2 Timothy 2:1-14 | You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself. Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. – Psalm 63:1

I have attended many midnight shut-ins as well as six am congregational prayer sessions. Psalms 63:1, which says, “I seek you,” has been one Scripture I thought of to justify my getting out of bed to pray during early hours I considered inconvenient. I associated seeking God early or earnestly with specific times like midnight and dawn. Until God asked me, Why do you limit me? Why not also seek me early in situations you face in everyday life?

Psalm 63:1 is speaking in terms of time, but also regarding situations and circumstances. Scripture encourages us to cultivate our relationship with God in our youth, rather than pushing off that relationship until later in our lives. Whatever the circumstance, God wants us to seek Him rather than exhaust all other options. “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).

College students and others have an intrinsic desire to stake claims in life and prove their independence. Now is the time to explore and interact with the world. Will we attempt to take on life by ourselves without seeking guidance or help from anyone, including God? —Juwan Easley

How can you make prayer your first response rather than a last resort?

God, guide us early so we can navigate life with Your guidance, wisdom, protection, and peace.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App – Our Daily Bread.
Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics.
We would like to thank Our Daily Bread for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: https://odb.org/

Proverbs 3:13-26 | Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart. – Proverbs 3:5

Streetcars and taxis sped by in all directions, racing to their destination. Women paced the sidewalk in groups, chatting and dashing to markets before dusk. As I walked the sidewalk to my new home in Tunisia, a small country sitting on the northernmost tip of Africa, I wondered, How in the world did I get here? These days, the number of young adults who have moved away for college, work, and other life adventures are at an all-time high. We are taught by the world that our success depends on our independence.

As believers in Jesus, however, God has called us to a life of total dependence on Him. How can we surrender our plans to God without knowing where His path will lead? Scripture describes faith as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). King Solomon provided this wisdom, “Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:6 NLT).

Faith was the answer to the question I asked myself as I stood alone in the middle of a completely new world. My life plans were small compared to the unique experience God had crafted for me, an experience that would have a ripple effect in producing new, inconceivable opportunities to come. God will grant you peace that comes only from knowing He has equipped you with everything you need to fulfill your purpose. —Kimya Loder

What are the things in my life that I’m grasping tightly? What action can I take that displays wholehearted trust in God?

God of peace, please equip us with everything good for doing Your will through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App – Our Daily Bread.
Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics.
We would like to thank Our Daily Bread for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: https://odb.org/

Genesis 22:1-18 | Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Corinthians 9:7

The late Kobe Bryant is considered one of the greatest basketball players ever. In his drive to become the best, he reportedly slept only about four hours each night. He said, “There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something . . . there are sacrifices that come along with that.”

Sacrifice helps us to accomplish not only our major life and career goals but also contributes to our hopes of pleasing God.

When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, instead of questioning Him, Abraham prepared to do as God called him to do. As he was about to slay his son, an angel of God stopped him and said, “‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ . . . ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son” (Genesis 22:12). Abraham honored God’s command to sacrifice what he had waited so many decades to receive, the son Sarah had born, the child of the promise Abraham cared so much about. God saw Abraham’s heart of faith and blessed him.

Although God asked Abraham to sacrifice something he treasured, God didn’t leave him hanging. God provided a ram to sacrifice in the place of Isaac. We can be comforted by the fact that God always has our backs. Anything that we sacrifice for His will can be restored and is small in comparison to what God has provided for us. —Nia Caldwell

What sacrifices are you making right now in order to obey God?

Dear God, I don’t want to miss out on what You have planned for me due to my inability to give things up. Open my heart to give what You call me to so that I can live according to Your truth.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App – Our Daily Bread.
Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics.
We would like to thank Our Daily Bread for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: https://odb.org/

Psalms 110 | The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!” Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. – James 1:2

We easily see a purpose in the good things that happen to us. How about those things we consider bad? Could bad experiences be prerequisites for the good God has in store for us? Could enemies and opposition be a gateway to opportunity and promotion? And could the level of opposition reveal our calling to something significantly better?

As a teenager, David moved from obscurity to notoriety by slaying the giant Goliath, who taunted Israel (1 Samuel 17). While the Israelites saw Goliath and his Philistine army as undefeatable opposition, David grasped the opportunity to conquer in God’s strength, and give God the glory. Facing this challenge propelled David forward in his call to leadership and new challenges in his life. David became not only a warrior and king, but God also positioned David as a prophet. As such, he prophesied about the coming of the Savior and His future victory over the opposition: “The LORD says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’” (Psalm 110:1; Mark 12:36).

It’s no wonder Scripture tells us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). To “consider it,” we see ourselves blessed and victorious even when troubles and opposition are real. The obstacles we face don’t take us further from God. They develop us in God. —Matthew Hughes

What if the blessings we’ve been praying for are hidden in the troubles we face?

God, help me to see the good that can come now and in the future from my struggles when I entrust myself to You. In spite of difficulties, attacks, and opposition, help me press forward into Your will for my life and purpose. Water me with Your love.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App – Our Daily Bread.
Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics.
We would like to thank Our Daily Bread for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: https://odb.org/

Psalms 102:1-2 | Hear my prayer, LORD; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.

Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD. – Psalm 102:18

With the unrest we see around the globe: the senseless—in many cases, needless—loss of life and economic sustainability due to Covid-19; the persistence of deadly encounters with police, and the destruction prompted by the rage so many feel, it is easy to be overcome with despair and discouragement. Psalm 102:2 says, “Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress.” We often find ourselves wondering, Does God see? Does God care? Will God act?

Reading in this psalm about the destruction brought about by Babylon (2 Kings 24–25), the focus shifts in verse 12 to God’s character, acts, and purposes. We read that He will act and that when God does so, all the kings of the earth will behold His glory. Because God hears the prayers of those who have no other help. He does not despise their prayers. Verses 18–22 pull back the veil of the curtain of time, allowing us to glimpse the tapestry the Almighty has been weaving. Future generations would read this story of destruction and learn that God is the One who cares for those who have no one to care for them.

This truth isn’t just for ancient Israel. It is for everyone. No matter how bad today looks, God is still working out His plan. No matter how painful your reality has been. He is going to make it right in the end. —Charles Gilmer

When have you questioned whether God cares about what you are facing?

God, help us to trust that You see, You know, You care, and You will act. Give us a glimpse of the good You promise to bring, even out of instances of destruction and devastation.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App – Our Daily Bread.
Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics.
We would like to thank Our Daily Bread for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: https://odb.org/