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For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Romans 8:38-39 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Amen and hallelujah! This passage is incredibly hopeful. Nothing could keep Jesus from coming to save you and me - not the distance between heaven and earth, not the difficulty of an unexpected pregnancy, not a city fully of travelers and parents tired from a long journey, certainly not a maniacal king who sought to snuff out his life, not jeering mobs crying crucify him, not disciples that abandoned him, not soldiers that mocked him, not a whip that raked his flesh, and not a cross that claimed his physical life. So what makes you think God would let you go or give up on you after his love has captured your heart at such a high price to him? Nothing in the created worl...

Jesus answered, "...whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." — John 4:13-14 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Water! That precious gift for the tired and thirsty. Water! That essential refreshing liquid we all need for life. Water! That spring of living water welling up to eternal life and renewing our spirits. Jesus offers water we don't have to carry, find, purify, or resupply. Jesus' water wells up within us. The Holy Spirit brings us Jesus' water because we are his disciples who believe in him ( John 7:37-39 ). Jesus' water gives us eternal life, which begins now, lasts throughout each day we live, and continues forever ( John 4:14 , 5:24 ). This water of eternal life is a gift from Jesus, our LORD! Video Commentary... ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer... Father, I know Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live in me when I became a...

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. — John 3:17 Thoughts on Today's Verse... God sent Jesus to save the world. God is not the mean ol' Scrooge in the sky, critically looking down on his flawed children, waiting to condemn them for their mess-ups. Instead, our Father in heaven saw how broken, flawed, and messed up we were, and he entered our world in Jesus to save it and save us from ourselves. God's purpose in sending Jesus was to give us lasting life, eternal salvation, and out of that grows our earthly mission - to join God in saving the lost world. My Prayer... O heavenly Father, deliver us from the sin that entangles our actions and pollutes our hearts. Create in each of us a clean heart and renew a right spirit in us through your sanctifying Holy Spirit. Please, awaken us to our salvation so that we don't keep it to ourselves, but share it with those who desperately need it. Thank you for your forgive...

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. — John 3:16 Thoughts on Today's Verse... What else needs to be said? "For God so loved that the world..." Ah, we should say, "Praise God!" We should say, "Thank you, Jesus!" We should say, "I believe!" We should say, "Let's go share Jesus' saving grace with the nations ( Matthew 28:18-20 ). My Prayer... Thank you, Father, for loving us with everlasting love and for demonstrating that love in Jesus. We love you! We look forward to sharing the longest part of our lives with you in glory, enjoying your presence forever because you sent Jesus. Until then, loving Father, please use us to share this saving message -this message of your gracious and redeeming love -with others so they can believe and not perish. You sent Jesus so no one would perish. We commit to join you in sharing your love with the world...

From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. — Psalm 3:8 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Deliverance does come from the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our spiritual fathers from previous generations. We can trust in this deliverance because of God's faithfulness to his people under the Old Covenant (the Old Testament). We see God's deliverance as the Father sends his Son, Jesus, as our Savior. We experience this deliverance in the outpouring of the Spirit by the resurrected Savior. So, as this verse suggests, we can confidently ask the LORD to bless us with his richest and greatest blessings as his people because we know that he has already given us the greatest gift of his Son. So, we believe with the apostle, Paul, that since God has done this to save us, "how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" ( Romans 8:31-32 ) My Prayer... Thank you, O God, for the salvation you have given to us in Jesus. Use ...

Therefore God exalted him... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. — Philippians 2:9-11 Thoughts on Today's Verse... I love the fact that I do each day what everyone will one day do: bow before the majesty and proclaim the glorious Lordship of Jesus Christ to honor the Father's glory. How wonderful it is to be able to make that proclamation because of grace rather than in fear at the end of a life that has been spent wasted in rebellion, denial, and selfishness. I gladly bow my knee, humble myself, and prostrate myself before the King of Glory, Jesus Christ my LORD! My Prayer... Father, I do praise you for the truth about Jesus. I believe that his greatness will one day be realized fully by everyone who has ever lived. Doubters, haters, hypocrites, and pretenders may have sway in our fallen world, but Jesus is coming. I can't wait to see...