OCTOBER 31, 2025, FRIDAY
Entry: 6:44am, Fairview QC
VERSE OF THE DAY:
GALATIANS 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
DYING TO LIVE
Dying to ourselves can feel like a bad thing. Most people want to exalt, applaud, and promote themselves. But in God's kingdom, dying to ourselves is essential. A lump of clay cannot become a work of art unless it is shaped into something else. A container of paint cannot be used for a masterpiece unless it is poured out. A carbon deposit must change in order to become a diamond. A caterpillar must give up its old way of life in order to become a magnificent butterfly.
The invitation to die is actually an invitation to live.
When we give our lives to God, we're choosing to surrender our plans, desires, and our gifts. And that can be hard. But we also know there is something better and Someone better on the other side. God can realign our plans, reshape our desires, and repurposed our gifts for His glory.
The Apostle Paul, the author of Galatians, knew firsthand the life-changing power of Christ. Christ's power radically transformed Paul, from someone who persecuted believers, into a passionate follower of Jesus. Because of that experience, Paul knew that the only way to live was by surrendering every area of His life to Christ. And that's why he invites us to do the same.
Jesus couldn't have been resurrected without first being crucified and the same is true for us.
So what do you need to give to Jesus today? What behavior, habit, or thought do you need to "crucify"? Come as you are to Jesus, and give Him permission to transform and renew your life, in Jesus' name, Amen.
SHARE YOUR FAITH
God is real and heaven is coming. Invite Him to work in you and through you today!
God can realign your desires, and repurposed your gifts for His glory. Whatever you do, do it for Him.
God, my life is Yours. Please take every part of it. Every are in my life that doesn't honor You- take it. Every insecurity, fear, sin, selfish ambition, and past hurt I give it all to You. Do Your holy and mighty work in me and through me. I am Yours. In Jesus' name, Amen.
God hears your prayers. Pause for a moment and marvel that the Creator of the universe listens when you talk to Him.
1 CHRONICLES 16:29
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
What has God done in your life recently?
Spend a few minutes giving Him whatever praise and honor come to mind.
MATTHEW 11:29-30
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
What would finding rest for your soul look like today?
Talk to God about anything that comes to mind.
God, You are with me in hard times, and protect me at all times. My future is secure in You because I am Your child. So today, I give my life and my year over to You. Teach me to seek You first this year so that way I can embrace the abundant life that You offer me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
God, I love You! You are worthy of all my praise, honor, and adoration! You heal the broken, and You bind up the wounds of hurting people. Your light casts out the darkness-nad nothing can overcome Your power. You are good, and Your mercy continues forever. Today, I want to focus on who You are, and thank You for all that You've helped me overcome. In Jesus' name, Amen.
DAILY BIBLE READING:
JEREMIAH 22-23
TITUS 1
Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. 4For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people.
Weep not for him who is dead,
nor grieve for him,
but weep bitterly for him who goes away,
for he shall return no more
to see his native land.
MESSAGE TO THE SONS OF JOSIAH
“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,
and his upper rooms by injustice"
THE RIGHTEOUS BRANCH
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.
Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
LYING PROPHETS
“Both prophet and priest are ungodly;
even in my house I have found their evil,
declares the Lord.
12 Therefore their way shall be to them
like slippery paths in the darkness,
into which they shall be driven and fall,
for I will bring disaster upon them
in the year of their punishment,
The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intents of his heart.
“I did not send the prophets,
yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds.
Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully.
I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.
GREETING
To Titus, my true child in a common faith
QUALIFICATIONS FOR ELDERS
This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. 16They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
EPHESIANS 1:5-7
SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN CHRIST
he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
INSIGHT
Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus is a monument to God’s love for the church—His beloved children. The idea the apostle introduces in Ephesians 1:5-7 is unpacked more thoroughly in chapter 2. There, he not only explains the magnificent process that made our rescue possible but reminds us that we’re entrusted with great responsibility: “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (v. 10). As God’s children, we’re given high purpose—to serve Him and others in His strength and grace. That grand idea is explored more fully in chapters 4-6, where Paul describes what the good works of God’s adopted children are to look like—works that impact our relationships at church, in our families, and in our work relationships. All of life is to look different because He has made us His children.
By: Bill Crowder
WHAT JESUS DID FOR US
Andres, the owner of an electronics company, was giving employees with outstanding sales records a day trip to a beach resort. Andres was also taking his seven-year-old son Jimmy. Before departure, he excitedly held his dad’s hand as everyone boarded the van. “You’re joining us? How many sales have you made?” one employee jokingly asked Jimmy. “None!” he replied, motioning to his dad. “He’s letting me join!”
Jimmy didn’t have to work to earn his inclusion on the trip because his dad was paying his way. As believers in Jesus, we also don’t rely on our good works as the basis of our inclusion in heaven. We’re granted access because of Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and Jesus’ own blood was the “payment,” releasing us from our debt to Him. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7). He opened the way for whoever believes in Him to “not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Christ’s work and our trust in that work allows us to be with Him for eternity.
When we believe in Jesus as Savior, we become God’s children. Such is His “glorious grace, which he has freely given us” (Ephesians 1:6). Like Jimmy, we can look to our heavenly Father and say with confidence, “He’s letting me join!”
By: Karen Huang
REFLECT AND PRAY
How does knowing that Jesus died for you make you feel? How does this truth impact your life?
Dear Jesus, thank You for dying for me. Because of Your grace and love, I’m forgiven. I can look forward to being with You forever.
THE CHOSEN AND FRIENDS: GOD WITH US
LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME
From Levi Lusko
When our five-year-old daughter, Lenya, suddenly went to heaven five days before Christmas, there were some things we never wondered about. We never wondered where she was; we knew she went to Paradise. We never wondered if God was still good or if He still had a plan; faith thrives in scary places. But I did often wonder, Who exactly is watching her in heaven?
That question kept me up at night.
When I first watched The Chosen, what blew me away was the way Jesus was presented—His
kind eyes, His humor, His humanity. We’re shown a backpack-wearing, wedding-dancing, funny, and wild Savior that kids wanted to be around.
Watching Jesus interact with children in the show brought tears to my eyes and comfort to my heart. For the first time, I saw on screen the Jesus I believe is caring for my little girl. It made my heart sing. It made me want to follow Him again like it was the very first time. And it made me want to open the Scriptures with renewed imagination and wonder. Seeing Him this way reminded me that His heart toward children reveals His heart—the Father’s heart—toward all of us. Even today we draw near to this same Jesus who “called a little child to Him.” We draw near to this same Jesus who had children brought to him by countless parents. (Mark 10:13)
Of course, there’s a challenge in all of this, too. “Jesus called a little child to him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” Jesus shows us the posture the Father invites every one of us to take. To come with child-like trust, honesty, and dependence. To draw near without pretense or performance. Because when we do, we find a Savior who delights in our presence, welcomes our questions, and offers rest to our souls.
Today, that invitation is yours.
Come to Him.
MATTHEW 18:1-5
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,"
