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DID YOU KNOW? Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, and when Jesus went to his house, the whole crowd began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner” (Luke 19:7). But being welcomed by Jesus changed him. He stood up and said, “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8). Jesus answered, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9), and then spoke the words of today’s verse: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

“God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way.”— Max Lucado

“God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way.”— Max Lucado

There’s often one name we pray for more than any other, someone we love who seems far from God. We’d give anything to hear them say, “I’ve been thinking about God lately.” Some days it’s hard to believe that day will ever come. If anyone in Jericho seemed far from God, it was Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector who had grown rich at his neighbors’ expense, and everyone knew it. But when Jesus came through town, He stopped right under the tree Zacchaeus had climbed just to catch a glimpse of Him, looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” One visit with Jesus, and the man everyone grumbled about was so full of joy that he gave half of everything he owned to the poor. Jesus said that’s exactly why He came: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” The one you’re praying for isn’t too far gone for Jesus, either. Only He can change a heart, and you can trust Him with theirs. You’re not the only one looking for them. Jesus is looking, too, and He loves them even more than you do. 🙏 Prayer of the Day Dear Jesus, There are people I love so much, and I long for them to know You the way I do. Some days I don’t know what else to pray, so I simply whisper their names to You. Thank You for stopping for Zacchaeus when everyone else had written him off, and for never giving up on the ones I love. Please draw them close to You, the way You drew me. Until then, I’ll keep loving them and trust You with their hearts. In Your Precious Name, Amen.

2 Corinthians 3:6 "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

THE DANGER OF THE DRIFT by Sharon Jaynes I don’t think any of us get up one morning and say to ourselves, I think I’ll drift away from God today. Drifting happens when we aren’t paying attention. Consider this story about a friend of mine. It was supposed to be a sailing adventure for Loran and the youth group at his church. A friend had procured three sailing vessels that resembled the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria. I’m not sure how much they actually looked like the ships Columbus sailed across the Atlantic, but they seemed just about as old. When they left the dock, the sky was blue, the wind was brisk, and the teenagers were ready for an adventure at sea. But by nightfall, a threatening gale blew in. The rolling waves grew into fifteen-foot walls of water, tossing the tiny boats like toys in a toddler’s bathtub. All night long, Loran fought the storm. He stayed alert. He prayed to the One who calms the seas and kept his eyes on the sailboats in front of him—one of which carried two of his daughters. Again and again, the boat shot toward the sky and then plunged into the inky water. But Loran held fast. This was a battle he was determined to win. In the wee hours of the morning, the wind and rain finally stopped. The storm passed, and once again the boats cut a smooth path across the glassy sea. Everyone was exhausted from the turbulent night, so the group decided to find a lagoon, drop anchor, and rest. Loran jumped into the cool, crystal-blue water and suddenly realized just how tired he was from the struggle of the night before. He turned over on his back, closed his burning eyes, and began to float. Slowly, the knots in his neck and back began to loosen, and the tension drained from his aching muscles. The sounds of the teenagers playing in the water became muffled until the only noises he heard were the water lapping against his skin and the occasional call of a seagull. He was so relaxed that he almost drifted off to sleep. And while he rested, his body drifted out to sea. After some time, Loran opened his eyes and looked around. His heart sank. He had drifted a great distance from the rest of the group. And no one even knew he was gone. Oh, Lord. Help me get back, he prayed. Loran swam and swam, fighting the water with all his might, but the receding tide was stronger than he was. After what seemed like a lifetime, he was still a mile or so from his friends and family. “Help!” he cried. But no one heard his distant call. Oh, God! Don’t let me die now. Somehow, Loran finally made it back to the boat alive. As he lay panting on the deck, he realized a profound truth. During the previous twenty-four hours, he had faced great danger twice—once while battling the storm and once while quietly drifting out to sea. But of the two, he had been in greater danger while carelessly drifting than while determinedly fighting the storm. Hebrews 2:1 warns us, “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” We usually think the storms of life are our greatest danger. And certainly, storms can be frightening. A diagnosis shakes us. A relationship breaks us. A financial crisis keeps us awake at night. A prodigal child brings us to our knees. But the greatest danger may not be the storm you do see, but the drift you don’t. The storm keeps you alert; the drift lulls you to sleep. Storms send us searching for God, clinging to His promises, praying with urgency, and holding tightly to Him. Storms make us cling; comfort can make us careless. And the danger of drifting is that you often don’t know it’s happening. When life is comfortable, our prayers can become casual. Our time in God’s Word can become sporadic. Our dependence on Him can gradually diminish. We don’t necessarily make a deliberate decision to move away from God. We simply stop paying attention. And drifting almost never happens all at once. You don’t drift toward God—you draw near on purpose. (See James 4:8) No one intends to drift out to sea. And no follower of Jesus wakes up one morning and decides, Today I think I’ll drift away from God. Drifting happens when we stop being intentional about staying close. Maybe that is why Hebrews tells us to pay careful attention. Whether the seas of life are raging or perfectly calm, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus, listen for His voice, and hold fast to His truth. So whether you are battling rough waters today or floating peacefully through a quiet season, stay alert. Sometimes the greatest danger isn’t the storm we’re fighting, but the drift we don’t notice. Pray with me: Dear Father, keep my heart close to You in every season. When life is hard, help me trust You. When life is easy, help me not to forget how much I need You. Make me sensitive to Your voice, attentive to Your Word, and quick to follow Your leading. Guard me from becoming spiritually careless or slowly wandering away. Give me a heart that seeks You daily and desires Your presence above all else. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

On the night Jesus promised His friends peace, His own heart was hurting. John tells us He was “troubled in spirit” as He spoke of the coming betrayal. Yet with the cross so near, He was still caring for them: “My Peace I give you.” He had already told them, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Whatever came next, they would still be His. We sometimes make a hard day harder by telling ourselves we should have more faith than this. We love God, so why are we still afraid? But Jesus trusted His Father perfectly, and He still knew sorrow. A hurting heart can be a trusting heart. So if your heart is hurting this morning, you can bring it to Him just as it is, even the thoughts you can’t seem to put down. The One Who gave His life for you has promised HE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU. You can rest in His care, even while there are still things you don’t understand. 🙏 Prayer of the Day Lord Jesus, Thank You that I can tell You the truth about how I’m doing. I love You, and there are still things that frighten me. It means so much to me that You know what a troubled heart feels like. Please meet me there with Your Peace, the same Peace You gave Your friends on the night before the cross. When my thoughts run ahead, I want to come back to You. Even without all the answers, I know I’m safe with You. In Your Precious Name, THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES, Amen.

DID YOU KNOW? It happened at the evening meal on Jesus’ last night with His friends (John 13:1-2). He got up from the table, wrapped a towel around His waist and went from one disciple to the next, washing their feet (John 13:4-5). Peter could hardly bear it. “No,” he said, “you shall never wash my feet” (John 13:8). Afterward Jesus told them, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). Later that same evening, Jesus spoke the words of today’s verse: “Peace I leave with you; My Peace I give you” (John 14:27).

“God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”— C.S. Lewis

Romans 13:1 "Submission to Governing Authorities Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is NO AUTHORITY EXCEPT THAT WHICH GOD HAS ESTABLISHED. THE AUTHORITIES THAT EXIST HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED BY GOD."

DID YOU KNOW? Goliath came out of the Philistine camp in a bronze helmet and a coat of scale armor, carrying a spear whose shaft was like a weaver’s rod. “His shield bearer went ahead of him” (1 Samuel 17:4-7). Even as he came toward David, the shield bearer was still in front of him (1 Samuel 17:41). David had no shield at all. He tried on King Saul’s armor, then took it off because he wasn’t used to it (1 Samuel 17:38-39). He walked out with his staff, five smooth stones and a sling, and told Goliath, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the Name of the LORD Almighty” (1 Samuel 17:40, 45). Goliath needed someone to carry his shield. David trusted the Lord, his Strength and his Shield, just as today’s verse says (Psalm 28:7).

“Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.”— Elisabeth Elliot

“God helps those who help themselves.” It sounds so much like Scripture that plenty of us grew up thinking it was. But you won’t find it anywhere in the Bible. Benjamin Franklin made it famous in his almanac. Still, the idea has a way of slipping into our prayers. We try everything we can think of first, and only then do we bring it to God, almost as if His help were a reward for doing our part. If anyone could have helped himself, it was David, a warrior and a king. Yet in today’s verse, all the credit goes to God: “my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me.” Children trust like that without even thinking. A little one with a knotted shoelace simply holds out her foot, and a moment later she’s off and running again. You can come to God like that, too. Jesus came for people who could never save themselves, so you don’t have to prove yourself first. God helps those who trust Him, even on the days when trusting Him is all you can do. 🙏 Prayer of the Day Dear Heavenly Father, When everything feels like it’s up to me, it’s such a comfort that I can turn to You. Thank You for helping me so many times, often before I even thought to ask, and always out of love. I want to trust You the way a child does, holding out whatever is tangled and letting ➡️You take care of it.⬅️ Please be my Strength and my Shield today, and whenever You help me, let my heart leap for joy. Here is my heart, Lord. It trusts in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His wonderful Light."

DID YOU KNOW? In a letter to the people carried off to Babylon, God promised through Jeremiah, “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My good Promise to bring you back to this place” (Jeremiah 29:14a). The very next verses are the well-loved, “FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU" DECLARES THE LORD, "PLANS TO PROSPER YOU AND NOT TO HARM YOU, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE. THEN YOU WILL CALL ON ME AND COME AND PRAY TO ME, AND I WILL LISTEN TO YOU. YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME WHEN YOU SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART. I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU,” DECLARES THE LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.” Years later, Daniel read Jeremiah’s words and understood “that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years” (Daniel 9:2). And when King Cyrus let the exiles go home, it was “in order to fulfill the Word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah” (Ezra 1:1). Today’s verse was spoken to those same exiles: “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). Seventy years couldn’t wear that love out.