The Living Word: A Daily Devotional with Jeff & Dale from The Jenkins Institute
The Living Word is a daily devotional featuring Scripture and encouragement from Jeff and Dale of The Jenkins Institute. Each episode offers a thoughtful reading to coincide with the daily devotional guides from our annual devotional books. They are designed to help listeners begin or end their day grounded in God’s Word.
Episodes
106 episodes
Week 22: Monday, Blessed With What We Have
The annual World Happiness Report (representing 2024 data) recentlyranked the United States as the 24th happiest country in the world, downnine slots since 2014 and five slots since 2020. Indeed, 24th is the WorldHappiness ...
Week 21: Friday, The King and His Brothers
In this teaching of Jesus in Matthew 25, it is not difficult to see theconnection Jesus makes between Himself and the King. It is the King thatsays, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these mybrother...
Week 21: Thursday, Jesus and the Ethics of Social Concern
In his book, Christian Ethics, Wayne Grudem states, “Christian ethics isany study that answers the question, ‘What does the whole Bible teach usabout which acts, attitudes, and personal character traits receive God’s<...
Week 21: Wednesday, The Humility of the Righteous
Humility may be the most needed and most difficult virtue to possess forthe follower of Jesus. Norman McGowan shared that Winston Churchillwas once asked, “Doesn’t it thrill you to know that every time you make aspeech, the...
Week 21: Tuesday, The Eternal Divide
Sheep and goats are interesting animals. Certainly, they are mentionedthroughout the Bible and were very much a part of daily life in antiquity. Infirst-century Palestine, sheep and goats often grazed together. However,they...
Week 21: Monday, Christ in the Least
Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus served others in many ways. Infact, Jesus clearly explained to His followers that He came not to beserved, but to serve. This is the life to which Jesus has called Hisdisciples: servic...
Week 20: Friday, Is the Life You Are Currently Living Going To Get You to Heaven?
In 2005, at the graduation ceremony for Stanford University students, thecommencement speaker stepped to the podium and spoke about how tolive before you die. Specifically, he said: “You’ve got to find what youlove… Your wo...
Week 20: Thursday, The Gardener Gets the Glory
My grandfather was a master gardener. He maintained a large garden atmy house and a smaller one at his house. He grew everything imaginable.If he were still alive, he’d tell me not to phrase it that way. He would saythat Go...
Week 20: Wednesday, Plug In
A vacuum cleaner serves a very useful purpose. It has all sorts ofattachments. Many of them have an extension wand, a crevice tool, adusting brush, and an upholstery tool. Some are even more advanced andhave a ceiling fan t...
Week 20: Tuesday, Loose Hair and A Burnt Vine
Hair is a funny thing. We recognize the beauty of hair on otherpeople. We compliment women and men alike for their long,flowing, wavy locks of curly, blonde, brunette, or black hair, but allbets are off when the hair become...
Week 20: Monday, Worthless Word
Ezekiel was a priest living in Jerusalem during the first Babylonianinvasion. He was among the first wave of captives taken by theBabylonians. God commissions Ezekiel to be an alarm. The first part ofthe book that bears his...
Week 19: Friday, A Dot Does A Lot
When we were in kindergarten, we learned that a dot does a lot whenwe work with glue. When you consider the size of the mustard seed,it is smaller than the periods found in this devotional.James tells us in James 4:14 that ...
Week 19: Thursday, Growth Does Not Happen Overnight
Have you ever planted a garden? I am tag-teaming a garden withmy neighbor and there is more work that goes into it than I couldhave ever imagined: tilling the ground, planting in the soil,watering, and so much more. It blow...
Week 19: Wednesday, Providing Shade for Others
Have you ever thought on a Saturday night, “I am not going tochurch tomorrow, no one will even notice if I am not there.”A visitor arrived in a small French village. Evening was drawingnear and the people were rushing aroun...
Week 19: Tuesday, Shaded in the Peace of the Kingdom
Have you ever looked up pictures of a mustard tree? If you havenot, get your phone and look up images of mustard trees. Noticehow much shaded area they can provide and imagine how manybirds’ nests they could house. Then con...
Week 19: Monday, What Seems Small Can Be Significant
The mustard seed is the smallest of any seed that can be planted, yet ablack mustard plant can grow up to six feet six inches tall.We think small things we do for people do not matter, like sending a textto someone who had ...
Week 18: Friday, Wasted Opportunities
During my freshman year of college, my great-uncle drove thirteen hoursto meet with me and encourage me to become a minister like him.Thanks to a music scholarship, I was blessed to attend a university well-equipped to inst...
Week 18: Thursday, My Talent Isn’t Your Talent
My mother was diagnosed with polio when she was five months old. She’snever walked straight or ran. We could admit she wasn’t blessedphysically with what others had, yet she has doubled it with her spiritualinfluence. We of...
Week 18: Wednesday, Ten Talent Christians
The age we live in has more free and abundant access to Bibles,devotionals, commentaries, podcasts, and other resources thanever in the history of the world. The availability of it all placestremendous responsibility on Chr...
Week 18: Tuesday, His Departure and His Return
Shout for joy, we live and breathe between our Master’s departure andHis return! The parable of the ten virgins was about preparation for thebridegroom, and this parable challenges us not to sit on our hands whilewe wait fo...
Week 18: Monday, So Grateful Everyone Received Something
Today, we are reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew 25. He reminds usthat God distributes gifts with expectations along with them. The parableof the talents in Matthew 25 and the parable of the ten minas in Luke19:11-27...
Week 17: Friday, Watch
Regardless of the reason, we’ve all experienced drowsiness. In the US, welive in a caffeine-dependent culture. Many of us spend our days feelingmore like zombies than functioning human beings. Some of us can alsoslip into l...
Week 17: Thursday, Shut
Can you hear them? They’re troubling, and often terrifying words:“I’m too late.”“You’re too late.”“Too late.”Too late to help someone.Too late to see a dying loved one.Too late to catch your friend befo...