Daily Devotionals
Week 4 // Visions of Hope and Restoration
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Scriptures are quoted from the NIV unless otherwise noted.
Day 1: Jeremiah 29:4-7
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Day 2: Matthew 24:15-16
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Day 3: Daniel 12:12-13
Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days. “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”
Day 4: Proverbs 11:30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.
Day 5: Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Week 3 // Living with Integrity in a Corrupt World
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Scriptures are quoted from the NIV unless otherwise noted.
Day 1: Ephesians 5:15-17 (KJV)
See then that you walk circumspectly [careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences], not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Day 2: Daniel 6:3-4
Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.
Day 3: Matthew 10:16
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Day 4: Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good needs and glorify your Father in Heaven.
Day 5: 1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Week 2 // Faithfulness in the Face of Trials
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Day 1: James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Day 2: Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Day 3: 1 Peter 1:6-7
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Day 4: 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Day 5: Daniel 3:17-18
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Week 1 // Standing Firm in a Shifting Culture
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Day 1: Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Day 2: Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Day 3: Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Day 4: 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Day 5: Daniel 1:12-13
“Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.”
Week 8 // Family and the Sabbath
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Day 1: Exodus 20:8-11
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Day 2: Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Day 3: Hebrews 4:9-10
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; or anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
Day 4: Genesis 2:2-3
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Day 5: Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Week 7 // Building Family Traditions and Routines
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Day 1: Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Day 2: Proverbs 22:6
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
Day 3: Psalm 78:4-7
We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
Day 4: Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Day 5: 2 Timothy 1:5
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
Week 6 // Grace and Forgiveness at Home
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Day 1: Colossians 3:13
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Day 2: 1 John 4:10 (ESV)
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Day 3: Genesis 45:4-8
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
Day 4: Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Day 5: Mark 11:25
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
Week 5 // The Power of Prayer
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Day 1: James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Day 2: Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Day 3: 1 John 5:14
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
Day 4: Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Day 5: Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Week 4 // Conflict Resolution
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Day 1: Matthew 5:23-24
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
Day 2: 1 John 4:20
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
Day 3: James 3:18
Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
Day 4: Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Day 5: 1 Corinthians 13:5-7
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Week 3 // Communication in Relationships
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Day 1: Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Day 2: Matthew 12:36-37 (NIV)
But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Day 3: Proverbs 10:19 (NLT)
Too much talk leads to sin.
Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.
Day 4: John 1:1-5 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Day 5: Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Week 2 // Parenting with Purpose
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Day 1: Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Day 2: Psalm 127:1 (NIV)
Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
Day 3: 1 Corinthians 4:14-16 (NIV)
I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefor I urge you to imitate me.
Day 4: 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Day 5: Ephesians 6:1-3 (NIV)
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” – which is the first commandment with a promise – “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Week 1 // Love and Respect
Daily Time With Truth
As you read these daily scriptures, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is God saying to me?
- What do I want to say to God in response?
- How will I live out this truth?
Day 1: Matthew 19:4-6 (NIV)
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Day 2: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Day 3: Genesis 2:24 (NIV)
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Day 4: Romans 13:10 (NIV)
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.
Day 5: John 13:34-35 (NIV)
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”