Daily Devotionals for March 18, 2026

DELAYS are not denials. Jesus delayed to answer, but He did not deny her request. He hath said, "Ask, and it shall be given you. Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you." Heaven and earth may pass away, but His word must stand forever. He delays the answer to try our faith, patience and perseverance; but when He sends the blessing He proves His faithfulness, pity and love. Be not discouraged though your prayers remain unanswered for a time; it will not always be...

"The prayer of the upright is His delight." Proverbs 15:8

This is as good as a promise, for it declares a present fact, which will be the same throughout all ages. God takes great pleasure in the prayers of upright men; He even calls them His delight. Our first concern is to be upright. Neither bending this way nor that, continue upright; not crooked with policy, nor prostrate by yielding to evil, be you upright in strict...

Love suffereth long, and is kind" (1 Cor. 13:4).

The price of leadership remains high and hard; it may be cheap and easy for the dictator, for the hireling, but never for the shepherd. The dictator dominates; the hireling flees; but the good shepherd loves his sheep and is loved by them. He lays down his life...

The key word in Philippians 2:1-30 is "others." The Lord Jesus lived for others. Paul lived for others. Timothy lived for others. Epaphroditus lived for others. We too should live for others.

We are told to do this not only because it is right but also because it is for our own good. If it is sometimes costly to live for others, it is more costly not to do so.

Our society is filled with people who live only for their own personal...

Every firstborn creature must be the Lord's, but since the ass was unclean, it could not be presented in sacrifice. What then? Should it be allowed to go free from the universal law? By no means. God admits of no exceptions. The ass is his due, but he will not accept it; he will not abate the claim, but yet he cannot be pleased with the victim. No way of escape remained but redemption-the creature must be saved by the substitution of a lamb in its place; or if not redeemed, it must die. My...

About the intimate workings of the Holy Spirit in the human heart there is a highly personal relationship in which no third person can share. The sacred work of redemption was wrought in darkness. No strange eye could see what was taking place when the sins of the world entered the holy soul of Christ that He might die under their weight and thus make "his life a guilt offering" (Isaiah 53:10; 2...

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep. § The solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him. § Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.Having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is...

For Reading and Meditation:     Psalm 139:1-24

We continue exploring the fact that God is not only powerful, but personal. The constituent parts of personality are predicated of God on almost every page of the Bible. "I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind," said the Lord to Eli in

Not in uncertain riches, not in my own sagacity, not in my probity, not in my social position, not in the felicity of circumstances; not in the friendship of the world, not even in the favor of Christians; not in the sacraments, not in my prayers, nor in my repentance, nor in my obedience.

I will trust in Him that became man in order that he might bear my sins in his own body on the tree.

I will trust in him, for he is the most trustworthy being in the universe. Shall a child...

His first coming was without external pomp or show of power, and yet in truth there were few who could abide its testing might. Herod and all Jerusalem with him were stirred at the news of the wondrous birth. Those who supposed themselves to be waiting for him, showed the fallacy of their professions by rejecting him when he came. His life on earth was a winnowing fan, which tried the great heap of religious profession, and few enough could abide the process. But what will his second advent...

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled; but You, O Lord—how long? Return, O Lord, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake! § My heart is severely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me. And I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” § You have need of endurance.While...

Persons out of Christ often try to comfort themselves with the remembrance that they have never in their lives committed any really great sin. Little trifling acts of wrongdoing perhaps, but nothing of any consequence, so surely God will overlook their rather insignificant transgressions when He settles their accounts.

In the first place, a man's status before God is decided not by the number and enormity of his sins but by whether those sins have or have not been forgiven, whether he...