Daily Devotionals
The following devotionals were taken from
"Strength
for the Journey" & "In Our
Father's Hands." Check back each week to
read a new devotional. Book(s) can be
pre-ordered at Little Acorn's online store.
The following devotional was taken from "Strength for the Journey" and written by David Deffenbaugh.
January 1
Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 1-2; Matthew 1
Beginning to the End
Devotional Text: Genesis 1:1
Today marks many beginnings; this is the beginning of a book, it’s the beginning of a new year, the beginning of a new resolution (to read God’s word every day), and reading the beginning of the Bible. That is a lot of beginnings.
We know from experience that a beginning, no matter how good or well intentioned, does not guarantee a successful end. It is also true that no successful end can be reached without a beginning. A well-known proverb suggests that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. The question is: What is that journey? What is the destination toward which the beginning step is being taken today? Is it a journey to achieve an objective, to read through the Bible in a year? Is it a journey to alleviate the guilt of not reading the Bible like you should? Is it a journey to gain someone’s approval (spouse, parent, peer)?
This journey should be to come nearer to the heart of God. Other motivations may have led to the first step on this journey, but will they also lead to the second, third, fiftieth, and 365th steps? Even if one were to read and meditate on God’s word every day of this year, the journey would have only begun. It’s not measured by a calendar, but by a life. Only a destination so grand, so magnificent, so lofty as the heart of God will move us to such heights; every day, a little closer; every day, a little nearer; every day as we meet God in His word.
“For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
The following devotional was taken from "In Our Father's Hands" and written by Tyrel Hatfield.
January 1
Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 1-2; Matthew 1
Humble beginnings
Devotional Text: Matthew 1:18-25
Close your eyes, and imagine you are living over 2,000 years ago. Your clothes are different, your shoes are different, and you have a donkey in the stable out back. You are the owner and keeper of an inn located in a little town called Bethlehem.
One dark, windy night, a young couple knocks on your door and asks you for a room. “I have no rooms available,” you tell them. Then you notice the young woman is pregnant. You feel sorry for the couple, and you offer to let them stay in your stable. Later you learn the young woman had her baby, not just any baby: the child was Christ the Savior, God’s Son. “Oh, no,” you say. “Had I only known, I would have given you my room. I would have thrown a party in your honor!”
When you start to seek praise and honor for your accomplishments, or believe you haven’t received the recognition you deserve, just remember this: Jesus, who is God’s Son, our Lord of Lords, our mighty King, ruler of everything, and was with God from the beginning (John 1:1-4), didn’t come to this earth for praise and glory. He didn’t come with trumpets sounding. The red carpet was not rolled out. He came quietly and humbly, placed in a manger, fleeing from danger – not to receive recognition, but to die on a cross for our sins.
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The following devotional was taken from "Strength for the Journey" and written by David Deffenbaugh.
Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 1-2; Matthew 1
Beginning to the End
Devotional Text: Genesis 1:1
Today marks many beginnings; this is the beginning of a book, it’s the beginning of a new year, the beginning of a new resolution (to read God’s word every day), and reading the beginning of the Bible. That is a lot of beginnings.
We know from experience that a beginning, no matter how good or well intentioned, does not guarantee a successful end. It is also true that no successful end can be reached without a beginning. A well-known proverb suggests that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. The question is: What is that journey? What is the destination toward which the beginning step is being taken today? Is it a journey to achieve an objective, to read through the Bible in a year? Is it a journey to alleviate the guilt of not reading the Bible like you should? Is it a journey to gain someone’s approval (spouse, parent, peer)?
This journey should be to come nearer to the heart of God. Other motivations may have led to the first step on this journey, but will they also lead to the second, third, fiftieth, and 365th steps? Even if one were to read and meditate on God’s word every day of this year, the journey would have only begun. It’s not measured by a calendar, but by a life. Only a destination so grand, so magnificent, so lofty as the heart of God will move us to such heights; every day, a little closer; every day, a little nearer; every day as we meet God in His word.
“For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
The following devotional was taken from "In Our Father's Hands" and written by Tyrel Hatfield.
Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 1-2; Matthew 1
Humble beginnings
Devotional Text: Matthew 1:18-25
Close your eyes, and imagine you are living over 2,000 years ago. Your clothes are different, your shoes are different, and you have a donkey in the stable out back. You are the owner and keeper of an inn located in a little town called Bethlehem.
One dark, windy night, a young couple knocks on your door and asks you for a room. “I have no rooms available,” you tell them. Then you notice the young woman is pregnant. You feel sorry for the couple, and you offer to let them stay in your stable. Later you learn the young woman had her baby, not just any baby: the child was Christ the Savior, God’s Son. “Oh, no,” you say. “Had I only known, I would have given you my room. I would have thrown a party in your honor!”
When you start to seek praise and honor for your accomplishments, or believe you haven’t received the recognition you deserve, just remember this: Jesus, who is God’s Son, our Lord of Lords, our mighty King, ruler of everything, and was with God from the beginning (John 1:1-4), didn’t come to this earth for praise and glory. He didn’t come with trumpets sounding. The red carpet was not rolled out. He came quietly and humbly, placed in a manger, fleeing from danger – not to receive recognition, but to die on a cross for our sins.
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
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