Today’s Verse – 1 John 4:11-12
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. —1 John 4:11-12 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Can you imagine what an honor it is to have the Creator of the universe, the LORD God Almighty, living inside of you? Yet when we love each other, that is exactly what happens. When our hearts are full of love, there is room for God, a great deal of room for God, because God is love. When they are not full of love, we leave little room for God to take up residence and produce his character in us. Let God complete his love in you: commit to doing loving things for others today, and each day that follows, until you can express your love for your Father, face-to-face in glory! My Prayer… Abba Father, I find it so comforting to know that you are not far away – that I live in you and you live in me (Colossians 3:1-4). Please help me see others with your eyes and respond to their needs with your heart so that your love may be complete in me and demonstrated in my actions. In the name of Jesus, the Servant and Savior of all, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Some of My Very Best Gifts
Note from Jesus My Beloved, Far too often in your world, children and their fathers have great difficulty communicating. Sometimes this situation is because of non-communicative fathers. Other times, however, children go through periods where they don’t want to talk with their fathers because they feel their fathers cannot understand their problems or the world in which they live. On the other hand, some children are just rebellious and don’t want their father interfering in their lives. My Abba Father, your Abba in heaven, doesn’t want these obstacles to come between you and Him. Your heavenly Father wants you to know how to communicate with Him. He wants you to seek Him even when you don’t know what to say or when you don’t know how to say what’s on your heart. Today, I want to give three assurances that when you speak to the Father, He hears you: Remember that He is your loving Abba Father — you come to him as His beloved child (Romans 8:15-16). You can know that even simple words will be heard (Luke 11:1-13). The Holy Spirit intercedes for you (Romans 8:26-27). Providing you with words to speak to God and assuring you that God will hear you are some of the greatest gifts I can give you. Please be blessed and take great advantage of being able to speak with the Creator of the universe as your Father. Know that whenever and wherever you choose to draw near to speak to Him, he will listen to you! Verses to Live My first disciples wanted to learn how to pray. They had seen Me pray many times. They knew I would sometimes withdraw from everything and spend time with the Father. My disciples knew that one of the great blessings a teacher gave his disciples was to teach them to pray. So, their request was a good one. I hope you long for Me to guide you in how to pray. Please notice all the different times I prayed in My life and ministry. Pay attention to how I prayed, where I prayed, and what I prayed. Today, My beloved disciple, I want you to know that prayer is not about saying a lot of different or magical or profound words that sound religious. You are My Father’s child, too. Your prayers don’t need to impress Him. He longs to hear from you. So, please, don’t focus on your words, but on your relationship with the Father. Be honest and simple in what you pray. Recognize that only a few things are truly essential in life and in your Christian service and focus on them. Another time Jesus was praying, and when He finished, one of His disciples approached Him. Disciple: Teacher, would You teach us Your way of prayer? John taught his disciples his way of prayer, and we’re hoping You’ll do the same. Jesus: Here’s how to pray: Father in heaven. May Your kingdom come. Give us the food we need for tomorrow, And forgive us for our wrongs, for we forgive those who wrong us. And lead us away from temptation. Imagine that one of your friends comes over at midnight. He bangs on the door and shouts, “Friend, will you lend me three loaves of bread? A friend of mine just showed up unexpectedly from a journey, and I don’t have anything to feed him.” Would you shout out from your bed, “I’m already in bed, and so are the kids. I already locked the door. I can’t be bothered”? You know this as well as I do: even if you didn’t care that this fellow was your friend, if he keeps knocking long enough, you’ll get up and give him whatever he needs simply because of his brash persistence! So listen: Keep on asking, and you will receive. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened for you. All who keep asking will receive, all who keep seeking will find, and doors will open to those who keep knocking. Some of you are fathers, so ask yourselves this: if your son comes up to you and asks for a fish for dinner, will you give him a snake instead? If your boy wants an egg to eat, will you give him a scorpion? Look, all of you are flawed in so many ways, yet in spite of all your faults, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to all who ask! (Luke 11:1-13) And, My beloved disciple, even when you don’t get your words exactly correct, or when you can’t find the right words to express your heart, remember that I have given you the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is your spiritual DNA that connects you to God as your Abba Father. You are His beloved child. The Spirit will take your emotions, your confusion, and your concerns to the Father. When you don’t have words, point your heart to heaven and ask the Spirit to take your groanings, including those that are too deep for words, and present them acceptably to the Father. He is your Abba. You are His child. The Spirit is your assurance. Offer the Father your heart, your emotions, and your fears, and the Holy Spirit will make them all known to our Father! You see, you have not received a spirit that returns you to slavery, so you have nothing to fear. The Spirit you have received adopts you and welcomes you into God’s own family. That’s why we call out to Him, “Abba! Father!” as we would address a loving daddy. Through that prayer, God’s Spirit confirms in our spirits that we are His children. … A similar thing happens when we pray. We are weak and do not know how to pray, so the Spirit steps in and articulates prayers for us with groaning too profound for
Today’s Verse – 1 John 3:11
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. —1 John 3:11 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… The original message? Love one another. The enduring message? Love one another. The most convincing message? Love one another. The most difficult message? Love one another. The clearest message? Love one another.This call to love one another reminds me of the convicting verse I once heard a preacher use about loving our brothers and sisters: To dwell above with saints we love, O that will be glory. But to dwell below with saints we know, Now that’s another story. But it’s the story we’re called to write with our lives. Love one another. It’s Jesus’ enduring message to us is clear: Love one another! My Prayer… Loving Father, I commit to you that I will intentionally show my love for your children in what I do and say. I do this trusting in your grace and the Holy Spirit to empower me to do more loving things and be more loving than I could be on my own. I want to obey my Lord’s command to love others as he did. Through Jesus, my Savior, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Take Me Into Your Heart
Note from Jesus Dear Child of God, Don’t miss the heartbreak of the events described in the Scripture below. Despite all I had said and had done, people turned away from Me. As long as I would do miracles for them, they were quite happy to hang around with Me. But when I would not do their wish list miracles-on-demand and when I told them the truth about My divinity, they got testy with Me and My followers. In fact, many quit following Me. So here’s the challenge. You need to take Me — My truth, My power, and My words — into your heart. Some of the things I ask of you will be hard — some of them hard to do and some of them hard to understand. But here’s the point: to the best of your ability and empowered by the Holy Spirit within you, do what I ask, believe what I say, and live what I teach. My words are life-giving and life-preserving. The Holy Spirit is at work giving you guidance, using you in My service, and conforming you to My words. There will be times when you are confused. Some of that confusion will be because life is hard. Sometimes your confusion will come from your own selfishness and rebelliousness. Some of your confusion will be there because some of what I say can be hard to understand or you are not ready for it. But despite all the shortcomings you can find in Peter and My other apostles, please notice Peter’s words — spoken for all of the apostles. I asked if they would walk away from Me, too, and this is what Peter said: “Lord, if we were to go, whom would we follow? You speak the words that give everlasting life. We believe and recognize that You are the Holy One sent by God.” Verses to Live Notice all the back-and-forth below in John’s account. There is a lot of talk about faith. Bottom line: just TALK about faith really doesn’t mean much. What matters is what Peter and the apostles DO: they (except for Judas) risk all to follow Me because of their choice to believe in Me even when many are turning away from Me: Some of the Jews began to grumble quietly against Him [Jesus] because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” Crowd: Isn’t Jesus the son of Joseph? We know His parents! We know where He came from, so how can He claim to have “come down from heaven”? Jesus: Stop grumbling under your breaths. If the Father Who sent Me does not draw you, then there’s no way you can come to Me. But I will resurrect everyone who does come on the last day. Among the prophets, it’s written, “Everyone will be taught of God.” So everyone who has heard and learned from the Father finds Me. No one has seen the Father, except the One sent from God. He has seen the Father. I am telling you the truth: the one who accepts these things has eternal life. I am the bread that gives life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they died as you know. But there is another bread that comes from heaven; if you eat this bread, you will not die. I am the living bread that has come down from heaven to rescue those who eat it. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. The bread that I will give breathes life into the cosmos. This bread is My flesh. The low whispers of some of Jesus’ detractors turned into an out-and-out debate. Crowd: What is He talking about? How is He able to give us His flesh to eat? Jesus: I tell you the truth; unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not know life. If you eat My flesh and drink My blood, then you will have eternal life and I will raise you up at the end of time. My flesh and blood provide true nourishment. If you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you will abide in Me and I will abide in you. The Father of life Who sent Me has given life to Me; and as you eat My flesh, I will give life to you. This is bread that came down from heaven; I am not like the manna that your fathers ate and then died! If you eat this bread, your life will never end. He spoke these words in the synagogue as part of His teaching mission in Capernaum. Many disciples heard what He said, and they had questions of their own. Disciples: How are we supposed to understand all of this? It is a hard teaching. Jesus was aware that even His disciples were murmuring about this. Jesus: Has My teaching offended you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascend to return to where He came from? The Spirit brings life. The flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have been teaching you are spirit and life, but some of you do not believe. From the first day Jesus began to call disciples, He knew those who did not have genuine faith. He knew, too, who would betray Him. Jesus: This is why I have been telling you that no one comes to Me without the Father’s blessing and guidance. After hearing these teachings, many of His disciples walked away and no longer followed Jesus. Jesus (to the twelve): Do you want to walk away too? Simon Peter: Lord, if we were to go, whom would we follow? You speak the words that give everlasting life. We believe and recognize that You are the Holy One sent by God. Jesus: I chose each one of you, the twelve, Myself. But one of you is a devil. This cryptic comment referred to Judas, the son of Simon
Today’s Verse – John 13:34-35
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. —John 13:34-35 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… How do you recognize Jesus’ followers? How do you find true Christians? Many people claim to be followers of Jesus, but are they really? How do we know? In the Gospel of John, Jesus gives us three ways that show we are his true disciples: we abide in his word (John 8:31-32 ESV), we bear much fruit (John 15:8), and we love one another (John 13:35). Today, we focus on our love for one another as a mark of true discipleship. Jesus said his disciples would love each other just as he loved them. In the immediate context, this kind of love is defined: like Jesus, we are willing to love and serve each other selflessly and practically – just as he washed their feet and later went to the cross while protecting them. The LORDs ministry revealed he would do almost anything to demonstrate his love for his disciples, whether extravagant, simple, or something in between. Imagine if we all followed the LORD Jesus’ example and proved ourselves his disciples by loving each other in the same way Jesus demonstrated his love to them and to us! My Prayer… Father of Compassion and God of all grace, we thank you for teaching me to love through the example and commands of Jesus. May our words and actions reflect his love toward your people today, tomorrow, and until you bring us all home to you. In the name of Christ, our Great Example and LORD, we pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
More Than!
Note from Jesus Dear Believer, I know that the religious world has its share of overstatement, hyperbole, exaggeration, and sometimes even fraud. So beware of the person who is trying to get you to buy something to get some favor from Me. Don’t trust anyone who teaches you to bargain with God. The mindset of “If I do this, then God will do that for me!” is really a form of idolatry. It’s based on having a god you can manipulate and control for your own desires. We — Father, Son, and Spirit — can’t be fit into a box or forced to jump through a hoop you’ve made so that you can (try to) control Us and get Us to do what you want! On the other hand, as the one true and living God — Father, Son, and Spirit — We are the God of grace. We can and we will do more than you can ask or imagine through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you (Ephesians 3:14-21). I am talking about the power of the kingdom — Our power within the hearts and in the people with whom We reign as King. The two little short stories below about a mustard seed and a little bit of yeast are great examples to remind you that I AM at work bringing the kingdom of God to you in mysterious and wonderful ways. Here’s your part: Submit to My lordship. Ask Me to reign over your heart as King. Now take that kingdom focus — My holy reign over your heart — into every aspect of your life. I taught you to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10 NIV). When you pray this prayer, you are asking for My holy reign over your heart! Your commitment to being a person who lives for Me, a person who seeks to bring My kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven,” is like planting a tiny seed in the ground or putting a little yeast in a batch of dough. You don’t make the seed grow. You don’t make the yeast spread and the dough rise. But there is a mysterious and wonderful power unleashed when that seed is planted and that yeast is mixed into the dough. My kingdom power and grace at work within you and through you are like that seed and that yeast. The seed sprouts and grows. The yeast spreads, penetrates, and permeates, and the dough rises. Before long, the impact of your heartfelt commitment to let My “will be done” and to let My “kingdom come” in your life and through your influence begins to change you and the world around you in ways you could never even ask or imagine! Verses to Live I love powerful imagery from everyday life. If I held a mustard seed between My thumb and My forefinger, no one in the crowd could see it because it is so small. The same is true about a little yeast. But wow! Look at how much they grow, expand, and bless. Such power and grace can flow through you to those around you because of My kingdom power at work in you! Jesus … : Do you want to understand the kingdom of God? Do you want Me to tell you what it’s like? It’s like a single mustard seed that someone took and planted in his garden. That tiny seed grew and became a tree so large that the birds could fly in and make their nests in its branches. Do you want Me to tell you what the kingdom of God is like? It’s like some yeast which a woman hid within a huge quantity of flour; soon the whole batch of dough was rising. (Luke 13:18-21) Response in Prayer Father in heaven, I want Your name to be reverenced and held as holy and precious. I long for Your kingdom to come fully in my life and through my influence on others. I want the things dear to Your heart to be honored in my life. I want to be fully conformed to the character and compassion of Jesus as I trust in You for everything important, and not so important, in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2026, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Get This Please!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, Don’t miss this truth: “The Son of Man didn’t come to ruin the lives of people, but He came to liberate them.” No matter what happens to Me on the way to the cross, I won’t use My power for Myself or My preservation even though I have the power to defend Myself and defeat every enemy I have to face. I came to liberate people. I came to liberate you! I came to liberate you from your fear about the future and your fear about your work and worship being wasted. I came to liberate you from the human principle of retaliation and the mistaken notion that violence in return for violence can bring peace. I came to liberate you from the stranglehold of demonic powers and the fear of death. I came to liberate you from having to prove you are significant, worthy, and acceptable to God. I came to liberate you from the mistaken notion that everyone will accept Me. Don’t grow angry with those who reject Me and don’t retaliate against those who push Me away. There are many others who need Me and My grace; move on from those who reject Me and My message and reach those who are seeking and searching. Once again, I remind you: “The Son of Man didn’t come to ruin the lives of people, but He came to liberate them.” Verses to Live My disciples did some dumb things out of fear and confusion. Today you see James and John wanting to do something stupid and insensitive out of confusion and fear; they wanted to destroy some people who didn’t welcome Me. Notice how I point them to the positive aspect of My mission rather than letting them become focused on their anger at those who rejected Me. My followers need to hear the same message in your day! The time approached for Him [Jesus] to be taken back up to the Father; so strong with resolve, Jesus made Jerusalem His destination. He sent some people ahead of Him into the territory of the Samaritans, a minority group at odds with the Jewish majority. He wanted His messengers to find a place for them to stay in a village along the road to Jerusalem. But because the Samaritans realized Jesus was going to Jerusalem, they refused to welcome them. James and John (outraged): Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy these people who have rejected You? Jesus (turning toward them and shaking His head): You just don’t get it. The Son of Man didn’t come to ruin the lives of people, but He came to liberate them. He led them on toward another village. (Luke 9:51-56) Response in Prayer Almighty God, help me remain focused on why Jesus came and why You sent Him into our world. In everything I do, including my efforts to reach and teach the lost, I want to reflect the purpose, character, and compassion of Jesus, in Whose name I offer this prayer. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2026, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 13:6-7
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. —1 Corinthians 13:6-7 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Life as a follower of Jesus is always about love – loving God and loving others (Matthew 22:36-40), doing the things Paul lists here – not delighting in evil, rejoicing with the truth, protecting, trusting, hoping, and persevering always! Living this always loving way in a fallen world full of self-centered people is a very tough and tall order and sometimes very tough work. Only God is always. But then Christians are fueled to this always kind of love through the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us that “The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5). No wonder this love, true love, Christian love, loving like Jesus is always love – it is God’s love, demonstrated by Jesus’ sacrifice, and now empowered through us by the Holy Spirit to be delivered to others by grace. My Prayer… Sweet and Glorious God on high, I humble myself before you, recognizing your boundless power to love always. I also recognize the incredible need for this always kind of love in the lives of those around me as I try to love that way with my limited capacity to love in my own strength. So, please pour your Holy Spirit into my heart and fill me with the power to love as you do: always. In Jesus’ sweet name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
The Blindness of Fear
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, Have you ever been blinded by fear? Have your decisions ever been erratic or inappropriate because you were acting out of terror and confusion? Have you ever done something really stupid because you were trying to deny oncoming reality and wanted to do anything possible to avoid finding out what might happen? Don’t be too hard on My disciples in the events you read about below. They really looked like insensitive clods in several of the next events in My life because they were confused and fearful. They had risked everything to follow Me. They had seen Me do amazing miracles — feed thousands, still storms, raise the dead, heal the sick, and cast out demons. So they were having a hard time processing My repeated warnings of My impending crucifixion. As Luke describes it below, “they felt too afraid to ask” Me what I was describing because they didn’t want to believe there could be a catastrophe in our future together. Let those words settle into your heart — “they felt too afraid to ask”! Most people reach this place of fear at some point in their lives. They need to know, they need to understand what is about to happen, they need to realize what is ahead, but… they feel too afraid to ask anyone, including Me, about what lies ahead. So they end up in arguments over “stupid and vain” questions. In the face of fear, they need to know they belong to Me and are important to Me. So please know the following truths: First, you don’t need to have all the answers to people’s problems, but I do want you to serve those who are vulnerable. Second, don’t discount the good things others do in My name just because you don’t recognize them as part of your group. If they are doing good in My name, then I can use their efforts for the good of the kingdom. Third, beloved disciple, don’t be too hard on yourself when fear grips you and blinds you about your future. When your fear leads you to do or say dumb, insensitive, or inappropriate things, learn from and don’t repeat your mistakes but don’t beat yourself up. Remember, there will never be a place that you travel in your life that I will not go with you and ultimately bring you safely home to the Father. Verses to Live Be encouraging and tender with those who do dumb things because they are afraid or in denial or find themselves confused about the future. Watch how I prepare My disciples as I minister to them on My way to the crucifixion and resurrection. While I do get frustrated with them at times, notice how I warn them of the truth about what is coming and prepare them for what lies ahead. Notice that at other times I leave them promises about the future and assurances that I will not abandon them, but send the Spirit to them. Especially notice how I leave seeds of truth for them to discover as the events unfold — seeds of truth that give them strength for their important ministry ahead. The following verses are just the first stage in My journey to Jerusalem where rejection and the cross await me. So watch how I treat those closest to Me as they journey into the heart of their most unimaginable fears. Jesus: Listen. Listen hard. Let these words get down deep: the Son of Man is going to be turned over to the authorities and arrested. They [the disciples] had no idea what He meant by this; they heard the words but missed the meaning, and they felt too afraid to ask Him to explain further. Later the close followers of Jesus began to argue over the stupid and vain question, “Which one of us is the greatest disciple?” Jesus saw what was going on — not just the argument, but the deeper heart issues — so He found a child and had the child stand beside Him. Jesus: See this little one? Whoever welcomes a little child in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One Who sent Me. The smallest one among you is therefore the greatest. John: Master, we found this fellow casting out demons. He said he was doing it in Your name, but he’s not one of our group. So we told him to stop. Jesus: What? No! Don’t think like that! Whoever is not working against you is working with you. (Luke 9:44-50) Response in Prayer Dear Father, sometimes fear about things I cannot control makes me do dumb things. Sometimes, dear Father, fear about the future for those I love makes my heart waver and my faith weak. Please, dear God, hear my prayers. Show me Your presence. Give me strength to face each tomorrow. In my confusion and frustration, I need to experience Your nearness, or I cannot handle what is ahead or minister to others in a way that blesses them and honors You. In Jesus’ name, I offer up my heart and my deepest fears to You. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2026, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. —1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… True love does not focus on itself, but on others. Each of these qualities of love – patience, kindness, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no records of wrongs – is based on an affectionate, compassionate, and forgiving attitude that regards others as valuable to us, and to Jesus. Rather than placing value only on ourselves and our desires, we remember how Jesus lived and seek to have a heart like his (Philippians 2:5-11). This kind of love comes from the power of the Holy Spirit within us (Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22-23). It is part of the Spirit’s transforming us into more JESUShaped people (2 Corinthians 3:18). The old saying is true: “In the middle of all SIN is a big I!” When “I” become more important than others, when what “I” want and how “I” win are more significant than what others truly need, then “I” have lost my way and do not display the love of Christ. My Prayer… Holy God and Sacrificial Father, please teach us to notice others and value them just as you do and as Jesus demonstrated while on earth. We know you loved us when we were not lovable, and redeemed us when we were not worthy. So we ask for the Holy Spirit’s help in having the heart like yours, as we take our focus off ourselves, and seek to see others as you do. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.