Daily Devotion

Tuesday, January 13, 2026  

Today's Scripture
Isaiah 66:18–23

For I know their works and their thoughts, and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. From them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud — which draw the bow — to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring a grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. And I will also take some of them as priests and as Levites, says the Lord. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says the Lord; so shall your descendants and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from sabbath to sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord.(NRSV)

Reflection

This time of year, we all come together for a lot of different reasons. Sure, the holidays are the big reason, but let’s be honest, we come together to also get away. A week off from work? You bet! Two weeks off from school? Yes, please.

Is there anything as weird or boring or fun as the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day? Your office is a ghost town. Anyone there is either bummed because they didn’t have the vacation days left or is struggling to find something to fill their day because everyone else is off. The entire country is shut down.

Of course, some of us enjoy the silence. We can get a lot of work done. People secretly (or not so secretly) say things like, “This job would be so much better if all these people weren’t here every day.” Some of us also like shopping online for post-Christmas deals.

This passage felt like it was about us all coming together, which is what being human is all about. I also learned what the word dromedaries means. It’s a one hump or Arabian camel. I think I am going to try and somehow fit that into daily conversation.

Prayer

Written by Matthew Murphy, Director of Information Technology and Systems

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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