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For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. — Romans 3:23-24 Thoughts on Today's Verse... "I blew it!" Come to think of it, we've all blown it! We don't measure up. We're not divine. We are not righteous on our own. We all fall short. We might be decent by the world's standards, but decent won't save us in the presence of a holy, infallible, and perfect God. Only the truly righteous make it past the grave and into glory. Thank God! Grace is freely given, and the price for our sin was paid by Jesus. While I "blew it," Jesus renewed it from sin, death, hell, and the evil one! While I "blew it" - and admit, you blew it, too - Jesus renewed our lives for life with him now, and in glory forever ( Colossians 3:1-4 ). Jesus even presents us to the Father as "holy in his sight, without blemish, and free from accusation" ( Colossian...

Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." — Luke 9:23-24 Thoughts on Today's Verse... "I've just got to get away and find myself." If that is our goal, we must know it won't ever happen. We do not "find ourselves" or "find our life" by pursuing it ( Matthew 10:39 ). We find life, true and lasting life, by losing it for something and someone greater than ourselves. We find our lives by losing them to Jesus, to the work of his Kingdom, and to the grace of blessing others and bringing them to Jesus ( Matthew 16:25 ). My Prayer... Master and Maker of all that lives and breathes, take my life and make it yours. Use my every breath for your glory. Holy Spirit, I trust your transforming work to make me more like Jesus, more JESUShaped. LORD Jesus, I pray that my words ...

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 ...