Today’s Verse – Isaiah 25:1
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago. —Isaiah 25:1 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… God’s actions are not reactions to current situations, but part of his long-term plan to bring redemption. Yes, he has done marvelous things, both in history and also in our personal histories. God transformed the vile intentions of a mob urged on by evil men and made it into the atoning sacrifice for our sins to display his love, mercy, and grace (Acts 2:22-24; 1 John 2:1-2). He changed the hearts of people who cried “Crucify him!” into people who believed in Jesus, repented of their evil, and were baptized, in faith, at Pentecost (Acts 2:36-41). He turned the ugliness of the cross into an opportunity to fulfill the prophets and redeem us through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago. We join Isaiah to say in reverent admiration: “O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.” Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Holy God, you surprise me with new wonders and new things daily. Yet deep in my heart, dear Father, I know they are not new to you. Thank you for not making life boring or predictable, so I might thirst after you, the only true and living God, forever fresh, new, exciting, and marvelous. In the name of my Savior, Jesus, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Today’s Verse – Deuteronomy 6:6-7
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. —Deuteronomy 6:6-7 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… We are to begin each day with God. Every breath we take should be a powerful reminder that our Father has granted us another day of life to serve him and bless others. Each heartbeat is God’s drumbeat of love, reminding us that we are blessed with another minute to offer him our best. This blessing is so easily forgotten. We best remember these truths when we teach, demonstrate, and live them with and before our families, children, and grandchildren. We should also teach, demonstrate, and live these with our spiritual friends. But, let’s not leave their learning these truths to our example alone. Let’s find teachable moments to explain our faith to them, praise our Heavenly Father with them, and to teach God’s truths to them. We should do this with them when we sit at home… walk along the road… lie down and… get up.” What’s the point of all of this? So our lives can “be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). My Prayer… Almighty God, Gracious Sustainer, and Undeserved Friend, thank you! Thank you for this breath I take and for the heartbeat that sustains my life. Please make me aware, as I travel and talk, rest and work, that you are there every moment, and that you are worthy of my awareness, love, and reverence. Please help me share your greatness and nearness with those whom I love. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Today’s Verse – Isaiah 55:8-9
“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” —Isaiah 55:8-9 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… No matter how hard we try to perceive the awesomeness of God, he is still God, and we are not. We must forever remember that the original, and still primary, sin was seeking to become equal to God. We are to know God, and we should seek to know about God, but we can never fully know everything about him or become equal with him. Trying to become equal to God and losing our sense of reverence and awe for God are at the heart of all sin. While we should seek to put on God’s righteous character, gracious compassion, and faithful lovingkindness, in humility, we recognize that we cannot begin to approach his majesty, righteousness, wisdom, or holiness on our own. When we have done our best to describe and praise our glorious God, what Job said centuries ago is true: “And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” (Job 26:14) However, by God’s grace, the promise remains that one day we will be like him and see him as he is (1 John 3:1-3) and will know him fully even as we are fully known (1 Corinthians 13:11-12). We wait in eager expectation of that day! My Prayer… Tender Shepherd, thank you for your patience with me. I cannot fully understand or appreciate your holy, transcendent character and glorious nature. Thank you for sending Jesus so I can know you better and trust you to know me more than I know myself. I look forward to seeing you face-to-face when Jesus comes to bring me home to you. Until that day, please know I love you. In the name of Jesus, I humbly offer my thanks and praise. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Today’s Verse – Job 23:10-11
He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. —Job 23:10-11 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… How we long for Job’s words in this verse to be our true confession. We are not yet gold, but long to be. We are not yet fully following the LORDs steps, but are trying to follow faithfully. We have tried not to turn aside from God’s ways, but we sometimes falter. Thank God for his grace until our intentions and desires are fulfilled in our genuine discipleship. Until that day, we pursue Jesus as we seek to reflect his character and compassion, trusting in the Holy Spirit to do the work of transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18) so that the following may be true of us as it was in Jesus: He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. My Prayer… Magnificent Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, I confess my sin and my inadequacies in following your paths completely. Forgive me as I commit my life to serve you in holiness and joy. Thank you for your grace, which covers my sin and perfects in me the character of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. In the name of my Savior, Jesus, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Today’s Verse – Psalm 73:25-26
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. —Psalm 73:25-26 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… What can truly fulfill and sustain you? Maybe the best way to answer that question is by asking another: What can we keep when our bodies are placed silently in their graves at death? Only our relationship with God, our Christ-like character, and our loving relationships with Jesus’ disciples are permanent. These last beyond the grave. So, if these are lasting, then why would we displace them for anything that isn’t lasting? Earth’s treasures fail, wither, dissolve, and decay. What we have in God is forever! My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. My Prayer… Mighty Yahweh, Strong One of Israel, Keeper of the Covenant and Fulfillment-Maker of every prophecy, you are my hope, my strength, and my future. I live this day in wide-eyed amazement that the Keeper of the Universe knows my name, hears my voice, and cares for me. Thank you for being my past, my present, and my future. You are the Great I Am. You, O God, are the strength of my heart forever! In the name of Jesus, my Immanuel, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Today’s Verse – Matthew 22:37-39
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. —Matthew 22:37-39 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Some things are just not complicated to understand. However, that doesn’t mean putting them into practice is easy for me. Jesus was clear in what he said. Living for God can be boiled down to two principles: Loving God with everything I am and have. Loving others and treating them as I would like to be treated. Those principles are certainly not too hard to understand. It’s the living of them that is our challenge. So, let’s not just understand these two principles of love; let’s live them out in our daily lives: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. … Love your neighbor as yourself. My Prayer… Dear Father, the one true and living God, please accept the work of my hands, the words of my mouth, the moments of my rest, and the love of my heart as my worship to you this day. I pray that these are pleasing and refreshing to you as I seek to live out your two love commands in my life today. In the name of your Son, the LORD Jesus, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Today’s Verse – Ephesians 2:4-5
Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. —Ephesians 2:4-5 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… God is rich in mercy and generous with grace! Isn’t that wonderful for us? I don’t know about you, but I sure know I have failures, shortcomings, sins, and transgressions. Without God’s mercy, I would be lost in my sins (Romans 3:23-25). Without his grace, I would be cut off from the life God longs for me to have (Romans 5:6-11). God is rich in mercy and generous with grace! He acted on our behalf when he sent Jesus to show us his love (1 John 4:9-10). Now, because of his rich mercy and generous grace, we are dead to that old sinful self, and our lives are now tied to Jesus’ glorious future (Colossians 2:12, 3:1-4). “God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ”! My Prayer… Father of all grace and mercy, thank you. Thank you for being who you are – the Father of mercy and the God of all grace (1 Peter 3:13, 5:10)! Thank you for extending your grace when we did not deserve it. Thank you for giving mercy when we most needed it. Thank you for blessing us with life when we thought our lives were doomed and hopeless. May we be rich in mercy. May we be people of grace. We desire to be wealthy in these ways, like you, more than being rich in earthly riches that are destined to perish (Matthew 6:19-20). Help us, O LORD, to be more like you, to be rich in mercy. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Today’s Verse – Romans 13:9-10
The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. —Romans 13:9-10 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to have laws to keep people in line! That’s the point behind Paul’s message here. Treat our neighbors as we would like to be treated. Love them as we want to be loved. If we do that, then we’re not going to do anything that would hurt them, much less violate a command of God’s law that would hurt them. My Prayer… Loving Father, you are God who gave Moses the Law on tablets of stone. Please write your character and will on my heart (Proverbs 3:3; Jeremiah 31:33) that I might be a living testimony of your righteousness and grace toward all people. Help me to think more carefully about how my neighbors feel and what they need before I act or react to them – not just today, but every day! In the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Today’s Verse – Proverbs 17:9
He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. —Proverbs 17:9 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… You’ve probably heard this poisonous statement many times: “It’s just a little harmless gossip.” The Wise Teacher reminds us that gossip is neither little nor harmless. Sharing someone else’s stumble, offense, failure, or flaws separates friends and causes horrible damage. The consequences of such gossip are severe, and its damage is often lasting and devastating, especially to relationships. Instead, it is much better to be a peacemaker and an offense-mender, someone who covers over an offense with grace, forgiveness, and love. As Jesus said: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9). A peacemaker is one who covers over an offense and promotes love and peace. Let that be said of us! Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Father of Glory, I confess that I am often more a peace lover than a peacemaker. Being a peacemaker seems to be a lot harder for me. Covering over offenses feels a lot more difficult than passing on the gossip about an offense. So, please give me the character not to repeat gossip, but instead to have the wisdom and strength to be an offense-mender and an offense-coverer. Through the Prince of Peace, himself, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Today’s Verse – 1 John 4:11-12
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. —1 John 4:11-12 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Can you imagine what an honor it is to have the Creator of the universe, the LORD God Almighty, living inside of you? Yet when we love each other, that is exactly what happens. When our hearts are full of love, there is room for God, a great deal of room for God, because God is love. When they are not full of love, we leave little room for God to take up residence and produce his character in us. Let God complete his love in you: commit to doing loving things for others today, and each day that follows, until you can express your love for your Father, face-to-face in glory! My Prayer… Abba Father, I find it so comforting to know that you are not far away – that I live in you and you live in me (Colossians 3:1-4). Please help me see others with your eyes and respond to their needs with your heart so that your love may be complete in me and demonstrated in my actions. In the name of Jesus, the Servant and Savior of all, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.