Today’s Verse – James 5:20
[R]emember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. —James 5:20 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… When someone wanders from God’s path, let’s not take their rebellion frivolously. God has given us the tremendous blessing of carrying on the work of our Savior, Jesus, who came to seek and save the lost (Mark 10:45; Luke 10:10). Jesus calls us to help the wayward return home to the Savior and go find those who are lost and return them to the Savior (Matthew 18:10-14; Luke 15:1-32). My Prayer… Gracious Father, please be with those I love who are living in rebellion against you. Use me to be your agent of restoration to bring them home to you and help them discover your grace, mercy, and forgiveness. In Jesus’ 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.
Today’s Verse – Mark 5:19
Jesus did not let [the man from whom he had cast out a legion of demons] come with him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” —Mark 5:19 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Amazingly, Jesus had given this formerly demonized man his life back. The Lord had powerfully delivered this formerly uncontrollable man from the power of Satan, demons, and the grave. How will this newly liberated man use the Lord’s grace? He will tell those in his family what the LORD had done for him. Apparently, the man obeyed Jesus because many people were waiting for Jesus the next time the Lord came to this area! Should each of us share with our friends and family what the Lord has done in us, for us, and through us? YES! My Prayer… Father, bless me as I seek to share my faith and your salvation with those in my family and among my friends who have not yet called on Jesus as LORD and have not yet surrendered their lives to him. Help me not to push them farther away, but instead, help them see all the ways you have blessed my life. In Jesus’ 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.
Pentecost!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, A new era began after My resurrection. On the day of Pentecost, I poured out the Holy Spirit first on My closest disciples. Then I poured out the Holy Spirit upon all those who responded to their message (Acts 2:38-39; Titus 3:3-5). The pouring out of the Spirit upon My disciples was done loudly and with no small disturbance. The apostles spoke about Me. People from many countries heard the message in their own languages. Yes, there were some skeptics — as there always are. Undeniably, something dramatic was happening. The words spoken by Peter and the apostles were powerful, but there was something more than convincing words touching the hearts of the people. My life, death, and resurrection were proclaimed. Conviction swept through the crowd like wildfire. Their yearning hearts cried out for relief from their rejection of the Messiah, their Lord and Savior — Me. Peter let the crowd at Pentecost know that the same Spirit Who propelled this message past their defenses and brought conviction to their hearts was now available to them if they repented and were baptized. And many were immersed that day based on their faith in Me and turning their lives around to follow Me! Luke, the writer of Acts, described it this way: Whoever made a place for his [Peter’s] message in their hearts received the baptism; in fact, that day alone, about 3,000 people joined the disciples. The movement of the Spirit in My disciples had begun and would sweep across the Mediterranean area in about thirty years. And you, My dear disciple, are a part of that movement that began at Pentecost. You are part of a movement centered on My death, burial, and resurrection. This gospel is proclaimed by people filled with the Holy Spirit. These people are built into a spiritual family that reflects my righteous character and gracious compassion. You can see that Luke emphasized all of this in his telling of the Pentecost story. Please know that I long to do in your day what happened in that time long ago. Come! Believe! Ask for the Spirit’s power to be at work in you, among your spiritual family, and with your efforts to bring the kingdom of God to the lost world around you. Verses to Live These verses talk about the birth of the new era of the Holy Spirit. Read through them a couple of times and then ask yourself if you have responded to the call of My gospel the way those early disciples did. Then open yourself to the work of the Holy Spirit in your day. I long to reanimate My people with grace and power. Don’t let the power of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, be dead in your day! When the holy day of Pentecost came 50 days after Passover, they [the disciples] were gathered together in one place. Picture yourself among the disciples: A sound roars from the sky without warning, the roar of a violent wind, and the whole house where you are gathered reverberates with the sound. Then a flame appears, dividing into smaller flames and spreading from one person to the next. All the people present are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in languages they’ve never spoken, as the Spirit empowers them. Because of the holy festival, there are devout Jews staying as pilgrims in Jerusalem from every nation under the sun. They hear the sound, and a crowd gathers. They are amazed because each of them can hear the group speaking in their native languages. They are shocked and amazed by this. Pilgrims: Just a minute. Aren’t all of these people Galileans? How in the world do we all hear our native languages being spoken? Look — there are Parthians here, and Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, and Judeans, residents of Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia, Phrygians and Pamphylians, Egyptians and Libyans from Cyrene, Romans including both Jews by birth and converts, Cretans, and Arabs. We’re each, in our own languages, hearing these people talk about God’s powerful deeds. Their amazement becomes confusion as they wonder: Pilgrims: What does this mean? Skeptics: It doesn’t mean anything. They’re all drunk on some fresh wine! As the twelve stood together, Peter shouted to the crowd: Peter: Men of Judea and all who are staying here in Jerusalem, listen. I want you to understand: these people aren’t drunk as you may think. Look, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! No, this isn’t drunkenness; this is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. Hear what God says! In the last days, I will offer My Spirit to humanity as a libation. Your children will boldly speak the word of the Lord. Young warriors will see visions, and your elders will dream dreams. Yes, in those days I shall offer My Spirit to all servants, both male and female, and they will boldly speak My word. … Everyone in Israel should now realize with certainty what God has done: God has made Jesus both Lord and Anointed King — this same Jesus Whom you crucified. When the people heard this, their hearts were pierced; and they said to Peter and his fellow apostles: Pilgrims: Our brothers, what should we do? Peter: Reconsider your lives; change your direction. Participate in the ceremonial washing of baptism in the name of Jesus God’s Anointed, the Liberating King. Then your sins will be forgiven, and the gift of the Holy Spirit will be yours. For the promise of the Spirit is for you, for your children, for all people — even those considered outsiders and outcasts — the Lord our God invites everyone to come to Him. Peter was pleading and offering many logical reasons to believe. Whoever made a place for his message in their hearts received the baptism; in fact, that day alone, about 3,000 people joined the disciples. (Acts 2:1-18; Acts 2:36-41) Response in Prayer Almighty God, do in our day what we heard
Today’s Verse – Luke 5:18
Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. —Luke 5:18 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… What is the best example of someone being a friend you have seen? The Bible offers numerous definitions and examples. One of my favorite examples is this story of the paralyzed man whose friends went to great extremes to get him to Jesus. When the crowd blocked their way to the Lord, they became creative and dug a hole in the roof to let their friend down to Jesus! Their faith and their effort to get him to Jesus ultimately resulted in the man’s forgiveness and healing. I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of friend I want to be — someone who will do anything to bring friends to Jesus to be blessed by him! My Prayer… Holy Father, please bless me as I try to lead my friends and acquaintances (speak the names of several non-Christian friends here) to Jesus. I want them to experience Jesus’ saving power, loving grace, complete healing, and ultimate deliverance in Jesus. Please give me the tenacity and tact to do this with “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15), never losing my sense of urgency to see them come to Christ. In Jesus’ name, I ask for wisdom and urgency as I try to share Jesus. 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.
Can These Bones Live?
Note from Jesus Dear Precious Believer, My resurrection was a surprise to everyone, including My closest followers. It was a glorious shock to their system in many ways, but the truth of My resurrection became obvious through My many appearances. The reanimation and the reinvigoration of My followers — their “resurrected” lives — suddenly became a possibility with My resurrection. New life was no longer a symbolic truth, but a genuine reality. When I poured out the Holy Spirit — the Helper as John the beloved disciple liked to call the Spirit — the power that raised Me from the grave was suddenly poured into the lives of mortal people. That’s why the apostle Paul could pray the following prayers for My disciples in Asia Minor: God of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, Father of Glory: I call out to You on behalf of Your people. Give them minds ready to receive wisdom and revelation so they will truly know You. Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance. Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power. Friends, it is this same might and resurrection power that He used in the Anointed One to raise Him from the dead and to position Him at His right hand in heaven. There is nothing over Him. (Ephesians 1:17-20) Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together with all of Your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may Your fullness flood through their entire beings. Now to the God Who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us, to Him be all glory in the church and in Jesus the Anointed from this generation to the next, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:16-21) This power and glorious reanimation of what was dead was foreshadowed by the prophet Ezekiel hundreds of years earlier. Seeing the people of Israel “beyond dead” — nothing more than symbolically being a bunch of scattered, dried, and unburied bones piled high and abandoned in an open valley as the remnants of war — the Father told Ezekiel to speak life into those bones. When those bones took on sinew and flesh, the Father told Ezekiel to prophesy the breath of the Eternal, the Spirit of the living God, to make those bones live. The gloriously strange vision you find in the verses below is what the coming of the Holy Spirit means to My followers. Where there once was death, the Holy Spirit, the Breath of Heaven, can bring life. As the Father said, “I will breathe My Spirit into you, and you will be alive once again.” With My resurrection, I defeated death, sin, and hell. I poured out the Spirit on My people at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-21; Acts 2:33-39). I continue to pour out the Spirit on each believer (Titus 3:3-7) when she or he shares in My life, death, and resurrection based on faith and experienced through immersion with Me into My saving grace (Romans 6:3-7). The Breath of Heaven that Ezekiel prophesied to make the dead bones live was at work in My resurrection. This same Holy Spirit, Who was the power behind My resurrection, has also been at work in the lives of My disciples from Pentecost up until your time and will continue His work among My disciples until I return. This Breath of Heaven, this glorious power of the Holy Spirit, is available to you now. The Spirit has the power to bring life out of death, hope out of despair, and strength out of powerlessness. Can these bones live? Yes, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can begin to experience everlasting life! Verses to Live Do you feel dead and lifeless in your spiritual walk? Are you ever frustrated with the powerlessness you see in the lives of those who claim to be My people? Do you long for the powerful influence of the Spirit that you see in the book of Acts? Then I ask you to read Ezekiel’s old prophecy and remember this: the Holy Spirit, Who has this power, is available to you and is at work among My people who pray for the Helper’s power to be released among them and in them (Luke 11:13). The Eternal had a hold on me, and I couldn’t escape it. The divine wind of the Eternal One picked me up and set me down in the middle of the valley, but this time it was full of bones. God led me through the bones. There were piles of bones everywhere in the valley — dry bones left unburied. Eternal One (to Ezekiel): Son of man, do you think these bones can live? Ezekiel: Eternal Lord, certainly You know the answer better than I do. Eternal One: Actually, I do. Prophesy to these bones. Tell them to listen to what the Eternal Lord says to them: “Dry bones, I will breathe breath into you, and you will come alive. I will attach muscles and tendons to you, cause flesh to grow over them, and cover you with skin. I will breathe breath into you, and you will come alive. After this happens, you will know that I am the Eternal.”
Today’s Verse – 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! —2 Corinthians 5:17 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… “New and Improved!” That should be stamped across the forehead of every Christian! When we come to Christ, he makes us new and cleanses us of all our sins. Incredibly, this grace can be “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23) because of God’s faithfulness and transforming power. God gives us the grace for this new life through his Holy Spirit. We are new and improved. We will continue to be that way until the Holy Spirit completely transforms us to be like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18) and we see the Father face to face in glory (1 John 3:2). Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Holy Father, have your way with my heart, will, life, and time. I want to yield myself to you so that you can make me new and improved. I don’t want to be satisfied with how far you have brought me. No, dear Father, I want to become more like Jesus each day until I come home to you in glory. Thank you for your empowering grace. In Jesus’ 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.
Commissioned!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, The two passages below tell about My commissioning the disciples right before My ascension to the Father. You cannot ask for a more dramatic moment to leave My last instructions for My disciples. Some of them worshiped Me. Others were filled with a holy fear, wonder, and awe. A few even doubted. Anything I said was with authority. So the words here, what you call the Great Commission, were said intentionally with the claim of that authority. After I had finished giving these words of mission and purpose, I ascended out of sight, returning to the Father. Two heavenly messengers told the disciples to go back to the city and do what I previously instructed them to do. They were to return to Jerusalem. They were to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit with power. They did as I instructed and they were in “constant prayer” while they waited. I wanted My last words to be dramatic, powerful, and convicting. I wanted the results of the disciples’ obedience to these words to be world-changing! I wanted My last words never to be forgotten. These last words are the words I want you to remember as well. These words of the commission are for you also. This is what I want you to do: Make disciples! That was My primary command as I left the earth. You make disciples by going to all cultures of people — including your own, by baptizing those who believe in Me, and by teaching them to obey all I have taught. That’s your mission. Those are My last words. Let them inspire and motivate you. I want you not only to remember them but also to put them into practice! Verses to Live As you look at these last words of mine from Matthew’s gospel, please notice that I don’t want you just to know My teaching. I want you to obey My words, and I want you to teach others to obey My teaching. The second scripture is from the book of Acts and records the events immediately after I issued the commission. Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him — but some of them doubted! Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20 NLT) As He finished this commission, He began to rise from the ground before their eyes until the clouds obscured Him from their vision. As they strained to get one last glimpse of Him going into heaven, the Lord’s emissaries realized two men in white robes were standing among them. Two Men: You Galileans, why are you standing here staring up into the sky? This Jesus Who is leaving you and ascending to heaven will return in the same way you see Him departing. Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem — their short journey from the Mount of Olives was an acceptable Sabbath Day’s walk. Back in the city, they went to the room where they were staying — a second-floor room. This whole group devoted themselves to constant prayer with one accord: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), Judas (son of James), a number of women including Mary (Jesus’ mother), and some of Jesus’ brothers. (Acts 1:9-14) Response in Prayer Holy God and loving Father, thank You for Jesus’ words of commission to His closest disciples and words for me. Empower me, O God, with the power of the Holy Spirit to be a part of fulfilling Jesus’ mission. I pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2024, 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 – Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. —Matthew 5:16 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… As Christians, we are not called to isolate ourselves from culture. We are not called to be hermits detached from the lost world around us. Instead, we are to recognize that we are in this world of darkness to live as light — not as little candles tucked away in some inner bedroom, but as bright lights set on their stands so all can see their light. As Jesus’ disciples, we are called to be a city on a hill whose lights can’t be hidden. Of course, our goal is not to call attention to ourselves but to help others see the glorious grace of our Father so they will come to Jesus, who is the one, true Light of the World! My Prayer… Dear Heavenly Father, may my life bless others so they can see you and your love more clearly. In Jesus’ 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.
Family Is Important
Note from Jesus Dear Child of God, Family is important. Your spiritual family is important to you. Your physical family is important to you. Family is important to you just as it is to Me! One of the great hurdles I faced in My earthly ministry was that most of My physical family didn’t believe in Me. Most of My brothers and sisters along with relatives and friends from my hometown did not believe before My resurrection. My family situation was very complicated like the family situations of many of My followers today. One time My family thought I was crazy because I ministered so passionately without thinking of My own bodily needs for food and rest (Mark 3:20-21). On another occasion, because My siblings did not believe in Me as God’s Son (John 7:1-7 — found in the verses below), they teased Me very harshly, mocking My call to be the Father’s Messiah. So when I was raised from the dead, I appeared to My spiritual family, and I also appeared to My physical family, most notably James. One of the touching things for Me in the New Testament is the way My half-brother James began his letter with great humility toward Me and great admiration for Me: James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, to the twelve tribes of Israel who are spread across the earth: I send you my warmest welcome. (James 1:1) Sometimes the hardest people to bring to faith are the people in your own family. I want you to know that I know that — not just because I AM God and know everything, but also because I have experienced it in human flesh. So I remind you that an essential and powerful part of your testimony about Who I AM and what I have done is your resurrected life that shows My power, love, and grace (Romans 6:1-14). Don’t give up on those around you who do not believe. I will work in their lives to give them the opportunity to change, and I challenge you to show that I have brought new life to you. Demonstrate the power of that new life in the way that you live with righteous character and gracious compassion. Verses to Live The beloved disciple was close to My physical family, especially after My ascension back to the Father. When I was dying on the cross, I asked him to look after My mother, Mary (John 19:26-27). He knew about the struggle My half-siblings had in believing that I had come from God. His words in the first verses below capture the emotional tension that their lack of faith produced between them and Me. One of the most profound blessings after My ascension was to have some of My brothers become a part of the Jerusalem disciples praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14). One of those brothers, James, went on to become a great leader in the Jerusalem church. That is why My appearance to him after My resurrection was so important. (See the second set of verses below.) My resurrection and My appearance to My brothers changed everything for them and for what they believed about Me! After these events, it was time for Jesus to move on. He began a long walk through the Galilean countryside. He was purposefully avoiding Judea because of the violent threats made against Him by the Jews there who wanted to kill Him. It was fall, the time of year when the Jews celebrated the Festival of Booths. Brothers of Jesus (to Jesus): Let’s get out of here and go south to Judea so You can show Your disciples there what You are capable of doing. No one who seeks the public eye is content to work in secret. If You want to perform these signs, then step forward on the world’s stage; don’t hide up here in the hills, Jesus. Jesus’ own brothers were speaking contemptuously; they did not yet believe in Him, just as the people in His hometown did not see Him as anything more than Joseph’s son. Jesus: My time has not yet arrived; but for you My brothers, by all means, it is always the right time. You have nothing to worry about because the world doesn’t hate you, but it despises Me because I am always exposing the dark evil in its works. Go on to the feast without Me; I am not going right now because My time is not yet at hand. (John 7:1-8) Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I [Paul] preached to you when we first met. It’s the essential message that you have taken to heart, the central story you now base your life on; and through this gospel, you are liberated — unless, of course, your faith has come to nothing. For I passed down to you the crux of it all which I had also received from others, that the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for our sins and was buried and raised from the dead on the third day. All this happened to fulfill the Scriptures; it was the perfect climax to God’s covenant story. Afterward He appeared alive to Cephas (you may know him as Simon Peter), then to the rest of the twelve. If that were not amazing enough, on one occasion, He appeared to more than 500 believers at one time. Many of those brothers and sisters are still around to tell the story, though some have fallen asleep in Jesus. Soon He appeared to James, His brother and the leader of the Jerusalem church, and then to all the rest of the emissaries He Himself commissioned. (1 Corinthians 15:1-7) Response in Prayer O Father, my words will be few today, but My heart yearns for them to be fully true. Let the beauty, grace, love, and character of Jesus be seen in my life by
Today’s Verse – Ephesians 5:15
Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. —Ephesians 5:15 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Living with urgency doesn’t mean living recklessly. It means living with holy abandon to honor God and with a holy passion to make each moment count for righteousness while knowing that we are at war against the evil powers (Ephesians 6:10-12). That means we must be intentional about our choices, taking care to use our moments wisely as we live a life of character, yielded to God, and different from the world around us because we are servants to Jesus. My Prayer… Fill me with wisdom, O God, that I may honor you with my choices and use of time each day. Protect me from the deceptive influences of the evil one, and grant me a holy and productive use of the time you bless me with each day. In the name of Jesus, my LORD, 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.