A WORD FOR TODAY, January 26, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, January 26, 2026
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation; namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19, WEB
I had a friend who got a divorce. He hated his ex-wife. She could not do anything right. She was to blame for everything that went wrong. He thought she was evil and he could never find even a small positive thing to say. He was angry. Unfortunately, he was also blind. He refused to see the role he played in their break-up. He refused to believe that he was even a little bit at fault. Whenever I gently suggested that he look at his own sinfulness, he rejected my words. He even lashed out at me, insinuating that I was taking her side. I didn’t even know her.
The fault may have been mostly hers, but broken relationships are never wholly one-sided. The best we can do for our own life is to consider our own fault and work toward reconciliation. They may not have ever been friends, but they had children and had to find a way to work together. That would never happen if my friend did not even consider his own faults. Sometimes, for the sake of others and ourselves, we have to take the initiative to make things right in brokenness, even if we are not the one who is at fault.
Jesus did miraculous things, healing and feeding people, showing control over nature. He even raised the dead. In John 14, Jesus said we will do greater things by faith. What did He mean? Did He really mean that the miracles we will see will be greater even than what He did? Even if we, by faith, can bring life to a lifeless body, how is that greater than what Jesus did with Lazarus? Have you ever been to a potluck dinner that seemed to feed far more people with less food than we expected? Is that greater than what Jesus did when He fed five thousand with a few loaves of bread and some fish? We try to explain away with science the stories about Jesus walking on water and calming the storm, but can we really make these things happen?
Or have we been sent into the world for something greater? Is the true miracle something less supernatural and more founded on grace?
In Matthew 5, Jesus said, “If you remember your brother has something against you...” This text calls the person who is guilty to be the initiator. Unfortunately, it is human tendency to wait for others to initiate reconciliation because we believe that we are innocent and they are guilty. It is a vicious circle when we play the blame game. How do we forgive someone who hasn’t repented? Why should I forgive them when I didn’t do anything wrong? The problem is that we forget our own fault in every broken relationship. That’s why Jesus calls all Christians to a ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation.
We are sick, lonely, burdened, imprisoned, hungry and poor. We see this so clearly in the way we are so divided about everything, not only in society, but also in the Church. We are angry with our neighbors because they are making mistakes that threaten life and peace. We might disagree with the problem and the solution, but the reality is that those on every side of our deepest issues are sinners and guilty of responding to the circumstances in our own self-interest.
The greater mission to which we have been called is about forgiveness and reconciliation. Jesus defeated sin and death to reconcile us to God through His forgiveness. We are called to take Jesus Christ into the world, to share His grace and His mercy, not just with those with whom we agree, but even more so with those we deem enemies. Jesus miracles were about so much more than making people better. They weren’t about social justice. They weren’t about obedience to any laws. Jesus did heal bodies, but He especially healed souls and spirits. Forgiveness accompanied His healing. He drew people into the heart of God, reconciling them with their Father and Creator. We are called to do the same.
Jesus says we will do greater things, and we do when we share Jesus with the world. It is not just about sharing the good things He did, but it is about sharing the forgiveness He brought to the world through His death on the cross. It is there that God is truly glorified. Today is the day to admit your own guilt, to consider how the brokenness is at least partially our fault. It doesn’t make you weak to seek reconciliation with all your neighbors. We have been made new by the work of Christ, and as forgiven and reconciled Christians, we are called to a ministry that does the greater work of the Kingdom, helping each other realize our need for the Savior Jesus Christ so that we will all live in peace together in glory to God.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, January 26, 2026
“I always thank my God concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge - even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you - so that you come behind in no gift, waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you until the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, ASV
January 26th and January 27th are set aside for remembering the companions and helpers of the Apostles.
We often think about Paul as a giant, plowing his way through the world alone sharing the Gospel message with many. In some ways, Paul was just that. He was strong, courageous, and sometimes even seemed arrogant. He wasn’t, of course. He was simply passionate about what he knew to be true. It is hard to tell the difference sometimes, especially if we think that he did his work all by himself. However, Paul humbly embraced the help of others.
We tend to skim over the opening and closing verses of Paul’s letters, seeking the meat of the passages and ignoring the chit chat. Since those books are letters, they are filled with personal greetings and instructions for specific people. Paul was always thankful for those whom God called to work with him. He offered encouragement and advice, pleaded with them to keep in touch and promised to find a way to see them again. Paul needed other people, and those other people played a vital role in Paul’s work and in the spreading of the Gospel.
On January 26th we remember Timothy, Titus, and Silas, missionaries who worked with Paul. Each of these men traveled with Paul at some point. Timothy was with him on his second journey and eventually became bishop in Ephesus. Titus traveled with Paul when he went to the council in Jerusalem, and he became the first bishop in Crete. Silas was with Paul in prison in Philippi. We can learn more about these men in the book of Acts and the Epistles.
Today we remember three women helpers. It seems like the scriptures do not pay much attention to the women in Paul’s life, but we do know enough about these women to know that Paul accepted their ministry and help with his. Lydia, Dorcas, and Phoebe were women who lived out their faith in ways that impacted the world in which they lived. Lydia was a woman of wealth who heard about Jesus from Paul. After he shared the Gospel message with her, her entire household was baptized, and then her home became a center for his work. Dorcas was a charitable woman, making clothes for the poor. Phoebe was a deaconess near Corinth who touched many lives with her service.
These three women are remembered as co-workers for the Gospel. They were servants, willingly helping others. They supported the Apostles with their resources and their communities with their lives. They were called by God’s grace to serve, and they responded with joy, hope, and peace. They touched the lives of so many that it is odd we do not know more about them. It is actually quite extraordinary that they are mentioned at all. We are reminded by their stories that we are not necessarily called by God to be famous or to have a large impact on our world. Most Christians are just ordinary people serving God in ordinary ways. We are all far more like these six Christians than we are like Paul, helpers sent into the world to glorify God.
We are called by God to serve our neighbors, to share the light of Christ and to help them through their sufferings. We do not do this for fame or a reward. We do not do it so that we will benefit in any way. We do it because we know God is faithful to His promises and that He will fulfill all He has proclaimed through Jesus Christ. We live in hope, not wishes and dreams but the expectation of what will be, and in that hope, we continue revealing that light that is Christ to the world.
In light of their stories, we should also remember all those who have impacted the world through faithful service to other strong leaders. There are those who stand out in the ministries we do, leaders who will always be remembered, but none of them do the work alone. There are always helpers and companions who walk and serve with them. While the Apostles had a huge impact on the Church, Paul the greatest, we can probably identify more closely with the companions. As we look at their work, we realize that they, too, have touched many lives by continuing the work Paul started.
We continue that work today, living according to our own calling, using our own gifts. We may never be remembered like a Paul, or even remembered like Timothy, Titus, Silas, Lydia, Dorcas or Phoebe, but we will be God’s hands in the world as we share our own gifts with those who need to experience God’s amazing grace. We are all companions of the Apostles, but even more so we are companions of Jesus, walking with Him in ministry, touching others and changing lives.