Daily Devotionals for December 15, 2025

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who … made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. § Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. § He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews...

For an act to be sinful the quality of voluntariness must also be present. Sin is the voluntary commission of an act known to be contrary to the will of God. Where there is no moral knowledge or where there is no voluntary choice, the act is not sinful; it cannot be, for sin is the transgression of the law and transgression must be voluntary. Lucifer became Satan when he made his fateful choice: "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (

At that hour David saw Bathsheba. We are never out of the reach of temptation. Both at home and abroad we are liable to meet with allurements to evil; the morning opens with peril, and the shades of evening find us still in jeopardy. They are well kept whom God keeps, but woe unto those who go forth into the world, or even dare to walk their own house unarmed. Those who think themselves secure are more exposed to danger than any others. The armour-bearer of Sin is Self-confidence.

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For Reading and Meditation:     Acts 26:1-18

The place where we can see life as a whole is in the sanctuary of God, or, if you prefer, in the presence of God. There we are reminded of things we have forgotten or ignored. See how the Good News Bible translates Acts 26:9: "I myself thought that I should do everything I...

The apostle John was privileged to look within the gates of heaven, and in describing what he saw, he begins by saying, "I looked, and, lo, a Lamb!" This teaches us that the chief object of contemplation in the heavenly state is "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." Nothing else attracted the apostle's attention so much as the person of that Divine Being, who hath redeemed us by his blood. He is the theme of the songs of all glorified spirits and holy angels....

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 1:3a).

One's growth is gauged by one's gaze.

"The first impression on my heart when converted was, Enoch walked with God.' That was my start. Now then, I said, I will walk with God. Beautiful as far as it went; but I...

Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.You also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. § As obedient...

This is an invitation to thee to give over the keeping of thyself entirely into the Lord's hands. Let him be thy keeper and he will keep thee from all evil. That no harm ever befalls the Christian, cannot be said. But while he follows that which is good, no harm befalls him. While he suffers the Lord to guide him, he is preserved infallibly.

It is only by faith that we can appreciate the guidance of the Lord as being everything that an enlightened love could desire for us. When we...

Matthew 9:18-34

"A ruler came and knelt before him and said: My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live."

Only comparatively few of our Lord's healings are recorded. He seems never to have refused to heal any who came to Him or were brought to Him. Besides, He healed some for whom no one interceded. Here was a ruler - an exceptional case, for the rulers were not His...

The way to the kingdom is rough and rugged, our strength is often small, and our fears are very many. But if we are justified by grace, sanctified by the Spirit of truth, and pursue a consistent course, there is no doubt of our safe arrival at our Father's house; for "the righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger."

The true believer shall hold on, for the promise of God secures him; the fullness of Christ supplies him; the Spirit of...

For the Christian cross carrying and chastisement are alike but not identical. They differ in a number of important ways. The two ideas are usually considered to be the same and the words embodying the ideas are used interchangeably. There is, however, a sharp distinction between them. When we confuse them we are not thinking accurately; and when we do not think accurately about truth we lose some benefit that we might otherwise enjoy. The cross and the rod occur close together in the Holy...

In Psalms 126:1-6 the children of Israel are reminiscing about their return to the land after their captivity in Babylon. It had been as if they were in a dream world, filled with laughter and singing. Even their pagan neighbors had commented on the great things the Lord had done for His people.

Now that they were back in their own land, they had to start planting crops. But this posed a problem. They had brought back only a limited...

"And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Isaiah 2:4

Oh, that these happy times were come! At present the nations are heavily armed and are inventing weapons more and more terrible, as if the chief end of man could only be answered by destroying myriads of his fellows. Yet peace will prevail one day;...