From: August 10, 2025
Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law (Ezra 10:3 ESV).
After Ezra discovered that many of the returned exiles had married pagan wives who persisted in idol worship, Shecaniah proposed a covenant to put them away along with their children. This harsh action was taken “according to the Law” to protect the fragile, newly restored community from repeating the sins that had led to exile. Under the Old Covenant, the people of God were a theocratic nation whose survival depended on religious purity. This measure targeted active idolaters, not foreigners in general. Scripture elsewhere records God blessing marriages between Israelites and foreigners who had turned to Him, such as Moses’ Cushite wife, Ruth the Moabite, and Rahab the Canaanite, all of whom embraced the Lord and two of whom appear in the genealogy of Jesus. Under the New Covenant, Paul instructs believers married to unbelievers to remain if the spouse is willing (1 Cor. 7:12–16), showing that our witness within marriage can be an avenue for God’s saving grace. While Ezra’s action was context-specific, the principle of wholehearted devotion to God remains timeless.
We live in a different covenant era. We are not called to separate from unbelieving spouses, but we are called to separate from sin and from anything that would draw our hearts away from Christ. The Ezra account reminds us that God takes covenant loyalty seriously. Paul reframes the principle for the church: our mission now includes loving and witnessing to unbelievers, even within marriage (1 Cor. 7:12–16). At the same time, Paul warns us not to be “unequally yoked” with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14), knowing that such unions can hinder spiritual growth and devotion to Christ. If we are single, we should seek a spouse who shares our faith so that our marriage may glorify God and strengthen our walk. Like Ruth and Rahab, people from every tribe and nation are welcomed into God’s family when they turn to Him in faith. Our calling is to live holy lives in the midst of a pluralistic world, guarding our devotion to Christ while extending His invitation to all.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for showing us both the seriousness of covenant faithfulness and the depth of Your mercy in Christ. Help us to guard our hearts from anything that would turn us away from You. Give us grace to love unbelieving family members and friends, and courage to bear witness to Jesus in both word and deed. May our lives reflect the holiness You desire and the hope You offer to all nations. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: August 10, 2024
“Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!” (Psalm 31:16 ESV).
David requested God’s help based on God’s attributes rather than on his own worthiness. He didn’t negotiate with God, offering to make a sacrifice or some other payment. No, he based his supplications on God’s ability and willingness to bless. Notice how David prayed, asking God to make His “face shine” on him like a father showing him favor. He asked God to “save” him according to God’s “steadfast love,” which is God’s “chesed” love, His unfailing, covenantal love.
We can do the same. We can ask for God to shine down on us and save us based on His divine favor and unfailing love. In fact, we can pray in the Name of Jesus, upon whom God’s favor rests and in whom He has expressed His unfailing love toward us for all time.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we call on You today, knowing that You have promised to hear us and to answer. We pray, trusting in Your love and favor toward us in Christ Jesus. We make our requests, knowing that if we ask for bread, You will not give us a stone. For You are a good Father and You always give good gifts. We trust You and ask for Your blessing today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: August 10, 2023
“Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11 NLT).
After admonishing believers in Corinth for suing other brothers in court, rather than handling things within the Church, Paul reminded them that they had a new identity in Christ. He listed some of their former identities, which were really marked by their favorite sins. Identities like: “Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners” (1 Cor. 6:9-10).
Paul reminded them, “Some of you were once like that.” In other words, that was who they once were, but no longer. Why? Because they had been washed, sanctified and justified. In other words, their sins and old identity were “washed” away when they received Christ as Savior. They were “sanctified,” made holy, which is the new identity of being called a saint of Christ and child of God. Finally, they were “justified,” counted righteous and being made right with God.
Why would such a one return to their old identities and old sin habits, which had once enslaved them? The one who has received a new identity in Christ, being made a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), is no longer bound by their former worldly identity.
Christian stop calling yourself by your old identity. Live according to your new identity in Christ!
PRAYER: Dear Father, we have experienced Your washing, sanctification and justification. Yet we sometimes put on the old nature, the old identity. Forgive us. Strengthen us to walk by faith in the Spirit, according to our new nature and identity. Help us to put off the old and put on the new by the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: August 10, 2022
REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHOSE YOU ARE
When Paul wrote this to the Corinthians he was primarily addressing the problem of sexual sin that was so prevalent in their culture. Believers were to live differently than the culture around them. This was not a call to an outward asceticism, but a reminder of an identity change. They were no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to Christ. Their bodies were purchased by His blood and had become God’s holy temple where His Spirit dwelled.
This word is as relevant today as it was then. We are no longer to be identified by our former sin, but by our Savior. For we have been bought out from under sin’s mastery. We have a new Master and a new identity in Christ.
When my children were teenagers and they were about to leave the house for some activity with school or friends, I would tell them, “Remember who you are and whose you are.”
“Yes, my father.” They would say (Sounds formal, but it was a routine we had).
I wanted them to remember that they were children of God, purchased and adopted by the blood of Jesus. I didn’t want the world grooming their identity. I wanted their identity shaped and formed by the Spirit of Christ.
Do you know who you are and whose you are?
PRAYER: Dear Father, help us to put off the old nature with its old identity and its fleshly desires. Help us to put on the new nature, remembering that we belong to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: August 10, 2016
When Paul wrote this to the Corinthians he was primarily addressing the problem of sexual sin that was so prevalent in their culture. Believers were to live differently than the culture around them. This was not a call to an outward asceticism, but a reminder of an identity change. They were no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to Christ. Their bodies were purchased by His blood and had become God’s holy temple where His Spirit dwelled. This word is as relevant today as it was then. We are no longer to be identified by our sexual orientation or sinful enslavement, for we have been bought out from under sin’s mastery. We have a new Master and a new identity in Christ.
From: August 10, 2015
After Paul gave a list of sinful lifestyles that would keep people from inheriting the kingdom of God (i.e. “fornicator, idolater, adulterer, homosexual…”), he reminded the Corinthians that many of them were once marked by these names. But no longer. Since receiving Jesus as Lord, they had new identities, new names. Their sin was washed away, their clothes of shame were replaced with sanctified holy ones, and their names were changed to “child of God” as they were justified and adopted into God’s family. Stop calling yourself by an old name. Stop reducing yourself to an identity that only describes your sin. Instead, receive your new name and identity in Christ, and walk in it.
From: August 10, 2014
When Paul wrote this to the Corinthians he was primarily addressing the problem of sexual sin that was so prevalent in their culture. Believers were to live differently than the culture around them. This was not a call to an outward asceticism, but a reminder of an identity change. They were no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to Christ. Their bodies were purchased by His blood and had become God’s holy temple where His Spirit dwelled. This word is as relevant today as it was then. We are no longer to be identified by our sexual orientation or sinful enslavement, for we have been bought out from under sin’s mastery. We have a new Master and a new identity in Christ.