Leaving a Legacy - All Our Daily Bread Daily Devotionals for 2026

Read: Isaiah 49:14-16 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 13-14; Luke 10:1-24

A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.
Malachi 3:16

Some years ago our sons and I spent a week on an abandoned backcountry ranch on the Salmon River, Idaho's "River of No Return."

One day, exploring the ranch, I came across an ancient grave with a wooden marker. Whatever inscription the marker may have borne had long since been weathered away. Someone lived and died—now was forgotten. The gravesite seemed tragic to me. After we got home I spent several hours reading about the history of the old ranch and that area, but could find no information about the person buried there.

May I be faithful to You today, Lord, as I spend my time loving others with Your love.
They say that the best among us is remembered for 100 years or so. The rest of us are soon forgotten. The memory of past generations, like our markers, soon fades away. Yet our legacy has been passed on through the family of God. How we've loved God and others in our lifetime lives on. Malachi 3:16-17 tells us, "a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. ‘They will be Mine,' says the Lord of hosts, ‘on the day that I prepare My own possession' " (nasb).

Paul said of David that he "served God's purpose in his own generation" and departed (Acts 13:36). Like him, may we love the Lord and serve Him in our generation and leave the remembering to Him. "They will be Mine," says the Lord.

May I be faithful to You today, Lord, as I spend my time loving others with Your love. Help me to trust You with the legacy I'm leaving behind.

Living for the Lord leaves a lasting legacy.

By David H. Roper