Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 15:3-5
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. —1 Corinthians 15:3-5 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Some truths are “first importance” truths. They are the heart of the matter, foundational, and immutable truths. We don’t have to doubt what those “first importance” things are as Jesus’ disciples. The Gospel of our salvation is built on the testimony of eyewitnesses to the historical events: Jesus died, Jesus was buried, Jesus rose from the grave, and Jesus appeared to his disciples, who were never the same after witnessing their resurrected Savior. Let’s not let anyone distract us from these core truths or crowd out their simplicity with other matters that some falsely claim to be essential. Our salvation is rooted in our faith and our participation in this simple yet powerful Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3-7; Romans 6:3-7). My Prayer… Dear God, I confess my faith in your saving work for me accomplished by Jesus. I believe that your Son and my Savior, Immanuel, Jesus of Nazareth, my LORD, was crucified by wicked men just as you had foretold long ago in the Scriptures. I believe Jesus’ dead and lifeless body was placed in a borrowed tomb. I believe you brought him back to life on the third day, just as you promised. I believe that those most destroyed by his death, those who knew him best, saw him alive again. I believe their lives were never the same. I believe, dear Father, that as I have confessed my faith in Jesus and shared with him in his death, burial, and resurrection through baptism, my life is caught up with him in your salvation and victory over sin, death, and hell. I praise you for this grace. I thank you for this assurance. So, dear Father, I look forward to sharing in your glory when he returns for me. Thank you for my salvation. In Jesus’ name I live, rejoice, and wait in hope. 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.
10 Apr 2025
If God was not merciful, none of us would survive His wrath. He is willing to forgive us and help us over and over again. That’s how much He loves us. May we depend on Him only and believe that His love for us is unwavering. Let us trust Him with our circumstances. Psalm 143:1-12.
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 15:2
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. —1 Corinthians 15:2 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… What saves us? What God did for us in Jesus! Let’s commit to let nothing make us relinquish our trust and dependency upon that hope, that Gospel by which we are saved (1 Corinthians 15:3-7). No name, person, or message can bring us true salvation other than the person, work, and Gospel of Jesus (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Galatians 1:3-9). We don’t need to add anything else to it. We must never let anyone take anything from it. Let’s hold firmly to this faith as trust in God’s grace in Jesus! My Prayer… Father, I trust in no other god for you alone are God.. I trust in no other Gospel but the story of your love and grace in Jesus. There is no other Savior and LORD other than Jesus. As the old hymn so beautifully prays, “Lord, let me never, never, outlive my love to Thee.” In Jesus’ name, I fervently pray this. 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.
09 Apr 2025
Even we Christians who have a relationship with God can be caught up in unbelief when it comes to unprecedented events. Some things are surreal and need extraordinary faith. May the Lord have mercy on us and allow us to experience such things. John 20:24-29.
Key Resources for Resurrection Sunday and Holy Week
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete (1 John 1:1-4). Over the years, many of us have looked for the visual resources to help our brothers and sisters in Christ better visualize the world of Jesus and the way our Savior lived and touched people. Our faith is rooted in the bedrock truth of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-7). The Renaissance masters who painted Jesus may have created great art, but they did a huge disservice to the historical times and reality of Jesus. Statuary has even gone further in distorting the physical reality of Jesus and his human family. As we approach Resurrection Sunday and journey through Holy Week, many families, teachers, and friends are looking for images to go with the Scriptures they use to share Jesus’ story with their children, families, and loved ones. We wanted to share what we consider three invaluable resources for you to use for graphic images as you tell the story of Jesus. Yes, we know many of you are tuned into The Chosen and grabbing as many of their devotional and Bible study resources as you can. That is a good resource to get a feel for the gritty reality of Jesus and his world. However, the resources we are offering you are easy to share in very personal ways. These are resources you can leave in the hands of those you love to be an ongoing blessing to them. Let’s remember that we pursue Jesus so we can become JESUShaped disciples and share Jesus’ life, teachings, and love with the world (2 Corinthians 3:18). Below, you will find images of Jesus’ journey from the upper room to the resurrection from two online resources: Free Bible Images — We especially love the photos section, but there all sorts of images for Bible stories, both photos and illustrations at FreeBibleImages.org. Video Bible — A friend of VerseoftheDay.com and Heartlight.com works with VideoBible.com has given us a sneak peak of the Passion related images that will be used in their Bible video. The Jesus Film Project offers great word for word Bible text to narrate each of the Gospels while gritty, real-to-life sets and actors present the story of Jesus visually. This is part of the CRU ministry and is a wonderful resource we have used for years based on the Lumo Project. Below are several images that give you a sneak peek of a few of these image resources. Hopefully, they give you ideas of how effective and powerful they can be as well as get you thinking of ways you can use them for the good of the Kingdom. In addition, we hope you will explore what they offer and help them continue their ministries! We pray you are blessed by simply going through these images and Scriptures to help you tell the story of Jesus’ journey through the cross to the resurrection for us! We are blessed to have a resurrected Savior. Let’s close this post on resources by reminding ourselves of the greatest resource for life that has ever been present on our planet! Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:3-9). About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God’s Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com. Phil has also authored four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels.
Daily Prayer for April 9
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. John 14:18-21, NIV Lord our God, dear Father in heaven, we are gathered in your presence through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Reveal to us our Savior Jesus Christ. May the Savior be revealed to us; otherwise in our need we will never come through. Grant that at this late hour for the world we may see him as he is, and through him and through the kingdom that he brings we may be lifted above the troubles of our time. Strengthen our hearts every day, and fill us with joy because you guide everything on earth as in heaven; in the end you will give us the victory that belongs to the kingdom you have founded. May we be comforted through all eternity in this kingdom, a kingdom far greater and more glorious than all the kingdoms of the world. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Why Self-Denial? Dietrich Bonhoeffer Self-denial is not individual acts of self-torment or asceticism. Read now Ora et Labora: The Benedictine Work Ethic William P. Hyland Benedict of Nursia, the father of Western monasticism, teaches us to fuse prayer and work. Read now Comfort for the Godforsaken Cameron Coombe Jürgen Moltmann knew where to point those feeling abandoned by God, not least a student in a mental health crisis at the other end of the earth. Read now Dancing with Neighbors Tessa Carman Saying no to certain kinds of tech makes more room for living. Read now An Easter Letter Heinrich Arnold A Bruderhof pastor’s message to his communities calls each of us to wake up to what God is doing in our world. Read now
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 15:1
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. —1 Corinthians 15:1 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… The pure Gospel of Jesus Christ is our hope, salvation, and foundation for faith. The first century apostles passed on this Gospel to early believers as eyewitnesses of Jesus. Many backed up their testimony with their lives. We must regularly remind ourselves of this early faith centered on Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-7). With such a pure and clear Gospel, we can joyously live the words of the old hymn, Rock of Ages: “Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to Thy Cross I cling.” We take our stand with the apostle Paul when he stated to the Corinthians: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born (1 Corinthians 15:3-7). My Prayer… Almighty and Precious Father, I love you. I cannot begin to thank you enough for your love and grace, which you displayed so powerfully to me in Jesus. I know the basis of my hope and the foundation on which I build my life is the Gospel of your dear Son. Thank you for giving me something so simple, steadfast, and sure based on the eyewitness testimony, people willing to back up their words with their lives. In Jesus’ name, I thank 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.
08 Apr 2025
May the Lord speak to us over and over again, and may we share testimony after testimony of His wondrous works with our children and all who care to listen, to eradicate any unbelief. May there be overwhelming evidence of the existence of Jehovah and of His love for us. Psalm 78:1-7.
Today’s Verse – Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 4:7 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… What can genuinely guard our hearts? What can authentically protect our minds? Did you know God wants his peace to guard our hearts and minds? That’s the apostle Paul’s promise to us in this passage. If we present our requests to God, always with thanksgiving, God’s peace is more significant than any explanation, it transcends our ability to comprehend it, and it will stand sentry over our hearts and minds. Do you want an example of how this is true? Look at the book of Job. All that befalls him. All that wounds him. Yet, still, he doesn’t become hard of heart or go insane. What is the key to his survival? His ongoing conversation with the LORD — his open recognition of the LORD’s presence. Job will not relinquish his relationship with God no matter how badly he hurts, how much he is confused, or how badly he is ridiculed. Amid all of his life’s uncertainties, losses, and wounds, Job holds onto God’s presence (Job 19:25-26). My Prayer… Father, I need you and the peace of your abiding presence. Wounds pierce my heart, but I don’t want my heart to become hardened and callused. At times, my mind is so confused that I fear I may lose my rationality. Dear Father, I trust that as I cling to Jesus and speak openly with you about my life and your grace, I believe you will bless me with your peace and protect my heart and mind from destruction. Thank you, dear Father, for the reminder that even as I struggle with my troubles, I also need to thank you for all the good things you have done to bless my life in my walk with you! In Jesus’ name, I pray thank 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.
07 Apr 2025
There is a measure of unbelief today that is driven by various factors. There are those who are discouraged and feel that God has forgotten them. There are those without a reference point to a balanced Christian way of life. There are those who have never heard the good news. Luke 11:29-32.