Monday
I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given to me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
How important is grace? Paul said it was more important than his life! Telling about grace was more important to Paul than his life! In fact, that was his life!
MY PRAYER ...
Almighty God, Holy Father, thank you for your lavish grace demonstrated and fully expressed in sending Jesus to die for me. As your child, and in thanks to your sacrificial gift, I pledge to you my life, my love, and my all. Through Jesus. Amen.
Tuesday
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Have a brake on your tongue, hit the throttle on your ears. Let your angry email sit three days before responding and make sure you read it and edit it before you send it. Keep you mouth shut and your ears open. They all say the same thing. Now if we would just do it, wouldn't the Christian community be so much more blessed!
MY PRAYER ...
Mighty and Holy God, you are incredible. Beyond my comprehending. How you put up with all the drivel, senseless, and hurtful speech that I and your other children spew out is beyond my understanding. I ask that you release the Holy Spirit to convict my heart and guard my lips from any form of hurtful speech. I want my voice to be as much yours as my heart is. This I pray through Jesus. Amen.
Wednesday
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
How do you view God? Is he someone looking for a way to condemn you? Is he an out-of-touch old man who doesn't really know what it's like in our modern world? Is he too holy to soil himself with the concerns of mere mortals and has left it up to us to work everything out for ourselves? No. NO. NO! God chose to enter our world and experience it from the side of mortality. God chose to enter our world, not to condemn us, or it, but to redeem it. Jesus is the great reminder that God longs to save us, not judge us. Thank God for God! Thank God for Jesus who was God with us.
MY PRAYER ...
Holy and Heavenly God, thank you that you live with those who are contrite and repentant and who long for your presence. You know we are only mortal, but you love us. You know that we are flawed, but you redeemed us. You know that we are not perfect, but you sent Jesus as the perfect sacrifice to save us. Thank you. Through my Savior I offer my sincerest gratitude and praise. Amen.
Thursday
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
One of the powerful things about having a Bible, a repository of God's words, is that its age and varied countries and cultures remind us how enduring God's truth actually is. Yet it is God in whom we put our trust. His enduring presence through cultures, centuries, and countries reminds us that eternal is outside our grasp, but God holds us in his grasp.
MY PRAYER ...
O Great and Eternal God, thank you that you are more stable than the ground on which I stand, more enduring than the mountain peaks I admire, and more constant than the waves upon the oceans. I trust my life and my future and soul with you. Please be pleased, but even more, help me to be constant in faithfulness to you. Through Jesus I ask this prayer. Amen.
Friday
The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
What do you have that is forever? Most of everything we have falls apart, breaks, or runs down in a short time. But we have three things that last forever: God, our Christian friends, and our praise of God. These are eternal.
MY PRAYER ...
God, I look forward to the day of your next great surprise. I join the angels in standing on tiptoe as I look to the clouds to see my Lord, your Son, return in glory and receive the welcome and honor he deserves. I praise you for that day now, even though I see it only by faith. Until I see you on that day, please know my heart's desire is to serve you, even when my weakness gets in the way of showing it as fully as I should. My thanks to you in Jesus name. Amen.
Saturday
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of thing has passed away.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
I don't know about you, but I'm kind of ready for that old order stuff to go away. The end of tears, death, mourning, crying and pain sounds pretty good to me! No wonder the early Christians would say, "Marantha. Come Lord Jesus!" They couldn't wait.
MY PRAYER ...
Holy God, please help me as I try to continue serving you faithfully. My desire is to be steadfast in my love and living for you until the glorious day that so many of your children have longed for over the centuries. I long to see you in your glory and to share in your presence and to join with the saints of all ages past praising you around your glorious throne. Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Sunday
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
Who are you waiting for? Can you think of anything more exciting than to wait for Jesus to come take us home in his glory.
MY PRAYER ...
Majestic King of the Ages, may your Kingdom come in all its fullness and every knee bow to your Savior, and may you grant that it may come to pass in our generation. Through Jesus I expectantly pray. Amen.
