Today’s Verse – Galatians 4:19
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you… —Galatians 4:19 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Paul had a clear goal for new followers of Jesus; he wanted Jesus to be formed in them. He wanted them to become fully mature in Christ (Colossians 1:28-29). He knew the Holy Spirit would help them in this process if they would focus their hearts on Jesus and seek to reflect Jesus’ character in their lives (2 Corinthians 3:18). So, as we go through our daily activities, let’s honor Paul’s goal — let’s invite Jesus to come to life in us and bring us to full maturity of his likeness. We’ve included Phil’s ToGather video from four years ago as an added blessing to our verse today. Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Holy and Righteous God, may the presence of Jesus increase in me so I can display more of Jesus in my life. At the same time, dear Father, I want my attitude, behavior, and speech to escape the warped ways of our broken world. May this be true today, but even more, dear Father, may it be more clearly seen each day. In the name of my Savior and goal, Jesus, 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.
Faith’s Solid Ground
Note from Jesus Dear Precious Disciple, While many things in life are complicated, the basis for saving faith shouldn’t be. I want you to know that your faith is on solid ground. My apostle Paul gave a very clear summary of the solid ground of your faith. The gospel, the good news by which you are saved, is solid ground on which to build your life. Notice the key ways Paul emphasizes the trustworthiness of the gospel in a letter to disciples in Corinth: Paul had “received” the gospel message as the authoritative truth. He had “passed down” this same message as authoritative truth. The message is “the good news” that Paul “preached” to the disciples. It is “the essential message” that they had “taken to heart”. They could “base” their lives upon this gospel that had saved, or “liberated,” them from sin and death. Bottom line: Paul went to great pains to emphasize that the message they believed was the authoritative message of good news and of the true salvation that can be found only in Me. So what is that message? What is the good news that brings salvation and liberation from sin and death? The good news message is that I died, was buried, and rose from the dead… for you… to forgive your sins… and to give you victory over sin. This gospel should be life-altering for you and other Christians, but the facts of the gospel are simple. Because of My sacrifice and your faith, your life matters. The things you do in My name and for My glory will always be remembered. Furthermore, when everything in your life on earth is said and done, you will share in My victory! Yes, I died for the sins of the world. Yes, I died at the hands of sinners and asked My Father to forgive them. But at the foundation of the good news, there is this one great reality that you must accept: I did this for you! Verses to Live Don’t let folks make the truth of the gospel complicated. Realize that I died, was buried, and rose from the dead. I was victorious over sin and death, for you and all who will build their lives upon this truth! Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I 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 [Jesus] 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. Last of all, He appeared to me; I was like a child snatched from his mother’s womb. You see, I am the least of all His emissaries, not fit to be called His emissary because I hunted down and persecuted God’s church. Today I am who I am because of God’s grace, and I have made sure that the grace He offered me has not been wasted. I have worked harder, longer, and smarter than all the rest; but I realize it is not me — it is God’s grace with me that has made the difference. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether it was I or the other witnesses who brought you the message. What matters is that we keep preaching and that you have faith in this message. … Sin came into this world, and death’s sting followed. Then sin took aim at the law and gained power over those who follow the law. Thank God, then, for our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, the Liberating King, Who brought us victory over the grave. My dear brothers and sisters, stay firmly planted — be unshakable — do many good works in the name of God, and know that all your labor is not for nothing when it is for God. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11; 1 Corinthians 15:56-58) Response in Prayer Almighty God — Father, Son, and Spirit — I confess to You that I sometimes lose sight of all that Jesus did and all that He did for me. I know it wasn’t for me only, but it was undeniably for me. He loved, cared, and died for me. He was raised from the dead and is now interceding for me. He has called me to follow Him as I base My life on what He did for me. I ask for courage to live my life in a manner worthy of Jesus’ great sacrifice for me. In His name, I pray. 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 – 1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. —1 John 4:18 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Do you remember what Jesus said when he walked on the water, coming to his disciples through the storm? He told them, “Do not fear, I Am.” In the presence of God’s holy and all-powerful Son, we don’t have to be afraid. Love has reached us and saved us in Jesus. God’s grace for us in Jesus and our faith in Jesus have taken away our need for fear. Jesus’ sacrifice has made us holy, without fault, and free from any charge against us (Colossians 1:21-22). Our response? Love! We love our Father for who he is, what he has done, and his great sacrifice for us. We also choose to love others as we have been loved because perfect love casts off all fear. My Prayer… Dear Father in heaven, you are holy and glorious. These are things I could never be without your grace, yet you have chosen to give me these blessings through the sacrifice of your Jesus, your Son whom I love. Dear Father, I love you and in Jesus’ name, I praise you. 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.
Words of Hope and Peace
Note from Jesus Dear Faithful Follower, I spoke the words you will read in the verses below before I went to the cross. I planted them like seeds into the hearts of My closest followers. Later, when the time was right, the Spirit of truth would help them remember all that had transpired and all that I had told them. I shared these messages on My last evening with them before My arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. They were some of My last words before dying. These words were spoken to those who were precious to Me. I hope that you will let these words be a blessing to you. I want you to notice several things that you will find in these words. First, I acknowledged that the world is a tough place. I shared these words so My followers could find true shalom. I wanted them to have more than just peace; I wanted them to know that they could be whole and unafraid of the future even without My physical presence. I was about to overcome the powers — “the corrupt world order” — that had marred and broken the created universe. My victory over sin and death through My resurrection brought victory over death to My disciples. Coupled with My words of encouragement, My disciples could be reassured and find My peace. I trust My words will give you peace as well. Second, I promised to send the Spirit to My disciples. Rather than My physical absence being a loss, it was My disciples’ gain. I gave them My promises before I returned to the Father: Promise one I would send the Spirit to be with them and in them and to give them everything they needed from Me. Promise two When I had ascended to the Father, I would present My disciples’ requests to Him. They could rest assured that their prayers would be heard. Third, I laid out the plan for the days ahead. I would go away — in death on the cross — and they would be scattered and forsake Me, but the Father would not forsake Me. I would come back — I would be raised from the dead to be with them again to help them understand Who I AM and why I had come to earth. I would return to the Father — I would ascend — but I would continue to be with them through the sending of the Holy Spirit. Their first experience of the Spirit would be something that would happen in a small group and in a private way with My first appearance to them (John 20:19-22). Then there would be a huge experience of the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41). My closest followers experienced so many things in just fifty days after My resurrection. I wanted them to have My promises to look back upon as seeds of hope and assurance for their future. While you live thousands of years later, these promises are true for you, too (Acts 2:38-41)! Verses to Live As you read these words, please ask for My help. I will empower you and fill you with the Spirit. The Spirit will lead you and guide you in what you read. Jesus: But now, I am going to the One Who has sent Me, and none of you ask Me, “Where are You going?” I know that hearing news like this is overwhelming and sad. But the truth is that My departure will be a gift that will serve you well, because if I don’t leave, the great Helper will not come to your aid. When I leave, I will send Him to you. When He arrives, He will uncover the sins of the world, expose unbelief as sin, and allow all to see their sins in the light of righteousness for the first time. This new awareness of righteousness is important because I am going to the Father and will no longer be present with you. The Spirit will also carry My judgment because the one who rules in this world has already been defeated. I have so much more to say, but you cannot absorb it right now. The Spirit of truth will come and guide you in all truth. He will not speak His own words to you; He will speak what He hears, revealing to you the things to come and bringing glory to Me. The Spirit has unlimited access to Me, to all that I possess and know, just as everything the Father has is Mine. That is the reason I am confident He will care for My own and reveal the path to you. For a little while you will not see Me; but after that, a time will come when you will see Me again. Some of His Disciples: What does He mean? “I’ll be here, and then I won’t be here, because I’ll be with the Father”? Other Disciples: What is He saying? “A little while”? We don’t understand. Jesus knew they had questions to ask of Him, so He approached them. Jesus: Are you trying to figure out what I mean when I say you will see Me in a little while? I tell you the truth, a time is approaching when you will weep and mourn while the world is celebrating. You will grieve, but that grief will give birth to great joy. In the same way that a woman labors in great pain during childbirth only to forget the intensity of the pain when she holds her child, when I return, your labored grief will also change into a joy that cannot be stolen. When all this transpires, you will finally have the answers you have been seeking. I tell you the truth, anything you ask of the Father in My name, He will give to you. Until this moment, you have not sought after anything in My name. Ask and
Today’s Verse – James 4:17
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. —James 4:17 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… James’ brother, Jesus, taught this principle when he healed on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-7) and told the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). If we have the opportunity and ability to do good to someone in need, then if we don’t do it, then we are participating in their destruction. The LORD made it clear that neglecting to do a good deed for another in need, even if we had a religious excuse for not doing it, was doing evil. Let’s be a people known for doing good deeds and sharing kindness. Let’s not let any excuse, especially a religious excuse, interfere with our opportunities to serve others in the name of Jesus. My Prayer… Dear Father, please use me today to bless someone in need so they can know your grace and glorify Jesus for his goodness. In the Savior’s sweet and precious 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.
Your Resurrection: Certain and Glorious!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, The verses for today involve a group called the Sadducees. They were trying to trap Me in something they could use to turn people against Me. They were also looking for an excuse to arrest Me. Their question was a tricky one involving Yibbum or Levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). It was a principle of the law that Moses gave My people. Levirate marriage was a law to protect a widow who had no family to take care of her when her husband died. However, the real issue in the verses below is not so much Levirate marriage as it is the Sadducees’ attempt to trap Me. They didn’t believe in the resurrection, so they made up this crazy scenario to try to show that believing in the resurrection from the dead was foolish. So I replied to their crazy question with two answers that silenced them. One of My answers to their question was that the resurrection life is glorious — life like the angels (or “heavenly messengers”) live. This new life really shouldn’t be compared with the life lived on earth where there is marriage and giving in marriage. Relationships among My disciples after the resurrection will be elevated to a new level of glory. They will enjoy the full blessings and privileges of being “children of God and children of the resurrection” with new, immortal bodies that are not subject to death and decay (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). The resurrection life for My disciples will be glorious and beyond comparing to the best your world can offer. My other answer was that the Father revealed in His statement to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-6) that there is this resurrection life. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, the Father said that He is “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. By Moses’ time, they were all dead, but God isn’t God of the dead, but of the living. So all live to God.” My main point in this discussion with the Sadducees was that there is a resurrection life. So what do I want you to take away from the reading today? First, notice that I could use the trick questions of those who hated Me to teach the truth of the resurrection. They could not trick, trap, or defeat Me with their silly religious arguments. Such arguments are not worthwhile. You should avoid them (2 Timothy 2:23-26; Titus 3:9-11). Second, the resurrection life is more glorious than you can imagine when compared to your earthbound life — you will share in My glory and the glory of the angels of heaven (Luke 20:36; Romans 8:18; Colossians 3:4; cf. Luke 9:26). Third, We — Father, Son, and Spirit — rule over all people whether they are alive on earth or alive after death. All people “as mortals are appointed to die once and then to experience a judgment… before the throne of the Anointed, the Liberating King, to receive what is just for our conduct (whether it be good or bad) while we lived in this temporary body. … [E]very knee will bow, … every tongue will confess” that I AM Lord “to the glory of God our Father” (Hebrews 9:27; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 2:10-11). For you, a child of the Father and My disciple, the resurrection will be a glorious event — a time of victory, deliverance, and celebration (2 Timothy 4:8). As the apostle Paul wrote: On that day when He [Jesus] comes, all the saints in heaven and on earth will celebrate the glory of His power, and all who believe will stand and be amazed — this includes you because you believed us when we testified on His behalf. (2 Thessalonians 1:10) Because of My resurrection, you can know that your resurrection is certain and glorious. Don’t let a so-called bunch of “religious experts” cloud your mind with doubt. Their deceptive trick questions are not aimed at getting to the truth but are asked to make themselves look better. Verses to Live The Sadducees’ question was intended to trap Me, but notice how I turned the situation around and used their duplicity to silence them and to teach about the resurrection. I want you to know and to believe with great assurance that resurrection and glory await all who are My disciples! Another group came to test Him [Jesus] — this time from the Sadducees, a rival party of the Pharisees, who believe that there is no resurrection. Sadducees: Teacher, Moses wrote in the Hebrew Scriptures that a man must marry his brother’s wife and the new couple should bear children for his brother if his brother dies without heirs. Well, once there were seven brothers, and the first took a wife and then died without fathering children. The second took her as his wife and then he died childless, and then the third, and so on through the seven. They all died leaving no children. Finally the woman died too. Here’s our question: in the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven had her for a while? Will she be the wife of seven men at once? Jesus: The children of this era marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain the resurrection of the dead in the coming era do not marry and are not given in marriage. They are beyond mortality; they are on the level of heavenly messengers; they are children of God and children of the resurrection. Since you brought up the issue of resurrection, even Moses made clear in the passage about the burning bush that the dead are, in fact, raised. After all, he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. By Moses’ time, they were all dead, but God isn’t God of the dead, but of the living. So all live to God. Religious Scholars: Teacher, that was a good answer. After this no one had
Today’s Verse – Ephesians 4:16
From [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. —Ephesians 4:16 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Ephesians and Colossians emphasize that no human being, or even a group of human beings, is the head of the Church. Jesus alone is the head of the Church. He sets our direction. He is our example. Christ is our goal for ministry and maturity (Colossians 1:28-29). Jesus also gifts people in his Church and arranges us in his Body as he chooses, giving us gifts he wants us to use to bless each other and honor God. Christ holds us together, enabling us to serve effectively as his presence in the world as each of us uses our gifts. So, let’s set our hearts on Jesus. Let’s use his life and love to inspire us. Let’s look back on Jesus’ earthly ministry to remind us how and whom we should serve. Let’s give Jesus our allegiance and loyalty as the Christ, who alone is the head of his Body, the Church. Let’s let him lead! My Prayer… Righteous Father, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for his example, service, obedience, love, and sacrifice. Thank you for his resurrection, exaltation, power, and presence today in your Church and in my life. Father, please use me and my brothers and sisters in Christ with me to do his work in our world and share your grace with all who are lost. In the name of the LORD Jesus, 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.
To the Praise of His Glory!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, One day you will hear the angels sing in celebration around the throne of God (Revelation 5:11-13). However, I wish you could hear them sing and praise God now. The shepherds heard them the night I was born to Mary (Luke 2:1-14). Right now they sing in celebration of My victory over sin and death as they gather around the throne of God. They sing in anticipation of your full redemption from all that is tainted, flawed, broken and mortal (Revelation 5:11; Revelation 7:11). On that glorious day, you will join the chorus of angels and all the people of God in celebration of full redemption. So until you can share in that glorious day, I want to point you to a great passage of praise (see the verses below). As Paul wrote to the churches of Asia Minor in the letter you call Ephesians, he began this letter with an outburst of passionate praise. When he spoke these words of praise to the person transcribing his letter, Paul’s words poured out of him as if he scarcely took a breath. This wonderful gushing forth of praise was really more song than it was letter-writing! Verses to Live Today, I want you to rejoice in the victory that is yours because of the Father’s plan, My resurrection from the dead, and the presence of the Holy Spirit within you. Let Paul’s words of praise guide you, but don’t let your praise be confined to what Paul has written. Let the Spirit lift you in the Wind of heaven’s grace and help you plumb the depths and soar to the heights of all that My triumph over sin and death has brought to you! As you read these verses, the portions in bold function as the repeated chorus or refrain for Paul’s “Song of God’s Glorious Grace”! Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, Who grants us every spiritual blessing in these heavenly realms where we live in the Anointed — not because of anything we have done, but because of what He has done for us. God chose us to be in a relationship with Him even before He laid out plans for this world; He wanted us to live holy lives characterized by love, free from sin, and blameless before Him. He destined us to be adopted as His children through the covenant Jesus the Anointed inaugurated in His sacrificial life. This was His pleasure and His will for us. Ultimately God is the one worthy of praise for showing us His grace; He is merciful and marvelous, freely giving us these gifts in His Beloved. Visualize this: His blood freely flowing down the cross, setting us free! We are forgiven for our sinful ways by the richness of His grace, which He has poured all over us. With all wisdom and insight, He has enlightened us to the great mystery at the center of His will. With immense pleasure, He laid out His intentions through Jesus, a plan that will climax when the time is right as He returns to create order and unity — both in heaven and on earth — when all things are brought together under the Anointed’s royal rule. In Him we stand to inherit even more. As His heirs, we are predestined to play a key role in His unfolding purpose that is energizing everything to conform to His will. As a result, we — the first to place our hope in the Anointed One — will live in a way to bring Him glory and praise. Because you, too, have heard the word of truth — the good news of your salvation — and because you believed in the One Who is truth, your lives are marked with His seal. This is none other than the Holy Spirit Who was promised as the guarantee toward the inheritance we are to receive when He frees and rescues all who belong to Him. To God be all praise and glory! (Ephesians 1:3-14) Response in Prayer Almighty God, You are more glorious than my words can describe and more generous than my heart can conceive. So I ask that You accept my meager words and thoughts of thanks and praise. Please receive from my heart through the Holy Spirit the emotions my words cannot fully articulate. I love, appreciate, and adore You. May Your name and Your grace be praised with my thoughts, my words, and my actions, this day and every day to come! 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 – 1 Timothy 4:15-16
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. —1 Timothy 4:15-16 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… “Be diligent!” That’s not a phrase, a command you hear much about these days. We want things to come easily. Sweat in the world of pseudo-faith is frowned upon. But Paul wanted Timothy (and us) to know that maturity in Christ requires genuine effort — as Paul said, “give yourself wholly to them” and “persevere in them.” Having a redemptive influence on others is hard work. While it is God’s power that transforms, our efforts are also required if others are going to see our progress and follow our examples. God assures us that our efforts will bear fruit in our lives and lead others to salvation. My Prayer… Abba Father, please stir my confidence, courage, diligence, and determination so that I can share the salvation you have lavished on me can be shared with others through my teaching and my example. 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.
Children of God
Note from Jesus Dear Child of God, The fifty days between My resurrection and Pentecost were important. I appeared to My closest disciples on several occasions, and I appeared to many others during the first forty days before My return to the Father’s side (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). During the ten days after My ascension, My disciples prayed and waited in Jerusalem for the coming of power just as I had told them to do (Acts 1:4). Their growing realization of Who I AM and what this means for all people was preparing them for the coming of the Holy Spirit. This same Holy Spirit would empower them to be My witnesses to the ends of their world. One of the most important realizations and revelations they experienced was what My death, burial, and resurrection actually meant. The implications of these great events were important for them and also for those who did not yet believe. I had opened a way for people — all people who came to true faith — to become children of God, born “not by human power or initiative but by God’s will.” You are God’s children and My brothers and sisters through faith. When you confessed Me before other people, were baptized calling on My name, and received Me into your life, you trusted in what I have done for you to save you. You were figuratively given a new set of holy garments — you “clothed yourselves with Christ.” You were reborn by the will and the power of the Father. You were filled with the Holy Spirit, Who now lives in you. This promise is true for all peoples (Acts 2:36-42). It is not confined to one race, one gender, or one social class. If you belong to Me, then all of the Father’s incredible promises to Abraham are yours as a spiritual child of Abraham and as a child of God through your faith (Galatians 3:26-29)! Verses to Live It would take a long time for My first followers to grasp the incredible power and the Father’s great and marvelous promises available to all whose lives are joined with Mine through their conversion. These promises are still true for you. These promises are still true for all whom God will call. These promises are even true for those whom the Father uses — you, and others like you, to reach out with the good news of His grace given through Me. Being a child of the Father is not determined by race or gender or social class; it is determined by grace received through faith in My death and resurrection and experienced in immersion and through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, in Whom you were sealed for redemption (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30). The true Light [Jesus], Who shines upon the heart of everyone, was coming into the cosmos. He entered our world, a world He made; yet the world did not recognize Him. Even though He came to His own people, they refused to listen and receive Him. But for all who did receive and trust in Him, He gave them the right to be reborn as children of God; He bestowed this birthright not by human power or initiative but by God’s will. (John 1:9-13) So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29 NIV) Response in Prayer Father in heaven, hallowed be Your glorious and powerful Name. May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth just as it is in heaven as I offer myself to live for Your kingdom. Please give us today the bread we need to sustain us. Please do not let us be taken captive by the powers of temptation, whether tempted from within by our own desires or from without through the scheming of the evil one. In fact, dear Father, I ask that You deliver us from the power of the evil one. As Your child, I pray this prayer for myself and all who are a part of Your family. In the name of Jesus, I pray. 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.