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DAVID'S DAILY
DEVOTIONAL
Photo by Andrik Langfield on Unsplash
WELCOME!
This devotional blog is a weekday "non-fluffy" devotional in the Word based on the two greatest commandments: "Love the Lord, love your neighbor." Each devotion will answer these three questions: What does the message speak to me (the author) today? What is it saying to you (the reader)? And what are we going to do about it? The Bible will speak to us every day if we will let it. So what is it saying today?
You can just come to this page every morning to see the latest blog post, but if you prefer email, subscribe below to have the link to the daily devotion dropped in your email inbox every morning.
All Posts
YOUR RACE CAR
Read Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. What It Is Speaking to Me Ever used the wrong tool on a job? A screwdriver as a hammer? A hammer as a screwdriver? (Not even sure how you would do that...) How well does it
David Ayres
May 62 min read
Mind the Gap
Read Isaiah 55:7–9 (KJV) Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. What it is speaking to me: I am a planner. Just kidding, I am not
David Ayres
May 52 min read
Running on Empty
Read Psalm 73:25–27 (KJV) "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." What it is speaking to me: I was 17 and driving to northwest Missouri with my dad to visit a university. Northwest Missouri doesn't have a lot going on. When I say "doesn't have a lot going on", you should read that as NOTHING going on. Lots of empty hills, a bare highwa
David Ayres
May 42 min read
Radical Hospitality
Read Hebrews 13:1-2,16 (NKJV) Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. What it is speaking to me: Hospitality in ancient times was very different from how we think of it today. Because of the difficulties and dangers involved in travel, texts from the Ancient Near East and the Old Testament present hospita
David Ayres
May 12 min read
Tired Sheep
Read John 10:10–11 (KJV)The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. What it is speaking to me: The devil isn't stupid. There are certainly times he takes the frontal and direct approach. But he can accomplish the same end using different and more subtle means. Fatigue is one of his favorite tools. A
David Ayres
Apr 302 min read
Pneumatic Self-Inflation
Read 1 Corinthians 8:1–3 (NKJV) Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. What it is speaking to me: Read this: The apostolic pronouncement under consideration constitutes a penetratingly incisive epistemological corrective: that the mere accumulation of theologically p
David Ayres
Apr 293 min read
REFLEX vs. CHOICE
Read Philippians 2:4–6 (KJV)Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. What it is speaking to me: Growing up with a brother, you beat on each other a lot. We were always pushing, smacking, and hitting each other. Not in anger or trying to cause pain (most of the time), more just typical boyish horseplay. There was a season where we were always coming up behind each other and either
David Ayres
Apr 282 min read
Lord of the Busy
Read Psalm 143:8–10 "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground." What it is speaking to me: "I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer" is a quote attributed to Martin Luther. According to some, he
David Ayres
Apr 272 min read
Bitter-proof Clothing
Read Colossians 3:12–14 (CSB) "Therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." What It Is Speaking to Me Sometimes clarifying definitions helps. Not all offenses are sins. People think that
David Ayres
Apr 243 min read
Traffic Meditations
Read Psalm 1:1–3 (KJV) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. What It Is Speaking to Me Don't get jealous, bu
David Ayres
Apr 232 min read
Enduring the Grind
Read Hebrews 12:1–3 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that y
David Ayres
Apr 222 min read
Stuck or Abiding?
Read 1 Corinthians 7:23–24 (NKJV) You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called. What It Is Speaking to Me You know the feeling: You're stuck in traffic on the way to a job that doesn't excite you anymore. You're sitting across the lunch table from the same difficult situation(person) you've been sitting across all year. The job stinks, the house is too small, the family is too contentious,
David Ayres
Apr 212 min read
Draw NIGH!
Read James 4:8 KJV — Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. (nigh = near, sometimes it is just fun to use the old words!) What It Is Speaking to Me You know the office party you attend with your spouse where you don't know anyone? The mixer at new employee onboarding? The first time at a new gym, school, job, or church? Not your most comfortable moment. You ask yourself these questions: Is anyone going to talk to me? If I make the approach, will I be met warmly? Or r
David Ayres
Apr 202 min read
Love Skills
Read 1 Thessalonians 3:12–13 "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones." What It Is Speaking to Me Have you ever had to go to school or training for a job? Trade schools train students for the work they are going to do. Some jobs include onsite train
David Ayres
Apr 172 min read
All Your Might
Read Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV)"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." What It Is Speaking to Me If you haven't read Ecclesiastes before, you can read this verse and miss the embedded irony that is intentionally woven throughout the whole book until the last chapter. That's a devotional for another time. The point of this devotional is tucked in
David Ayres
Apr 162 min read
Stinking Saying
Read Colossians 2:8–9 (KJV) Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. What It Is Speaking to Me Have you ever heard a fellow believer say something that smells bad? You can't necessarily put words and verse to why what they said about the Bible, Jesus, or the church is wrong, but it doesn't pass the sniff test.
David Ayres
Apr 152 min read
Salvific Silence
Read Lamentations 3:25–28 "The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him." What It Is Speaking to Me Jean-Paul Sartre said, "If you're lonely when you're alone, you're in bad company." Maybe we don't feel lonely, but we don't necessarily enjoy it either. I think we live in a
David Ayres
Apr 142 min read
Assessing Your Aim
Read Deuteronomy 6:4–6 (KJV) Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. What it is speaking to me: I love Robin Hood. The story, the movies, all of it. Multiple actors have played him over the course of nearly 100 years, and each movie has portrayed him slightly differently, changing many beats of
David Ayres
Apr 132 min read
The Ol' Ticker
Read Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" What it is speaking to me: I am the generation that grew up in what is considered "The Renaissance" of Disney animation. It kicked off with the Little Mermaid in 1989 and carried through the 90s to Tarzan in 1999. The Little Mermaid was a staple growing up, telling the story of a teenage mermaid who followed
David Ayres
Apr 102 min read
Mathing Your days
Read Psalm 90:12 (KJV) So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. What it is speaking to me: Perhaps you have heard the phrase, "The days are long but the years are short." More importantly, you probably can identify with that statement. People have postulated for centuries why this effect exists, and according to the never-wrong internet there are two popular explanations. I will get the one involving math out first, as I don't like math and wa
David Ayres
Apr 93 min read
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