Daily Reading Week 32
Sunday
John 13 (focus v.1–17)
Discover:
Today’s passage describes Jesus washing the disciples’ feet just before their last meal together. They were reclining on thin mats around the table when He got up, took a towel, and began to wash their feet (vv. 3–5). In that dusty culture, feet got filthy, and washing them was a servant’s job—usually the lowest servant, because most people considered it beneath them. That’s why Peter pushed back so hard. He couldn’t imagine the Lord doing something so lowly (vv. 6–8a).
When Jesus insisted that this washing was necessary to belong to Him, Peter swung to the opposite extreme and asked for a full-body bath (vv. 8b–9). Jesus didn’t deny the need for complete cleansing. He simply explained that once someone has been bathed, only the feet need regular washing (vv. 10–11). He’s pointing to the two kinds of cleansing He provides. At conversion we are decisively washed clean and permanently belong to Him. Yet we still sin and need ongoing cleansing for those daily failures (1 John 1:8–10). That continuing sin doesn’t kick us out of the kingdom, but it still has to be dealt with.
Respond:
• What stands out to you most about Jesus washing His disciples’ feet?
• How does Jesus redefine leadership in this passage?
• Why is humility often difficult to practice?
• Who is God calling you to serve this week?
Monday
Jeremiah 1 (focus v.4–8)
Discover:
Today’s passage introduces Jeremiah’s call. Notice one key detail: God appointed him “a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5). While Jeremiah’s primary audience was Israel, he was also sent to speak the Lord’s word to the Gentiles, those outside the covenant.
This wasn’t unique to Jeremiah. To varying degrees, every prophet of Israel carried a message that reached beyond God’s people. Some, like Obadiah (to Edom) or Jonah and Nahum (to Nineveh), focused heavily on foreign nations. Others, like Haggai and Ezekiel, spoke mainly to Israel. Yet all of them had words that applied to both. The same could be said of every prophet: though given especially to his own people, his authority extended to the nations as well.
It shouldn’t surprise us that God spoke to the Gentiles even under the old covenant. He is the only true God and therefore Lord of all people, whether they acknowledge Him or not. That truth still carries weight for us. While the gift of prophecy does not continue in the church today, we are the heirs of the prophets and their message. We don’t receive new revelation the way they did, but we are still called to speak God’s word to the world.
We do this first by proclaiming the gospel to every nation (Matt. 24:14). We also fulfill this calling by holding governing authorities accountable to God’s moral standards. We don’t ask the state to become the church or to administer Word and sacrament. But we can, and must, call the state to be the state and to fulfill the responsibilities God has given it.
Respond:
• What insecurities most often keep you from serving others?
• How does God’s calling differ from the way the world defines success?
• What gifts or passions has God given you?
• How can you use those gifts to serve someone this week?
Tuesday
Exodus 18 (focus v.17–23)
Discover:
Often in scripture we see the need for help in the work God calls people to do. This time the issue is Moses’ role as judge over the people. After Jethro returned from Midian with Moses’ family, he watched his son-in-law wear himself out settling legal disputes all day long. At this point Israel had no written law code; the people depended entirely on Moses to reveal and apply God’s standards. Because he alone received that revelation, Moses assumed he alone had to decide every case.
Jethro quickly saw how unsustainable that was. He urged Moses to share the load: keep the teaching and the hardest cases for himself, but appoint capable men to handle the simpler ones.
Those men needed more than skill, they needed strong character. Ability mattered, but character came first. They had to be “able”, men of good judgment who understood the work. Above all, they had to fear God, knowing they answered to Him. As Matthew Henry put it, “The fear of God is that principle which will best fortify a man against all temptations to injustice.” They also needed to be men of truth because only those who live by the truth can judge fairly.
Finally, they had to hate covetousness. Leaders often fall into the trap of craving power, wealth, or status, which leads to bribes and corruption. Men who reject that craving will be content with what God has given them and far less likely to lie, cheat, or steal their way upward.
Jethro’s counsel remains wise. It reminds us to share responsibility wisely and to place only people of proven character in positions of influence.
Respond:
• Do you tend to take on too much responsibility yourself?
• Why is it sometimes difficult to trust others?
• How does serving others differ from controlling others?
• What is one practical way you can encourage or empower someone this week?
Wednesday
Revelation 19 (focus V.11–16)
Discover:
Overwhelmed by the vision of the marriage supper of the Lamb, John fell down to worship the angel who had just spoken to him. The angel quickly rebuked him, worship belongs to God alone, not to a mere creature (Rev. 19:9–10). It’s easy to fault John for this, but we should be careful. The glory he saw would overwhelm any of us. In our fallen state we are just as prone to give a glorious creature the honor that belongs only to the Creator. What matters most is that John listened and stopped.
Right after that rebuke, John is given a new vision of the One he is to worship, the Lord Jesus Christ returning as conquering King. Heaven opens, and the Word of God (the eternal Son, John 1:1–14) appears on a white horse, leading the armies of heaven dressed in fine linen (Rev. 19:11–14). Those armies are the faithful who have died in the Lord, those who kept their witness to the end and have already received the white robes of victory.
This is the final battle at Christ’s return. The beast and the false prophet are destroyed. We last met this beast in Revelation 17 as the eighth persecuting king and the mount of the prostitute Babylon (Rome). While it may find final expression in one ultimate Antichrist, it primarily stands for the entire evil world system opposed to God and His people. The ungodly nations gather with this beast to fight the Messiah.
Yet calling it a “battle” almost gives the enemy too much credit. Revelation 19 records no real struggle. The moment the Lord appears from heaven, the beast and his followers are finished. Jesus wears the blood-stained robes that Scripture associates with God’s final judgment, underscoring how certain and swift His victory will be. Without question, Jesus will perfectly judge and defeat every enemy of His and ours.
Respond:
• How do you typically think about Jesus—as Teacher, Savior, Lord, or all three?
• Why is surrender sometimes harder than belief?
• What area of your life is hardest to place under Christ’s authority?
• What does it mean to call Jesus “Lord” in your daily life?
Thursday
Ruth 2 (focus v.10–12)
Discover:
Naomi, a Judahite living in the time of the judges, faced deep tragedy. She lost her husband and both sons, and the pain left her bitter. Yet she was not alone. Her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth turned from her old gods, put her trust in the one true God of Israel and chose to return with Naomi to Judah.
As poor widows in that culture, the two women had few ways to survive. So Ruth went out to glean in the fields (2:1–2). The Mosaic law required farmers to leave the edges of their fields unharvested and to leave behind the grain that harvesters dropped. This was God’s provision so that the poor and the foreigners in the land could find food (Lev. 19:9–10).
Ruth “happened” to end up in the field of Boaz, described as a “worthy man” (Ruth 2:1–3). The phrase suggests someone like a knight, valiant, generous, and ready to protect the vulnerable. Of course, nothing happens by chance in God’s world (Prov. 16:33). The writer is inviting us to see the Lord’s hand of providence at work. God Himself brought Ruth into Boaz’s field, and the rest of the story will show us why.
Boaz noticed Ruth and learned who she was, the Moabitess whose loyalty to her mother-in-law and faith in Israel’s God were already well known (Ruth 2:4–12). He addressed her as “daughter” (v. 8), a term that showed he was older. More significantly, he recognized that she had taken refuge under the wings of the God of Israel (v. 12). This tender image of a mother bird sheltering her young is one of the few times Scripture uses such language for God’s care (Ps. 17:8).
Respond:
• What is the difference between humility and insecurity?
• Why does our culture often resist humility?
• How does Ruth’s example challenge your perspective on service?
• Where is God inviting you to serve without seeking recognition?
Friday
Galatians 2 (focus v.20)
Discover:
Conversion means becoming a new creation in Christ, a decisive break with sin (2 Cor. 5:17). Sin’s power is broken the moment we trust Jesus, even though its presence lingers. True conversion changes how we fight remaining sin. Having died to sin, we keep repenting as we grow. Real repentance is sorrow for offending God and others, not just for the fallout of our choices (2 Cor. 7:10). Through repentance and the fruit of the Spirit, we keep putting the old self to death (Rom. 8:12–13; Gal. 5:24). We were raised with Jesus the moment we trusted Him, and by His Spirit He keeps raising us whenever we stumble. As Galatians 2:20 shows, this is Christ Himself living in us.
Paul wrote these words against the Galatian teachers who claimed eternal life comes by keeping the law. That path is a dead end. If we try to earn righteousness by obedience, we have to keep every command perfectly, something no sinner can do (Gal. 3:12; 5:2–3). Paradoxically, the law only leads to life once we first accept its condemnation. We die to the law through the law (Gal. 2:19) by being united to Christ through faith alone. His perfect satisfaction of the law’s penalty becomes ours. In Him, condemnation is gone (Rom. 8:1–4).
We died with Christ, and we were also raised with Him to a new kind of life, the joyful, abundant life of serving God that Jesus Himself lived and now produces in us. This is not lawlessness. It is life in Christ, guided by His Spirit. We remain great sinners, but Jesus is a greater Savior. He works in us to bring us back in repentance when we fall and to give us the desire to serve God with joy.
Respond:
• What area of your life is most difficult to fully surrender to Jesus?
• How does Galatians 2:20 challenge the way you think about following Christ?
• In what ways can Christ live through you in your relationships, work, school, or ministry?
• What is one practical step you can take this week to put Jesus’ desires ahead of your own?
Saturday
Joshua 24 (focus v.14–15)
Discover:
Most of us quickly name Bible study, prayer, and worship as essential for growing in holiness. We’re less likely to put service in that same category. That’s a shame, because Scripture emphasizes serving the Lord from beginning to end.
God called His people to serve Him even while they were still slaves in Egypt (Ex. 8:1). Paul regularly described himself as Christ’s servant. And Jesus made it clear: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Matt. 20:26).
One of the primary ways we serve God is by serving others. This isn’t a calling reserved for pastors and church leaders. Every believer has been given gifts to use in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:1–11). Some gifts are more visible than others, but none are more important. The Lord values the quiet acts of service just as much as the public ones (vv. 12–31). Deacons care for widows and orphans not because that work is beneath elders, but because elders are especially gifted for prayer and teaching, while deacons are gifted to steward the church’s resources for those in need (Acts 6:1–7). Behind-the-scenes gifts are every bit as vital as the ones that put people in front of the congregation.
If God has gifted you to teach, teach. If He has given you a heart for hospitality, serve in that way. Jesus commands all of us to use our gifts, grow in our abilities, and help the church mature (Eph. 4:11–14). Let’s take that call seriously and be active, faithful servants.
Respond:
• What competes most for your devotion and attention?
• Why is choosing to serve God a daily decision?
• How has Jesus modeled servant leadership for you this week?
• What commitment do you need to make as this series comes to a close?