Monday
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
We can be forgiven of our sins! That's great. We can be purified of any stain from sin!! That's incredible. But only because of God's grace and his willingness to give us the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
MY PRAYER ...
Forgiving Father, please forgive me today for my lack of passion to love and forgive others in the way you have forgiven me. Create in me a heart like your own. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Tuesday
It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
When we read the book of Acts, we find the disciples overjoyed at suffering "for the sake of the name." Jesus' followers consider it a privilege and not just a hardship. The truth of our commitment is often best shown to the skeptical when we are "under fire."
MY PRAYER ...
What a precious name you have given to your son, O Lord. May it be exalted in all the earth and through out all the heavens, until all existence knows that he is truly Lord. Through him I pray. Amen.
Wednesday
My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Who we are, what becomes of us in life, is in God's hands. We cannot purchase or achieve lasting honor for ourselves without his blessing. We cannot secure the future or our safety without his protection and blessing. The basis of all achievement and glory is dependent upon us placing our lives in his care.
MY PRAYER ...
O Rock, Fortress of my life, I place myself in your care. Take charge of my future and use me for your glory. In you I take refuge, and on your strength I rely to make my days worthwhile. In the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Thursday
There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
We do not need another person, no matter how mighty, pious, or special, to intercede for us before God. As his children, we can go freely, knowing that God himself has provided the perfect mediator between us and himself. That mediator alone is head of the church and chief priest before God for us. His name is Christ Jesus, our Lord.
MY PRAYER ...
O God, you are my God, and I praise you for making yourself so available. I know that in my power, I have no right to approach you. Yet in your grace you not only provided a ransom for my sin but a mediator for my approach to you. Jesus, I thank you as well, for paying the price and staying at the Father's side to intercede and speak for me! Thank you for making this prayer known to the Father. Amen.
Friday
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Righteousness! That's what we are. God's righteousness. We are the testimony of how holy, just, and gracious he truly is, because in Jesus, we are his righteousness!
MY PRAYER …
Thank you, O Almighty God, for making me righteous in the blood of your son's death. May people see in me a reflection of your holiness, justice, and mercy. Through Jesus, who sacrificed for my sins, I pray. Amen.
Saturday
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and he carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Jesus was everything and became nothing and we didn't notice what he did for us. We just assumed he deserved it, and so we did not repent. But there was something about that sacrificial story that grabbed our hearts and called us home we found in him not only a Savior, but a servant.
MY PRAYER ...
God Almighty, your plan to redeem me takes my breath away. How and why you chose to take your precious son and expose him to such public disgrace I will never comprehend. But this I do know: you love me with an everlasting love. I pledge to you that I will serve you with all of my strength in thanks for his great sacrifice. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Sunday
He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
I don't know how Jesus could stand up under its weight. He had my sin, your sin, our sin, placed upon him so we would not have to bear the consequences of it. But in that sacrifice, as horrible as it was, we find ourselves healed, cured of the most awful disease a sin-sick soul. In its place, he has left us a transforming peace.
MY PRAYER ...
God of peace, fill my soul with the wonder of your grace. Let me not forget the cost of your love. Stir in me the constant and abiding memory of your redemptive grace. Thank you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.