Daily Devotion
Brief, Scripture-centered readings to help you meet Christ at the start of each day. Free, and sent to your inbox.
- A passage and a short meditation
- A verse to carry through the day
- A question and a prayer
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The Eye That Never Turns Away
John 2:19 (CSB)"Jesus answered, 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days.'" Darius sealed his decree with a warning. Any man who interfered with the house of God would be impaled on a beam torn from his own home, and may the God who caused His name...
God Files Away Your Provision
Haggai 2:8 (CSB)"'The silver and gold belong to me' — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies." When the builders' testimony reached King Darius, he ordered a search of the royal archives (Ezra 6:1). If Cyrus had truly issued a decree, it had to be written down...
No Excuses, Just Honesty
Ezra 5:12 (CSB)"But since our ancestors angered the God of the heavens, he handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon." Tattenai's report to King Darius carried the builders' own...
Name God First
Proverbs 21:1 (CSB)"A king's heart is like channeled water in the LORD's hand: He directs it wherever he chooses." Tattenai, governor of the region west of the Euphrates, arrived in Jerusalem with a fair question in a nervous empire. Who gave you the order to rebuild...
Who Is Watching Over You?
1 Peter 3:12 (CSB)"because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil." The Persian empire ran on eyes. King Darius ruled from India to Ethiopia and held it together...
The King Who Cannot Fail
Zechariah 6:13 (CSB)"Yes, he will build the Lord's temple; he will bear royal splendor and will sit on his throne and rule. There will also be a priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two of them." God tells Zechariah to make a crown and...
Not by Might, but by His Spirit
Zechariah 4:6 (CSB)"So he answered me, 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: "Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit," says the Lord of Armies.'" Zerubbabel had a mountain in front of him. The temple stood unfinished. He was tangled in Persian red tape,...
Grace That Actually Removes the Stain
Zechariah 3:4 (CSB)"So the angel of the Lord spoke to those standing before him, 'Take off his filthy clothes!' Then he said to him, 'See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with festive robes.'" We settle for a small grace. It looks at our...
The Accuser Has No Final Word
Zechariah 3:1 (CSB)"Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his right side to accuse him." Zechariah is shown a courtroom. Joshua the high priest stands before the angel of the Lord, and at his right hand...
When the Work Feels Stalled
Haggai 1:4 (CSB)"Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?" The year is 520 BC. The people had come home from exile and laid the temple foundation with joy. Then they stopped. For sixteen years the work sat still...
A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
Hebrews 12:28 (CSB)"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe." Nations rise and fall. Haggai closes with a promise to a man almost no one remembers. Zerubbabel was...
Seek First, Then Everything Else
Matthew 6:33 (CSB)"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you." There is an order in Scripture that runs against everything the culture says. The world says secure your future first, then you can afford to be...