Daily Devotion for January 1, 2026

Verse 1: O Jehovah our Lord, / How excellent is Your name / In all the earth, / You who have set Your glory over the heavens!

It wasn’t until I was 30 years old that I began to develop the habit of daily Bible reading. Now, I could no more walk out the door in the morning without first reading the Bible than I would without my clothes! I wonder now how I managed to get by back then and not make way more missteps than I did.

A new year (yes, I know it’s cliché, but it doesn’t make it any less true) is a perfect time for a fresh start. Someone in my life is marking the beginning of a year of sobriety. Someone is getting out of prison and starting a new life. Someone else is embarking on a new spiritual journey with a brand-new Bible.

What will your fresh start be? If you don’t already have a daily reading habit, this is the best time to start. My focus for this year will be worship. I think I don’t understand it nearly enough. That’s why I chose the verse for today’s reading. I want to have a full understanding of the sentiment expressed by the Psalmist when he wrote Psalm 8 by the end of this year.

God, help us each to examine our lives and see where we can make a change for the better, especially one that draws us closer to You. Amen.

Paula Barney adminassist@livinglord.org

Prayer Concern: Worship of His most excellent name