13th - 19th October 2025
Every autumn, as the leaves begin to turn, another annual ritual usually unfolds in the world of technology – Apple’s latest product launch. Sleek new devices are revealed and, across the world, people rush to download software updates that promise enhanced speed, cleaner design and fresh, new and enhanced capabilities. It’s a global event that celebrates progress and the pursuit of the “new and improved”. Yet, it also reflects something deeper about us, our longing for renewal, for something better than what we already have.
The reality for all of us is that we live in a world that loves upgrades. Every year we are invited to improve something – our phones, our homes, our cars, even our holidays. Everything seems to promise that the next version will be faster, better and more satisfying. And now, in the age of connectivity, many of these upgrades happen automatically in the background as we sleep, without us even asking.
It’s easy to see how this shapes our thinking. We begin to assume that happiness is found in what’s new and shiny, that success is defined by improvement, progress, better things. Even our kids and grandkids learn this rhythm early on in life. In their games, they are constantly upgrading characters, unlocking levels, and collecting better upgrades to improve their chances of achieving a higher score. We are all being conditioned to an extent to believe that upgrades are essential to success.
This mindset has the ability to quietly influence our souls. We can become so focused on upgrading the things around us that we forget the importance of the deeper work God is seeking to do within us. We invest so much energy in the temporary when our true calling is eternal. The truth is that every earthly upgrade eventually becomes obsolete and is overtaken by something new, better, more appealing – but what God is seeking to build within us is something that will never become obsolete.
Some time ago I remember being with someone whose husband had died after suffering with cancer. With tears and hope in their voice, they said, “He has experienced the ultimate upgrade”. It was one of those phrases that has stayed with me and given me a greater insight into the reality of what happens when we leave the land of the dying and enter the land of the eternal.
What a profound way to view our life, faith and future. For those who belong to Jesus, death is not the end but is actually the new beginning. It is not a downgrade but rather the ultimate upgrade.
When Christ returns, Scripture tells us we will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye, our mortal bodies will become immortal and all that is broken will be made whole. “He will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). That’s the promise we hold on to. It is why we can say with confidence that for those who love the Lord, the best is yet to come.
And yet, while we wait, it is so easy to still cling tightly to this world. In many ways it is understandable but surely we need to be thinking of heaven more often and yet we build, plan and protect our lives as though this is all there is!
I am thankful that God through his word reminds us that we are sojourners and exiles (1 Peter 2:11), travellers passing through this world on our way towards our true home. Hebrews 13:14 says, “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” This world is not our home, heaven is.
When we live with that awareness, it changes everything. We begin to hold material things more loosely. We stop comparing ourselves to others. We find peace, even in suffering, because we know that this is not the end of the story. Every trial becomes part of God’s preparation for what is to come, a refining of our faith, a deepening of our trust, a shaping of our character as we are changed to become more like Jesus.
One day, the upgrades of this life will stop but the renewal of God’s work in each of us will reach its completion. As Paul writes, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). The process of change may feel slow or painful, but God is always faithful. He is preparing us for glory, shaping us for heaven, and teaching us how to long for our true home.
So, as we live and pray this week, may our hearts be filled with hope and anticipation. The day will come when we exchange what is perishable for what is imperishable, what is temporary for what is eternal. We will leave behind sin, sorrow, pain and death never to experience them again … I’ll say ‘Amen’ to that. What a day that will be. What an ultimate upgrade.
Until then, may we live with our eyes lifted heavenward, our hearts surrendered and our lives focused on what truly lasts. May we walk as people of hope, as people who know that the best is yet to come and as people who live each day with gratitude for the One who makes all things new.
Written by David Mairs
MONDAY
Hope Beyond the Present
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18
The world tells us to fix our eyes on what is visible: possessions, status, success. But God’s word calls us to focus on what is unseen; the eternal work of God that outlasts everything else. Real hope does not depend on our circumstances, it rests on Christ’s promise of eternal life for those who repent and believe.
Heavenly Father, teach me to see beyond the temporary. When I am tempted to measure life by what I can touch or see, remind me that you are at work in eternal ways that are often unseen. Help me walk by faith and not by sight. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
TUESDAY
The Promise of Transformation
Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who ... will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20–21
The world upgrades outwardly, God upgrades inwardly. Our greatest transformation is not cosmetic or technological, it is spiritual and eternal. One day, every weakness, limitation and sorrow will be replaced by glory. Amazing!
Jesus, I thank you that my story does not end with my death here on earth but you are preparing a place for me and one day you will come and receive me onto yourself. Prepare me for that day when you complete your transforming work in me. Give me patience to trust your process, to make the most of this time that I have been given to live for you. Enable me to have a steadfast hope in your promise to me as I remember that all my days have been accounted for before one of them came to pass. Amen.
WEDNESDAY
Living as Pilgrims
For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Hebrews 13:14
We are travellers, not settlers. What a challenging statement! This life with all its beauty, pleasure and pain is only the journey – this is not our destination. Remembering this helps us hold the world’s treasures lightly and live with eternal perspective.
Heavenly Father, thank you that heaven is my true home. Help me to travel through this life with open hands, a hopeful heart and an attitude of gratitude. May I reflect your love to others as I journey toward my true home in the new heavens and new earth. Amen.
THURSDAY
God’s Ongoing Work
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6
Spiritual growth is not something we can attain instantly. It is a continuous process of making every effort to add to our faith but doing so with the resources that God has given to us. Just as our devices receive updates, the Holy Spirit is constantly shaping and refining us into the person God wants us to be. We just have to be open to his word’s transformational power in our lives as we are renewed in the way we think. His work is often unseen but thankfully unstoppable.
Heavenly Father, I thank you that you never give up on me. When I feel unworthy or that I’ll never change, will you in your mercy and longsuffering remind me that you are still at work and will complete the work you started in me. I pray that you will continue transforming me and show me how to live in a way that brings glory to your name. Amen.
FRIDAY
The Glory Ahead
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18
Life has a way of bringing us into seasons of pain and loss; we really cannot avoid them. Yet even in our suffering there is always hope, there is a glory waiting to be revealed. The struggles of this world, though hard and at times unbearable, cannot compare to the joy of eternity. Help me to grapple with and understand this truth.
Heavenly Father, the God of all comfort, I come and ask you to help me when the road feels heavy and impossible to traverse. Help me to lift my eyes towards you and heaven. Help me endure with my faith, trusting you that each and every hardship is only temporary, even though at times it feels more than that. Help me to remember that every tear will one day be wiped away. I long for that day, if I’m honest. Give me what I need today, I pray, to stand when I feel like falling. Amen.
SATURDAY
A Heavenly Focus
Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is… Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:1–2
It is said a heart fixed on heaven finds peace in a restless world. When we focus on Christ, the noise of the world fades, and our priorities start to fall into place.
Jesus, will you quiet the distractions around me. Help me to value what you value, to seek what is eternal, and to live each day aware of your presence. Keep my mind heavenward and my heart full of hope. Help me, I pray. Amen.
SUNDAY
The Ultimate Upgrade
The dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:52–53
This is our hope, the day of our complete renewal. The final upgrade, when sin, pain and death are gone forever and we are made new in Christ’s likeness.
Heavenly Father, I am so looking forward to that glorious day when you make all things new. Keep my hope alive as I live for you today, help me to live in a manner that pleases you and impacts other people in a way that helps them turn to you in faith. Give me the endurance, patience and strength I need for each day that you give me. Until that glorious day when I go to be with you, help me to walk faithfully, love deeply and serve joyfully. Amen.