brought you back. For some of us, maybe this is a reminder that we’re far too close to becoming prodigal sons and daughters again now.

Let’s not reach rock bottom before we run back to God. Why would we want to test the limits of grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God? If we are genuine believers, we will bear real fruit in our lives (John 15:4-5). If the fruit of the Spirit isn’t apparent in our lives, it is our duty to figure out why (Galatians 5:22-23). We must test ourselves to see if we’re truly saved (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Do you feel closer to God today than you were a month ago, a year ago, or even a decade ago? Is God helping you grow, conquer habitual sin, defeat addiction, treat people better, and draw closer to Him? Do you see consistent spiritual discipline when it comes to reading the Bible, prayer time, and a distinct desire to worship God?

I don’t think anyone can claim to have any of these areas figured out without at least some margin for improvement, much less all of them. It’s not about obtaining complete mastery of every discipline and layer of obedience. The real question is: Can we find a clear display that things are moving in the right direction? 

My hope for all of us today is that we would look at the parable and reflect on our walks with God. Even when we think we’re in a good place, it’s easy to let pride or over-reliance on self rather than on God creep in. Even knowledge itself is capable of puffing us up to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to (1 Corinthians 8:1-3). 

Actively pursuing a stance of humility in God’s eyes and seeing a true reflection of our sinfulness is essential (James 4:6, Romans 3:10-12). It reminds us that we cannot meet God’s standards on our own (Proverbs 3:5-6). Our reliance on Jesus Christ for salvation and victory over sin and death is crucial (John 14:6). Without Him, we are nothing, but with Him, we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37).

Today’s passage is not a guilt trip, but it’s a spiritual call to arms to remember that we are fallible. I know I, for one, must ask for forgiveness over sin and request a renewed desire to repent almost every day regarding all sorts of sin (Romans 7:18-20, 1 John 1:9).

I am thankful that, although I have a fallen nature, Jesus Christ has justified me and that I am on the path of sanctification. As God transforms me to look more and more like His Son, Jesus Christ, I want to continue to rely on Him to conquer every sin, including sinful habits, addictions, and even strongholds, through my lifetime. Without His grace, there is no hope. 

Thank God for His wide open arms. Run back to Him today if you don’t already find yourself underneath the shadow of His wings (Psalm 17:8, Psalm 91:4).

Prayer

Dear God,

Thank You, Father, for Your wide open arms. Despite my countless sins, You have seen it fit to embrace me back into the fold. I know that I cannot lose my salvation, that Your love is unfathomable, that Your grace abounds, and that Your forgiveness is plentiful. 

But with all that in mind, I don’t desire for it to lead me to complacency and sin against You. On the contrary, I want to recognize that righteousness is achievable as you enable me to obey You. Please help me to love You with all my heart, body, mind, soul, and strength. After all, Your Word tells me that those who love You obey Your commandments.

Thank You for transforming my mind, healing my body, and restoring my soul. Sometimes I feel like the prodigal son in at least one, if not multiple, areas of my life. I don’t want to minimize such disobedience as minor. I want to fight sin and repent aggressively by relying on Jesus Christ.

Thank You for Your provision throughout my life and for leading me by Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for Your Son’s presence in my life. 

Finally, thank You for never abandoning me or forsaking me, but for welcoming me back into the fold after every compromise I have ever made or will ever make.

I pray in Jesus Christ’s precious, holy, and mighty name.

Amen.

A life with eternal purpose is one composed of bringing God glory. Therefore, when we rely on Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and He saves us from the snares of certain spiritual death, we should come to the same conclusion. The conclusion should be that since God gave us the gift of eternal life, we want to open the door to blessing as many others with this gift as we possibly can. If a human being saved you from certain death, I am sure that most of us, whether Christian or not, would feel indebted to that person for a long time to come. You wouldn’t forget them for the rest of your life, and if it were within your power to reasonably do them a favor, you would do it.

In the case of God, He doesn’t need our help or requires our favor to achieve His plans. Instead, He blesses us with the privilege of coming to saving faith and then employing us as one of His children to take part in His work. As children of God, you and I should be all about our father’s business. In other words, we ought to be in the business of saving souls. Although we do not save anyone by our power, we are vessels that God can fill with the truth of the Gospel to spread the message of hope, truth, and love to a world thirsty for answers. Unfortunately, there are many spiritually bankrupt people out there, just like we were before we came to saving faith through Jesus Christ. Our job is to reach those people with the opportunity to encounter God’s Word through us and pray for them to pursue it further once we depart their presence.

Of course, I am not making light of the calling to feed the children, clothe the poor, and contribute to the supply of shelter to those who cannot help themselves. These aspects of Christian missions are integral parts of our faith and are part of our calling. However, if we were to isolate our mission into one overarching goal, it would be to bring as many people to Jesus Christ as possible before it is too late (Matthew 28:16-20, Proverbs 11:30). Thankfully, these are not mutually exclusive pursuits either. We do not have to choose to feed the poor but refrain from reaching out to those we encounter with God’s Word. Therefore, your purpose as a Christian may feel more heavily weighted to one area in which God placed an aspiration in your heart to meet needs. This “why” or purpose will become more clearly defined and possibly even change as the seasons pass along throughout your life. However, sprinkling some level of evangelism efforts into your walk as a believer will never go to waste.

How do we recognize where our focus should reside? To answer this question accurately, we should pray for help identifying it. As far as evangelism is concerned, the Holy Spirit will often lead us during these divine appointments and help us to share the Gospel with those we encounter. We need to be open and willing vessels for God to utilize (2 Timothy 2:20-21). Granted, if you have done this almost any reasonable number of times, you will quickly notice that not everyone is receptive. However, even those who seem least compelled may slowly soften their hearts towards God’s calling upon their life. The beauty of the situation is there is no pressure on us. As long as we are faithfully delivering God’s message to them and praying for their salvation, that is the end of our responsibility. 

We can tell them that they have a fallen nature that makes them susceptible to sin and that Jesus Christ died for those sins (Romans 6:10-11). Our sins were imputed upon Him, and His righteousness was imputed upon us at the cross (Suggested reading: “Why Does Christ’s righteousness need to be imputed to us?“). Without Him having done this for them, they would be doomed to spend eternity in hell. They need to understand that they need a Savior because of their sin and that it is pivotal for them to repent from their sins and believe that He not only died but also resurrected three days later. Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be victorious over sin and death on our behalf when we could never be without Him. Later, He ascended into Heaven to be at God’s right hand. At this time, He still lovingly intercedes on our behalf from the right hand of God the Father. Thankfully, if we come to saving faith, Jesus Christ fully justifies us through the sequence above, once and for all. They, too, can take comfort in that reality and embrace God’s gift to them by taking that step of faith that God has compelled them to make. They must understand that it isn’t by their works or effort that they are saved, but rather the gift of God by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, that saves them (Ephesians 2:8-9).

How we share a message like this may differ from person to person. A few other variables to consider are:

• How much time you will spend with the person.
• How close you are to them.
• Whether they have come across the Bible before.

I suggest having a short <5minute variation of explaining the Gospel in case the situation calls for brevity, but otherwise, I try to be thorough. The more limited the time frame, the more I would suggest plugging them into a resource to help them explore more for themselves (i.e., Gospel tract, Bible, website, Youtube, Christian podcast, etc.) My strategy might be to relay this information matter-of-factly and then invite someone to read the Gospel or perhaps attend my local Church. Someone else may prefer to hand the person a Gospel tract with a similar explanation of the core elements of the Gospel and lead by example. Still, others might not feel comfortable engaging strangers but take it upon themselves to share their testimony with their closest family and friends before they take a step of faith to share the good news with a stranger. 

No matter what, the bottom line is that this should be a critical part of what you and I stand for and aim to do as believers. We need to remind ourselves that one soul is worth more than all the money this world has to offer combined. It needs to be engrained in our minds that there is a beautiful significance to all the things we do for God’s glory that yield eternal value rather than just temporary value here on earth.

I want to encourage you to take inventory of your life this Christmas. Go ahead and enjoy your quality time with loved ones, but perhaps ask God if there is someone in your family you have not reached with God’s Word who may still need to hear it. Thank God for the food, shelter, and even presents many of us are blessed to give and receive, but always remember that these are trivial compared to the magnitude of God’s gifts to us. Just because we have not seen the culmination of what the heavenly treasure we are storing signifies doesn’t mean we cannot start appreciating it in faith. Above all, keep the emphasis on Jesus Christ whenever possible. It is God who woke you up to enjoy these beautiful celebrations. It is God who opened the door for you to have eternal security already and store up heavenly treasures through obedience to His commands. Finally, it is God who deserves all the glory and acknowledgment. It shouldn’t be shifted away from Him and turned to the fleeting pleasures of this earth. May God bless you and yours this holiday season. Remember His Son Jesus Christ will always be the rightful focus of Christmas and every day for eternity.

Today’s video explores James 1:1-18. It is my first video for SaviorandLord. Let’s examine the provisions God has equipped us with to overcome all adversity. If we faithfully rely on Him and His promises, we will persevere until the end of our race. As believers, God calls us to high standards. But we cannot achieve anything of eternal value outside of Jesus Christ working in, with, and through us. It follows that we ought to remain humble and focused on our mission here on earth to redeem the time and recognize that all the glory belongs to God.

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