Daily Devotional
Sign up and receive a daily Faith Builder Devotional in your inbox.
| Today |  | December 13 - December 19 2026 |  |
Dec13
Burning Coals
Ps 140:9-10 | |
| 9 | "As for the head of those who surround me, Let the evil of their lips cover them; |
| 10 | Let burning coals fall upon them; Let them be cast into the fire, Into deep pits, that they rise not up again. NKJV When the human nature when someone does something wrong or downright evil to you or your family is to seek revenge. If you follow Jesus, you are a part of God’s Kingdom. God’s Kingdom doesn’t work this way. No matter how wronged you feel, we are supposed to let God take care of it. Not to respond in harsh words, or look for some way to get back at them. Romans 12:19 says. |
| 19 | Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. NKJV If someone does something wrong to you. Don’t let yourself be consumed with how you will repay them for the wrong. Give it to God. Our Father is absolutely against seeing His children abused by unbelievers. The words in Psalm 140 tell us to let what people do come back on their own heads. And you know it will. I have seen times where someone has done something against myself, my church, or even my family. They wrong us who are in the Kingdom and it came back to their own heads. We have seen people removed, fired, sent away, and in some cases get sick. We did not curse them and worked hard not to say anything bad about them, but what they did came back on them. God is willing to fight your battles for you if you engage the Kingdom in three ways by - 1) Loving Him with all you’ve got 2) Keeping right before Him by quickly confessing your sins, mistakes, and mess ups 3) Getting into His Word and presence (prayer) daily If you are doing these things, then the Kingdom of God is going to be working on your behalf. What people and evil spirits (demons) try to do against is going to go right back on their own heads. When someone curses a believer it is going to go back to them. It is like the sparrow birds. They migrate South in the winter to the warmer areas, but when they come back in the Spring, it is always to where they came from. That is how a curse is. Proverbs 26:2 confirms that saying, |
| 2 | Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight. NKJV The final thing you should be thinking about is this. Yes, people will reap the seeds they sow. If they steal, it will be stolen from them. If they lie, they will be lied to. If they cheat, they will be cheated. However, King Jesus also talked about loving people even when they are cheating. That doesn’t mean let them rob you. But it does mean show them kindness even with they don’t deserve it. When you show them love it is like stacking up burning coals on top of them that begin to burn their consciences as to why they are cheating someone who is so good to them. |
That is probably why Romans again quotes Psalms saying in 12:20-21 | |
| 20 | Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." |
| 21 | Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. NKJV Light is greater than darkness. Be the light of the world, and let that light of the Kingdom of God shine to all those around you. It is time to start loving even the unlovable, it’s time to start stacking coals! Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 13 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Dec14
The Believing Light
John 12:31 | |
| 31 | While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them. NKJV The most amazing thing about being a follower of Jesus is that you can be whatever you are. You can be native of your country or an immigrant, you can be fat or skinny, you can be tall or short. It really doesn’t matter where you are from, what you have done, or what you look like. God loves us all, but to be a part of His Kingdom, you only have to do one thing... that is believe. All things are possible to those who believe we know (Matt 19:26, Mark 9:23, Mark 10:27). Believing is how you get into God’s Kingdom. It is not something you pay for as King Jesus already paid the price with His death and resurrection. That resurrection brought us all into the light... that is only if we believe. If we believe in the light, King Jesus, then we too become the sons of the light. Hallelujah! We shall be like Him as we renew our minds to His ways. We have no need to worry or fret about anything. You have a concern? Bring it to Jesus. You need peace? Use the name of Jesus. Are you troubled? John 14:1 says, |
| 14 | "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. NKJV Believing in God is not good enough. You have to believe in Jesus and use His mighty Name. If you are applying the Name of Jesus to your life, things are going to happen. At the Name of Jesus, robbers are going to flee, weather is going to change, sickness and disease is going to disappear, things are going to smooth out with that person at work, your family member is going to be convicted by the Holy Spirit.... It is all about that Name. Acts 4:12 says, |
| 12 | Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." NKJV At the name of Jesus is all the power of the universe. It is powerful, the Name is light. There is no other. On an airplane on the way to Chicago one night we got the opportunity to sit next to an 18 old woman. It was nice to get to know her a bit talking about various things. When we talked about knowing Jesus, she said, “Religion just isn’t my thing”. However she had apparently only been around Cultural Christians most of her life but never around Committed Christians. Once she began to hear about how we love music, art, culture, and life she began to open up. We believe she is on her way to knowing Jesus from that 3 hour airplane trip. Praise God! She experienced the light of Jesus through just chatting with someone who believes. She also got a chance to read the Word (Romans 10:9) about what she needed to do in response to God’s love by repenting and turning to Jesus. Romans 8:31 shows us that you are here for a purpose and He will surround those who believe with His angels of protection and bless us because the darkness cannot stand against the Kingdom of Light. It says, |
| 31 | What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? NKJV Believe in the light so you can become a son of the light. Nothing can stand against that. You can start right now. Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 21 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Dec15
Everlasting Mercy For Believing And Receiving
1 Thessalonians 5:9 | |
| 9 | For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. NKJV “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was a sermon preached in 1741 by famous American preacher Jonathan Edwards in Connecticut. It was the during a period called the Great Awakening in American history in which many people apparently turned to Jesus, albeit through fear of going to hell. His message was that God could damn us at any time to hell so we needed to turn to God to avoid that wrath. In the mid 1900s we referred to this type of message as a ‘Fire & Brimstone’ messages as it scared people with the fact that they were going to hell if they did not turn to God. The problem is this is not the way of the Kingdom or who God wants us to share His love with the lost. God did not create humans to damn them, He created them to love. Love is a free-will decision. Just as you cannot force your spouse or family to love you, God will not force us to love Him. In 1 Thessalonians, the Word is very clear that God did not appoint us to wrath or destruction. He appointed us to life. King Jesus confirmed that in John 10:10 saying He came to give us life, and He came to give it abundantly. 2 Peter 1:10-11 takes it a step further saying, |
| 10 | Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. NKJV Entrance into the Kingdom of God will be supplied to us abundantly. Better yet, the first part of that passage says we need to be diligent to make sure we are following the calling that began when we repented and turned to the Kingdom and when we received the leading the Holy Spirit. Simply put, when you turned to Jesus, you began a relationship with God. Like any relationship, you can develop it or that relationship will die. Our awesome God is not angry. He is not just going to drop us into hell at the flip of a coin as many might interpret the message of Jonathan Edwards. Our love is caring and kind. Full of goodness and mercy to every generation who will believe on Him. Psalms talks a lot about this. Psalms 89:1-2 says, |
| 1 | I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. |
| 2 | For I have said, "Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens." NKJV Mercy is exactly what Jesus did, dying a grusome death and raising on the third day so that we too could rise out of death and sin to be renewed before Him. Today’s Reading- |
Numbers 12 | |
Dec16
The Joy Of Salvation
Ps 51:12 | |
| 12 | Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. NKJV Psalm 51 was written by King David as he was recovering from his sin of taking another man’s wife, arranging the death of the husband, and then acting like nothing happened. David was out of fellowship with God and hypocritical. Sin will separate you from the power and presence of God. If you sin, immediately be done with it and confess it to God and get forgiveness in the powerful name of Jesus. In Psalm 51:11 David asks God not to take His Holy Spirit from Him. From the Bible, we know that God is not going to take His Holy Spirit from us until the day of Judgment. But when you are in sin, you will notice that you cannot feel the power of the Holy Spirit as you do when you are right with God, in the Word and prayer, and regularly in God’s house (church). However, the Holy Spirit moved on the men of God when He brought together to the Word, including Psalm 51. We see in the Old Testament that people were people in the Old Testament like they are today. They have all sorts of issues, and there is evil in this world that we all have to deal with. When you continue on in Psalm 51 you see a term that we have to remember, ‘the joy of Your salvation’. Turning to Jesus is cool. Besides birth, getting saved through repenting and turning to Jesus as got to be the most important part of our lives. Nothing like it. There is a joy in finding God that 1 Peter 1:8 describes as ‘joy inexpressible’. That means, you are so joyful, you can’t even explain it. You are overflowing so much with God’s joy that nothing can take you down. What do you do with it? Ask God to direct you on who to tell about what Jesus has done, and is doing in your life. That who verse says, |
1 Peter 1:8-9 | |
| whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith — the salvation of your souls. NKJV One of the other things you get when you have that joy that is inexpressible is that you get filled with His glory. I have never taken drugs or thought about going out and getting drunk or something because drugs only give you a false sense of happiness that only lasts for a short time. But God’s glory, God’s happiness is awesome because He is awesome. There is joy in salvation, and we have to keep it fresh in our lives. Psalm 51 talks about the ‘joy of our salvation’ because it is necessary. We’ve got to have it and we’ve got to keep it. When I have worked late into the night, my wife lovingly asks, “Love, would you like some dinner”. Of course, I love her cooking and say “Yes”. She doesn’t serve me something cold that was once hot. She either keeps it warm for me in the oven, or heats it up when I get home. You have to do the same with your faith. You have to heat it up. You have to keep that joy of your salvation. As you go out today, remember to be joyful, remember you are saved, redeemed, and delivered from the curse of poverty, sin, sickness, and death. You have life that is abundant! Today’s Reading- | |
Numbers 14 | |
Dec17
Naturally Spiritual
Ezekiel 36:27 | |
| 27 | I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. NKJV Religion is rules, tradition, and rituals. Walking in God’s Kingdom is relationship with Yahweh through Jesus (Yashua). Anything can become religious, but we associate religious with man’s attempt to get close to God. People love to do things and repeat things over and over thinking that it will somehow make them right before God. Some people go to some building every week thinking that somehow they will become close to God. Others give money thinking that will help them. People do all sorts of this Deuteronomy 4:29 says something different, |
| 29 | But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. NKJV It’s not about rules, rituals, and traditions. It is about following after our heavenly Father. But there is a next step. That was the step the new believers were waiting for in the 2nd chapter of Acts. It is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We’ve got to have the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit is our connection to the Father. As a matter of fact, the Holy Spirit is our teacher.Jesus says in John 14:26, |
| 26 | But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. NKJV If you’ve got the Holy Spirit, then you can understand the Word of God. One day, I met a guy who I could tell didn’t know God. He knew a lot about God, but didn’t know God. He was a bit negative about God. It was a shock to me because I was so used to the reading the Word and having the Holy Spirit show me something new. For him, he was against God and was just reading the Bible as an academic (or so he thought). I learned there that just because you have read the Bible or know some of the context, doesn’t mean that you know God. We know from the beginning that God planned on having the Holy Spirit be our guide, teacher, and help in any time from the beginning. In the Old Testament, Ezekiel records that by the Holy Spirit in us, we are going to be able to walk according to His ‘statutes’ or His Word. Every time you pick up that Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you. That is exactly what He will do. I am amazed how reading the Word of God is not like reading some novel. It is a power experience. Do you want to know God’s will for you life, it is in His Word. Do you want to make right decisions and be led by God? The key is you must have the Holy Spirit. Have you got the Holy Spirit? When you read God’s Word, is it real to you? Be led and taught by the Spirit. When you do this, you will see that keeping the 10 commandments, keeping the principles King Jesus taught in the beatitudes and honoring the other teaching of Jesus and in the Word will just come natural. Today’s Reading- |
Numbers 15 | |
Dec18
Playing the Hypocrite
Luke 12:1-2 | |
| 1 | In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. NKJV As a church or ministry grows it draws more and more people. And just as when you light a lantern out in the forest and draw many people because they see the light, you are also are going to draw some bugs. In the day of our Lord Jesus, the people who thought they were God’s gift to society were the pharisees. They were Jewish men who were educated in religion and many areas of life. They were in the temple or synagogues (religious gathering places) of Israel and many had wealth. They thought by their considerable level of education, that they knew all, and were above people. They looked at other people thinking, “I am better than those others”. In actuality, they were just as imperfect. They were hypocrites. The term hypocrite comes originally from Greek theater. The ‘hypocrite’ was the actor who put on a mask and acted as if he was someone else. These days, we see use the word to describe someone who says one thing, and does something else. The pharisees of the time of Jesus are long gone, but that hypocritical religious spirit is still here. There are two reasons. First of all, people still have pride. They get a little education, more money, or some special connection and think that makes them better than others. Secondly, the enemy wants to trip up people in pride and arrogance. (“I don’t want to go to that church because so and so is there,” for example.). Jesus warns us to beware of the leaven of these pharisees and tells us exactly what it is, hypocrisy. God hates it when people say one thing, and do something else. So why does He describe it as leaven? Leaven is like yeast. Without yeast in your dough, the bread is not going to rise. That means even if you bake that dough, without a little yeast, your loaf of bread will likely be an overcooked blob of breadish material. On the opposite side of things, if you put all the ingredients together to make a loaf of bread and you forget the yeast, you are just going to have a pancake coming out of that oven. Once that little bit of yeast gets mixed in the dough, time in the oven will help that dough to rise and out will come that bread as it is mixed with yeast. If you become proud about what country you’re from, what school you went to, what tribe you’re from, what family you were born into, how much money you have, what church you go to, what car you drive, or one of many other things, you are will become just like those pharisees that God didn’t like. Pride will get you in trouble because you will act greater than you really are. Proverbs 16:18 says, |
| 18 | Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. NKJV Think today about yourself and how you deal with others.. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what area you have pride in or at least need to deal with. Pride leads to hypocrisy which can get in and ruin any group. If you have ever been a member of a private club, you will see this is something that they are constantly dealing with. Deal with it now. Pray this pray. Father, forgive me for times when I have been hypocritical or proud. I know you have created all things but yet you have not become proud, over-confident, or hypocritical with us. Father, I pray in the Name of Jesus that you reveal the areas of my life where I have been a hypocrite. Now Lord, I pray you forgive me and wash me clean from those areas. I thank you for your forgiveness and receive it right now. Thank you Father for your goodness. Help me to show that goodness to those around me, in Jesus’ powerful Name. Amen. |
Dec19
Detached From Sin, Encompassed In Love
2 Peter 2:20 | |
| 20 | For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. NKJV We are big on love, hope, compassion, victory and success. We talk about these things all the time, because our God is all about victory in our daily lives and overcoming. We must remember that we are living in a dying world. Everything in this world is dying, except the Body of Christ (you and I who believe in God’s Kingdom). After seeing our lives go from nothing to blessing, I could not turn back to that old life without Jesus. Without His divine health, life would be so difficult. Without His wisdom, we would be reeling from too many bad decisions. Without His peace, we could not bear the thought of living day to day in the challenges. But most importantly, without his love, I don’t know how we could live thinking that we were just here by some act of nature with no real meaning to life. There is meaning to life. Turning to Jesus is the first step, but living in His abundance is the where the fun begins. When you are blessed and can give to others because of that blessing, that is really exciting! Why anyone would want to go any other way, I will never be able to comprehend. The book of 2 Peter talks about the pollution of the world and how people can get entangled in it. God is gracious and will receive people into His Kingdom even if they mess up. However, if someone gets entangled in sin it is harder for them to get out. The passage says it may be harder for them to come back to the Kingdom as they think they already understand it. All I know is sin may seem fun to some people, until you have to pay the consequences. Then it is really painful. Others have to fight their consciences. Fornication seems appealing to some, but these people never have peace. They never are satisfied. They get tied into a cycle of sinning and trying to come back around, then sinning again. Others may just go straight down with no hesitation. The enemy’s goal is to kill them so if they pick up some venereal disease, the forces of hell are pleased to see the power of death set in. There is always a price to pay for sin. What can we do to stay connected to the Kingdom and not entangled in the world? 2 Peter 1:4 says, |
| 4 | by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. NKJV Take that Word advice. It is sound. If you are in sin, confess it to God, repent, and turn from it. Use His Word saying, “I am the body of Christ, the enemy has no power over me because I overcome evil with good.” You can also confess, “Greater is He who is in me than he that is in this world”. There are many other Bible promises that you can use to tap into His divine nature. They are great and precious promises that help you to escape the pollution of this world. Don’t be entangled by the world. Be encompassed by the love and power of God. |
| prev | Today | next |
Daily Devotional
Sign up and receive a daily Faith Builder Devotional in your inbox.
