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He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. — 1 Peter 2:24 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus bore our sins. He didn't just carry them to the cross; he also suffered the penalty we deserved for those sins. His anguish was our healing. His suffering was our righteousness. How can we ever think of going back to sin after he suffered so much to bear its penalty? So, let's begin each day declaring, "Today, O God, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I die to my sins and live for righteousness! Please help me live up to my commitment by the transforming power of the Spirit to make me more like Jesus, more JESUShaped each day" ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 ; Colossians 1:28-29 ). My Prayer... Holy God, how you could stand to see your precious Son under the weight of my sin, along with all the sin of human history, I will never understand. Thank you for such great love and for being su...

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. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. — Romans 5:6-8 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus did not die for us because he had some high hopes for who we are. He certainly didn't die for us because of what we had done in the past that merited his sacrifice. No, he died for us because he knew exactly who we are and where we would be without him. Praise be to God; we are now God's righteousness because Jesus took our sin upon himself and gave us God's grace and righteousness in place of our sin ( 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ). While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He now chooses to call us his friends and his family ( John 15:15 ; Hebrews 2:10-14 ). Video Commentary... ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Praye...

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. — Hebrews 1:3 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus was Immanuel, God with us ( Matthew 1:23 ). He was no imitation, no knock off, and no clone; he was God with us, God in human flesh ( John 1:1-3, 14-18 ). To this day, he sustains all creation with his word - so much for "Mother Nature," it is brother Jesus, who sustains all things by his powerful word. And now, God-with-us has paid for our sins and is not just God-with-us, but he is also God-for-us, and is constantly at the Father's side to help us. My Prayer... Precious LORD, as you have so many times in the past, please take these humble human words and bring them to the Father as my friend and brother ( John 15:15 , 21:5 ; Hebrews 2:10-14 ). Thank you for your sacrifice for my sins. Thank ...

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 ________...