Focus on What Is Core
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, I walked the streets and footpaths of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea two thousand years ago. I came as God incarnate and gave Myself as a sacrifice for your sins and everyone else’s sin (1 John 2:1-2). The ultimate validation of Who I AM and of the efficacy of My sacrifice was My resurrection (Acts 13:26-33). Through the years, those who believe in Me and commit themselves to Me have come together to form My church. However, Satan has consistently used a tried and proven method to sabotage My disciples’ work to build My church. The evil one gets people arguing about religious things that are not that important. If he can distract My followers with useless, foolish, and selfish arguments, he knows that they will lose their focus on the core truths of their faith. Paul’s letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, as well as the letters of 2 Peter and Jude, speak directly to these problems. In today’s verses from 1 Timothy and Titus, Paul addressed similar issues with Timothy who was in Ephesus and with Titus who was in Crete. Paul spoke in lofty words about “God’s family” to remind My leaders and those to whom they ministered that My church is precious. My church is not just a thing or an idea. The church is the blood-bought family of people who have the purpose of being My blessing and bringing My redemption to their lost world. However, to do the work of redemption, the people of My family have to remain focused on the core truths of the gospel. Without this focus, their fellowship can devolve into personality clashes. If this primary focus is lost or if there are arguments over inconsequential semi-religious issues, My people can be trapped by immorality in all of its forms. In today’s verses, you see Paul as he addressed the issues that were distracting My beloved disciples in Crete (where Titus ministered) and in Ephesus (where Timothy served). He pointed these disciples away from the distracting issues of false teaching, “worldly fables,” and “sensual cravings and pleasures.” Paul encouraged Timothy and Titus to point My beloved disciples in Crete and Ephesus in the direction of the core gospel and the life-change that true faith puts in place of the world’s foolish and destructive counterfeit approaches to life. Notice that some of the core teachings involve the following subjects: My identity as the Christ, Son of God, and Savior God’s promises about Me and My fulfillment of My mission on earth The validation of My resurrection and return to glory The proclamation of the gospel all over the world The importance of godliness in all things My return to completely redeem and save you The Father’s great grace, mercy, and loving-kindness toward you when you were living in sin Your rebirth through faith and the power of the Holy Spirit The significance of baptism The importance of living a humble and holy life full of good deeds Verses to Live My beloved disciple, I want you to focus on the core things of your faith. To the delight of the evil one, many people want to distract you from these core things. You can always find a way to argue about religious ideas. Instead, stick to what is core. Refuse to get distracted by what is not essential, by false teaching, or by the lure of immorality. I called you to be salt in a world of decay and light in a world of darkness (Matthew 5:13-16). Paul urged Timothy and Titus to teach the people to whom they ministered to be the same! I [Paul] am writing all this to you, hoping I can come to you before too long; but in case I am delayed, you will know how one ought to behave as a member of God’s family — the assembly of the living God, the pillar and foundation that support the truth — and I think you will agree that the mystery of godliness is great: He was revealed in the flesh, proven right in the Spirit; He was seen by the heavenly messengers, preached to outsider nations. He was believed in the world, taken up to the heavens in glory. But even so, the Spirit very clearly tells us that in the last times some will abandon the true faith because of their devotion to spirits sent to deceive and sabotage, and mistakenly they will end up following the doctrine of demons. They will be carried away through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences have been branded with a red-hot iron, saying, “Don’t marry. Don’t eat such-and-such foods.” But God created all these to be received with gratitude by people who hold fast to the faith and really comprehend the truth. For everything God made is good. That means nothing should be rejected as long as it’s received with a grateful heart, for by God’s word and prayer, it is made holy. Place these truths before the brothers and sisters. If you do, you will be a good servant of Jesus the Anointed, raised and fed on words of true belief, trained in the good instruction you have so clearly followed. Reject worldly fables. Refuse old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself toward godliness. Although training your body has certain payoffs, godliness benefits all things — holding promise for life here and now and promise for the life that is coming. This statement is worthy of trust and our full acceptance. This is what we work so hard for! This is why we are constantly struggling: because we have an assured hope fixed upon a living God Who is the Savior of all humankind — especially all of us who believe. (1 Timothy 3:14-16; 1 Timothy 4:1-10) Be ready to do what is good and honorable. Don’t tear down another person with your words. Instead, keep the peace, and be considerate. Be truly humble toward everyone because there was a
Essential Unity
Note from Jesus Dear Member of My Body, Paul emphasized in several of his letters to churches that My church is My bodily presence in the world (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-30). When I lived on earth in a physical body, I brought the touch and truth of the Father to a broken and confused world. Now, as My body, you are called to do the same thing. You are a member of My body. The concept of being a member of an organization called a church is foreign to the New Testament. Such a concept is also foreign to My teaching. When My apostles used the term “member,” they were talking about a member of a body. Each member is a vital part of a living body. How you treat others in My family, what you believe, and how you use your gifts impact My church in significant ways. How you live these dynamics either helps or hinders the church to live and serve as My bodily presence in the world. When Paul wrote the verses below, he used the emotional leverage of his imprisonment. In this way, he reminded My disciples in Ephesus and Asia Minor of the importance and urgency of three things: Living with a definite character that reflected My character, Agreeing on essential doctrinal truths centered in Our — Father, Son, and Spirit’s — nature. Using their spiritual gifts to help My body to impact the world with My character and compassion. As My Asian disciples applied these three principles, My body on earth reflected and continued My ministry. These three things would help them resist false teaching and would restore My presence to the world through their lives as My church. However, these three practices were most effective as each member — each “body part” — did its work based on faith in a shared doctrinal core and lived with gracious compassion for each other. Verses to Live Paul wrote Ephesians to give My disciples a glorious view of the Father’s intention for the church. In today’s verses, Paul emphasized that essential unity among My disciples must have three dimensions. My people need to have unity based on gracious character (paragraph 1 below), unity rooted in faith essentials held in common (paragraph 2), and unity as My bodily presence through using their gifts (the remaining verses). As in all things in My church, love — which Paul mentioned three times in these verses — is to be the overriding principle for everything you do. Unfortunately, the evil one can give My life, My message, and My church a bad name when My followers emphasize only one or two of these principles to the exclusion of the others or when the motivation is not love. Please know that all three are important if you are to be My presence to the world through My church! As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you: Live a life that is worthy of the calling He has graciously extended to you. Be humble. Be gentle. Be patient. Tolerate one another in an atmosphere thick with love. Make every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit has already created, with peace binding you together. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were all called to pursue one hope. There is one Lord Jesus, one living faith, one… washing through baptism, and one God — the Father over all Who is above all, through all, and in all. This God has given to each of us grace in full measure according to the Anointed’s gift as the Scripture says, When He ascended to the heights, He put captivity in chains; And in His triumph, He gave gifts to the people. (Well, when it says “He ascended,” then that must mean that He had descended earlier to the lower levels, that is, to the earth. The One Who descended is the same One Who rose from the dead to ascend far above all the heavens so that He could fill all things.) It was the risen One Who handed down to us such gifted leaders — some emissaries, some prophets, some evangelists, as well as some pastor-teachers — so that God’s people would be thoroughly equipped to minister and build up the body of the Anointed One. These ministries will continue until we are unified in faith and filled with the knowledge of the Son of God, until we stand mature in His teachings and fully formed in the likeness of the Anointed, our Liberating King. Then we will no longer be like children, tossed around here and there upon ocean waves, picked up by every gust of religious teaching spoken by liars or swindlers or deceivers. Instead, by truth spoken in love, we are to grow in every way into Him — the Anointed One, the head. He joins and holds together the whole body with its ligaments providing the support needed so each part works to its proper design to form a healthy, growing, and mature body that builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:1-16) Response in Prayer Father, forgive us. We have been short-sighted children. Sometimes we grow weak on truth and end up compromising Your will. Sometimes, dear Father, we’ve gotten so hung up on our version of doctrine that we’ve forgotten to treat each other with gracious compassion. Other times, Father, we’ve forgotten to use our gifts and have gotten caught up in just going to church and being a member of a religious group. I am sorry that we so easily forget that each of us is a vital body part of Jesus’ bodily presence. Open our hearts to recognize the importance of being the second incarnation of Jesus to the world, this time through the church. Please forgive us — and please forgive me in particular — for our short-sightedness, our contentious spirit, and our lack of involvement in Jesus’ body, the church. While I cannot speak for everyone,
Power and Praise
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, One of the most remarkable gifts you have as the Father’s child is the gift of your intercessory prayer for others. When the apostle Paul was in prison, his confinement prevented him from being with his beloved brothers and sisters in Ephesus. So as Paul was praising the Father, he seamlessly moved from praise into a prayer. The focus of Paul’s prayer was for the Father to release the presence and power of the Holy Spirit into the lives of these Ephesian Christians. This same Spirit-power tore Me from the clutches of death and raised Me from the dead. Rather than spending a lot of time talking to you about what Paul said in the verses below, I want you to pay special attention to the two prayers in these verses. As you do, notice these three dynamics in Paul’s prayers: Paul moved from praise in prayer to intercession in prayer. This movement from praise to intercessory prayer was natural for Paul as he prayed led by the Holy Spirit. This kind of prayer carries great power. Paul told the Ephesians what he prayed for them. Intercessory prayer is often most powerful when you share the specific petitions in your prayer with those for whom you are praying. In other words, don’t just tell folks that you are praying for them; tell them what you are praying for them! Paul prayed for the Ephesians to experience the Spirit’s power at work within them. The Holy Spirit, the same One Who intercedes for My disciples when they pray, also releases the Father’s power into their lives. Spend more time in praise to the Father, and as you do, you will find more of the Holy Spirit’s power being released into the lives of your brothers and sisters in My family. Verses to Live Paul’s life and letters are full of his prayers. These prayers helped him stay connected with My disciples scattered all over the world. As you read two of Paul’s prayers, let the Holy Spirit help you remember brothers and sisters for whom you need to pray. Pray for these dear people, and then let them know what you prayed for them. Paul’s first prayer is in the first part of his Ephesian letter. The other prayer comes at the middle as he shifts from talking about the truths of the gospel to talking about the ways the disciples must live out those truths. Your power as a disciple to live with My character and compassion comes from knowing the truth and having the power to live it. You can release this power through your prayers of praise and intercession! To God be all praise and glory! This is why, when I heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus that is present in your community and of your great love for all God’s people, I haven’t stopped thanking Him for you. I am continually speaking to Him on your behalf in my prayers. Here’s what I say: God of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, Father of Glory: I call out to You on behalf of Your people. Give them minds ready to receive wisdom and revelation so they will truly know You. Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance. Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power. Friends, it is this same might and resurrection power that He used in the Anointed One to raise Him from the dead and to position Him at His right hand in heaven. There is nothing over Him. He’s above all rule, authority, power, and dominion; over every name invoked, over every title bestowed in this age and the next. God has placed all things beneath His feet and anointed Him as the head over all things for His church. This church is His body, the fullness of the One Who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:14-23) It is for this reason that I bow my knees before the Father, after Whom all families in heaven above and on earth below receive their names, and pray: Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together with all of Your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may Your fullness flood through their entire beings. Now to the God Who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us, to Him be all glory in the church and in Jesus the Anointed from this generation to the next, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21) Response in Prayer I praise You, gracious Father. I praise You, Lord Jesus. I praise You, powerful Holy Spirit. I praise You for Your greatness, power, and sovereignty. I praise You for the plan to redeem the mess we have made. I praise You for entering our world and planting redemption into it through Jesus. I praise You for the power of the Holy Spirit that tore Jesus from the clutches of death and raised Him from the dead. I praise You for saving Me through My faith as I shared in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection through baptism. I praise You for living inside Me through the Holy Spirit. And I ask that my spirit be
Antidote to Uncertainty: Thankfulness
Note from Jesus Dear Child of Grace, You have been blessed with grace because of the Father’s love (John 3:16-18; Colossians 1:12-14). That grace was embodied by My coming to earth in human flesh, My life of service, My atoning death on the Cross, and My victorious resurrection (Colossians 1:15-23) and continues to be yours through the Holy Spirit that has been given to you (Ephesians 1:13-14). You shared in this grace through your baptism because of your faith (Colossians 2:9-15). Your future in glory is secure in Me as I reign over all things (Colossians 3:1-4; Ephesians 1:18-22). So rejoice! Be thankful! Praise your Father in heaven for His bountiful grace that has brought you to a life full of love, hope, and peace in Me! The Colossian Christians had forgotten the importance of being thankful. So in his short letter to them, Paul began by giving thanks for them. He called on them repeatedly to be thankful. As important as prayer was to Paul, he reminded these Colossian brothers and sisters to always “be thankful when you pray.” In fact, Paul wanted all of their lives to be lived “sending thanks” in My name to the Father! So why is thankfulness so important? There are many reasons. Thankfulness reminds you that you receive all your blessings from the Father. Thankfulness reminds you of all that you have been given so you are not constantly greedy for more. For the Colossians, however, thankfulness had an added purpose. This purpose can also apply to you. False teachers slip into My people like wolves disguised as sheep. Their smooth sounding words and their claim to special knowledge can create an itch of concern in the hearts of My people who can become uncertain because they are concerned that they may have missed something important. They can be enticed by new teaching that sounds special and especially spiritual. On the other hand, thankfulness roots you in the things you have received from the Father through My death, burial, and resurrection. Thankfulness reminds you that life’s most important grace, My sacrifice for you, is sufficient to bring you to My glory. As Paul warned the Galatians, anything added to the simple gospel about Me is not gospel; it is false teaching and must be opposed (Galatians 1:6-9). Paul wanted the Christian brothers and sisters to follow this important exhortation about thankfulness: Let your roots grow down deeply in Him, and let Him build you up on a firm foundation. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always spill over with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:7) So, dear child of My Father, give thanks! Praise God for what you have received. Be filled to overflowing with thanksgiving because you have received grace and the assurance that life ahead of you will be glorious! Verses to Live The following verses are the thread of thankfulness that Paul wove into the tapestry of his letter to the Colossians. Read these verses several times. Pause after each section and ask the Holy Spirit to help you receive, incorporate, and display the principles you find in that section. Be blessed! Most of all, learn the grace of being thankful! As always, we’ve been praying for you, thanking God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, ever since we heard of your faith in Jesus the Anointed and your love for His holy ones — faith and love that emerge from the hope you have heard about in the word of truth — the gospel — the very hope that awaits you in heaven. (Colossians 1:3-5) Since the day we got this good news about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We ask: Father, may they clearly know Your will and achieve the height and depth of spiritual wisdom and understanding. May their lives be a credit to You, Lord; and what’s more, may they continue to delight You by doing every good work and growing in the true knowledge that comes from being close to You. Strengthen them with Your infinite power, according to Your glorious might, so that they will have everything they need to hold on and endure hardship patiently and joyfully. Thank You, Father, as You have made us eligible to receive our portion of the inheritance given to all those set apart by the light. You have rescued us from dark powers and brought us safely into the kingdom of Your Son, Whom You love and in Whom we are redeemed and forgiven of our sins [through His blood]. (Colossians 1:9-14) Now that you have welcomed the Anointed One, Jesus the Lord, into your lives, continue to journey with Him and allow Him to shape your lives. Let your roots grow down deeply in Him, and let Him build you up on a firm foundation. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always spill over with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7) Since you are all set apart by God, made holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a holy way of life: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Put up with one another. Forgive. Pardon any offenses against one another, as the Lord has pardoned you, because you should act in kind. But above all these, put on love! Love is the perfect tie to bind these together. Let your hearts fall under the rule of the Anointed’s peace (the peace you were called to as one body), and be thankful. Let the word of the Anointed One richly inhabit your lives. With all wisdom teach, counsel, and instruct one another. Sing the psalms, compose hymns and songs inspired by the Spirit, and keep on singing — sing to God from hearts full and spilling over with thankfulness. Surely, no matter what you are doing (speaking, writing, or working), do it all in the name of Jesus our Master, sending thanks through Him to God our Father. (Colossians 3:12-17) Pray, and keep praying. Be alert and
I AM Enough
Note from Jesus Dear Believer, When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he was imprisoned and facing hardship because of his work for the gospel (Colossians 1:24-29; Colossians 4:18). He was content even facing this suffering (Philippians 4:11), but he desperately wanted the early churches to remain committed to Me and to the pure message that they had heard. As a result, Paul’s suffering was made more trying by those who kept stirring up discontent and doubt because of their false teaching. Epaphras, who personally was from Colossae (Colossians 4:12), had originally taken My message to the Colossians (Colossians 1:7). Paul had never even visited there (Colossians 2:1). People’s respect for him as a great leader, teacher, disciple maker, and apostle gave him significant influence in the lives of many church leaders as well as other Christians. The Colossian Christians were part of this group that deeply respected Paul. He wrote the letter to them to combat false teachers who were saying that they had not received the full gospel because Epaphras had taught them. From the critics’ point of view, Epaphras was a “nobody” from Colossae and not an apostle or a well-known evangelist; the false teachers were saying that the Colossians had received inferior teaching. False teachers were trying to convince My new disciples in Colossae and nearby Laodicea (Colossians 2:1; Colossians 4:13-16) that they needed special new teachings shrouded in mystery. Paul used the phrase “the elemental spirits of the cosmos” to describe part of this erroneous teaching. These new false teachings also insisted on special ascetic practices of denying the body through extraordinary fasting and other more extreme practices (Colossians 2:16-23). These false teachers tried to convince My disciples in Colossae that they could arrive at the Father’s intended “fullness” only through these special practices. To combat these false teachings, Paul used a form of the word for “fullness” or “full” six times in the short letter to the Colossians — four of those times were to tell the Colossian Christians that all the fullness they needed is found in Me (Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:2; Colossians 2:9; Colossians 2:10), one was to remind them that his message had all the necessary fullness (Colossians 1:25), and the other one related to Epaphras’ prayer for them (Colossians 4:12). Throughout his letter to the Colossians, Paul repeatedly spoke against the false teaching they were receiving. If he had given a succinct summary of his teaching, it could have been “Jesus plus anything is less than Jesus — it is no gospel at all” (Galatians 1:6-9). Paul centered his life, his mission, and his message in this truth. He declared this purpose to the Colossians: I am a servant appointed by God to preach the Word of God until it is known to you and all over — what I am talking about is nothing less than the mystery of the ages! What was hidden for ages, generations and generations, is now being revealed to His holy ones. He decided to make known to them His blessing to the nations; the glorious riches of this mystery is the indwelling of the Anointed in you! The very hope of glory. (Colossians 1:25-27) My imprisoned apostle Paul was adamant that the truth of the gospel is centered on My death, burial, and resurrection. He insisted that the Colossians needed not only to hang onto the original teaching they received, but that they also needed to root themselves in those truths: Now that you have welcomed the Anointed One, Jesus the Lord, into your lives, continue to journey with Him and allow Him to shape your lives. Let your roots grow down deeply in Him, and let Him build you up on a firm foundation. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always spill over with thankfulness. Paul told them that their lives were joined to My life in a realm far above any earthly power or any spiritual power other than My own and that their future was now caught up in My future glory: Your new life is now hidden, enmeshed with the Anointed Who is in God. On that day when the Anointed One — Who is our very life — is revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory! I have “disarmed” all spiritual authorities, realms, entities, and powers (Colossians 2:15). Through the Colossians’ participation with My death in baptism and their faith in the power of God demonstrated by My resurrection, they had “died” to those powers (Colossians 2:12-20) and were “raised up with Me” and “enmeshed” with Me and will be fully revealed when I come in My glory. This same glorious reality is true for you as My disciple! Paul’s teaching must be your passion. The truth is centered in Me. Remember what I told My first disciples on the eve of My Crucifixion: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7 NIV) Verses to Live Paul’s words in these two passages from his letter to the Colossians reminded them that I AM the One in Whom are hidden all “the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” You don’t need something more. You don’t need secret wisdom tied to other spirits or powers. You need to root yourselves deeply into Me. In your baptism and because of your faith in Me, you joined My death on the cross and My victory and new life through My resurrection. Your future is secured to Me. No other powers or spirits can have you now because your life is “hidden, enmeshed” with Me, far above any rule, power, or authority. Root yourself in Me! This battle [with suffering and imprisonment] I am facing is huge. And I want you to know I do it for you, for all those
Grace, Glorious Grace
Note from Jesus Dear Child of Grace, Paul powerfully tells the truth about where each of you was before grace: You were the offspring of the prince of the power of air — oh, how he owned you, just as he still controls those living in disobedience. Many of the people to whom Paul was writing had been worshipping idols, “living in disobedience.” Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome that their prior spiritual failure was not just a problem of too little effort or ineffectual worship of the one true and living God. People had failed even in the proper religion of Israel. No one kept the law perfectly. All, even the most zealous for the law, failed to measure up to the righteous character and gracious compassion of the Father. Paul reminded these Roman disciples that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NIV). Everyone needs the Father’s grace! Today’s short passage on grace is one of Paul’s most powerful statements of reversal and redemption based on the Father’s great love: But God, with the unfathomable richness of His love and mercy focused on us, united us with the Anointed One and infused our lifeless souls with life — even though we were buried under mountains of sin — and saved us by His grace. You are a recipient of grace. Your Father in heaven treasures you. Your life is now united with My life. Your future is now salvation because of grace. You did not earn it. You did not deserve it. There is no room for bragging about your good deeds because they could not achieve this new life of salvation: For it’s by God’s grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was not our plan or our effort. It is God’s gift, pure and simple. Verses to Live Read and then re-read this passage. Let the wonder of grace sweep over you. Let the promise of salvation undergird you. Remind yourself of the Father’s great love. Remember My great sacrifice. Trust in the transforming power of the Spirit. Then let your praise to the Father flow out of your heart. You are saved by grace. You are alive in Me to accomplish the Father’s will. You are made new and empowered by the Holy Spirit. As for you, don’t you remember how you used to just exist? Corpses, dead in life, buried by transgressions, wandering the course of this perverse world. You were the offspring of the prince of the power of air — oh, how he owned you, just as he still controls those living in disobedience. I’m not talking about the outsiders alone; we were all guilty of falling headlong for the persuasive passions of this world; we all have had our fill of indulging the flesh and mind, obeying impulses to follow perverse thoughts motivated by dark powers. As a result, our natural inclinations led us to be children of wrath, just like the rest of humankind. But God, with the unfathomable richness of His love and mercy focused on us, united us with the Anointed One and infused our lifeless souls with life — even though we were buried under mountains of sin — and saved us by His grace. He raised us up with Him and seated us in the heavenly realms with our beloved Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King. He did this for a reason: so that for all eternity we will stand as a living testimony to the incredible riches of His grace and kindness that He freely gives to us by uniting us with Jesus the Anointed. For it’s by God’s grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was not our plan or our effort. It is God’s gift, pure and simple. You didn’t earn it, not one of us did, so don’t go around bragging that you must have done something amazing. For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago. (Ephesians 2:1-10) Response in Prayer O Father, thank You for Your glorious and amazing grace. Thank You, Jesus, for paying the price to give me this grace. I thank You for this new life of purpose and meaning. I praise You for the power of the Holy Spirit to make me new and empower me to a lifestyle like Yours. I long for my future of eternal glory with You. I praise and thank You. 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.
Passion and Truth in Praise
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, Today you will read two powerful passages of praise. The first one is from Paul’s letter to the Colossians. The second is from Paul’s letter sent to several churches in Asia, with Ephesus being the most influential city. The first passage is a wonderful summary of My pre-existence, My work in creating the universe, My work at sustaining the universe, and My triumph over the cross and death. My mission was not only to reconcile you back to the Father, but also to reconcile all of creation back to the Father. The burst of praise in this first passage, this song of glory dedicated to Me, ends with an exhortation for you to hold onto these truths about Me. I AM with the Father and the angels of heaven, and I announce you to the Father as His beloved child who is “holy, blameless, and totally free of imperfection.” Paul reminds you that as you praise Me and remain faithful to your praise of Me, I present you to the Father as His perfect child. So I want you to read this first passage aloud. Do it at least three times. Read it one time to honor Me — to concentrate on Who I AM and what I’ve done for you. The second time, read it to remind yourself that these truths are important, that they allowed Me to be the sacrifice that not only atones for your sins but also makes you God’s perfect child. The third time, read the passage aloud to remind yourself to hold onto this confession of both Who I AM and who you are because of Me. Don’t ever denigrate who you are, because I AM the One Who has made you holy at an extremely high cost: My crucifixion! The second passage was written to the Colossians. They needed these truths because they were being lured away by false teachers who told them they lacked things needed to be truly holy. People will do the same in your day to get you to follow their special “enlightened” teachings on how to be really holy. Remember, your holiness comes from Me and from being joined to Me — examine Colossians 3:1-17, for example, to see what that ultimately means! The second passage is a burst of praise that has a kind of chorus near or at the end of each of the three major points of the message. (These choruses are highlighted with bold text below.) Paul again mixes praise for the Father and Me with a description of who you have been made to be by the Father’s plan, My sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit’s power at work in you. Paul emphasizes that this work of grace, your adoption into Our holy family, came about through Me, by Me, and in Me. Translators over the centuries have rightly said that this is one long burst of praise that comes from the Holy Spirit’s inspiration of Paul’s heart. The words flow out into a stream of thoughts that cannot be punctuated easily. Paul’s words are the language of the heart, the language of praise, and they are more poem than prose and more song than speech. Verses to Live Sometimes truth is most powerfully communicated in poetry and song. These two great passages of praise do just that. I want you to let them fill you with a sense of glory at Our — Father, Son, and Spirit’s — identity and then realize that I poured out Our love for you in your world in tangible ways so that you can share the glory of Our world! He [Jesus] is the exact image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation, the eternal. It was by Him that everything was created: the heavens, the earth, all things within and upon them, all things seen and unseen, thrones and dominions, spiritual powers and authorities. Every detail was crafted through His design, by His own hands, and for His purposes. He has always been! It is His hand that holds everything together. He is the head of this body, the church. He is the beginning, the first of those to be reborn from the dead, so that in every aspect, at every view, in everything — He is first. God was pleased that all His fullness should forever dwell in the Son Who, as predetermined by God, bled peace into the world by His death on the cross as God’s means of reconciling to Himself the whole creation — all things in heaven and all things on earth. You were once at odds with God, wicked in your ways and evil in your minds; but now He has reconciled you in His body — in His flesh through His death — so that He can present you to God holy, blameless, and totally free of imperfection as long as you stay planted in the faith. So don’t venture away from what you have heard and taken to heart: the living hope of the good news that has been announced to all creation under heaven and has captured me, Paul, as its servant. (Colossians 1:15-23) 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.
My Mindset
Note from Jesus Dear Servant of God, Families, churches, groups, and communities are all systems of people. These systems are built upon flawed people and broken people. No matter how well-intentioned many people may be, each of us is flawed. The flaws of all, the pettiness of some, and the sinful behaviors of a few wound other people and damage the system as a whole. You live with two realities: you live in a fallen world, and it is full of imperfect people. These two truths make life in a family, church, group, or community very challenging. The new Christians in Philippi were having difficulty with each other’s imperfections. Two leading women in the Philippian church, Euodia and Syntyche, were at the center of some of the problems. These two women had worked beside Paul in leading people in Philippi to believe in Me and become My disciples (Philippians 4:2-3). Their disagreement had a very negative influence on the whole church. It had led many to forget an essential truth about living as My disciples: My disciples must follow My example as a servant to others. Paul had to write and ask for help in getting Euodia and Syntyche “to be of the same mind in the Lord“ (Philippians 4:2 NIV). Paul used the phrases “same mind” or “one mind” or similar expressions in various translations throughout the letter (Philippians 1:27; Philippians 2:2-5; Philippians 3:15) to mean they needed to “have the mind of Christ.” The problems these ladies had with each other were affecting the whole church! Paul knew that the brothers and sisters in Philippi needed to understand what it meant to have “the mind of Christ.” The first five verses below (Philippians 2:1-5) give Paul’s introductory exhortation. He urged the Philippian believers to “come together as one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love.” Then he reminded them of a hymn they sang about Me. This hymn reminded them of what “one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love” actually looks like in real life (Philippians 2:6-11). The hymn is beautiful. Paul’s exhortation was powerful. However, Paul didn’t stop with these reminders. He went on to give the Philippian disciples some examples of people who emulated My selfless lifestyle. He first mentioned Timothy: There is no one like Timothy. What sets him apart from others is his deep concern for you and your spiritual journey. This is rare, my friends, for most people only care about themselves, not about what is dear to the heart of Jesus the Anointed. (Philippians 2:20-21) Then Paul mentioned their own fellow Philippian, Epaphroditus, who nearly died trying to serve Paul on behalf of the Philippians (Philippians 2:27-30): I think it is best to send Epaphroditus home to you. He has become my dear brother in the Lord. We have worked well together and fought great battles together, and he was an encouraging minister to me in my time of need. (Philippians 2:25) Paul next reminded the Philippians of his own example. He focused forward. He did not rely on his past accomplishments. He realized he hadn’t arrived at full maturity and being like Me. He pressed on to become who he wanted to be in Me (Philippians 3:7-14). Then Paul added — and this is a very significant point — all who are mature share this point of view (Philippians 3:15). He closed with this exhortation about following the example of servants: Imitate me, brothers and sisters, and look around to those already following the example we have set. (Philippians 3:17) The bottom line, dear servant of God, is to be who I have called you to be: My disciple. A disciple when fully trained will be like his master (Luke 6:40). If I am your Master, then you will learn to serve and realize that serving is more important than being recognized as important or being proved right. Paul had to use exhortation, teaching, a song, and several examples to try to help the Philippians see this truth. I hope his efforts long ago make an impact on your heart today! Verses to Live As you read this exhortation and song, please remember that I, your Lord and Master, set you an example to do as I have done. Follow in My steps and be a servant. If you find any comfort from being in the Anointed, if His love brings you some encouragement, if you experience true companionship with the Spirit, if His tenderness and mercy fill your heart; then, brothers and sisters, here is one thing that would complete my joy — come together as one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love. Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others. Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors’ interests first. In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed. Live with His attitude in your hearts. Remember: Though He was in the form of God, He chose not to cling to equality with God; But He poured Himself out to fill a vessel brand new; a servant in form and a man indeed. The very likeness of humanity, He humbled Himself, obedient to death — a merciless death on the cross! So God raised Him up to the highest place and gave Him the name above all. So when His name is called, every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth, and below. And every tongue will confess “Jesus, the Anointed One, is Lord,” to the glory of God our Father! (Philippians 2:1-11) Response in Prayer Father, forgive me. Sometimes my need for approval and my desire to feel important make me jealous of those who get attention. Because of these weaknesses, I allow myself to become hurt and sulk about my own apparent lack of importance. Sometimes I just don’t want to submit myself
Joy in the Face of Hardship
Note from Jesus Dear Precious One, No matter what you are facing — right now or ever in the future — please know that I care about your struggles. I will never abandon you in your struggles (John 14:18). I have known what it is like to feel alone when facing trial and torture, even death (Mark 14:44-50; Matthew 27:46). While I felt forsaken, I was not abandoned no matter how alone I felt (John 16:32; Acts 2:23-28). I want you to hear the promise the Father gave to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 31:6). He then gave a similar promise to Joshua (Joshua 1:5). The Father then made the same promise to you through the writer of Hebrews: “I will never leave you; I will always be by your side.” (Hebrews 13:5) The apostle Paul believed My promise. He emphasized My promise to My disciples in Rome: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 NIV) He also lived based on My promise. While he was in prison awaiting possible death, Paul wrote the words you will read today. They are from his letter to the Philippians. He reminded them — and also you — that joy is based on a disciple’s relationship with Me and a disciple’s assurance of a future with Me, not on circumstances. The Philippians were getting bogged down in church arguments and life’s difficult situations. They were losing the joy of being the Father’s precious children. They were forgetting the peace they could have in being My disciples. They were letting their assurance of life forever with Me slip from their hearts and instead they were focusing on the squabbles in their church and the hostility of their culture against them. To help the Philippians change their wrong focus, Paul wrote the words you find in the two sets of verses below. The first set is near the beginning of the letter and the second, near the end. Each set of verses focuses on joy in the face of difficult times. Both are reminders that circumstances shouldn’t determine a disciple’s joy. A believer’s faith in Me and future with Me should determine his or her joy and peace! The first set of verses shared Paul’s personal situation in prison. His goal was to glorify Me in his body whatever happened — whether released to minister to the Philippians again or martyred because of his faith and loyalty to Me. No matter what happened — prison, torture, martyrdom, or release — Paul refused to let his hard circumstances steal away his abiding joy. “I will continue to rejoice,” Paul proclaimed. He rejoiced because of his faith that the Philippians’ prayers and the power of the Holy Spirit would bring deliverance. He was confident of his deliverance from prison. Either he would be delivered from prison and released to serve the Philippians and others, or he would be delivered from prison through death to share in My presence forever. No matter what happened, his faith in Me and his future with Me gave him a deep and abiding peace that allowed him to rejoice! I want you to have that kind of peace because of your faith in Me and because of your confidence in a glorious future with Me. The second set of verses occurs near the end of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He gave the Philippians very practical instruction on how to experience both the “the peace of God” and “the God of peace.” This “peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding” would be the foundation for their joy regardless of their circumstances. No matter what happened in their lives, Paul wanted the Philippians to know that they would never be abandoned. He promised that My abiding presence would always be with them: “The Lord is ever present with us.” With this knowledge, they should rejoice! They needed to make rejoicing a key part of their Christian lifestyle. Their rejoicing would help open the door for their gentleness to be displayed. Their anxieties could be released. Their prayers could be offered with confidence. Their focus should shift to lovely things. Their lives were to emulate Paul’s life as they obeyed his teaching. Faith in Me and assurance of a future with Me lead to rejoicing. This joy leads to living a life of gentleness, release from anxiety, confidence in prayer, proper focus in life, and obedience. This lifestyle leads to peace that empowers faith and assurance. This peace leads to more rejoicing, which reinforces your life of peace. This peace and joy form a powerful cycle of grace that Paul both demonstrated and taught to the Philippians. I want this to be your lifestyle, too. Verses to Live What is going to dictate your joy and your outlook on life? Will it be your circumstances or will it be your faith in Me and your future with Me? In the verses below, Paul made clear what his choice was and what the Philippians’ choice should be. Be blessed today as you read these words of grace and truth. So what do we do then? Listen. What matters is that in every way, regardless of the motives — whether pure or shady — the great story of the Anointed is a cause for joy. I will continue to rejoice because I know that through your encouragement and prayers and through the help of the Spirit of Jesus the Anointed, I will soon be released from this dark place. I don’t expect that dishonor and shame will plague me in any way, but I do hope that I will continue to be able to speak freely and courageously about Jesus, and that now and forever the Anointed One
God’s Suffering Servant
Note from Jesus Dear Follower, The Father’s role for Me when I came to earth as the Son of God shocked many people. They expected a warrior or kingly ruler who would restore Israel to prominence and power among the nations of the world. Even my cousin and forerunner, John the Baptizer, had questions about whether I was the Messiah. So I reminded this great servant that I was doing the things that are in the description of the Messiah given by Isaiah (Isaiah 35:4-6): John sent two of his disciples to ask the Lord, “Are You the Promised One, or shall we keep looking for someone else?” They came to Jesus and asked their question exactly as directed by John the Baptist. Before He answered John’s messengers, Jesus cured many from various diseases, health conditions, and evil spirits. He even caused many blind people to regain their sight. Jesus (to John’s disciples): Go and tell John what you’ve witnessed with your own eyes and ears: the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking again, the lepers are clean again, the deaf hear again, the dead live again, and good news is preached to the poor. Whoever is not offended by Me is blessed indeed. (Luke 7:19-23) I came to earth as the servant promised in Isaiah. I repeatedly tried to help people hear this truth about My identity; here are two examples of what I said about Myself: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to liberate the lost.” (Luke 19:10) “You know that among the nations of the world the great ones lord it over the little people and act like tyrants. But that is not the way it will be among you. Whoever would be great among you must serve and minister. Whoever wants to be great among you must be slave of all. Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to be a servant — to offer His life as a ransom for others.” (Mark 10:42-45) In the second passage of Scripture below, My apostle Paul dealt with problems in the church in Philippi. He used My example and My role as the servant of the Lord to be the foundation of his teaching. My disciples in Philippi needed to have the same mind, the same attitude, as I displayed in honoring the Father when I accepted My role as a servant. I want you to remember My role, My willingness to honor God in that role. More than remembering, I want you to adopt this servant lifestyle as your own! Verses to Live As you read the following verses, ask the Holy Spirit to imprint My example on your heart. First, you will read Isaiah’s words of description for the Lord‘s Suffering Servant. Then you will read Paul’s exhortation for My disciples to have this same attitude. As Paul wrote to the Philippians from prison, he wanted them to grasp fully that they must have this one mind as they lived in relationship with each other. I want you to have this same mind as you live in relationship with other believers! Indeed, who would ever believe it? Who would possibly accept what we’ve been told? Who has witnessed the awesome power and plan of the Eternal in action? Out of emptiness he came, like a tender shoot from rock-hard ground. He didn’t look like anything or anyone of consequence — he had no physical beauty to attract our attention. So he was despised and forsaken by men, this man of suffering, grief’s patient friend. As if he was a person to avoid, we looked the other way; he was despised, forsaken, and we took no notice of him. Yet it was our suffering he carried, our pain and distress, our sick-to-the-soul-ness. We just figured that God had rejected him, that God was the reason he hurt so badly. But he was hurt because of us; he suffered so. Our wrongdoing wounded and crushed him. He endured the breaking that made us whole. The injuries he suffered became our healing. We all have wandered off, like shepherdless sheep, scattered by our aimless striving and endless pursuits; The Eternal One laid on him, this silent sufferer, the sins of us all. And in the face of such oppression and suffering — silence. Not a word of protest, not a finger raised to stop it. Like a sheep to a shearing, like a lamb to be slaughtered, he went — oh so quietly, oh so willingly. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away. From this generation, who was there to complain? Who was there to cry “Foul”? He was, after all, cut off from the land of the living, Smacked and struck, not on his account, because of how my people (my people!) Disregarded the lines between right and wrong. They snuffed out his life. And when he was dead, he was buried with the disgraced in borrowed space (among the rich), Even though he did no wrong by word or deed. Yet the Eternal One planned to crush him all along, to bring him to grief, this innocent servant of God. When he puts his life in sin’s dark place, in the pit of wrongdoing, this servant of God will see his children and have his days prolonged. For in His servant’s hand, the Eternal’s deepest desire will come to pass and flourish. As a result of the trials and troubles that wrack his soul, God’s servant will see light and be content Because He knows, really understands, what it’s about; as God says, “My just servant will justify countless others by taking on their punishment and bearing it away. Because he exposed his very self — laid bare his soul to the vicious grasping of death — And was counted among the worst, I will count him among the best. I will allot this one, My servant, a share in all that is of any value, Because