READ: MARK 10:17-22; LUKE 15:11-24; JOHN 13:1-5

Duke Zeroth pounded on the cell door, then slid to the floor. Every gold piece, mansion, animal, field, and even his wardrobe—gone to pay debts. And still he owed more.

Zeroth clutched his head. Surely he couldn’t have invested everything in that partnership with Lord Drune—the traitor! Even now, Drune was duping a new victim.

Zeroth crawled onto a pile of hay. Something dug into his back as he tossed and turned. He reached into the hay, expecting to find a rock. Instead, he withdrew a metal cylinder. As he raised it, something rustled.

He removed the cap, releasing a warm glow. A parchment fell out—a note.

“I will come for you. Only write and ask.” Below the words was the seal of the king.

A second piece of parchment and writing supplies tumbled from the cylinder.

Zeroth moaned. Was it just last year he’d offered himself to be a king’s courtier? The king had seemed to approve of him, but then! That condition—to give everything away before entering the palace. Everything! All that made Zeroth powerful and respected and self-sufficient.

To write to the king now would seem cheap. It was too late. If the king knew into whose hands this message had come, he would never give Zeroth a second chance.

Zeroth shoved everything back into the metal container and closed out the light. Prisoners’ cries and the jailer’s laughter haunted him.

Too dark! He uncapped the cylinder again, releasing the glow. He took a breath. The king never lied. Ever. This was his last hope.

“I’ve been so foolish,” he wrote. “Please, would you come for even me?” He slipped the missive into the cylinder and replaced the cap. As he fell asleep, the soft glow remained.

He awoke to someone washing his bruised feet. Zeroth sat up straight and stared into the face of his king.

“Sire! You shouldn’t—”

The king held out his hand. “Will you come to my court now?”

Zeroth’s face burned. “But I have only these filthy rags.”

“Leave them,” the king said. “I have brought you a new robe. Come, follow me.” • Judith DeStefano

• Today’s allegorical story is inspired by several passages. In Mark 10:17-22, we see Jesus’s conversation with a rich young ruler. And in Luke 15:11-24, Jesus tells a parable—a story of a son who rejects his father and ends up destitute. How does the end of Jesus’s conversation with the rich young ruler compare to the end of Jesus’s parable of the lost son?

• How do both of these passages show the heart of God for people? (Hint: look especially at Mark 10:21 and Luke 15:20-24)

• Having a relationship with Jesus is worth everything we have, and more (Matthew 13:44-46). Maybe you want Jesus, but you feel like you’ve really messed up. Remember, Jesus has already done all that was needed to forgive you and bring you into His eternal kingdom by dying on the cross and rising from the grave for you. He loves you with an unshakable love. If you want to know more about what Jesus has done for us and what it means to receive Him, see our "Know Jesus" page.

• Throughout our lives, we all find ourselves prizing earthly things above a relationship with Jesus. Even after we’ve put our trust in Him, our hearts still wander sometimes! Yet He always longs for us to repent—to turn back to Him and follow where He leads. Are there any choices you’re making that are keeping you from pursuing a deeper relationship with Jesus? Consider taking a moment to talk to Him about this.

The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “...

READ: PHILIPPIANS 3:1-11

Have you ever read Philippians 3:1-11? Paul says some pretty surprising stuff in this passage. He talks about all the good things he did—studying God’s Word, living a holy life, and obeying God’s good law—and he calls it all garbage, rubbish, or dung. We might look at passages like this and wonder, “Why on earth would Paul say that?”

By this point in his life, Paul had learned a few things about God. He encountered Jesus on the way to Damascus, and Jesus totally changed his life. Paul realized that all the old things he had been doing were fruitless attempts to earn his own righteousness—or right standing before God. And anything we do to try to earn our own righteousness can rightly be called “garbage.” Only Jesus can actually make us righteous, and He offers it to us as a gift.

So, when we do good things to try to earn our righteousness or favor with God, we are trying to do Jesus’s job for Him—and that never works. Jesus is the only one who can save us. He lived a sinless life, took our sins upon Himself, and died to give His righteousness (or sinlessness) to anyone who trusts in Him. Then He raised Himself from the grave, defeating sin and death and ensuring the resurrection of His people so we can be with Him forever.

As followers of Jesus, it is important for us to study God’s Word and seek to follow God’s good law. But if our actions don’t flow from resting in Jesus and what He has already done, then no matter how good those actions may seem, they are worthless. Good behavior can never make us whole and right before God; only Jesus can do that.

But when we rest in the truth of the gospel, it changes the way we approach everything. It frees us to see how Jesus cares about every aspect of our lives, not just the ones we might consider “holy,” like going to church and doing devotions. Our relationships, our health, our work, our hobbies—all of these things are transformed by the gospel. Jesus cares about all of these parts of your life because He cares about you. Rest in Him, friend. He’s got you. • Taylor Eising

• It can be difficult to discern when we’re doing things to earn our righteousness, and when we’re doing them because of what Jesus has done for us. And we’re never going to get it right 100% of the time— that’s what forgiveness is for. When we’re not sure about our motivations, it can be helpful to ask, “Am I doing this to get God to love me, or am I doing this because God loves me?”

I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. Philippians 3:9 (NLT)

READ: 2 CHRONICLES 34:29-33; ACTS 19:18-20; ROMANS 12:1-2; HEBREWS 12:1-3

“King Josiah!” Shaphan called out as he burst into the palace. “We found this book in the temple.” The king said, “Read it to me.” When the scribe did, Josiah tore his robes and wept.

Shaphan read the Book of the Law, the story of God’s love for His people and the rules He gave to sustain His covenant with them. Josiah recognized that Jerusalem was full of sin—the breaking of God’s good rules. There were idols at every corner. So Josiah destroyed them. The next era of Jerusalem was filled with fire—but instead of burning incense to false gods, the city had a thick cloud of smoke over it from burning the shrines, altars, and temples of the idols.

It’s easy to think we don’t have idols like they did. But consider this: when tragedy strikes, do you post about it, or pray about it? When you’re overwhelmed, do you start scrolling, or open your Bible? Often, we go to created things before we go to the Creator (Romans 1:25).

Humans have a desire to worship. But we tend to forget who made us with that desire, and we try to fulfill it by worshiping unworthy idols of many different forms. But only God is worthy of being at the center of our lives, and anything or anyone else we put there is an idol. For example, social media, scrolling, and gaming can be idols if they occupy God’s rightful spot.

So what can we do? We can look to Jesus, the only one who could fulfill the law and forgive our sin—including the sin of idolatry (Matthew 5:17; Romans 10:4). Once we know Jesus, we have the power of His Holy Spirit in us, so we can burn those idols like Josiah did long ago. (Note: please don’t literally burn your phone—the fumes are toxic.) “Burning” could look like setting restrictions on our technology usage and asking others to keep us accountable.

Once we’ve removed an idol, our hearts need to be built up to become an altar to the true God. Like Josiah called Jerusalem together to read God’s laws and recommit themselves to the Lord, we can read God’s Word and rely on the Holy Spirit to help us refocus on Jesus. Because when we look at what He did for us on the cross, every idol pales in comparison. • L. M.

• Consider taking a moment to ask God what created things have become idols in your life. What could you do to “burn” them? Who is a trusted Christian you could talk to about this?

• When you’re tempted to go back to old idols, how could you take time to pause and draw near to Jesus, relying on Him to provide your sense of worth, security, and satisfaction?

“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3 (WEB)