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Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. — Ephesians 4:15 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Speaking the truth is hard enough. You mean we have to do it in love? Yes, if we are to be Jesus' women or men, we must speak to others as he did. As the Spirit grows us up to become more like Jesus ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 ), we will share our hope in Jesus with gentleness and respect ( 1 Peter 3:15-16 ), just as Jesus spoke to the lost who were seeking him. Our goal in speaking with others is not to win arguments, but to win hearts to the Savior. My Prayer... Father, forgive me for the bitterness in my heart and unfairness on my lips. Through your Spirit, help me better use my speech to bless others and glorify you. May I speak your truth with your love today in all my conversations. Through him who is Truth and Love I pray. Amen. The Thoughts and Prayer on Today's Verse are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments...

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. — Job 19:25 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Beyond what these words originally conveyed in Job's day, we know today that our Redeemer will return as the Rider on the white horse in triumph and give us God's victory forever ( Revelation 19:11-16 ). Hallelujah, what a day! Every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD to the glory of God the Father ( Philippians 2:10-11 ). Then the world truly WILL KNOW that Jesus Christ, our Savior, brother, and friend, is LORD of all! As the messenger of God dressed in white promised Jesus' amazed disciples at his glorious ascension ( Acts 1:9-10 ): "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." Yes! We know that our Redeemer lives and will stand upon the earth and take us home with him! My Prayer... Conquering King, Immortal God, I look forward to...

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! — Philippians 2:5-8 Thoughts on Today's Verse... "LORD, humble us gently." That is one of my friends' favorite prayer requests. I like it, too. I want to be humbled, but not humiliated. Thank God, however, Jesus was willing to be humbled, but not gently humbled. He humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! He was willing to be humiliated to save us! I hate that he went through such agony. I grieve that his self-emptying humility was stark, brutal, drastic, humiliating, and outrageous. Jesus' self-sacrificing love challenges me to have the same attitude as he had! Jesus' example challe...

The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. — Luke 19:10 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus' opponents said that he was "a friend of tax collectors and sinners" ( Luke 7:34 ). Of all the things people called Jesus, I believe that was one of his favorites. Come to think of it, I believe it's my favorite, too! Jesus came to seek and save all of us who are lost because God wanted us to find salvation in Jesus ( John 3:16-17 ). He did this when we were "powerless," "ungodly," "sinners," and "God's enemies" ( Romans 5:6, 8, 10 ). So, let's praise God that Jesus is not only "a friend of tax collectors and sinners," , but he also came to be our friend, to save us, and to bring us back to God ( Romans 5:10 ; 2 Corinthians 5:20 ), My Prayer... Almighty God, while I know you hate sin and the havoc it creates in our lives, I am so thankful that when you came to earth as Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, you ...

Jesus is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. — Hebrews 7:25 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus didn't just come and die for us. Jesus wasn't just raised from the dead to give us life. As incredible as those gifts are, Jesus adds another blessing to all he has done and is doing for us: he lives for us in the Father's presence, interceding for us. Jesus, as our intercessor, knows what it is like to be mortal and to face the struggles we face. So, dear friend in Jesus, until Jesus returns to take us home to our Father in heaven, know that Jesus is in the Father's presence in heaven for our good, always there to ask God for grace to help us in our times of need. Jesus is not only our Savior; he is also our defender, intercessor, friend, brother, and constant presence at the Father's side ( Hebrews 2:10-11, 14-18 , 4:14-16 ). My Prayer... Precious Savior, LORD Jesus, O how I love you. You sacrifice...

God has chosen you to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. — Colossians 1:27-28 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Christ lives in us and wants to transform us into people who live, love, and serve as he did ( Luke 6:40 ). Jesus remains alive in us as the Holy Spirit's work of glorious transformation continues in us ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 ). It will continue in us, until we see the LORD face-to-face in glory and are fully conformed to be like him ( 1 John 3:1-3 ). Until we go home to be with him, he promises to live in us through his Spirit, to show himself to us, and to make his home with us ( John 14:15-23 ). Everywhere we go and everything we do, we can trust that he will never leave or abandon us ( Romans 8:32-39 ). Jesus' goal for us in this life is for the Holy Spirit to transform us mor...

You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. — 1 Peter 1:18-19 Thoughts on Today's Verse... If value is determined by price, we are incredibly valuable to God. Our Father took the most precious treasure of heaven and redeemed us out of sin, evil, and death to adopt us into his family through Jesus' sacrifice. Silver and gold pale in comparison to that value. Without this redemption, we were in a mess. We were trapped in "the empty way of life handed down to us" . To know the depth of that empty way of life, we need to remember who we were before Christ ( Ephesians 2:1-3 ; Romans 5:6 ): Dead in our transgressions and sins. Following the ways of the evil ruler of the spiritual realm, who is at work among the disobedient. Gratifying the cravings of our flesh. By nature deserving of ...

It is written, "As surely as I live," says the LORD, "every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God." — Romans 14:11 Thoughts on Today's Verse... We live in anticipation of the day when every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" ( Philippians 2:10-11 ). Until that day, let's do all we can to influence as many as we can to receive the grace of God through faith in Jesus. We want them to bow before Jesus now as their Savior and LORD, today, so on that great future day, they can join with the host of heaven in joy, not in regret or fear, and acknowledge Jesus for who he is: LORD of all! My Prayer... Father, I thank you for saving me. May my anticipation of the day of Jesus' victory move me to be your agent of reconciliation so that others are ready for that day and will welcome it and our Savior with joy. Give me eyes to see those who ...

Since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. — Romans 1:20 Thoughts on Today's Verse... The touch of the Master's hand is all around us. We can see it in the order, beauty, specificity, and dazzling variety of creation. The great expanse of space, with its billions of stars, along with the incredible world of the microscopic, is all testimony to an Orderer of great creativity and inestimable power. Our heavenly Father has left his fingerprints all over his world, his creation, his universe, so we can know that he has been here and will not abandon the work of his hands. But, will we respond to this beauty in creation by seeking to live by the ways of the Great Orderer, the Creator of the universe, or will we choose for ourselves, or something else, to replace God? Will we choose to reflect his righteous character, gracious c...

Jesus said, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." — John 10:28-30 Thoughts on Today's Verse... "He's got the whole world in his hand." Yes, the song may be true, but in a much more significant way, God holds us, each of his children of faith, in his hands. As we entrust our lives to him in faith, his grace ensures that no one and nothing can steal us away from his grace, his promises, and his eternal loving care. Our future in Jesus is secure. We are in God's hands! My Prayer... O LORD, thank you for your steadfast and secure love. Thank you for the assurance that my future rests in your hands. Thank you for holding me in your protective grace. May I live today with confidence and joy, knowing that no matter where I find myself, you are there to uphold and sustain...

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. — 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 Thoughts on Today's Verse... We have victory, ultimate victory over death. If we don't have the answer for life's biggest test, death, then we have no lasting victory, ever. The Super Bowl and World Series are played every year. A champion is a victor for only one year and has to earn it again and again by competing and finishing the season in triumph. But a Christian is a champion forever. Because of Jesus, each true disciple of Christ Jesus has lasting victory over death. Yes, "thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." My Prayer... Thank you, God, for blessing us with lasting victory in Jesus Christ. In our daily struggles with sin, please make your will triumphantly present in us now, just as it will be when...

Christ has indeed been raised, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. — 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Being eternal is nothing new; in the beginning, God made us to live forever in fellowship with him. Being like Jesus ( 1 John 3:1-3 ) completely, eternally, will be new, however, when we're raised from the dead. When Jesus' lifeless body was placed in the ground, our lives with God forever in glory hung in the balance with him. Praise God. The Spirit of God revived Jesus from his death sleep. Jesus' resurrection also ensures our own, because our lives are hid with Christ in God ( Colossians 3:1-4 ), that death can no longer claim us. The only death that really matters for us is dying to our sin, through faith in baptism with Jesus ( Romans 6:4 ). If we have shared in that death, we will m...

If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. — Romans 10:9-10 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Imagine Jesus being proud of you! He said if we confess him before others here on earth, he will speak up for us in heaven and claim us as his own ( Matthew 10:32 ). Not only that, because we have confessed Jesus as our Savior and LORD, Jesus presents us to God as "holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." Confessing Jesus as our LORD is acknowledging the truth, the reality of Jesus' true identity that every person will acknowledge one day. Our confession is the anticipation of what is to come when every knee will bow, and every tongue confess Jesus as LORD to the glory of God the Father ( Philippians 2:9-11 ). My Prayer... Mighty God, your Son is ...

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. — 1 Corinthians 1:18 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Power! We love power. We love the sound and fury of power. We love the power's ability to bring positive change to dreadful situations. The greatest power ever unleashed on this earth was the power displayed when the Almighty God held back his might and fury while his Son was persecuted, abused, belittled, battered, and murdered on a cross. Now that's an awesome display of power, and it was displayed specifically for us and to save us. Plus, we know the cross was not the end of God's powerful grace; it was the doorway to Jesus' glorious and triumphant resurrection. We now live by the power of God who raised Jesus from the dead ( Ephesians 1:18-21 ). Praise God for his power that is at work within us ( Ephesians 3:20-21 ). Video Commentary... ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My ...

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. — Romans 13:8 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus paid the debt we owed God for our sins, trespasses, and rebellious actions ( Colossians 2:13-14 ; 1 Peter 1:18-10 ). Thank God we no longer owe the debt for those transgressions because of God's grace ( Romans 6:23 ). However, I do owe others the love, respect, forgiveness, and grace that God has lavished on me ( Ephesians 4:32 ). As Paul reminded us yesterday : Give everyone what you owe him. If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. ( Romans 13:7 ) Why is this so important? We are to keep paying installments on the "continuing debt to love one another" as Jesus has loved us! My Prayer... Holy God, everything in heaven and earth is yours, yet you have graciously shared them with us, your children. We thank you for not just pur...

This is why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him. If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. — Romans 13:6-7 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Ouch! Tax day. Not my favorite day, how about you? But where would we be without government, order, and laws? Anarchy! Rebellion! Lawlessness! Dog-eat-dog days where all people are "in it" only for themselves! While we may not always like how the system functions, we need to know from God how he wants us to live with flawed people in community. Paul is not naive. He knows he is likely going to be imprisoned and martyred by the Roman government. So, we can follow Paul's example as we seek to be redemptive in our living, obedient in our citizenship, and ask God to bless our countries and bring revival to them. Jesus left us this principle: "So give back to Caesar what is Caesar...

I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you... that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. — 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Thoughts on Today's Verse... The story of the Gospel is simple. The grace of the Gospel is glorious. The sacrifice of the Gospel is incomprehensible. The victory of the Gospel is eternal. The core of the Gospel is Christ, and him crucified and raised on the third day. We live in light of God's third-day solution accomplished for us in Jesus' resurrection from the dead! My Prayer... Almighty LORD, thank you for the empty tomb and Jesus' victory over the grave. Just as Jesus' death pardoned my sin, his resurrection assures my future. Thank you for grace and glory. May my life be lived each day by the power of the resurrection. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. The Thoughts and Prayer on Today's Verse are written by Phil Ware. You can email questio...

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 ...

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...