What Belongs to God
The Daily Way · Fall 2026 · Week Seven of Twelve
What Belongs to God
OCTOBER 18 TO 24, 2026 · PROPER 24
“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21
A Devotion to Begin the Week
They hand Jesus a coin, hoping to trap him between Caesar and God, and he asks whose image is stamped upon it. The emperor’s, they answer, so he tells them to give the emperor his coins. Then comes the sentence that searches every hearer: give to God the things that are God’s. The coin bears Caesar’s image, but you bear God’s, so the question was never really about taxes. Abraham learned on Mount Moriah what it means to hold nothing back from the Lord, and he discovered there that God himself provides the offering; the God who asks for everything is the God who gives everything first. Households live this tension daily. Bank accounts, calendars, and phones all carry competing claims, each one stamped with some lesser image demanding tribute. This week’s practice is a gentle audit. Notice what already flows to God from your home: the prayers, the offerings, the hours given to others. Notice, too, what you have quietly marked private. Nothing is safer in our own grip than in God’s hands, as Abraham found when the ram appeared in the thicket. Give back what bears his image, beginning with yourself, and watch provision meet you on the mountain.
The Week Day by Day
Sunday, October 18 · The Lord’s Day
Come to the Holy Eucharist. The readings are Isaiah 45:1-7 and Matthew 22:15-22. Field Life children continue The Stars with Chapter 7, The Lamb.
Monday, October 19Read Matthew 22:15-22
ReflectGive to God the things that are God’s. What have you been rendering to lesser claims first?
PrayClaim us wholly, O God, for we bear your image. Amen.
PracticeLook at the family calendar together and mark what is given to God.
Tuesday, October 20Read Isaiah 45:1-7
ReflectGod worked through Cyrus, a king who did not know him. Where might God be working through unexpected people today?
PraySovereign Lord, you form light and create darkness; teach us to trust your reach. Amen.
PracticePray sincerely for a leader you did not choose.
Wednesday, October 21Read Genesis 22:1-14
This is the passage behind this week’s Field Life children’s lesson, The Lamb.
ReflectAbraham said, God himself will provide the lamb. What is hardest for you to place in God’s hands?
PrayProvider God, loosen our grip on what we love, and meet us on the mountain. Amen.
PracticeName the thing you most fear surrendering, and pray about it honestly.
Thursday, October 22Read Psalm 24:1-6
ReflectThe earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it. How does that verse change the word mine?
PrayKing of glory, we lift up our heads and our whole household to you. Amen.
PracticeLet each person choose one belonging to give away this week.
Friday, October 23Read Romans 12:1-2
ReflectPresent your bodies as a living sacrifice. What would worship look like in your ordinary Friday?
PrayTransform us, O God, by the renewing of our minds. Amen.
PracticeOffer one routine task today to God, done slowly and with full attention.
Saturday, October 24Read Matthew 22:34-46
Read ahead: this is tomorrow’s Gospel.
ReflectAs you read the greatest commandment, which is harder for you, loving God or loving neighbor?
PrayPrepare our hearts to hear your law of love tomorrow, O Lord. Amen.
PracticeSettle any small quarrel in the house before Sunday.
Table Talk for the Week
If everything belongs to God, what should we do with what we have?
St. Francis in-the-Field Episcopal Church · All are welcome, always
