Transitions
Note from Jesus Dear Faithful Follower, Life is full of transitions and changes as well as ups and downs. For the apostle Paul, these types of things were certainly true during his ministry. In the verses below, he had just spent considerable time in Macedonia and Greece. He had written letters to the Romans and the Corinthians. He had strengthened churches. He had spent time with people he knew and loved. During this time, he was organizing an offering for the impoverished believers in Jerusalem. Each church that was helping with this offering sent representatives with Paul to Jerusalem to convey their congregations’ love. They also were along to ensure the funds were handled and dispersed appropriately. This trip back to Jerusalem with these special gifts was important to Paul. He wanted to bring My family of believers together in spirit and fellowship even though they were scattered across the Mediterranean world and made up of different cultures and races of people. However, Paul had enemies who were determined to stop him. These enemies were from Asia, and especially Ephesus. They were Jewish people who were opposed to his preaching that I AM the Anointed One, the promised Messiah. Over the next several days, you will read about Paul’s journey to Jerusalem where these enemies started a riot and tried to have him killed. The Roman authorities arrested Paul and actually preserved his life when a mob attacked him in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27-36) and when his nephew heard of a plot to kill him (Acts 23:12-24). Paul subsequently used his Roman citizenship to defeat the conspiracies to have him killed and was thus able to have his case heard in Rome in Caesar’s court (Acts 25:8-12). Paul did eventually arrive in Rome, but it wasn’t in the manner he had hoped. During his wild sea journey to Rome, the Spirit delivered him from great danger and brought him safely to Rome. The whole ordeal in Jerusalem and the journey to Rome gave Paul many opportunities to tell a wide variety of people — both influential and obscure — about Me. Your readings will be full of intrigue, travel, danger, warning, opposition, deliverance, shipwreck, and imprisonment. During all of this upheaval and through all of these transitions, several things remained steadfast with Paul: His faith in Me as the ultimate Deliverer, Savior, Lord, and Messiah. His close fellowship with and love for believers and his sharing in close communion with them. His passion for mentoring and growing people from different churches to continue the work of the gospel after he was gone. His desire to tie the worldwide family of God together in fellowship, mission, and love. Verses to Live Today’s verses focus on the beginning of Paul’s transitioning to Jerusalem and ultimately to Rome. In every big movement of Paul’s life and travels, behind the scenes are tender moments of communion, fellowship, and miraculous grace. The same is true for you if you will watch for My influence in your life and live intentionally on the mission for me regardless of your job or life situation. Be blessed by this tender but powerful story of grace found in the middle of Paul’s travels, dangers, and transitions. Finding grace can happen when My people take the time to value and commune with each other as they remember Me! When the uproar [in Ephesus] was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia. Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. After the Passover ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week. On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord’s Supper. Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight. The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps. As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below. Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!” Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left. Meanwhile, the young man was taken home unhurt, and everyone was greatly relieved. Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship. (Acts 20:1-13 NLT) Response in Prayer Father, please give me a sense of Your grace, the Spirit’s guidance, and Jesus’ abiding presence as I go through the transitions in my own life. As the old hymn says, “Be with me, Lord — I cannot live without Thee, I dare not try to take one step alone.” By the authority and 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.
20 Sep 2024
I pray that we may experience the love of God and His majesty over and over again in our lives. May His power be evident in our midst, and may we find favour with Him. May He hear us, when we call on Him and may He answer our prayers. 2 Chronicles 7:11-18.
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 9:19
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. —1 Corinthians 9:19 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Grace frees us from the law of sin and death. However, our freedom is not to be used selfishly — not for rebellion or self-gratification. Instead, we must use our liberty redemptively, just as Jesus did (Philippians 2:5-11). We can voluntarily limit that freedom to help others still caught in bondage to sin and false ideas about God. We can use the freedom of the Spirit to be transformed to be like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). We can honestly submit ourselves to the needs of those who don’t know Jesus to win some of them to the LORD and his grace (1 Corinthians 9:20-23). Let’s use our freedom to rejoice, redeem, and bless. My Prayer… Thank you, great and mighty LORD, for setting me free by your grace. I know, dear Father, you gave this gift to me at great cost to you — the humiliating torture, death, and burial of your Son, Jesus Christ. But you also raised him triumphantly from death! So use me, dear Father, to bless others who have not yet found their deliverance and freedom in Jesus so the Spirit can raise them triumphantly with Jesus to a fresh new life. I pray this in the name of my Savior, 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.
Problem People
Note from Jesus Dear Precious One, Yesterday’s note focused on valuing each person in the Father’s family. There are, however, some in the family who seem to be frequently stirring up trouble and leading others astray. Paul well described these people in the first paragraph of today’s verses. His words of wisdom are “spot on perfect”: “If there are people like that in your churches, stay away from them.” These people are as precious to Me as the ones mentioned yesterday, but until they humble themselves before Me, don’t give them an audience. Don’t let them weigh you down. Don’t feed their ego and appetite for attention. Stay away from people who want to divide and who lead you astray! Instead, celebrate the good in you and in your church family. Focus on the qualities that grow people and grow My family. As you do, the Father will send peace your way and will crush Satan under your feet. The evil one won’t be in your way, and the path you walk will lead you closer and closer to Me and to eternal glory with the Father. Notice how Paul ends his letter. I will shorten it so you see the main point: So to the One Who is able to strengthen you to live consistently with my good news and the preaching of Jesus, the Anointed… To the one true and wise God, we offer glory for all times through Jesus, the Anointed One. Amen. The Father will give you strength to live for Him. So bring your Father glory in how you live. As you live for the Father, I will bring your needs to His throne of grace in the presence of the angels until you can join Us at the Father’s throne in glory. Verses to Live Romans is an incredibly powerful and practical letter that speaks about the good news of the Father’s grace, My role as a sin offering, and the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you. This letter is a message of hope for all people. So as you come to the end of it, I hope you will give thanks for Paul who wrote it. Also, give thanks for all those through the ages who have believed it. And finally, give thanks for the love We — Father, Son, and Spirit — have for you. Don’t let anyone rob you of this good news of grace and of its hope! I [Paul] am pleading with all of you, brothers and sisters, to keep up your guard against anyone who is causing conflicts and enticing others with teachings contrary to what you have already learned. If there are people like that in your churches, stay away from them. These kinds of people are not truly serving our Lord Jesus the Anointed; they have devoted their lives to satisfying their own appetites. With smooth talking and a well-rehearsed blessing, they lead a lot of unsuspecting people down the wrong path. The stories about the way you are living in obedience to God have traveled to all the churches. So celebrate your faithfulness to God that is being displayed in your lives — seek wisdom about the good life, and remain innocent when it comes to evil. If you do this, the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet soon. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King, be ever present with you. Timothy, my coworker in the spreading of the gospel, also sends his greeting to all of you, as do my kinsmen, Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater. I, Tertius, the one who wrote this letter for Paul, greet you in the name of the Lord. Gaius, my host here as well as patron for the whole church, sends his best to all of you. Erastus, the city administrator, sends his greetings along with brother Quartus. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, touch you all. Amen. So to the One Who is able to strengthen you to live consistently with my good news and the preaching of Jesus, the Anointed, with the revelation of the ancient mystery that has been kept secret since the earliest days, this mystery is revealed through the prophetic voices passed down in the Scriptures, as they have been commanded by the Eternal God. In this time, this mystery is being made known to the nations so that all may be led to faith-filled obedience. To the one true and wise God, we offer glory for all times through Jesus, the Anointed One. Amen (Romans 16:17-27) Response in Prayer Father, thank You for Paul and his passion for the gospel. Thank You for the grace on which my relationship with You is built. I ask that You strengthen me and every good work I am attempting to do for You. May my life bring You glory. In Jesus’ 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.
19 Sep 2024
May we have peace due to the fact that God is loving. We are loved and He cares about us. We just need to call out to Him and He will save us. Romans 10:12-13.
Daily Prayer for September 19
You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Exodus 19:4–6 Lord our God and our Father, we thank you for all the light you let shine on earth to gladden our hearts. Your light shows us how to live in your creation with open eyes and open hearts, accepting in a childlike way all the good gifts from your hand. How much good you send to many sorrowful hearts, and how much strengthening to those in weakness, poverty, and sickness! Grant that we may recognize what comes from you, that we are not cast down in spirit but mount up again and again on wings like eagles. May we learn to say at all times, “Through how much need has not our merciful God spread out his wings to protect us!” Amen. Recent articles on Plough A Lion in Phnom Penh J. Daniel Sims An insider reckons with complicity and compromise in Cambodia’s aid industry. Read now The Workers and the Church Sohrab Ahmari What happened to the Christian tradition of supporting workers’ rights? Read now The Body She Had Rosemarie Garland-Thomson If only her parents had been spared the terrible freedom of having to choose whether to have a child with a disability. Read now Recovering from Heroin and Fiction Jordan Castro I sought freedom in drugs and novels. They couldn’t save me. Read now In Defiance of All Powers Peter Mommsen What’s the point of freedom? Which kinds of freedom might be worth dying for? Read now
Today’s Verse – Ecclesiastes 9:18
Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. —Ecclesiastes 9:18 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Just a little leaven and the whole lump is changed (1 Corinthians 5:6). A sinful person can have the same effect, leaving an evil residue on an entire group of people committed to God. So let’s be wise and reverence God by obeying him and his Word. Let’s be insightful in the way we deal with sin and temptation in our lives. Let’s also remember that we are at war with the evil one (Ephesians 6:10-12) and do not even allow him the tiniest footholds. Then, let’s praise God because our Savior has already defeated our enemy, and the Holy Spirit empowers us to stand up to Satan’s attacks and resist his temptations. My Prayer… Loving Father, please give me wisdom to see through the deceptiveness of the devil’s schemes while I seek to live your truth and display your character in my life. Thank you for your power at work in me and in 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.
Precious People
Note from Jesus Dear Precious One, Has anyone told you lately you are precious? You are! You are a blood-bought child of the Father. I rescued you from sin, death, and hell because you are too precious to Me to live without you. I left heaven to reclaim you. You are precious. My apostle Peter said it this way: You know that a price was paid to redeem you from following the empty ways handed on to you by your ancestors; it was not paid with things that perish (like silver and gold), but with the precious blood of the Anointed [Jesus Christ], Who was like a perfect and unblemished sacrificial lamb. God determined to send Him before the world began, but He came into the world in these last days for your sake. (1 Peter 1:18-20) What you find in the verses below is a long list of people in Rome whom Paul greeted. As you go through this list, I hope you find it amazing. Paul had never visited Rome, yet he knew all these people. He knew that they were part of the church in Rome. He even mentioned specific areas of Christian service for about half of those listed. So here are some things I want to place on your heart as you consider some of the implications of this list of names. First, you live in an unprecedented time of travel and communication. When you travel, don’t take a vacation from My work and My people, but use your travel, whether business or pleasure, to bless My people and spread the gospel! Second, people are Our — Father, Son, and Spirit’s — most precious resource. Encourage them to be active in My church. Don’t fight over who can do what and who can have what role. Notice that both men and women are mentioned with important roles, responsibilities, and titles in Paul’s list. Don’t limit what people can do based on a distinction between clergy and laity whether it is a clergy of ordination, gender, or education. Don’t preen or pout about the titles you or others are assigned. Serve others. Encourage your precious brothers and sisters to serve others. Like Paul, affirm the good work done by your brothers and sisters in Our family. Third, value people more than buildings, programs, projects, and religious affiliations. These things can become points of arrogance and areas of contention. Remember it is worthwhile to walk away from all of those things to bring a single person back into the family (Matthew 18:10-14). People count far more than physical and temporal things. People are eternal. Buildings will crumble and fall. Programs go out of style, and another program becomes the latest church fad. Projects move toward an end. Religious labels are human creations and divisions that separate rather than call My people to unity focused on Me, My mission, and My will. So value people above all things. Things are temporary; people are precious because they are eternal. Fourth, express your family relationship with each other through both words and actions. Why have some of you let the holy kiss go out of use in many of your Western churches when it is a frequent command found in your New Testament (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14)? You’re family. Even if a holy kiss was particular to the culture in New Testament times, there are equivalent greetings now — a warm handshake with a sincere smile, or a brotherly or sisterly hug, or whatever is appropriate in your particular culture to show sincere affection and concern. Each person who gathers around My table is precious. So love each other and greet each other as family — as people who are eternal, precious, and beloved by their Father! Verses to Live As you read Paul’s words of love, commendation, and friendship, think about the people in your life who are like those that Paul mentions. Make a commitment to write them a note of encouragement and thanks for what they mean to you. Pray for them! Value them! They are like you: precious! I commend to you our beloved sister Phoebe; she serves the church in Cenchrea as a faithful deacon. It is important that you welcome her in the Lord in a manner befitting your saintly status. Join in her work, and assist her in any way she needs you. She has spent her energy and resources helping others, and I am blessed to have her as my benefactor as well. Give my best to Prisca and Aquila; they are not only my colleagues in my profession of tent making, but more importantly they are my fellow servants of Jesus the Anointed. They put their lives on the line to keep me safe. Not only do I owe them my thanks, so do all the churches of the non-Jews. Send my regards to the church that meets in their house. Send greetings to Epaenetus. I love him dearly and celebrate his journey to faith because he was the first to believe in the Anointed One in all of Asia. Salute Mary for me; she has worked hard for all of you. Give my regards to Andronicus and Junias, who are part of my own family and served time in prison with me. They are well known among the emissaries and have been in the Anointed longer than I. Give my best to Ampliatus whom I love in the Lord, and greet Urbanus (our fellow worker in service to the Anointed One) and my beloved Stachys. Send greetings to Apelles, a tried and true believer in the Anointed, and to the entire family of Aristobulus. Do not forget to greet Herodion, another of my relatives, and everyone in the family of Narcissus who belongs to the Lord. Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, faithful laborers in the Lord, and our beloved Persis, who also has accomplished a great deal in the Lord.
18 Sept 2024
The assurances in Romans 10:12-13 are very encouraging. We are welcome to the family of God. We can be His children by the simple actions mentioned yesterday. He hears the prayers of His children. We will not be ashamed.
Daily Prayer for September 18
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass. I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. Revelation 21:21–23, NIV Lord our God, we thank you that you have given us your glorious future as the basis for our lives. We thank you that on this foundation we can forget our present troubles and believe that the power of good can move us today to oppose sin, death, and everything evil. Free our hearts from all burdens, and grant that we may have courage to wait patiently for the great help which is to come. Grant that what is happening in the world today may somehow help toward the solution of all the problems. We praise your name, our Father in the heavens. We praise you for the good you do for us each day and for the light you will shed one day on everything on earth, to the glory of your name. Amen. Recent articles on Plough The Workers and the Church Sohrab Ahmari What happened to the Christian tradition of supporting workers’ rights? Read now The Body She Had Rosemarie Garland-Thomson If only her parents had been spared the terrible freedom of having to choose whether to have a child with a disability. Read now Recovering from Heroin and Fiction Jordan Castro I sought freedom in drugs and novels. They couldn’t save me. Read now In Defiance of All Powers Peter Mommsen What’s the point of freedom? Which kinds of freedom might be worth dying for? Read now Heap Burning Coals on Your Enemy’s Head Saint John Chrysostom A Church Father takes a closer look at what this unlikely bit of biblical advice might mean, both for the heaper and the heaped. Read now