Daily Devotions and Podcasts
Prayer: Lord, help me to see You in every part of my day, even in the places I least expect. Open my eyes to Your presence in the ordinary and the extraordinary moments of life. Amen.
The Cathedral of Hope Devotion Ministry began as an answer to Progressive Christians who wanted to start their days with a little insight, observation, or wisdom about the Christian faith from their own point of view. Conservative internet devotions were abundant, but there was not much out there for liberal thinkers. The need was clear.
Being a large church, we had a generous amount of writing talent available and also a large number of congregants with theological training who were not on the pulpit. In the early days of the ministry, most of the writing was done by the clergy, but gradually the majority of the writers emerged from those lay volunteers.
That dynamic is still in place as new authors are always joining in to keep the ideas fresh. It’s a fitting structure for any center of progressive thought. This particular Body of Christ has many voices and each one has a unique and important story to tell.
SCRIPTURE Matthew 7.12 So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them. WORDS OF HOPE Religious Freedom Day On this Religious Freedom Day, I pause to reflect on what it truly means to live faithfully in the 21st century—a world where belief can sometimes be a matter of life and death. Across the globe, countless people cannot worship freely. Some gather in secret, whispering prayers under the cover of night, meeting quietly in hidden homes, or seeking sacred spaces far from the eyes of authority. Their courage reminds me that the freedom to worship is both precious and fragile. Religious freedom is not just a right; it is a responsibility. A responsibility to defend those whose voices are silenced, to protect the vulnerable, and to act boldly in the pursuit of justice. I think of those who flee violence: refugees forced from their homes, immigrants seeking sanctuary. These are God’s children, carrying fear, hope, and faith with them, often leaving behind everything familiar. They remind us that freedom of worship is meaningless if it is not paired with the freedom to live, to exist safely, and to pursue life with dignity. When did the stranger become dangerous? When did hospitality become suspicion, welcome become threat, and faith become a tool of domination or exclusion? Too often, governments, institutions, and even churches have weaponized faith to control or marginalize. But God calls us to a different path: to see the stranger as sacred, to honor their journey, and to recognize the Divine in every life. Individuals are criminalized for who they are, for whom they love, and laws increasingly protect narrow definitions of faith while endangering those who do not conform. This is not the Kin-dom of God. This is not how God embraces. True faith is not about fear or domination. True faith is about radical love, justice, and standing courageously with the oppressed, even when it is inconvenient or uncomfortable. True faith calls us to act, to speak, and to resist systems that oppress others under the guise of holiness. Faith is relational. Love for God is not a checklist, a duty, or a law to obey. It is a living, breathing connection—a dynamic relationship between our hearts and the Divine. God is still speaking, still moving, still calling us into deeper love, deeper justice, and deeper solidarity with all creation. God’s voice is present in the cries of the oppressed, the silent prayers of those worshiping in secret, the resilience of those fleeing danger, and the courage of communities who rise despite injustice. God is calling us to lean into discomfort, to act when action feels risky, and to love when love feels costly. To follow God is to listen, to respond, and to act in ways that bring love, mercy, and healing into the world. PRAYER God of all peoples, on this Religious Freedom Day, we pause to honor the courage of those who worship in secret and the suffering of those who flee violence. Thank You for speaking to us still—in ways both quiet and thunderous—reminding us that You are relational and that You love us as we love You. Teach us to honor You by honoring all Your children. Help us resist coercion, defend the persecuted, and live boldly in love. Open our hearts to strangers, seeing in every face Your presence. Strengthen us to stand with those fleeing violence, to embrace those marginalized, and to embody the justice, mercy, and radical hospitality You call us to share. May our lives be living testimonies to Your ongoing voice, Your ever-present love, and Your call to build a world of freedom, justice, and radical inclusion. May we never grow complacent, never turn away, and always remember that every act of love, no matter how small, ripples into Your Kin-dom. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Reed Kirkman
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Words of Hope Podcast
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SCRIPTURE Matthew 7.12 So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them. WORDS OF HOPE Religious Freedom Day On this Religious Freedom Day, I pause to reflect on what it truly means to live faithfully in the 21st century—a world where belief can sometimes be a matter of life and death. Across the globe, countless people cannot worship freely. Some gather in secret, whispering prayers under the cover of night, meeting quietly in hidden homes, or seeking sacred spaces far from the eyes of authority. Their courage reminds me that the freedom to worship is both precious and fragile. Religious freedom is not just a right; it is a responsibility. A responsibility to defend those whose voices are silenced, to protect the vulnerable, and to act boldly in the pursuit of justice. I think of those who flee violence: refugees forced from their homes, immigrants seeking sanctuary. These are God’s children, carrying fear, hope, and faith with them, often leaving behind everything familiar. They remind us that freedom of worship is meaningless if it is not paired with the freedom to live, to exist safely, and to pursue life with dignity. When did the stranger become dangerous? When did hospitality become suspicion, welcome become threat, and faith become a tool of domination or exclusion? Too often, governments, institutions, and even churches have weaponized faith to control or marginalize. But God calls us to a different path: to see the stranger as sacred, to honor their journey, and to recognize the Divine in every life. Individuals are criminalized for who they are, for whom they love, and laws increasingly protect narrow definitions of faith while endangering those who do not conform. This is not the Kin-dom of God. This is not how God embraces. True faith is not about fear or domination. True faith is about radical love, justice, and standing courageously with the oppressed, even when it is inconvenient or uncomfortable. True faith calls us to act, to speak, and to resist systems that oppress others under the guise of holiness. Faith is relational. Love for God is not a checklist, a duty, or a law to obey. It is a living, breathing connection—a dynamic relationship between our hearts and the Divine. God is still speaking, still moving, still calling us into deeper love, deeper justice, and deeper solidarity with all creation. God’s voice is present in the cries of the oppressed, the silent prayers of those worshiping in secret, the resilience of those fleeing danger, and the courage of communities who rise despite injustice. God is calling us to lean into discomfort, to act when action feels risky, and to love when love feels costly. To follow God is to listen, to respond, and to act in ways that bring love, mercy, and healing into the world. PRAYER God of all peoples, on this Religious Freedom Day, we pause to honor the courage of those who worship in secret and the suffering of those who flee violence. Thank You for speaking to us still—in ways both quiet and thunderous—reminding us that You are relational and that You love us as we love You. Teach us to honor You by honoring all Your children. Help us resist coercion, defend the persecuted, and live boldly in love. Open our hearts to strangers, seeing in every face Your presence. Strengthen us to stand with those fleeing violence, to embrace those marginalized, and to embody the justice, mercy, and radical hospitality You call us to share. May our lives be living testimonies to Your ongoing voice, Your ever-present love, and Your call to build a world of freedom, justice, and radical inclusion. May we never grow complacent, never turn away, and always remember that every act of love, no matter how small, ripples into Your Kin-dom. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Reed Kirkman
SCRIPTURE ļ»æ Matthew 19:13 Then children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them, but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” WORDS OF HOPE Today is Celebration of Life Day. This holiday of unspecified origin is a day set aside to celebrate children and grandchildren. The Bible, and Jesus in particular, mention children a lot. If you go to one of the online Bibles and do a search on the word children, you will be very surprised how often children are mentioned. As the passage above indicates how important children were to Jesus. And this is not the only place in the book of Matthew where Jesus references his children. In another verse, he says that unless you become like small children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. He refers to peacemakers as the children of heaven in what has become called the Beatitudes. Too often in our world today, children suffer because of the callous disregard for the self-centered actions of adults. Famine, war, abuse and disease often affect children most since they are the least capable of doing anything about these things. Often children are disowned by their families because of their sexual orientation or their beliefs. And to be fair, many children are adopted in the loving families. Many people work with children as teachers, mentors, and spiritual guides. And these people, whether they realize it or not, are doing God‘s work. For your devotion time today, celebrate the children in your life. If possible, share the day with a child, grandchild, niece or nephew. Here are some suggestions from the National Day Calendar. • Read a book with a child. • Get on the floor and put a puzzle together. • Build something with your child. • Invite all the cousins to play board games. • Bake cookies and decorate them. Even the smallest child will learn something. • Make popcorn and watch a movie. • Tell the story of how the grandparents met. • Get out the art supplies and create. PRAYER Magnificent Creator who we look to as our parent, give us the mind and heart of children so that we may come to you through Jesus as little children, open to learning, open to loving, open to being loved. DEVOTION AUTHOR Weber Baker. Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clair
SCRIPTURE Matthew 9.14-17 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The wedding attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are ruined, but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” WORDS OF HOPE Having achieved the status of being “vintage” at age 75, I sometimes feel like one of those “old wineskins”. I think sometimes it’s good to hear the words of scripture anew and look at them as though I have never seen them before. Then let them speak to me fresh. For me that means I have to put away my “little Golden Book of Bible Stories” and read the words as an adult, with all my life experience included and yet I try to read them, listening for a new message. I find I can be old and yet still have the ability to preserve the “new wine” of the Scriptures. These words speak to me and give me the hope I need to face the day. Reading them I feel like Jesus is with me, his voice a soft whisper in my ear. He lets me know I am part of that wedding party, and I am filled with gratitude that I can still find truth that resonates with me in words written millennia ago. Not the simple words of a story, but underlying truths that are eternal. PRAYER May I always find myself as a new wineskin ready to receive the new wine of God’s word. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Hardy Haberman
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