Monday, January 20, 2025

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.

—Romans 5:6-7

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Christ died for the ungodly. That's us! We were included in this reality before Jesus! Christ died for me, you, those you love, and even those who do not love you. Without Jesus' sacrificial death and God's amazing grace, we could never save ourselves by our deeds or make ourselves fully righteous. Jesus did for us what we could not do: he lived a perfect life and died a horrible death to pay off the debt of our sin — something we did not have the power or resources to pay. He did it for us, not because we were good enough to be worthy of his sacrifice, but BECAUSE WE COULD NOT BE WORTHY WITHOUT HIM!

My Prayer...

Loving God, we thank you. Sacrificial Savior, we praise you. Holy Spirit, we live through your power. Words cannot adequately and fully express our thanks for the gift of your grace that cost you so much yet means so much to us. We give all honor, glory, and praise to you, GOD, our Father who sits on the throne, the LORD Jesus Christ who went to the cross, and the Holy Spirit who empowers us to live transformed lives. We pray this based on the authority of Christ Jesus, whose grace makes us worthy to come into your presence, dear Father, and through the intercession of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sunday, January 19, 2025

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

—Romans 5:5

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Hope has become such a "wimpy" term in modern vocabulary. It hardly qualifies as an adequate translation of the meaning in most New Testament passages. Christian hope is the assurance that what we believe will happen. We could call it spiritual confidence. We have that confidence because of what Jesus did historically in conquering death. Our hope is based on more than a mere wish, a fleeting emotion, or something we dream up in ourselves. Our hope is rooted in this promise: just as the power of God raised Jesus from the dead, the almighty and eternal God has chosen to live in us, with power, through his Holy Spirit. When we become disciples of Jesus, our LORD pours out the Spirit upon us (Titus 3:3-7) as God's gift to us (Acts 2:38; Acts 5:32) to cleanse us (1 Corinthians 6:11) and make us God's dear children (John 3:3-7). The Spirit also makes us a part of Christ's Body, his church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13), living inside us as the Spirit pours his love and power into us and works through us. We are not just given the Spirit at our conversion. God keeps refreshing us by continually pouring his love and power into us through the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus promised (John 7:37-39).

My Prayer...

Holy and Almighty God, you are awesome in power and majestic in holiness. Thank you for coming to us in Jesus and living in us through your Spirit. We trust that you are pouring your love into our hearts so that the fruit of your grace may flow from us with your love so they can experience your grace. Thank you, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Saturday, January 18, 2025

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

—Romans 5:3-4

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

What are you living to produce with your life?

Wealth, fame, status, significance, legacy?

How about character?

Isn't having the character of God our real goal in life?

Perseverance, character, and hope can help us forge a stronger faith as we live for Jesus under the pressure and heat directed at us from the evil one and his demonic forces of evil. Even in our suffering, hardships, and persecution, nothing can steal our desired goal from us — developing the character of God as we live for Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit are transformed to become JESUShaped (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

My Prayer...

Dear Father, please empower us as we seek to live consistently with your holy character in our fallen world. Please give us hearts of courage and compassion so we can more clearly demonstrate your grace and power as you transform us into disciples of courage, honor, and compassion. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Friday, January 17, 2025

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

—Romans 5:1-2

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Justified, peace, access, grace, hope, and glory are wonderful gifts! Each of these gifts is ours because of One — One reason, One person, and One LORD: Jesus Christ, the Son of God and our Savior. Our faith in Jesus opens the door for us to rejoice in our assured hope of sharing in God's glory. In troubling times, this hope is precious. In good times, this hope promises us even greater things. In every circumstance, this assured hope can empower us to live for Jesus to the glory of God!

Video Commentary...

ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos

My Prayer...

We praise you, LORD Jesus, for all you've done to bless us with your salvation. We praise you, dear LORD, for your promise to return and invite us to share in your full, unveiled glory. We pray that you speed that day to come soon. As we wait, Father, please purify and make us useful for your service, to the glory of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, our mediator, we pray. Amen.

Thursday, January 16, 2025

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.

—Proverbs 10:11

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Do you want to know the difference between a righteous person and a wicked one? Simple! Jesus said to check the fruit of their life. One of the most visible forms of fruit in peoples' lives is found in the way they talk, how they talk, and their empathy as they talk. Righteous people find ways to impart life through what they say. The wicked reveal themselves by what they say and how they say it. In a social-media-dominated world filled with vitriol, sarcasm, and bitterness, this is a prover we must heed!

My Prayer...

O LORD God, please hear my cry as I repeat the words of the Psalmist as my earnest prayer to you:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.*

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

—Psalm 100:5

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

We come to the final devotional thought based on Psalm 100:5. The focus is on God's enduring love and faithfulness that continues through all generations. The genealogy of Matthew 1:1-16 lists the generations that God used to bring us Jesus, our LORD and Messiah. I usually speed-read through biblical genealogies. However, let's invite the Holy Spirit to awaken us through this genealogy to celebrate God's love and faithfulness, which brought us the Messiah through those generations. We can close our meditations on Psalm 100:1-5 with the joy of knowing that the LORD's faithful love continued through all these generations and saved us through Jesus. What God has done so faithfully in the past, he will do even more in the days ahead as we await the glorious return of his Son and our Savior, the LORD Jesus Christ. The Father brought us the Son through his faithfulness, and we celebrate that enduring love by the power of the Holy Spirit's inspired praise of Psalm 100:5:

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

My Prayer...

Dear Father, in my world of change and unfaithfulness, everyone seems to want something from me or out of me, even though there are very few I can depend upon. Thank you for your love, which is more enduring than the mountains and more glorious than any beautiful sunrise. I praise you in the name of Jesus, your Son. Amen.