Kerusso Daily Devotional

We all screw up. We all fail in some way. We fall short of goals, or get embarrassed in some kind of career implosion or other event. It’s easy then to feel like we’ll never win again. That is not how God sees you. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”    Hope and a future. Tha...

Let’s think about something deep today: What is the endgame? In this context, we’re talking about what comes after this life we are living now. Believers of course, look forward to an eternity with the Living God. And even unbelievers wonder about what comes next after you draw your last breath. It’s the most important element in our discussion this week. Romans 5:3–4 says, “Not only so, but we al...

There’s a reason the Bible uses so many metaphors. The wisdom God has for us lends itself well to short narratives, and we learn much from stories. A famous passage from Isaiah we’ve been discussing this week uses a powerful mental image to convey deep truths from God. Isaiah 40:31 says, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and n...

Whenever we have to overcome an obstacle in our lives, we are thinking about a million different things. Our minds race. We might even be aware that our Creator is there to help. But have you ever considered that even when life gets tough, you can still have joy? Romans 12:12 says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Sheila Walsh has said that what got her through a bou...

O Holy Night is a well-known Christmas carol that began as a French poem celebrating the opening of a new church. The beloved song we know today was translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight, an American minister and abolitionist, in 1855. This poignant carol reflects on the birth of Jesus as humanity's redemption. O holy night! The stars are brightly shining It is the night of our dear...

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 someda...

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...

Psychologists and self-help gurus will all tell us that a grateful heart and a positive outlook will do wonders for health and relationships. A person with a heart of gratitude will be seen by others who will want to follow and see what he has going for him. Such a person is a magnet for sharing the Gospel, and the greatest source of wisdom has much to say on the subject. Dozens of times in the Bi...

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 w...

The lack of gratitude in our world can be contagious. It’s kind of like a negative “pay it forward.” How did we get to this place?  Are we too prideful to thank each other, or even to thank God? Too busy? Too self-absorbed, maybe? As believers, we know life is a rich blessing from God. The clearest path to becoming a person of gratitude is to choose it. If we don’t choose gratitude, we choose ingr...

Do you ever feel like life is passing you by, or worse — running right over the top of you? When we focus on unpleasant circumstances or people, life can really bring us down. And this perspective is a downward spiral — not a place we want to dwell. Author John Kralik was there, once. A long hike one day led him to an emotional crossroads; there, he decided to devote the rest of his life to being...

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. Bu...

Humans have a problem asking for help. We can probably chalk it up to our proud hearts. Often, when we are really up against it, that’s when we resist seeking help. Jesus does away with all that. Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Ask yourself: is my pride keeping me from asking for help? If so, mull that over. And then...

You’ve heard of heat-seeking missiles. They are weapons so sophisticated that they appear to have a mind of their own. The missile is launched and finds its target, and destruction happens.  What if a heat-seeking missile could be used for good? What if one has been launched…in your direction? Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened...

The story of the Prodigal Son is one we can all relate to. The Bible tells the story of a brash young man who leaves his home after asking for his inheritance. His loving father complies, and let’s just say the son learns some valuable lessons on his travels. Eventually, he humbles himself and comes home; he needs his father and his family. It is really a story of Jesus and us. Matthew 7:7, “Ask a...

Have you ever seen the film, “Saving Private Ryan?” If not, it’s about a group of American soldiers sent into enemy territory during World War 2 to find one lost soldier. The order comes from top leadership. This small group has a single focus the whole mission. Eventually—at great cost—they locate him and return him to his loved ones. Much of it is difficult to watch, as we see the incredible sac...

Have you ever hunted and hunted for something, maybe your car keys, and you finally find them? The old saying goes (it’s very unhelpful!) that you find them in the last place you looked. There’s a lot of truth to that, though. It also is very relevant to our walk with Jesus. Often, we work really hard to solve our own problems, then we finally give in and ask Jesus for help. Matthew 7:7, “Ask and...

Have you ever watched a war movie and realized that the actors didn’t know how the conflict would turn out? World War 2 movies are like that. When they filmed “Casablanca,” Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman weren’t sure whether the Germans would win or lose. Life can be like that. Matthew 28:20 says, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” In your own life, you might be fac...

Have you ever been fooled by someone? Doesn’t feel good, does it? But the absolute worst is when we fool ourselves. We try to manage some problem on our own, or analyze a situation gone awry. The Bible has a better way of thinking about it. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” We have to do two things here: give total control to God, an...

The Bible is full of what many would call difficult stories. Some of them don’t make a lot of sense at first. Others seem contrary to what we think should happen. One such story is breathtaking if we follow it through. It involves a father trusting God more than his own instincts. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we live by faith, and not by sight.” In Genesis, we read about Abraham being instructed b...

Of all the gifts God gives His children, joy is perhaps the one closest to heaven on earth Who isn’t aware just how wonderful it feels to experience true joy? It is as if the Lord has freed a prisoner. When American POWs returned from captivity in Vietnam, the looks on their faces as they emerged from the planes carrying them to freedom…well, no one will ever forget that! Psalm 16:9 says, “Therefo...

When trouble is on the horizon, it can be hard to trust in God’s promises, and to believe He has a plan for us. The book of Judges in the Old Testament gives us an awesome example of trusting God in the story of Gideon. God called Gideon to lead Israel into battle with the Midianites, who had a sizable army of 135,000 men. Gideon gathered an army of 32,000 men to battle with the Midianites, but de...