Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. (Phil. 3:17)

Expanded Passage: Philippians 3:12-21

My spiritual journey is marked by the people who guided me. From youth pastors to teachers to counselors to mentors, I would not be who I am today without their influence on my life. When I think of these people and how they have served as godly examples for my life, I am filled with gratitude. And how wonderful is the thought that someone could consider my discipleship of them in a similar way.

Even Paul, as he wrote this letter, recognized and acknowledged that he had not reached his goal yet; he had more to do in his life. But he still called the church to follow his example. And that is true of us as well. There is always more to learn and always more to teach. We are called to follow the examples of others and be an example to others. While most importantly, we all must set our eyes on Jesus, the ultimate example of holiness.

That is how we move toward maturity in Christ. The minute we stop learning or teaching, our faith becomes stagnant and stale. We are citizens of heaven who live in the hope that one day we will be transformed and glorified, completely and wholly. Until that day comes, we press on, doing all we can to be mature in Christ and bringing others along in that journey.

Pray for relationships where you can be discipled and you can disciple.

Ethan Zent is an ordained pastor in The Wesleyan Church, serving as a full-time missionary alongside his wife with the organization Poetice in Zambia.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. (1 Thess. 3:8)

Expanded Passage: 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Transitioning from one biblical community to another can be hard. My wife and I experienced that when we moved from South Carolina to Zambia. We left behind a community full of trusted friends who we had ministered alongside, laughed with, and cried with, and entered into a new, welcoming community where we knew the same would be true. I had to trust God to take care of my friends and my church. Before we left, my lead pastor and friend reminded me that we all work for the same global church, but sometimes we are called to minister in another branch.

In times of hardship from being overseas and missing home, it was truly encouraging to hear the reports of what was happening with our friends. In this passage, Paul found himself encouraged by Timothy’s report because he could see that the people he spent time discipling were thriving in the Lord. Their friendship and partnership continued even from a distance. Paul was encouraged in his time of trouble and he wrote to teach, encourage, and pray for the church in Thessalonica. This is the church in action, the global church that doesn’t care about borders or distance.

We need one another. Maybe you need encouragement from a friend’s report, and maybe you can give encouragement to a friend in need. All you need to do is reach out.

Reach out to an old friend and listen to their report.

Ethan Zent is an ordained pastor in The Wesleyan Church, serving as a full-time missionary alongside his wife with the organization Poetice in Zambia.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity. (Heb. 6:1)

Expanded Passage: Hebrews 6:1-20

When I was in school, the concept of being a lifelong learner was presented time and time again. The idea is that your time in a formal education setting should not be the only time you seek to be educated. Being a lifelong learner goes against the idea of getting a good degree in order to get a good job and have a nice, comfortable life. Instead, we must recognize that there is more: more to be learned about our world, our professions, ourselves, and our Lord.

Recently, I came up against some unhealthy thought patterns in myself that I was sure I had dealt with. I had done the hard work of healing and therapy, but those thought patterns popped up once again. God reminded me that there is always more learning to be done. And I realized that I wouldn’t be able to process this deeper healing today if I hadn’t done the work in the past.

As the writer of Hebrews says, God will not forget the work we have done, but we must move forward with diligence so our hope can be fully realized. How do we do it? We must keep learning and we must seek the counsel of those who have gone before us. We are not alone in the process and God is always faithful to teach and guide us through.

Journal about something you want to learn, and share it with a friend.

Ethan Zent is an ordained pastor in The Wesleyan Church, serving as a full-time missionary alongside his wife with the organization Poetice in Zambia.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. (Ps. 18:28)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 18:28-36

My carry-on smells like a campfire. I’m not sure how long the scent will linger, but for now I won’t complain, even though my clothes smell like smoke and my skin cries out for lotion. Strong as the scent may be, stronger is the reminder of closeness that comes to my mind as I recall those moments standing beside warm coals as their glow burned bright. A reminder of closeness that is not merely measured in distance, but signaled in the smells we later carry.

Few things are as strange as fire, which brings with it warmth and comfort but also the risk of wildfire, should sparks catch in just the wrong places.

Scripture tells us that God is an all-consuming fire, jealous for our affection and worthy of our reverence and awe (Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:28–29). We cannot outrun or hide from his love, for even darkness is as light to him (Ps. 139:12). The Lord is near and he draws especially close to those who are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit (Ps. 34:18).

For those who walk by faith and live in the way of Jesus, God has given the gift of his Holy Spirit who is our strength, a fire to live on within us, enabling us to acknowledge and submit to the Father in all our ways (Prov. 3:6).

Let the Lord illuminate the shadows of your soul.

Amy Boyle lives in Indianapolis, where she’s a disciple, friend, and neighbor, an Indiana Wesleyan alum and twenty-something, passionate about knowing Jesus and making him known.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God. (Heb. 5:1)

Expanded Passage: Hebrews 5:1-14

In the field of social work there are two approaches to understanding a community: “needs-based” and “assets-based.” These assessments are precisely as they sound. However, for the felt realities of a community’s needs and assets to be properly understood, the best person to represent them isn’t an outsider, but someone deeply acquainted with the lived experience of that community.

This is why the “suffering servant” of Isaiah 53 is anointed to represent the people, a population of those who are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). To reconcile fallen humanity and a holy God would require a representative who was fully God and man, a Son who would be the peace between the two, tearing down the divisions and making the Father available through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:14–18).

But the work of a priest doesn’t stop there; it’s shared. As people who are reconciled and have received the mercy and grace of God, we are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, . . . called . . . out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). According to Paul, we are also commissioned to represent Christ in how we carry out his message and ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:19–20). So, who has God called us to bring into the fold?

Stand in the gap for those who surround you.

Amy Boyle lives in Indianapolis, where she’s a disciple, friend, and neighbor, an Indiana Wesleyan alum and twenty-something, passionate about knowing Jesus and making him known.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Heb. 5:14)

Expanded Passage: Hebrews 5:13-14

The acidy bitterness of coffee used to bother my stomach, but bit by bit I built up a tolerance until gradually an affection for this flavor that used to bother me was born. The same could be said for my relationship with running. I can’t say the feeling of my lungs being on fire was my heart’s burning desire . . . at least, not initially. But over time, as I kept consistent about lacing up my shoes and getting out the door, the experience grew on me, and what used to be a chore became an affinity for breathing air in a new way.

Unless you’re a savant, your starting point when trying something new will probably be pretty shabby. And no one would fault you for poor performance with a skill you’ve hardly practiced. But to settle eternally for alternating between the same three chords on a piano instead of learning to play the whole piece . . . ? Most would agree that would be a tragedy.

Spiritual formation is no exception. To stay and settle for the same place where God found and saved us, rather than moving toward righteousness, would be a tragedy. God’s design and intention was not that we would live off yesterday’s provision, but that we would daily yield to his presence, maturing from spiritual milk to solid food. Every day God is inviting his people to develop a taste for his goodness.

Train your palette to taste ever more of the goodness of God.

Amy Boyle lives in Indianapolis, where she’s a disciple, friend, and neighbor, an Indiana Wesleyan alum and twenty-something, passionate about knowing Jesus and making him known.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

It is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. (Heb. 5:11)

Expanded Passage: Hebrews 5:11-12

To truly listen is an exercise in letting go of our own ideas. The summer before my junior year of high school was a turning point in learning the art of listening, when I got the opportunity to participate in a program that taught me how to understand . . . or at least, the art of trying to understand.

“Find a partner,” our workshop instructor exclaimed, as each of us turned bashfully to and fro attempting to avoid being the last person still alone. I remember being asked to discuss a set of basic questions with the person I was paired with. What would follow was unexpected.

“As you listen, resist the urge to react or comment on what your partner is sharing.”

It felt unnatural at first, but when we were invited to turn to who we’d just spent our effort listening to, and recite what we heard them share, it made sense.

A gracious response is only half of what it takes to truly “try to understand.” The other half is to try hearing someone from their own perspective. Don’t settle for a relationship of rushing to react with your own ideas. Simply still yourself and take time to be with this God who is worth getting to know—one who hears our heart’s every desire and knows our head’s every hair. Yet how often do we pause and make the space to truly listen to him?

Take a moment to hear God from his perspective.

Amy Boyle lives in Indianapolis, where she’s a disciple, friend, and neighbor, an Indiana Wesleyan alum and twenty-something, passionate about knowing Jesus and making him known.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

He was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered. (Heb. 5:7–8)

Expanded Passage: Hebrews 5:6-10

The lessons that cost us greatly are often the ones we remember the most. If we’re fortunate, the cost is merely monetary, but sometimes we get it written permanently on our skin.

What began in haste as a “walk-in” to a cramped studio in downtown Chicago turned into a two-hour sit-in that led to one of my life’s most visible failures: an upside-down tattoo. After several back-and-forth discussions with the artist about placement, it only later dawned on me that I got the tattoo upside down.

The irony? “Slow down” was the meaning of the Hebrew characters the artist penned on my wrist. Even further is the comedy of getting a speeding ticket for breezing thirty miles over the limit only two months later. The lessons that cost us greatly—whether written upside down on our wrists or withdrawn from our bank account to pay tickets we deserve—will be the ones we remember the most.

Obedience is best learned from the lessons that cost us. And the lessons learned are evidence of a God who cares enough to correct us, to clarify his desire for us, and call us to keep his commands, because submission, not insistence, is what the Father listens to. And we know from 1 John 2:6 that “whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” So how will you?

Thank God for his correcting hand.

Amy Boyle lives in Indianapolis, where she’s a disciple, friend, and neighbor, an Indiana Wesleyan alum and twenty-something, passionate about knowing Jesus and making him known.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” (Heb. 5:5)

Expanded Passage: Hebrews 5:4-5

As one who is adopted, identity is a reality that cuts deep. The wound of being called “orphan” and feeling “un-chosen” by my birth parents is a childhood memory that never ceases its need for Christ’s cleansing. So, the first time that I read the Father speaking identity over the Son, those words had weight to me, more than I imagine they would for most.

The calling, glory, and honor, however, had less to do with Christ taking high roles on himself. Rather, it was more about him receiving who the Father said he was as “Son.”

How often we allow ambition and a sense of lack to crowd out the assurance and confidence that we already have in him whose pleasure it was to choose us in Christ “before the creation of the world” (Eph. 1:4)?

Whether out of forgetfulness or discontent, abandoning our first calling as children adopted by him is often the source of our life’s many strivings. If we reject rather than receive the place that the Father has appointed for us, we ought not be surprised when we find ourselves lost or lacking. No performance, work ethic, reputation, or even relationship will ever be a satisfactory replacement for receiving the truth of who the Father says we are in Christ.

Let your “self” be undone by the One whose love calls you “son” or “daughter.”

Receive who the Father says you are.

Amy Boyle lives in Indianapolis, where she’s a disciple, friend, and neighbor, an Indiana Wesleyan alum and twenty-something, passionate about knowing Jesus and making him known.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. (Heb. 5:2)

Expanded Passage: Hebrews 5:1-3

Immanuel was not only the name Mary was told to give her son, it was a blessed assurance of God’s presence. Not only a promise, “God with us” was becoming an embodied person (Matt. 1:23). “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). He became one of us, identifying with our every vulnerability.

Early Christians would say, “What he has not assumed, he has not redeemed,” meaning that Christ’s willingness to experience weakness was the very way in which he healed humanity. There is comfort in knowing God was willing to walk with his people in their shoes. His divinity was not diminished by the humility that it took him to become human. Rather, it paved the way for humanity’s relationship with God to be restored.

“He made himself nothing . . . being made in human likeness” rather than considering “equality with God something to be used to his own advantage” (Phil. 2:6–7). Jesus cared about us enough to be inconvenienced by our condition, so that we could be close to him.

This closeness with the human condition is what moves Jesus to compassion when he sees the crowds in Matthew 9:36. Jesus knows firsthand their weaknesses and is familiar with their frailties. He’s not distant, he’s intimate. And this proximity is precisely what enables him to deal tenderly with the lost.

Consider who Christ is calling you to draw close to.

Amy Boyle lives in Indianapolis, where she’s a disciple, friend, and neighbor, an Indiana Wesleyan alum and twenty-something, passionate about knowing Jesus and making him known.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.