October 1, 2026 Devo

October 1st, 2026

Powerful Words from the Prophets
While Belshazzar was drinking the wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups that his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. He wanted to drink from them with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. So they brought these gold cups taken from the Temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. While they drank from them, they praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. – Daniel 5:2-4 (NLT)
“Honoring the Sacred”

While I was a pastor in PA, someone broke into our church one night and stole some of our equipment. When the detective came out to see the damage and write the report, he made an interesting comment. He said, “You know, it’s a shame. There was a time in our community when churches would leave their doors unlocked in case someone needed a place to come and pray. People have no regard for the sacred anymore.”
The detective was right—except for the fact that a disregard for the sacred is nothing new. Our passage is on the last night of Belshazzar’s rule, which was in 539 BC. That’s 2500 years ago. Mocking God and the things that have been dedicated to Him has been around for a long time. Pride, a sense of entitlement, greed, lust for power—all of these are things that tend to cause us to not treat the things of God with the respect we should. And it’s not just the people who are “far from God” that do this. Let me give you a few more modern examples.
I travel and speak a good bit. I’m always a bit amazed at how easily people feel the freedom to speak disrespectfully about their pastors and leaders who are serving the church. I’m certainly not saying that pastors and leaders are beyond questioning or that they are always right. But I do think we ought to be careful about how we speak to them and about them. The same is true of how we as pastors and church leaders speak about and treat volunteers. ALL of God’s people in His service are deserving of respect as His sacred vessels.
We often treat our sacred assignments with disrespect. When we come to our classes or the pulpit unprepared, what are we saying to God about our God-given opportunities? They don’t matter? When musicians don’t practice, when greeters show up late, when people on the soundboard play around and don’t pay attention, it’s treating things that are sacred with disregard. Does this make sense? Let’s honor the things of God. People who are dedicated to Him. Places that are dedicated to Him. Positions and opportunities that are dedicated to Him. God’s “stuff” is God’s, not ours. Let’s make sure we treat it as such. That’s God’s Word for you today.