Today’s Verse – 1 John 4:7
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. —1 John 4:7 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… The old song from the musical “Oliver” asks, “Where, oh where, is love?” This is an excellent question! Where does love come from? How is love defined and truly known? Love is with God. Love comes from God. Love is the key attribute of God. Love is from God. Love is of God. Do you want to be more loving? Do you want to find greater intensity in your love? Do you want to know how to love others who are hard to love? Look to God. And where do we see God’s love most clearly? Jesus! Look at how God demonstrates his love for us through Jesus. Over and over in the past and now even in our lives today. Once we notice how God loves, we can commit to loving others as God has loved us! My Prayer… Holy God, I want to show that you are my Father by loving others more perfectly. Please bless me as I seek to follow Jesus’ example in treating others with love. In the name of the LORD Jesus I ask for your grace to be loving like you, my Father. 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.
Daily Prayer for February 1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1, NIV Lord our God, we thank you that we may be your children and may be led by your hand. Give us patience and faith, especially when our way on earth seems difficult and life is full of grief and hardship. You are light. You show us the right path. You go before us in the self-denial and patience taught us by your Word. Protect us on all our ways. May your kingdom grow among us until it can be plainly seen that you, O God, are truly with us doing your work and bringing us joy, even though what we do seems fruitless. But your work endures. In your work we rejoice, and we want to give thanks to you every day. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Meditation on the Lord’s Prayer Alfred Delp Humans must have something holy to worship, or we find substitutes far more autocratic and demanding than the living God himself. Read now Claiming Groundhog Day Clare Coffey There are people who see in every popular celebration a creeping paganism. They’d be wrong about this one. Read now Experiencing the Divine, and the Mundane, at Church Heidie Senseman A Sunday service is a rich mixture of the holy and the human. Read now Perfectly Human Sarah C. Williams My daughter Cerian’s life ended an hour before she was born. She taught me so much about beauty, worth, and the gift of being. Read now Birds in the Heart of Hell Julio Grotten A Mexican prisoner’s short fiction confronts the monsters and angels of his nightmares. Read now
Today’s Verse – Psalm 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. —Psalm 84:11 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Isn’t it wonderful that God doesn’t hold back on his goodness? The Father loves to give his children gifts. These gifts are all-encompassing. These gifts are gladly given. How do I know? Three ways: God has repeatedly blessed us. We can see what God has done to bless his people throughout the centuries. God’s Scriptures promise this to be true. God does not withhold from us! But what happens if we are not blameless? None of us are blameless on our own, yet in Christ, God sees us as his blameless children if we keep pursuing Jesus. As we do, the LORD blesses us with grace upon grace (John 1:16) Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Father, thank you for the many blessings you have poured into my life. I want to list several that are on my heart today. (Make a list of things you are thankful for and share them with God as we pray.) Most of all, Father, thank you for the gift of your Son and my Savior who allows me to come before you “holy in [your] sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”* I get to come before you confidently, knowing I will receive your gracious gifts and loving promises. In Jesus’ name, I rejoice as I pray to you. Amen. * Colossians 1:22-23.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.
31 Jan 2025
And as we do life, let our focus remain on God. May we allow Him to order our steps. He is the creator. Leaning on Him and trusting Him always should be how we live. It requires patience and practice. Matthew 6:28-34.
Daily Prayer for January 31
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. Isaiah 62:1, NIV Lord our God, we worship you, for you come to meet us everywhere and you reveal your glory on our earth. May we become worthy of you, people who can represent you with our whole being. Give us the strength to endure, even through struggles and temptations. Be merciful to us at all times through Jesus Christ our Savior. May we remain body and soul in his hands, that at last we may come to you, our Father in heaven, as your true children, reborn through the Holy Spirit. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Experiencing the Divine, and the Mundane, at Church Heidie Senseman A Sunday service is a rich mixture of the holy and the human. Read now Perfectly Human Sarah C. Williams My daughter Cerian’s life ended an hour before she was born. She taught me so much about beauty, worth, and the gift of being. Read now Birds in the Heart of Hell Julio Grotten A Mexican prisoner’s short fiction confronts the monsters and angels of his nightmares. Read now Sister Penelope in Expectation Grace Hamman The mysterious friend of C. S. Lewis teaches how to know and be known in Christ. Read now The Leaves of the Tree Jesse Zink The Bible describes a tree with leaves for the healing of the nations. We could sure use such leaves now. Or do we have them already? Read now
Today’s Verse – Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. —Proverbs 19:21 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… What are your plans for today? If you are like me, you prayerfully plan your day. You make appointments with people for the future to address their needs, hear their concerns, or discuss issues and projects involving them or you. But we must always live humbly, recognizing that none of our plans will be valuable unless they come from the Father! My Prayer… Holy God and righteous Father, please bless me as I seek to discern your will for my plans and decisions. I recognize that each breath I take is a gift and that each success I enjoy is because of your grace. Please use me to bring you glory and help me find your path for my life. In the name of 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.
30 Jan 2025
We are expectant as the year starts. We are trusting God for something. May we go about our business, even as we wait on God. Let us work, serve, and do life, even as we trust that God’s promises will be fulfilled in our lives. By the time the promise in Isaiah 60:1-9 was made, God’s people had experienced a lot. May God sustain us as we wait.
Today’s Verse – Psalm 22:5
They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. —Psalm 22:5 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… This Psalm that begins with despair and is referred to by Jesus from the Cross, is also a Psalm of hope and faith. The history of God’s faithfulness with his people, Israel, is an ongoing reminder that we can trust him to deliver us despite the worst circumstances. In our human reckoning of time, God’s answer may seem slow in coming, yet God’s track record through history reminds us that the LORD will answer, deliver, and bless his people in heaven’s time. Nevertheless, in our worst nightmares, we can be reminded that God is faithful and attentive to our cries of despair, lament, grief, agony, and fear. What happened to Jesus on the cross didn’t end with the feelings of despair and abandonment of Psalm 22:1, but with the triumph of Psalm 22:23-24: You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. My Prayer… I ask, dear Father, that you bless your people everywhere who find themselves in difficult situations, whether persecution, oppression, violence, or martyrdom. Please empower them with your Spirit and bless them with a change for the better in their dire situations. Please hear the cries of your people and act swiftly for their protection, preservation, and vindication. In Jesus’ name, our conquering 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.
One of the Hardest ‘Miracles’
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, What’s the hardest miracle to perform? I know many of you would love to see some great miracle of your selection to help you believe. Yet all around you every day, some of the most amazingly wondrous transformations happen by divine power at work in My followers. As My disciples show in the verses below, one of the hardest of the wondrous transformations is for the power of grace to lead a wounded heart to forgive. This very important reality is the focus of My teaching about prayer and miraculous results. One of the hardest “miracles” to believe possible is forgiveness. I taught about this repeatedly in My ministry on earth. This teaching is rooted in the two greatest commands — to love the Lord your God with all you are and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). You cannot be wrong with your brother or sister on earth and be right with your Father in heaven. It’s that simple to say and yet very hard for the wounded human heart to love as it should. This teaching is also based on another essential reality: you do not truly appreciate the forgiveness you have received if you do not pass along that same grace of forgiveness to others (Matthew 6:14; Matthew 18:23-35; Ephesians 4:32). Yes, this is a hard truth. That’s why your forgiveness of others may be one of the hardest “miracles” to perform. Feeding 5,000? Not hard for Me with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Raising the dead? I have done that. Healing the blind, the lame, the paralyzed, the leprous? I have done that repeatedly. However, changing a wounded heart that has been abused and mistreated is so much harder because that change depends on the submission of the person to My will in spite of whatever may have happened to him or her. Grace has to permeate down to a broken and dark place in a person’s soul and capture it with the truth of what I did to redeem it. For you to genuinely forgive those who come in repentance and ask for forgiveness is a hard wonder to perform, but not impossible! What I want you to realize is that if you can have “faith the size of a single, tiny mustard seed”, then that “little faith can accomplish the seemingly impossible” — including turning your wounded heart into a gracious heart like Mine! Watch what I do as I journey toward Jerusalem to take up the cross. Remember My words of forgiveness. Remember why I did what I did — not because I wanted to face suffering and heartbreak, but because those who sinned and rejected Me, both then and in your day, need My forgiveness and grace. The same spirit of forgiveness and grace must be true of you as you deal with those who hurt you and sin against you. They need your grace displayed to them to understand the power of My grace. So when you forgive, don’t act like you deserve a medal for doing something hard. Yes, it is hard, very hard, and sometimes it feels impossibly hard. If you call yourself My disciple, that means you have committed to the lifestyle of the cross. Sometimes that will seem as hard for you to face as it was for Me to face the rejection, mockery, agony, and humiliation of My cross. Forgiving others is not only a sign that you have faith to follow My example of forgiveness. It also means that you realize that you are My servant and “unworthy of extra consideration or thanks” since you were just doing your “duty”. I don’t say that to be harsh, but to help you realize how important forgiveness is in My family of grace! Verses to Live I want you to know, My dear disciple, that much of My teaching during My journey to Jerusalem and the cross is challenging and sometimes just very hard to accept at a human level. It doesn’t make sense. It seems upside down to the way your world works. So I ask you again to watch Me and what I do on the way to My cross and all that goes with My passion. Redeeming a lost world means living a radical discipleship. I wasn’t crucified because I was a nice sweet man. I was crucified because I was a loving, kind, gentle, truth-telling world-changer Who lived the character and compassion of God before a world opposed to His ways. I call you to follow Me in this world-changing lifestyle! Jesus (to His disciples): You can’t stop temptations to do wrong from coming. But how tragic it will be for the person who becomes the source of the temptation! It would be better if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. So each of you needs to be careful. If your brother sins against you, confront him about it, and if he has a change of mind and heart, then forgive him. Even if he wrongs you seven times in a single day, if he turns back to you each time and says he’s sorry and will change, you must forgive him. The Lord’s Emissaries: We don’t have enough faith for this! Help our faith to grow! Jesus (pointing to a nearby mulberry tree): It’s not like you need a huge amount of faith. If you just had faith the size of a single, tiny mustard seed, you could say to this huge tree, “Pull up your roots and replant yourself in the sea,” and it would fly through the sky and do what you said. So even a little faith can accomplish the seemingly impossible. Imagine this scenario. You have a servant — say he’s been out plowing a field or taking care of the sheep — and he comes in hot and sweaty from his
29 Jan 2025
God directs us based on His great love for us. God may get angry with us, but He relents and blesses us. His anger persists for a moment, but His love endures forever. 2 Samuel 24:18-25