The Parable of the Growing Seed

31 Monday Aug 2026

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”


Today’s Reading: Psalm 96: 7-13(NIV)*

Listen to today’s reading by Jonathan Dent:

LORD,
I want to see your glory and strength.
I acknowledge your attributes.
You are holy, merciful, and just.
Thank you for your righteous judgments.
Help me see the good in others.
Amen.

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Again he said,
“What shall we say the kingdom of God is like,
or what parable shall we use to describe it?
It is like a mustard seed,
which is the smallest of all seeds on earth.
 Yet when planted,
it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants,
with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them,
as much as they could understand.
He did not say anything to them without using a parable.
But when he was alone with his own disciples,
he explained everything.
(Mark 4:30-34).

* * *

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us:
He has given us of his Spirit.
(1 John 4:13 NIV)

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

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* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Pray for peace in Israel, Iran and the Middle East
and continue to pray for peace to return
to Ukraine and Russia!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

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Busy Ascribing

31 Monday Aug 2026

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Today’s Devotion from Psalms 365 by David Kitz

Listen to today’s reading by Jonathan Dent:

Reading: Psalm 96:7-13 (NIV)*

Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,
    ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
    bring an offering and come into his courts.


Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
    tremble before him, all the earth.
Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.”
    The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
    he will judge the peoples with equity.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
    let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
 Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes,
    he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Reflection

When I think of the word, ascribe, I immediately picture a long, grey-bearded man with a quill pen in his hand scratching words onto a scroll. That’s a scribe. I suppose this scribe could be busy ascribing. I wonder just what he could be ascribing? Well, according to the author of Psalm 96 my imaginary scribe could be ascribing glory and strength to the LORD.

In all seriousness ascribing means crediting or attributing certain character qualities to a person. The LORD certainly is strong and glorious. Along with those attributes, we could also add the words loving, faithful, merciful, just, and holy. The LORD is all those things and more. For all these character qualities the LORD is worthy of praise.

Sometimes I don’t see something until it smacks me in the face. I can be blind to that missing shirt hanging in the closet or across the back of a chair. It takes someone else, usually my wife, to point out what should be plainly obvious. In the same way I can be blind to the kind gestures of a friend or colleague. It takes someone else to point them out—to ascribe them—by drawing my attention to them.

Are you missing something? Have you become blind to the beautiful character qualities of your spouse, your children, or your workmates? Maybe you need to do some ascribing? Before it’s too late, let them know the good qualities you see in their lives. You won’t regret speaking words of affirmation to the ones you love. As for the LORD, He will be honored if we carry through with the words of the psalmist: Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns” (v. 9-10a).

Response

LORD, I want to see your glory and strength. I acknowledge your attributes. You are holy, merciful, and just. Thank you for your righteous judgments. Help me see the good in others. Amen.

Your Turn

Is there someone whose actions or good character you need to ascribe or affirm? Take time to affirm them today.

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

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* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Pray for peace in Israel, Iran and the Middle East
and continue to pray for peace to return to Ukraine and Russia!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look, click here.

A Devotional Journey through the Epistle of James

30 Sunday Aug 2026

Posted by in James

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Day 5: The Faith Imperative

But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt.
Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm.
If you are that kind of person, you can’t make up your mind,
and you surely can’t be trusted.
So don’t expect the Lord to give you anything at all.
(James 1:6-8, CEV)

Reflection

In today’s reading, James commands us to have faith. There is nothing timid or passive about the faith that James urges us to have. He calls us to a confident, aggressive kind of faith.

Where does that confident faith come from? It must come from the Lord Jesus Christ. In his life on earth, Jesus demonstrated aggressive faith—life-changing faith—mountain-moving faith.

Jesus gave his disciples this instruction: “Have faith in God! If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.” (Mark 11:22-24, CEV)

Now that’s bold faith—mountain-moving faith.

What kind of prayers are you praying? Are you praying bold prayers? Does the devil tremble when you get on your knees to pray? Are you seizing the moment for God and His Kingdom? Or are your prayers self-centered and disrupted by doubt?

When we pray in God’s will we can pray with great confidence.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:13-15, NIV)

Christ’s faith was rock solid and immovable. That’s the kind of faith that James calls us to have. The doubter is uncertain of God’s will and is tossed to and froe by changing circumstances and worries. But the person who has heard God has a faith that is sure and anchored in the Almighty.

Rather than receiving wisdom, (see James 1:5) the doubter receives nothing. The man of faith moves mountains. The doubter moves nothing. Instead, the doubter is adrift moved by wind and wave.

Which would you rather be? A mover of mountains or a hapless drifter?

Response

Lord God, I need faith, but not just any faith. I need the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord grant me mountain-moving faith, not for my sake, but for the sake of your Kingdom and your glory. I ask in humility. I pray this in the all-powerful name of Jesus. Amen.

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The Mountain Peaks Belong to Him

29 Saturday Aug 2026

Posted by in Psalm 95, Psalms

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Today’s Devotion from Psalms 365 by David Kitz

Listen to Psalm 95:1-7 read by Jonathan Dent.

Reading: Psalm 95:1-7 (NIV)*

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.

The “Three Sisters” mountain peaks in the Canadian Rockies — photo by David Kitz

Response

LORD God, you know all things. We were created for your purpose. Help us to live our lives in service to you. We are the flock under your care. Please extend your hand of mercy and blessing to those we know who are suffering or grieving. Amen.

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Pray for peace in Israel, Iran and the Middle East
and continue to pray for peace to return to Ukraine and Russia!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

The photo of Jerusalem on the cover of Psalm 365, Volume II


Take a journey to the cross.


To view further details or purchase click here.

* New International Version, Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

The Parable of the Growing Seed

28 Friday Aug 2026

Posted by in Psalm 96, Psalms

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”


Today’s Reading: Psalm 96: 1-6(NIV)*

Listen to today’s reading by Jonathan Dent:

LORD God,
I want to praise you.
Give me news songs and new melodies to sing your praise.
Your goodness and love abound.
Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise.
Amen.

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
The Parable of the Growing Seed

He also said,
“This is what the kingdom of God is like. 
A man scatters seed on the ground.
Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up,
the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
All by itself the soil produces grain—
first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
As soon as the grain is ripe,
he puts the sickle to it,
because the harvest has come.”
(Mark 4:26-29).

* * *

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us:
He has given us of his Spirit.
(1 John 4:13 NIV)

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Pray for peace in Israel, Iran and the Middle East
and continue to pray for peace to return
to Ukraine and Russia!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

New from David Kitz.

To view further details or purchase click here.

 Renewal to Our Worship

28 Friday Aug 2026

Posted by in Psalm 96, Psalms

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Today’s Devotion from Psalms 365 by David Kitz

Listen to today’s reading by Jonathan Dent:

Reading: Psalm 96:1-6 (NIV)*

Sing to the LORD a new song;
    sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, praise his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

Reflection

Who are you singing to? Let’s face it; most of us sing. We may not sing in a choir or in front of a crowd of thousands, but we sing. Maybe you sing in the shower. Maybe you just hum, whistle or sing a tune in your mind. Even though you may not fully vocalize your song, the music is still there bubbling beneath the surface.

Psalm 96 urges us to sing that song to the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day (v. 1-2).

Johnathan Higdon (freepngimg.com)

I believe it’s in our nature to sing. Music is after all a universal activity enjoyed by people of every race and culture. This universality begs a question: Who put that love for music and song within us?

For believers the answer is obvious. God put music in our hearts and God puts songs on our lips. We sing because we are and because God is. Music is so foundational—so fundamental to our being—it’s hard to imagine our world without it. When we break forth in song, we are doing what God designed us to do. You were designed to sing, just as you were designed to bring glory to God through the work of your hands or the fruit of your body. So let your voice bring honor, praise, and glory to God. Sing out your worship with joy.

Psalm 96 is also a call for newness in worship. Why does God want a new song? Could it be because His mercy and love for us are continually renewed? Amid national tragedy, Jeremiah reminded us of this truth. Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Just as the changing seasons bring renewal to the earth and its vegetation, so too new songs of praise bring renewal to our worship. So, whether you hum, whistle, or belt out songs in the choir, let your song ascend to the LORD. You are singing for Him and to Him.

Response

LORD God, I want to praise you. Give me news songs and new melodies to sing your praise. Your goodness and love abound. Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise. Amen.

Your Turn

Do you enjoy singing? Do you like both old and new worship songs?

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Pray for peace in Israel, Iran and the Middle East
and continue to pray for peace to return to Ukraine and Russia!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look, click here.

A Lamp on a Stand

27 Thursday Aug 2026

Posted by in Psalm 95, Psalms

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”


Today’s Reading: Psalm 95: 7-11(NIV)*

Listen to today’s reading by Jonathan Dent:

LORD, give me ears that hear your voice
gently speaking to me.
Give me a heart that is quick to obey.
I want a tender heart
that reflects your love for me and for others.
I pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
A Lamp on a Stand

He said to them,
 “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed?
Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?
 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed,
and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.
 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. 
“With the measure you use,
it will be measured to you—and even more.
 Whoever has will be given more;
whoever does not have,
even what they have will be taken from them.”
(Mark 4:21-25).

* * *

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us:
He has given us of his Spirit.
(1 John 4:13 NIV)

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Pray for peace in Israel, Iran and the Middle East
and continue to pray for peace to return
to Ukraine and Russia!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

New from David Kitz.

To view further details or purchase click here.

Hard Hearts

27 Thursday Aug 2026

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Today’s Devotion from Psalms 365 by David Kitz

Listen to today’s reading by Jonathan Dent:

Reading: Psalm 95:7-11 (NIV)*

Today, if only you would hear his voice,
“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
    as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
 where your ancestors tested me;
    they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
For forty years I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
    and they have not known my ways.’
 So I declared on oath in my anger,
  ‘They shall never enter my rest’”.

Reflection

Long before we knew about the medical condition known as hardening of the arteries, there existed another condition called hardening of the heart. Hardening of the heart is not a deadly medical condition; it’s a deadly spiritual condition. Those who suffer from hardening of the heart have a hard time hearing God, and when they do hear God, they tend to stop their ears, or they do their best to pretend that God hasn’t spoken. 

Although we can safely say that this condition has existed since the human species stepped out of Eden, the first reported case of hardening of the heart occurred about 3,500 years ago. In the book of Exodus we read that Pharaoh developed a severe case of hardening of the heart. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said (Exodus 8:15).

Time and again as the ten plagues ravaged Egypt, we read that Pharaoh hardened his heart and he would not let the people of Israel go. In several instances we read that the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart. But let’s be clear about this condition. Heart hardening only happens with the willing participation of the individual. Don’t go about blaming God for your hard heart. Hearts harden due to our willful disregard of God’s Spirit and His laws.

Neither should we presume that heart hardening only happens with a certain type of person. We are all prone to develop this spiritual malady. Our ancestry or genetic makeup offers no protection. The Egyptian Pharaoh developed a heart, but ultimately the Israelites—the people that the LORD pried free from Pharaoh also developed the same condition. That’s why the psalmist issues this warning: Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,  where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did” (v. 7b-9).

Response

LORD, give me ears that hear your voice gently speaking to me. Give me a heart that is quick to obey. I want a tender heart that reflects your love for me and for others. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Your Turn

Does a hard heart toward others result in a hard heart toward God? What are your thoughts?

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Pray for peace in Israel, Iran and the Middle East
and continue to pray for peace to return to Ukraine and Russia!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look, click here.

The Twelve Apostles

26 Wednesday Aug 2026

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”


Today’s Reading: Psalm 95: 1-7(NIV)*

Listen to today’s reading by Jonathan Dent:

LORD God,
you know all things.
We were created for your purpose.
Help us to live our lives in service to you.
We are the flock under your care.
Please extend your hand of mercy and blessing
to those we know who are suffering or grieving
Amen.

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
The Twelve Apostles

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray,
and spent the night praying to God.
When morning came,
he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them,
whom he also designated apostles:
 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called the Zealot,
Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot,
who became a traitor.
(Luke 6:12-16).

* * *

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us:
He has given us of his Spirit.
(1 John 4:13 NIV)

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Pray for peace in Israel, Iran and the Middle East
and continue to pray for peace to return
to Ukraine and Russia!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

New from David Kitz.

To view further details or purchase click here.

In His Hands

26 Wednesday Aug 2026

Posted by in Psalm 95, Psalms

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Today’s Devotion from Psalms 365 by David Kitz

Listen to today’s reading by Jonathan Dent:

Reading: Psalm 95:1-7 (NIV)*

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
    and extol him with music and song.
For the LORD is the great God,
    the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down in worship,
    let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
for he is our God
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    the flock under his care.

Reflection

I can’t read this opening portion of Psalm 95 without the folk spiritual “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” springing to mind. The psalmist makes this declaration: In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land (v. 4-5). In other words, He’s got the whole world in His hands. 

There is something deeply reassuring about that thought. The great loving God, the Creator of the universe, has the whole world in His hands. But more specifically, our heavenly Father has you and me in His hands. If we grasp this biblical truth, it has broad personal implications.

Early this morning I met with a weekly gathering of men to pray and study God’s word. One of the co-leaders of the group is going through a great personal tragedy. His young, vibrant wife is dying of pancreatic cancer. Unless the Lord miraculously intervenes, his school-age son and daughter will soon be without a mother. At the close of our meeting, we placed our hands on this husband and father and prayed. The LORD has the whole world in his hands including this young family.

Do we understand the LORD’s purposes in all this? No. We would be fools to think we do. We can content ourselves in knowing that these great matters—these matters of life and death are in God’s hands. They are loving hands—hands that in the person of Jesus were scarred and pierced by nails. I’ll be content to be held in those hands.

Knowing this, let’s heed the psalmist’s call. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care (v. 6-7).

Response

LORD God, you know all things. We were created for your purpose. Help us to live our lives in service to you. We are the flock under your care. Please extend your hand of mercy and blessing to those we know who are suffering or grieving. Amen.

Your Turn

Have you questioned God’s care for you during times of stress and grief? Does knowing your life is in God’s hands bring you reassurance?

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Pray for peace in Israel, Iran and the Middle East
and continue to pray for peace to return to Ukraine and Russia!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look, click here.