Monday
To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
The truth is often as simple as it is sweet – if Jesus is our life, then our life has no end.
MY PRAYER ...
Eternal God, thank you for sending Jesus to show me your love and thank you for sending him again soon to take me home. He is my anchor in the storms of life and my light in the darkest nights, reminding me that you love me with an undying love. Through him I pray. Amen.
Tuesday
He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
This statement is both a reminder of God's glorious grace and also of our need to share that grace with others.
MY PRAYER ...
Father of all nations, resurrect in your people a desire to spread your grace to every language, tribe, nation, and people. Empower us with your Spirit so we will speak the Gospel of Jesus with boldness and respect to a world that does not know him. Use us to help others come to life in the Son! Through whom we pray. Amen.
Wednesday
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: To believe in the one he has sent."
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Do you believe in Jesus? Do you really believe? Shortly after Max Lucado came back from his mission work in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he shared with a group of his closest friends that his theology was pretty simple. He didn't have a handle on a lot of the big difficult theological problems that divide folks. But Max said he came to the firm and deep conviction that God loves us and he showed that love by sending Jesus to live among us, to die for us, and to be raised from the dead so we could, too. This is the work of God – amazingly simple and awesomely powerful.
MY PRAYER ...
Holy God, I do believe that Jesus came to earth, died, and was raised from the dead. Please help me show and share that message with those around me looking to find hope and help. Holy Spirit, open my eyes to those around me who are searching. Father, I want so much to share in your work, please help me as I rededicate myself to it today. Through Jesus, my Savior, I pray. Amen.
Thursday
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Wouldn't it be great if we could tear down all the walls that divide us – racial, social, and gender. The apostle Paul spent his entire life trying to do just that, to tear down the walls that divided people by bringing them to Jesus and the cross. There are no positions of superiority or inferiority at the foot of the cross, only those who discover God's might displayed in sacrifice and God's love displayed in the face of human cruelty. While the forces of culture and human selfishness are always finding ways to divide us, we must remember that in Jesus, and only in Jesus, we can be one.
MY PRAYER ...
Forgive me, O God, when I have let prejudice and suspicion keep me from fully loving those whom you have claimed as your children. I pray that my life will be an example of redemption and unity as I seek to love your children as you do. Through him whose dying prayer was for unity, I pray. Amen.
Friday
"You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household."
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Those of us who have been Christians a long time sometimes forget that we have no claim or right to the grace we have received. When we feel we deserve it, that it is ours by right, it is no longer grace and we no longer have it. To be a part of God's family is grace. Our lives are a gift from the Holy One who spoke into existence the universe (in which we are) and who knows how to share and love in ways we can't even imagine.
MY PRAYER ...
For the incredible and boundless love you have given to me, O Almighty God, I can only fall to my knees and thank you. Your power is beyond my comprehension. Your awesome holiness is beyond my understanding. Yet your infinite grace is mine because of your love, which cost you so much. "Thank you. A million times over I say it, "Thank you!" Through Jesus my Lord. Amen.
Saturday
What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you -- guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
We live in a world of keys, locks, alarms, and security systems. Paul's words here, shouldn't come as a surprise to us. The things that are most valuable to us we protect. What is more precious to us than the truth of God's saving grace in the Gospel. Thankfully, God has pre-wired all of us with a security system to help protect that incredibly precious hope. This security system lives in us. It is the Holy Spirit.
MY PRAYER ...
Help me, O God, to not compromise your truth to legalism or license. I want to live, and show others how to live, a holy life. I want to share with them your grace and mercy. But most of all Father, I want them to join with me in welcoming Jesus when he returns. Please empower me by your Spirit to see through falsehood and error and protect and live your truth. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Sunday
[Jesus said,] "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Last words. The last words of a parent to a child leaving for college. The last words of a loved one at the bedside of someone dying. The last words of a friend before moving to a distant place. These last words are chosen with care because they leave a lasting impact. Jesus' last words are our marching orders. "Go make disciples of all peoples! To do this," he emphasized, "you must go where they are, baptize them, and then teach them to do what I taught you to do." Not hard to understand, so what are we doing about obeying those last commands?
MY PRAYER ...
Father from whom all peoples derive their hope, use your Spirit to rouse within me a passion to share your grace with all peoples. Nudge me out of my safety zone and call me into your empowering and sacrificial grace so that I help others come to know you. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.