EYES TIGHTLY SHUT

Eyes Tightly Shut

They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Genesis 3:8

READ GENESIS 3:1–10

He knew he shouldn’t have done it. I could clearly see he knew it was wrong: it was written all over his face! As I sat down to discuss his wrongdoing with him, my nephew quickly squeezed his eyes shut. There he sat, thinking—with three-year-old logic—that if he couldn’t see me, then I must not be able to see him. And if he was invisible to me, then he could avoid the conversation (and consequences) he anticipated.

I’m so glad I could see him in that moment. While I couldn’t condone his actions, and we needed to talk about it, I really didn’t want anything to come between us. I wanted him to look fully into my face and see how much I love him and was eager to forgive him! In that moment, I caught a glimmer of how God might have felt when Adam and Eve broke His trust in the garden of Eden. Realizing their guilt, they tried to hide from God (Genesis 3:10), who could “see” them as plainly as I could see my nephew.

When we realize we’ve done something wrong, we often want to avoid the consequences. We run from it, conceal it, or close our eyes to the truth. While God will hold us accountable to His righteous standard, He sees us (and seeks us!) because He loves us and offers forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

By Kirsten Holmberg

REFLECT & PRAY

God views us through eyes of love.

Father, thank You for seeing me and loving me even when I do wrong.

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

INSIGHT

As the book of beginnings, Genesis gives us our first look at how God responds to our sin with a just balance of mercy and consequence. Our Father’s ability to judge sin while loving the sinner shows up in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:14-21) and later when Cain kills his brother (4:8-16). We see it again and again in a pattern that leads through Sinai (Exodus 34:5-7), the songs of Israel (Psalm 99:8), and most completely in the crucifixion of Jesus (Luke 23:34). Mart DeHaan

STRENGTH FOR TODAY

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

STRENGTH FOR TODAY

READ:  Philippians 4:8-13

I can do all things through Christ

who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13

Most people own a calendar or a appointment book in which they record details of future commitments.  A Christian friend of mine uses one in the opposite way.  He doesn’t record key activities until after they‘ve taken place.

Here’s his approach:  Each morning he prays, “Lord, I go forth in Your strength alone.  Please use me as You wish.”  Then, whenever he accomplishes something unusal or difficult, he records it in his diary in the evening.

For example, he may write, “Today I was enabled to share my testimony with a friend.”  “Today God enabled me to overcome my fear through faith.”  “Today I was enabled to help and encourage a troubled person.”

My friend uses the word enabled because he knows he couldn’t do these things without God’s help.  By recording each “enabling,” he is giving God all the glory.  Relying constantly on God’s strength, he can testify with the apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

As you enter each new day, ask God to strengthen and use you.  You can be sure that as you look back on your day, you’ll praise and glorify the Lord as you realize what He has enabled you to do.  JY

Lord, give me strength for this day’s task,

Not for tomorrow would I ask;

At twilight hour, oh, may I say,

“The Lord has been my guide today.” -Nillingham

God always gives enough strength for the next step.

IT'S GOOD TO ASK

It’s Good to Ask

Show me the way I should go.

Psalm 143:8

READ PSALM 143:4–11

My father has always had a directional sense I’ve envied. He’s just instinctively known where north, south, east, and west are. It’s like he was born with that sense. And he’s always been right. Until the night he wasn’t.

That was the night my father got lost. He and my mother attended an event in an unfamiliar town and left after dark. He was convinced he knew the way back to the highway, but he didn’t. He got turned around, then confused, and ultimately frustrated. My mother reassured him, “I know it’s hard, but ask your phone for directions. It’s okay.”

For the first time in his life that I’m aware of, my seventy-six-year-old father asked for directions. From his phone.

The psalmist was a man with a wealth of life experience. But the psalms reveal moments when it appears David felt lost spiritually and emotionally. Psalm 143 contains one of those times. The great king’s heart was dismayed (v. 4). He was in trouble (v. 11). So he paused and prayed, “Show me the way I should go” (v. 8). And far from counting on a phone, the psalmist cried out to the Lord, “for to you I entrust my life” (v. 8).

If the “man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) felt lost from time to time, it’s a given we too will need to turn to God for His direction.

By John Blase

REFLECT & PRAY

Asking God for direction is more than okay—it’s best.

What has caused you to feel turned around, possibly confused, maybe even frustrated these days? Why might you be resisting asking God and others for help?

Welcome to John Blase! Meet all our authors at odb.org/all-authors.

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

INSIGHT

The word spirit is used several times in Psalm 143. Twice David refers to the weakness of his own spirit (vv. 4, 7), and once he asks the Spirit of the Lord for guidance (v. 10). Was David referring to the Holy Spirit in his request for guidance? Having both the Old and New Testaments at their disposal, Christians have a more comprehensive understanding of the person and work of the Holy Spirit than ancient Israelites who lacked full revelation. Most of the time when the Spirit of God is referred to in the Old Testament, the author isn’t thinking of the Holy Spirit as a person, even though we understand that’s who was at work. Instead the writers were referring to God’s power, the “breath” of God that empowered and moved people. So when David asks the Spirit to “lead me on level ground” (v. 10), he’s asking for God’s empowering presence to go with him. J.R. Hudberg

BEGINNING AGAIN

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

BEGINNING AGAIN

Read:  Colossians 1:9-14

We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:14

It was New Year’s Day 1929.  The University of California at Berkeley was playing Georgia Tech in college football’s Rose Bowl.  Roy Riegels, a California defender, recovered a Georgia Tech fumble, then turned and scampered sixty-five yards in the wrong direction!  One of Riegels’s own teammates tackled him just before he reached the wrong goal line.  On the next play, Georgia Tech scored and went on to win.

From that day on, Riegels was saddled with the nickname “Wrong-way Reigels.”  For years afterward, whenever he was introduced, people would exclaim, “I know who you are!  You’re the guy who ran the wrong way in the Rose Bowl!”

Our failures may not be as conspicuous but we’ve all gone the wrong way, and we have memories that haunt us.  Recollections of sin and failure rise up to taunt us at three o’clock in the morning.  If only we could forget!  If only we could begin again!

We can.  When we confess our sins and repent before God, He forgives our past and puts it away.  In Christ, “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” -all our sins (Colossians 1:14; 2:13).

It’s never too late to begin again.   DHR

THINKING IT OVER

What past sins are you carrying today?

God’s forgiveness is the door to a new beginning.

NEW YEAR, NEW PRIORITIES

New Year, New Priorities

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

READ ECCLESIASTES 9:4–12

I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the cello. But I’ve never found the time to enroll in a class. Or, perhaps more accurately, I haven’t made the time for it. I had thought that in heaven I could probably master that instrument. In the meantime, I wanted to focus on using my time in the particular ways God has called me to serve Him now.

Life is short, and we often feel the pressure to make the most of our time on Earth before it slips away. But what does that really mean?

As King Solomon contemplated the meaning of life, he offered two recommendations. First, we’re to live in the most meaningful way we can, which includes fully enjoying the good things God allows us to experience in life, such as food and drink (Ecclesiastes 9:7), clothing and perfume (v. 8 nlt), marriage (v. 9), and all of God’s good gifts—which might include learning how to play the cello!

His second recommendation was diligent work (v. 10). Life is full of opportunities, and there is always more work to be done. We’re to take advantage of the opportunities God gives us, seeking His wisdom on how to prioritize work and play in a way that uses our gifting to serve Him.

Life is a wonderful gift from the Lord. We honor Him when we take pleasure both in His daily blessings and in meaningful service.

By Poh Fang Chia

REFLECT & PRAY

We can both enjoy God’s blessings and be a blessing to others.

Father, thank You for this life You’ve given me. Help me to live this new year for You, enjoying Your blessings and fulfilling Your purposes.

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

INSIGHT

Ecclesiastes is a book about despair over the futility of life in a broken world. This idea is captured in Solomon’s repeated phrase, “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (1:2). But Ecclesiastes also offers hope in the midst of that futility. In chapter 3, Solomon says that God has put eternity in our hearts (v. 11). While fully engaging in the world and the times in which we live, followers of Christ can also look ahead to eternity with God. Bill Crowder

LOOK BOTH WAYS

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

LOOK BOTH WAYS

Read:  Joshua 1:1-9

Moses My servant is dead.  Now therefore, arise.  Joshua 1:2

During our church’s annual New Year’s Eve Communion service, we say this prayer together:  “Father, we surrender this past year and give it up to you.  We give you our failures, our regrets, and our disappointments, for we have no more use for them.  Make us now a new people, forgetting what lies behind and pressing on toward that which lies ahead of us.

“We give you all our hopes and dreams for the future.  Purify them by your Spirit so that our wills shall truly reflect your will for us.

“As we stand on the threshold of another year, encourage us by our successes of the past, challenge us by the power of your Word, and guide us by the presence of your Holy Spirit.”

In every transition, it’s good to look both ways.  When Joshua assumed leadership of Israel, God told him to consider the past and the future:  “Moses My servant is dead.  Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them”  (Joshua 1:2).  Then He promised “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you…Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (vv. 5, 9).

With confidence in God, we can look back and look ahead, then walk boldly into a new year.    DCM

Forgive us, Lord, for failures past,

Then help us start anew

With strength and courage to obey

And closely follow You.  -Sper

The victories of the past give courage for the future.

THE MESSENGER

The Messenger

I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.

Malachi 3:1

READ MALACHI 3:1–5

“I have a message for you!” A woman working at the conference I was attending handed me a piece of paper, and I wondered if I should be nervous or excited. But when I read, “You have a nephew!” I knew I could rejoice.

Messages can bring good news, bad news, or words that challenge. In the Old Testament, God used His prophets to communicate messages of hope or judgment. But when we look closely, we see that even His words of judgment were intended to lead to repentance, healing, and restoration.

Both types of messages appear in Malachi 3 when the Lord promised to send a messenger who would prepare the way for Him. John the Baptist announced the coming of the true Messenger, Jesus (see Matthew 3:11)—“the messenger of the covenant” (Malachi 3:1) who will fulfill God’s promises. But He will act “like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap” (v. 2), for He will purify those who believe in His word. The Lord sent His word to cleanse His people because of His loving concern for their well-being.

God’s message is one of love, hope, and freedom. He sent His Son to be a messenger who speaks our language—sometimes with messages of correction, but always those of hope. We can trust His message.

By Amy Boucher Pye

REFLECT & PRAY

Ask the Lord to help you share His good news with others in the new year.

Lord Jesus Christ, help me not only to understand Your message but to live it.

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

INSIGHT

Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, was written by a man whose name means “my messenger.” Malachi, believed to be a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah, ministered to the Jews who had returned from the Babylonian exile. Although the temple had been rebuilt (Ezra 6:14-15), the temple service and sacrifices were defiled for several reasons: lack of reverence for God, offering of blemished sacrifices (Malachi 1:6-9, 12-14), and willful neglect of the tithe (3:8-9). Worse, the priests were defiled by mixed marriages and marital unfaithfulness (2:1-16). Because the priesthood—which served as “the messenger of the Lord”—failed in their priestly function (2:7-9), Malachi speaks of a future “messenger” who would prepare the way for “the messenger of the covenant” (3:1). Four hundred years later, Jesus identified John the Baptist as that messenger (Matthew 11:9-10; 17:12-13). K. T. Sim