Month: January 2025

The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.
Isaiah 50:4

Strength for the New Year

Daily Devotion – January 3, 2025

Devotion based on Isaiah 50:4


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The new year has just begun. Are you weary already?

You may have thought the new year would bring the turn of a page, a new start, the beginning of great new things. But then you may have discovered that the same problems hung around, and the same accusations rang in your ears, and the same hindrances kept you from being the best version of yourself.

What is to be done?

The Lord provides the answer. When Jesus came into this world, he encountered accusations and misunderstandings, mocking, spitting, and beatings. He endured all that for your sake, to make things right between you and God. You have peace with God through your Lord Jesus Christ.

That peace is the word that sustains the weary. The difficulties of this life are much easier to bear when you have someone to bear them with. Jesus is always there for you with his promises. Your weakness and your weariness do not scare him away.

Morning by morning, Jesus returns with his word of peace and forgiveness. Evening by evening, he comforts you with the assurance that he will always be with you.

If you are not weary now, you certainly will be sometime this year. Jesus will sustain you.

Prayer:
Lord, when I am weary, send me strength, and give me the peace that passes all understanding through Jesus Christ. Amen.

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Luke 2:52

Growth in the New Year

Daily Devotion – January 2, 2025

Devotion based on Luke 2:52


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Wait, what? It makes sense to me that Jesus would grow in stature. I mean, he came to earth as a baby after all, and he had to grow into an adult, so I understand the physical growth. But Jesus “grew in wisdom”? He is God! How could he get any wiser?

This verse of the Bible reminds us that when Jesus came to earth to be my Savior, he humbled himself, deciding not to make use of all the divine powers that he had from eternity. This verse of the Bible helps me to appreciate his sacrifice.

God the Father appreciated the sacrifice, too. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17) were words that the Father spoke about his Son. Jesus also grew in favor with people as they saw the way he lived.

The more I hear about Jesus, the more he grows in favor with me as well. When I consider that he made the ultimate sacrifice for me, suffering hell and dying, I am moved to thankfulness and praise. Based on that, I want to grow even more in my appreciation of Jesus in the coming year.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, let me love you more and more, always better than before. Amen.

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews 2:18

Help With New Year’s Resolutions

Daily Devotion – January 1, 2025

Devotion based on Hebrews 2:18


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Happy New Year! Are you making any resolutions for the new year? Have you already broken them? It’s a time-honored tradition to resolve to do better in some way as you enter a new year. It’s also a time-honored tradition to fail quickly in your new resolve.

It doesn’t have to be a new year for you to resolve to fight harder against temptation. You are reminded of temptation every time you pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” in the Lord’s Prayer.

And the Lord you are praying to understands how difficult temptations can be. Jesus is God, and when he became human, he made himself subject to temptation. He even suffered when he was tempted. He knows what you are going through when you feel tempted.

He is able to help you when you are tempted. In his power and love, he provides a way out. And when you fall into temptation, he provides forgiveness and the promise of his continuing presence in your life.

Don’t let temptation drag you away from a Christian life. Cling to Jesus, he understands. His mercies are new every morning. Great is his faithfulness!

Happy New Year!

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 367)
Gracious God, in years to come, we pray your hand may guide us, and, onward through our journey home, your mercy walk beside us until at last our ransomed life is safe from peril, toil, and strife when heaven itself shall hide us. Amen.