Truth Everyday

Faith That Follows: Trusting God’s Promises and Reaching for His Power

Today's readings from Genesis 12–15, Psalm 148 and Mark chapter 5 call us to trust God's promises and reach for His power.

In Genesis 12, God speaks a word that changes history, He told Abraham, who was still Abram:

“Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”

Abram is called to walk into the unknown, guided only by God’s promise.

There was no map. No details. Just a voice—and a promise of blessing.

God tells him:

• I will make you into a great nation.
• I will bless you.
• All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Abram’s greatness does not come from his ability but from his obedience.

He is not chosen because he is strong; he becomes strong because he is chosen.

Perhaps God is calling you into a season of faith that requires letting go of what feels familiar.

Faith always begins with one step: So, go where God leads.

In Genesis 13, we see Abram and Lot face conflict over land.

Instead of fighting for the best portion, Abram steps back and lets Lot choose.

Lot chose the land that looked better—but Abram trusted the God who is better.

Then Genesis in 14 we see Abram as a man of action.

When Lot is captured, Abram courageously rescues him.

Afterward, he refuses the riches of the king of Sodom because his security is not in wealth but in God.

We learn two sides of faith here:

• Faith can yield, because God is the provider.
• Faith can fight, when justice and love require intervention.

Faith is not passive.

It is confident surrender and courageous obedience.

Genesis 15 is one of the most tender moments in Scripture.

Abram is struggling with doubt.

The promises feel delayed.

He has no heir.

In verse 2 he asked, “O Lord God, what can you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

God meets him gently:

“Look toward heaven, and number the stars—if  you are able to number them, can count them. So shall your offspring be.”

And then these beautiful words Genesis 15:6: “And he [Abram] believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”

Faith is not the absence of questions.

Faith is bringing your questions to God—and still trusting His word.

God then seals the promise with a covenant ceremony, showing that He Himself will guarantee the fulfillment.

Our future rests not on our performance, but on His faithfulness.

Psalm 148 is a global chorus of praise.

Heavens, waters, mountains, animals, rulers, and children—all are called to worship the Lord.

Why?

Because everything exists by His command,

and everything is sustained by His goodness.

Where Genesis shows God calling one man,

Psalm 148 shows God calling all creation to join in praise.

Praise is not an optional exercise—it is the natural response of everything God has made.

Let this psalm lift your heart today from worry to Worship.

Mark 5 gives us three powerful encounters where Jesus steps into human desperation:

First, the man with the legion of demons:

He is isolated, tormented, and feared.

Jesus restores him to sanity and community.

No darkness is too deep for Christ’s authority.

Second, the woman with the issue of blood:

Twelve years of suffering.

Twelve years of exclusion.

One touch—and Jesus calls her “Daughter.”

He not only heals her body; He restores her identity.

Finally, Jairus’s daughter

A father’s desperate plea.

A dying child.

A hopeless situation—until Jesus speaks:

“Little girl, get up.”

Mark 5 reveals a Savior who hears the forgotten, sees the unseen, and raises the dead.

Where Abram had to walk by faith, the people in Mark chapter 5 discover that faith brings us into the fullness of God’s power.

So, from these passages, we learn:

• Faith leaves the familiar, trusting God’s leading.
• Faith does not grasp for advantage, because God will provide.
• Faith is honest, bringing doubts to God.
• Faith praises, joining creation’s song.
• Faith reaches for Jesus, knowing His power is real and His heart is near.

What step of faith is God inviting you to take today?

Where do you need His healing?

Which promise feels delayed?

Remember this:

God is faithful to every covenant.

And Jesus is present in every crisis.

 

The God Who Confronts Our Pride and Calms Our Storms

Today's readings from Genesis 9–11 and Mark chapter 4 reveals the God who confronts our pride and calms our storms.

 

Genesis 9 opens with God blessing Noah and his family as they step into a renewed world.

The floodwaters may have washed the earth, but sin remained in the human heart.

And yet—God responds not with another threat, but with a covenant of mercy.

 

He sets the rainbow in the sky as a permanent promise in Genesis 9:15:

“And the waters hall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

 

A rainbow is beautiful when it appears against a stormy backdrop.

Likewise, God’s covenant shines brightest against human failure.

The promise does not depend on human perfection; it depends on divine faithfulness.

 

Maybe you are stepping into a new season today—full of uncertainties. Could be, a new school or semester, new relationship, new family, new job, or a new ministry. Just hear God’s covenant voice saying: “I am committed to you.”

 

Genesis 10—often called the “Table of Nations”—may read like a long list of names,

but it is a picture of God’s intention for the world: diversity, fruitfulness, and families filling the earth.

 

These are the descendants of Noah spreading across regions and languages.

It reminds us that God has always been the God of all nations, not just one people.

He delights in cultures, tribes, and languages—each reflecting His glory in a unique way.

 

For us in South Sudan and across Africa, this passage speaks deeply.

Our ethnic diversity is not an accident—it is part of God’s design.

And His mission is for every nation to know His name.

 

In Genesis 11 we shift from diversity to uniformity driven by pride.

Humanity gathers on the plain of Shinar and decides to build a tower, verse 4 explains why: “let us make a name for ourselves.”

 

This is not a story about architecture.

It is a story about a heart that wants greatness without God.

 

People want unity without obedience, security without trust, and glory without worship.

And so God lovingly disrupts their plan—not to harm them, but to prevent idolatry from destroying them.

 

He scatters them, not as punishment alone, but as an invitation: Seek Me across the nations.

 

Babel reminds us that any ambition, whether personal, national, or even spiritual—that excludes God, eventually collapses under its own weight.

 

In Mark 4, we see Jesus teaches in parables—kingdom truths wrapped in everyday stories.

He tells us that God’s Word is seed,

that His kingdom grows quietly and steadily like a farmer’s crop,

and that even a mustard seed of faith can become a tree of refuge.

 

But the chapter ends with a story that brings all the teaching to life.

 

As Jesus and His disciples cross the lake, a violent storm erupts.

Waves crash into the boat. The disciples panic.

But Jesus sleeps at the back of the boat—until the disciples cry out, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

 

Jesus rises, rebukes the wind, and the sea becomes still.

 

Then He turns to His disciples and asks,

“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

 

Here is the message of Mark 4 in one scene:

 

• The God who scattered nations at Babel sits in the boat with scared disciples.
• The God who placed the rainbow in the sky commands the winds and the waves.
• The God who speaks covenants speaks peace into storms.

 

Maybe today your storm is not on a lake—

maybe it is in your mind, your home, your finances, or your calling.

 

Hear Jesus speak over you: “Peace. Be still.”

 

From today’s readings we learn:

 

• God remembers His covenant, even when you forget it.
• God values all nations, including your own story and identity.
• God humbles human pride, not to shame us but to save us.
• God speaks peace, not only to situations but to hearts.

 

What storm is Jesus calling you to trust Him in today?

What ambition is He inviting you to surrender?

What covenant promise do you need to cling to again?

 

May God lead you into deeper faith today.

God of New Beginnings: Renewal, Sustaining Grace, and Peace in the Storm

Today's readings from Genesis 6–8, Psalm 104 and Mark chapter 3 reveals the God of new beginnings, who brings renewal, sustaining grace and peace in the storm.

 

The story of Noah is one of the most sobering and hopeful passages in Scripture.

Humanity has fallen so deeply into violence and corruption that the world seems beyond repair.

And yet, in the midst of universal darkness, God notices one man who walks with Him.

 

Noah did not earn salvation; he simply received grace.

Genesis 6:8 says, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

That is where restoration always begins—not with human achievement but with God’s initiative.

 

The flood is judgment, yes. But it is also God’s commitment to start again, not destroy forever.

Inside the ark, a small remnant is held safely by God’s hand.

And when the Flood subsided, the first sound we hear from Noah is worship: Noah builds an altar, acknowledging that life itself is God’s gift.

 

Then God speaks a promise that echoes to this day:

“Never again will I destroy all life… As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, summer and winter… will never cease.”

 

The flood is not just a story of destruction.

It is the story of a God who renews, who makes covenants, who remembers His creation even when creation forgets Him.

 

Maybe today you feel like the waters around you are rising.

Remember this: God is a God of new beginnings.

He knows how to lift you, carry you, and set you on dry ground again. He is in control!

 

Psalm 104 is a hymn of praise declaring that the world is not a chaotic accident—

it is held together by God’s continual care.

 

He makes springs flow in valleys.

He feeds the birds and clothes the hills.

He brings night and day in rhythm.

He gives breath—and gathers it back again.

 

Where the story of Noah shows us a world broken by human sin,

Psalm 104 shows us a world beautifully sustained by God’s daily kindness.

 

This is the Creator who does not walk away from His work.

Every breath we take is a reminder:

God is committed to the flourishing of His creation.

 

Let this Psalm tune your heart today to gratitude.

You are not an orphan in the universe.

You live in a world kept by God’s gracious hands.

 

As we turn to Mark 3, we meet Jesus in the middle of intense pressures—crowds pushing, critics accusing, His own family misunderstanding Him.

 

Yet in all this noise, Jesus remains steady.

He heals.

He restores.

He teaches with authority.

 

And then He gives us one of the most astonishing statements in Mark 3:35: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

 

In other words, Jesus redefines family—not by bloodline, but by obedience.

He invites us into intimate relationship with Him,

a new kind of community shaped not by fear or suspicion,

but by listening to the Father and walking in His way.

 

In Genesis, God preserves a family through the flood.

In Mark, Jesus forms a new family in the Kingdom.

 

Both stories point to the same truth:

God gathers, God saves, God renews.

 

So what does that means to us?

 

• God sees you, even in a world drowning in confusion.
• God sustains you, just as He sustains the mountains and seas.
• God invites you, through Jesus, into His family of obedience and grace.

 

Maybe today is a day to you back into trust.

To say, like Noah, “Lord, I will walk with You.”

Or like the Psalmist, “I will praise You for all Your works.”

Or like the disciples, “I will follow Jesus, even when others do not understand.”

 

Wherever you are today, know this:

God is renewing your story, one act of grace at a time.

From the Fall to the Healer: God’s Grace in Broken Places

Today’s reading from Genesis 3-5 and Mark chapter 2, leads us into one of the most important turning points in the entire Bible — Genesis chapter 3, where sin enters God’s good world. That's The Fall — When Trust Is Broken.

 

In the garden of Eden, the serpent questions God’s Word:

“Did God really say…?”

This is how temptation often begins — not with a loud rebellion but with a quiet doubt. Adam and Eve choose independence over obedience, and their eyes are opened, but their innocence is lost.

 

The consequences are deep:

• Relationship with God is broken

• Relationship between humans becomes strained

• Creation itself is affected

 

Yet even in judgment, God speaks mercy, in Genesis 3:15:

He promises the Seed of the woman who will crush the serpent. This was the first whisper of the gospel. What theologians call the "Proto-euagelion" meaning the first Good News.

 

In Genesis 4-5 we see Life East of Eden, when Adam and Eve were chase out of the Garden.

Outside the garden, sin grows quickly.

Cain gives God leftovers; Abel gives his best. Cain's jealousy turns into murder — showing how sin moves from the heart to the hands.

 

But even here, God is still gracious:

He protects Cain and provides Seth, a new line through which hope will come.

 

Genesis 5 then reads like a long funeral procession — the life of each descendent ends with the phrase “and he died… ” This reminds us that sin leads to death.

But in the middle of this darkness stands Enoch, who “walked with God” This is a reminder that intimacy with God is still possible even in a fallen world. And Mark chapter 2 shows us how this is possible.

 

In Mark chapter, Jesus steps into a hurting world with forgiveness, healing, and authority.

 

Forgiveness That Heals the Whole Person

When the paralyzed man was lowered through the roof before Jesus, He didn't begin with the man’s legs—He begins with his heart, declaring in verse 5 that “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

 

The religious leaders ask, “Who can forgive sins but God?”

The answer stands before them — God in the flesh, healing both body and soul. Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus then calls Levi the tax collector — an outcast — and He eats with Levi's friends.

He gives us this kingdom principle in verse 17: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 

This is good news for all of us.

 

The chapter ends with a Sabbath controversies, and Jesus declares Himself Lord of the Sabbath, showing that spiritual life is not about rigid rules but restored purpose.

 

TODAY’S TAKEAWAY

 

From Eden to Capernaum, today’s readings highlight one major truth:

 

Human sin runs deep, but God’s mercy runs deeper.

Even when we fall, God comes looking for us.

Even when the world is broken, Jesus steps in with healing.

Even when death reigns, God is preparing redemption.

 

Walk today knowing:

• God still seeks you

• Jesus still forgives you

• The Spirit still empowers you to walk with God like Enoch

God the Creator: Identity, Purpose, and Rest in His Image

Today’s readings from Genesis 1-2, Psalm 19, and Mark chapter 1, bring us into a beautiful truth: God is a God who speaks. He speaks through creation, He speaks through Scripture, and ultimately through His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

1. In Genesis 1-2, we see God Speaks through Creation

 

Genesis opens with a world crafted by God’s spoken word. Creation is orderly, purposeful, and good. Humanity is created in God’s image — with dignity, with responsibility, and with a calling to reflect God's character in every sphere of life.

 

We see that work is a gift, relationships are central, and rest is part of God’s design. These chapters remind us that everyday life—home, work, family, and community—is the place where our worship happens. You were created intentionally, and your life carries God’s imprint.

 

2. In Psalm 19, we see God Speaks both through His creation and His Word

 

Psalm 19:1 tells us that "the heavens declare the glory of God".

Creation itself is like a preacher; it speaks without words, yet its message goes everywhere.

 

But David doesn’t stop with creation. He says in verse 7 that, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” You see, creation displays God’s power and Scripture reveals God’s heart. Together they call us into worship, obedience, and a renewed way of living.

 

3. In Mark 1, God Speaks through His Son

 

We see God’s Word becomes flesh and steps into our story. Jesus announces in Mark 1:15 that: “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand.”

 

Jesus calls disciples, heals the sick, confronts evil, and withdraws to pray. He shows us what life in God’s kingdom looks like, life of truth and compassion, life of justice and mercy, life of proclamation and action. Jesus embodies everything God intended humanity to be from the beginning.

 

So …

 

When we put these three readings together, we see one movement:

• Genesis 1-2 reveals who we are.
• Psalm 19 reveals how God guides us.
• Mark 1 reveals the One who restores us.

 

This is the heart of Truth Everyday — that God’s voice shapes how we live at home, at work, in school, in business, and in society. He speaks not only for our information, but for our transformation.

 

As you go about your life today:

• Remember your identity — you bear God’s image.
• Seek God’s guidance — His Word revives your soul.
• Walk in Jesus’ footsteps — your everyday life is your mission field.

 

Let His voice shape your decisions, your relationships, and your work.