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Date: Saturday, August 8, 2026

Today in Church History: On August 8, 1908, the African American minister and evangelist Charles Harrison Mason was recognized as the founder and General Overseer of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) in Memphis, Tennessee. Having recently experienced the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, Mason incorporated the Pentecostal movement’s emphasis on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. COGIC has grown into one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the world, playing a pivotal role in shaping 20th-century American Christianity, gospel music, and civil rights leadership.

Readings: Mark 8 | Psalm 34:12-22

Mark 8 has one of the highest highs and one of the sharpest turns in the Gospels. Peter nails the answer posed to him: “You are the Messiah.” Moments later, he gets rebuked for refusing to accept that the Messiah’s road runs through suffering. Jesus then drops the line that’s echoed through two thousand years of discipleship: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and theologian, saw exactly where that road could lead. He resisted the Nazi regime at enormous personal cost. He was imprisoned and then executed just weeks before the war’s end. He’d written years earlier about the difference between “cheap grace” that costs nothing to believe, and the kind of grace that calls a person to actually follow Jesus at all costs. Bonhoeffer's life became the sermon his book had only outlined. Following Jesus may not be comfortable, but it's worth it.

Devotional Prompts:

• What “cross” might Jesus be inviting you to take up rather than avoid?
• How have you experienced God’s nearness specifically in a season of being crushed or brokenhearted?

Prayer: Suffering Servant, give us the courage to follow You even on the harder road. When our spirits feel crushed, remind us how close You truly are. Amen.