DAILY BREAD READING (Published Daily by Our Daily Bread Ministries)
JULY 15, 2026
READ: Ephesians 5 (Focus vs. 15-20)
MEMORY VERSE
“Be very careful, then, how you live…always giving thanks to God.” Ephesians 5:15, 20
BACKGROUND
“GA fifty-ton, female humpback whale swam into a web of crab lines off the coast of California, trapping her in a tangled mess. Hundreds of feet of line and hundreds of pounds of traps wrapped around her body as she struggled to stay afloat.
Four divers came to her rescue, swimming under her belly. For an hour, they cut rope—dangerous work since one flap of her tail could have killed them.
After they freed her, rather than immediately escaping, she swam to and gently nudged each diver. “It felt to me like she was thanking us,” one rescuer said.
Whether or not whales are able to express gratitude, being thankful is truly an important part of being human. It’s vital for our life with God. Many of us thank Him for larger blessings (the birth of a child or healing from a disease).
However, Paul tells us to offer gratitude for every gift we receive, for every bit of goodness we encounter. We’re to be “always giving thanks to God,” the apostle writes (Ephesians 5:20).
Not sometimes. Not only for exceptional moments. Always. And to make sure he’s made his point, Paul adds a bit more. “[Make] the most of every opportunity” and give thanks “for everything,” he says (vv. 16, 20).
Genuine gratitude is more than an occasional word we offer; it’s the posture of our lives. Gratitude turns us to God over and over again, always giving thanks in celebration.
Winn Collier
INSIGHT
Ephesians 5 invites us to walk in Christ’s light rather than stumble through the darkness of the world (v. 8).
In verses 15-20, we encounter a surprising source of spiritual strength: gratitude. Paul urges us to “be filled with the Spirit” (v. 18) and to “[give] thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 20).
Gratitude is a posture and attitude that returns our focus to the source of all good things (see James 1:16-18). When we express our thankfulness—even in ordinary or difficult moments—we acknowledge God’s presence and goodness.
This reorientation helps us to live intentionally, reflecting Christ’s love. The apostle’s command to give thanks is paired with God’s enabling presence (Ephesians 5:18). The Holy Spirit fills, shapes, and empowers us to live a life of gratitude, which turns our hearts toward God.
J.R. Hudberg
APPLICATION
What gifts can you thank God for today? How can you move toward a posture of gratitude?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASIS (From Today’s Post)
“Genuine gratitude is more than an occasional word we offer; it’s the posture of our lives…”
PR’s TAKE
“In every circumstance give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
PRAYER
“Dear God, please help me to live a life of gratitude to You.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“NOW THANK WE ALL OUR GOD”
Now thank we all our God
With heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done,
In whom His world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms
Has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessed peace to cheer us,
To keep us in his grace,
And guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills
Of this world in the next.
All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given,
The Son and Spirit blest,
Who reign in highest heaven
The one eternal God,
Whom heaven and earth adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.
