Devotionals

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “Jesus replied, ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment’” (Matthew 22:37-38). Read Matthew 22:34-39.  When the Pharisees came to test Jesus, they asked Him what the greatest commandment in the Law was. They were hoping to drive a wedge between Jesus and the crowds who were following Him. But Jesus didn’t hesitate. He told them plainly: The greatest commandment is the Shema: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37; cf. Deuteronomy 6:5). Of course, the Jews in Jesus’ day knew this commandment. They memorized it. They wore it on their wrists and on their foreheads. They placed it on the doorframes of their homes. They knew this command backward and forward. But they didn’t live it out. To love God with an all-consuming love […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4). Read Revelation 2:1-7. The greatest tragedy of the Christian life is not persecution or suffering. It’s not the loss of material things or broken relationships. No, the greatest tragedy of the Christian life is boredom. I realize this may sound strange at first. We’re used to boredom in other parts of life. We sit in traffic, waiting for the car in front of us to begin moving. We flip through hundreds of channels on the television, hoping to find something to watch to pass the time. We stare blankly at our phones, waiting for our number to be called at the DMV. We understand what it is to be bored. However, the boredom I’m talking about is much more insidious. Sadly and tragically, many of us are bored with Jesus. We’ve lost our first love, and we are now standing […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15).  Read 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17. In times of lawlessness, anarchy, terror, and unrestrained evil, believers need God’s supernatural strength more than ever. They need God-given stability in order to stand firm, stability that stems from the Truth of the Gospel. God will protect you through the storms. He will guide you through the turbulent times of persecution. The Lord will steady you and stabilize you during the time of testing. God will be your fortress when all others collapse into dust. How can you be sure the Lord will never let you down? Jesus said, “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day” (John 6:39). How many […]

“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).  Read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. The apostle Paul knew about the dangers of false teaching. As an itinerant evangelist, he would travel from town to town, preaching the Gospel and planting churches. Many times, after he would leave a city to continue on his mission, false teachers would come in and teach God’s people destructive doctrines and lies. These false teachers were wicked men who would do anything to attain their ends. In Thessalonica, for example, they wrote a letter in Paul’s name, claiming that Jesus had already returned! Thus, in the letter we know today as 2 Thessalonians, Paul set the record straight. And in so doing, he gave God’s people one of the clearest teachings on the second coming of Christ. He wanted the believers in […]

“Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring” (2 Thessalonians 1:4). Read 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12. The believers in Thessalonica faced persecution daily. Some endured physical attack, many lost their jobs, and others had their property destroyed. Some even faced imprisonment or worse. But in spite of their great suffering, they did not lose hope. That is why the apostle Paul could encourage them, “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters” (2 Thessalonians 1:3). Paul had faced his own share of persecution and hardship, so he recognized the beauty of the Thessalonians’ faith. He could see they were looking up when others in their situation would have been cast down. The difference, of course, is Jesus. He brings light into darkness, comfort in times of pain, hope in seasons of despair. We are never more like Christ than when we are looking up to God […]

“But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds” (Psalm 73:28).   “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home” (John 19:25-27).   To understand the significance of this statement from the cross, it is important to look back at a statement Jesus made when He was with His disciples before His arrest. The Lord said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me” (Matthew 26:31). And sure enough, by the time we get to Matthew 26:56, we read that they all deserted Him […]

“Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy” (Psalm 130:1-2).   “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty’” (John 19:28). This cry, the fifth statement from the cross, was a cry of personal agony and physical pain, but also a cry of deep spiritual need.   Two days prior to the crucifixion, our Lord Jesus went through a tremendous amount of tension and apprehension. First, there was the upper room where He told His companions, who had walked with Him for three years, that one of them was about to betray Him.   That was followed by Gethsemane, where our Lord was sweating blood, asking the Father if there was some other way that this cup could pass, that His people could be redeemed. Then there was the tension and the apprehension […]

“Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered” (Psalm 32:1).   “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)” (Matthew 27:46).   This fourth statement from the cross is the very core of our redemption. It is the very essence of the Christian faith. If you miss this, you miss everything.   Had the Father not turned His back on the Son, had the Father not abandoned the Son at that moment, we could never be sure that the Son actually carried our sin and our judgment on the cross.   This is the most surprising statement of all those Christ made from the cross. In fact, it is downright confusing to many people. Here the word forsaken literally means “to leave someone in a lurch, to abandon someone completely.” How can the Father abandon His Son, […]

“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise’” (Luke 23:43).   As we continue looking at the statements of Jesus on the cross, today we look at His second: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).   In one of His final interactions before His death, Jesus compassionately extended eternal life. As He openly prayed for the forgiveness of His killers, Jesus sparked an internal transformation in the criminal next to Him. In humility, the criminal said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (v. 42). In the midst of great suffering and torment, our Savior did not allow His own pain and circumstances to distract Him from the cries of faith from a repentant sinner. Jesus knew that this was the very reason He was hanging on that cross. Just as He was not too preoccupied to minister to this criminal, He is […]

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots” (Luke 23:34).   Hanging from the cross on Calvary, Jesus uttered seven powerful statements that reveal His heart and ministry. Each individual statement carries the full weight of the Gospel, but together they are a concise portrait of God’s eternal plan of salvation. This portrait reminds us that nothing but the finished work of Jesus Christ assures eternal salvation. Over the next several days, we will look at these seven statements from the cross.   In His first statement, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Jesus did not ask forgiveness for Himself—being sinless, He did not need forgiveness. Jesus did not ask for a quick, painless death—He knew His purpose for dying on the cross. Jesus did not ask God for vengeance on the people who sentenced […]

“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God” (John 3:21). One of God’s greatest desires for us is that we come to know Him intimately. He made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may have constant fellowship with Him, laying the foundation for a powerful relationship that transforms our lives and causes us to become who we were created to be. However, in relating to God, we must be honest about living and walking in the Truth. Establishing Truth deep in our heart so that it transforms our character takes work. Though we have heard all the right answers and know the Truth, sometimes we act as if we do not really believe it. What we truly believe is best determined through how we live, not just what we say. To walk in the Truth is to walk […]

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).  If you’re a genuine believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, Satan and his demons will tempt you. But we also know from the Word of God that God has given us the power to have victory over Satan’s temptation (see James 4:7 and 1 Corinthians 10:13). The problem is that we tempt ourselves. We know Satan tempts us, but we can also tempt ourselves when we put ourselves into situations that cause our sinful flesh to rise up and crave what is ungodly. In those moments, we become our own worst enemies. When Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” He meant us to ask God to empower us not to tempt ourselves nor to tempt God. But, how do we tempt God? Don’t get me wrong, God cannot be tempted by evil. That is […]