June 20, 2025

READ: Matthew 6:25-34 

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Matthew 6:26

“AaaaAAAAHHHK!” my daughter shrieked. “DaaaaDDDYY! Get UP here!”

I knew what was wrong: a moth. Every spring, an armada of these dusty insects migrates from the plains of Nebraska to the mountains of Colorado, where they summer. Each year, we brace for their arrival. This year had been especially bad.

To humans, miller moths are unwanted pests that often fly right into your face. But to birds, well, it’s a feast. Doing a little research, I learned that the moths provide incredible nutrition for the region’s swallows. As annoying as they are, these moths are veritable “manna” for the birds.

I don’t know if Israel had moth migrations in Jesus’ day. But Christ took note of God’s provision for the birds there, saying in the Sermon on the Mount, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26).

So these days, I look at moths differently. Not as dirty pests but as winged reminders of God’s provision for His creation—and as a living metaphor for His provision for me too. If God provides so richly for the swallows, how much more does He care for me and for you?

— Adam Holz

Father, the beauty of Your provision is ever on display. Thank You for the richness of Your creation. Please give me eyes to see Your handiwork, and let it remind me of Your goodness.

Source: Our Daily Bread

June 19, 2025

READ: Galatians 3:26-29 

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American poet, used biblical themes to persuade believers in Jesus to abolish slavery. Born around 1753 in western Africa, Wheatley was sold to a slave trader at only seven years of age. Quicky distinguishing herself as a remarkable student, she finally secured her emancipation in 1773. In her poems and correspondence, Wheatley pressed her readers to embrace the scriptural affirmation of the equality of all people. She wrote, “In every human Breast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; It is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance; and . . . the same Principle lives in us.”

Equality before God is a truth emphasized by Paul when he wrote, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Because we’re “all children of God through faith” (v. 26), differences such as race, ethnicity, gender, or social status shouldn’t lead to discrimination in the church.

Even as equal recipients of God’s love, we still struggle to live out this principle. But Scripture teaches that diverse peoples united through faith in Christ best reflect God’s heart and is His plan for life in eternity. That reality can help us to celebrate the diversity in our communities of faith now.

— Lisa M. Samra

Dear Jesus, please help me love my brothers and sisters through the unity only made possible in You.

Source: Our Daily Bread