DATE POSTED
Friday, July 3, 2026, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa Apartment Homes, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
I would love for you to read today’s Scripture in your own personal Bible!

Mat 9:36 ~ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (NLT)

Acts 1:8 ~ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (NLT)

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
I hope you’ve taken a moment to read the verses referenced above, as they’ll help you better grasp the context of this devotional.

It is striking to notice how the disciples interacted with the crowds. Often, they saw the immediate, physical needs—like hunger or keeping the crowd seated and under control, but it was Jesus who truly noticed the condition of their souls..

Could it be that we, too, have become hardened to the crowds around us? Whether we are sitting in a church pew or walking through the marketplace, do we look at the people around us and assume they will always just be “lost sheep”? Have we grown so accustomed to the brokenness of the world that we have lost concern for their eternal fate?

Before Christ transforms our hearts, it is easy to ignore the lost or view them with indifference. But After Christ, our vision changes.

The Bible teaches us how to recognize a life that has been transformed by God. Evidence of salvation naturally bleeds through every fiber of a believer’s being. Scripture calls this “Spiritual Fruit“—the love, joy, peace, and patience outlined in Galatians 5:22-23. When this fruit is absent in someone’s life, it shouldn’t provoke our judgment; it should ignite our mission. We are called to witness to them, recognizing their deep spiritual need.

Please remember: God is the Judge, and He has not delegated that job to you or me. Let Him do His work. When a life-threatening storm is approaching, you don’t beat your neighbors over the head about why they didn’t prepare; you simply invite them into a safe place.

As believers, we know how this story ends. We know Jesus is returning to take His Church home. I believe with all my heart that when the love of Jesus lives inside you, you naturally want to take as many people to heaven with you as possible. Acts 1:8 makes our instructions for this eventual departure incredibly clear: Go into all the world and tell them about Jesus.

Jesus described the unsaved as “confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” God is calling us today to go and teach, encourage, invite, and demonstrate His saving knowledge. This truth should exude from our every word, action, and thought. After all, sharing the Gospel is simply like one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread.

As you pray for opportunities, trust that Jesus is already working in the hearts of those you are reaching out to. Only Jesus can save a sinner and present them blameless before the Father.

To God be all the glory and honor for choosing to work through ordinary vessels like you and me!

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the times I have looked at the crowds around me with indifference or judgment instead of through your eyes of compassion. Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Fill me with the power of Your Holy Spirit so that I can be a bold, loving witness for You. Give me the courage to simply share the Bread of Life with those who are starving. Use this ordinary vessel to point a confused and helpless world back to the True Shepherd. In Jesus’ name, Amen

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. I pray that one of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin, or continue, your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org, or if you choose, subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, as you will also find that option on this page. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you invite God to work through you to bless them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!

DATE POSTED
Thursday, July 2, 2026, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa Apartment Homes, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Try to read these verses in your own Bible.

Deuteronomy 11:16-17 ~ “But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods. If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against you…. (NLT)

Matthew 4:10-11 ~ “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” Then the devil went away… (NLT)

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
I hope you’ve taken a moment to read the verses referenced above, as they’ll help you better grasp the context of this devotional.

In today’s world, we rarely think about “idolatry” because we seldom see people bowing down before carved statues. Biblically speaking, however, an idol is anything or anyone that takes the place of God in your heart and life. It is anything that becomes more important than God, absorbs your prime attention, or promises what only God can truly provide.

It is easy to understand why someone who has never known the Almighty God personally might worship modern-day idols; we might simply say they don’t know any better, or have any fear or conscience about the love of God. But for the believer in Jesus Christ—or even the regular church attendee—modern idolatry is a heartbreaking reality. After experiencing the blessings, presence, and miracles that only God can deliver, turning away to serve other things is a profound offense to Him. That is exactly the warning Moses gave in Deuteronomy 11:16. Even believers must guard against allowing other “gods” to quietly replace the Lord as the center of their lives.

To understand what modern idolatry looks like, think of how a marriage slowly deteriorates. It starts with distraction. A spouse begins noticing someone else—a coworker or a neighbor—and starts giving them their time and attention. Slowly, they lose interest in their spouse at home. Before long, they are asking for space, which eventually leads to separation. (And let’s be honest, ladies and gentlemen alike, this isn’t a single-gender issue; it happens on both sides.)

Our relationship with Jesus suffers the exact same way. When we stop spending time with Him, other things rush in to fill the void.

• When we stop praying, we start carrying our burdens to the world instead, making the excuse, “They just really understand what I’m going through.”
• When we stop reading the Word, we lose touch with His voice and miss out on the daily challenge to live a noble life patterned after Him.

Modern idols are subtle, but they come in many forms. Consider these few:

• Self: Placing your own desires, comfort, or personal identity above God’s will. This may appear as selfishness, pride, refusing to serve others, or believing that life should revolve around you.
• Approval: Measuring your worth by the opinions of friends, family, coworkers, or society instead of finding your identity in Christ.
• Strategy & Skill: Depending entirely on your own intelligence, experience, or abilities rather than seeking God’s wisdom and trusting His direction.
• Technology & Entertainment: Allowing phones, social media, television, streaming services, games, or endless scrolling to consume the time that once belonged to prayer, worship, Bible study, and serving others.
• Material Possessions: Making money, success, comfort, or possessions the driving force behind your decisions and your sense of security.

These are only a few examples. If your walk with God has grown distant, you can probably identify other things that have quietly become competitors for your heart.

A good place to begin is by honestly asking yourself what regularly keeps you from worshipping with God’s people, spending time in prayer, or opening His Word. Those reasons often seem reasonable in the moment, but one day we will answer to the Lord for every priority that consistently took His rightful place. These idols are quiet but powerful. They promise fulfillment, but they always leave you spiritually empty. As Jesus warns in Matthew 6:24, no one can serve two masters—you cannot serve God and money, or God and your own desires. Before Christ, we served whatever caught our eye. After Christ, our worship belongs to Him alone.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, for the times I have allowed subtle idols to creep into my heart and take Your place, please forgive my unfaithfulness. Too many times I have relied on my own strength, chased the approval of others, and allowed other priorities to replace my time with you, and I seek Your forgiveness. Please Lord, break the hold of these modern-day distractions. Tune my heart to Your voice again, and give me the grace to serve and worship You exclusively. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. I pray that one of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin, or continue, your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org, or if you choose, subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, as you will also find that option on this page. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you invite God to work through you to bless them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!

DATE POSTED
Wednesday, July 01, 2026, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa Apartment Homes, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Feel free to read the following scriptures in your own personal Bible.

Matthew 7:5: ~ You hypocrite (play-actor, pretender), first get the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (AMP)

1 Thessalonians 2:3-4 ~ So you can see that we were not preaching with any false motives or evil purposes in mind; we were perfectly straightforward and sincere. For we speak as messengers from God, trusted by him to tell the truth; we change his message not one bit to suit the taste of those who hear it; for we serve God alone, who examines our hearts’ deepest thoughts. (TLB)

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
I hope you’ve taken a moment to read the verses referenced above, as they’ll help you better grasp the context of this devotional.

Looking back, we can remember how hard we often tried to impress a boyfriend, girlfriend, employer, or someone whose approval we desperately wanted. While this could certainly be accomplished through honesty, integrity, and hard work, the world often taught us something very different. It taught us that if we truly wanted to gain someone’s approval, we should do whatever it took—even if that meant putting someone else down in order to make ourselves look better. Sadly, this often led us to become less than honest and less than faithful to our friends as we pursued our own goals

Isn’t it interesting how, Before Christ, it was so easy to spot hypocrisy in our friends, neighbors and coworkers, while completely overlooking it in ourselves? It was easy to declare someone “guilty” before ever asking for an explanation or hearing the whole story. Jesus saw this exact flaw in human nature when He challenged us in Matthew 7:5. He essentially tells us to clear the deceit and evil out of our own lives before we dare point out the wrongs in others. Otherwise, we ourselves are hypocrites in every sense of the word.

But you may ask: How does someone actually make such a massive change in their life?

As we’ve discussed in previous devotionals, unbelievers have no ultimate authority to answer to. However, After Christ, we not only have a Master who loves us immeasurably, but He has also given us His Word to read, understand, and live by.

Because God knew how challenging this journey would be for us, He gave us an incredible gift: the Holy Spirit. The Spirit takes up residence inside of us to guide, encourage, uplift, remind, and coach us along the road to righteousness (being right with God).

Even more amazing is the love God demonstrated through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus willingly endured rejection, false accusations, hatred, ridicule, and ultimately death on the cross for sinners like you and me. Through His sacrifice, we have forgiveness of sin and the opportunity to live lives that honor Him. Because of this, our joy is complete! We can be excited knowing that we are being transformed day by day, and that we will be with Him for all eternity.

A Challenge for Today

As I close today’s devotional, I want to challenge you to honestly examine your own heart. Ask God to show you where you stand in light of eternity. This is not a decision to postpone until next month or next year after you’ve made a few improvements in your life. In Luke 12, God told the rich fool, “Tonight your soul is required of you.” None of us knows what today may hold. Those words could apply to me—or perhaps to you.

May I ask you a personal question? Will we meet one day at the feet of Jesus? Is your life ready to meet Him?

If you are uncertain, I encourage you not to wait. Speak with your Bible-teaching pastor or with a believer whose life clearly reflects the living Christ. Allow them to open God’s Word with you and show you the hope, forgiveness, and eternal life that are found only in Jesus Christ.

Jesus loves you. His arms are open wide, and He is waiting to receive all who will come to Him by faith.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, Forgive me for the times I have looked at the flaws in others while ignoring the areas in my own heart that need Your cleansing touch. Help me to stop seeking the temporary approval of the world and instead live to please You alone. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who guides and coaches me every single day. I ask that You put my life in perfect order, so that whenever my time comes, I am ready to meet you face-to-face. I ask these things in the loving and precious name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. I pray that one of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin, or continue, your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org, or if you choose, subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, as you will also find that option on this page. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you invite God to work through you to bless them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!