JANUARY 17 2026, SATURDAY
Entry: 7:34am, Fairview QC
VERSE OF THE DAY:
HEBREWS 4:10
For all who have entered into God's rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.
CALLED TO COMMITMENT
Observing Sabbath-rest allows us to step into the same rhythm God established in creating the world. Scripture tells us when God rested from His work, it was because His work was complete (Genesis 2:1). God took joy in His accomplishment.
In Hebrews 4:10, the writer draws a parallel between God's rest and ours. We're invited to delight in His presence and share in God's divine contentment. This rest isn't about taking a break from good works. It's about surrendering the need to control by trusting in the completeness of God's work. Our "rest" releases us from the burden of proving ourselves good enough to earn His love and approval. These things have been secured through Jesus' finished work on the cross. When we step into this rhythm of rest, we can find contentment that spills over into this rhythm of rest, we can find contentment that spills over into every part of our lives.
Is God calling you to stop trying to do everything on your own and instead find peace in Jesus' finished work on the cross?
Lay down your burdens, not out of laziness, but surrender. Believe that the One who made the world also takes care of you.
SHARE YOUR FAITH
Sabbath-rest isn't about taking a break from good works. It's about surrendering our desire to control, and trusting in God to provide. Remind yourself and others: You can trust God when life is good. You can trust God when life is hard. No matter what, God's rest is available!
God, my heart is heavy, but I release my burdens to You. I lay them down and surrender them to You. Thank You for holding me in my weakness and weariness. Show me how to rest and refuel in Your presence. In Jesus' name, Amen.
1 CORINTHIANS 6:20
for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Imagine Jesus' arms outstretched as He dies for you.
Now imagine Jesus' arms outstretched as He invites you into a relationship with Him.
Talk to God about 2 ways you can honor Him today.
PSALMS 37:5
Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him and he will help you.
What areas of your life do you need to commit to the Lord today?
Talk to Him about your concerns and consider adding them to your Prayer List.
God, Thank You for sending us Your holy Son. Thank You for sacrificing what You loved most so that we could experience intimacy with You. You are so kind and good to all who choose to know You. Today, and everyday, please draw me closer to You. I want to spend the rest of my life entering Your presence with thanks. In Jesus' name, Amen.
DAILY BIBLE READING:
GENESIS 41-42
MATTHEW 12:1-23
PHARAOH'S DREAMS
9Finally, the king’s chief cup-bearer spoke up. “Today I have been reminded of my failure,” he told Pharaoh. 11One night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning. There was a young Hebrew man with us, he told us what each of our dreams meant. 13And everything happened just as he had predicted. I was restored to my position as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed and impaled on a pole. Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh.
16“It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”
JOSEPH MADE RULER OF EGYPT
So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” 39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. 40You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”
JOSEPH'S BROTHERS GO TO EGYPT
On the third day Joseph said to them, “I am a God-fearing man. If you do as I say, you will live.
A DISCUSSION ABOUT SABBATH
At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”
3Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath? 6I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! 7But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ 8For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. 12And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.” the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.
JESUS, GOD'S CHOSEN SERVANT
This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him:
18“Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen.
He is my Beloved, who pleases me.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19He will not fight or shout
or raise his voice in public.
20He will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.
21And his name will be the hope
of all the world.”
JOHN 13:36-38/ 21:18-19
JESUS PREDICTS PETER'S DENIAL
34So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
36Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”
And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”
37“But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”
38Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me."
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
INSIGHT
In John 13:36-38, Jesus is focused on Simon Peter and his need for courage in the hours and days ahead. The gracious warning He gives to him (v. 38) should’ve gotten the fisherman’s attention, but rather than leaning into the strength of the Master, Peter sought to face those hours in his own strength. Even in the moment when he seemed to be desperately trying to keep his promise to “lay down [his life] for” Christ” (v. 37)—by cutting off the ear of Malchus, servant of the High Priest (John 18:10)—his attempt failed, and he ran away with the other disciples (Mark 14:50). Only in God’s strength can we stand firm and have courage in difficult times and places. Peter would exhibit that courage when confronted by the religious leaders for preaching in Jesus’ name. At that moment, even they had to acknowledge the influence of Christ on His once-fallen, now-restored disciple (Acts 4:13). His influence in our life can also help us face life’s challenges with courageous faith.
By: Bill Crowder
COURAGE TO STAND FOR JESUS
In ad 155, the early church father Polycarp was threatened with death by fire for his faith in Christ. He replied, “For eighty and six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. And how can I now blaspheme my king who saved me?” Polycarp’s response can be an inspiration for us when we face extreme trial because of our faith in Jesus, our King.
Just hours before Christ’s death, Peter boldly pledged His allegiance to Him: “I will lay down my life for you” (John 13:37). Jesus, who knew Peter better than Peter knew himself, replied, “Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” (v. 38). However, after Jesus’ resurrection, the same one who’d denied Him began to serve Him courageously and would eventually glorify Him through his own death (see 21:16-19).
Are you a Polycarp or a Peter? Most of us, if we’re honest, are more of a Peter with a “courage outage”—a failure to speak or act honorably as a believer in Jesus. Such occasions—whether in a classroom, boardroom, or breakroom—needn’t indelibly define us. When those failures occur, we must prayerfully dust ourselves off and turn to Jesus, the one who died for us and lives for us. He’ll help us be faithful to Him and courageously live for Him daily in difficult places.
By: Arthur Jackson
REFLECT AND PRAY
When do you need extra doses of courage to stand for Jesus? What do you find helpful in your witness for Him?
Heavenly Father, please give me Your strength to live boldly as a believer in Your Son. in Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
GOD CARES ABOUT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
Today’s verse is 1 Peter 5:7, which says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
It isn’t necessarily what we would expect from the Creator of the universe, but God wants us to tell Him about our anxiety. He wants us to offer it up to Him in prayer. He wants us to tell Him what we’re anxious about, what we’re afraid of, and what’s bothering us.
And of course, He already knows these things. But offering it up was never about giving Him new information—it was about allowing ourselves to entrust it to someone more capable of handling it than we are.
God asks us to do this because he cares for us. He wants us to be able to live well. He doesn’t want us to be shackled by fear of the future or stuck ruminating about something that happened in the past.
As Max Lucado put it in his book Anxious for Nothing, “It is not God’s will that you lead a life of perpetual anxiety. It is not his will that you face every day with dread and trepidation. He made you for more than a life of breath-stealing angst and mind-splitting worry. He has a new chapter for your life. And he is ready to write it.”
1 PETER 5:7
7Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
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