Our Daily Bread 23rd May 2026 Devotional – Today’s Insight, Bible Reading & Prayer – Saturday ODB Message
Are you searching for the Our Daily Bread 23rd May 2026 Devotional Message? You’re in the right place. Today’s devotional offers a refreshing word from Scripture, a heartfelt reflection, and a prayer to start your day with purpose. Whether you’re reading for spiritual growth, daily encouragement, or Bible study, this edition of Our Daily Bread provides the inspiration and wisdom you need to stay rooted in Christ.
TOPIC: Freedom in Christ
BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Chronicles 19-21; John 8:1-27
KEY VERSE: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
2 Corinthians 3:7-18
INSIGHT FOR TODAY
In 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, Paul contrasts the old covenant (a binding agreement defining how God would relate to His people) given through the law of Moses with the new covenant of the Spirit available through Jesus. The old covenant, though “glorious,” “brought condemnation” (v. 9) and was temporary (v. 11). Its glory was veiled, and the people could never fully see its glory because of their sin (vv. 12-15). In the new covenant, Christ’s Spirit removes the veil so that God’s people can truly see and be transformed by Jesus’ glory—bringing true freedom (vv. 16-18).
Our Daily Bread 23rd May 2026 Devotional | MESSAGE
In 1849, Henry “Box” Brown (a US enslaved man from Virginia) folded himself into a wooden crate marked “dry goods,” and two friends shipped him from Richmond to Philadelphia. Brown was inside the box (3 x 2.5 x 2 feet) for the 26-hour trip, with three small holes cut for air. As abolitionists pulled Brown from the box, he sang a paraphrase of Psalm 40, expressing his hope in the God who promises freedom. “If you have never been deprived of your liberty, as I was,” Brown later wrote, “you cannot realize the power of that hope of freedom, which was to me indeed, an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast.”
Freedom is central to how God operates in our hearts and in our world. His wisdom leads to spiritual freedom, but false wisdom leads to oppression. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is,” Paul says, “there is freedom” from sin, death, and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:17). When we listen to God and follow His ways, freedom results. Unfortunately the opposite is also true: When we ignore Him and resist His invitations, we become ensnared and confined. God liberates and transforms us by His Spirit (v. 18), but sin and rebellion traps us.
We sometimes believe that God limits and obstructs our possibilities and pleasure. But in truth, He’s the only one who can lead us into an expansive future, the only one who can guide us into genuine freedom.
REFLECT & PRAY
Where have you felt trapped in life? How do you sense God’s desire to guide you into freedom?
Dear God, please help me to be transformed and free in You.
Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.