Today Daily Devotional

You yourselves are God’s temple and . . . God’s Spirit dwells in your midst. . . . — 1 Corinthians 3:16 A few years ago, a strong wind toppled one of the beehives behind our barn. The hive had been thriving, and it was five boxes tall. The hive had stuck together well. Amazingly, it didn’t break open till it hit the ground. “Bee glue”—propolis— gets the credit for that. But, sadly, the hive was de...

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. — Acts 2:42 Have you heard of “personal space”? It’s described as the amount of space a person feels is needed in order to relate to and live well with others. Personal space can differ by culture, situation, relationship, and personal preference. For an average Westerner, personal space is...

We are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. — 1 Corinthians 3:9 Honeybees are great builders. Inside their hive they make honeycombs consisting of hundreds of six-sided cells. These are the basic building blocks of beehives. The amazing geometry of these cells maximizes storage space while minimizing the wax needed for a stable structure. Beeswax is an ingenious blend...

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. — 1 Corinthians 12:12 People who count honeybees estimate that there are 20,000 to 60,000 bees in any given hive. Yet there is one hive. The hive has three basic kinds of bees: the queen, workers, and drones. Yet there is one hive. All of the bees work together by instinct to function as an inte...

“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” — John 9:4-5 My favorite time at our beehives is around sunset. Gatherer bees are coming back to the hive. If I look closely, I can see the bulging pollen packs on their hind legs, holding the fruit of their labor. Amazing! These worker bees...

“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” — John 10:16 As a keeper of honeybees, I’ve grown a bit narrowminded. I’ve become partial to honeybees even though I know there are lots of others—like bumblebees, sweat bees, and carpenter bees—to name a few. Recently I learned there are als...

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. — Ephesians 6:18 As a child, I was taught to pray a simple bedtime prayer. It was a “repeat-after-me” prayer, and it started like this: “Now I lay me down to sleep . . .” After memorizing it, I was encouraged to add other requests— mostly for sick family members or friends or about other concerns. Learning to pray with a p...

The whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. — Romans 8:22 We might think that beekeeping should be easy: get some bees, put them in a hive, and let them do their thing, right? But a seasoned beekeeper will tell you that it’s never easy. Hive beetles, varroa mites, wax moths, and foul brood disease are some of the more common threats to bees and...

Since you excel in everything . . . see that you also excel in this grace of giving. — 2 Corinthians 8:7 When we installed two new “nucs” of bees in our hive boxes last spring, both seemed ready to become strong colonies. After a few weeks, one hive seemed to be doing better than the other, but we were not worried. Both were still growing and improving. During summer—when bees build up and increas...

“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.” — Acts 17:26 Our reading from Psalm 104 paints a picture of all God’s provisions for the creatures in his wonderful world. But when we look around us, it’s easy to find hungry people and other creatures without shelter or food. Home...

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. — Hebrews 11:3 I started beekeeping about 20 years ago and then dropped out of it for a while. After a few more years, however, I got excited to start into it again. A problem that occurred earlier was that my previous hives became “dead-outs.” I needed new honeybees. So...

Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. — Isaiah 40:31 The strength of human power and will is not enough to keep us on our feet. It’s not enough to keep us going when we need to carry on. But renewal comes from the Lord, who not only gives us strength but also lifts our spirits, t...

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. — Isaiah 40:29-30 The sovereign Lord of the universe, who does not grow tired or weary, gives strength when we are weak and exhausted. We are subject to many weaknesses. Our strength quickly withers and fades. Our muscles and minds grow weary on the hard journeys of...

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. — Isaiah 40:28 People get exhausted, but the Lord never grows tired. People are born and die, but God is immortal and everlasting. People are creatures, but God is their Creator. People have some knowledge, but God's u...

Why do you complain . . . ? Why do you say . . . “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”? — Isaiah 40:27 God’s people were discouraged and feeling helpless. Despite the majesty God had shown for them in the uniqueness of his being and the greatness of his work, the people were mistaken in two ways. First, they thought God had forgotten them. They began to doubt God’s go...

Lift up your eyes . . . to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. . . . — Isaiah 40:26 Life’s problems can weigh us down so much that we may feel as if we can’t look up. But we need to lift our gaze to consider the greatness of God and the majesty of his creation. As Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of G...

“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. — Isaiah 40:25 The Lord God is unique. There is no one like him. He is the Lord, “and there is no other.”God is incomparably great. He is above and beyond all creation. He did not have to create the universe to be God; he was already God before the foundation of the earth. The Lord is not like idols made by human imagining; he i...

No sooner are [rulers] planted . . . no sooner do they take root . . . than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. — Isaiah 40:24 The powerful people of this world tend to think they are strong and mighty, but they are fragile. They think they have the control of history in their hands, but they do not. Their stability is provisional. Their strength is tempo...

He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. — Isaiah 40:23 Isaiah points out the Lord’s supremacy over the government leaders of this world. They rise to power and seem unshakable, but they are eventually overthrown and replaced. Where are the pharaohs of Egypt? Where is Sennacherib of Assyria? Where is Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon? Where is Cyrus of Persia? Where is...

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. — Isaiah 40:22 Isaiah reminds us that God's reign is not only in heaven but is also established over the entire earth. God rules over everything and everyone. All of the world’s inhabitants—although great in number—cannot be...

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? — Isaiah 40:21 Isaiah asks some more rhetorical questions here, and these emphasize that our knowledge of God is not something new or unheard of. Instead it’s a divine revelation from the very beginning, since the creation of the world. God’s people, however, often...

A person too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot; they look for a skilled worker to set up an idol that will not topple. — Isaiah 40:20 As we noted yesterday, idolatry is an offense to God. Today’s text describes how a person who cannot afford to use gold or silver might choose a special kind of wood and then hire a craftsman to carve it into an idol that they can worsh...

As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. — Isaiah 40:19 God's people have always been surrounded by worshipers of idols that represent other gods—and all other gods besides the Lord are false. Sadly, we have always been drawn to worship things other than the one true God. In the past, most idols were made of wood, stone, or pr...

With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him? — Isaiah 40:18 Here again Isaiah uses a rhetorical question to highlight the greatness and uniqueness of God. The Lord is incomparable in his greatness. He rules over all creation without needing anyone to guide him. In comparison to the Lord, all nations are insignificant. Our trust, therefore, must be not in human power or...

Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. — Isaiah 40:17 As he continues describing God in his majesty and superiority, Isaiah says that all the nations, in comparison, are “as nothing”—even “less than nothing.” This means there is no room for pride or any sense of self-accomplishment in the sight of God. When Isaiah wrote this passage,...