Daily Devotionals for December 23, 2026

Philosophers have noted the vast difference between men and beasts and have tried to find that difference in one or another distinguishing characteristic. They have said, for instance, that man is the thinking animal, or that he is the laughing animal, or that he is the only animal with a conscience. The one mark, however, which forever distinguishes man from all other forms of life on earth is that he is a worshiper; he has a bent toward and a capacity for worship. Apart from his position...

Delight in divine service is a token of acceptance. Those who serve God with a sad countenance, because they do what is unpleasant to them, are not serving him at all; they bring the form of homage, but the life is absent. Our God requires no slaves to grace his throne; he is the Lord of the empire of love, and would have his servants dressed in the livery of joy. The angels of God serve him with songs, not with groans; a murmur or a sigh would be a mutiny in their ranks. That obedience...

God has given us a broad world of truth for our spiritual and intellectual habitation. This universe of truth is to the human soul as limitless as the air to a bird or the sea to a fish. There the Christian mind can luxuriate at perfect liberty. While the ages unfold the believer will need no more than has been already given, for it represents the broad and manifold will of God, the happy home of saints and angels.

This vast sea of truth is expressed in nature, in the Holy Scriptures...

As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself … As the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. § I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep … I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it...

I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil. § “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace.It pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself … having made peace through the blood of His cross. § Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a...

The following reason is assigned, why he should forsake his ways and thoughts: - " For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Man will have it that his way, his designs, his plans, his theory of life, are better than those of God. God's scheme of human life is published everywhere and brought before the notice of all; but all disdain it; they do...

Christian! here is all thou canst require. To make thee happy thou wantest something that shall satisfy thee; and is not this enough? If thou canst pour this promise into thy cup, wilt thou not say, with David, "My cup runneth over; I have more than heart can wish"? When this is fulfilled, "I am thy God", art thou not possessor of all things? Desire is insatiable as death, but he who filleth all in all can fill it. The capacity of our wishes who can measure? but the immeasurable wealth of...

This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 17:5).

All the Father accomplished on our behalf is that we might have all He has in His beloved Son. "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9).

Matthew 13:31-33 Matthew 13:44-52

The parables of Jesus are unforgettable pictures. They are stories laden with truth. Some preachers tell stories which thrill those who hear them, and yet they are tales with no lesson. The parables of Jesus are rustic and interesting, and yet they are vital with spiritual meaning.

The 

"And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath." Deuteronomy 33:13

We may be rich in such things as Joseph obtained, and we may have them in a higher sense. Oh, for "the precious things of heaven"!

Power with God and the manifestation of power from God are most precious. We would enjoy the peace of God, the joy of the LORD, the...

For Reading and Meditation:     Isaiah 40:12-17

Now we come to look at a section of the psalm which suggests that the reason why the ungodly continue to prosper as they do is because God is asleep. Listen to the psalmist's exact words: "As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies" (

Satan is the Christian's unwearied foe, he is the enemy of all righteousness, and aims at our destruction. He is especially the enemy of our faith--comfort--prosperity--and usefulness.

He is our enemy before God, and he gets access to our hearts; he excites to sin, accuses of sin, and terrifies for sin. We are called upon to resist him, stedfastly believing God's word, faithfulness and love. Stedfastly believing what Christ is to us, as Satan's grand opponent.

Is Satan a deadly...

Yesterday we considered a passage that often proves distressing to sincere Christians. Today we will look at three verses in John's first epistle that also disturb believers who are all too aware of their sinfulness. There is the verse already quoted at the top of the page. Then there is 1 John 3:9 : "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." And