Month: October 2021

“It is the Lord who created the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into morning and day into night. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The Lord is his name!” Amos 5:8, NLT.

Devotional from the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible

There’s no mountain so high that the Lord can’t see over it. No ocean so wide that he can’t cross it to reach you. No desert so dry that he can’t rain down his love and mercy.

God will stop at nothing to love you. He spares no expense for his children. We can slow him down with our disbelief or miss his tenderness if we keep our hearts hard. But stay soft and pliable, trust him with your needs, and he’ll surprise you. God has all power at his fingertips. But it’s you he wants above all else.

Trieste Vaillancourt, One Minute with God

Lord, thank you for chasing after me with your love even though
I don’t deserve it. Please know you have my whole heart. I don’t want to
miss one single opportunity to experience your presence in my life. Thank you
for setting my feet firm on your unconditional love for me. I honestly
don’t know how I would live without it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Learn more about the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible

“At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. ‘Wait!’ he said. ‘Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down!’

Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, ‘This man truly was the Son of God!’

Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph*), and Salome. They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come with him to Jerusalem were also there.” Mark 15:33-41, NLT

Devotional from the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible

He came to pay a debt he didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay. May his love fill every day with wonder and thankfulness.

Lord, it can be so hard to receive the truth of what you paid to release me from darkness and death. Open my eyes to the beauty of freedom in you. Show me how deep and wide your love is—so that I can live a full life of joy and so that joy spills out to the world around me.

Learn more about the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible.

“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3, NLT

Devotional from the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible

Do you ever have moments when you wonder whether you’re somehow missing the spiritual boat? Maybe at church, while listening to a sermon, everyone else seems enthralled but . . . you just aren’t feelin’ it. Or how about this one? All your friends are into this new inspirational book (“It’s a must-read!” they say), so you order it, crack it open, and . . . no fireworks.

What am I missing? you wonder. The answer may very well be nothing. Most of us have discovered that faith isn’t an exact science. There’s no spiritual equation that guarantees a certain outcome; our hearts aren’t made that way. What speaks to you one day may not register with the friend beside you. What lights your friend’s fire may not even make yours flicker. And that’s good! We’re God’s workmanship, not his minions.

We’re kind of like specially made locks, and he possesses the one-of-a-kind key to each of us. The more we embrace that about ourselves, the more authentic our faith journeys will be.

As we fix our eyes on him and stop comparing ourselves with those around us, we lose the pressure of conforming in ways that don’t speak to our hearts. Then we can encourage and celebrate each other without compromising ourselves.
by Shanna Noel and Paige DeRuyscher , 100 Days of Prayer

Lord, help me to see all the ways you made me special.
Guide me as I use my unique gifts to helps others experience
your everlasting love. In Jesus name, amen.

Learn more about the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.

“O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.

“O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.” 1 Chronicles 29:14-19

Reflections from the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible

When we struggle to know ourselves, we can rest in the fact that God knows us fully.

When we are misunderstood, God knows and understands us. When we feel isolated or alone, God knows us and is with us.

When we feel like no one cares, God knows us and loves us. Rest in the fact that you are known—fully and completely—by the God who loves you more than you can ever imagine.

Learn more about the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible

“Jesus shouted to the crowds, ‘If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.'” John 12:44-46, NLT

Devotional from the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible

God isn’t afraid of the dark. He’s not scared of the secret places in our hearts. The ones that haven’t seen daylight for years. The kind with the locks on the doors.

God isn’t afraid of the dark. He’s not running scared from the tragedies in our lives. He’s not backing away from the brokenness and the bitterness and the shattered dreams.

God isn’t afraid of the dark. He’s not avoiding the struggles or the addictions. He’s not waving His hands in surrender to the enemies of our souls. He’s not saying, “This is too much for me.”

God isn’t afraid of the dark. In the beginning he spoke life-words into it and said, “Let there be light.” Then he came as a baby into a midnight world and announced his arrival with a shining star. He conquered death in a dark tomb and rolled the stone away, making a way into the brightness for us all.

God isn’t afraid of the dark. This means we don’t ever have to be either. Even when we can’t feel him through the longest nights, right in the thick of it—he is always there.

Holley Gerth, Promises from God for Life’s Hard Moments

God, you have never been afraid of the dark and you won’t ever be. Instead, you turn the darkness into light. You have done so from the very beginning of creation, and you still bring light into each of our lives and hearts today. We ask you to radiate your love where it’s needed most. Amen.

Learn more about the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible

“Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the Lord himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster. On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be,

‘Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid! For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.’

‘I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more. And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones; I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed.'” Zephaniah 3:14-19, NLT

Reflection from the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible

You are the Lord’s wonderful creation, fashioned first with his heart and then with his hands. He rejoices over your talents, gifts, and abilities because he chose them just for you. He delights in the details of who you are—the color of your eyes, the curve of your smile—because he is the designer of each one. So every day, remember the Lord loves you, he celebrates you, and he’s so glad you’re his.

God, show me all the ways I reflect your personality so that I can be confident of your love for me, so that I can share that love in my own unique ways with the people in my life.

Learn more about the DaySpring Hope and Encouragement Bible.