Monday
If, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Jesus didn't just die for my sins, he lives for me. In fact, he is at God's right hand claiming me as his own (see 1 John 2:1-2). If he was willing to die to save me, what will he withhold now that he lives victorious over death?
MY PRAYER ...
Holy and Righteous Father, I thank you for Jesus, who is at your side and knows my heart, struggles, and world. I thank you for your constant care and protection through all of my difficulties and triumphs. Please make your presence known more clearly today than ever before as I try to serve you with wholehearted devotion. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Tuesday
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Jesus was God with us. No imitation, knock off, or clone. He was God with us. To this day, he sustains creation with his word – so much for "Mother Nature." But now "God with us" has paid for our sins and is not just God with us, but God for us at the Father's side.
MY PRAYER ...
Precious Lord, as you have so many times in the past, you take these humble human words and bring them to the Father as my friend and brother. Thank you for your sacrifice, which saved me. Thank you for your sustaining presence in our universe. Thank you for your daily intercession. Thank you for being God for me at the Father's side. To the glorious, majestic, and holy God, who sent Jesus as Savior, be glory, honor, and adoration forever and ever. Amen.
Wednesday
At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Jesus died for us, but not because he had some high hopes for who we are or what we would be. No, he died for us because he knew exactly who we are and what we would be without him. But praise be to God, we are now God's righteousness because he took our sin and gave us God's grace (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
MY PRAYER ...
Holy God, thank you for Jesus, my Savior. No words are adequate to express my love and devotion to you for such an incredible gift! Through him I give and live my thanks to you. Amen.
Thursday
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness, by his wounds you have been healed.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
He bore our sins. He didn't just carry them, he suffered the penalty we deserved. His anguish was our healing, his suffering our righteousness. How can we ever think of going back to sin after he suffered so much to bear their penalty?
MY PRAYER ...
Holy God, how you could stand to see your precious Son under the weight of my sin, all sin, I will never understand. Thank you for such a great love and for being so great a God. There is none who can be compared to you, O God. Your greatness is beyond imagining and your love beyond my dreams. I will live this day to your glory through him who bore my sin so I could be your child. Amen.
Friday
Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
"I've just got to find myself." Won't ever happen. We do not "find ourselves, our life" by pursuing it. We find it by losing it to something or someone greater than ourselves. We find our life be losing it to Jesus and the work of his Kingdom.
MY PRAYER ...
Master and Maker of all that lives and breathes, take my life and every breath and use it for your glory. May my words and actions this day be pleasing to you. Through Jesus I offer you this prayer and praise. Amen.
Saturday
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE …
"I blew it!" Come to think of it, we've all blown it! We don't measure up. We're not divine. We might be decent, but decent won't do. Only the divine, the truly righteous, make it past the grave in glory. Thank God that grace is freely given and the price for our sin was paid by Jesus. While I "blew it" he renewed it!
MY PRAYER ...
Kind and Loving Father, thank you for being so generous with your grace. May I be as passionate for your righteousness as you were in redeeming me from my sin. Through Jesus I ask this. Amen.
Sunday
I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you ... that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according Scriptures.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
The Gospel story is pretty simple to understand. The grace of the Gospel is glorious to receive. The sacrifice of the Gospel is incomprehensible. The victory of the Gospel is life.
MY PRAYER ...
Almighty Lord, thank you for the empty tomb and Jesus' victory over the grave. Just as Jesus' death pardoned my sin, his resurrection assures my future. Thank you for grace and glory. May my life today be lived by the power of the resurrection. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.