According to the Scriptures
Note from Jesus Dear Friends, My resurrection should not have been such a big surprise to My disciples. While My resurrection was not something anyone would have expected in normal life, I lived My life in tune with the will of the Father and in fulfillment of the Scriptures. As I began to make My way to Jerusalem for the final time in My earthly ministry, I repeatedly talked about My death and My resurrection that would occur three days later (Mark 8:31; Mark 9:30-31; Mark 10:33-34). I also used earlier Scriptures that carry strong hints about My life, death, and resurrection (Mark 15:34 with Psalm 22:1-31) Later My followers did likewise (Acts 13:32-35 with Psalm 2:1-12 and Psalm 16:7-11; Acts 2:31 with Psalm 16:7-11; Acts 8:26-40 with Isaiah 53:7-12). Even those who viewed Me as their enemy worried about My prediction that I would rise from the dead after three days. They went so far as to take precautions to keep anyone from stealing My dead body and making a claim of resurrection (Matthew 27:62-66). As I had promised, as the scriptures had suggested, and as My enemies inadvertently had helped to validate, I rose from the dead. However, grief and loss closed My disciples to any expectation of a good outcome to the horrific events of the cross. I had to go to great lengths to show them that I was alive. I had to open their minds to understand the scriptures about My resurrection and their upcoming mission (Luke 24:45-49). What do I want you to do with this important insight into My resurrection that I have shared with you today? What difference does it make whether or not the scriptures spoke of My resurrection? Here are a few real-life applications that I want you to take away with you from the verses below. There are others, but please grab hold of these implications from what I have told you. First, what you call the Bible is really My family story. In fact, because you are joined to Me, it is also your family story. It is a gift to help you understand how grace worked its way through the religions of humankind and brought all blood sacrifices to an end in My sacrifice (Hebrews 9:22; Hebrews 10:12 NLT). All humanity, regardless of race or social standing or gender or anything else, comes to the Father on equal ground — the ground at the foot of My cross — and can receive grace to be the Father’s children through faith in what I did (Galatians 3:26-29). Second, My life on earth was a fulfillment of that great story of grace (Matthew 5:17-20), and all of its greatest promises find their fulfillment in Me (2 Corinthians 1:18-20). So if you want to know Me more completely, then use the Scriptures of what you call the Old Testament. Learn more about Me and use your faith in Me to help you understand how to use those Scriptures to bring salvation to you and others (2 Timothy 3:14-17). Finally, realize that My resurrection helps you look at everything in a new way. My closest disciples weren’t bad or dumb because they didn’t expect My resurrection; they were grieving and broken and hopeless. However, My resurrection changed all of that for them… and for you… and “All this happened to fulfill the Scriptures.” Verses to Live As you read these verses, notice especially the last sentence. The cross and My resurrection were no accident. They were God’s plan… to redeem you! Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I preached to you when we first met. It’s the essential message that you have taken to heart, the central story you now base your life on; and through this gospel, you are liberated — unless, of course, your faith has come to nothing. For I passed down to you the crux of it all which I had also received from others, that the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for our sins and was buried and raised from the dead on the third day. All this happened to fulfill the Scriptures; it was the perfect climax to God’s covenant story. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) Response in Prayer O Father, thank You for the Scriptures. Forgive me when I have taken them lightly and neglected to use them to draw me closer to Jesus and His wonderful gift. I ask that You use the Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus, to help me understand the message inspired by the Spirit’s grace. I ask this to honor You — Father, Son, and Spirit — in the name of Jesus. 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.
Core Gospel
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, Yesterday, I used parts of one of Paul’s letters to the Corinthian Christians to emphasize the authenticity of the gospel message. Today, I am using the same verses to focus your attention on the essential aspects of the good news message about Me. This note is especially important because it addresses the very core, the bedrock, of your faith. You will find certain phrases highlighted in the verses below to help you see the core gospel and what your response to the gospel should be. This core gospel is the central truth of your faith. It is the good news that I want to be preached about Me. It is the foundation upon which you are to build your life, your values, and your witness before others. This core gospel is emphasized, proclaimed, and used in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians as motivation and assurance for faithful living and authentic ministry. Notice three aspects of this core gospel in the verses below. These three truths are the foundation of much of what your New Testament teaches. Core Gospel Emphasized: The first few phrases in bold emphasize the foundational nature of the core gospel. It is “the essential message,” “the central story,” and the “gospel” by which “you are liberated” from sin and death because this core gospel is “the crux of it all.” Core Gospel Proclaimed: There are phrases in bold and underlined that summarize the proclaimed message of the gospel. I, the Christ and “the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for” your sins and “was buried and raised from the dead on the third day,” and I subsequently “appeared alive” to many witnesses who knew Me both before and after My resurrection. Tomorrow we will look at Scriptures that foretold My sacrifice and that illustrated how My disciples and I used those Scriptures. Core Gospel Used to Inspire Faithful Living: The phrases in bold toward the end of the verses leverage your faith in the core gospel to inspire and encourage you to holy living. “What matters is… that you have faith in this message,” that “you now base your life on” this gospel, and that you “stay firmly planted — be unshakeable — [and] do many good works in the name of God” because you know that “your labor” is not wasted, is not in vain, and “is not for nothing.” As the year progresses, more will be said about how you are to live your life as My disciple. Verses to Live I endured death to defeat its hold on you. I was raised victoriously back to life to share that life with you. To show the power of God over Satan, hell, and death, I appeared after My resurrection to those who knew Me best. I did this to help you know that your life matters — not just to you and to those you love, but it matters to the Father. What you do because you are My disciple will never be forgotten! Following, beloved, is the core gospel, the good news that saves you. Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I preached to you when we first met. It’s the essential message that you have taken to heart, the central story you now base your life on; and through this gospel, you are liberated — unless, of course, your faith has come to nothing. For I passed down to you the crux of it all which I had also received from others, that the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for our sins and was buried and raised from the dead on the third day. All this happened to fulfill the Scriptures; it was the perfect climax to God’s covenant story. Afterward He appeared alive to Cephas (you may know him as Simon Peter), then to the rest of the twelve. If that were not amazing enough, on one occasion, He appeared to more than 500 believers at one time. Many of those brothers and sisters are still around to tell the story, though some have fallen asleep in Jesus. Soon He appeared to James, His brother and the leader of the Jerusalem church, and then to all the rest of the emissaries He Himself commissioned. Last of all, He appeared to me [Paul]; I was like a child snatched from his mother’s womb. You see, I am the least of all His emissaries, not fit to be called His emissary because I hunted down and persecuted God’s church. Today I am who I am because of God’s grace, and I have made sure that the grace He offered me has not been wasted. I have worked harder, longer, and smarter than all the rest; but I realize it is not me — it is God’s grace with me that has made the difference. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether it was I or the other witnesses who brought you the message. What matters is that we keep preaching and that you have faith in this message. … Sin came into this world, and death’s sting followed. Then sin took aim at the law and gained power over those who follow the law. Thank God, then, for our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, the Liberating King, Who brought us victory over the grave. My dear brothers and sisters, stay firmly planted — be unshakable — do many good works in the name of God, and know that all your labor is not for nothing when it is for God. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11; 1 Corinthians 15:56-58) Response in Prayer Almighty God, I humble myself before You as I think of Your wondrous grace! Thank You for making the core gospel so plain, so clear, and so powerful. I believe that Jesus died for my sins. I believe that He was buried. I believe that He was raised to life on the third day and showed Himself alive to those who knew Him.
Faith’s Solid Ground
Note from Jesus Dear Precious Disciple, While many things in life are complicated, the basis for saving faith shouldn’t be. I want you to know that your faith is on solid ground. My apostle Paul gave a very clear summary of the solid ground of your faith. The gospel, the good news by which you are saved, is solid ground on which to build your life. Notice the key ways Paul emphasizes the trustworthiness of the gospel in a letter to disciples in Corinth: Paul had “received” the gospel message as the authoritative truth. He had “passed down” this same message as authoritative truth. The message is “the good news” that Paul “preached” to the disciples. It is “the essential message” that they had “taken to heart”. They could “base” their lives upon this gospel that had saved, or “liberated,” them from sin and death. Bottom line: Paul went to great pains to emphasize that the message they believed was the authoritative message of good news and of the true salvation that can be found only in Me. So what is that message? What is the good news that brings salvation and liberation from sin and death? The good news message is that I died, was buried, and rose from the dead… for you… to forgive your sins… and to give you victory over sin. This gospel should be life-altering for you and other Christians, but the facts of the gospel are simple. Because of My sacrifice and your faith, your life matters. The things you do in My name and for My glory will always be remembered. Furthermore, when everything in your life on earth is said and done, you will share in My victory! Yes, I died for the sins of the world. Yes, I died at the hands of sinners and asked My Father to forgive them. But at the foundation of the good news, there is this one great reality that you must accept: I did this for you! Verses to Live Don’t let folks make the truth of the gospel complicated. Realize that I died, was buried, and rose from the dead. I was victorious over sin and death, for you and all who will build their lives upon this truth! Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I preached to you when we first met. It’s the essential message that you have taken to heart, the central story you now base your life on; and through this gospel, you are liberated — unless, of course, your faith has come to nothing. For I passed down to you the crux of it all which I had also received from others, that the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for our sins and was buried and raised from the dead on the third day. All this happened to fulfill the Scriptures; it was the perfect climax to God’s covenant story. Afterward He [Jesus] appeared alive to Cephas (you may know him as Simon Peter), then to the rest of the twelve. If that were not amazing enough, on one occasion, He appeared to more than 500 believers at one time. Many of those brothers and sisters are still around to tell the story, though some have fallen asleep in Jesus. Soon He appeared to James, His brother and the leader of the Jerusalem church, and then to all the rest of the emissaries He Himself commissioned. Last of all, He appeared to me; I was like a child snatched from his mother’s womb. You see, I am the least of all His emissaries, not fit to be called His emissary because I hunted down and persecuted God’s church. Today I am who I am because of God’s grace, and I have made sure that the grace He offered me has not been wasted. I have worked harder, longer, and smarter than all the rest; but I realize it is not me — it is God’s grace with me that has made the difference. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether it was I or the other witnesses who brought you the message. What matters is that we keep preaching and that you have faith in this message. … Sin came into this world, and death’s sting followed. Then sin took aim at the law and gained power over those who follow the law. Thank God, then, for our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, the Liberating King, Who brought us victory over the grave. My dear brothers and sisters, stay firmly planted — be unshakable — do many good works in the name of God, and know that all your labor is not for nothing when it is for God. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11; 1 Corinthians 15:56-58) Response in Prayer Almighty God — Father, Son, and Spirit — I confess to You that I sometimes lose sight of all that Jesus did and all that He did for me. I know it wasn’t for me only, but it was undeniably for me. He loved, cared, and died for me. He was raised from the dead and is now interceding for me. He has called me to follow Him as I base My life on what He did for me. I ask for courage to live my life in a manner worthy of Jesus’ great sacrifice for me. In His 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.
Words of Hope and Peace
Note from Jesus Dear Faithful Follower, I spoke the words you will read in the verses below before I went to the cross. I planted them like seeds into the hearts of My closest followers. Later, when the time was right, the Spirit of truth would help them remember all that had transpired and all that I had told them. I shared these messages on My last evening with them before My arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. They were some of My last words before dying. These words were spoken to those who were precious to Me. I hope that you will let these words be a blessing to you. I want you to notice several things that you will find in these words. First, I acknowledged that the world is a tough place. I shared these words so My followers could find true shalom. I wanted them to have more than just peace; I wanted them to know that they could be whole and unafraid of the future even without My physical presence. I was about to overcome the powers — “the corrupt world order” — that had marred and broken the created universe. My victory over sin and death through My resurrection brought victory over death to My disciples. Coupled with My words of encouragement, My disciples could be reassured and find My peace. I trust My words will give you peace as well. Second, I promised to send the Spirit to My disciples. Rather than My physical absence being a loss, it was My disciples’ gain. I gave them My promises before I returned to the Father: Promise one I would send the Spirit to be with them and in them and to give them everything they needed from Me. Promise two When I had ascended to the Father, I would present My disciples’ requests to Him. They could rest assured that their prayers would be heard. Third, I laid out the plan for the days ahead. I would go away — in death on the cross — and they would be scattered and forsake Me, but the Father would not forsake Me. I would come back — I would be raised from the dead to be with them again to help them understand Who I AM and why I had come to earth. I would return to the Father — I would ascend — but I would continue to be with them through the sending of the Holy Spirit. Their first experience of the Spirit would be something that would happen in a small group and in a private way with My first appearance to them (John 20:19-22). Then there would be a huge experience of the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41). My closest followers experienced so many things in just fifty days after My resurrection. I wanted them to have My promises to look back upon as seeds of hope and assurance for their future. While you live thousands of years later, these promises are true for you, too (Acts 2:38-41)! Verses to Live As you read these words, please ask for My help. I will empower you and fill you with the Spirit. The Spirit will lead you and guide you in what you read. Jesus: But now, I am going to the One Who has sent Me, and none of you ask Me, “Where are You going?” I know that hearing news like this is overwhelming and sad. But the truth is that My departure will be a gift that will serve you well, because if I don’t leave, the great Helper will not come to your aid. When I leave, I will send Him to you. When He arrives, He will uncover the sins of the world, expose unbelief as sin, and allow all to see their sins in the light of righteousness for the first time. This new awareness of righteousness is important because I am going to the Father and will no longer be present with you. The Spirit will also carry My judgment because the one who rules in this world has already been defeated. I have so much more to say, but you cannot absorb it right now. The Spirit of truth will come and guide you in all truth. He will not speak His own words to you; He will speak what He hears, revealing to you the things to come and bringing glory to Me. The Spirit has unlimited access to Me, to all that I possess and know, just as everything the Father has is Mine. That is the reason I am confident He will care for My own and reveal the path to you. For a little while you will not see Me; but after that, a time will come when you will see Me again. Some of His Disciples: What does He mean? “I’ll be here, and then I won’t be here, because I’ll be with the Father”? Other Disciples: What is He saying? “A little while”? We don’t understand. Jesus knew they had questions to ask of Him, so He approached them. Jesus: Are you trying to figure out what I mean when I say you will see Me in a little while? I tell you the truth, a time is approaching when you will weep and mourn while the world is celebrating. You will grieve, but that grief will give birth to great joy. In the same way that a woman labors in great pain during childbirth only to forget the intensity of the pain when she holds her child, when I return, your labored grief will also change into a joy that cannot be stolen. When all this transpires, you will finally have the answers you have been seeking. I tell you the truth, anything you ask of the Father in My name, He will give to you. Until this moment, you have not sought after anything in My name. Ask and
Your Resurrection: Certain and Glorious!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, The verses for today involve a group called the Sadducees. They were trying to trap Me in something they could use to turn people against Me. They were also looking for an excuse to arrest Me. Their question was a tricky one involving Yibbum or Levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). It was a principle of the law that Moses gave My people. Levirate marriage was a law to protect a widow who had no family to take care of her when her husband died. However, the real issue in the verses below is not so much Levirate marriage as it is the Sadducees’ attempt to trap Me. They didn’t believe in the resurrection, so they made up this crazy scenario to try to show that believing in the resurrection from the dead was foolish. So I replied to their crazy question with two answers that silenced them. One of My answers to their question was that the resurrection life is glorious — life like the angels (or “heavenly messengers”) live. This new life really shouldn’t be compared with the life lived on earth where there is marriage and giving in marriage. Relationships among My disciples after the resurrection will be elevated to a new level of glory. They will enjoy the full blessings and privileges of being “children of God and children of the resurrection” with new, immortal bodies that are not subject to death and decay (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). The resurrection life for My disciples will be glorious and beyond comparing to the best your world can offer. My other answer was that the Father revealed in His statement to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-6) that there is this resurrection life. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, the Father said that He is “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. By Moses’ time, they were all dead, but God isn’t God of the dead, but of the living. So all live to God.” My main point in this discussion with the Sadducees was that there is a resurrection life. So what do I want you to take away from the reading today? First, notice that I could use the trick questions of those who hated Me to teach the truth of the resurrection. They could not trick, trap, or defeat Me with their silly religious arguments. Such arguments are not worthwhile. You should avoid them (2 Timothy 2:23-26; Titus 3:9-11). Second, the resurrection life is more glorious than you can imagine when compared to your earthbound life — you will share in My glory and the glory of the angels of heaven (Luke 20:36; Romans 8:18; Colossians 3:4; cf. Luke 9:26). Third, We — Father, Son, and Spirit — rule over all people whether they are alive on earth or alive after death. All people “as mortals are appointed to die once and then to experience a judgment… before the throne of the Anointed, the Liberating King, to receive what is just for our conduct (whether it be good or bad) while we lived in this temporary body. … [E]very knee will bow, … every tongue will confess” that I AM Lord “to the glory of God our Father” (Hebrews 9:27; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 2:10-11). For you, a child of the Father and My disciple, the resurrection will be a glorious event — a time of victory, deliverance, and celebration (2 Timothy 4:8). As the apostle Paul wrote: On that day when He [Jesus] comes, all the saints in heaven and on earth will celebrate the glory of His power, and all who believe will stand and be amazed — this includes you because you believed us when we testified on His behalf. (2 Thessalonians 1:10) Because of My resurrection, you can know that your resurrection is certain and glorious. Don’t let a so-called bunch of “religious experts” cloud your mind with doubt. Their deceptive trick questions are not aimed at getting to the truth but are asked to make themselves look better. Verses to Live The Sadducees’ question was intended to trap Me, but notice how I turned the situation around and used their duplicity to silence them and to teach about the resurrection. I want you to know and to believe with great assurance that resurrection and glory await all who are My disciples! Another group came to test Him [Jesus] — this time from the Sadducees, a rival party of the Pharisees, who believe that there is no resurrection. Sadducees: Teacher, Moses wrote in the Hebrew Scriptures that a man must marry his brother’s wife and the new couple should bear children for his brother if his brother dies without heirs. Well, once there were seven brothers, and the first took a wife and then died without fathering children. The second took her as his wife and then he died childless, and then the third, and so on through the seven. They all died leaving no children. Finally the woman died too. Here’s our question: in the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven had her for a while? Will she be the wife of seven men at once? Jesus: The children of this era marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain the resurrection of the dead in the coming era do not marry and are not given in marriage. They are beyond mortality; they are on the level of heavenly messengers; they are children of God and children of the resurrection. Since you brought up the issue of resurrection, even Moses made clear in the passage about the burning bush that the dead are, in fact, raised. After all, he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. By Moses’ time, they were all dead, but God isn’t God of the dead, but of the living. So all live to God. Religious Scholars: Teacher, that was a good answer. After this no one had
To the Praise of His Glory!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, One day you will hear the angels sing in celebration around the throne of God (Revelation 5:11-13). However, I wish you could hear them sing and praise God now. The shepherds heard them the night I was born to Mary (Luke 2:1-14). Right now they sing in celebration of My victory over sin and death as they gather around the throne of God. They sing in anticipation of your full redemption from all that is tainted, flawed, broken and mortal (Revelation 5:11; Revelation 7:11). On that glorious day, you will join the chorus of angels and all the people of God in celebration of full redemption. So until you can share in that glorious day, I want to point you to a great passage of praise (see the verses below). As Paul wrote to the churches of Asia Minor in the letter you call Ephesians, he began this letter with an outburst of passionate praise. When he spoke these words of praise to the person transcribing his letter, Paul’s words poured out of him as if he scarcely took a breath. This wonderful gushing forth of praise was really more song than it was letter-writing! Verses to Live Today, I want you to rejoice in the victory that is yours because of the Father’s plan, My resurrection from the dead, and the presence of the Holy Spirit within you. Let Paul’s words of praise guide you, but don’t let your praise be confined to what Paul has written. Let the Spirit lift you in the Wind of heaven’s grace and help you plumb the depths and soar to the heights of all that My triumph over sin and death has brought to you! As you read these verses, the portions in bold function as the repeated chorus or refrain for Paul’s “Song of God’s Glorious Grace”! 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. Visualize this: His blood freely flowing down the cross, setting us free! We are forgiven for our sinful ways by the richness of His grace, which He has poured all over us. With all wisdom and insight, He has enlightened us to the great mystery at the center of His will. With immense pleasure, He laid out His intentions through Jesus, a plan that will climax when the time is right as He returns to create order and unity — both in heaven and on earth — when all things are brought together under the Anointed’s royal rule. In Him we stand to inherit even more. As His heirs, we are predestined to play a key role in His unfolding purpose that is energizing everything to conform to His will. As a result, we — the first to place our hope in the Anointed One — will live in a way to bring Him glory and praise. Because you, too, have heard the word of truth — the good news of your salvation — and because you believed in the One Who is truth, your lives are marked with His seal. This is none other than the Holy Spirit Who was promised as the guarantee toward the inheritance we are to receive when He frees and rescues all who belong to Him. To God be all praise and glory! (Ephesians 1:3-14) Response in Prayer Almighty God, You are more glorious than my words can describe and more generous than my heart can conceive. So I ask that You accept my meager words and thoughts of thanks and praise. Please receive from my heart through the Holy Spirit the emotions my words cannot fully articulate. I love, appreciate, and adore You. May Your name and Your grace be praised with my thoughts, my words, and my actions, this day and every day to come! 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.
Children of God
Note from Jesus Dear Child of God, The fifty days between My resurrection and Pentecost were important. I appeared to My closest disciples on several occasions, and I appeared to many others during the first forty days before My return to the Father’s side (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). During the ten days after My ascension, My disciples prayed and waited in Jerusalem for the coming of power just as I had told them to do (Acts 1:4). Their growing realization of Who I AM and what this means for all people was preparing them for the coming of the Holy Spirit. This same Holy Spirit would empower them to be My witnesses to the ends of their world. One of the most important realizations and revelations they experienced was what My death, burial, and resurrection actually meant. The implications of these great events were important for them and also for those who did not yet believe. I had opened a way for people — all people who came to true faith — to become children of God, born “not by human power or initiative but by God’s will.” You are God’s children and My brothers and sisters through faith. When you confessed Me before other people, were baptized calling on My name, and received Me into your life, you trusted in what I have done for you to save you. You were figuratively given a new set of holy garments — you “clothed yourselves with Christ.” You were reborn by the will and the power of the Father. You were filled with the Holy Spirit, Who now lives in you. This promise is true for all peoples (Acts 2:36-42). It is not confined to one race, one gender, or one social class. If you belong to Me, then all of the Father’s incredible promises to Abraham are yours as a spiritual child of Abraham and as a child of God through your faith (Galatians 3:26-29)! Verses to Live It would take a long time for My first followers to grasp the incredible power and the Father’s great and marvelous promises available to all whose lives are joined with Mine through their conversion. These promises are still true for you. These promises are still true for all whom God will call. These promises are even true for those whom the Father uses — you, and others like you, to reach out with the good news of His grace given through Me. Being a child of the Father is not determined by race or gender or social class; it is determined by grace received through faith in My death and resurrection and experienced in immersion and through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, in Whom you were sealed for redemption (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30). The true Light [Jesus], Who shines upon the heart of everyone, was coming into the cosmos. He entered our world, a world He made; yet the world did not recognize Him. Even though He came to His own people, they refused to listen and receive Him. But for all who did receive and trust in Him, He gave them the right to be reborn as children of God; He bestowed this birthright not by human power or initiative but by God’s will. (John 1:9-13) So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29 NIV) Response in Prayer Father in heaven, hallowed be Your glorious and powerful Name. May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth just as it is in heaven as I offer myself to live for Your kingdom. Please give us today the bread we need to sustain us. Please do not let us be taken captive by the powers of temptation, whether tempted from within by our own desires or from without through the scheming of the evil one. In fact, dear Father, I ask that You deliver us from the power of the evil one. As Your child, I pray this prayer for myself and all who are a part of Your family. 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.
Son of God with Power
Note from Jesus Dear Friend, There are many voices that call out to you and seek to win your heart. There are many distractions in your busy and high-tech culture that can dilute your focus and make you forget your mission. So today, I want My message to you to be clear: My resurrection from the dead changed everything! You’ve heard Me say that to you in previous notes, but today I want to come back to this important theme. I AM Who I AM for all eternity. I AM “the One Who is, the One Who was, and the One Who is coming” (Revelation 1:4-8; Revelation 22:13). As the great I AM, We — God as Father, Spirit, and Son — announced Our identity to Moses when We called him to lead Our people to freedom (Exodus 3:1-15). I AM Who I AM for all eternity. I announced this to My people facing hardship, unfaithfulness, apostasy, and persecution around the end of the first century. I called them to holy living and to be My faithful witnesses even if it cost them their lives (Revelation 21:6-8). I AM Who I AM for all eternity. I announced this to My disciples repeatedly. John records My “I AM” statements in his gospel: I AM — the bread that gives life (John 6:35), the bread that came down from heaven (John 6:41), the living bread (John 6:51), the light that shines through the cosmos (John 8:12), the gate of the sheep (John 10:7-9), the good shepherd (John 10:11-14), the resurrection and the source of all life (John 11:25), the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6 NIV), and the true vine (John 15:1-5). I share these truths with you because there is nothing I needed to do to earn My position and place as Lord. I became human flesh to show Satan, the world of demons, and the power structures corrupted by humans that I AM Who I AM for all eternity. I suffered the gross indignities of an illegal trial, physical abuse, and death on a cross to triumph over death and Satan through My resurrection from the dead. The apostle Paul recognized this sacrifice and triumph as validation of every holy and righteous claim made about Me. Paul had been an unbeliever — one who even considered Me to be a blasphemer. But his discovery of My resurrection convicted him of My true identity. He recognized Me as Jesus, the Anointed (the Christ and Messiah), and the one true Lord. He declared that I AM “ultimately designated to be the true Son of God with power upon His [My] resurrection from the dead by the Spirit of holiness.” Paul’s life was changed by this astounding revelation of My identity. He spoke of it this way: But God — Who set me apart even before birth and called me by His grace — chose, to His great delight, to reveal His Son in me so I could tell His story among the outsider nations. (Galatians 1:15-16) I want this realization of My identity, this revelation of Who I AM and what I was willing to do for you, to be the reason for your changed life as well! Verses to Live Paul’s call to live for Me and find the mission of his life in sharing the message of My grace emanated from My being revealed to him — see his declaration of this in the verses below. And now, dear friend, remember that I call you to recognize Me for Who I have always been and forever will be, to respond with your commitment to be a living witness to My grace in your life, and to share that grace with others who do not know Me. Your call may not take you all over the world like Paul. However, it will most certainly shape the way you live and interact with those around you. Think about all of this as you read of Paul’s testimony about his call, a call rooted in My resurrection from the dead. Paul, a servant of Jesus the Anointed called by God to be His emissary and appointed to tell the good news of the things promised long ago by God, spoken by prophets, and recorded in the Holy Scriptures. All of this good news is about His Son: Who was (from a human perspective) born of David’s royal line and ultimately designated to be the true Son of God with power upon His resurrection from the dead by the Spirit of holiness. I am speaking of Jesus, the Anointed One, our Lord. And here’s what He’s done: He has graced us and sanctioned us as His emissaries whose mission is to spread the one true and obedient faith to all people in the name of Jesus. This includes you: you have been called by Jesus, God’s Anointed. (Romans 1:1-6) Response in Prayer Almighty God, the Eternal, the great I AM, please help me understand my call to testify to the grace of Jesus. Open my eyes to the ways I can lovingly and gently influence and lead others to know Jesus and His grace. I claim the promise of Jesus that the Holy Spirit will give me words to say and strength to say them in ways that are effective. I ask for this grace and for the ability to fully discern Your call in My life, in Jesus’ name. 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.
No Matter What!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, I do not promise you that following Me will be easy. Some of My greatest and most faithful servants faced severe testing, hardship, and even martyrdom. That is still true in your day. You are asked to live with the character and compassion of the Father in a world that doesn’t appreciate those values. So when times of testing and hardship come, I want you to remember today’s promises — they are highlighted in the verses below, but I want to emphasize them so you will remember them: Nothing can separate you from My love for you — nothing, not even death! I have destroyed the power of death. It cannot hold you. I have brought you life and immortality through My resurrection from the dead and your faith in My resurrection! As I told you yesterday, I endured all of the shame and pain of the cross so that you could know the Father’s love and know I love you and will NEVER betray, deny, or abandon you. I AM alive forever… for you! Verses to Live Carefully read these words from Paul. He lived a life of absolute passion and courage because he believed the promises he shared. These promises are true and will always be true for you! As you read these words, remember that Paul lived through extreme trials and hardships (2 Corinthians 11:24-30) because he personally trusted in the words he shared. The second set of verses below comes from Paul as he was actually awaiting martyrdom (2 Timothy 4:6-8; Acts 20:22-24). His faith was undimmed. His heart was as passionate for Me and the gospel as when he began his ministry. So who can separate us? What can come between us and the love of God’s Anointed [Jesus]? Can troubles, hardships, persecution, hunger, poverty, danger, or even death? The answer is, absolutely nothing. As the psalm says, On Your behalf, our lives are endangered constantly; we are like sheep awaiting slaughter. But no matter what comes, we will always taste victory through Him Who loved us. (Romans 8:35-37) Don’t be embarrassed to testify about our Lord or for me, His prisoner. Join us in suffering for the good news by the strength and power of God. God has already saved us and called us to this holy calling — not because of any good works we may have done, but because of His own intention and because eons and eons ago (before time itself existed), He gave us this grace in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King. And now, the time has come! That grace was revealed when our Savior, Jesus the Anointed, appeared; and through His resurrection He has wiped out death and brought to light life and immortality by way of this good news. (2 Timothy 1:8-10) Response in Prayer Lord Jesus, today I not only thank the Father, I also thank You. I thank You for Your promised presence in my life. I thank you for being at the Father’s side as my advocate to intercede for me. I thank You for the price You paid to experience my world in human flesh. I thank You, Lord Jesus, for all You have done and all you do for me and all who have an undying love for 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.
Absolutely Nothing!
Note from Jesus Dear Faithful Follower, One of David’s most beautiful praise songs, (Psalm 139:1-24), speaks of the abiding presence of your Father in heaven with His children — with you. He knows you inside and out. He knows your thoughts from afar. He knew you when you were unseen and unfelt in your mother’s womb. From your conception, He had a plan for your life and a purpose for your time on earth. There is no place that you can go that the presence of your loving Father will not be with you to sustain you as His beloved child. This great psalm has comforted believers for centuries. I hope you will read it several times today and be reminded of how much you are loved by Us — Father, Son, and Spirit. The apostle Paul also has a chapter in his letter to My followers in Rome that speaks about Our presence in your life through the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-39). The language that Paul uses is complementary to the language of David, and it is equally as beautiful and reassuring. Here are some of the statements of assurance that Paul gives you in the verses below. He writes these things to help you live as a true child of the Father while you live in a broken world longing for your ultimate redemption: There is no need to fear because We — Father, Son, and Spirit — are on your side in all of your battles. The Father longs to bless you with everything you need to be My disciple, to conform you to My example, and to bring you into My inheritance. The Father has declared you “not guilty” so that no one can bring a meaningful charge against you. No matter what happens, you will share in My victory. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can come between you and the love that We have for you. The Father has revealed this love to you and given you assurance of it through what I did to save you. “But no matter what comes,” Paul says in the conclusion to all these promises, you “will always taste victory through Him [the Father] Who loved us. For I have every confidence that nothing… can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord.” How can you know this is true? How can you trust in these great promises? I provided the assurance you need to answer these questions by becoming flesh, facing temptation, dealing with the fickleness and unfaithfulness of friends, facing persecution and ridicule, dying as a criminal would die, and being raised victoriously from death. I came to your world and faced your life’s struggles so that you could know I understand them. That understanding isn’t just based on My being God. My understanding involves being mortal and vulnerable so that through death I could conquer the power of sin, death, and hell. I did all of this so you could know that there is not a place I will not go to redeem you, reclaim you, and restore you to My presence. And I sent you the Spirit as a guarantee of these promises to you (Ephesians 1:13-14; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Verses to Live The message I want you to hear today is simple, yet profound. You are loved by Us — Father, Son, and Spirit. We will never abandon you. No one and nothing can separate you from Our love. So be confident in the Father’s love, My commitment to helping you, and the Holy Spirit’s presence within you. The apostle Paul spoke the same way about this to you. I want you to believe it! There is absolutely no one and absolutely nothing that can separate you from Our love for you! So what should we say about all of this? If God is on our side, then tell me: whom should we fear? If He did not spare His own Son, but handed Him over on our account, then don’t you think that He will graciously give us all things with Him? Can anyone be so bold as to level a charge against God’s chosen? Especially since God’s “not guilty” verdict is already declared. Who has the authority to condemn? Jesus the Anointed Who died, but more importantly, conquered death when He was raised to sit at the right hand of God where He pleads on our behalf. So who can separate us? What can come between us and the love of God’s Anointed? Can troubles, hardships, persecution, hunger, poverty, danger, or even death? The answer is, absolutely nothing. As the psalm says, On Your behalf, our lives are endangered constantly; we are like sheep awaiting slaughter. But no matter what comes, we will always taste victory through Him Who loved us. For I have every confidence that nothing — not death, life, heavenly messengers, dark spirits, the present, the future, spiritual powers, height, depth, nor any created thing — can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39) Response in Prayer O Father of grace, in Your mercy You have repeatedly demonstrated Your love for me. I trust that You are near me no matter what happens in my life or how I feel at the moment. I thank You for the empowering presence of Your Holy Spirit to heal, renew, and abide within me. I pray for strength to believe the truths I have heard from Your word — to believe not just in the good and easy times, but also in the hardest and most trying moments of my life. 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.