Daily Devotion for October 31, 2025
Giotto di Bondone, although most people recognize the name, is rarely recognized for his overwhelming genius outside art history circles. He was the revolutionary artist, living in a surprisingly primitive society (over 200 years before Michelangelo), who broke with Byzantine formalism and invented Renaissance art. Although artists improved on his techniques in later centuries, this depiction of the Ascension is sublime.
Prayers
Scripture
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
I am often touched by Gospel songs from popular music icons, who suffered terrible breakdowns in their lives and reached out to God in their music. Two of them — Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston — join together in this popular song from The Prince of Egypt. I would like to think they found comfort from God, in all their pain.
Many nights we've prayed
With no proof anyone could hear,
In our hearts a hopeful song
We barely understood.
Now we are not afraid;
Although we know there's much to fear
We were moving mountains long
Before we knew we could.
Refrain:
There can be miracles, when you believe;
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill.
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will,
You will when you believe.
In this time of fear
When prayers so often prove in vain,
Hope seems like the summer birds,
Too swiftly flown away.
Yet now I'm standing here;
My heart's so full I can't explain.
Seeking faith and speaking words
I never thought I'd say.
They don't always happen when you ask
And it's easy to give in to your fears.
But when you're blinded by your pain,
Can't see your way straight throught the rain,
A small but still resilient voice
Says hope is very near.
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Prayer for the Morning
Heavenly Father, I do not fear this day, for you are with me wherever I might go, your light to shine ahead, your footsteps to lead the way. I do not fear this day, for your word will be my guide. Your strength will sustain me and your love revive me, this day and all days. I do not fear this day, for you are with me. In the name of Christ, I call upon you.
Prayer for Mercy
Heavenly Father, true God, who sent Your beloved Son to seek the wandering sheep, I have sinned against heaven and before You; receive me like the Prodigal Son, and clothe me with the garment of innocence, of which I was deprived by sin. Have mercy upon Your Creatures and upon me, a great sinner, in the name of Christ.
For Those Who Are Struggling
Heavenly Father, I pray for all my Christian brothers and sisters and for each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace to come in their hearts; I pray for love and joy to abound in their homes; I pray that they might enjoy good health, that they are not in debt, and that all their needs are met.
I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than you, Mighty God. Every battle is in your hands for you to fight, Lord. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them. In Christ’s name,
Meditation
If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?
Benediction
May the Almighty and merciful Lord graciously hear me, pardon and deliver me from all my sins, confirm and strengthen me in all goodness, and bring me to everlasting life; through my Savior, Jesus Christ,
Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.
First Things First
“You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.”
~ Reuben Archer Torrey, American evangelist
Galatians 1:1-5 (DP Bible)
o the Churches of Galatia,
From Paul, an apostle sent, not by mortal men, but by Jesus Christ, and from the brothers who are with me:
Grace to you, and peace, from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself to rescue us from this evil world, carrying out the will of the Father. All honor and glory to Him, now and forever.
Verbatim Bible
1 Paul apostle, not from men nor by man but by Jesus Christ and god father the having-raised him from dead,
2 and the with me all brothers, to the churches of Galatia;
3 grace to you and peace from god father of us and lord Jesus Christ,
4 the having-given himself for the sins of us so that he takes-away us from the present evil age according to the will of the god and father of us,
5 to whom the glory in the age of the ages; amen.
DP Parallel Bible (3-Column) - Galatians 1
Notes on the Scripture
Greeting (Galatians #1)
Having just finished a study of 1 Thessalonians, it is a perfect time to take on the more weighty Epistle to the Galatians. These were Paul’s first two epistles and thus share many similarities of style; but the content and tone are enormously different.
These differences reflect a fundamental dissimilarity in the audiences to which they are addressed. The church of Thessalonica was thriving, united under the gospel that Paul had recently delivered to them. The churches of Galatia were, in contrast, a theological mess. Everybody seemed to have their own opinion. There were many who preached in partial ignorance, unintentionally augmenting aspects of the gospel with their own thoughts; and, even worse, many charlatans who jumped on the “Jesus bandwagon” and intentionally taught false doctrine, seeking their own glorification, power, and perhaps income.
Galatians opens with what will become a pattern greeting of Paul’s epistles. Three elements are consistent:
- The identity of the immediate intended recipient — immediate, because without fail Paul’s letters were widely circulated and often copied. The long-range intended recipients were all Gentile churches and, ultimately, us.
- The identity of the author(s); and
- The blessing, “grace to you, and peace,” the first perhaps intended to resonate more with Greek listeners, and the second with Jews. (Even today, Israelis greet one another with the Hebrew word for peace, “Shalom.” )
All three parts of this pattern opening were subject to considerable amplification and explanation, and in some (especially later) epistles, they grow quite long.
Paul’s description of himself in the very first phrase — “an apostle sent, not by mortal men, but by Jesus Christ” — not only identifies the author, but also introduces the primary topic of Chapter 1. In Galatians, more than any other epistle, Paul lays powerful claim to his status as an actual apostle, appointed and instructed directly by the person of Jesus Christ, of no less stature and authority than Peter. The words may be Paul’s, but the message comes directly from Christ.
The last phrase, “from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself to rescue us from this evil world,” sounds like boilerplate Christian doctrine, but it has a specific purpose. Paul is about to launch into a harangue against false prophets and warped doctrine. The people who are promoting such doctrine are a part of this “evil world”; rather than being Christ’s prophets and preachers, they are the very people from whom Christ saved us, suffering death to do so.
One last note, on the phrase “rescue us from this evil world.” The primary meaning of the Greek word translated as “world” (aiōnos -- the root of “eon”) is actually “age” rather than “world.” It is important to see that Paul intends both meanings. We see the same word used in the same way in Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to the age [or world]”.
First, Paul wants us to be rescued from the world we see — “visible reality.” The world is both temporary and full of evil. Christ came to take us out of it and into a permanent “world” of pure goodness.
Part of this world, however, is the “age” in which we live. Like the world, the values of secular society at any given time are a mixture of good and evil, but they are a false gospel, even where they seem to parallel a Biblical value. For example, the sin of murder is exactly the same to God in the year 2000 A.D. as it was in the year 50 A.D. But societal ethics change constantly on such issues as abortion, capital punishment, and “just war.” Like the people in Galatia in 60 A.D., people today (and in every period of history) become confused by a morality derived from Christian doctrine mixed with their own opinions. The problems Paul saw, which prompted his Epistle to the Galatians, are identical in nature to the doctrinal problems faced by Christians today.
So the starting point for our morality as Christians is to understand that we must take our values from the Word of God, not from our opinions as they are informed by the time when we happen to live. “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8.)
