Week of March 8, 2026
I AM MY RELATIONSHIPS
Monday | March 9
Read: Psalm 133
Devotion: I know this Psalm sounds a little strange to 21st-century Americans. Who is this Aaron guy, and why does he have oil on his head and flowing down over and past his beard? Did he just get a little crazy applying his Viking Beard Oil? This is actually a unique picture of God’s blessing in our relationships with other believers.
Aaron was the original High Priest of the Israelites, chosen by God to serve the people in the Tabernacle. The oil represents his anointing for this role. God directed the anointing of those chosen for special roles. This oil signified not only that they were chosen by God, but that God was at work within them, enabling them to perform their work. The picture is one of joy and peace as things have come together under God’s gracious plan for His people. All is well!
God has designed and planned for us to flourish in our spiritual journeys by living in a close and caring community with other followers of Jesus.
Likewise, the picture of dew on Mount Hermon evokes refreshment and life. Water flows from springs on Mt. Hermon, watering the lands of Israel and bringing life. It reminds us of the life-giving benefit of healthy Christian relationships. As God’s people live together in love, support, and encouragement, we receive His blessing.
Reflect: How are you investing in meaningful relationships with other Christ followers? How could you be more invested?
Pray: Dear Lord, thank you for providing your love, support, and encouragement through Christian friends. Help me recognize the blessings available to me and make a significant effort to live in a meaningful Christian community with others.
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Tuesday | March 10
Read: Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Devotion: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 begins with “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” It is a command to listen to what is being said, because it is so important. There is only one true God, and He deserves our undivided attention. It is a declaration of our faith.
The verse then moves into the most important thing: loving this one true God. We should love him with all our heart, soul, and mind, and we need to show him that love. It makes me think of how my husband will often show he loves me by doing things that make me feel loved - like cleaning up the house or going on walks together. So, we, too, should love God by doing what He loves. Thankfully, the Bible tells us what those things are. If we love God, we will keep His commandments, talk to Him, sing to Him, and worship Him. We will love His people.
The verse then offers imagery that reminds us how our love for God should be a visible part of our everyday lives. It should be visible in our thoughts, words, and actions. Afterall, what we love most eventually shows up in what we think about, talk about, prioritize, and pass on. We have a God who loved us so much that he gave us Jesus. Let’s respond to that love by living our lives for Him.
Reflect: What would it look like to love God more intentionally in your daily routines? What competes for your attention and love for God?
Pray: Lord, help me to truly hear You. Help me to love you fully with my thoughts, my words, and my daily choices. Let my life reflect your Truth and help me to have a faith that is real, lived, and loving. Amen.
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Wednesday | March 11
Read: Mark 3:31-35
Devotion: My kids are 2 ½ and one year old. My wife wrote a song about our family, with each of our names in it. The song ends with the line “That is our family.” My daughter loves to sing it, and it helps her define our relationships with each other. God created families as a model of the kind of unconditional love believers are to show one another.
That kind of love must have been confusing to the cultural and societal norms of Jesus’ time. In Mark 3, Jesus is teaching in a house, surrounded by a large crowd, when his family arrives. There’s no room for them to enter, and Jesus uses the moment to broaden the definition of family for the listeners. He says that anyone who does God’s will is his family.
This sentiment of showing familial love even to those who aren’t related by blood is echoed elsewhere in the Gospels. Jesus’ teaching in John 13:34 goes so far as to command, “Love one another as I have loved you.” It is the mark of a true disciple to show love to others as you would to family, and in doing so, point them to the love of God who sent His Son to die for us. As Jesus says in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Reflect: Who do you consider to be family, and how do you show them love?
Pray: Lord, thank you for making me part of your family. Help me love others as you taught us. Amen.
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Thursday | March 12
Read: Hebrews 10:23-25
Devotion: According to a recent study, Hope is considered a 'powerful emotional force' that gives life meaning, exceeding the benefits of happiness or gratitude. As Christians, we know of God’s unfailing faithfulness, and that gives us hope for our eternal life with Him. As such, we must spread that joy and hope, both within our Christian community and beyond. Being part of and actively participating in a healthy Christian community helps keep us connected to God and gives us the opportunity to help others in their faith walk.
Attending church should not be a habitual ritual; it should be an anticipated opportunity to spend time with God and your fellow Christians. Finding a faith community that will help you and offers opportunities to be of help to others in inspiring hope is essential to living a life of hope.
Reflect: Where do you find life-giving community? How can you take one step toward meeting with those people more often?
Pray: God, you are our rock, our salvation, and our hope for eternity. Help us to remember your unwavering faithfulness to us. Keep us in community so that we can draw strength and encouragement when needed, and so that we can support and encourage others as you direct us. Amen.
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Friday | March 13
Read: Ephesians 5:15-21
Devotion: When I was a teenager, I went to the LCMS Youth Gathering with my youth group. I was an active member of my youth group, which had about 25 students, and I attended weekly worship with my family. However, nothing could have prepared me for standing in the Super Dome in New Orleans with 20,000 other teenagers singing songs of praise to God. This was unreal. How were there so many other people who loved the Lord, as I did? While I had been around other Christians, our faith was a quiet faith. I saw peers from school at youth group, and we laughed and played games together. But we didn’t talk if we saw each other in the halls at school. My faith was localized - only within the walls of the youth room could we openly talk about our faith in Jesus.
Looking at Ephesians 5, we do not see a localized faith. We see a loud, community- driven, impactful faith that we can’t help but sing praises to the Lord. Is this what a Christian community is supposed to look like? As I worshiped with so many others at the youth gathering, I began to see things differently. I knew at this point in my life that I wanted to work in the church when I grew up, but I figured I would keep all my spirituality for then. Maybe my faith didn’t have to be a quiet one. I wanted to find ways not just to follow Jesus in isolation, but also to weave it into my relationships.
Reflect: Does your faith community look like the church in Ephesians 5? How would your relationships change if they had Christ at the center?
Pray: Lord, make our faith bold. Help us see how You change things in our lives and our relationships. Thank you for everything. Amen.
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Saturday | March 14
Read: Ephesians 5:25-6:4
Devotion: Paul’s letter to the Ephesians focuses on Christian faith and everyday relationships. The devotional verses here address family relationships between husbands and wives and between children and parents. We are called to live in harmony with one another, to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. When speaking of human relationships, he is reminding us that a third party is involved: Christ. Paul urges us to conduct these kinships by imitating Christ’s character. We are to reflect the love and unity that characterizes the Christian community.
Paul instructs husbands to love their wives sacrificially as Christ loves the church. He is not promoting dominance; instead, he hints at sacrificial service. He emphasizes responsibility, care, and self-sacrifice. Christ’s love becomes the model for marriage, where love seeks the flourishing of the other rather than personal power.
Children are directed to obey their parents “in the Lord,” suggesting that obedience is not blind but connected to faith and moral upbringing. Paul emphasizes the importance of family stability and mutual responsibility.
Paul warns parents not to provoke their children, pointing to harsh or abusive parenting. Instead, parents are to nurture their children shaped by Christ’s character of patience, love, and faithfulness. Parents are to imitate Christ’s humility and love.
We seek family relationships that uphold mutual respect, responsibility, and Christlike love as the foundation for healthy families.
Reflect: Where in your relationships are you being called to lead or respond with humility, patience, and sacrificial love?
Pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the love You have shown us through Christ, a love that gives itself fully, patiently, and without condition. Teach us to reflect that love, not for our own benefit, but for others’ growth, dignity, and well-being. Shape our hearts, Lord, so that our homes may demonstrate the sacrificial love of Christ. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen
