Devotionals

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’” (Luke 15:31). Read Luke 15:25-32. To any outside observer, it would seem the older son loved his father. But in reality, the older son was a legalist—he kept the form of obedience, but his heart was far from his father. When his younger brother came back in repentance, he should have celebrated. But instead, he refuses to welcome his brother home or attend the party being held in his honor. In doing so, he rebels against the heart of his father—all under the guise of so-called “righteousness.” The Pharisees listening to Jesus’ story would have understood He was describing them. If you recall, all this storytelling began when the Pharisees and teachers of the Law complained that Jesus was […]

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). Read Luke 15:11-24. The younger son makes a basely awful request of his father—he demands his inheritance—now. In that Middle Eastern culture, such a request was akin to telling the father, “I wish you were dead already.” Now, the Pharisees listening to this story would have been incredulous at the audacity of this son, but more than that, they would have been reeling at the response of the father, who let his son go with his inheritance. Jesus’ parable was designed to unsettle them with how incomprehensible, how longsuffering, how generous, how humble, how inexhaustible the love of the father, who, of course, represents our heavenly Father. The younger son burns all the bridges—or so he thinks. But sometime later, in a far country, the […]

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8). Read Luke 15:8-10. In Luke 15:8-10, a woman loses one of her ten coins, but these weren’t just any coins. They were part of a semedi, a beautiful headdress a woman would be given by her betrothed. It represented their coming marriage; it was a symbol of their commitment to one another. To lose one of the ten coins set in that headdress was traumatic. It simply would not do to wear it with a coin missing. In Jesus’ day, the houses in Israel were not very big, and they were also very dark. Most were tiny and did not have windows to let in natural light. The floor would have been dirt, which can crack, leaving lots of nooks for a coin to fall into. Is it any wonder, then, that […]

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4). Read Luke 15:1-7. In first-century Israel, tax collectors were on the bottom rung of the social ladder. Everyone hated them. That’s because they cooperated with the Romans to levy high taxes on the people. They regularly took more than was necessary, robbing their neighbors. They were traitors to the nation. They were truly outcasts in society. “Sinners” were in a similar situation. These were people of low moral character—prostitutes, criminals, and the like. The Pharisees considered such people a stain on the nation—people whose occupations were clearly incompatible with keeping God’s Law. They believed these “sinners” were the reason God seemed to tarry in rescuing His chosen people from Roman occupation. Like tax collectors, these people were pushed out of polite society in every way possible. […]

“So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, . . . the king again asked, ‘Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted’” (Esther 7:1-2). In the Old Testament, we learn of an ordinary woman, named Esther, who saw a need and met that need. Esther was a Jewish woman living in exile in Persia. Through God’s plan, she married King Xerxes and found herself in a unique position to help her people. When the king agreed to the planned execution of the Jews within his kingdom, Esther was poised to change his mind. God had placed her in the right place at the right time—but it was risky and dangerous. Esther was afraid and hesitant to act. Drawing from his trust in God, Esther’s cousin Mordecai knew the Lord would act for His people and thus admonished Esther that this […]

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). God gives His vision to those who are faithful in small things. He will give a greater vision to those who are being faithful in what is already in their charge. The Bible teaches us that God rewards His faithful servants. “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things” (Matthew 25:21). The good news is that it is never too late to start following God’s vision. We are always at the right point in our lives to decide to honor God and delight in Him. And when we do that, we will experience the broad and joyous vision of God at work in our lives. Beginning today, commit to accept God’s vision for your life so that you may bring glory to Him. Prepare yourself to receive His vision by asking Him to […]

“Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:62). Has God ever given you a task that seemed like too much for you? Maybe He was calling you to lead a small group in your home. Or perhaps there was a specific person in your life who needed to hear the Gospel. Instead of rejoicing in His leading, did you avoid His assignment? We often claim that we want God’s vision and we want God to use us, but in reality we want to be used only on our terms. Our words loudly profess, “Here I am, Lord. Use me however You want.” But our hearts whisper, “Lord, I want to serve You, but only if it means working on this project or serving in that location. I definitely don’t want to witness to this particular person or to that particular group.” It’s easier […]

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). Many Christians have a wrong view of the will of God. They experience great fear and anxiety as they seek God’s direction for their lives. Others say they want to know and do the will of God, but only if it doesn’t conflict with their own. Still others view the will of God as some sort of bitter medicine, groaning over where God might lead them next. One of Satan’s greatest lies is that God’s will isn’t appealing. Satan wants us to distrust the Lord. He wants us to be skeptical of God’s plan for our lives. Satan wants us to believe that God does not have our best interest at heart. Here’s the Truth: The will of God and the plan of God both come out of the heart of God. God’s will is the expression of His love for […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you . . .” (Psalm 42:6). Read Psalm 42:1-11.  While some of us are more forgetful than others, none of us use our memory to its full potential. And sadly, a lot us forget the most important thing of all—namely, God and His past interventions in our lives. That’s precisely why one of the most-used words in Scripture—both in the Old and New Testaments—is the word remember. Over and over again, throughout the Bible, God exhorts us, saying, “Remember!” In the Old Testament, God warned the Israelites, “When you go into the Promised Land, when you prosper and live at peace, you’re going to forget Me. Be careful to remember all that I’ve done for you!” (see Deuteronomy 4:1-14). And yet, that’s precisely what they did. In the New Testament, we see God’s broken heart on display in the person of Jesus when, one day, He healed […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3). Read Hebrews 12:1-3. Even though there is—and always will be—one true Gospel, that doesn’t mean all people respond to the Good News of Jesus in the same way. There are some people who respond to the love of God, while others respond to the judgment of God. In addition, there are many ways people express their love for God. God, being infinitely creative, has wired each of us differently, and so this shouldn’t surprise us. You will find there are some people who naturally love God with all of their intellect. They come to Scripture and engage with God through logic and detailed analysis of the text—and that’s wonderful. But these same people have trouble loving God with their imagination, their soul. They have trouble visualizing what Jesus did for them on the cross. They are wary […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16). Read 1 John 4:16-18. Intimacy is the connection of spirit to spirit, soul to soul, heart to heart. It’s the connection people have when they love Jesus and each other. It’s a beautiful, wonderful thing. Of course, true intimacy is rare these days. That’s because intimacy requires trust, the kind of trust that allows a person to be his or her true self. There is a friend who knows all about your motives—the pure motives and the mixed motives—and yet He loves you still. He wants you to be intimate with Him, to draw near to Him. In fact, He will never reject you. He will always forgive you when you confess. He will always welcome you with open arms when you return to Him. He always has your best interests at heart. Of course, I’m talking about Jesus. Though […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “Jesus replied, ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment’” (Matthew 22:37-38). Read Matthew 22:34-39.  When the Pharisees came to test Jesus, they asked Him what the greatest commandment in the Law was. They were hoping to drive a wedge between Jesus and the crowds who were following Him. But Jesus didn’t hesitate. He told them plainly: The greatest commandment is the Shema: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37; cf. Deuteronomy 6:5). Of course, the Jews in Jesus’ day knew this commandment. They memorized it. They wore it on their wrists and on their foreheads. They placed it on the doorframes of their homes. They knew this command backward and forward. But they didn’t live it out. To love God with an all-consuming love […]