2026 – Devotion

Hebrews 4:12
“For the Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

God’s Word isn’t just a message, it’s your map. A small directional error produces a huge positional gap over time. So don’t blame the destination when you’ve changed the direction. Alignment isn’t a one-time moment; it’s a daily decision to be in His Word. (Daniel Veltche, City Reach Church)

You cannot look like Arnold Schwarzenegger going to the gym twice a year. It is impossible to get into shape for whatever sport you are into without a plan. For Arnold, the gym was his home away from home, for Lance Armstrong, it was the bike, for Journey it was making music. Billy Graham did not become one of the greatest preachers/evangelists of time by only reading one chapter of Proverbs every day. No, all these examples of greatness were fought out in trenches of devotion. Devotion to a plan, a goal, something that required more will power than saying no to the donut with your coffee. I am sure even Arnold Schwarzenegger had times where he wanted to call it quits. Billy Graham had times where only a few people showed to hear him preach and Lance had to suffer through cancer at the peak of his cycling career. Devotion to a greatness is not easy at all. We love to see those who have achieved it and often never see the countless hours of devotion. If cycling has taught me one thing it is that someone is always stronger and faster than you are and making a decision to stay in shape is fought every day.

Your Christian walk is no different. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us, “¹⁵ Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” The King James version says it like this, “¹⁵ Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

We should be able to “correctly explain the word of truth” or “rightly dividing the word of truth”. I pray that you have made the choice to show up to church more than twice a year. I hope you attend church every weekend and also attend a small group. The other side of attending church is knowing God’s word. It is God’s word because Hebrews 4:12 tells us that it is alive and powerful. It is your “map” for life, and the Holy Spirit is your guide. I love what pastor Daniel said in church, “Alignment isn’t a one-time moment; it’s a daily decision to be in His Word.”

A daily decision needs a plan in order to reap the benefits. Let me suggest the plan from God. It is to read His Word every day! This year do something crazy, decide to read the whole Bible next year. I have done this many times and the pastors of our church have read the whole Bible every year for more than twenty-seven years in a row. Since I have done this multiple times the Holy Spirit has revealed new things to me every year even in the middle of Leviticus believe it not.

This is not a contest to finish but a devotion to be in the Word every day each year. Here are a couple of examples you can try. The One Year Bible, The Chronological One Year Bible, The Bible Recap. Each of these has a daily reading for every day of the year. If you skip some days because you are sick or forgot to, don’t worry, just skip ahead to current day and pick it right back up. The goal is to be in the Word every day, not to get discouraged because you are behind one week or even a month. Over time the Holy Spirit will turn your weak tiny Bible muscles into powerful spiritual arms of steel. This next year take your Christianity to the next level with the Lord. Read the Bible every day. Acts 2:42 says is best as it describes the new church of God it reads, “all the believers were continually devoting themselves to the apostle’s teaching, and to fellowship, and to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” Make 2026 the year where you devote yourself to all of these and watch the Lord do something amazing in your life.

Prayer: Father, I commit myself to read your word every day, to devote myself to teaching of your word through my local church, to commit to a small group where your word if taught, to getting together with others to have lunch or coffee and encourage each other in the faith, and finally to prayer and quiet time you Lord just listening to your Holy Spirit speak to me in Jesus’ name, amen.