Hello, friend. Most of us spend a lot of time thinking about what we need to hold on to.

We protect what matters to us. We prepare for what might go wrong. We try to build lives that can withstand whatever comes next. There’s wisdom in that.

But following Jesus also teaches us to live with open hands.

Not because the things we’ve been given don’t matter, but because God can use them for purposes far beyond ourselves.

This week, we’re looking at what it means to trust God with what’s in our hands, and how that trust shapes the way we love others and make Jesus known.

In today’s edition:

🇲🇱 The price some Christians are paying just to worship

🤲🏽 What a dishonest manager understood that we often forget

🇵🇦 What happens when your neighbor suddenly loses everything

The Price of Keeping a Church Open 🇲🇱

In parts of Mali, Christians are being forced to pay simply to continue gathering for worship.

Armed Islamist groups have demanded a religious tax known as jizya from some Christian communities, threatening violence or church closures if they refuse. According to Open Doors, one group of churches has paid more than $50,000 this year alone. Some congregations have even sold crops and livestock to meet these demands. Yet churches have still been forced to close.

For believers already living with limited resources, the pressure reaches far beyond a church building. Money used to meet these demands is money families no longer have for food and other basic needs.

Christians are a small minority in Mali, where years of violence and instability have displaced communities and made following Jesus particularly dangerous in areas threatened by Islamist armed groups.

And yet, the church remains.

For our brothers and sisters in Mali, the cost of following Jesus can touch the things they depend on every day: their income, their food, and even their ability to gather with other believers.

How to Pray

🙏 Pray for protection for Malian Christians facing threats, violence, and forced payments from armed extremist groups.

🙏 Pray for God’s provision for families and churches losing food, livestock, income, and other resources because of religious pressure and insecurity.

🙏 Pray that believers would persevere in faith, find opportunities to worship together, and continue making Jesus known despite the cost.

What Are You Doing with What God Has Given You? 🤲🏽

There’s this strange tension in the book of Ecclesiastes. 

A king who had everything looks back on his life and calls it all vanity. He built houses, planted vineyards, accumulated vast wealth, and enjoyed everything his heart desired. But in the end, he realized that none of it would last.

The word he uses for vanity means something like mist. Think of the fog that covers a city early in the morning. It looks thick, almost solid. But a few hours later, it's gone.

That's what happens to everything we accumulate in this life. 

We arrive with nothing. And we leave with nothing.

But then we come to Luke 16, where Jesus seems to tell us something surprising. 

What if you could use what you have today in a way that produces something that lasts forever?

In Luke 16:1–13, Jesus tells a peculiar story about a dishonest manager. This man was entrusted with another person's wealth. He managed his master's accounts, properties, and business dealings. But he was careless. He wasted what had been entrusted to him. And one day, his master called him in and demanded an account.

He was fired.

Suddenly, this manager faced a terrifying reality. Everything he had access to was about to disappear. His position. His income. His security.

So he came up with a plan. While he still had access to his master's accounts, he used those resources to secure relationships that would help him once his job was gone. And strangely enough, his master commended him. Not for his dishonesty. But for his foresight.

The man understood something important. His current situation was temporary. He couldn't keep what he had been managing. So he used what was in his hands today to prepare for what was coming tomorrow.

Jesus wants us to see something here: We're all managers of things that don't ultimately belong to us.

Your salary. Your savings. Your home. Your possessions. Even your time and abilities. Your name might be on the bank account. But God is the owner. You're the steward. And one day, your stewardship will come to an end.

Here’s where the story turns toward us. If a dishonest manager could think so carefully about his temporary future, how much more should we, who know an eternal kingdom is coming, think carefully about ours?

We plan for retirement. We save for emergencies. We work toward buying homes. We sacrifice today for the security we hope to have tomorrow. And there's wisdom in much of that. But how often do we think about eternity with the same seriousness?

Jesus tells us to use our worldly wealth in ways that have eternal consequences. That happens when you support the work of the church. When you help someone in need. When you give so that someone who has never heard the gospel might hear it.

And it isn't only about money. 

Your home can become a place where someone lonely finds family. 

Your table can welcome a neighbor. 

Your car can give a ride to someone who needs it. 

Your time can be spent discipling someone who needs encouragement.

These are ordinary things. Temporary things. 

But in God's hands, they can bear fruit that lasts forever.

Jesus ends this teaching with a warning: "You cannot serve both God and money" (Luke 16:13). And that's where stewardship becomes a matter of the heart. Because the greatest obstacle to using our possessions for eternal purposes may simply be that we love them too much.

Money doesn't have to make you rich to become your master. It only has to capture your attention, your decisions, your fears, and your hope.

But here's the good news. 

If you're in Christ, you already have a treasure that no financial crisis can take away. Jesus left the riches of heaven, gave himself for your sins, and rose again to give you eternal life. You have an inheritance that death cannot touch.

And when that becomes real to you, your possessions no longer have to carry the weight of giving you security. You can open your hands. Maybe you have much. Maybe right now you have very little. But God has entrusted something to you. And one day, everything you have will stay behind.

Christ won't.

So use what you have today with your eyes on the One you'll have forever.

—Steven Morales

When Everything Changes Overnight 🇵🇦

On October 9, a powerful earthquake shook Panama, damaging homes, schools, hospitals, and churches across the country.

Nearly two weeks later, thousands of families are still facing the aftermath. More than 30,000 people have been included in damage and needs assessments, and many are dealing with damaged homes, disrupted services, and uncertainty about what comes next. As emergency teams continue delivering supplies and assessing the damage, communities face a long road to recovery.

In the days following a disaster, the immediate needs are often the most visible. But recovery doesn’t end when emergency supplies arrive. Families may spend months rebuilding their homes, livelihoods, and sense of stability.

As communities recover, pray that believers across Panama would not only respond to urgent needs but continue walking alongside those who are suffering. Through practical care, patient presence, and faithful witness, the church can point hurting neighbors to the lasting hope found in Christ.

How to Pray

🙏 Pray for families affected by the earthquake to receive the shelter, food, clean water, medical care, and other assistance they need.

🙏 Pray that churches and believers throughout Panama would generously use their resources, time, and abilities to care for their neighbors.

🙏 Pray that those facing loss and uncertainty would experience Christ’s love through the compassion and faithful witness of local Christians.

📍 Attention Worthy

• 📖 This week only: Get 2 Pray the World devotionals for $15! In honor of the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church on November 1, grab a copy for yourself and a friend, and spend 31 days praying for the nations together.

• 👀 What if you've been picturing heaven wrong? Nancy Guthrie points us toward what we may be missing.

• 🌱 Maybe you should be a gardener. Not literally. Well, maybe literally too. But your church might need you to think like one.