Daily Prayer for March 6
Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. Psalm 96:7–9, NIV Lord our God, you are our help and our comfort. We look to you and to your promises. Grant that we may remain full of courage, also in our personal concerns, so that we do not complain like fretful children, but cheerfully wait for your great victory on earth. May we become your people. Grant your Spirit to your people, not only to a few but eventually to many. Lord our God, we pray that your will may be done on earth among the nations; may your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Amen. Recent articles on Plough The Improbable Revival of the Cloister Shira Telushkin Why are so many young Catholic women choosing radical seclusion as cloistered nuns? Read now Warehouse Workers of Paris Find Their Voice Benoît Gautier In de-industrializing France, a shuttle bus is workers’ last link to stability. Read now Stanley Hauerwas’s Provocations Tish Harrison Warren America’s theologian isn’t worried about the death of cultural Christianity. Read now Passing On the Farm to My Daughter James Rebanks A record-breaking bull showed that my seventeen-year-old is ready to start taking my place. Read now The Quest to Emancipate Labor Peter Mommsen Why do we work? The dream of a truly human economy spans millennia, from Genesis to Marx to Martin Luther King. Read now
Today’s Verse – Romans 8:1-2
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. —Romans 8:1-2 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… The law of Spirit and life is built on the work of our great liberator, Jesus the Messiah! We are set free from the law of sin and death. Death has no mastery over us because of Jesus’ resurrection. Sin has no claim on us because Jesus paid off our debt to sin on the Cross. We each stand before God as his righteous child, free at last because of the work of our mighty LORD Jesus Christ. There is no condemnation in our future, only glory! Plus, Jesus gave us this promise about his abiding presence that brings us life through the Spirit: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive (John 7:37-39). My Prayer… Thank you, Almighty God, for your plan to pay my ransom and liberate me from sin and death. Thank you for the confidence I have because of your incomparable grace. Thank you, Jesus, for pouring the Holy Spirit into my heart and ensuring that your life springs up within me. I praise you, God, in Jesus’ name. 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.
05 Mar 2025
The Pharisees and Sadducees were godly and knowledgeable groups. They knew scripture and were well versed in Jewish culture, yet John and later Jesus disparaged them for not being in touch with what God wanted them to be. They were too caught up in their own worlds and failed to address what was close to God’s heart. The general population needed love, health, food, and a personal connection to God. Matthew 3:7-10.
Daily Prayer for March 5
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32, RSV Lord our God, we come to you as a little flock, asking you to accept us and keep us as your own, whom you will redeem in your time. Protect us always so that we remain strong in faith. Strengthen us in the faith that you are with us, helping us. Grant that your people may come to the light, to the honor of your name. So we entrust ourselves to your hands this night. Be with us, Lord our God, through your Spirit. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Stanley Hauerwas’s Provocations Tish Harrison Warren America’s theologian isn’t worried about the death of cultural Christianity. Read now Passing On the Farm to My Daughter James Rebanks A record-breaking bull showed that my eighteen-year-old is ready to start taking my place. Read now The Quest to Emancipate Labor Peter Mommsen Why do we work? The dream of a truly human economy spans millennia, from Genesis to Marx to Martin Luther King. Read now The Backbone of a Country Evelyn Mow Luo Zhongli’s 1980 painting Father portrayed an aging farmer in a format usually reserved for deifying China’s political leaders. Read now The Forgiveness Project Marina Cantacuzino In London, an unconventional project shares stories of forgiveness. Read now
Today’s Verse – Acts 2:38
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.” —Acts 2:38 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Peter makes a promise for everyone everywhere who turns their hearts to God and submits themselves to him in baptism, fully trusting Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior! They will be filled with God’s Spirit and forgiven of their sins because of the mighty name and gracious work of Jesus Christ. This passage (Acts 2:33-47) demonstrates that Peter and the apostles had begun fulfilling Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20): they made disciples by going, baptizing, and teaching people to obey what the LORD commanded. Like those early disciples, let’s share this grace so that the world can know that Jesus is not only LORD but also Savior and King for all who hear God’s call and trust in him. My Prayer… I praise you, Almighty and gracious Father. You have given me hope when there was none. You have given me strength when my resolve was gone. You have blessed me with grace and poured your love into my heart through your Holy Spirit, your gift from above. I praise you for your love, grace, forgiveness, salvation, and Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, I rejoice and 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.
Rules Versus Right Hearts
Note from Jesus Please Note: Due to an error in our content management software, ‘A Year with Jesus’ Devotionals have been out of sequence for this year. After considering all remedies, we have decided to return to the intended order of devotionals just in time for Lent. Unfortunately this means there will be duplicates of previous devotionals that were mistakenly sent out of order. We deeply regret this mistake and apologize for the situation. Thank you for your understanding and continued support as a faithful reader of this devotional. Dear Disciple, You are probably aware that I had many disagreements with the Pharisees, scribes, and scholars during My time on earth and that I openly opposed them for their ungodly teachings and actions. In fact, a lot of My strongest condemnations were directed at the legalism and hypocrisy of these religious leaders (e.g., Matthew 23:1-33). However, I want you to understand something very important about these disagreements. I agreed with these people on nearly all of the principles they taught about the morality that God wants for His people and about adherence to God’s commands. Where I disagreed with them was on the way to achieve what God wants. Their goal was to create a set of rules — called the (oral) traditions of the ancestors — that were taught as God’s law. These rules were designed to be a hedge around the Torah to prevent anyone from getting close to breaking the commands of God. Their desire was good — to honor the character and compassion of God in their behavior. However, their design was severely flawed since external rules cannot create a holy person; true transformation has to come from the heart. While some people have tried to make My teaching into something soft and easy to fit their lifestyles, if you look carefully at My teachings, you will see that is not the case. Rather, I want people to examine their hearts. I want them to look deeper than a set of rules and listen for the heart and will of God in His teachings. To put it into the language of the issues in the verses below, let Me say it directly: I came to be a heart surgeon and not a hand washer! External rules cannot get to the real issue that lies behind all behavior: the heart! Listen to the words of the Father through the prophet Ezekiel: I will give them a new will — an undivided heart — and plant a new spirit within them; I will remove their cold, stony heart and replace it with a warm heart of flesh. Then they will follow My commands and uphold My laws and actually do as I say. They will be My people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11:19-20). I came to try to win your heart to God and to transform it by the power of the Holy Spirit living in you! Don’t think that there are no people like Pharisees in your day. All around, people have turned discipleship into rule keeping, thinking they can make rules to keep people holy. It doesn’t work. The apostle Paul had to deal with the problem a few years after My resurrection. Notice what he said about rule-keeping to the Colossians: You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. (Colossians 2:20-23 NLT) The solution to this problem? A new, clean, and right heart. King David wrestled with ungodliness and did some despicable things. Yet he realized the power to change was not in making harder sets of rules, but in asking God for a cleansed and transformed heart that could change him from the inside out: Create in me a clean heart, O God; restore within me a sense of being brand new. … Give back to me the deep delight of being saved by You; let Your willing Spirit sustain me. (Psalm 51:10-12) Verses to Live I have sent the Holy Spirit to live within you as a baptized believer. The Holy Spirit is at work to transform you from the inside out. However, you need to offer your heart to Me each day. Ask Me to do the work you cannot do on your own, to cleanse and to transform the desires of your heart. Rules cannot change your heart; they can only alter some of your behavior for awhile. Before long, your rules will become more important than the will of God and your heart can be far away from the heart of God, the very God you are trying to please with your rules! Then the Pharisees returned to talk with Jesus [after He had healed many people (Mark 6:53-56)], and with them came some of the scribes and scholars from Jerusalem. Scribes and Scholars (seeing the disciples eating): Your disciples are eating bread with defiled, unwashed hands. Now you need to know that the Pharisees, and all Jews for that matter, held the tradition of their ancestors that hands must be washed before eating to avoid being ritually unclean. Likewise, they washed when they returned from the market and followed similar purity teachings as well, from the washing of their food to the washing of their bowls, cups, and kettles. Scribes and Pharisees: Why don’t Your disciples follow the traditions passed down to us? Why do they eat their bread with defiled hands? Jesus: Isaiah prophesied wisely about your religious pretensions when he wrote, These people honor Me with words off their lips; meanwhile their hearts are far from Me. Their worship is empty, void
04 Mar 2025
God can give wisdom, revelation, enlightenment, and the hope to which He has called us, i.e. the richest of His inheritance and power. May we trust in Him and receive these things. Ephesians 1:17-21.
Today’s Verse – Psalm 37:3
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. —Psalm 37:3 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Having a place to live amid life’s uncertainties and having assurance of God’s protection and care are based on two essential principles: Trusting in the LORD. Doing good to others. When we live by these two commitments, we learn to depend upon God in fresh new ways that bring us refreshment, hope, and joy. As we do, we extend God’s grace and share God’s blessings with others. My Prayer… Loving God, my Abba Father, I trust you with my life, which I offer to you as a living sacrifice to bring you glory and honor* as I seek to bless others as you have blessed me. As I do this, dear Father, I know you are rushing to meet me with your loving grace and love beyond compare. Thank you! Thank you for your love. Thank you for your protection. Thank you for holding my future in your hands. In Jesus’ name, I praise you. Amen. * Romans 12:1-2.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.
Extraordinary God!
Note from Jesus Please Note: Due to an error in our content management software, ‘A Year with Jesus’ Devotionals have been out of sequence for this year. After considering all remedies, we have decided to return to the intended order of devotionals just in time for Lent. Unfortunately this means there will be duplicates of previous devotionals that were mistakenly sent out of order. We deeply regret this mistake and apologize for the situation. Thank you for your understanding and continued support as a faithful reader of this devotional. Dear Child of God, What is your greatest need? Seems like a simple question, doesn’t it? But when you look deeper, the events in the verses below from in My life story clarify some things for you… including what three of your deepest needs are! First, many times people going through hard times, especially if they involve illness, think that a cure for their disease is the most important thing. However, in this story, the man who was paralyzed received blessings that far outweighed having his physical problem removed. This man had friends. These determined friends were willing to take risks that could cost them something. These were friends of faith. I saw their faith and it led Me to help this man with his greatest need. He needed forgiveness. He needed a right relationship restored with the Father. I gave him that at great risk and cost to Me because of the reaction of the Jewish leaders to My ministry. And if you have been paying attention to what I have been saying these last few days, you know why I did it. As God with you, I want you to know by My actions that God wants you both holy and whole — to enjoy full shalom! Second, the religious leaders in this story can point you to another great need. Notice what the religious leaders said: Who can pronounce that a person’s sins are forgiven? Who but God alone? Now don’t miss the point, because some religious groups who claim to be My disciples miss it. My actions show that I AM God among you. I healed the man to show I have the power, the authority, the right to do what only God can do: forgive people of their sins, both the ones that involve only them and God and the ones that involve other people as well! No matter your problem, please recognize the most important issue in your life involves your relationship with the Father. I can bring you forgiveness no matter what you’ve done if you will only come to Me and be honest about the sin issues in your life. Don’t believe Me? I recommend you read what My beloved disciple wrote about forgiveness (1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:1-2). Finally, and most importantly of all, recognize that I AM God. The Father and I are One. I came as God in human flesh, Immanuel — God with you! This conviction is the most basic and important belief of all. To understand God’s love, the meaning of My sacrifice, and the importance of your obedience, you must believe that I AM God, come in human flesh to save you — and not just you, but everyone else in the world who is willing to recognize Me for Who I AM and follow Me! As My apostle Thomas said when he saw Me raised from the dead, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28 NLT). Verses to Live In the following story, there is a paralyzed man whose life was forever changed because of the faith and determination of his friends. If you have friends who are determined in their faith, give thanks to God. Affirm them. Lean on them. Just as was the case for this sick man, there will be days when your friends may have to have the faith to get you to Me when you don’t seem to have the power, courage, or willingness to come to Me. So value those friends. One day Jesus was teaching in a house, and the healing power of the Lord was with Him. Pharisees and religious scholars were sitting and listening, having come from villages all across the regions of Galilee and Judea and from the holy city of Jerusalem. Some men came to the house, carrying a paralyzed man on his bed pallet. They wanted to bring him in and present him to Jesus, but the house was so packed with people that they couldn’t get in. So they climbed up on the roof and pulled off some roof tiles. Then they lowered the man by ropes so he came to rest right in front of Jesus. In this way, their faith was visible to Jesus. Jesus (to the man on the pallet): My friend, all your sins are forgiven. The Pharisees and religious scholars were offended at this. They turned to one another and asked questions. Pharisees and Religious Scholars: Who does He think He is? Wasn’t that blasphemous? Who can pronounce that a person’s sins are forgiven? Who but God alone? Jesus (responding with His own question): Why are your hearts full of questions? Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven” or “Get up and walk”? Just so you’ll know that the Son of Man is fully authorized to forgive sins on earth (He turned to the paralyzed fellow lying on the pallet), I say, get up, take your mat, and go home. Then, right in front of their eyes, the man stood up, picked up his bed, and left to go home — full of praises for God! Everyone was stunned. They couldn’t help but feel awestruck, and they praised God too. People: We’ve seen extraordinary things today. (Luke 5:17-26) Response in Prayer O Jesus, You are Lord and Christ, God’s Son, Immanuel, God Who came to us in human flesh. You are my Lord and my God! Thank You, God, in the name of the
03 Mar 2025
I am praying for God’s help in the areas I struggle with. May we all find comfort in knowing that God’s power is at our disposal. Jehovah is concerned about us and is willing to help us. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.