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▼ See a Sample of Today's Verse

He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.

—Colossians 1:22

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

"Christians aren't perfect; they're just forgiven." We know we are not perfect. We know our weaknesses, inadequacies, sinfulness, pettiness, immaturity, cowardice... But Jesus demonstrated his love for us on the Cross as he offered his body and shed his blood. His sacrifice means that God looks at us as "perfect." Jesus' sacrifice means we are holy, without blemish, and without chargeable offense in God's presence! Jesus' perfect sacrifice has brought us perfect reconciliation with God! God doesn't look at our sin, but Jesus's perfection.

My Prayer...

Forgive me, Almighty God, for my sins. I get sick of them, and I am frustrated with my own inability to overcome them completely. Strengthen me, dear Father, so that I will have more fortitude and courage to face temptation victoriously. Thank you, God, of glory, for sharing your perfection and glory with me by sending Jesus. I praise you, O God, my Rock, and my Redeemer, for you have made me your child! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray, praise, and thank you. Amen.

▼ See a Sample of God's Holy Fire

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

—1 Peter 3:18 NIV

Key Thought

I will confess that this is one of the most challenging and difficult passages in all the Bible for me when I look at the whole context. What I take out of this, however, is that while Jesus' body died, his spirit — or better yet, his spirit and the Holy Spirit within him — never died. Jesus faced the forces of hell on hell's home turf and came back victorious from this spiritual battle (Ephesians 4:7-9; Acts 2:24; Romans 6:9). Jesus was raised up to a new bodily existence, having conquered death and giving us a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). The significance of his resurrection is incredible. He is the first fruits of those to be raised from the dead, ensuring that we will be raised, too (1 Corinthians 15:20-23; Romans 6:4-5). The power that raised Jesus from the dead, the Holy Spirit, is at work in us now (Ephesians 1:17-20). The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal bodies (Romans 8:10-11). As the old song says, "Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior; he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!"

Today's Prayer

O Father, words cannot adequately proclaim the joy and confidence I have about my future because of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Lord Jesus, as you intercede for me in this prayer, please know my deepest appreciation for your sacrifice and your conquest of hell through your death and resurrection. Father, please strengthen me and empower me to live for you. I pray this in the name of Jesus, my Lord. Amen.

▼ See a Sample of What Jesus Did!

Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,

"God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours."

—Luke 6:20 NLT

Key Thought

Even though the crowds had mobbed around Jesus to be healed, ^[1] he uses this moment to teach his disciples. The words given here are not general promises to all people, but blessings given to those who surrender to the call of Jesus and follow him with all their hearts. The Kingdom, Jesus reminds the disciples, is for those who are poor — for Luke, "the poor" are folks who depend upon God and who know that they do not have the power or wealth to cause change or to provide for life on their own. Those who are poor in this way trust in the power of the Lord and seek his power in their lives. Without the Lord, they know they have no hope and no power in this world. In the hearts of such people, the Kingdom comes with power and hope.

[1] Luke 6:18-19.

Today's Prayer

Father of all wealth and power, teach me to be poor like the godly poor waiting for your Messiah to come to them. I need to recognize that my best is nothing. I know that my greatest claim to fame is valueless. Without you, without your Kingdom, without your Messiah Jesus, my dreams are all earthbound, and my strength is a shadow. In Jesus' name. Amen.

▼ See a Sample of Unstoppable!

But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with [Stephen]. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

—Acts 6:9-10 NLT

Key Thought

We should expect opposition from Satan anytime we begin to make a difference for the cause of Christ. Satan's opposition comes in many forms — discomfort, criticism, illness, political pressure, threatened persecution, abuse, church quarrels, or even martyrdom. However, we can take hope in this opposition. Sometimes, as in the case of Stephen's death in Acts 7 or the problem with the neglect of Greek-speaking widows in Acts 6:1-7, the results can lead to a great advance for the message of Christ. We must remember two essential resources we have as followers of Christ: prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. These two spiritual tools help make the message of Christ unstoppable!

Today's Prayer

Father, I pray today for all of your servants sharing the Good News of Jesus in hostile circumstances and facing opposition. Empower these servants of your word with the Holy Spirit. Open doors for your message to be heard. Deliver your servants from the evil one. Break down barriers that Satan has placed in their path. Give us courage, Lord Jesus, to believe that your message of grace is unstoppable. Amen!

▼ See a Sample of Passion for Praise

And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. Rescue me from my rebellion. Do not let fools mock me.

—Psalm 39:7-8

▼ See a Sample of Quotemeal

"Depend on it, God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies."

—J. Hudson Taylor

▼ See a Sample of Morning and Evening

"Then all the disciples forsook him and fled."

—Matthew 26:56

Morning Thought

He never deserted them, but they in cowardly fear of their lives, fled from him in the very beginning of his sufferings. This is but one instructive instance of the frailty of all believers if left to themselves; they are but sheep at the best, and they flee when the wolf cometh. They had all been warned of the danger, and had promised to die rather than leave their Master; and yet they were seized with sudden panic, and took to their heels. It may be, that I, at the opening of this day, have braced up my mind to bear a trial for the Lord's sake, and I imagine myself to be certain to exhibit perfect fidelity; but let me be very jealous of myself, lest having the same evil heart of unbelief, I should depart from my Lord as the apostles did. It is one thing to promise, and quite another to perform. It would have been to their eternal honour to have stood at Jesus' side right manfully; they fled from honour; may I be kept from imitating them! Where else could they have been so safe as near their Master, who could presently call for twelve legions of angels? They fled from their true safety. O God, let me not play the fool also. Divine grace can make the coward brave. The smoking flax can flame forth like fire on the altar when the Lord wills it. These very apostles who were timid as hares, grew to be bold as lions after the Spirit had descended upon them, and even so the Holy Spirit can make my recreant spirit brave to confess my Lord and witness for his truth.

What anguish must have filled the Saviour as he saw his friends so faithless! This was one bitter ingredient in his cup; but that cup is drained dry; let me not put another drop in it. If I forsake my Lord, I shall crucify him afresh, and put him to an open shame. Keep me, O blessed Spirit, from an end so shameful.

▼ See a Sample of Daily Wisdom

How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!

—Proverbs 16:16

▼ See a Sample of Praying with Paul

1 Corinthians 4:1-4

Dear Father, judge of all mankind,

Help me be a profitable slave to you and good steward of your mysteries. As a steward may I be found trustworthy.

May I not be concerned about being judged by human beings or by any human court. May I not even set in judgment on myself. Only you do that. I am not aware of anything against myself, but that, I understand, in and of itself, does not acquit me before you. You are my judge. You can condemn. And you can and will make me stand.

It is by Jesus' authority and in his name that I offer up this prayer. Amen.

▼ See a Sample of A Year with Jesus

Note from Jesus

Dear Believer,

Have you noticed how people sometimes ask the wrong questions? Those questions reveal their assumptions about reality and their place in it. Religious people are not immune to asking the wrong questions. The two parables that I told in the verses below challenge you to think about the assumptions that lie behind your questions.

In the first parable, the implied question of My people is this: "Will God hear my prayers and answer my repeated pleas to bring justice and deliverance for us, His people?"

My response is the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. In story form, My answer is clear. An unjust judge can be swayed by a powerless widow who will not give up asking him for help. Surely you know that your loving Father in heaven will hear you. He will lovingly hear your earnest and repeated prayers and answer according to His gracious purposes for you. That answer will not be haphazard; it will come at the best possible time for your wellbeing and for the wellbeing of the fallen universe in bondage to decay.

However, I want to remind you of an even more important question: "[W]hen the Son of Man comes, will He find anyone who still has faith?"

That Son of Man is Me! You must live for Me with urgency anticipating My coming at any moment. You need to be full of anticipation regardless of how it seems your prayers are heard. The Father hears and cares about your hurt. He cares about the delay you feel in His response to your prayers. So please, be patient and faithful, knowing that I AM near.

In the second parable, the self-righteous man's implied question is this: "How can I display to others that I am a person of righteousness and honor when I go to pray in the Temple?"

My answer is this: The Father doesn't want you to try to make yourself look honorable and righteous to others when you worship Him or try to honor Him. Instead, the Father wants you to focus on a question of deeper significance about His love for you: "O Father, how can You be so gracious as to forgive me and to be merciful to me, a sinner?" Going home having been made righteous by the Father is much more important than appearing righteous.

Your questions, even when they are legitimate, often have their focus on you and your circumstances. Shouldn't your questions focus on the Father's faithfulness, mercy, and grace? Shouldn't your questions focus on how blessed you are because the Father has chosen you to share in His grace? Shouldn't your perspective include the needs of the lost around you? Shouldn't your questions show amazement at the Father's great love for you even when you were a rebellious sinner and so prone to abandoning your faith?

Verses to Live

Please remember two things as you read the following verses:

First, at the heart of sin, is an "I" problem. People focus too much on themselves! Even when times are hard and persecution becomes increasingly dangerous, don't give up and don't lose heart. Be like the persistent widow in My parable. The Father is listening and will answer you!

Second, God's faithfulness, mercy, love, and grace are reliable. You can trust in them because you trust in Him!

He [Jesus] told them a parable, urging them to keep praying and never grow discouraged. The parable went like this:

Jesus:

There was a judge living in a certain city. He showed no respect for God or humanity. In that same city there was a widow. Again and again she kept coming to him seeking justice: "Clear my name from my adversary's false accusations!" He paid no attention to her request for a while, but then he said to himself, "I don't care about what God thinks of me, much less what any mere human thinks. But this widow is driving me crazy. She's never going to quit coming to see me unless I hear her case and provide her legal protection."

Did you catch what this self-assured judge said? If he can be moved to act justly, won't God bring justice for His chosen people when they cry to Him day and night? Will He be slow to bring them justice? Mark My words: God will intervene fast with vindication. But here's the question: when the Son of Man comes, will He find anyone who still has faith?

He told another parable — this one addressed to people who were confident in their self-righteousness and looked down on other people with disgust.

Jesus:

Imagine two men walking up a road, going to the temple to pray. One of them is a Pharisee and the other is a despised tax collector. Once inside the temple, the Pharisee stands up and prays this prayer in honor of himself: "God, how I thank You that I am not on the same level as other people — crooks, cheaters, the sexually immoral — like this tax collector over here. Just look at me! I fast not once but twice a week, and I faithfully pay my tithes on every penny of income." Over in the corner, the tax collector begins to pray, but he won't even lift his eyes to heaven. He pounds on his chest in sorrow and says, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!"

Now imagine these two men walking back down the road to their homes. Listen, it's the tax collector who walks home clean before God, and not the Pharisee, because whoever lifts himself up will be put down and whoever takes a humble place will be lifted up.

(Luke 18:1-14)

Response in Prayer

Almighty God, I confess that I sometimes place myself at the center of my spiritual universe and do not consider the long-term implications of my influence. Forgive me for my impertinence in prayer and the selfishness sometimes found in my perspective on what is happening around me. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

▼ See a Sample of Spiritual Warfare

So when you offer your gift to God at the altar, and you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there at the altar. Go and make peace with that person, and then come and offer your gift.

—Matthew 5:23-24 NCV

Today's Prayer

Lord, forgive me for all the times I’ve come to worship You with malice in my heart against my brother or sister. It is sobering to realize that You actually reject my worship until I’ve done all I can to make it right between us. From now on, Lord, I want to worship You with a clean heart, so please place on my heart right now anyone who has something against me so I can go and make it right. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.