This 5-day devotional draws directly from Forest Baptist Church's sermon “July 5th, Morning Worship” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
Living for Something That Lasts
Monday — Understanding the Truth
Have you ever stopped mid-week and wondered, What am I actually living for? It's a question most of us push aside — but it's the most important one we'll ever answer.
Today's Scripture "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you." — John 17:1
Reflection Jesus said these words on the night before his crucifixion. He knew what was coming — the betrayal, the arrest, the cross. And yet, the first thing out of his mouth wasn't a plea for escape. It was a prayer for glory.
That word glory might sound distant or churchy, but it's actually very simple. Glory is the goodness of God — seen and celebrated. When Jesus prayed this prayer, he was saying: Father, let everything that's about to happen show the world how good you really are.
And here's the stunning thing: it did. The cross, which looked like the worst possible ending, became the greatest display of God's love the world has ever seen. Justice and mercy, wrath and grace — all of it meeting in one moment, for you.
Jesus didn't just endure the cross. He lived his entire life with one driving purpose: the glory of God. And because he did, death was defeated, forgiveness became possible, and eternal life was made available to ordinary people like us.
That's the truth this week is built on. The same purpose that drove Jesus — living for the glory of God — is the purpose we were made for too.
Today's Step Take sixty seconds today and ask yourself honestly: What has been driving my decisions this week? Just notice — no guilt, just awareness.
A Closing Thought The life Jesus modeled is the life you were made for. And the good news is, it's never too late to start living it.
When Glory Feels Far Away
Tuesday — When It's Hard
Most of us genuinely want to live for something bigger than ourselves. So why is it so hard to actually do it?
Today's Scripture "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." — Romans 3:23
Reflection There's a quiet ache in that verse. Not because it's condemning — but because it's honest. We were made to reflect God's glory, to live in close relationship with him. And somewhere along the way, that connection got broken.
Sin has a way of redirecting us. Instead of living for God's glory, we find ourselves chasing smaller glories — the approval of others, the comfort of control, the temporary relief of things that never quite satisfy. It's not always dramatic. Sometimes it just looks like drifting. One distracted week becomes a distracted month, and before long you realize you've been living for yourself without even deciding to.
And prayer — the very thing that could reconnect us — can feel hollow in those seasons. You pray and it feels like the words bounce off the ceiling. You wonder if God is listening, or if it even matters.
Here's what's true, even in those moments: God hasn't moved. The distance you feel isn't evidence that he's gone. It's often evidence that something else has quietly taken the center of your life.
Jesus prayed in the shadow of death, and God answered. That same God is present with you today, in whatever shadow you're sitting in.
Today's Step If your prayer life has felt dry lately, don't try to fix it all at once. Just say this: God, I want to want you more. Help me. That's enough to start.
A Closing Thought You don't have to have it all together to come back to God. You just have to come.
Small Ways to Live a Big Purpose
Wednesday — Putting It Into Practice
Living for the glory of God sounds like something reserved for missionaries and saints. But what does it actually look like on a Tuesday afternoon in your kitchen or cubicle?
Today's Scripture "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." — 1 Corinthians 10:31
Reflection The apostle Paul had a way of making the extraordinary ordinary — and the ordinary extraordinary. Whatever you do. That's not a narrow category. That's your commute, your emails, your conversations with your kids, the way you treat a coworker who gets on your nerves.
Living for God's glory doesn't require a dramatic life change. It requires a shift in why you do what you already do.
Here are some places to start:
In your conversations. Before you speak — especially when you're frustrated — pause and ask: Does this reflect someone who knows God? You don't have to be perfect. Just intentional.
In your decisions. When you face a choice today, big or small, try asking: Which option points toward God rather than away from him?
In your prayer. Jesus modeled prayer that was oriented toward God's glory, not just his own comfort. Try beginning your prayer today with something like: God, I want my life today to show how good you are. Then see how that shapes the rest of what you pray.
In your relationships. The people around you — family, friends, neighbors, coworkers — are people Jesus died for. Treating them with dignity and grace is one of the most practical ways to live for God's glory.
Today's Step Pick one relationship or one recurring moment in your day and ask: How can I bring a little more of God's goodness into this?
A Closing Thought You don't have to live a spectacular life to glorify God. You just have to live your ordinary life with an extraordinary purpose.
The Life That Changed Direction
Thursday — What This Looks Like in Real Life
Sometimes the best way to understand a truth is to watch it work in someone's life.
Today's Scripture "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent, Jesus Christ." — John 17:3
Reflection Imagine someone who spent years doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons. Showed up to church. Volunteered. Gave generously. From the outside, the picture looked good. But on the inside, it was exhausting — because every good thing was quietly motivated by a need to be seen, to be approved of, to feel like enough.
Then one day, sitting with this verse, something shifted. Eternal life is knowing God. Not performing for God. Not earning God's favor. Just knowing him.
That realization doesn't fix everything overnight. But it changes the starting point. Instead of waking up and asking, What do I need to do today to be a good person? the question becomes, God, who are you today, and how do you want to walk through this day with me?
That's a different kind of life. It's quieter. Less driven by anxiety. More grounded in something that doesn't shift with circumstances.
Eternal life, Jesus says, isn't something you wait for. It's something you step into now — through knowing God. That knowing happens in prayer, in scripture, in honest community, in the small moments where you choose to look for God rather than past him.
The person who starts there — who makes knowing God the center rather than the goal — finds that everything else begins to reorient around it.
Today's Step Ask yourself: Am I trying to earn God's approval, or am I learning to simply know him? Let the answer be honest, not a performance.
A Closing Thought Eternal life isn't a destination you're waiting to arrive at. It's a relationship you get to live in — starting right now.
Take This With You
Friday — Carrying It Forward
The week is almost done. Before it slips away, there's something worth carrying into the weekend — and beyond.
Today's Scripture "I have glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world existed." — John 17:4–5
Reflection At the end of his earthly life, Jesus could look up and say: I did what you gave me to do. What a thing to be able to say.
You probably won't be able to say that perfectly at the end of this week. None of us can. But here's what's beautiful about this prayer: Jesus completed his work so that you don't have to earn your way to God. The pressure of being enough has already been lifted. What's left is an invitation — to live, freely and purposefully, for something that actually lasts.
As you head into the weekend, you'll move through ordinary things. Errands. Meals. Conversations. Maybe some rest, maybe some stress. And in the middle of all of it, you carry a purpose: to let your life show how good God is.
That might look like patience with someone who frustrates you. It might look like honesty in a hard conversation. It might look like sitting quietly and simply thanking God for being present. It might look like sharing something true about your faith with someone who's searching.
You don't have to do it perfectly. You just have to keep coming back to the question: Am I living for God's glory today?
Today's Step As you close out this week, write down or quietly name one way you saw God's goodness this week — and one way you want to reflect it next week.
A Closing Thought Because Jesus is glorified, you get to live with purpose. Go into your weekend knowing that the life you've been given is meant for something beautiful.