Pastor Gary's OYB Devotion Archive for April 15

HAVE YOU ENTERED HIS REST?

From: April 15, 2026

“So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war” (Joshua 11:23 ESV).

Joshua recorded this verse as a concluding summary of Israel’s conquest under his leadership, written to the people of Israel to affirm God’s faithfulness. God had enabled Israel to take the whole land, emphasizing the decisive victories over both the southern and northern coalitions of kings. He highlighted that this success came according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses, showing that God’s promises were fulfilled. He noted that he distributed the land to the tribes as their inheritance, marking a transition from conquest to settlement. Finally, he stated that the land had rest from war. Yet this rest was not absolute or final, since pockets of resistance and unconquered territories still remained. Yet this moment of rest pointed forward to a greater and more complete rest that God would one day provide for His people (cf. Heb. 4).

We see in this passage a picture of the life we now have in Christ. Through Jesus, we have been given victory over sin and death, and we have entered into a real rest for our souls. Yet we also recognize that our experience is not complete. There are still battles to fight, temptations to resist, and areas of growth where we must trust God. We live in the tension of what has already been accomplished and what is not yet fully realized. Just as Israel stood in the land with both victory and unfinished work before them, we stand in Christ with assurance and anticipation. This passage calls us to trust God’s promises, walk in His victory, and ask ourselves honestly, have we truly entered His rest? For true rest is not a place, but a Person. Have you accepted Christ’s invitation: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28)?

PRAYER: Dear Father, we thank You for being faithful to every promise You have made. We praise You for the victory and rest we have through Your Son, Jesus. Help us to live in that rest even as we face ongoing battles. Teach us to trust You more deeply and to walk in obedience each day. Fix our hope on the greater rest that is still to come. In Jesus’ name, amen.

WHEN WILL THE KINGDOM COME?

From: April 15, 2025

“Behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21 ESV).

The Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come, expecting signs of political upheaval or outward power. But Jesus corrected their thinking. The Kingdom of God was not something to be observed with visible signs—they were missing it even as it stood right in front of them. The King Himself was in their midst. His coming marked the inauguration of the Kingdom, though its full consummation awaits His return.

The Kingdom is already here. It has broken into history through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Yet it is not fully here—we still long for the day when Christ will return and reign in fullness over all creation.

Where is the Kingdom today? It is present wherever Jesus is acknowledged as King. Every heart that bows to Christ, every act of obedience to His Word, every moment of Spirit-filled transformation is a glimpse of the Kingdom breaking in.

But we also wait. We long for the day when sin, suffering, and death will be no more, when every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is the tension of the Christian life—we already live in the Kingdom, but not yet in its fullness.

Have you recognized Christ as King? Have you surrendered your life to Jesus? If so, the Kingdom of God is in your midst now and your hope is secure in what is yet to come. Until then, let us continue to pray “thy Kingdom come” prayers.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we surrender our hearts to King Jesus. Thank You that Your Kingdom has come through Him and is at work in us even now. Help us to live as faithful citizens of this already-present Kingdom while we wait with hope for its glorious fulfillment. May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done, here, in us, and one day, in all the earth. In Jesus’ name, amen.

DOES GOD WITHHOLD GOOD FROM US?

From: April 15, 2024

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11 ESV).

The Lord is like the sun enlightening our way. He is like a shield protecting us from harm. He freely gives grace, offering His favor and friendship. He will not share His own glory, yet He gives glory to those who are His, appropriate to their state, which is the honor, beauty and blessing He bestows on the righteous, both in this life and even more so in the life to come. God does not withhold good from us, as some would accuse, but pours out goodness like rain on those who live according to His Word. Even that which is perceived as harm He causes to work together for the good for those that love the Lord (Rom. 8:28).

The ultimate revelation of God’s grace, glory and goodness has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Those who have believed and received the Son, have received the greatest grace, glory and goodness of God. If He does not withhold Christ from us, will He withhold any good thing? No! As the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?” (Rom. 8:32 AMP).

Therefore, let us pursue the Lord and His kingdom with all our hearts, knowing that no good thing is lost, nor withheld in Christ.

PRAYER: Dear Father, You are our sun and shield and You have withheld no good thing from us. Forgive us our sins and cleanse us afresh that we might always give You praise. For You have given us Jesus and in Him are all things both now and forever. We thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

WHERE IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

From: April 15, 2023

“For the Kingdom of God is already among you” (Luke 17:21 NLT).

Where is the Kingdom of God? And when will it come? The Pharisees asked Jesus to show them the kingdom. But He warned them that it was not yet something they could observe. They were looking for the outward evidence of pomp and power from a conquering king, while the King of Glory stood in their midst unrecognized. For the kingdom was already coming to those who recognized Jesus as King and would ultimately be fulfilled at His return.

Where is the kingdom today? Wherever Christ Jesus is king! When will it come? Whenever we invite Him to be our Lord and Savior! Have you done this? Have you surrendered your life to Christ as King? Then, the Kingdom of God “is already among you.”

PRAYER: Dear Father, we yield our lives to Your Son, Jesus, as King. We bow our hearts to Him. We ask Him to rule from the throne over our hearts. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in us and in this world. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation” (Luke 17:25 NLT).

From: April 15, 2022

CHRIST KNEW HE MUST BE CRUCIFIED AND REJECTED

When Jesus was asked when the kingdom of God would come, He told His disciples that an important event “must” precede its coming. What was this event? It was His crucifixion and rejection.

Jesus knew why He came. He came to die, so that we might live. He knew that the only way for the kingdom of God to come was for Him to suffer terribly and be rejected. This had to happen “first,” in order to establish the basis for God’s kingdom to come. For He had to first come as the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world before one day returning as the Lion of Judah, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Jesus told everyone that would listen the same thing over and over again, namely that He would suffer and die, but on the third day, He would arise. All four gospels report this. But the disciples had trouble understanding this at the time. Peter even tried to rebuke Jesus for saying such things. Yet even Christ’s enemies took note. For after His crucifixion and burial they asked Pilate to post a guard at His tomb saying, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day” (Matt. 27:63-64).

Jesus accomplished his first mission. His last words on the cross were, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). In other words, “Mission accomplished!” But what of his second mission? What of the establishment of His Kingdom? What of His Second Coming? What else needs to happen before His return?

According to Jesus, nothing else needs to happen. His return will come suddenly like a “thief in the night.” And the world will be caught unawares. For He said that at His return it will be as it was in the days of Noah when the flood came. Or as it was in the days of Lot before the fire rained down from heaven. In both cases, people went about their normal business before judgment fell.

So on this Good Friday, let us remember Christ’s crucifixion and rejection that had to happen “first.” And let us stay awake and be ready for His soon return. For He is risen and He is coming again!

PRAYER: Dear Father, we are amazed by what Your Son has accomplished for us. For He has made a way for us to be forgiven our sins and to be adopted into Your family. We look back in faith, remembering His sacrifice on this day. And we look forward in hope, awaiting His soon return. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“For you see, the kingdom of God is among you.” (Luke 17:21 HCSB).

From: April 15, 2021

WHERE IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

Where is the kingdom of God? And when will it come? The Pharisees asked Jesus to show them the kingdom. But He warned them that it was not yet something they could observe. They were looking for the outward evidence of pomp and power from a conquering king, while the King of Glory stood in their midst unrecognized. For the kingdom was already coming to those who recognized Jesus as King and would be ultimately fulfilled at His return.

Where is the kingdom? Wherever Christ Jesus is king! When will it come? Whenever we invite Him to be our Lord and Savior! Have you done this? Then, the kingdom of God “is among you.”

PRAYER: Dear Father, we yield our lives to Your Son, Jesus, as King. We bow our hearts to Him. We ask Him to rule from the throne over our hearts. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in us and in this world. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalms 84:1-2 NKJV).

From: April 15, 2020

DOES YOUR SOUL LONG FOR THE CHURCH GATHERED?

The psalmist expressed his deep longing and love for the Lord’s tabernacle. HIs desire for it was so deep that his soul fainted for its courts and his heart cried out for its Occupant, namely the living God. For the psalmist, the tabernacle represented the very presence of God.

Yet for the Christian, it is the body of Christ that is both the Church and the real presence of God by His indwelling Spirit. How much more then must our love and longing be for one another? For those who have been adopted into God’s family by faith in His Son have a deep love and longing for His Church, which is the people of God. And when they are separated from worshiping together for any length of time, their souls begin to faint and their hearts cry out for the gathered Church of the living God.

PRAYER: Dear Father, forgive us for those times when we could’ve been gathered together with the saints in worship and allowed some small thing to keep us away. For now in these days we are prevented from gathering, so that our souls long and our hearts cry out. Watch over us and keep us until we are able to be together in person again. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked” (Psalm 84:10 NLT).

From: April 15, 2018

GOD’S CHILDREN LOVE WORSHIPING IN HIS HOUSE

The psalmist meditated on his love of worshiping and serving in the Temple courts. He would rather have one day in the Temple courts than a thousand elsewhere. He would rather take the lowest position in God’s house than the highest seat in the house of sinners. He loved being in God’s presence worshiping with God’s people.

There are many things that compete for our worship and many voices invite our fellowship, but worshiping and serving together with God’s people in God’s house is better.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11 NKJV).

From: April 15, 2017

The Lord is like the sun enlightening our way. He is like a shield protecting us from harm. He freely gives grace, offering His favor and friendship. He will not share His own glory, yet He gives glory to those who are His, appropriate to their state, which is the honor, beauty and blessing He bestows on the righteous, both in this life and even more so in the next. God does not withhold good from us, as some would accuse, but pours out goodness like rain on those who live according to His Word. Even that which is perceived as harm He causes to work together for the good for those that love the Lord (Rom. 8:28).

The ultimate revelation of God’s grace, glory and goodness has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Those who have believed and received the Son, have received the greatest grace, glory and goodness of God. If He does not withhold Christ from us, will He withhold any good thing?

“He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?” (Rom. 8:32 AMP).

“…For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 NKJV)

From: April 15, 2015

Where is the kingdom of God? And when will it come? The Pharisees asked Jesus to show them the kingdom. But He warned them that it was not yet something they could observe. They were looking for the outward evidence of pomp and power from a conquering king, while the King of Glory stood in their midst unrecognized. For the kingdom was already coming to those who recognized Jesus as King and would be ultimately fulfilled at His return. Where is the kingdom? Wherever Christ is king! When will it come? Whenever we invite Him to be our Lord and Savior! Have you done this? Then, the kingdom of God has come “within you.”