Daily Devotion for January 14, 2026
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.
This song is based on the oldest known Christian hymnal, compiled in about 100 AD, known as the Odes of Solomon. Fernando Ortega gives a beautiful setting for Ode #40, “Sing Allelu.”
Our hearts open wide to sing Your praise,
And our sound becomes sweet with Your Anthems ringing.
Praise to the name of the Lord.
Chorus:
Sing Allelu, Sing Allelu,
We rejoice in your love, most High.
Sing Allelu, Sing Allelu,
In Your light, You shine forever.
Shine in us, O Lord, forever
We're the light to the world, Allelu.
Let us who are afraid, find refuge in Christ,
and redemption assured in His name.
By day and by night, we delight in Your love
And forever your Word will remain.
Music and Lyrics by the Odes Project
Prayer to Live for God’s Glory
O God, lover of Your people, help me this day to live entirely to Your glory. Let me be deaf to unmerited criticism and the praise of men. Nothing can hurt my new-born inner self, it cannot be smitten or die; nothing can mar the dominion of Your Spirit within me; it is enough to have Your approval and that of my conscience.
Keep me humble, dependent, supremely joyful, as calm and quiet as a dependent child, yet earnest and active. I wish not so much to do as to be, and I long to be like Jesus; if You make me right, I shall be right; Lord, I belong to You, make me worthy of Yourself.
Prayer for the Unpopular Christian
Father, you are so worthy of it all—my attention, praise, worship, and love. Your works are amazing, beyond anything I can even express. Help me be a light that shines toward you today. It is often hard for me to stand out from the world and be different. Give me the courage to make your goodness known and to never be ashamed.
Give peace, I pray, to my friends who are standing up for you and as a result have found themselves friendless or with few who understand them. I thank you for your wonderful works and all that you have done and will do. In the glorious name of Jesus Christ,
Dedication (from St. Teresa of Avila)
May it please you, my good Lord, that there may come a day when I can repay a little of my great debt to you. O Jesus, strengthen my soul, you who are good above all good; and since you have inclined my soul in this way, show me how I may act for you, whatever it may cost, O Lord. Here is my life, my honor and my will; I have given them all to you and they are yours: use me to do whatever you want.
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.
Today’s “Remember the Bible” Question
Where in the New Testament do we find the command, “Do not speak evil of a ruler of your people”?
Cheap Grace
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession...Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Luke 9:1-6, 23-25 (ESV)
Take Up Your Cross
nd he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
* * *
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses himself?”
Notes on the Scripture
We have talked in the past about parts of the Bible that people don't want to hear. We sometimes simply do not absorb what we read or hear; or we develop a carefully-constructed reason why a passage means something other than its clear, unambiguous meaning. People often read the Bible with a black magic marker in hand, mentally marking out the parts they don't like.
Different people have different parts they want to ignore or eliminate: Gay people want to change the parts about the sinfulness of homosexuality; people invested in some political party or cause want to ignore the admonitions against politics and worldliness; young single men and women, the warnings against fornication; Christian leaders (including people who publish devotional websites!), the blandishments against pride. Feminists, any admonitions about gender roles. The list is long.
But today, we have a teaching that almost everybody ignores or minimizes in their minds (and yes this includes me). When Christ tells us to take up our cross, He means that we be willing to die. He means that we be willing to give up our home, our family, our opinions, and the resources of the physical world beyond the minimum necessary to sustain life. “To be perfect,” He tells the rich young man, “sell what you have and give to the poor, . . . and come, follow Me.”
Jesus himself was homeless during His ministry: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Luke 9:58) He minimized his relationship with his mother and brothers and, instead, claimed as his family those who believed in him (Luke 8:19-21). He took no part in secular politics. He allowed himself to be arrested on false charges without resistance, to be subjected to an illegal trial, torture, and execution. He did not even mount a defense!
So what are we supposed to do? Is owning a house or renting an apartment a sin? Having a spouse? Owning two sets of clothes? Well, no, at least not all of us. We see a difference in approach during the early church age (as opposed to the expectations of Jesus’ followers during His active ministry). In 1 Thessalonians, Paul seems to imply that the majority of the church are not expected to become homeless missionaries. He tells them to work with their hands, earn their living, and live well before outsiders. (1 Thess. 4:11-12) And in fact, in 2 Thess. 3:10 he writes, “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.”
There seems to be implicit authority for people to live normal lives inside a church community. And at another point he tells Christians that they can get married and if they do, they should “not deprive each other”! (1 Corinthians 7:1-9)
We are not going to try to summarize all of this into some pithy conclusion; rather, we must read the Scripture and keep it in mind as we make decisions about how we are going to live our lives, in the knowledge and faith of Jesus Christ. As we read through the entirety of the New Testament, there appears a wide area of lifestyle between sharply prohibited conduct and perfect obedience to Christ. But although we know we are going to fall short, we have to move forward.
What we must seek is sufficient faith to actually be ready to “pick up our cross every day,” for Christ has commanded us to do so. We might not achieve it; but we may not ignore it.
