Key Thought

When a new child is born, godly parents stare lovingly at their gift from the Father and wonder, "What will this child grow up to be?" They name the child, taking great care not to give that child a name that will be a burden. They want their child to be blessed by God and to be a blessing to others. But they don't know, they can't know, what lies ahead. Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter (Cephas), or the Rock. Jesus could look beyond Peter's blustering ego and horrible failures to the man who loved God and who could be used mightily for the Kingdom. What does he see in you? No matter where you have been or the road you have taken to this point, Jesus can give you a new life and a new name. He has great plans for you. Don't be dismayed. Don't let discouragement claim you. If he can change Simon into the Rock, he can change you and use you mightily, too!

Today's Prayer

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Father, please help me trust that you have great plans for me. Please help me catch a glimpse of what you can do with me and through me to bring you glory and bless those I love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

The next day John was there again. John had two of his followers with him. John saw Jesus walking by. John said, "Look, the Lamb of God !" The two followers heard John say this, so they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw the two men following him. Jesus asked, "What do you want?" The two men said, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" ("Rabbi" means "Teacher.") Jesus answered, "Come with me and you will see." So the two men went with Jesus. They saw the place where Jesus stayed. They stayed there with Jesus that day. It was about four o'clock. These two men followed Jesus after they heard about Jesus from John. One of these two men was named Andrew. Andrew was Simon Peter's brother. The first thing Andrew did was to go find his brother, Simon. Andrew said to Simon, "We have found the Messiah." ("Messiah" means "Christ. ") Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at Simon and said, "You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas." ("Cephas" means "Peter. ") The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Jesus found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Philip was from the town of Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "Remember what Moses wrote in the law. Moses wrote about a man that was coming. The prophets wrote about him too. We have found him. His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph. He is from Nazareth." But Nathanael said to Philip, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip answered, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him. Jesus said, "This man coming is truly one of God's people. There is nothing false in him." Nathanael asked, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you when you were under the fig tree. That was before Philip told you about me." Then Nathanael said to Jesus, "Teacher, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel (God's people)." Jesus said to Nathanael, "I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. That is why you believe in me. But you will see muchgreater things than that!" Jesus also said, "I tell you the truth. You will all see heaven open. You will see 'angels of God going up and coming down' on the Son of Man. "

— John 1:35-51 (ERV)

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.