The Crucible's Fire

Week 29: Day 5: Trust the Name of the Lord

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:51:06 +0000

Authority Over the Powers

Day 5: Trust the Name of the Lord

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Today's Reading:
Psalm 20

Key Verse:

Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7)

Devotional

Psalm 20 finds God’s people on the brink of battle asking God to intervene, protect, and help. There’s an urgency in the tone because real conflict is ahead.

Contrary to what you might think, the focus of the Psalm isn’t military strength; it’s trust. He says, “Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of the LORD our God.”

Military might, represented by chariots and horses, is the kind of thing people can count, display, and often trust in for deliverance and protection. With them, nations feel secure and seem impressive. A strong military gave nations then, as it does now, the feeling that victory belonged to the one who had the strongest force.

We see in this Psalm, as we have seen in many other instances, the question before us isn’t an “either or” proposition. Armies are real, and their strength is important, but they aren’t ultimate.

This week we’ve seen many instances of God being our refuge and strength. We’ve seen Him as high above all authority seen and unseen. We’ve explored this as a fact, but Psalm 20 invites us to respond to these facts with trust.

Worship is defined by where we place the weight of our confidence and allegiance. Many trust in control, money, or political power systems. Others trust in influence or personal strength to stay strong. While these things aren’t horses or chariots as we see in the Psalm, they are visible forms of security that promise far more than they can deliver.

Psalm 20 calls us to a different confession, to place our confidence in the Lord.

But trusting the Lord doesn’t mean we are passive in the process, either. In the text, he still prays before a battle. Faith isn’t pretending we don’t have something to face; it means we face what is before us with our hope and trust anchored in the One who saves.

Jesus is the anointed King who entered the battle no one else could win. He faced sin, Satan, and death but rose victorious. His name is our salvation, our refuge, and the banner of our hope.

So this week we wrap up by setting down the lesser things in which we trust. We don’t deny the battle is real, but we worship before it, we worship in it, and we worship after it is over. We worship because the Lord saves His anointed and answers their prayers.

Reflection

What “chariots and horses” are you most tempted to trust when life feels uncertain or threatening? How can worship help you actively place your confidence in the name of the Lord today?

Prayer

Father, I sometimes place my trust in things I can see, in things I can manage or control. Forgive me for placing my faith in lesser things. Teach me to worship You with dependence and help me face conflict, suffering, and uncertainty with my trust anchored in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Finish this sentence in the comments:

“Today I can place my confidence in the Lord instead of __________________ by __________________.”

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

Visit The Academy in The Crucible's Fire app or online for deeper study and self-paced instruction on How to Study the Bible and MUCH MORE.

Week 29: Day 4: Far Above Every Power

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:48:34 +0000

Authority Over the Powers

Day 4: Far Above Every Power

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Today's Reading:
Ephesians 1:19–21

Key Verse:

He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens. (Ephesians 1:20)

Devotional

If you’ve lasted this long in the devotional series, you won’t be surprised that today we’ll properly turn this all towards our King. In Luke we saw Jesus taking authority over everything from disease to unclean spirits, storms and even raising the dead. Then, the Psalmist painted a mural of deliverance and refuge. All of these teed up the ball for the Apostle Paul to bring it home as he reveals the foundation for all Christian confidence: The resurrection and enthronement of Jesus.

Paul isn’t offering us some pithy encouragement fit for a Hallmark card, he is praying that believers would know the immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward them … the very same power God worked in and through Jesus.

What kind of power? Resurrection power. Enthroning power. The same power that raised Jesus from the grave and seated Him at the Father’s right hand, “far above every ruler and authority.” Paul doesn’t depict Jesus just a little above other rulers engaged in a cosmic game of King of the Mountain. He places Christ “far above them.”

Jesus isn’t waiting to become King later. He is already seated in the place of authority and power. His victory isn’t fragile. His name outranks every other name in this age and the ages to come. Every authority, be it visible or invisible, is beneath HIm.

This is also where we must be careful to stay Christ-centered in our application of this text. We aren’t called to use our own strength and power to defeat the darkness, nor are we told to become spiritual experts obsessing and speculating over the unseen realm. No, we are called to know the risen Lord, stand in His victory, and live as a people whose King is already on the throne.

When we are flooded with feelings of guilt, fear, or temptation we can remember that Jesus is above it all. Earthly rulers will abuse their power and oppress the helpless, but the Lord remains above it all. Not even the grave has the final word over those belonging to HIm.
Paul prays for our eyes to be opened because he knows how quickly we forget. Our focus seems far more easily drawn by what threatens us than He who reigns over us. We notice resistance and opposition more acutely than the superiority of His throne.

So, let Paul re-center your imagination to see Jesus as more than someone near the hurting, but as the One exalted over all. He is simultaneously compassionate toward weakness and supreme over every power. The One who touched lepers, commanded demons, and raised the dead now sits at the Father’s right hand … and we, His people, follow Him from a place of victory, not uncertainty.

Reflection

Where have you been living as if the powers around you are greater than the Christ above you? How does the present reign of Jesus reshape the way you face temptation, fear, suffering, or spiritual resistance?

Prayer

Father, open my eyes to see the authority of Jesus in all I do. I know He is seated far above all authority, but teach my heart to be humble yet confident and not fearful. Keep me from relying on my own strength. I submit myself to your reign, anchored in your victory. Amen.

Finish this sentence in the comments:

“Today I can walk under Christ’s authority by __________________.”

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

Visit The Academy in The Crucible's Fire app or online for deeper study and self-paced instruction on How to Study the Bible and MUCH MORE.

Week 29: Day 3: Shelter for the Fearful Heart

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:46:14 +0000

Authority Over the Powers

Day 3: Shelter for the Fearful Heart

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Today's Reading:
Psalm 91

Key Verse:

I will say concerning the LORD, who is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. (Psalm 91:2)

Devotional

As we find so many of the Psalms, Psalm 91 is packed full of some of the most encouraging language in all the Bible. But it’s also a passage for which care must be taken not to misuse.
While the passage gives beautiful language for the shelter and refuge of being under God’s wings while surrounded by danger and peril, we must still read this passage with care. Psalm 91 isn’t a promise that as long as we are faithful no suffering, sickness, or loss will ever befall us.

In fact, this passage is the one used by Satan when tempting Jesus in the wilderness, but Jesus refused to twist trust into presumption. The misuse of Scripture was no way to test the Father.

These verses don’t invite us to pretend or believe we are untouchable. What they do ask of us is to trust that we are never outside of God’s loving care … and the difference between the two is important. One turns faith into a formula while the other forms a heart that knows where to hide when trouble rears its ugly head.

This week is all about the authority of Jesus over everything from sickness to spirits, over the seen and the unseen. When we consider spiritual conflict, suffering, or forces we can’t control, fear often takes over quickly. Sometimes it’s easy to see … sometimes it hides away, breaching the surface as fear, anxiety, anger, or withdrawal.

The Psalmist gives us a better place to stand: “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” Notice he isn’t just talking about God, he speaks of Him in a very personal way. “MY refuge … MY fortress … and MY God.” Knowledge of the Truth is transformed into trust and the heart learns to take cover under the wings of the Almighty.

God isn’t indifferent to our fearful hearts, nor does He shame us for needing shelter. Quite the contrary, He invites us to snuggle under His wings like a warm blanket in winter. He sits with us in our times of trouble and delivers us according to His wisdom and faithfulness.

Jesus shows us what it looks like to be the faithful Son who trusts the Father without need to test Him. He walked headlong into spiritual opposition, human suffering, and even death itself without ever stepping outside of God’s will. His victory gives fearful hearts solid ground on which to stand.

This passage doesn’t make us careless, it makes us dependent. Fear isn’t our master. These words help us to confess over and over again our faith in “My God in whom I trust.”

Reflection

What fear has been knowingly or secretly shaping your decisions, reactions, or prayers lately? How can Psalm 91 help you move from simply knowing the truth about God to actively taking shelter in Him?

Prayer

Father, all this week we have declared you are our fortress and strength. Forgive me for the times fear has ruled my thoughts and actions. Teach me to trust without presumption of outcome, but to trust in You fully. When danger is close, draw my heart under Your wings and remind my quivering heart I belong to You. Amen.

Finish this sentence in the comments:

“Today I can bring my fear of _______________________ to God by __________________.”

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

Visit The Academy in The Crucible's Fire app or online for deeper study and self-paced instruction on How to Study the Bible and MUCH MORE.

Week 29: Day 2: The Lord Is My Fortress

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:43:09 +0000

Authority Over the Powers

Day 2: The Lord Is My Fortress

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Today's Reading:
Psalm 18

Key Verse:

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:2)

Devotional

Hebrews 8 teaches a really important lesson in how we see the world, seen and unseen, spiritual and carnal. The writer explicitly reveals that even the very specific details and instructions of temple worship aren’t an end in themselves, but are a copy and a shadow of what is truly real. Likewise, Psalm 18 helps us frame reality, but from the standpoint of deliverance.

David belts out this song after the Lord has rescued him from his enemies. His words stretch beyond ordinary conflict. He uses vivid language and linguistic skill to speak of torrents of destruction, distress, darkness, thunder, a shaking earth, and rescue from deep waters. The tapestry he builds feels larger than one man, or even one nation, escaping an enemy.

That’s precisely why this passage is perfect for a week about authority over powers. Yesterday we zoomed in on Jesus very practically confronting sickness, spirits, and death. Today, Psalm 18 frames a worldview where the Lord isn’t just helpful in a pinch, He is literally our refuge, a fortress, and deliverer; a stronghold in a time of trouble.

I love the multi-faceted language of this passage; a refuge is where we run when exposed, a fortress is a place where we find strength to stand against enemies, and a deliverer is one who does what we can’t do for ourselves. A stronghold is a place of security because He who holds it is far greater than any threat surrounding it.

This world isn’t spiritually neutral and evil is more than an idea. Human enemies, unseen powers, suffering, injustice, and death appear all through the scriptures, but those realities are not allowed to be enthroned. Only the Lord reigns. Only the Lord hears. Only the Lord has come near to rescue.

As we’ve noted before, a proper Biblical worldview keeps us from falling prey to two popular errors.

One is the error of denial, minimizing darkness and suffering because we don’t know what to do with it. The other is fascination. We can become so focused on the powers we find our attention shifting away from God Himself.

David says, “I love you, Lord, my strength.” The confession of someone who has learned where true safety is found.

In Jesus, we see that deliverance takes on flesh as the King has come near so His people don’t have to face the darkness alone.

Reflection

When you feel threatened or spiritually weary, where do you usually run first for refuge? (Honesty here … we’d all like to say to HIm, but is that really true?) How can you practice running to the Lord as your fortress instead of thinking or talking about Him as one?

Prayer

Father, You, and you alone, are my rock, my fortress, and deliverer. Give me your eyes to see things as they really are instead of through the tainted view of my fears. Help me not to be ruled by those fears and run to You first. Give rest to my soul when it feels threatened. Amen.

Finish this sentence in the comments:

“Today I can take refuge in the Lord by __________________.”

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

Visit The Academy in The Crucible's Fire app or online for deeper study and self-paced instruction on How to Study the Bible and MUCH MORE.

Week 29: Day 1: The King Who Commands

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:39:27 +0000

Authority Over the Powers

Day 1: The King Who Commands

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Today's Reading:
Luke 4–8

Key Verse:

Amazement came over them all, and they were saying to one another, “What is this message? For he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!” (Luke 4:36)

Devotional

Yes, you read today’s reading correctly, 5 chapters in the book of Luke. In a study such as this, there are days when we must paint in broad strokes in order to see the finished painting. Today is one of those days.

Luke 4-8 gives us a sweeping portrayal of Jesus as He moves through a broken world under pressure.

All around Him people are sick, possessed, paralyzed, shamed, unclean, afraid, and grieving. Even Peter’s own mother-in-law is held captive by fever. In one place a man with leprosy stands at a distance from the world he inhabits, certain no one will come near to help him. In another, a true show of friendship breaks through as a paralyzed man’s friends lower him through a roof as the only way to get him to Jesus. Demons recognize Jesus and tremble before His presence, a storm threatens the band of disciples and a tormented man lives among the graves and tombs. Another woman suffers from a bleeding disorder and in one story, a little girl actually dies.

The realities shown in these chapters aren’t for the faint of heart. This world isn’t sanitized and clean. It’s the same world we see around us every day. Human bodies break down with age and injury and evil not only resists, but opposes, the work of God. As death invades familiar spaces and shame isolates people on islands of loneliness, it’s no wonder fear grips the heart of many.

Creation is groaning under weight it was never meant to carry.

Yes, in the midst of all the chaos and suffering, Jesus enters the scene with power and authority. He isn’t just a teacher, but a teacher with power and authority. His words aren’t empty, they “do things”, they accomplish amazing things. By His word the brokenness around Him finds healing and strength.

As we look out at the world today, it’s not surprising that we, as they in their day, begin to feel hopeless, that the evil and pain of this broken world is ultimate and final. We can begin to think of Jesus as good, but distant, and not necessarily near and present.

Thankfully, Luke paints us a different picture. In His writing we see that Jesus is compassionate, but not weak; tender, but not powerless. He draws near to suffering while refusing to surrender to the forces that afflict and attack Him.

Everywhere He goes, the crowds are amazed. They know, they realize His words bring something far beyond human ability. And that’s where this week begins: not with fear of the powers of this age, but with wonder and hope in the man Jesus.

We must, and we should, be honest about the pain and suffering surrounding us, but we must be even more honest and bold about who Jesus is and what He brought to earth when the King came near.

Evil, sickness, and even death are swallowed up in the Victory of the Kingdom of God.

Reflection

Where do you feel most aware of brokenness right now: in your body, your home, your emotions, your circumstances, or maybe in your spiritual life? How does Luke’s picture of Jesus challenge the way fear has shaped your view of reality?

Prayer

Father, help me not to make Jesus into something I can imagine, but to accept Him for who He is. When fear, resistance, and sorrow flood my soul, remind me that Jesus is not now, nor has He ever been, overwhelmed or outmatched. Teach my wayward soul to bring the seen and the unseen alike under His compassionate authority. Give me faith to trust Him in a way of which He is worthy. Amen.

Finish this sentence in the comments:

“Today I will trust Jesus’ authority over __________________ by __________________.”

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

Visit The Academy in The Crucible's Fire app or online for deeper study and self-paced instruction on How to Study the Bible and MUCH MORE.

Week 28: Day 5: Let Everything That Breathes Praise

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The Kingdom at Hand

Day 5: Let Everything That Breathes Praise

Today's Reading:
Psalm 150

Key Verse:

“Let everything that breathes praise the LORD. Hallelujah!” (Psalm 150:6)

Devotional

I’m not sure there could be a more appropriate place to end a week about the Kingdom of God than Psalm 150!

There are no long dissertations about theology, no lofty academic speech, just a summons to all creation: “Hallelujah!” Over and over again, the Psalmist bids us rejoice in the glory of the Lord.

So much time is spent trying to define, discuss, or defend the Kingdom, we forget that God really does reign! Worship isn’t an accessory to the Christian life we don for a brief time once a week, it’s expressed allegiance with our entire being before the one True King. He is worthy, His works are amazing, His greatness surpasses all there is, and every breath we have belongs to Him.

And through Jesus, this unprecedented Kingdom has broken into the present, confronting evil, restoring the broken, reordering trust, and moving toward the weak, tired, and wounded. The Kingdom calls us to repent, believe, follow, witness, and worship along the way.

One thing I love about this Psalm is that it gives us language, like so many of the scriptures we’ve seen during this series. Sometimes Kingdom language can become … distorted … in our hands. We like to talk about mission, but relegate worship to singing a few songs. We want justice, but abandon praise. We strive for obedience and forget the joy of the journey. The Kingdom isn’t a pet project or a theological hobby. It is the Reign of God present, exalted, and near.

“Let everything that breathes praise the LORD.”

Let the strong, the weary, the certain, the confused, the healed and those still waiting praise the Lord. Let the joyful and the grieving, the heart that shouts with joy and the grief-stricken soul who can barely whisper praise the Lord.

Pain is real, but pain isn’t final. Every breath we take in is a gift from the King and every exhale can become praise.The kingdom has come near because the King has come near.
So, I hope you end this week with more than more knowledge and information … I pray you end it with glad and uplifting praise!

Reflection

How has this week helped clarify what Jesus means by the Kingdom of God? Where do you need to turn understanding and knowledge into worship, surrender, or obedience?

Prayer

Father, you, and you alone are worthy of praise. Thank you for revealing your goodness and power through Jesus. Help my life become a faithful and heavenly focused response to the coming of the King. Grant me repentance, help me believe and worship. May every breath return to You in praise. Amen.

Finish this sentence in the comments:

“Today I can praise the King with my breath by __________________.”

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

Visit The Academy in The Crucible's Fire app or online for deeper study and self-paced instruction on How to Study the Bible and MUCH MORE.

Week 28:Day 4: What You Have Seen and Heard

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The Kingdom at Hand

Day 4: What You Have Seen and Heard

Today's Reading:
Luke 7:18–23

Key Verse:

“So he replied to them, ‘Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news.’” ( Luke 7:22)

Devotional

Pressure and suffering have a way of pushing into the soul like nothing else really can. John the Baptist wasn’t a casual observer of the life of Jesus. He was the one who had already recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the Coming One; he had prepared the way. Yet, in Luke 7, we find John in prison asking Jesus a sobering question by way of his messengers, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

For John, and certainly for us, when God’s Kingdom doesn’t appear to be unfolding in quite the way we had expected, confusion and doubt can arise.

Instead of rebuking the messengers or entering into some lengthy abstract explanation of Kingdom timing, He points them to look at what is going on right in front of them: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor receive the good news.

Jesus answered John’s inquiry with Kingdom evidence, not apologetic argument.
Here, Jesus draws on the prophetic hope spoken of by Isaiah in chapter 35. He showed that the signs of God’s saving reign are present in His ministry. The Kingdom wasn’t arriving through spectacle for the sake of spectacle itself or through brute force. The Kingdom arrived by way of a healing, compassionate, cleansing, restorative Messiah who had a story to tell … a story of Good News.

Following Jesus means we don’t get to keep the Kingdom He brings as just an idea, a philosophical state we can only hope for. We are called to bear witness to what we have seen and heard of His goodness and power. We are to proclaim Christ clearly, embody His mercy faithfully, and put His commands into action. Not by our own power, but through the power of His Spirit.

This passage gives incredible comfort to anyone who’s ever had doubts or questions. Jesus didn’t condemn him, He simply redirected him and gave him strength to face the fate of sacrifice.

Then Jesus adds, “Blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.” Jesus is tender, but serious. The Kingdom comes through Jesus as He really is, not as we’d like or redesign Him to be. He’s the King who heals and saves, but also the King whose path leads through rejection, suffering, and the cross.

The Kingdom may not be what we expected, but the signs of it are clear. In Jesus, God’s reign has come near … and that’s really good news.

Reflection

Where have your expectations of Jesus been challenged by suffering, delay, or confusion? What would it look like for your life to bear witness to what Jesus has done, not only in words but in embodied mercy?

Prayer

Father, I’m so glad you saw fit to give us this example of you receiving honest questions and dealing compassionately with doubt. Help me to trust you as you are, not as I want you to be. Teach me to recognize the signs of your reign in Scripture, in Your works, and all around me in my life. Make me a witness for Your good news, your mercy, and rescuing grace. Amen.

Finish this sentence in the comments:

“Today I can bear witness to Jesus’ reign by __________________.”

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

Visit The Academy in The Crucible's Fire app or online for deeper study and self-paced instruction on How to Study the Bible and MUCH MORE.

Week 28: Day 3: Don’t Trust in Princes

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The Kingdom at Hand

Day 3: Don’t Trust in Princes

Today's Reading:
Psalm 146

Key Verse:

“The LORD reigns forever; Zion, your God reigns for all generations. Hallelujah!” (Psalm 146:10)

Devotional

In the western world, and particularly in America, it’s easy for us to fall prey to placing our hope in the wrong things. Compared to the rest of the world, things are pretty good here. (and thank God for it). But Psalm 146, which begins in praise, quickly turns to a lesson in trust.

The Psalmist isn’t being cynical, he’s being clear. He says “Do not trust in nobles, in a son of man, who cannot save.” Even powerful and influential human beings are limited. Their plans die with them and any authority they enjoy is only temporary. Their promises and power can’t begin to bear the weight of our hope.

Placing our ultimate hope in visible power, the right leader, the right system, the right platform, personality, or strategy, we become anxious, reactive, and, frankly, easily manipulated. Human authority and power has a proper place, but it’s a terrible savior.

Psalm 146 redirects our trust and hope to the Lord, “Maker of heaven and earth.” His reign isn’t fragile like ours. There’s no election pending to exalt Him to or remove Him from the Power God has given Him. He won’t age out, burn out, or ever fail to keep His promises.

What’s more, the Psalm goes beyond telling us God reigns, it tells us what that reign is like. He executes justice for the exploited, gives food to the hungry, frees prisoners, opens blind eyes, raises up the oppressed and protects resident aliens. His eye looks to the fatherless and the widows while frustrating the ways of the wicked.

If our heart is to be formed to be like His, if we say we trust in His reign, we must also learn to love what He loves. We can’t speak of HIs rule while ignoring the wounded. He shapes us into a people of community, mercy, and justice.

This passage confronts both our misplaced trust and our numbness to the plight of others.
His Kingdom isn’t a human one sprinkled with religious vocabulary. It is high above all and simultaneously near the lowly. His throne is eternal, but His attention is merciful and kind.
The call isn’t to treat human rulers as unimportant, but we shouldn’t treat them as ultimate either. We can, and should, engage the world without surrendering our hope to it. The Lord reigns forever. That truth does more than affirm or inform our theology. It calms our fears, reorders our trust, and softens our hearts.

Reflection

Where are you most tempted to place too much hope in human power, leadership, or control? How does Psalm 146 challenge the way you think about the people God sees, defends, and lifts up?

Prayer

Father, sometimes I put too much hope in people, systems, and strategies. Help re-anchor my heart in Your eternal reign. Mold my heart to be moved by what moves yours. Help me to see the hungry, the oppressed, the outsider, the fatherless, and the widow and move me to compassion. Amen.

Finish this sentence in the comments:

“Today I can submit to God’s reign as I care for those around me by __________________.”

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

Visit The Academy in The Crucible's Fire app or online for deeper study and self-paced instruction on How to Study the Bible and MUCH MORE.

Week 28: Day 3: Don’t Trust in Princes

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The Kingdom at Hand

Day 3: Don’t Trust in Princes

Today's Reading:
Psalm 146

Key Verse:

“The LORD reigns forever; Zion, your God reigns for all generations. Hallelujah!” (Psalm 146:10)

Devotional

In the western world, and particularly in America, it’s easy for us to fall prey to placing our hope in the wrong things. Compared to the rest of the world, things are pretty good here. (and thank God for it). But Psalm 146, which begins in praise, quickly turns to a lesson in trust.

The Psalmist isn’t being cynical, he’s being clear. He says “Do not trust in nobles, in a son of man, who cannot save.” Even powerful and influential human beings are limited. Their plans die with them and any authority they enjoy is only temporary. Their promises and power can’t begin to bear the weight of our hope.

Placing our ultimate hope in visible power, the right leader, the right system, the right platform, personality, or strategy, we become anxious, reactive, and, frankly, easily manipulated. Human authority and power has a proper place, but it’s a terrible savior.
Psalm 146 redirects our trust and hope to the Lord, “Maker of heaven and earth.” His reign isn’t fragile like ours. There’s no election pending to exalt Him to or remove Him from the Power God has given Him. He won’t age out, burn out, or ever fail to keep His promises.

What’s more, the Psalm goes beyond telling us God reigns, it tells us what that reign is like. He executes justice for the exploited, gives food to the hungry, frees prisoners, opens blind eyes, raises up the oppressed and protects resident aliens. His eye looks to the fatherless and the widows while frustrating the ways of the wicked.

If our heart is to be formed to be like His, if we say we trust in His reign, we must also learn to love what He loves. We can’t speak of HIs rule while ignoring the wounded. He shapes us into a people of community, mercy, and justice.

This passage confronts both our misplaced trust and our numbness to the plight of others.
His Kingdom isn’t a human one sprinkled with religious vocabulary. It is high above all and simultaneously near the lowly. His throne is eternal, but His attention is merciful and kind.
The call isn’t to treat human rulers as unimportant, but we shouldn’t treat them as ultimate either. We can, and should, engage the world without surrendering our hope to it. The Lord reigns forever. That truth does more than affirm or inform our theology. It calms our fears, reorders our trust, and softens our hearts.

Reflection

Where are you most tempted to place too much hope in human power, leadership, or control? How does Psalm 146 challenge the way you think about the people God sees, defends, and lifts up?

Prayer

Finish this sentence in the comments:

“Today I can submit to God’s reign as I care for those around me by __________________.”

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

Visit The Academy in The Crucible's Fire app or online for deeper study and self-paced instruction on How to Study the Bible and MUCH MORE.

Week 28: Day 2: When God Comes to Save

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The Kingdom at Hand

Day 2: When God Comes to Save

Today's Reading:
Isaiah 35

Key Verse:

“Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” (Isaiah 35:5)

Devotional

So many times we think salvation is limited to just us “not going to hell” or some variant of that. While that’s true, it’s just a hint of the cosmic impact of the salvation of God. Isaiah 35 opens with even the wilderness and dry land rejoicing for the coming of the Lord.

The desert blooms, weak hands and knees are strengthened, and fearful hearts are encouraged to be strong and not fear. Why? How can all this be? The answer is simple and clear: God Himself is coming to save His people.

Wrapping our minds around this truth helps us understand the nature of the Kingdom of God. His reign is neither cold rule or abstract control. It brings restoration to everything. We learn from scripture that all of creation has been subjected to frustration because of the sin of man, but when He comes, even creation will respond. Bodies are healed, fearful are strengthened, exiles return, dry and barren places spring forth in abundance. He is truly making All Things New.

The vision of redemption and rescue is one encompassing all of creation, not just humans and just us as individuals. As the holy road opens up for the redeemed, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap, the mute will sing, and joy will be the crown of all God’s people.
When God reigns, everything that is broken is made new.

I know we still feel the sting of sorrow in this present world, in the tension of the already / not yet. We pray for sick friends and family and grieve deep losses. We still face injustice, weakness, and fear. But reading the words of Isaiah about the kind of King God brings helps us come alive with hope.

He helps us shape our view of the world in light of this reign. Nothing, not the wilderness, not the weak hands and knees, not the fear or the exiles are beyond His reach.

As Jesus walked about healing the blind, raising the dead, restoring the lame, and cleansing the unclean, He wasn’t performing random acts of kindness, He was revealing that Isaiah’s promised hope had arrived.

The King has come, and His goodness is crashing into the present age. The desert isn’t yet in full bloom, but the flowers are piercing the surface!

Reflection

Are there desert places in your life that feel too barren for hope? How can Isaiah 35 help you see God’s Kingdom as restoration and not just rule and power?

Prayer

Father, often my hands and knees feel weak and shaky. Open my eyes to reality in light of Your coming fulfillment of salvation. I’m grateful your reign moves toward the broken and barren; the hopeless and the weary. Help me to truth the King who brings restoration. Give me courage and wisdom to live in hope while I wait for the desert to be in full bloom. Amen.

Finish this sentence in the comments:

“Today I can practice the hope of the Kingdom with __________________.”

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Further Study

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Week 28: Day 1: The King Enters the Story

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The Kingdom at Hand

Day 1: The King Enters the Story

Today's Reading:
Mark 1

Key Verse:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)

Devotional

If ever there were an action-packed chapter in the Bible, it’s Mark 1. He doesn’t slow roll the opening or gradually unfold the story. Oh no, Mark hits the ground running! In this one chapter John the Baptist calls Israel to repentance, Jesus is baptized, God audibly speaks, the heavenly veil is ripped open, the Spirit descends, people are healed, demons are banished, and Jesus is tempted in the wilderness. This is no ordinary story!

In verse 14 John is arrested. We can’t gloss over this, it’s an important detail. Jesus begins proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom in a world where faithful voices are being silenced, rulers abuse power, and darkness seems to have plenty of room to operate. It’s into that world Jesus declares, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near.”

Jesus isn’t saying, “Hold on until we can leave this world behind in the future,” He is saying God’s reign has entered the present. In modern terms we could say “the King has entered the chat.” And His arrival demands a response.

Jesus does more than declare the Kingdom is here, that declaration moves us to action; “Repent and believe the good news”. Repentance isn’t just feeling bad about sin, it’s aligning our allegiance, reorienting our life around the King who has come. Likewise, belief isn’t some vague ethereal feeling of optimism. It is explicit and complete trust in the good news that God has physically come and acting in a decisive way through Jesus.

The rest of Mark paints a lovely picture of what this Kingdom looks like. Jesus calls ordinary fishermen to be His first disciples. He teaches with authority, confronts evil spirits, heals the sick, touches the unclean, and prays in solitude. He keeps moving, proclaiming, living out the message of the Kingdom.

Jesus’ actions help us understand the world didn’t become instantly whole upon His arrival. Nor did He mean He would usher in a new human empire with borders, armies, and political control. He means the rule and reign of God is breaking into the present world through His person and His mission. The Kingdom of God exists wherever God’s rule is revealed, received, and embodied under the authority of Jesus.

We don’t get to invent, manage, or market the Kingdom of God, either. We simply receive it through faith and repentance … we pursue and follow the King who brought it near.

The message of the Kingdom isn’t “try harder” or “hold on for someday”, it’s “God is here.” The Kingdom has come. The proper, and only, response is to turn, trust, and follow.

Reflection

Where are you most tempted to reduce the Kingdom of God to either a future destination or a purely human project? What would repentance look like today if it meant turning your allegiance more fully toward the reign of Jesus? (I know this is a tough question, but it’s one we must ask)

Prayer

Father, this world is contested and broken. Thank you for sending King Jesus to make it new. Help me not to shrink Your Kingdom into something small and self-serving. Teach my heart to hear this Good News with faith and lead me into repentance anywhere my allegiance has drifted to the things of this world. Amen.

Finish this sentence in the comments:

“Today I can turn more fully toward Jesus by __________________.”

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Further Study

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Week 27: Day 5: Let the Earth Be Filled

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The Word Made Flesh

Day 5: Let the Earth Be Filled

Today's Reading:
Psalm 72

Key Verse:

May his name endure forever; as long as the sun shines, may his fame increase. May all nations be blessed by him and call him blessed. (Psalm 72:17)

Devotional

Something people hear me talk about a great deal is the response people had when they came in contact with God in the Old Testament. One phrase appears over and over; “and they fell down as dead men” or some derivative of it. There’s really no other appropriate response.

Psalm 72 helps to give us a proper vision of Kingship that leads us rightly into a place of worship. This prayer asks for more than success and security for the king, it asks God to give the king justice, righteousness, compassion for the poor, rescue for the needy, and dominion to reach the very ends of the earth.

But the King doesn’t gain or wield His power by crushing the weak as many earthly leaders do. He defends the afflicted, rescues the poor children, and brings blessings to the nations. His reign is marked by peace, righteousness, and compassion.

The Word has indeed become flesh and dwelt among us! Psalm 72 helps us respond properly to this reality with praise and worship. He is the true King and His Kingdom is good news to the poor, the weak, and weary; a blessing to all the nations of the earth.

I love the phrase, “Let the whole earth be filled with His glory.” This entire biblical narrative is heading to that one place: a world completely and utterly full of His glory and praise. He hasn’t abandoned us! He has come to Make All Things New!

Reflection

What part of Psalm 72 helps you worship Jesus as the righteous King? How should the King’s concern for the poor, weak, and needy shape your own response to Him?

Prayer

Father, I pray the entire creation be filled with the awe of your Glory. Teach my heart to worship Jesus as the righteous King who brings justice, mercy, and blessing to the nations. Give me the strength and courage to surrender joyfully and expectantly to His rule, living as one who belongs to His Kingdom, not my own. Amen.

Complete this sentence in the comments …

Because Jesus is the righteous King whose reign brings justice, mercy, and blessing, this week I will reflect His Kingdom by ............

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Further Study

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Week 27: Day 4: The Faithful Son

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The Word Made Flesh

Day 4: The Faithful Son

Today's Reading:
Matthew 4:1–11

Key Verse:

Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” (Matthew 4:10)

Devotional

Our current culture seems to have a healthy disdain for anything remotely resembling a wilderness experience. It’s harsh, dry, and fraught with danger and discomfort. Yet, this is precisely where we see one of the major victories of Good versus evil play out. Matthew tells us Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil.

Many approach this story as just some random example of morality and self-control, but it is far more than that. Jesus stands, under the power of the Holy Spirit, where humanity has failed; where Israel has failed. He faces hunger, pressure, deception, and an offer of glory without suffering. The deeper question underneath every temptation is whether or not Jesus will trust His Father. It’s an age-old question.

Adam and Eve faced it, too. When tempted, they reached and grasped for the very thing God had not given them. Israel was tested in their wilderness experience and repeatedly doubted the Lord’s care, even wishing at one point to return to Egyptian slavery rather than trust in God.

But Jesus, the true Son of God, remains faithful. He refuses to exalt Himself or misuse any of the power He possessed. He wouldn’t bow before evil in exchange for all the kingdoms of this world.

Jesus doesn’t reclaim a lost humanity by avoiding our weaknesses. He enters straight into them. He stared down hunger, physical limitation, and temptation … but without giving in to the sin they can bring. He stayed the course of faithful obedience.

This is why the application of this passage must move beyond a simple self-improvement or self-discipline idea. Matthew 4 isn’t just saying, “Try harder when you’re tempted.” It’s showing us the faithfulness of Jesus, who has succeeded where we’ve failed and he bids us follow Him and be like Him …. To literally do as He did.

Following Jesus, I mean really following Him and not just in profession only, means learning to respond to pressure with trust, worldly desire with worship, and deception with the absolute Truth of the Word of God. For us, it means refusing shortcuts to maturity that ask us to gain the world while bending the knee to falsehood and evil.

Reflection

Where do you find yourself tempted to take shortcuts instead of trusting the way of the Father? How does Jesus’ example of faithfulness in the wilderness strengthen your ability to follow Him into your own places of trial and testing?

Prayer

Father, thank you for the example of what faithful obedience looks like. Teach me to depend on You when I’m in my own wilderness experience. I admit, I’m tempted by shortcuts. Teach my heart to trust in obedient worship instead. Help me to follow the Son who refused every false way and remained faithful. Amen.

Finish this Sentence in the Comments

Because Jesus refused every false shortcut and remained faithful to the Father, this week I will resist the temptation to __________ and instead respond with obedient worship by __________.

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Further Study

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Week 27: Day 3: Longing for the Righteous King

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The Word Made Flesh

Day 3: Longing for the Righteous King

Today's Reading:
Psalm 45

Key Verse:

Your throne, God, is forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice. (Psalm 45:6)

Devotional

I must admit, when I first read through Psalm 45 I found myself feeling a bit detached from its message. I mean, I don’t spend a great deal of time thinking about royal weddings, ancient thrones, or love songs. But my heart knew what it was getting at.

It’s a Psalm, a royal song, full of beauty, celebration, and honor. It puts words of worship for a King whose reign is marked by truth, humility, and righteousness.

We know what it’s like to live under the broken rule of this world. We’ve seen power used for selfish gain and watched leaders promise to deliver righteousness and justice only to protect themselves. A quick study of history will reveal a long and sordid story of injustice in the home, churches, cities, nations, and most importantly, in our own hearts.

Deep down our souls long for a King who isn’t corrupt, is kind, stable, and focused on the service of others.

This song teaches our hearts to desire a Kingdom where strength serves righteousness, authority isn’t feared because it’s holy, and justice isn’t a campaign slogan but the very attitude and posture of the throne.

This week we’ve seen the Word become flesh. The incarnation didn’t just bring comfort and hope to our own individual souls, it brought the rightful King into the world. He is here to reclaim humanity, and that includes our loyalties, our disordered loves, and our deep inner longing for righteous rule.

If we give place to an improper view of power, it bends our hearts away from things that matter like character, compassion, and justice towards admiration of whoever, or whatever, wins, what dominates, whatever gets results. This beautiful love song pushes us back from that precipice. It helps to form our desire around a better King, a righteous King.

The heart that belongs to Jesus must learn to love His reign and not just the benefits of His rescue. He doesn’t come only to forgive, but to rule in righteousness, truth, humility, and justice. And believe it or not … that’s fantastic news!

Reflection

This may be a loaded reflection in the climate we find ourselves in, but where have you seen broken power and rule shape your expectations of leadership and authority? Have we lowered our expectations to allow the brokenness to dominate? What would it look like for our hearts to love the righteousness of Christ’s reign, not just the comfort of His help

Prayer

Father, I know my heart is easily shaped at times by the things of this world. Reshape it around ;the beauty of Your righteous King. Free me from admiring power detached from holiness. Ferret out the tendencies of my own heart to want power without accountability. Teach me to love the reign of Jesus and to trust His justice, His Truth, and goodness. Amen.

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Further Study

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Week 27: Day 2: All Things in Him

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The Word Made Flesh

Day 2: All Things in Him

Today's Reading:
Colossians 1:15–20

Key Verse:

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:19–20)

Devotional

Most of us very naturally, and easily, see the world around us in fragments or compartments. We divide our lives into spiritual and ordinary, sacred and secular, personal and cosmic. Like a child separating food on his plate, we don’t really like for these compartments to touch. But Paul, writing to the church at Colossae, won’t let us get away with it! He puts Jesus at the center of it all.

According to this text, Jesus is the exact image of the invisible God. He is before all things and everything was created through Him and for Him. Everything, every throne, every form of dominion, ruler, authority … everything exists beneath His authority. Simultaneously, nothing is too ordinary for Him, either … and nothing is too cosmic or grand.

This reality adds some punch to the incarnation of Jesus. The Word made flesh isn’t only a tender picture of God coming near, it is also the arrival of the One in whom all creation finds its meaning. This man, this Jesus, born in human weakness is also the One who holds all of creation together with His power.

Knowing this helps us remember the brokenness of the world isn’t ultimate. The evil all around us doesn’t get to define reality. Death will not have the final word. None of the powers are equal to or legitimate rivals of Christ. Through Him, the fractured and broken pieces of creation are being reconciled.

It’s important to note once again just how the reconciliation has come. Not through force, political control, or a distant detached divine command. Peace comes “through His blood, shed on the cross.” The most powerful weapon in the universe against darkness and death turns out to be a self-giving sacrifice.

This is the truth which must work to shape our worldview; all things are from Jesus, through Jesus, and being reconciled to God by Jesus. The incarnation isn’t another story in a long string of epic tales … it is the center of all reality in sharp focus.

Reflection

What parts of your life do you tend to treat as disconnected from Christ’s rule and care? How does Colossians 1 challenge the way you see the visible and invisible realities around you?

Prayer

Father, teach me to define reality in light of Jesus. Sometimes the world feels fractured and unstable. When it does, anchor my mind in the Truth that Jesus holds all things together. Help me to trust the Peace He has made through His blood. Amen.

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Further Study

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Week 27: Day 1: The Word Has Come Near

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 07:12:35 +0000

The Word Made Flesh

Day 1: The Word Has Come Near

Today's Reading:
John 1

Key Verse:

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Devotional

Unlike the other Gospel accounts, John doesn’t open with Jesus in the manger, a village, or even with Mary and Joseph. He begins before the beginning. “In the beginning was the Word.” Before creation brought shape and order to the chaos, before light filled the darkness, before humanity drew its first breath, the Word … was.

John wants his readers to understand just who had entered the story, and His Jewish readers would have known exactly what he meant! This isn’t just another messenger from God or a good teacher with uncanny powers of insight. He is the Eternal Word. The same Word of the Lord who showed up from time to time throughout the Old Testament. He wrestled with Jacob, ate lunch with Abram, and encouraged Joshua, among many others.

The light and life of all humanity had come into the darkness, but the darkness could not overtake Him.

Then John drops the hammer of all hammers … he says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The Creator OF humanity stepping inTO humanity. The One who spoke the sun into existence had come near enough to be seen, touched, followed, loved, and rejected.
This is the center of the incarnation chessboard. God doesn’t rescue us by abandoning the world He made or shirk off human flesh as if it were beneath Him. He takes it on … fully. In Jesus, God becomes human to reclaim humanity for Himself. All that is wrong with the world is being confronted in person by God Himself … in flesh and blood.

John says, “we observed His glory.” But this glory doesn’t first appear on that wondrous night in a way the world expected. His glory came clothed in humility, full of grace, and Truth. The King came in quietly, but decisively. Once again, the light has pierced the darkness. The reclamation of humanity had begun.

Reflection

Where are you tempted to think of God’s rescue as distant rather than near? How does John 1 help you understand the dignity and importance of Jesus taking on real human flesh?

Prayer

Father, thank you for Jesus, God in real human flesh. Teach me to behold the glory of Jesus with reverence and awe. Help me receive His grace and truth as the light that overcomes the darkness. Amen.

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Further Study

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Week 26: Day 5: More Than Watchmen

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 07:26:18 +0000

Waiting in Darkness

Day 5: More Than Watchmen

Today's Reading:
Psalm 130

Key Verse:

“I wait for the LORD; I wait and put my hope in his word.” (Psalm 130:5)

Devotional

One of the things I love about the Psalms is their honesty. This entire week has been focused on waiting, and waiting well, through the darkness in anticipation of His marvelous light. Psalm 130 begins in the deepest depths. The writer cries out from a place of desperation, guilt, weakness and abject need. I love that he makes zero attempts to hide the struggle or gloss it over with platitude. He begins where many of us find ourselves during the seasons of waiting … it rings true to deep parts of our souls.

However, like many of its sister passages, it doesn’t linger where it begins.

In just a few short verses this passage gradually shifts from the depths of despair to the character of God, remembering His forgiveness, faithful love, and abundant redemption.

I love the picture the Psalmist paints next; “I wait for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning.” In these ancient times, a watchman never wondered whether or not the dawn would come; he knew it would … he just didn’t know when that first gleam of light would breach the distant horizon. HIs waiting was shaped by confidence, by certainty, that dawn surely was on its way.

That’s the kind of worship the watchful waiting of Psalm 130 models for us.

Biblically faithful worship doesn’t demand we pretend it’s light outside. It looks honestly at the depths, then looks even more honestly … and hopefully … to God. It acknowledges sin, grief, disappointment, and longing while placing utter confidence in the Lord’s redeeming mercy.
Biblical illiteracy is a rampant cancer in the western church as we worship and propagate the doctrines and teachings of men over and above the Word of God. The Psalmist knew how important the Word of God was; “I wait for the Lord and put my hope in His word.”

So many Christians see the scriptures as a means to an end, a holy checkbox to mark for the appearance of daily maturity. Others see it as a rigid instruction manual without nuance or character. The scriptures have really one great purpose … to reveal the character and nature of God to a people who desperately need Him. The more we know of His Word, the more we will know of Him … and the more we can wait with expectant hope.

And that’s where we wrap this week; with hope, not promises of easy breakthrough or immediate resolution … but with hope.

The very same God who remembered Elizabeth and Zechariah, the very same God who comforts the weary, the very same God who shelters the damaged heart, the very same God who promised a future redemption remains completely faithful to His word today.

Morning. Is. Coming!

Reflection

What weight are you carrying in the "depths" before the Lord right now? How can you practically live out watchman-like hope in this season of waiting?

Prayer

Father, today I bring you my fears, my disappointments, and all my unanswered questions. Thank you that your faithful love endures forever and is far greater than the darkness I sometimes feel in my soul. Teach me to wait for You with holy confidence and expectant worship … trusting, as it says in the old hymn, that your redemption “draweth nigh”. Amen.

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

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Week 26: Day 4: Living in the In Between

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Waiting in Darkness

Day 4: Living in the In Between

Today's Reading:
Romans 8:24-25

Key Verse:

“Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:25)

Devotional

All this talk about waiting could have us fall back into a dark place where the Christian life seems to be just a gigantic game of surviving the wait, but it’s not. It’s about the HOPE we can and do experience while we wait for the Lord’s return.

Romans 8 helps us zoom out and see the much larger story. Earlier in the chapter Paul talks about suffering, groaning, adoption, and the future redemption of creation. It’s good for us to remember that even on the very best of days, this world is not yet what it will be … and neither are we.

This is why learning to wait well is an important part of the Christian experience.

It’s honestly one of the most difficult parts for some of us to grasp when coming to faith. We’ve seen God work in a miraculous way to save us, we know sin is defeated and death has lost its power. Yet, we also know we still live in a world marked by sorrow, weakness, and longing for something more. We’ve tasted the joy and sweetness of redemption, but we’ve not yet seen it in its fullness.

That’s where hope comes in!

Biblically rooted hope isn’t wishful thinking or platitudes. It’s not ‘good vibes’ or ‘sweet thoughts’. Hope founded on Jesus is confidence in a future God has already promised and assurance the One who promised has secured it in Christ.

When Jesus came as a baby, He proved that God keeps His promises and the resurrection was (and is) proof that death doesn’t have the final word. Since both of these are true, we can trust Him for the parts of the promise that remain unseen.

Paul admonishes us to wait patiently, not because he thinks waiting is easy, but because the future is certain!

One day we, and all creation, will be finally, once and for all, liberated and every lingering effect of sin will be undone. One day, the renewal God promised and has begun in us through the Son will be fully revealed. Until then, we follow Jesus by living in the tension of the already and the not yet.

Christian patience isn’t passive resignation to a future we can’t know. It’s active confidence rooted in the faithfulness of the King.

Reflection

Which future promise of God most strengthens you in your current season of life? Resurrection? Eternity with Him? How does Christ's resurrection and promise of a New Heaven and New Earth help you wait with patience?

Prayer

Father, by nature, I’m not good at waiting. I tend to focus my hopes on things far to close to me and under my own control. I’m grateful my hope doesn’t rest in any of those things, but in what you’ve promised. Teach me to wait with patience and confidence as I look forward to the day Your complete your redemptive work in us all. Amen.

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

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Week 26: Day 3: The Quiet Work of Trust

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Waiting in Darkness

Day 3: The Quiet Work of Trust

Today's Reading:
Psalm 62

Key Verse:

“I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” (Psalm 62:1)

Devotional

Waiting has a particularly strong way of exposing what’s in the heart. If you don’t believe me, watch a small child in line for an amusement park ride!

When the answers we are seeking take longer than we like or are delayed indefinitely, we discover where we’ve really been looking for security. We reach out for control, approval, financial stability, influence, certainty, or any number of earthly substitutes that promise relief for our worry and angst.

Psalm 62 opens the door to something better, something much more stable and permanent.

Its refrains echo with a simple declaration: his soul waits silently before God. What is in view here isn’t some form of unhealthy emotional suppression or stoic detachment from reality. The writer isn’t pretending things aren’t the way they are. In fact, later on, he urges God’s people to pour out their hearts to Him. Honest prayer and quiet trust belong together in a choreographed dance of solace and comfort.

I’ve seen a trend in recent years when Christians are asked how they are doing to give little phrases of affirmation over and over like “better than I deserve” or “too blessed to be stressed”. It’s not that these are wrong or even untrue, unless, of course, they aren’t true at all.

Biblical waiting isn’t pretending everything is fine when it’s not. It’s bringing everything that’s not ok into His presence and offering it up to Him. It’s being honest about our fears, disappointments, frustrations, and questions. It’s us refusing to look elsewhere for ultimate rescue and only to the One who can actually provide it.

Our modern world has so many different places to which we can look for refuge … and they’re all false. Human strength always fails. Wealth fades or outright vanishes. Power disappoints and circumstances change, often without notice. God is the only One who remains steady and steadfast.

This is why waiting is really a matter of the heart. The hard part isn’t learning how to endure uncertainty, it’s learning Who to trust when it inevitably comes. When the waiting is long and the darkness lingers, it’s then we discover that God isn’t one refuge among many … we realize He is our ONLY refuge.

Because He is our refuge, we can rest in peace even before our circumstances change … and especially when they never do.

Reflection

What false sources of refuge and strength are most tempting to you when life feels uncertain? Have you ever had difficulty pouring your heart out to God? What would it look like for you to do that while also resting in Him alone?

Prayer

Father, over the years I’ve found many, many places to look for false hope and refuge. Teach me to bring my fears honestly to you and help me find my rest in Your faithful presence, and in You alone … no matter what. Amen.

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Further Study

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Week 26: Day 2: The God Who Never Grows Weary

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Waiting in Darkness

Day 2: The God Who Never Grows Weary

Today's Reading:
Isaiah 40

Key Verse:

“Those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Devotional

Waiting can take on many different faces, and it often feels much harder when our view of who God is becomes too small. Our family has become accustomed to waiting.

Having a physically and mentally disabled child turns the life you thought you’d have into one where things just don’t happen as you thought they would. There are lots of days where we are just waiting … waiting on the next lab report, the next illness, or the improvement we’ve been praying for. Sometimes those prayers are answered swiftly, sometimes it takes years, and sometimes, the answer is ‘no’ or ‘wait some more’.

When circumstances drag on, it’s easy to start measuring God’s faithfulness by the results we can see. If nothing seems to be changing, we assume nothing is happening. If relief doesn’t arrive quickly, we start wondering if God is paying any attention at all.

Thankfully, we have Isaiah 40 to help us shape the way we see the world .. and the way we see God.

This prophetic word was written to weary people who knew what it meant to live with chronic disappointment and uncertainty. What’s interesting to me is that God didn’t explain every delay or qualify every detail. Instead, He lifts their eyes beyond the circumstances and reminds them who He is.

He is the Creator who measures the waters in His hand, the King before whom nations are like a drop of water in a bucket. He is the Shepherd who gently gathers His flock and the everlasting God who never grows tired or exhausted.

Simply put, Isaiah reframes reality for us. Our main concern isn’t whether or not our circumstances feel overwhelming, but whether God is greater than our circumstances.
So often we answer that question correctly with our words, but find it difficult to live out when the waiting stretches longer than expected or the path is bumpier than we’d hoped. I know, we’ve been there, too. But it’s in those long and heavy stretches where we discover hope and joy, and that our confidence rests in God’s character and not in our preferred timeline.

The promise that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength isn’t one of immediate escape, it’s a promise of sustained grace. He doesn’t say He will always rescue us quickly, or at all, what He does say is He’ll strengthen us along the journey. God strengthens weary people like you and me so we can keep walking faithfully until His complete purposes unfold.
I know for us there have been days where being a caregiver gets long, tiresome, and weighty.

But I also know that in those times the real and tangible strength of the Lord is the only thing that sustains us … and that shapes how we see everything.

Having a proper worldview of God and our situation doesn’t deny the real exhaustion that often accompanies it. It does, however, refuse to make exhaustion the final truth.

The God who never grows weary is able to sustain those of us who do.

Reflection

What circumstances are currently shaping your view of God? Are you in a season of weariness and exhaustion? How does Isaiah 40 call you to see Him differently?

Prayer

Father, I know first hand what it means to be exhausted, waiting, hoping against hope. Forgive me when I’ve allowed the circumstances of the day to define my reality more than Your character. Help me to see your greatness and strength while I wait. Help me to trust Your power, Your wisdom, and ultimately, Your timing. Amen.

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Further Study

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Week 26: Day 1: The Story Continues

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Waiting in Darkness

Day 1: The Story Continues

Today's Reading:
Luke 1:5-25

Key Verse:

“Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.” (Luke 1:13, CSB)

Devotional

Last week we saw the fulfillment of the promise; God had come to dwell again with His people. But before we speed along into the public ministry of Jesus and the Kingdom He brought with Him, it’s good to take a step back and look at why His coming meant so much to the people who had waited for centuries for Him to come.

Luke opens with a familiar sounding story; a righteous couple, advanced in age and carrying the sorrow of childlessness for years. It reminds me of Abraham and Sarah. For years they had prayed and lived with silence in return. It had been generations since Israel had heard a prophetic word from God. The nation is waiting … this couple is waiting and the story seems … stalled.

Then, out of nowhere, everything changes.

Zechariah is performing his duties in the temple when an angel appears and announces that God hasn’t forgotten His people, a familiar refrain by now on our journey. More specifically, the angel told Zechariah he and Elizabeth’s prayer for a child would be answered and he would prepare the way for the Messiah. What started as a quiet, uneventful day in the life turned out to be the beginning of one of the greatest turning points in the story of redemption.
Even though they were righteous and faithful, neither of them saw this coming. Years of waiting looked more like years of delay. But from God’s perspective He was moving the story perfectly along its intended path.

Most of us have experienced the feeling of standing in the space between promise and fulfillment. We pray, and we pray hard and often. We hope and then we wait. It’s easy to feel like nothing is happening at all.

Luke reminds us God’s work is often hidden before we have any hint of what He’s up to. Just because we can’t see the work doesn’t mean the work isn’t happening. He works in spaces we can’t see, assuring outcomes we can’t even imagine.

When our son, Eli, was murdered in 2023, he was just beginning to get his life back on track from dealing with years of trauma, addiction, and pain from spending most of his life in the foster care system. We were proud of how far he had come, but his spiritual life was more of mystery to us at this time … but we prayed and we hoped.

At his funeral, I struggled with what to say, how to articulate hope in an uncertain spiritual situation. Then, as people poured in to a standing room only gathering, and spent over an hour filing by one by one telling us story after story of how his life had touched theirs. Stories we’d never heard, impacted we could never see, lives changed by his kindness even when he struggled with his own. God was at work in the shadows redeeming what seemed lost.

In today’s story, the arrival of John would announce the coming of Jesus. The silence was never evidence of God’s absence, it was the backdrop against which His faithfulness would be revealed.

Reflection

When have you felt most tempted to believe that nothing is happening, that prayers aren’t being answered while you wait? How can Zechariah and Elizabeth’s story challenge that?

Prayer

Father, sometimes, in fact many times, I can’t see what you are doing. In those times, help me to trust you. Teach me to remember that your plan is never, ever stalled, even when my circumstances feel stagnant. Strengthen me as I wait for you. Amen.

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Further Study

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Week 25: Day 5: All Creation, Praise the Lord

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000

God Among Us

Day 5: All Creation, Praise the Lord

Today's Reading:
Psalm 148

Key Verse:

Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted. His majesty covers heaven and earth. (Psalm 148:13)

Devotional

We started this week off with the weight of expectation of the greatest event in history. It ends with all of creation lifting praise to the King. This passage helps us lift our eyes beyond our own circumstances and experience, inviting us to listen as the entire created world lifts His name in worship. Heavens, angels, sun, moon, stars, sea creatures, mountains, trees, rulers, children, young, old, all called to praise the name of the Lord.

God has not abandoned His world, and all of creation knows it. His majesty covers heaven and earth in its entirety; His name, and His name alone, is exalted. The entire universe is teaming with reasons to praise Him.

Worship, pure worship of our Creator, is bigger than our moods and preferences. We all have days where worship comes easily as we bask in the glow of His goodness and provision. Others it feels more like disciplined obedience long before it feels like the delight it really is. But we don’t worship because it is easy, we worship because He is worthy. We praise Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things … past, present, and future.

We praise Him because He has come near and the story of redemption is still moving forward towards restoration.

To, today, we end the week where every devotion must end; in a response of worship. Not vague optimism, but praise anchored in the goodness of a Creator God who fulfills His promises and has come near.

Let all creation praise the Lord. The King has come, and His name is exalted.

Reflection

This week has hopefully helped you see the coming of the Lord as a true reason for worship. What would it look like for your praise to be shaped by the truth of God’s nearness, even when your emotions are slow to follow?

Prayer

Father, You and Your name alone is exalted in all the earth. Your majesty covers all of heaven and earth. Help me join creation’s praise and worship You with trust, gratitude, and surrender. Amen.

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

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Week 25: Day 4: God Comes Near

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000

God Among Us

Day 4: God Comes Near

Today's Reading:
Luke 2

Key Verse:

Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:11)

Devotional

I shared the other day about a fond memory of expectation on Christmas Eve as a child. Today, Luke 2 brings back a similar fond reminder. Every Christmas morning my dad had a tradition, he read the Christmas story from Luke 2 in the King James Version. I can still quote most of it today. In fact, it’s a tradition we carried on into our family as well. Although I normally use the CSB, my adult children have said “it just isn’t the same, switch back to the King James for Christmas!” … and so we do.

It’s a priceless story, one for which the reading this week has prepared us. Malachi said the Lord would come and His coming would bring judgment, healing, and restoration to His people. Then the Psalmist gave our hearts deep words of welcome; “blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Luke 2 puts flesh and bone to the promise and it unfolds in very real place with a very real baby boy.

God still catches people off guard today as He did then. The Lord did come near, but nowhere close to the way anyone expected. There was no religious spectacle, no imperial power. He came with humility … born in the city of David, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. His birth was heralded by lowly shepherds, not royal sages. The very same God who had promised to once again dwell among His people had arrived.

The absence of an otherworldly entrance reminds us He didn’t just come near, He came near as one of us. He isn’t here to redeem humanity from a distance. He embraced our weakness, our history, our vulnerability, and all the trappings our world had to offer …. But without sin.
The way of Jesus, even now, is the way of the humble. If God came near to us in mercy, alongside us in a very real human life, we can’t follow Him by keeping ourselves safely removed from places where we find loving His image bearers costly. WE follow Him into the low places and learn to embody His nearness with humility, patience, and compassion.

On that glorious day, the angels had plenty to rejoice about … the Savior was born, the long-awaited Messiah had come … the Lord was near.

We’ve seen the Lord embodied before at Bethel, Pineal, on Mt. Sinai, Jericho, and other places along the way. But now, he is incarnate… and that’s different. Before this day He was all God and not human at all. Now He surely comes as completely Divine, but also completely human.

Reflection

What does Luke 2 show you about the humility of God’s nearness? Where might following Jesus require you to move toward others with humble, faithful presence? Even harder to answer is, where can you see in your own life where you struggle to see others through the lens that Jesus did … with grace and compassion?

Prayer

Father, Thank you for coming near in Jesus. Thank you for not ruling and reigning from a distance, but in real flesh and blood. Teach me to follow your way of humble presence and help me to carry your mercy into real places of need. Especially the ones that cause me to fear. Amen

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

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Week 25: Day 3: Blessed Is the One Who Comes in His Name

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000

God Among Us

Day 3: Blessed Is the One Who Comes in His Name

Today's Reading:
Psalm 118

Key Verse:

He who comes in the name of the LORD is blessed. From the house of the LORD we bless you. (Psalm 118:26)

Devotional

Recently I’ve read several articles and listened to a few podcasts that seemed to have a common theme, though none of them are related… hope, or more precisely, the lack of hope. Each article and podcast pundit spoke of some variant of how our culture is finding it difficult to see any hope in the world around them. This sort of gloom can take a toll on the human heart.

But as we look to the coming Messiah through the eyes of a weary Israel, Psalm 118 gives language to the heart learning to hope again. This passage contains some of the most hopeful ideas there are … rescue, gratitude, trust, and worship. The Psalmist speaks from a rich history of knowing distress, but also from a deep knowledge of the steadfast love of God. Once again we see the repetition of that glorious phrase: “His faithful love endures forever.”

This week is all about the expectation and arrival of the Messiah, the hope of the world. But sometimes, when the waiting is long, our expectation feels fragile and our hope begins to weaken. This Psalm speaks the sort of truth which helps us square our shoulders and look to the hills for our help.

Waiting for God’s bodily arrival is more than a theological discussion. Its truth presses itself into the deep and hidden places where disappointment thrives. It’s one thing to say we believe He is coming near to His people as a whole, quite another to believe He will actually come near to us. Psalm 118 calms that fear with honest praise.

The one who comes in the name of the Lord is blessed. In its original setting, today’s passage rings with worship, procession and welcome of an honored guest. The people stand in the house of the Lord and bless those who come under His authority and favor. But as this story unfolds, the tension and weight of expectation grows more heavy and exciting. Someone is coming. Someone who will arrive and carry the very presence, authority, and saving work of God!!

This week’s storyline isn’t complete yet, but our hearts begin to lean forward, brows raised, a gentle smile breaking across our faces … Someone is coming!! The One who has promised to come is also teaching our hearts to welcome Him. He’s turning our expectations into praise.

But the truth is, not every heart welcomes the Lord’s arrival with the same joy. Sometimes we fear He may disturb things as we like them; we’ve grown comfortable with His distance and the lives we’ve built. Sometimes we want the rescue without the surrender. Psalm 118 trains us to open our hearts with worship … blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Reflection

Being in the near presence of a Holy God can be both joyful and disorienting. What makes it difficult for your heart to welcome the Lord’s nearness without fear or hesitation? How does remembering the eternal nature of His faithful love help shape the way you wait for Him?

Prayer

Father, my heart often grows cold and hard. Soften it toward your coming and teach me to welcome your close presence with faith, gratitude, and complete surrender. May my hope become worship, a sweet smelling savor to you, as I wait. Amen

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

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Week 25: Day 2: Healing in His Wings

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000

God Among Us

Day 2: Healing in His Wings

Today's Reading:
Malachi 4:1-6

Key Verse:

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall. (Malachi 4:2)

Devotional

The Day of the Lord is one of those topics … you now the ones that people have debated since the very first century! While there are differing views on when it will come and the nature of the world when it does, there are some things we can know for certain.

Malachi helps us see a worldview in light of this coming time that says history is moving forward, evil won’t continue forever, and pride will not have the final word. He will come to answer injustice and His arrival will mean certain judgment for all that is wicked in this world, but also healing for all those who fear His name.

Many of us often develop an incorrect mental model of judgment and mercy, seeing them as mutually exclusive events. But for God to heal this broken world, evil must be dealt with in a real and final way. For righteousness to rise, rebellion must be squelched. To the arrogant and proud, the Day of the Lord is a terrifying idea because their false strength will be laid bear for all to see. But for those who fear His name, His coming is like a warm sunrise after a long cold night.

Malachi invites us to see reality through the eyes of expectation. It’s easy to see the world as belonging to the proud, violent, and spiritually careless, but Malachi declares otherwise! This world belongs to the Lord, and He is coming to reclaim it. His day will reveal the truth about everything.

Part of the beauty of this passage is what we are promised. It isn’t mere survival, holding on for dear life until some sort of relief comes. It’s healing and freedom on a scale we can only imagine now. Malachi pens an incredible picture of this day when he says, “The sun of righteousness rises with healing in its wings, and the people go out with the joy of calves released from the stall.” He paints a picture of carefree release, of delight … of a life of freedom after being bound for so long.

Darkness and evil are real enough and are serious opponents, but they aren’t eternal nor are they sovereign. To fear the Lord isn’t to give in to dread and worry that pushes us away from Him, it’s a reverence and awe that teaches us to stand in the light of His healing as it rises.

The Lord is coming, and His coming will make All Things New!

Reflection

There’s no shame in admitting that sometimes we feel as though darkness, pride, and injustice will go on forever, unchecked and unthwarted. Where have you felt this way in your life? How can embracing Malachi’s message help you to see His coming as both holy judgment and healing hope?

Prayer

Father, I have a tendency to see the world in light of the darkness around me. Help me to see it through the light of Your coming Day. Teach my arrogant heart to fear Your name with a reverent awe, to trust Your justice with patience, and receive your full and complete healing with expectant joy. Amen.

Follow the Kingdom Vision Podcast on all your major outlets for related discussion of each week's devotionals. If you have received value from these devotions, consider supporting The Crucible's Fire and help us continue to provide free and valuable discipleship material for you to Learn. Teach. Repeat.

Further Study

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The Crucible's Fire

Week 29: Day 5: Trust the Name of the Lord

Authority Over the Powers

Day 5: Trust the Name of the Lord

Today's Reading:Psalm 20

Key Verse:

Devotional

Reflection

Prayer

Finish this sentence in the comments:

Further Study

Week 29: Day 4: Far Above Every Power

Authority Over the Powers

Day 4: Far Above Every Power

Today's Reading:Ephesians 1:19–21

Key Verse:

Devotional

Reflection

Prayer

Finish this sentence in the comments:

Further Study

Week 29: Day 3: Shelter for the Fearful Heart

Authority Over the Powers

Day 3: Shelter for the Fearful Heart

Today's Reading:Psalm 91

Key Verse:

Devotional

Reflection

Prayer

Finish this sentence in the comments:

Further Study

Week 29: Day 2: The Lord Is My Fortress

Authority Over the Powers

Day 2: The Lord Is My Fortress

Today's Reading:Psalm 18

Key Verse:

Devotional

Reflection

Prayer

Finish this sentence in the comments:

Further Study

Week 29: Day 1: The King Who Commands

Authority Over the Powers

Day 1: The King Who Commands

Today's Reading:Luke 4–8

Key Verse:

Devotional

Reflection

Prayer

Finish this sentence in the comments:

Further Study

Week 28: Day 5: Let Everything That Breathes Praise

The Kingdom at Hand

Day 5: Let Everything That Breathes Praise

Today's Reading:Psalm 150

Key Verse:

Devotional

Reflection

Prayer

Finish this sentence in the comments:

Further Study

Week 28:Day 4: What You Have Seen and Heard

The Kingdom at Hand

Day 4: What You Have Seen and Heard

Today's Reading:Luke 7:18–23

Key Verse:

Devotional

Reflection

Prayer

Finish this sentence in the comments:

Further Study

Week 28: Day 3: Don’t Trust in Princes

The Kingdom at Hand

Day 3: Don’t Trust in Princes

Today's Reading:Psalm 146

Key Verse:

Devotional

Reflection

Prayer

Finish this sentence in the comments:

Today's Reading:
Psalm 20

Today's Reading:
Ephesians 1:19–21

Today's Reading:
Psalm 91

Today's Reading:
Psalm 18

Today's Reading:
Luke 4–8

Today's Reading:
Psalm 150

Today's Reading:
Luke 7:18–23

Today's Reading:
Psalm 146

Today's Reading:
Psalm 146

Today's Reading:
Isaiah 35

Today's Reading:
Mark 1

Today's Reading:
Psalm 72

Today's Reading:
Matthew 4:1–11

Today's Reading:
Psalm 45