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If, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life. — Romans 5:10 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus didn't just die for our sins; he is alive forever for you and me. In fact, he is at God's right hand, claiming each of us as his own ( 1 John 2:1-2 ), proclaiming us to God as holy and blameless ( Colossians 1:21-22 ), and living to intercede for us ( Hebrews 7:25 ). If God was willing for his Son to die to save us, why would he withhold anything from us now that the Son lives victoriously over death to save us home to our Father ( Romans 8:32 ). My Prayer... Holy and Righteous Father, I thank you for Jesus, who is at your side and who knows my heart, my struggles, and my world. I thank you for your constant care and protection through all of my difficulties and triumphs. Please make your presence known to me, and in me, more clearly today than ever before as I ...

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. — Galatians 2:20 Thoughts on Today's Verse... When we were baptized into Christ, we shared in his crucifixion and burial, and were raised to be a new person through our faith in the power of God ( Romans 6:3-7 ; Colossians 2:12-15 ). Christ is not only alive in us, but our life and future are joined with him in his glory ( Colossians 3:1-4 ). The real challenge is for us to be Christ's presence to our broken world! How do we do this? We do this as we live by faith in Jesus, who gave himself for us. Our motivation to do this? It is not to earn our salvation, which has already been given to us by grace, and we received it by faith. Now, we do it to honor him who sacrificed his all to save us. We can say with the apostle Paul: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in ...

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. — James 5:16 Thoughts on Today's Verse... To confess and be rid of our guilt of sin is to do three things with our sin: Recognize sin for what it is in God's eyes - to confess literally means to call our sin the same thing God does. Get rid of our secrets and be honest with another Christian about that sin. Receive prayer from a righteous disciple of Jesus and receive forgiveness and healing from that sin. James' language is powerful and clear. He wants us not only to experience forgiveness, but he also wants us to be healed from our past sins. Rather than hide, rationalize, dismiss, or ignore our sin, James and his brother Jesus want us to embrace God's path to full healing. Let's confess our sins to one another so we can be healed! My Prayer... Holy Father, I have sinned. I now confess my own personal sin of ________...

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. — 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 Thoughts on Today's Verse... What are you living for? What drives your life? What is the compelling motivation for your life? While these are all important questions, the most important question, however, is this: "Who am I living for?" Only one person can ensure that my life will count in meaningful ways after my body quits working ( 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 ). Only Jesus enables me to confidently know that I will never die ( John 11:25-26 ). He has already died for me and conquered death! If my body fails, the living part of me will go to be with Jesus, awaiting the resurrection ( 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ; Philippians 1:19-24 ). If he was willing to do all of this for me, then I'm for sure going to live for him a...

In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. — Ephesians 1:7 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Forgiveness! What a sweet and precious gift. What we were powerless to fix or pay for, God did for us in Jesus. He gave us the gift of forgiveness. With him, each day is a fresh start and a rebirth of the springtime of our souls. But my, such a terrible cost he paid to give it to us! Jesus paid for what we could not afford so we could find "the riches of God's grace" in Jesus. Praise God! My Prayer... Thank you, Father, for your anguish and cost to forgive my sins by the blood of your Son. I refuse to take the cost of my sin lightly. I commit to live for your glory in appreciation for your grace. In the name of him who sacrificed all for my salvation and gave me the gift of "the riches of God's grace," I pray. Amen. The Thoughts and Prayer on Today's Verse are written by Phil Ware. Y...

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. — Hebrews 12:2 Thoughts on Today's Verse... "He drives where he looks, he drives where he looks!" That statement by Nan, a wife disgruntled by her husband's driving, absolutely spoke the truth. Vail invariably would turn the steering wheel in the direction he was looking, terrifying all of us who rode with him as he looked around. This principle is also true of each of us and our lives: "We live where we look!" What our hearts seek and what our minds focus on steer us toward our goal, like a heat-seeking missile following its target's exhaust. That's why we must "fix our eyes on Jesus." We focus upon Jesus to both know him and become like him ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 ). Our lives will follow where we look. So let's fix our gaze and focus our hearts o...