From: June 16, 2026
“The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:16 ESV).
The book of 1 Kings recorded God’s miraculous provision for the widow of Zarephath during a severe famine in the days of Elijah. After the widow obeyed Elijah’s instruction to make him a small cake first, despite having only enough flour and oil for one final meal, God fulfilled His promise. Day after day, the flour jar and oil jug continued to provide what was needed. The miracle was not that God filled the containers to overflowing, but that He sustained them continually each day. The miracle showed that God is faithful to keep His word, that His provision often comes one day at a time, and that His resources never run out. This Gentile widow experienced God’s grace because she trusted and obeyed the Lord’s message through Elijah.
We often want God to supply everything in advance, but He frequently chooses to meet our needs one day at a time. This reminds us how Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). Our Lord invites us to trust the Father for today’s needs rather than worrying about tomorrow’s.
This miracle also points us to Christ. Just as the flour and oil never failed, God’s provision in Christ is inexhaustible. Through Him we receive forgiveness for our sins, strength for our weakness, wisdom for our decisions, and grace for every trial. We never exhaust the riches of His mercy or the sufficiency of His power. Day after day, we draw from His fullness and find that He is more than enough for every need. God may not always provide an abundance that removes every concern, but in Christ He always provides what is necessary for today. As we trust and obey Him, we discover anew that we are living from God’s bottomless provision in Christ.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for being faithful to every promise You have made. Teach us to trust You for our daily needs and to obey Your word even when we cannot see how You will provide. Help us depend on Your limitless grace rather than our limited resources. Remind us that Your provision is always sufficient and that Your resources never run dry. Strengthen our faith to rest confidently in Your care each day. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: June 16, 2025
“And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.” (1 Kings 16:30–31 ESV).
The northern kingdom of Israel had no godly kings. From its beginning under Jeroboam, the nation was built on a corrupt foundation. Jeroboam introduced false worship to keep his people from going to Jerusalem. This idolatry was never removed and became the spiritual baseline for every king after him. Ahab, however, exceeded even that evil. He did more to provoke the Lord than any king before him. The text says it was a “light thing” for him to follow Jeroboam’s sin. In other words, what had once been shocking now seemed normal. Ahab not only tolerated idolatry, he institutionalized it. By marrying Jezebel and worshiping Baal, he led Israel even further from the Lord.
This passage warns us about the danger of tolerating sin until it no longer seems serious. What begins as compromise can become corruption. Like Israel, we may be tempted to build our lives on something other than God’s Word. But when the foundation is faulty, everything that follows is unstable. We must examine the roots of our thinking and the patterns we follow. Are we walking in the sins of others because they seem acceptable? Are we treating rebellion against God as a light thing? Let us take heed, lest we drift far from the Lord and not even realize it.
PRAYER: Dear Father, forgive us for the ways we have treated sin lightly. We confess that we have often built on faulty foundations, following the patterns of this world rather than the truth of Your Word. Please cleanse our hearts and renew our minds. Help us to recognize compromise before it becomes corruption. Give us the courage to tear down any false altars we have erected in our hearts. We want to worship You alone. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
From: June 16, 2024
“And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends” (Acts 10:24 ESV).
The Roman centurion, Cornelius, had sent for the apostle Peter and upon hearing that he was on the way, he “called together his relatives and close friends” to meet and hear him. Cornelius wanted everyone he cared about to hear the word of God.
Have you invited your relatives and friends to hear the gospel? Have you “called” them to come with you to follow Jesus?
PRAYER: Dear Father, we want all our family and friends to come to Jesus. Strengthen us to call them all to hear Your Word and to give their lives fully to You. May we not lose one of them, but that all of them may come to faith in Your Son. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: June 16, 2023
“Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”” (1 Kings 17:8-9 NLT).
After Elijah warned King Ahab about the coming drought in Israel, he fled to the wilderness. Eventually, the Lord sent Elijah out of Israel to the land of Sidon, where God had commanded a widow to provide for his needs. In this way, God both protected Elijah from Ahab and provided for his needs during the drought and resulting famine. It also showed the Lord’s care for the widow and her son. For even though they were not Israelites, God used Elijah to meet their physical needs and to impact their faith in Him. For though Israel was chosen to be God’s very own people, they were chosen in order that God might bless all the nations of the world. For God promised Abraham that “in your Seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 22:18).
And that “Seed” is Jesus. For Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise that Elijah’s ministry foreshadowed. That Jesus would be the mediator of God’s blessing to the Jew first and then to the Greek.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your provision and protection, but most of all thank You for Jesus. Yet, Your desire for the nations continues. We feel the passion of Your Spirit in us for carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth. Strengthen us this day to accomplish this great commission You have given us through Jesus, Your Son. In His name we pray, amen.
From: June 16, 2022
MOBILIZED FOR MISSION
The apostle Peter told the Roman centurion named Cornelius that Jesus had ordered the apostles to “preach and testify that Jesus is the one.” He was appointed by God to be the “judge of all” and everyone who believes in Him will be forgiven their sins. Hearing this message, Cornelius and his whole house believed.
Cornelius was a Roman soldier, but now he was drafted into the Lord’s army. Just as Jesus had trained and equipped Peter and then sent him out as an apostle, so now Cornelius was to be mobilized for this same mission.
Just as Peter was “ordered” by Jesus to preach and testify about Him, so have all believers been commissioned. As Jesus said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21).
Believer, you are sent. Submit to Jesus as Lord over all of your life. Be equipped and discipled in a Bible-believing church. Recognize that the Lord wants to mobilize you for mission.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we believe that Jesus is the One. He is our King, Savior and Lord. He is the Judge of the living and the dead. We submit our lives to Him afresh this day. Here we are Lord, send us! In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: June 16, 2017
The Roman centurion, Cornelius, had sent for the apostle Peter and upon hearing that he was on the way, he “called together his relatives and close friends” to meet and hear him. Cornelius wanted everyone he cared about to hear the gospel. Have you invited your relatives and friends to hear the gospel? Have you “called” them to come with you to follow Jesus?
From: June 16, 2016
In Genesis 9, Ham saw his father, Noah, naked with a hangover from too much wine and he went out and told his brothers. But his brothers took a garment and walked into Noah’s tent backwards to cover his nakedness without seeing him. They exhibited love because they sought to help cover their father’s sin, while Ham did not. Ham was a gossip. Love helps the sinner get forgiveness. It does not seek to condemn or make matters worse. Nor does it attempt to enlarge the sin by repeating it to others.