Kerusso Daily Devotional

Well, the gifts have been opened, the wrapping paper taken to the landfill. Leftovers are in the fridge, and maybe you’re feeling a little blue, a little depressed. Christmas is over, or is it? 2 Corinthians 9:15 says, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”  In the West, we tend to have a letdown when the excitement and rush of Christmas is over, as if at midnight on December 25th, we’re r...

During Christmas of 1944, American soldiers were dug in against the Germans. The dark, frozen Belgian forest added to the bleak atmosphere. Morale was low, ammo was low, and food supplies were low. But just when things looked the worst, General Patton’s Third Army showed up almost out of nowhere. The men who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and survived remembered many things about that strangest...

This is the day of days. While the exact day is unknown, what we do know is that 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ came to earth as a child to rescue us from sin.  Christmas is a date on the calendar that literally quickens our hearts. Everyone understands the significance of it. It’s why hateful people behave differently for at least 24 hours.  Isaiah 9:6 says, “For to us, a child is born. To us, a so...

Well hey—Merry Christmas Eve to you as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We’d like to share the Christmas story from Luke Chapter 2, verses 4–20. And just a note, we’ve made some minor edits for length purposes in this excerpt from the King James version of the story.  “Joseph went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea unto the cit...

Every December 25th, around the world, happenings are quite different and diverse, place to place. Celebrating Christmas is unique to each culture, but the meaning of it all we share.  In Norway, Christmas Eve is the main event with bells ringing at five in the evening, followed by family dinners. In Mexico, Christmas begins on December 16th and on the ninth evening, Christmas Eve, children walk t...

What was Jesus’ name?  Most of us assume that if Jesus had a driver’s license, his listed name would have been “Jesus Christ.” That’s kind of funny, but as usual, our human perceptions can’t define Him and box Him in. The Bible tells us that Jesus has many names, each a shining facet of Who He is. He is called the Alpha and Omega—the beginning and the end. The Lamb of God. Elsewhere He is referred...

In general, humans as a species have a fair amount of self-awareness. And if we’re honest, we all know our weak points. Those places where character is lacking a bit. One of our biggest weaknesses is that we just want stuff. Bigger house, more expensive car—that kind of thing. In those moments, we’re missing out on a big prize. Our focus is wrong. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and...

Does your life feel out of control? Are you experiencing that common feeling of weaving down a busy highway, about to crash? It’s a metaphor for life that a lot of folks internalize at some point. All of a sudden, what you were sure of isn’t there anymore. You might as well be behind the wheel of a fast car that’s heading straight into oncoming traffic. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and...

Have you ever tried to follow God in a half-hearted way? You know what that means. You like the idea of God, but His perfect will for our lives can also feel very restrictive. That’s the moment that we walk along the highway of life completely alone. Proverbs 3:5–6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall d...

In our humanness, we struggle at times to achieve peace. World War 1 ended 100 years ago, and all sides joined together as a League of Nations to make that conflict the “War to end all wars.” And then World War 2 happened. Our history is littered with noble attempts to make things right, but only God can bring peace to nations, and to individuals. He has promised both! One day, He will make everyt...

202 years ago, “Silent Night” was first heard by villagers attending Christmas Eve mass in St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria. Joseph Mohr, the young priest who wrote the lyrics, played the guitar and sang along with Franz Gruber, the choir director who had written the melody. How did this simple tune, with its quiet words of comfort, become a beloved hymn of peace throughout the whole worl...

Jesus is always our standard. Moments after He picked the 12 disciples, Jesus was standing at the base of a mountain, teaching the people. He told them many things, but one thing really stands out: He told them how to treat each other. Jesus had a way with stories. Narrative was the way He told people what He wanted them to remember. And it was then that Jesus used an image of the good gifts God g...

Love is the essence of God. We know that. At the same time, we can say that there are different kinds of love; we’re talking about that this week. Love for family. Love for our fellow humans. Love for nature. But we can think of what is called agape love as “big-tent love.” Agape is an ancient Greek word meaning “Love of God for people, and of people for God.” 1 Corinthians 13:1–3 says, “If I spea...

How many of us would feed a hungry stranger with the last crust of bread left in the house? The prophet Elijah received a prophecy that the land would suffer a years-long drought, and this message from God had come to pass. The Lord sent him to a ravine east of the Jordan River where He sent ravens with bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and Elijah could drink from a brook, but even...

When God asks us to love our neighbor as ourselves, what exactly does He mean? In Luke 10 verses 25–37, Jesus shares the Parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate what it means to love our neighbors the way Jesus loves us. “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.  A priest hap...

Are you comfortable in your life? This is a little different than asking if you’re always happy, or living in some sort of paradise. Comfortable just means you are relatively peaceful and content with your situation. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it can be dangerous in a spiritual sense. Jesus calls us to something more. Mark 16:15 says, “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach t...

Today, we’re continuing our series on sharing the gospel, and what we’re covering today is about the Great Commission. Have you heard that term before? Christianity’s great at using terms the general public isn’t familiar with, and sometimes we use terms even we aren’t familiar with as believers.  A recent study shows that more than 50% of U.S. churchgoers don’t know what that term Great Commissio...

Have you ever known someone who inherited something of great value from an obscure relative? It happens…maybe in a movie or something. The will is read by an attorney and all of a sudden, the beneficiary goes from struggling to pay the rent to needing a financial planner. It can be an exciting time, even disorienting. The only downside to receiving a large inheritance is the knowledge that someday...

Table salt today is so common, it becomes another thing we take for granted. You go to the store, pick a cylinder or jar of salt off the shelf, and then go home. You don’t even think about it. Now, consider that 1,000 and more years ago, if a person wanted to use salt on his dinner, this required some prior work. A lot of work! The Romans boiled seawater in huge, lead-lined pans. So valuable was s...

Kerusso exists to tell people about the Good News of Jesus Christ, but somehow in our information-jacked world, culture has moved further away from understanding who the most famous person in history really is.  Millions of books and articles have been written about a carpenter who lived in the Middle East 2000 years ago, and Jesus has been identified as anything from a desert mystic to God Himsel...

Thanksgiving isn’t just a holiday—it’s an attitude we can choose to fill our hearts with every day. The Bible shares many examples of gratitude in the midst of challenging circumstances. Imagine Mary, a young Galilean girl, given the news that she was to be the mother of the Messiah. She didn’t panic or protest. Instead, she embraced the news and nurtured the One who would bring healing to the who...

New York Times writer Arthur Brooks once cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for his in-laws in Spain. Over dinner, a couple of questions were asked. The first, “What does this beast eat to be so filled with bread?,” and then, “Should you celebrate this holiday even if you don't feel grateful?” The first question is just funny. The second should give us all pause. Being grateful is a state of mind....

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist working for education and women. In 2005, while riding on a bus, she was shot in the head by a member of the Taliban, and the attack was revenge for her activism. Incredibly, Malala recovered from her gruesome injury and today considers herself an ambassador of gratefulness.  Here’s a quote: “I can speak. I can see you, I can see everyone, and today I can s...

You’ve heard that every good thing comes from God, right? It’s true. He is our example, both of how to live and how to react to others. This week we’re talking about practicing gratitude, and as usual, God shows us the way. Psalm 107:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Often we can become disappointed if we don’t get everything we think we should have. But...

Isn’t it fascinating that a secular definition of the word blessed is “made holy; or consecrated.” It seems the whole world really knows, even deep down, that blessings are from God. Psalm 107:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” As we focus on thankfulness and blessings this week, in this season of Thanksgiving, we are instructed to actually thank God for t...