HEARTLIGHT — A Year with Jesus

"Power and Praise" — A Year with Jesus for 10/12/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

One of the most remarkable gifts you have as the Father's child is the gift of your intercessory prayer for others. When the apostle Paul was in prison, his confinement prevented him from being with his beloved brothers and sisters in Ephesus. So as Paul was praising the Father, he seamlessly moved from praise into a prayer. The focus of Paul's prayer was for the Father to release the presence and power of the Holy Spirit into the lives of these Ephesian Christians. This same Spirit-power tore Me from the clutches of death and raised Me from the dead. 

Rather than spending a lot of time talking to you about what Paul said in the verses below, I want you to pay special attention to the two prayers in your verses for today. As you do, notice these three dynamics in Paul's prayers:
Paul moved from praise in prayer to intercession in prayer. 
This movement from praise to intercessory prayer was natural for Paul as he prayed led by the Holy Spirit. This kind of prayer carried great power.
Paul told the Ephesians what he prayed for them. 
Intercessory prayer is often most powerful when you share the specific petitions in your prayer with those for whom you are praying. In other words, don't just tell folks that you are praying for them; tell them what you are praying for them!
Paul prayed for the Ephesians to experience the Spirit's power at work within them. 
The same Holy Spirit, Who intercedes for My disciples when they pray, also releases the Father's power into their lives.
Spend more time in praise to the Father, and as you do, you will find more of the Holy Spirit's power being released into the lives of your brothers and sisters in My family.
Verses to Live

Paul's life and letters are full of his prayers. These prayers helped him stay connected with My disciples scattered all over the world. As you read two of Paul's prayers, let the Holy Spirit help you remember brothers and sisters for whom you need to pray. Pray for these dear people, and then let them know what you prayed for them. 

Paul inserts the first prayer in the first part of the letter. The other prayer comes at the middle as he shifts from talking about the truths of the gospel to talking about the ways the disciples must live out those truths. Your power as a disciple to live with My character and compassion comes from knowing the truth and having the power to live it. You can release this power through your prayers of praise and intercession!
To God be all praise and glory! This is why, when I heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus that is present in your community and of your great love for all God's people, I haven't stopped thanking Him for you. I am continually speaking to Him on your behalf in my prayers. Here's what I say:
God of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, Father of Glory: I call out to You on behalf of Your people. Give them minds ready to receive wisdom and revelation so they will truly know You. Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance. Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power.
Friends, it is this same might and resurrection power that He used in the Anointed One to raise Him from the dead and to position Him at His right hand in heaven. There is nothing over Him. He's above all rule, authority, power, and dominion; over every name invoked, over every title bestowed in this age and the next. God has placed all things beneath His feet and anointed Him as the head over all things for His church. This church is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. 
(Ephesians 1:14-23) 

It is for this reason that I bow my knees before the Father, after whom all families in heaven above and on earth below receive their names, and pray:
Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together with all of Your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may Your fullness flood through their entire beings.
Now to the God who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us, to Him be all glory in the church and in Jesus the Anointed from this generation to the next, forever and ever. Amen. 
(Ephesians 3:14-21)
Response in Prayer

I praise You, gracious Father. I praise You, Lord Jesus. I praise You, powerful Holy Spirit. I praise You for Your greatness, power, and sovereignty. I praise You for the plan to redeem the mess we have made. I praise You for entering our world and planting redemption into it through Jesus. I praise You for the power of the Holy Spirit that tore Jesus from the clutches of death and raised Him from the dead. I praise You for saving Me through My faith as I shared in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection through baptism. I praise You for living inside Me through the Holy Spirit. And I ask that my spirit be fully redeemed and transformed by the Holy Spirit living within me so that Your character and grace shine out in my life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! Visit the website to subscribe by email.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"I AM Enough" — A Year with Jesus for 10/10/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Believer, 

When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he was imprisoned and facing hardship because of his work for the gospel (Colossians 1:24-29; Colossians 4:18). He was content with facing this suffering, but he desperately wanted the early churches to remain committed to Me and to the pure message that they had heard. As a result, Paul's suffering was made more trying by those who kept stirring up discontent and doubt because of their false teaching. 

Epaphras, who personally was from Colossae (Colossians 4:12), had originally taken My message to the Colossians (Colossians 1:7). Paul had never even visited there (Colossians 2:1). People's respect for him as a great leader, teacher, disciple maker, and apostle gave him significant influence in the lives of many church leaders as well as other Christians. The Colossian Christians were part of this group that deeply respected Paul. He wrote the letter to the Colossians to combat false teachers who were saying that the Colossians had not received the full gospel because Epaphras had taught them. From the critics' point of view, Epaphras was a "nobody" from Colossae and not an apostle or a well-known evangelist; the false teachers were saying that the Colossians had received inferior teaching. 

False teachers were trying to convince My new disciples in Colossae and nearby Laodicea (Colossians 2:1; Colossians 4:13-16) that they needed special new teachings shrouded in mystery. Paul used the phrase "the elemental spirits of the cosmos" to describe part of this erroneous teaching. These new teachings also insisted on special ascetic practices of denying the body through extraordinary fasting and other more extreme practices (Colossians 2:16-23). These false teachers tried to convince My disciples in Colossae that they could arrive at the Father's intended "fullness" only through these special practices. (Paul used a form of the word for "fullness" or "full" six times in the short letter to the Colossians: Colossians 1:19; Colossians 1:25; Colossians 2:2; Colossians 2:9; Colossians 2:10; Colossians 4:12.) 

Paul repeatedly spoke against this false teaching throughout his letter to the Colossians. If he had given a succinct summary of his teaching, it could have been "Jesus plus anything is less than Jesus!" Paul centered his life, his mission, and his message in this truth. He declared this purpose to the Colossians:
I am a servant appointed by God to preach the Word of God until it is known to you and all over — what I am talking about is nothing less than the mystery of the ages! What was hidden for ages, generations and generations, is now being revealed to His holy ones. He decided to make known to them His blessing to the nations; the glorious riches of this mystery is the indwelling of the Anointed in you! The very hope of glory. 
(Colossians 1:25-27)
My imprisoned apostle Paul was adamant that the truth of the gospel centered on My death, burial, and resurrection. He insisted that the Colossians needed not only to hang onto the original teaching they received, but that they also needed to root themselves in those truths:
Now that you have welcomed the Anointed One, Jesus the Lord, into your lives, continue to journey with Him and allow Him to shape your lives. Let your roots grow down deeply in Him, and let Him build you up on a firm foundation. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always spill over with thankfulness.
Paul told them that their lives were joined to My life in a realm far above any earthly power or any spiritual power other than My own and that their future was now caught up in My future glory:
Your new life is now hidden, enmeshed with the Anointed who is in God. On that day when the Anointed One — who is our very life — is revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory!
I have "disarmed" all spiritual authorities, realms, entities, and powers (Colossians 2:15). Through the Colossians' participation with My death in baptism and their faith in the power of God demonstrated by My resurrection, they had "died" to those powers (Colossians 2:12-20) and were "raised up with Me" and "enmeshed" with Me and will be fully revealed when I come in My glory. This same glorious reality is true for you as My disciple! 

Paul's teaching must be your passion. The truth is centered in Me. Remember what I told My first disciples on the eve of My Crucifixion:
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." 
(John 14:6-7 NIV)
Verses to Live

Paul's words in these two passages from his letter to the Colossians reminded them that I AM the One in whom are hidden all "the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." You don't need something more. You don't need secret wisdom tied to other spirits or powers. You need to root yourselves deeply into Me. In your baptism and because of your faith in Me, you joined My death on the cross and My victory and new life through My resurrection. Your future is secured to Me. No other powers or spirits can have you now because your life is "hidden, enmeshed" with Me, far above any rule, power, or authority. Root yourself in Me!
This battle [with suffering and imprisonment] I am facing is huge. And I want you to know I do it for you, for all those at Laodicea, and for everyone else (even those who have never seen my face). I'm working hard to comfort and encourage them so that they will be knit together — that many hearts would become one through His [Jesus'] love. I do it so they will be rich in understanding and have full knowledge of God's mystery, which is the Anointed One Himself — in Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are concealed. I only tell you this to warn you about those who would try and deceive you with their arguments. They seem plausible enough; but in the end, they are false. Even though I cannot be there in the body, my spirit is with you; and I'm happy to know of your good order and your solid commitment to the Anointed One, our Liberating King. 

Now that you have welcomed the Anointed One, Jesus the Lord, into your lives, continue to journey with Him and allow Him to shape your lives. Let your roots grow down deeply in Him, and let Him build you up on a firm foundation. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always spill over with thankfulness. Make sure no predator makes you his prey through some misleading philosophy and empty deception based on traditions fabricated by mere mortals. These are sourced in the elementary principles originating in this world and not in the Anointed One (so don't let their talks capture you). You see, all that is God, all His fullness, resides in His body. You, too, are being completed in Him, the One who has dominion over all rule, all authority. In Him you were also circumcised, set apart by a spiritual act performed without hands. The Anointed One's circumcision cut you off from the sinfulness of your flesh. You were buried with Him beneath the waters of the ceremonial washing called baptism and then were raised up with Him by faith in the resurrection power of God, who brought Him back from the dead. And when your flesh was still uncircumcised — dead in transgression and swathed in its sinful nature — it was God who brought us to life with Him, forgave all our sins, and eliminated the massive debt we incurred by the law that stood against us. He took it all away; He nailed it to the cross. But that's not all. He disarmed those who once ruled over us — those who had overpowered us. Like captives of war, He put them on display to the world to show His victory over them by means of the cross. 
(Colossians 2:1-15) 

So it comes down to this: since you have been raised with the Anointed One, the Liberating King, set your mind on heaven above. The Anointed is there, seated at God's right hand. Stay focused on what's above, not on earthly things, because your old life is dead and gone. Your new life is now hidden, enmeshed with the Anointed who is in God. On that day when the Anointed One — who is our very life — is revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory! 
(Colossians 3:1-4)
Response in Prayer

Father, thank You for not making the way to You difficult or hidden. Thank You for revealing Yourself to us through Jesus in human flesh and inviting us into His life and His future. I pledge my heart to follow Jesus. I do not want to be distracted by those promoting mysterious knowledge or harsh treatment of my physical body. I trust that the Holy Spirit is at work conforming me to be more like Jesus each day as I focus on Him. Thank You, dear Father, for Jesus, in Whose name and by Whose power and authority I pray to You, my Abba Father. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! Visit the website to subscribe by email.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"Antidote to Uncertainty: Thankfulness" — A Year with Jesus for 10/11/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Child of Grace, 

You have been blessed with grace because of the Father's love (John 3:16-18; Colossians 1:12-14). That grace was embodied by My coming to earth in human flesh, My life of service, My atoning death on the Cross, and My victorious resurrection (Colossians 1:15-23). You shared in this grace through your baptism because of your faith (Colossians 2:9-1t5). Your future in glory is secure in Me as I reign over all things (Colossians 3:1-4). So rejoice! Be thankful! Praise your Father in heaven for His bountiful grace that has brought you to a life full of love, hope, and peace in Me! 

The Colossian Christians had forgotten the importance of being thankful. So in his short letter to them, Paul began by giving thanks for them. He called on them repeatedly to be thankful. As important as prayer was to Paul, he reminded these Colossian brothers and sisters to always "be thankful when you pray." In fact, Paul wanted all of their lives to be lived "sending thanks" in My name to the Father! 

So why is thankfulness so important? There are many reasons. Thankfulness reminds you that you receive all your blessings from the Father. Thankfulness reminds you of all that you have been given so you are not constantly greedy for more. For the Colossians, however, thankfulness had an added purpose. This purpose can also apply to you. False teachers slip into My people like wolves disguised as sheep. Their smooth sounding words and their claim to special knowledge can create an itch of concern in the hearts of My people. They are uncertain because they are concerned that they may have missed something important. They can be enticed by new teaching that sounds special and especially spiritual. Thankfulness roots you in the things you have received from the Father through My death, burial, and resurrection. Thankfulness reminds you that life's most important grace, My sacrifice for you, is sufficient to bring you to My glory. As Paul warned the Galatians, anything added to the simple gospel about Me is not gospel; it is false teaching and must be opposed (Galatians 1:6-9). Paul wanted the Christian brothers and sisters to follow this important exhortation in thankfulness:
Let your roots grow down deeply in Him, and let Him build you up on a firm foundation. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always spill over with thankfulness. 
(Colossians 2:7)
So, dear child of My Father, give thanks! Praise God for what you have received. Be filled to overflowing because you have received grace and the assurance that life ahead of you will be glorious!
Verses to Live

The following verses are the thread of thankfulness that Paul wove into the tapestry of his letter to the Colossians. Read these verses several times. Pause after each section and ask the Holy Spirit to help you receive, incorporate, and display the principles you find in that section. Be blessed! Most of all, learn the grace in being thankful!
As always, we've been praying for you, thanking God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, ever since we heard of your faith in Jesus the Anointed and your love for His holy ones — faith and love that emerge from the hope you have heard about in the word of truth — the gospel — the very hope that awaits you in heaven. 
(Colossians 1:3-5) 

Since the day we got this good news about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We ask: 

Father, may they clearly know Your will and achieve the height and depth of spiritual wisdom and understanding. May their lives be a credit to You, Lord; and what's more, may they continue to delight You by doing every good work and growing in the true knowledge that comes from being close to You. Strengthen them with Your infinite power, according to Your glorious might, so that they will have everything they need to hold on and endure hardship patiently and joyfully. Thank You, Father, as You have made us eligible to receive our portion of the inheritance given to all those set apart by the light. You have rescued us from dark powers and brought us safely into the kingdom of Your Son, whom You love and in whom we are redeemed and forgiven of our sins [through His blood]. 
(Colossians 1:9-14) 

Now that you have welcomed the Anointed One, Jesus the Lord, into your lives, continue to journey with Him and allow Him to shape your lives. Let your roots grow down deeply in Him, and let Him build you up on a firm foundation. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always spill over with thankfulness. 
(Colossians 2:6-7) 

Since you are all set apart by God, made holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a holy way of life: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Put up with one another. Forgive. Pardon any offenses against one another, as the Lord has pardoned you, because you should act in kind. But above all these, put on love! Love is the perfect tie to bind these together. Let your hearts fall under the rule of the Anointed's peace (the peace you were called to as one body), and be thankful. 

Let the word of the Anointed One richly inhabit your lives. With all wisdom teach, counsel, and instruct one another. Sing the psalms, compose hymns and songs inspired by the Spirit, and keep on singing — sing to God from hearts full and spilling over with thankfulness. Surely, no matter what you are doing (speaking, writing, or working), do it all in the name of Jesus our Master, sending thanks through Him to God our Father. 
(Colossians 3:12-17) 

Pray, and keep praying. Be alert and thankful when you pray. And while you are at it, add us to your prayers. Pray that God would open doors and windows and minds and eyes and hearts for the word so we can go on telling the mystery of the Anointed, for this is exactly why I am currently imprisoned. Pray that I will proclaim this message clearly and fearlessly as I should. 
(Colossians 4:2-3). 
Emphasis added by placing the words related to thankfulness in bold.
Response in Prayer

O Father of grace and God of glory, thank You! Thank You for the vastness of the universe. Thank You for the mysteries and beauty of this earth. Thank You most of all for grace through the gift of Your Son, Jesus. Thank You for your enduring and transforming presence through the Holy Spirit. Thank You that I will one day see you face-to-face in all of Your glory. Thank you! In Jesus' name. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! Visit the website to subscribe by email.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"Grace, Glorious Grace" — A Year with Jesus for 10/09/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Child of Grace, 

Paul powerfully tells the truth about where each of you was before grace:
You were the offspring of the prince of the power of air — oh, how he owned you, just as he still controls those living in disobedience.
Many of the people to whom Paul was writing had been worshipping idols, "living in disobedience." 

Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome that their prior spiritual failure was not just a problem of effort or worship of the one true and living God. People had failed even in the proper religion of Israel. No one kept the Law perfectly. All, even the most zealous for the Law, failed to measure up to the righteous character and gracious compassion of the Father. Paul reminded these Roman disciples that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 NIV). Everyone needs the Father's grace! 

Today's short passage on grace is one of Paul's most powerful statements of reversal and redemption based on the Father's great love:
But God, with the unfathomable richness of His love and mercy focused on us, united us with the Anointed One and infused our lifeless souls with life — even though we were buried under mountains of sin — and saved us by His grace.
You are a recipient of grace. Your Father in heaven treasures you. Your life is now united with My life. Your future is now salvation because of grace. You did not earn it. You did not deserve it. There is no room for bragging about your good deeds that achieved this new life of salvation:
For it's by God's grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was not our plan or our effort. It is God's gift, pure and simple.
Verses to Live

Read and then re-read this passage. Let the wonder of grace sweep over you. Let the promise of salvation undergird you. Remind yourself of the Father's great love. Remember My great sacrifice. Trust in the transforming power of the Spirit. Then let your praise to the Father flow out of your heart. You are saved by grace. You are alive in Me to accomplish the Father's will. You are made new and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
As for you, don't you remember how you used to just exist? Corpses, dead in life, buried by transgressions, wandering the course of this perverse world. You were the offspring of the prince of the power of air — oh, how he owned you, just as he still controls those living in disobedience. I'm not talking about the outsiders alone; we were all guilty of falling headlong for the persuasive passions of this world; we all have had our fill of indulging the flesh and mind, obeying impulses to follow perverse thoughts motivated by dark powers. As a result, our natural inclinations led us to be children of wrath, just like the rest of humankind. 

But God, with the unfathomable richness of His love and mercy focused on us, united us with the Anointed One and infused our lifeless souls with life — even though we were buried under mountains of sin — and saved us by His grace. He raised us up with Him and seated us in the heavenly realms with our beloved Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King. He did this for a reason: so that for all eternity we will stand as a living testimony to the incredible riches of His grace and kindness that He freely gives to us by uniting us with Jesus the Anointed. For it's by God's grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was not our plan or our effort. It is God's gift, pure and simple. You didn't earn it, not one of us did, so don't go around bragging that you must have done something amazing. For we are the product of His hand, heaven's poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago. 
(Ephesians 2:1-10)
Response in Prayer

O Father, thank You for Your glorious and amazing grace. Thank You, Jesus, for paying the price to give me this grace. I thank You for this new life of purpose and meaning. I praise You for the power of the Holy Spirit to make me new and empower me to a Jesus-styled life. I long for my future of eternal glory with You. In Jesus' name, I praise and thank You. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! Visit the website to subscribe by email.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"The Freedom of Grace" — A Year with Jesus for 10/08/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

Sometimes people romanticize what life was like in the early church. They look past the enormous cultural challenges, relationship issues, and sin-problems that confronted these early believers. My earliest disciples faced many challenges in living out the gospel. 

My good news would not have been good news if My disciples didn't strive earnestly to live up to what I taught them. I emphasized this principle when I taught My disciples to pray these words:
"Our Father in heaven, let Your name remain holy. Bring about Your kingdom. Manifest Your will here on earth, as it is manifest in heaven." 
(Matthew 6:9-10)
My people were to be the manifestation, the living example, of the Father's will lived out on earth. To do this in a pagan culture full of slavery, inequality, and prejudice was not easy. Two letters, Colossians and Philemon, that Paul wrote while in prison were sent to address some of these problems. 

Paul taught that My coming changed everything. He saw the implications of My life, death, and resurrection in cosmic terms. At the same time, he also applied My lordship to personal and cultural issues as well. Each of these realms — cosmic, cultural, and personal — needed redeeming. For redemption to be real, authentic change was necessary — and still is necessary. Navigating that change was hard, messy, and challenging. Paul's message intersected each of these three realms and created conflict with their powers, structures, and rulers. 

Paul reminded the Colossian believers of their new way of life as My disciples:
[Y]ou have sloughed away [removed] your old skin along with its evil practices for a fresh new you, which is continually renewed in knowledge according to the image of the One who created you. In this re-creation there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and conqueror, or slave and free because the Anointed is the whole and dwells in us all. 
(Colossians 3:9-11)
Based on this "re-creation," Paul challenged one of the most entrenched and evil social realities of humanity: slavery. He did this both in a personal and in a communal way when he sent the runaway slave, Onesimus, home to his "master" named Philemon. Onesimus had run away from Philemon and eventually found himself in prison with Paul. Paul had led Onesimus to faith in Me and made a brother in faith out of a runaway slave. 

Paul knew Philemon well. Philemon had previously blessed Paul through his generosity. So this was an intensely personal and risky matter for Paul, Philemon, Onesimus, and the church in Colossae. Paul could lose a friend and supporter. Onesimus could lose his freedom. Philemon could lose face and give up his faith. The church could lose its meeting place and some of its key leaders. 

Roman law gave Philemon great freedom to do what he wanted to do with his runaway slave. Paul could not take on the whole Roman Empire and a world culture steeped in slavery. How would Onesimus' freedom be secured and not damage Paul's relationship with Philemon or harm the church in Colossae? 

What Paul said and did was delicate and deliberate. It was also transforming! He sent Onesimus back to Philemon and to the church that met in Philemon's house in Colossae. Onesimus returned with two letters and was accompanied by other friends of Paul. One letter was for the whole church in Colossae. The other letter was to Philemon, yet Paul wanted it read before the whole church. 

Both letters have a powerful message about liberating culture from its evils. This liberation had to come from the power of the kingdom of God lived out in My disciples. For Paul, slavery was an evil that needed to be removed from among My people. However, this had to be done in the context of a culture where it was legally entrenched. As terrible as slavery is, it was common in New Testament times. And Paul knew that the relationships between Christian slaves and their masters and between Christians masters and their slaves was to be based on their relationship with Me (Ephesians 6:5-9; 1 Timothy 6:1-2; 1 Corinthians 7:20-23). Paul didn't want slavery to divide My disciples into different classes of people. He used a powerful statement to describe new life in My family:
[F]or in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. 
(Galatians 3:26-29 ESV)
For Me and for Paul, there must be no second-class citizens in My family. From a Jewish male perspective, Greeks, slaves, and women were no more than second-class citizens. Yet Paul declared that each was now a legitimate and rightful child of God, a full heir of all of God's promises to Abraham. 

Paul reminded the Colossians of this powerful truth in the heart of his letter to them:
[T]here is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and conqueror, or slave and free because the Anointed is the whole and dwells in us all. 
(Colossians 3:11)
Paul reminded masters of slaves — including, of course, Philemon — of this powerful truth:
And to you masters: treat your slaves fairly and do what is right, knowing that you, too, have a Master in heaven. 
(Colossians 4:1)
Yet there was a huge problem with Paul saying this. The church met in the house of a slave owner. Suddenly, his runaway slave returned and stood before this church as the two letters (your New Testament letters of Philemon and Colossians) were read to them. 

Against this background, the letter of Philemon comes to you as an example of tact, influence, relationship, and challenge. The only legal way for Onesimus to be free was to welcome him as a brother and not a slave. Philemon needed to realize all that I had done to liberate him from slavery to sin and death. He also needed to recognize all that Paul had done for him. Then Philemon could keep alive these blessings by releasing Onesimus from slavery.
Verses to Live

As you read Paul's letter to Philemon, imagine what it was like in that small church gathering. Paul's letter to Philemon, read before the whole congregation, basically put Philemon "on the spot" and asked him to receive Onesimus as a brother, not as a slave. This kind of move was revolutionary. This is the kind of move the Father asks of you!
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus the Anointed One, with our brother Timothy, to you, beloved Philemon, our fellow worker; and to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that gathers in your house. May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed surround you. 

I am constantly thanking God for you in my prayers because I keep hearing about your love and faith toward our Lord Jesus and all those set apart for His purposes. Here's what I've been praying on your behalf:
Thank You, Father, for Philemon. I pray that as he goes and tells his story of faith, he would tell everyone so that they will know for certain all the good that comes to those who put their trust in the Anointed One.
My brother, because you are out there encouraging and reviving the hearts of fellow saints with such love, this brings great joy and comfort to me. 

Although I am bold enough in the Anointed, our Liberating King, to insist you do the right thing, instead I choose to appeal to you on account of love. I do this for my own sake since I, Paul, am an old man and am held prisoner because of my service to Jesus the Anointed. I make this request on behalf of my child, Onesimus, whom I brought to faith during my time in prison. Before, he was useless to you; but now he is useful to both you and me. Listen, I am sending my heart back to you as I send him to stand before you, although truly I wished to keep him at my side to take your place as my helper while I am bound for the good news. But I didn't want to make this decision without asking for your permission. This way, any goodwill on your part wouldn't be seen as forced, but as your true and free desire. 

Maybe this is the reason why he was supposed to be away from you for this time: so that now you will have him back forever — no longer as a slave, but as more than a slave — as a dear brother. Yes, he is dear to me, but I suspect he will come to mean even more to you, both in the flesh as a servant and in the Lord as a brother. 

So if you look upon me as your partner in this mission, then I ask you to open your heart to him as you would welcome me. And if he has wronged you or owes you anything, charge it to me. Look, I'll put it here in my own handwriting: I, Paul, promise to repay you everything. (Should I remind you that you owe me your life?) Indeed, brother, I want you to do me this favor out of obedience to our Lord. It will refresh my heart in Him. This letter comes, written with the confidence that you will not only do what I ask, but will also go beyond all I have asked. 

One more thing: you should get a room ready for me as I hope to be released to you soon in answer to your prayers. Epaphras (my fellow prisoner in Jesus, the Anointed One) greets you, as well as my fellow workers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. May the grace of the Lord Jesus the Anointed be with your spirit. Amen. 
(Philemon 1:1-25)
Response in Prayer

O Father God, please give me the courage to work for the liberation and freeing of people by the power of Your grace. Use me to break down the walls that divide Your people. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! Visit the website to subscribe by email.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"Passion and Truth in Praise" — A Year with Jesus for 10/07/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved, 

Today you will read two powerful passages of praise. The first passage is from Paul's letter to the Colossians. The second is from Paul's letter sent to several churches in Asia, with Ephesus being the most influential city. 

The first passage is a wonderful summary of My pre-existence, My work in creating the universe, My work at sustaining the universe, and My triumph over the cross and death. My work was not only to reconcile you back to the Father, but also to reconcile all of creation back to the Father. The burst of praise in this first passage, this song of glory dedicated to Me, ends with an exhortation for you to hold onto these truths about Me. I stand before the Father and the angels of heaven and announce you to the Father as His beloved child who is "holy, blameless, and totally free of imperfection." 

Paul reminds you that as you praise Me and remain faithful to your praise of Me, I present you to the Father as His perfect child. So I want you to read this first passage aloud. Do it several times. Read it one time to honor Me — so concentrate on Who I AM and what I've done for you. The second time read it to remind yourself that these truths are important, that they allowed Me to be the sacrifice that not only atones for your sins but also makes you God's perfect child. The third time read the passage aloud to remind yourself to hold onto this confession of both Who I AM and who you are because of Me. Don't ever denigrate who you are, because I AM the One who has made you holy at an extremely high cost: My crucifixion!

The Colossians needed these truths because they were being lured away by false teachers who told them they lacked things needed to be truly holy. People will do the same in your day to get you to follow their special "enlightened" teachings on how to be really holy. Remember, your holiness comes from Me and from being joined to Me — examine Colossians 3:1-17, for example, to see what that ultimately means! 

The second passage is a burst of praise that has a kind of chorus near or at the end of each of the three major points of the message. (These choruses are highlighted with bold text below.) Paul again mixes praise for the Father and Me with a description of who you have been made to be by the Father's plan, My sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit's power at work in you. Paul emphasizes that this work of grace, your adoption into our holy family, came about through Me, by Me, and in Me. Translators over the centuries have rightly said that this is one long burst of praise that comes from the Holy Spirit's inspiration of Paul's heart. The words flow out into a stream of thoughts that cannot be punctuated easily. Paul's words are the language of the heart, the language of praise, and they are more poem than prose and more song than speech.
Verses to Live

Sometimes truth is most powerfully communicated in poetry and song. These two great passages of praise do just that. I want you to let them fill you with a sense of glory at Our — Father, Son, and Spirit's — identity and then realize that I poured out Our love for you in your world in tangible ways so that you can share the glory of our world!
He [Jesus] is the exact image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation, the eternal. It was by Him that everything was created: the heavens, the earth, all things within and upon them, all things seen and unseen, thrones and dominions, spiritual powers and authorities. Every detail was crafted through His design, by His own hands, and for His purposes. He has always been! It is His hand that holds everything together. He is the head of this body, the church. He is the beginning, the first of those to be reborn from the dead, so that in every aspect, at every view, in everything — He is first. God was pleased that all His fullness should forever dwell in the Son who, as predetermined by God, bled peace into the world by His death on the cross as God's means of reconciling to Himself the whole creation — all things in heaven and all things on earth. 

You were once at odds with God, wicked in your ways and evil in your minds; but now He has reconciled you in His body — in His flesh through His death — so that He can present you to God holy, blameless, and totally free of imperfection as long as you stay planted in the faith. So don't venture away from what you have heard and taken to heart: the living hope of the good news that has been announced to all creation under heaven and has captured me, Paul, as its servant. 
(Colossians 1:15-23) 

Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who grants us every spiritual blessing in these heavenly realms where we live in the Anointed — not because of anything we have done, but because of what He has done for us. God chose us to be in a relationship with Him even before He laid out plans for this world; He wanted us to live holy lives characterized by love, free from sin, and blameless before Him. He destined us to be adopted as His children through the covenant Jesus the Anointed inaugurated in His sacrificial life. This was His pleasure and His will for us. Ultimately God is the one worthy of praise for showing us His grace; He is merciful and marvelous, freely giving us these gifts in His Beloved. 

Visualize this: His blood freely flowing down the cross, setting us free! We are forgiven for our sinful ways by the richness of His grace, which He has poured all over us. With all wisdom and insight, He has enlightened us to the great mystery at the center of His will. With immense pleasure, He laid out His intentions through Jesus, a plan that will climax when the time is right as He returns to create order and unity — both in heaven and on earth — when all things are brought together under the Anointed's royal rule. In Him we stand to inherit even more. As His heirs, we are predestined to play a key role in His unfolding purpose that is energizing everything to conform to His will. As a result, we — the first to place our hope in the Anointed One — will live in a way to bring Him glory and praise. 

Because you, too, have heard the word of truth — the good news of your salvation — and because you believed in the One who is truth, your lives are marked with His seal. This is none other than the Holy Spirit who was promised as the guarantee toward the inheritance we are to receive when He frees and rescues all who belong to Him. To God be all praise and glory! 
(Ephesians 1:3-14)
Response in Prayer

You, O God, are worthy of all praise. You are worthy for showing us Your grace in sending Jesus — worthy because You are merciful and marvelous, freely giving us Your gifts through Your Beloved, Jesus the Anointed One. We, Your children, those who have placed our hope in the Anointed One, commit to live in a way to bring You glory and praise. In the name of Jesus and through the intercession of the Holy Spirit I pray. Amen. 
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! Visit the website to subscribe by email.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"My Mindset" — A Year with Jesus for 10/06/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Servant of God, 

Families, churches, groups, and communities are all systems of people. These systems are built upon flawed people and broken people. No matter how well-intentioned many people may be, each of us is flawed. The flaws of all, the pettiness of some, and the sinful behaviors of a few wound other people and damage the system as a whole. You live with two realities: you live in a fallen world, and it is full of imperfect people. These two truths make life in a family, church, group, or community very challenging. The new Christians in Philippi were having difficulty with each other's imperfections. 

Two leading women in the Philippian church, Euodia and Syntyche, were at the center of some of the problems. These two women had worked beside Paul in leading people in Philippi to believe in Me and become My disciples (Philippians 4:2-3). Their disagreement had a very negative influence on the whole church. It had led many to forget an essential truth about living as My disciples: My disciples must follow My example as a servant to others. 

Paul had to write and ask for help in getting Euodia and Syntyche "to be of the same mind in the Lord" (Philippians 4:2 NIV). Paul used the phrases "same mind" or "one mind" or similar expressions in various translations throughout the letter (Philippians 1:27; Philippians 2:2-5; Philippians 3:15) to mean they needed to "have the mind of Christ." The problems these ladies had with each other were affecting the whole church! 

Paul knew that the brothers and sisters in Philippi needed to understand what it meant to have "the mind of Christ." The first five verses below (Philippians 2:1-5) give Paul's introductory exhortation. He urged the Philippian believers to "come together as one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love." Then he reminded them of a hymn they sang about Me. This hymn reminded them of what "one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love" actually looks like in real life (Philippians 2:6-11). 

The hymn is beautiful. Paul's exhortation was powerful. However, Paul didn't stop with these reminders. He went on to give the Philippian disciples some examples of people who emulated My selfless lifestyle. 

He first mentioned Timothy:
There is no one like Timothy. What sets him apart from others is his deep concern for you and your spiritual journey. This is rare, my friends, for most people only care about themselves, not about what is dear to the heart of Jesus the Anointed. 
(Philippians 2:20-21)
Then Paul mentioned their own fellow Philippian, Epaphroditus, who nearly died trying to serve Paul on behalf of the Philippians (Philippians 2:27-30):
I think it is best to send Epaphroditus home to you. He has become my dear brother in the Lord. We have worked well together and fought great battles together, and he was an encouraging minister to me in my time of need. 
(Philippians 2:25)
Paul next reminded the Philippians of his own example. He focused forward. He did not rely on his past accomplishments. He realized he hadn't arrived at full maturity and being like Me. He pressed on to become who he wanted to be in Me (Philippians 3:7-14). Then Paul added — and this is a very significant point — all who are mature share this point of view (Philippians 3:15). He closed with this exhortation about following the example of servants:
Imitate me, brothers and sisters, and look around to those already following the example we have set. 
(Philippians 3:17)

The bottom line, dear servant of God, is to be who I have called you to be: My disciple. A disciple when fully trained will be like his master (Luke 6:40). If I am your Master, then you will learn to serve and realize that serving is more important than being recognized as important or being proved right. Paul had to use exhortation, teaching, a song, and several examples to try to help the Philippians see this truth. I hope his efforts long ago make an impact on your heart today!
Verses to Live

As you read this exhortation and song, please remember that I, your Lord and Master, set you an example to do as I have done. Follow in My steps and be a servant.
If you find any comfort from being in the Anointed, if His love brings you some encouragement, if you experience true companionship with the Spirit, if His tenderness and mercy fill your heart; then, brothers and sisters, here is one thing that would complete my joy — come together as one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love. Don't let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others. Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors' interests first. 

In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed. Live with His attitude in your hearts. Remember:
Though He was in the form of God, 
He chose not to cling to equality with God; 
But He poured Himself out to fill a vessel brand new; 
a servant in form 
and a man indeed. 
The very likeness of humanity, 
He humbled Himself, 
obedient to death — 
a merciless death on the cross! 
So God raised Him up to the highest place 
and gave Him the name above all. 
So when His name is called, 
every knee will bow, 
in heaven, on earth, and below. 
And every tongue will confess 
"Jesus, the Anointed One, is Lord," 
to the glory of God our Father!
(Philippians 2:1-11)
Response in Prayer

Father, forgive me. Sometimes my need for approval and my desire to feel important make me jealous of those who get attention. Because of these weaknesses, I allow myself to become hurt and sulk about my own apparent lack of importance. Sometimes I just don't want to submit myself to the needs of others and help them because it is time-consuming and hard. I ask Lord Jesus that You please have the Holy Spirit soften my heart and quicken my hands to serve others as You did. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! Visit the website to subscribe by email.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"Joy in the Face of Hardship" — A Year with Jesus for 10/05/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Precious One, 

No matter what you are facing — right now or ever in the future — please know that I care about your struggles. I will never abandon you in your struggles (John 14:18). I have known what it is like to feel abandoned when facing trial and torture, even death (Mark 14:44-50; Matthew 27:46). While I felt abandoned, I was not forsaken no matter how alone I felt (John 16:32; Acts 2:23-28). I want you to hear the promise the Father gave to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 31:6). He then gave a similar promise to Joshua (Joshua 1:5). The Father then made you the same promise through the writer of Hebrews:
"I will never leave you; I will always be by your side." 
(Hebrews 13:5)
The apostle Paul believed My promise. He emphasized My promise to My disciples in Rome:
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 NLT)
He also lived based on My promise. 

While he was in prison awaiting possible death, Paul wrote the words you will read today. They are from his letter to the Philippians. He reminded them — and also you — that joy is based on a disciple's relationship with Me and a disciple's assurance in a future with Me, not on circumstances. The Philippians were getting bogged down in church arguments and life's difficult situations. They were losing the joy of being the Father's precious children. They were forgetting the peace they could have in being My disciples. They were letting their assurance of life forever with Me slip from their hearts and focusing on the squabbles in their church and the hostility of their culture against them. 

To help the Philippians change their wrong focus, Paul wrote the words you find in the two sets of verses below. The first set is near the beginning of the letter and the second, near the end. Each set of verses focuses on joy in the face of difficult times. Both are reminders that circumstances shouldn't determine a disciple's joy. A believer's faith in Me and future with Me should determine his or her joy and peace! 

The first set of verses shared Paul's personal situation in prison. His goal was to glorify Me in his body whatever happened — whether released to minister to the Philippians again or martyred because of his faith and loyalty to Me. No matter what happened — prison, torture, martyrdom, or release — Paul refused to let his hard circumstances steal away his abiding joy. 

"I will continue to rejoice", Paul proclaimed. He rejoiced because of his faith that the Philippians' prayers and the power of the Holy Spirit would bring deliverance. He was confident of his deliverance from prison. Either he would be delivered from prison and released to serve the Philippians and others, or he would be delivered from prison through death to share in My presence forever. No matter what happened, his faith in Me and his future with Me gave him a deep and abiding peace that allowed him to rejoice! I want you to have that kind of peace because of your faith in Me and because of your confidence in a glorious future with Me. 

The second set of verses occurs near the end of Paul's letter to the Philippians. He gave the Philippians very practical instruction on how to experience both the "the peace of God" and "the God of peace." This "peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding" would be the foundation for their joy regardless of their circumstances. 

No matter what happened in their lives, Paul wanted the Philippians to know that they would never be abandoned. He promised that My abiding presence would always be with them: "The Lord is ever present with us." 

With this knowledge, they should rejoice! They needed to make rejoicing a key part of their Christian lifestyle. Their rejoicing would help open the door for their gentleness to be displayed. Their anxieties could be released. Their prayers could be offered with confidence. Their focus should shift to lovely things. Their lives were to emulate Paul's life as they obeyed his teaching. 

Faith in Me and assurance of a future with Me lead to rejoicing. This joy leads to living a life of gentleness, release from anxiety, confidence in prayer, proper focus in life, and obedience. This lifestyle leads to peace that empowers faith and assurance. This peace leads to more rejoicing, which reinforces your life of peace. This peace and joy form a powerful cycle of grace that Paul both demonstrated and taught to the Philippians. I want this to be your lifestyle, too.
Verses to Live

What is going to dictate your joy and your outlook on life? Will it be your circumstances or will it be your faith in Me and your future with Me? In the verses below, Paul made clear what his choice was and what the Philippians' choice should be. Be blessed today as you read these words of grace and truth. 
So what do we do then? Listen. What matters is that in every way, regardless of the motives — whether pure or shady — the great story of the Anointed is a cause for joy. I will continue to rejoice because I know that through your encouragement and prayers and through the help of the Spirit of Jesus the Anointed, I will soon be released from this dark place. I don't expect that dishonor and shame will plague me in any way, but I do hope that I will continue to be able to speak freely and courageously about Jesus, and that now and forever the Anointed One will be glorified and placed above all else through this body of mine — whether I live or die. For my life is about the Anointed and Him alone. And my death, when that comes, will mean great gain for me. So, if it's His will that I go on serving here, my work will be fruitful for the message. I honestly wouldn't know how or what to choose; I would be hard-pressed to decide. I lean toward leaving this world to be with the Anointed One because I can only think that would be much better. To stay in this body of flesh — even with all its pains and weaknesses — would best serve your needs. Now that I think of it, I am sure of this: I would prefer to remain to share in the progress and joy of your growing belief. When I return to you, we will celebrate Jesus the Anointed even more. 
(Philippians 1:18-26) 

Most of all, friends, always rejoice in the Lord! I never tire of saying it: Rejoice! Keep your gentle nature so that all people will know what it looks like to walk in His footsteps. The Lord is ever present with us. Don't be anxious about things; instead, pray. Pray about everything. He longs to hear your requests, so talk to God about your needs and be thankful for what has come. And know that the peace of God (a peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus, the Anointed One. 

Finally, brothers and sisters, fill your minds with beauty and truth. Meditate on whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good, whatever is virtuous and praiseworthy. Keep to the script: whatever you learned and received and heard and saw in me — do it — and the God of peace will walk with you. 
(Philippians 4:4-9)
Response in Prayer

O Father, thank You! I rejoice knowing that my future is tied to Jesus. I rejoice knowing that I will never be forsaken. I rejoice knowing that no matter what my circumstances are, I can find Your peace. Be glorified in me, O God. May what I think, say, and do today and each subsequent day be pleasing to You and bring You the honor and glory due You. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! Visit the website to subscribe by email.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"God's Suffering Servant" — A Year with Jesus for 10/04/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Follower, 

The Father's role for Me when I came to earth as the Son of God shocked many people. They expected a warrior or kingly ruler who would restore Israel to prominence and power among the nations of the world. Even my cousin and forerunner, John the Baptizer, had questions about My kind of messiahship. He expected fire while I displayed grace. So I reminded this great servant about the description of the Messiah given by Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1):
John sent two of his disciples to ask the Lord, "Are You the Promised One, or shall we keep looking for someone else?" 

They came to Jesus and asked their question exactly as directed by John the Baptist. 

Before He answered John's messengers, Jesus cured many from various diseases, health conditions, and evil spirits. He even caused many blind people to regain their sight. 

Jesus (to John's disciples):
Go and tell John what you've witnessed with your own eyes and ears: the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking again, the lepers are clean again, the deaf hear again, the dead live again, and good news is preached to the poor. Whoever is not offended by Me is blessed indeed.
(Luke 7:19-23)
I came to earth as the servant promised in Isaiah. I tried repeatedly to help people hear this truth about My identity:
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to liberate the lost." 
(Luke 19:10) 

"You know that among the nations of the world the great ones lord it over the little people and act like tyrants. But that is not the way it will be among you. Whoever would be great among you must serve and minister. Whoever wants to be great among you must be slave of all. Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to be a servant — to offer His life as a ransom for others." 
(Mark 10:42-45)
In the second passage of Scripture below, My apostle Paul dealt with problems in the church in Philippi. He used My example and My role as the servant of the LORD to be the foundation of his teaching. My disciples in Philippi needed to have the same mind, the same attitude, as I displayed in honoring the Father when I accepted My role as a servant. I want you to remember My role, My willingness to honor God in that role. More than remembering, I want you to adopt this servant lifestyle as your own!
Verses to Live

As you read the following verses, ask the Holy Spirit to imprint My example on your heart. First you will read Isaiah's words of description for the LORD's Suffering Servant. Then you will read Paul's exhortation for My disciples to have this same attitude. As Paul wrote the Philippians from prison, he wanted them to grasp fully that they must have this one mind as they lived in relationship with each other. I want you to have this same mind as you live in relationship with other believers!
Indeed, who would ever believe it? 
Who would possibly accept what we've been told? 
Who has witnessed the awesome power and plan of the Eternal in action? 
Out of emptiness he came, like a tender shoot from rock-hard ground. 
He didn't look like anything or anyone of consequence — 
he had no physical beauty to attract our attention. 

So he was despised and forsaken by men, 
this man of suffering, grief's patient friend. 
As if he was a person to avoid, we looked the other way; 
he was despised, forsaken, and we took no notice of him. 

Yet it was our suffering he carried, 
our pain and distress, our sick-to-the-soul-ness. 
We just figured that God had rejected him, 
that God was the reason he hurt so badly. 

But he was hurt because of us; he suffered so. 
Our wrongdoing wounded and crushed him. 
He endured the breaking that made us whole. 
The injuries he suffered became our healing. 

We all have wandered off, like shepherdless sheep, 
scattered by our aimless striving and endless pursuits; 
The Eternal One laid on him, this silent sufferer, 
the sins of us all. 

And in the face of such oppression and suffering — silence. 
Not a word of protest, not a finger raised to stop it. 
Like a sheep to a shearing, like a lamb to be slaughtered, 
he went — oh so quietly, oh so willingly. 

Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away. 
From this generation, who was there to complain? 
Who was there to cry "Foul"? 
He was, after all, cut off from the land of the living, 
Smacked and struck, not on his account, 
because of how my people (my people!) 
Disregarded the lines between right and wrong. 
They snuffed out his life. 

And when he was dead, he was buried with the disgraced 
in borrowed space (among the rich), 
Even though he did no wrong by word or deed. 

Yet the Eternal One planned to crush him all along, 
to bring him to grief, this innocent servant of God. 
When he puts his life in sin's dark place, in the pit of wrongdoing, 
this servant of God will see his children and have his days prolonged. 
For in His servant's hand, the Eternal's deepest desire will come to pass and flourish. 

As a result of the trials and troubles that wrack his soul, 
God's servant will see light and be content 
Because He knows, really understands, what it's about; as God says, 
"My just servant will justify countless others by taking on their punishment and bearing it away. 

Because he exposed his very self — 
laid bare his soul to the vicious grasping of death — 
And was counted among the worst, I will count him among the best. 
I will allot this one, My servant, a share in all that is of any value, 

Because he took on himself the sin of many 
and acted on behalf of those who broke My law." 
(Isaiah 53:1-12) 

In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed. Live with His attitude in your hearts. Remember:
Though He was in the form of God, 
He chose not to cling to equality with God; 

But He poured Himself out to fill a vessel brand new; 
a servant in form 
and a man indeed. 

The very likeness of humanity, 

He humbled Himself, 
obedient to death — 
a merciless death on the cross! 

So God raised Him up to the highest place 
and gave Him the name above all. 

So when His name is called, 
every knee will bow, 
in heaven, on earth, and below. 

And every tongue will confess 
"Jesus, the Anointed One, is Lord," 
to the glory of God our Father!
(Philippians 2:6-11)
Response in Prayer

Lord God, thank You for Jesus as Your example of a servant. Jesus' example is both convicting and inspiring. I pledge to honor Jesus by following His example as a servant. I ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to help me as I seek to follow Jesus' example and not my own selfish desires. In Jesus' name I pray and ask for this grace. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International..
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

Another Coffee Break:

A Revelation of God's Glory, Part 8

October 2, 2015

While the parable of the ten virgins plays again into the picture of the
release of the Glory of God, we're going to take a different track today as
we get back into the picture we first drew with Adam and Eve of the union
that God created between them, and the union He has been building between us
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

For that union to be built to the place where we are the reflection -- and
the completion -- of the Lord Jesus Christ, there must be some radical
changes to our nature, our personality, our makeup, the very essence of who
we are. And that's where we take up with today's discussion.

Revelation 3:12: Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of
my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of
my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which
cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new
name.

I've taken this verse out of its original context, so let me briefly take
you to that overall prophecy. This was a statement made to the Ekklesia in
Philadelphia -- the sixth of seven letters to the seven Ekklesias in Asia
Minor. These seven letters comprise a single letter overall to the body of
Christ, and address a series of issues that still affect the body of Christ
today. Each of the seven letters wraps up with the promise "to him that
overcometh," and each letter is sequential in its promise from the first one
to Ephesus, to the last one addressed to Laodicea.

Each promise to the overcomer adds a new dimension to the one previous.
These seven letters begin with the rebuke to Ephesus because they've been so
caught up in doing good works that they've lost their first love. (In fact,
that same issue affects several of the Ekklesias addressed in these
letters.) They've turned their attention to the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil and are making decisions predicated on humanly acquired
reasoning and rational thought. There's a whole lot more here than I want
to even try to get into today so let me simply summarize. The promise to
Ephesus is that if they will overcome their reliance on the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and/or the Knowledge of Evil, the Lord will reopen the
Garden experience to them and give them to eat of the Tree of Life.

The progression in the seven letters continues from there, and without
recapping each of the ones that follow, let me quickly move to the promise
in the letter to Philadelphia.

There is so much contained in this one prophetic promise that it is almost
mind-boggling, so let's see what it looks like when we retranslate and
amplify from the Greek text.

He that overcomes [the temptation to rest on previous overcoming and past
victories] will I make to be a support (and a symbol of the Glory) in the
dwelling place of Yod Hey Vav Hey (Elohim), and from that place of dwelling
there will be no reason [or cause] to ever leave; and I will engrave within
and upon him the very nature, the character, the authority, the makeup, the
very essence of Yod Hey Vav Hey (Elohim), and the very nature, the
character, the authority, the makeup and the very essence of the city of Yod
Hey Vav Hey (Elohim), which is the new Jerusalem (*), which descends [to the
earth] out of Heaven from my Yod Hey Vav Hey (Elohim); and I will engrave
within and upon him my new (and completed) nature, character, authority,
makeup and very essence. (Revelation 3:12, RAC Translation and
Amplification)

(*) Now, put this together with Revelation 21:2: And I John saw the holy
city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.

This isn't bad as a translation, but it still misses the whole picture.
Let's try this one again:

And I, John, saw the holy, consecrated and set apart city [of many people],
the recently made and unprecedented Jerusalem, the city of double peace
(**), descending out of Heaven [to the earth] from Yod Hey Vav Hey, made
ready as the betrothed Bride, adorned, ornamented and embellished with honor
for her husband-to-be. (Revelation 21:2, RAC Translation and Amplification)

I'm starting to look like a broken record with these asterisks, but there is
a point to this.

(**) A short history lesson, if you don't mind. The picture of the "double
peace" as the Hebrew translation of Yerushalayim goes is based on David's
capture of the city from the Jebusites. The Jebusites had occupied the
fortress of Salem (Shalom) after Shem's death and renamed the city, Jebus,
after their father. Ironically, their father's name had been, Jerus,
meaning "foundations." Jebus meant "crushing," and that was the military
tactic of the father of the Jebusites -- hence the name change given by
Jebus' sons.

When David took the city from the Jebusites, he restored Shem's original
name of Salem, but added to it the original name of the father of the
Jebusites, Jerus (pronounced "Yeroos"). Thus, the City of David became
Jerus-Salem, and the "foundations of peace" were established in the
now-combined ten tribes of Israel with Judah and Benjamin, creating the
nation of Israel with its capital. 

That was the first of the two pictures of peace. The geographical city of
Jerusalem lost its picture of peace when Rehoboam (Solomon's son) disbanded
the ministry of praise and worship in the Temple at the urging of his
counselors, and Jeroboam came up out of Egypt and split the nation into two
again, taking the ten tribes with him. Throughout the Psalms, David clearly
had the picture of Jerusalem as the City of God and as the heart of the
Lord. In the years that followed after the division of Israel, the prophet
Isaiah made a unique distinction by referring to Jerusalem in general as the
people of God, but identifying Zion (where David established his Tabernacle,
and the Temple was later built) as a metaphor for the Bride to come.

When John, therefore, is given the picture of Jerusalem as the double peace,
he is drawing the analogy of reestablished, permanent peace, "the peace that
passes all understanding." (Philippians 4:7)

Some of you are looking cross-eyed at me wondering what all this has to do
with the Glory of God being revealed. This is a quick illustration, but let
me put it like this:

Once you've been in or under the Glory of the Lord, you just don't want to
move. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but the peace is so phenomenal that
you NEVER want to leave it. I won't take time now to share some personal
stories, but let me simply say that whenever you have a time of very intense
intimate worship that continues on and on and on, you frequently experience
the Glory settling in over everyone in such a way that folks don't want to
move, they don't want to talk, and they just want to "soak".

Very frequently, we launch into "soaking worship" as a fellowship. There is
often a period of silence following that worship such that no one says a
thing, and everyone is just quiet before the Lord, enjoying the enormous,
indescribable peace.

OK, I've kind of taken you down a rabbit trail for a bit in order to do some
clarification as to the translation and amplification from Revelation 3:12
and 21:2. Let's get back on track.

The promise from Revelation 3:12 is for a transformation and radical change
of our character, our nature, our personality, our makeup, our identity and
the very essence of who we are. Consider the change promised to the one who
overcomes and gains victory over -- and I'll take these in quick succession
from the six letters up to this point -- the Fear of Evil, the Fear of
Death, the Fear of Man, the Spirit of Jezebel, the Spirit of Compromise [we
know it as "Democracy" in the body of Christ] (and its companion, Legalism),
and the tendency to rest on past laurels, the overcoming one has achieved to
this point, never mind the revelation that comes with each of these areas of
overcoming.

In order to draw this characterization back to something we've shared in
previous Coffee Breaks, let's consider the message revealed in The Song of
Solomon, chapter 1, verse 5, along with the same message embodied in
Jeremiah 8:21 in which we see the statement repeated, "I am black."

As already noted, this is a common Hebrew metaphor rooted in the extraction
of Eve from Adam's side, and the knowledge that for each of us God has
created a counterpart, an "other self" who completes and finishes our
makeup. In Jeremiah's prophecy (and he draws pretty much the same picture
in the sixth chapter), the Lord is crying out for that people whom He
created for Himself. Israel was a nation whom God had chosen, blessed,
protected, caused to multiply, set apart from every other nation on earth to
be the reflection of His Glory. Israel was designed to become His
counterpart in the earth and a representation to the rest of the world of
what could be available to anyone who could and would walk by faith in and
with Him.

The cry of the Lord, therefore, in Jeremiah's prophecy is identical to the
search that continues to this day. The Lord was speaking through Jeremiah
and calling out for that people He had searched out for Himself. The search
was going forth throughout the earth for that people. It is the same search
He has built in each of us for our counterpart, our "other self" -- that one
who completes and fulfills us (and that was the message of the Shulammite in
the Song of Solomon).

Revelation 3:12 is the completion of the search God has made on behalf of
Jesus Christ for His counterpart, His other self. Is that clear so far?
Then let me add to this picture. Consider how Paul put it in writing to the
Romans:

Romans 12:2: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The Amplified Bible puts it even better.

Romans 12:2, AMP: Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned
after and adapted to its external, superficial customs [and mindsets], but
be transformed (changed) [metamorphosed] by the [entire] renewal of your
mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude [taking on the mindset and
manner of thinking of the Lord Jesus Christ], so that you may prove [for
yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even
the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
(with my additions)

The whole purpose of this metamorphosing is to change us back into that
image in which we were first created. But there's more! You see, Adam and
Eve were created in the image and likeness of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
There is a difference, however, between Adam and Eve, and that which we are
being transformed into. Adam and Eve were imbued with the same qualities
and nature of God and they were given dominion over the earth. They had
only one command or warning from the Lord, and that referred to their NOT
eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. What Adam and Eve DID
NOT HAVE was a Covenant. True, when they were being evicted from the
Garden, the Lord told Eve that her seed would crush the Serpent's head --
and through that prophetic promise would come the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus
Christ.

What makes our existence so different from Adam and Eve is that first of
all, we have a Covenant with Father, made on our behalf by the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is a Covenant we can all freely enter into, and it is a Covenant
which guarantees our being changed, transformed, re-created, molded and
metamorphosed back into that perfect image and likeness of Father, Son and
Holy Spirit -- SO LONG AS WE RESPOND!

It shouldn't be necessary to say this, but the Covenant that Jesus Christ
made for us is a Covenant we MUST enter into if we are to become partakers
and beneficiaries. Furthermore, this Covenant was designed to fulfill the
purposes of God which were set in motion before time began. From the very
beginning, all of Creation was designed to bring into being, to grow and to
mature a species of being who would become the very family of God -- a
species of being unlike any ever created. Creation was set in motion to
grow and mature a people who would overcome every conceivable obstacle,
every temptation, every force pitted against them, and choose an intimate
relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ above life itself.

The point of all this is that the Glory of the Lord is revealed in the
earth, throughout the Universe, and throughout all Creation. Holy Spirit
brings Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ through the teaching, the instruction,
the filling up of us as a people with the very presence and essence of the
Lord God. Jesus brings Glory to Father because it is through Him that these
changes, and this maturing process all achieves the destiny Father, Son and
Holy Spirit set in motion when they agreed and said, "Let us make man in our
own image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion....." 

We need to talk about the changes Holy Spirit is working in us. Those
changes are no small thing -- and it is in those changes that the Glory of
the Lord is being revealed. We are being changed from Glory to Glory.

And that's where we'll go next week.

I remind those of you in need of ministry that our Healing Prayer Call takes
place on Mondays at 7:00 PM Eastern (4:00 PM Pacific). As of Monday,
September 14th, our call-in number has changed to (712) 775-7035. The new
Access Code is: 323859#. Our previous conference line experienced drop-outs
and periodic audio quality issues, so this was a needed upgrade! 

At the same time, in case you are missing out on real fellowship in an
environment of Ekklesia, our Sunday worship gatherings are available by
conference call - usually at about 10:45AM Pacific. That conference number
is (605) 562-3140, and the access code is 308640#. We hope to make these
gatherings available by Skype or Talk Fusion before long. If you miss the
live call, you can dial (605) 562-3149, enter the same access code and
listen in later.

Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but
authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in
part, is granted -provided proper attribution and this notice are included
intact.

"Finally in Rome!" — A Year with Jesus for 10/03/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

Paul finally arrived in Rome in the concluding chapter of Acts. As you have seen over the last several days of reading, the journey had been difficult. Paul first had to navigate his way through the Jewish and Roman legal systems. He then repeatedly had to avoid being murdered by his enemies. He had to survive the dangerous and brutal sea voyage that included a shipwreck. But he finally arrived in Rome just as I promised. Although under house arrest, Paule had the freedom to teach others about Me and the kingdom of God. 

Notice several things from the verses that follow as Luke finishes his account of Paul's journey to Rome. 

First, when Paul met other believers upon arriving in Italy, they welcomed him and even accompanied him on his journey to Rome. Rather than being afraid to be identified with Paul as a prisoner of Rome, they shared hospitality and encouragement with Paul as he traveled. My first-century followers and their love for each other were described well in the book of Hebrews:
[T]hink back to the days after you were first enlightened and understood who Jesus was: when you endured all sorts of suffering in the name of the Lord, when people held you up for public scorn and ridicule, or when they abused your partners and companions in the faith. Remember how you had compassion for those in prison and how you cheerfully accepted the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you have a far greater and more enduring possession. 
(Hebrews 10:32-34)
This hospitality and encouragement that came from the power of the Holy Spirit and an understanding of grace were unstoppable! 

Second, Paul invited the Jewish leaders in Rome to come and visit him. He explained to them both the reason for his being imprisoned and also the good news of My coming. While these Jewish visitors had heard bad things about Paul, none of his accusers from Jerusalem or Asia was in Rome. Paul's being in Rome after his long sea voyage opened the door for him to share My salvation message with leaders and rulers. The absence of his accusers allowed for the hostile plans and murderous intentions of Paul's Judean and Asian enemies to be thwarted. Behind all that happened, the Holy Spirit was working things out (Romans 8:28-29) for Paul to accomplish My purpose for him as an apostle. 

Finally, while some Jewish people believed Paul's message, others rejected it. Paul reminded his Jewish critics that I had called him to share this message of liberation and healing with his Jewish brothers and sisters first. Their rejection of that message meant it was time for him to extend the message and invitation of grace to non-Jewish peoples (Romans 1:16-17). Paul's experience had shown him that many non-Jews would listen to this message and respond by becoming My disciples.

Luke was Paul's physician and supportive friend. He accompanied Paul on many of his mission trips. When Luke chooses an ending for the book of Acts, he closes his story of the early church and the ministries of Peter and Paul with a liberating truth.
With great confidence and with no hindrance, he [Paul] proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the ultimate authority — the Lord Jesus, God's Anointed, the Liberating King.

Even though Paul was a prisoner, he had arrived in the capital city of the great Roman Empire. Despite his house arrest, Paul openly, powerfully, and effectively shared My good news of the kingdom of God. By going to Rome, Paul had reached one of his primary goals. The gospel was advancing. Even the most powerful government in the world could not stop the spread of grace.
Verses to Live

Doctor Luke wrote Acts to trumpet one of the greatest of all surprises: the triumph of the message about Me. My early disciples proclaimed a crucified and resurrected Messiah from the out-of-the-way country of Israel and the insignificant region of Galilee. However, this message had spread like a wildfire across the Roman Empire in a mere three decades. Paul, initially the greatest individual enemy of My movement, converted and became a passionate disciple. He traveled the northern part of the Mediterranean world sharing My story. Hearts and lives were changed. People from all sorts of countries, religious backgrounds, races, and social classes had believed and become My disciples. The laws, roads, and stability of the Roman Empire helped pave the way for this rapid expansion of My movement. Even though Paul arrived in Rome as a prisoner, he was able to share My story "with no hindrance." 

Paul's story, dear disciple, is your heritage. Read the last part of the account in Acts about Paul's journey to Rome and his imprisonment there. As you finish Paul's journey to Rome, I leave you with one question. What are you doing to encourage, support, and participate in the spread of the good news of the Father's grace to your world?
We [Paul and his companions] set sail from Malta and stopped first at Syracuse. After three days, we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. We waited there a day, and then a south wind sprang up and sped us to Puteoli. We found some believers there, and they invited us to stay with them for seven days. Then we reached Rome. The believers from Rome heard we were coming, so they traveled out to meet us at the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns. Paul thanked God and felt encouraged to see them. Once inside the city, Paul lived under house arrest by himself, with only one soldier to guard him. Three days after his arrival, he called together the local Jewish leaders. 

Paul:
Brothers, although I committed no wrong against our Jewish people or our ancestral customs, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. The Romans examined me and wanted to set me free because I had committed no capital offense. But my Jewish opponents objected, so I had to appeal to the emperor — even though I had no charges against me and had filed no charges against my nation. I wanted to gather you together and explain all this to you. I want you to understand that it is because of Israel's hope that I am bound with this chain.
Jewish Leaders:
We haven't received letters from Judea about you, and no visiting brother has reported anything or said anything negative about you. So we are interested in hearing your viewpoint on the sect you represent. The only thing we know about it is that people everywhere speak against it.
They scheduled a day to meet again, and a large number came to his lodging. From morning until evening, he explained his message to them — giving his account of the kingdom of God, trying to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets' writings. Some were convinced, but others refused to believe. 

Paul (adding as they left in disagreement):
The Holy Spirit rightly spoke to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, Go to this people and say, "You certainly do hear, but you will never understand; you certainly do see, but you will never have insight. Make their hearts hard, their ears deaf, and their eyes blind. Otherwise, they would look and see, listen and hear, understand and repent, and be healed." So let it be known to you that God's liberation, God's healing, has been sent to the outsiders, and they will listen.
Then the local Jewish leaders left Paul to discuss all he had told them. For two full years, he lived there in Rome, paying all his own expenses, receiving all who came to him. With great confidence and with no hindrance, he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the ultimate authority — the Lord Jesus, God's Anointed, the Liberating King. 
(Acts 28:12-31)
Response in Prayer

Father, I confess that I sometimes find myself discouraged about the health and vitality of Christianity in my time and in my culture. With the persecution and martyrdom of believers in some parts of the world and the secularization of my own culture, I worry about the future of Jesus' church. Forgive me for both my discouragement and my lack of faith. Having journeyed through the book of Acts, I am reminded that You are at work in our world, the Spirit is empowering the spread of the good news, and Jesus is still leading His church. Today, dear Father, I commit to encouraging, supporting, and participating in efforts to share the message of Jesus and to grow Your kingdom. So I continue my prayer today with the words of Jesus, My Savior and Lord. This is the prayer of my heart. "Our Father in heaven, let Your name remain holy. Bring about Your kingdom. Manifest Your will here on earth, as it is manifest in heaven." Do this, dear Father, in me and through me I pray. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

Note from Jesus

Dear Precious One, 

The events that led to Paul's journey to Rome and his shipwreck and other problems along the way began in Jerusalem. Some Jews from Asia stirred up the crowd:
"Help! Fellow Israelites! This man is an enemy of our people, our religion, our law, and this temple! He travels around the world subverting our holiest customs! He is at this moment desecrating this holy temple by bringing outsiders into this sacred place." 
(Acts 21:28)
The crowd went berserk, seizing and beating Paul until a Roman commandant intervened. Paul asked the commandant if he could speak calmly to the crowd. Paul gave his testimony about becoming My follower. His testimony further incensed the crowd and it went into another frenzy (Acts 22:1-23). They were so angry that Paul had to be rescued from them once again. The commandant then took Paul into protective custody after being told by Paul that he was a Roman citizen (Acts 22:24-30). This citizenship gave him special rights and privileges under the Roman law. 

The commandant arranged for a legal hearing for Paul before the Jewish ruling council, called the Sanhedrin. Paul caused such a stir the commandant had to intervene again and have his soldiers rescue Paul from the hostile leaders' fits of anger (Acts 23:1-10). 

Paul faced intense conflict after he was arrested. His enemies planned a murderous ambush during his transfer as a prisoner (Acts 23:12-35). So I came near Paul during the night and spoke to him to give him courage and remind him that I would not forsake him or abandon him. I assured Paul that he would reach his goal:
"Keep up your courage, Paul! You have successfully told your story about Me in Jerusalem, and soon you will do the same in Rome." 
(Acts 23:11)
Paul would fulfill My purposes for him in Rome! 

After a series of trials before different government officials (Acts 24:1-27; Acts 25:1-27; Acts 26:1-32), these officials honored Paul's appeal to Caesar (Acts 25:10-12; Acts 26:32). They sent Paul to Rome as a prisoner to stand trial. Paul then began his incredible journey to Rome (Acts 27:1-44). This voyage included terrible storms, mutinous actions by the crew, Paul's redemptive influence, and eventually a shipwreck. Paul spent the winter season on the small island of Malta with the crew and other prisoners before sailing on to Rome (Acts 28:1-11). 

As Paul's journey to Rome neared its end, believers along the way began to join his group on their journey to the capital city (see the verses below). They were not afraid to be identified with Paul even though he was a prisoner! They offered hospitality to him and his entourage. They came at personal risk to support, encourage, and accompany My passionate apostle on his journey to Rome. Their hospitality, fellowship, and accompaniment were sources of needed encouragement for Paul as he reached the city of Rome:
We set sail from Malta and stopped first at Syracuse. After three days, we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. We waited there a day, and then a south wind sprang up and sped us to Puteoli. We found some believers there, and they invited us to stay with them for seven days. Then we reached Rome. The believers from Rome heard we were coming, so they traveled out to meet us at the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns. Paul thanked God and felt encouraged to see them. Once inside the city, Paul lived under house arrest by himself, with only one soldier to guard him. 
(Acts 28:12-16)
Please notice four realities of discipleship that I demonstrated during Paul's trip to Rome. These four realities will also help sustain you in difficult times.
My enduring presence in your life to bring you home to Me.
My willingness to be near you and to hear your prayers.
My encouraging you through the partnership and presence of other believers.
My work in your life to bless and empower you.
Just as I sustained Paul, I will sustain you!
Verses to Live

I will provide you these four realities of My grace if you look for them and seek them. Notice how these four are emphasized in Paul's letter to the Philippian Christians: 

Reality 1: 
My enduring presence in your life to bring you home to Me.
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 
(Philippians 1:3-6 NLT)
Reality 2: 
My willingness to be near you and to hear your prayers.
Most of all, friends, always rejoice in the Lord! I never tire of saying it: Rejoice! Keep your gentle nature so that all people will know what it looks like to walk in His footsteps. The Lord is ever present with us. Don’t be anxious about things; instead, pray. Pray about everything. He longs to hear your requests, so talk to God about your needs and be thankful for what has come. And know that the peace of God (a peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus, the Anointed One. 
(Philippians 4:4-7)
Reality 3: 
My encouraging you through the partnership and presence of other believers.
Whenever you cross my mind, I thank my God for you and for the gift of knowing you. My spirit is lightened with joy whenever I pray for you (and I do constantly) because you have partnered with me to spread the gospel since the first day I preached to you. 
(Philippians 1:3-5) 

But for now, I think it is best to send Epaphroditus home to you. He has become my dear brother in the Lord. We have worked well together and fought great battles together, and he was an encouraging minister to me in my time of need. He could not wait to see you all. He was concerned for you when he found out you knew how sick he really was. In fact, he nearly died. But once again, God was exceedingly kind and covered him with His mercy. And I, too, by His mercy, have been spared sorrow on top of sorrow. 

I am so excited to be sending him back to you! I can picture the joy on your faces when he arrives; I can feel my worries falling away. Welcome him joyfully in the Lord. Esteem all spiritual leaders like Epaphroditus because he placed his life in grave danger for the work of the Anointed; he risked his life to serve me when you couldn't. 
(Philippians 2:25-30) 

I could hardly contain my joy in the Lord when I realized you have started to show your care for me once again. Since you have not had the opportunity to show how much you cared until now, I want you to know how it touched me. 
(Philippians 4:10)
Reality 4: 
My work in your life to bless, empower, and sustain you.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 
(Philippians 2:12-13 ESV) 

I know how to survive in tight situations, and I know how to enjoy having plenty. In fact, I have learned how to face any circumstances: fed or hungry, with or without. I can be content in any and every situation through the Anointed One who is my power and strength. 
(Philippians 4:12-13)
Response in Prayer

Almighty God, I confess that sometimes I forget just how powerful You are and how near Your presence is to me and within me. Forgive me for taking for granted the nearness of Your grace and the steadfastness of Your love. Awaken my heart to Your work in my life as I offer myself fully to You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"Winning the Hearts of Our Critics" — A Year with Jesus for 10/01/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Friend, 

While Paul was facing his legal ordeals and his challenging travels to Rome, My apostle Peter was encouraging My disciples in Asia Minor who were facing growing criticism, ostracism, and persecution. Like Paul, Peter would soon face even more challenging personal persecution and eventually martyrdom. These two great servants who carried the good news won friends and even some disciples among those who were assigned to guard and imprison them. They even shared their testimony to leaders who had them imprisoned. 

Peter wrote to disciples facing persecution and reminded them repeatedly of the importance of being people of holy character and compassion. If they were going to suffer, they were to make sure they suffered for doing right things as My witnesses. I want you to read Peter's words of encouragement to those disciples in today's verses. 

Paul's influence on Julius, the Centurion responsible for delivering him to Rome, is a powerful testimony to the truth of Peter's words of exhortation. Paul's influence on Julius saved the crew, the soldiers, the prisoners, and Paul from death at sea on several occasions. As you read today's verses, notice how Paul's influence on the Centurion opened the door for his influence as a witness to My grace. 

Please remember that your words and actions, especially when you are facing hard times, are powerful and influential in ways you may never realize. When you are a person of faithful character in the face of trial, you are following My example and opening the door for My continued influence on the hearts of those who desperately need My grace!
Verses to Live

As you read these words, remember the importance in your own day of being a faithful and winsome witness to Me. My disciples today face growing resistance and opposition in the West. They are enduring horrible persecution in the Middle East and parts of Africa. Some countries in Asia are directly oppressing and imprisoning My followers. Please realize the principles you see in today's verses are every bit as important to living in your day as they were in the time of Peter and Paul. 

Here are some of Peter's words of exhortation to Christians in difficult circumstances:
But you are a chosen people, set aside to be a royal order of priests, a holy nation, God's own; so that you may proclaim the wondrous acts of the One who called you out of inky darkness into shimmering light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received it. 

Beloved, remember you don't belong in this world. You are resident aliens living in exile, so resist those desires of the flesh that battle against the soul. Live honorably among the outsiders so that, even when some may be inclined to call you criminals, when they see your good works, they might give glory to God when He returns in judgment. 

For the Lord's sake, accept the decrees and laws of all the various human institutions, whether they come from the highest human ruler or agents he sends to punish those who do wrong and to reward those who do well. You see, it is God's will that by doing what is right and good you should hush the gabbing ignorance of the foolish. Live as those who are free and not as those who use their freedom as a pretext for evil, but live as God's servants. Respect everyone. Love the community of believers. Reverence God. Honor your ruler. 

... 

Why would anyone harm you if you eagerly do good? Even if you should suffer for doing what is right, you will receive a blessing. Don't let them frighten you. Don't be intimidated, but exalt Him as Lord in your heart. Always be ready to offer a defense, humbly and respectfully, when someone asks why you live in hope. Keep your conscience clear so that those who ridicule your good conduct in the Anointed and say bad things about you will be put to shame. 

For if it is the will of God that you suffer, then it is better to suffer for doing what is right than for doing what is wrong. 

... 

Dear ones, don't be surprised when you experience your trial by fire. It is not something strange and unusual, but it is something you should rejoice in. In it you share the Anointed's sufferings, and you will be that much more joyful when His glory is revealed. If anyone condemns you for following Jesus as the Anointed One, consider yourself blessed. The glorious Spirit of God rests on you. But none of you should ever merit suffering like those who have murdered or stolen, meddled in the affairs of others or done evil things. But if you should suffer for being a Christian, don't think of it as a disgrace, as it would be if you had done wrong. Praise God that you're permitted to carry this name. 

... 

So bow down under God's strong hand; then when the time comes, God will lift you up. Since God cares for you, let Him carry all your burdens and worries. 

Most importantly, be disciplined and stay on guard. Your enemy the devil is prowling around outside like a roaring lion, just waiting and hoping for the chance to devour someone. Resist him and be strong in your faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are fellow sufferers with you. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of grace who has called you [to His everlasting presence] through Jesus the Anointed will restore you, support you, strengthen you, and ground you. For all power belongs to God, now and forever. Amen. 
(1 Peter 2:9-17; 1 Peter 3:13-17; 1 Peter 4:12-15; 1 Peter 5:6-11)
Now read about Paul's example as a Christian prisoner sailing to Rome:
The date was set for us to depart for Rome, and Paul and some other prisoners were transferred to the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a member of the Augustan Division. I, Luke, was permitted to join Paul for his journey to Rome, along with Aristarchus, a Macedonian brother from Thessalonica. We boarded a ship from Adramyttium that was stopping in ports along the coast of Asia. We stopped the next day at Sidon, and Julius kindly allowed Paul to visit friends and be taken care of by them. 

... 

[After the ship had been in a storm for two weeks, it appears it is about to break into pieces.] Then some of the crew decide to make a run for it on their own. They say they need to let out more anchors from the bow, and this will require lowering the ship's lifeboat. They actually plan to abandon us; we realize what's going on. Paul quickly speaks to the officer and soldiers. 

Paul:
Unless these men stay on board, you won't survive.
So the soldiers intervene, cut away the lifeboat, and let it drift away. We wait. Just before dawn, Paul again gathers everyone on the ship — all 276 of us. He urges everyone to eat and encourages us not to lose hope. 

... 

Day finally breaks. They survey the coastline and don't recognize it, but they do notice a bay with a beach — the best place to try to run ashore. 

So they cut the anchor ropes, untie the steering oars, hoist the foresail to the wind, and make for the beach. But then there's a horrible sound, and we realize we've struck a reef; the bow is jammed solid, and the waves are smashing the stern to pieces. The soldiers start talking about killing the prisoners so they won't swim away and escape; but the officer wants to save Paul, so he stops them. He tells those who can swim to jump overboard and swim to the shore, and those who can't, he tells to hold on to planks and other pieces of the ship when it breaks apart. Some hours later, we reassemble on the beach, each one safe and sound. 
(Acts 27:1-3; Acts 27:30-33; Acts 27:39-44)
Response in Prayer

O Father, I thank You for the great examples of faith that encourage, motivate, and convict me to be faithful in times of trial. I trust that the Holy Spirit will inspire and empower me with courage. I commit to live for You as a witness of Jesus no matter what circumstances I face. May my life be a living testimony to others of Your grace. May the character and compassion You have developed in me open the door for me to share my hope in Jesus. It is in his name I pray. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

Transitions" — A Year with Jesus for 09/23/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Faithful Follower, 

Life is full of transitions and changes as well as ups and downs. For the apostle Paul, this was certainly true during his ministry. In the verses below, he had just spent considerable time in Macedonia and Greece. He had written letters to the Romans and the Corinthians. He had strengthened churches. He had spent time with people he knew and loved. 

During this time, he was organizing an offering for the impoverished believers in Jerusalem. Each church that was helping with this offering sent representatives with Paul to Jerusalem to convey their congregations' love. They also were along to ensure the funds were handled and dispersed appropriately. This trip back to Jerusalem with these special gifts was important to Paul. He wanted to bring My family of believers together in spirit and fellowship even though they were scattered across the Mediterranean world and made up of different cultures and races of people. 

However, Paul had enemies who were determined to stop him. These enemies were from Asia, and especially Ephesus. They were Jewish people who were opposed to his preaching that I AM the Anointed One, the promised Messiah of Israel. Over the next several days, you will read about Paul's journey to Jerusalem where these enemies started a riot and tried to have him killed. The Roman authorities arrested Paul and actually preserved his life. Paul used his Roman citizenship to defeat the conspiracies to have him killed and was thus able to have his case heard in Rome in Caesar's court. 

Paul did eventually arrive in Rome, but it wasn't in the manner he had hoped. During his wild sea journey to Rome, the Spirit delivered him from great danger and brought him safely to Rome. The whole ordeal in Jerusalem and the journey to Rome gave Paul many opportunities to tell a wide variety of people — both influential and obscure — about Me. 

Your readings will be full of intrigue, travel, danger, warning, opposition, deliverance, shipwreck, and imprisonment. During all of this upheaval and through all of these transitions, several things remained steadfast with Paul:
His faith in Me as the ultimate Deliverer, Savior, Lord, and Messiah.
His close fellowship with and love for believers and his sharing in close communion with them.
His passion for mentoring and growing people from different churches to continue the work of the gospel after he was gone.
His desire to tie the worldwide family of God together in fellowship, mission, and love.
Verses to Live

Today's verses focus on the beginning of Paul's transitioning to Jerusalem and ultimately to Rome. Yet in every big movement of Paul's life and travels, behind the scenes are tender moments of communion, fellowship, and miraculous grace. The same is true for you if you will watch for My influence in your life and live intentionally on the mission for me regardless of your job or life situation. Be blessed by this tender but powerful story of grace found in the middle of Paul's travels, dangers, and transitions. Finding grace can happen when My people take the time to value and commune with each other as they remember Me!
When the uproar [in Ephesus] was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia. 

Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. After the Passover ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week. 

On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord's Supper. Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight. The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps. As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below. Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. "Don't worry," he said, "he's alive!" Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord's Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left. Meanwhile, the young man was taken home unhurt, and everyone was greatly relieved. 

Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship. 
(Acts 20:1-13 NLT)
Response in Prayer

Father, please give me a sense of Your grace, the Spirit's guidance, and Jesus' abiding presence as I go through the transitions in my own life. As the old hymn says, "Be with me Lord — I cannot live without Thee, I dare not try to take one step alone." By the authority and in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"Problem People" — A Year with Jesus for 09/22/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Precious One, 

Yesterday's note focused on valuing each person in the Father's family. There are, however, some in the family who always seem to be stirring up trouble and leading others astray. Paul well described these people in the first paragraph of today's verses. His words of wisdom are "spot on perfect": "If there are people like that in your churches, stay away from them." These people are as precious to Me as the ones mentioned yesterday, but until they humble themselves before Me, don't give them an audience. Don't let them weigh you down. Don't feed their ego and appetite for attention. Stay away from people who want to divide and lead you astray! 

Instead, celebrate the good in you and in your church family. Focus on the qualities that grow people and grow My family. As you do, the Father will send peace your way and will crush Satan under your feet. The evil one won't be in your way and the path you walk will lead you closer and closer to Me and to eternal glory with the Father. 

Notice how Paul ends his letter. I will shorten it so you see the main point:
So to the One who is able to strengthen you to live consistently with my good news and the preaching of Jesus, the Anointed... 

To the one true and wise God, we offer glory for all times through Jesus, the Anointed One. Amen.
The Father will give you strength to live for Him. So bring your Father glory in how you live. As you live for the Father, I will bring your needs to His throne of grace in the presence of the angels until you can join Us at the Father's throne in glory.
Verses to Live

Romans is an incredibly powerful and practical letter that speaks about the gospel of the Father's grace, about My role as a sin offering, and about the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you. This letter is a message of hope for all people. So as you come to the end of it, I hope you will give thanks for Paul who wrote it. Also, give thanks for all those through the ages who have believed it. And finally, give thanks for the love We — Father, Son, and Spirit — have for you. Don't let anyone rob you of this gospel of grace and of its hope!
I am pleading with all of you, brothers and sisters, to keep up your guard against anyone who is causing conflicts and enticing others with teachings contrary to what you have already learned. If there are people like that in your churches, stay away from them. These kinds of people are not truly serving our Lord Jesus the Anointed; they have devoted their lives to satisfying their own appetites. With smooth talking and a well-rehearsed blessing, they lead a lot of unsuspecting people down the wrong path. 

The stories about the way you are living in obedience to God have traveled to all the churches. So celebrate your faithfulness to God that is being displayed in your lives — seek wisdom about the good life, and remain innocent when it comes to evil. If you do this, the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet soon. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King, be ever present with you. 

Timothy, my coworker in the spreading of the gospel, also sends his greeting to all of you, as do my kinsmen, Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater. 

I, Tertius, the one who wrote this letter for Paul, greet you in the name of the Lord. Gaius, my host here as well as patron for the whole church, sends his best to all of you. Erastus, the city administrator, sends his greetings along with brother Quartus. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, touch you all. Amen. 

So to the One who is able to strengthen you to live consistently with my good news and the preaching of Jesus, the Anointed, with the revelation of the ancient mystery that has been kept secret since the earliest days, this mystery is revealed through the prophetic voices passed down in the Scriptures, as they have been commanded by the Eternal God. In this time, this mystery is being made known to the nations so that all may be led to faith-filled obedience. 

To the one true and wise God, we offer glory for all times through Jesus, the Anointed One. Amen 
(Romans 16:17-27)
Response in Prayer

Father, thank You for Paul and his passion for the gospel. Thank You for the grace on which my relationship with You is built. I ask that You strengthen me and every good work I am attempting to do for You. May my life bring You glory. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

*Precious People" — A Year with Jesus for 09/21/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Precious One, 

Has anyone told you lately you are precious? You are! You are a blood-bought child of the Father. I rescued you from sin, death, and hell because you are too precious to Me to live without you. I left heaven to reclaim you. 

You are precious. My apostle Peter said it this way:
You know that a price was paid to redeem you from following the empty ways handed on to you by your ancestors; it was not paid with things that perish (like silver and gold), but with the precious blood of the Anointed [Jesus Christ], who was like a perfect and unblemished sacrificial lamb. God determined to send Him before the world began, but He came into the world in these last days for your sake. 
(1 Peter 1:18-20)

What you find in today's verses below is a long list of people in Rome whom Paul greeted. As you go through this list, I hope you find it amazing. Paul had never visited Rome, yet he knew all these people. He knew that they were part of the church in Rome. He even mentioned specific areas of Christian service for about half of those listed. So here are some things I want to place on your heart as you consider some of the implications of this list of names. 

First, you live in an unprecedented time of travel and communication. When you travel, don't take a vacation from My work and My people, but use your travel, whether business or pleasure, to bless My people and spread the gospel! 

Second, people are Our — Father, Son, and Spirit's — most precious resource. Encourage them to be active in My church. Don't fight over who can do what and who can have what role. Notice that both men and women are mentioned with important roles, responsibilities, and titles in Paul's list. Don't limit what people can do based on a distinction between clergy and laity whether it is a clergy of ordination, gender, or education. Don't preen or pout about the titles you or others are assigned. Serve others. Encourage your precious brothers and sisters to serve others. Like Paul, affirm the good work done by your brothers and sisters in Our family. 

Third, value people more than buildings, programs, projects, and religious affiliations. These things can become points of arrogance and areas of contention. Remember it is worthwhile to walk away from all of those things to bring a single person back into the family (Matthew 18:10-14). People count far more than physical and temporal things. People are eternal. Buildings will crumble and fall. Programs go out of style and another program becomes the latest church fad. Projects move toward an end. Religious labels are human creations and divisions that separate rather than call My people to unity focused on Me, My mission, and My will. So value people above all things. Things are temporary; people are precious because they are eternal. 

Fourth, express your family relationship with each other with both words and actions. Why have some of you let the holy kiss go out of use in many of your Western churches when it is a frequent command found in your New Testament (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14)? You're family. Even if a holy kiss was particular to the culture in New Testament times, there are equivalent greetings now — a warm handshake with a sincere smile, or a brotherly or sisterly hug, or whatever is appropriate in your particular culture to show sincere affection and concern. Each person who gathers around My table is precious. So love each other and greet each other as family — as people who are eternal, precious, and beloved by their Father!
Verses to Live

As you read Paul's words of love, commendation, and friendship, think about the people in your life who are like those that Paul mentions. Make a commitment to write them a note of encouragement and thanks for what they mean to you. Pray for them! Value them! They are like you: precious!
I commend to you our beloved sister Phoebe; she serves the church in Cenchrea as a faithful deacon. It is important that you welcome her in the Lord in a manner befitting your saintly status. Join in her work, and assist her in any way she needs you. She has spent her energy and resources helping others, and I am blessed to have her as my benefactor as well.

Give my best to Prisca and Aquila; they are not only my colleagues in my profession of tent making, but more importantly they are my fellow servants of Jesus the Anointed. They put their lives on the line to keep me safe. Not only do I owe them my thanks, so do all the churches of the non- Jews. Send my regards to the church that meets in their house. 

Send greetings to Epaenetus. I love him dearly and celebrate his journey to faith because he was the first to believe in the Anointed One in all of Asia. 

Salute Mary for me; she has worked hard for all of you. 

Give my regards to Andronicus and Junias, who are part of my own family and served time in prison with me. They are well known among the emissaries and have been in the Anointed longer than I. 

Give my best to Ampliatus whom I love in the Lord, and greet Urbanus (our fellow worker in service to the Anointed One) and my beloved Stachys. 

Send greetings to Apelles, a tried and true believer in the Anointed, and to the entire family of Aristobulus. 

Do not forget to greet Herodion, another of my relatives, and everyone in the family of Narcissus who belong to the Lord. 

Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, faithful laborers in the Lord, and our beloved Persis, who also has accomplished a great deal in the Lord. 

Give my best to Rufus, clearly one of the Lord's chosen, and also his mother. She's like a mother to me. 

My regards also go to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the brothers and sisters who are along with them. 

Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and let me not forget Olympas and all the saints who journey with them. 

Greet each other with a holy kiss. All of the churches of the Anointed under my care send their greetings to all of you. 
(Romans 16:1-16)
Response in Prayer

Father, I repent for the times I have not valued the children of Your family as You value them. I recognize them as important, but I grow frustrated with some who irritate me, bored with those who do not amuse or engage me, hurt by those who think themselves too good for me, and neglectful of those who always seem to need something from me. I shock and shame myself when I say these words, but they are true of me in my worst moments. Forgive me. Lord Jesus, when I take the bread of Holy Communion and remember Your body on the cross, open my eyes to see Your body, the church. Help me recognize my brothers and sisters as the people for whom You died and whom you have brought together to serve the world as You did on earth. Holy Spirit, as the Father pours love into my heart through Your presence, channel that love through me to others who need to be touched by it. I ask and confess all of this so that I might view each of Your children as being as precious as You do. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International..
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"Please Pray" — A Year with Jesus for 09/20/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved, 

The apostle Paul is known as a great missionary. He is also the writer of many of the letters that you find in your New Testament. However, there is a side of Paul's ministry that is not emphasized enough in your world. This lack of emphasis inhibits the success of your mission efforts. 

Paul was powerfully effective in reaching the lost, living out his calling, and blessing new Christians because of his prayer life. Paul's letters include many of his prayers. These letters contain prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of intercession, prayers of blessing, and prayers of focus to help new Christians know what to work on in their lives. The surging power behind Paul's mission work and church planting work was his prayer life that invited the Spirit to take control of his life, his ministry, and his effectiveness. 

You've already read several of Paul's prayers of blessing in previous passages from Romans (Romans 15:13 for example). In addition to Paul's many prayers for those in My family, he also sought the help of new Christians to pray for him, for his team, for his boldness, for his courage, for open doors, and for his mission efforts. The power of mission always has been tied to the work of the Holy Spirit in response to My people's passionate prayer! 

Note from Phil@heartlight.org: 
To see places around the world that are responding to Jesus in recent years, check out this blog post: The Top 20 Countries where Christianity is Growing the Fastest. For more on the power of prayer for missions, you are encouraged to read Miraculous Movements: How Hundreds of Thousands of Muslims Are Falling in Love with Jesus.
Verses to Live

Paul made very clear to his brothers and sisters in Rome that there were difficulties, obstacles, and dangers that awaited him during his journey to them. He knew that he could not overcome these on his own power, with his own cunning plans, or through his own skill. He needed divine power and supernatural deliverance if his plans were to be fulfilled. So, Paul asked these new believers to join him in prayer for these plans. Paul's foresight was correct: great hardships awaited him, great challenges confronted him, and harsh realities met him in Jerusalem and on his way to Rome. But, his anticipation of arriving in Rome and being "refreshed" by their presence proved accurate (Acts 28:14-15).
Because of many issues, I [Paul] have not been able to visit you in the city of Rome. But my time to serve those here is coming to an end, there's no room left for me in this region, and I have longed to come to you for many years. So I plan to visit you on my journey to Spain. I am hoping that I will not only see you face-to-face, but that you will assist me in the journey west after I have enjoyed our time together. But right now I must make the journey to Jerusalem to serve the saints there. Those in Macedonia and Achaia decided it was a good idea to share their funds to help the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. I must tell you that they were thrilled to be able to help. They realize that they are indebted to the believers in Jerusalem. If the nations share in the Jews' spiritual goods, then it's only right that they minister back to them in material goods. When this work is complete and the funds we've collected are delivered, I will make my way to Spain through your grand city of Rome and enjoy some of your hospitality. I'm sure that when I come to you I will come as a blessing and as one fully blessed by the Anointed One. 

My brothers and sisters, I urgently plead with you by the name of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, and by the love of the Spirit to join together with me in your prayers to God for my success in these next endeavors. Pray that I will be rescued from those who deny and persecute the faith in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem will meet the approval of all the saints there. If that happens, then my journey to you will be filled with joy; and, if God wills, I can rest and be refreshed in your presence. I pray the God of all peace will be with you all. Amen. 
(Romans 15:22-33)
Response in Prayer

Father, I have several missionaries and ministries on my heart today. I pray that You not only bless and protect them, but that You also empower them to make an eternal impact in the lives of those they seek to reach. Give them courage and boldness. Give them Your sense of timing. I ask this in Jesus' name and for the triumph of His message of grace. Amen. 
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"Beyond the Bucket List" — A Year with Jesus for 09/19/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved, 

Let me ask you several questions to get you started thinking about today's verses from Paul's letter to the Romans:
What makes you tick?
What drives you?
What is the Father's call for you and your life?
What matters most to you that remains undone on your spiritual bucket list?
These are the issues that Paul shares from his heart to the Roman believers in the closing words of this letter to them (Romans chapters 15 and 16). 

Today's verses focus on Paul's very clear sense of his call to share the good news, My story, with all the nations. He recognized that he had been specially called to reach the non-Jewish world. His heart was passionately drawn to reach people who had never heard of Me or My story. He recognized that this call, this grace given to him by the Father, was what made him who he was. This call was what drove him to do what he did, what made him tick, what mattered most, and what he desperately wanted to accomplish before he died. 

Rome was the most important city of the Roman Empire during Paul's time. As badly as Paul wanted to visit Rome, he saw it as his stepping stone to the lands and peoples who lived west of Italy. He wanted the Christians in Rome to help him get to those lands. As you will see over the next several weeks, Paul's trip to Rome didn't materialize quite as he had hoped. However, he did get to Rome, and he ministered in Rome as people came to him during his house arrest. Ultimately, Paul was martyred for pursuing his ministry. As he faced the end of his life, he powerfully testified that he accomplished the work he was given to do (2 Timothy 4:6-8; cf. Acts 20:24). My hope for you is that you will have that same confidence and sense of accomplishment in living your life for Me!
Verses to Live

Today as you read the verses below, I want you to feel the passion Paul had for his calling. I want you to commit to finding that kind of passion for your calling to serve Me. You may not be a missionary quite like Paul. But please realize this: I placed you in the circle of relationships and with the network of people you have in your life for you to fulfill My calling for you. You are no less a minister, and you do not have less of a Christian calling if your employment is not church-related. In fact, I want you to realize that much of what happened to spread the good news in the first century occurred because business people and traveling families took My message with them wherever they went (Acts 8:1-4). Remember that people like Paul did their work as they shared My message. Paul was a tent maker along with Priscilla and Aquila. Apollos was a traveling businessman. Along with many others whose names you don't know, they shared My message and forever changed the world. I will share more with you about this in a few days as Paul mentioned all the people he loved and knew in Rome, a place he had not visited when he mentioned these people. Today, however, I want you to focus on Paul's passion to live out his calling!
My brothers and sisters, I am ultimately confident that you are full of goodness, knowledge, and the ability to help and instruct one another. I have written to you with unflinching honesty on many topics because I do not want you to ever lose sight of the tremendous grace God has given me. His grace makes me who I am, a minister of the Anointed One, Jesus, called to serve the nations. 

The good news of God is the focus of my priestly work. In effect, these nations have become an offering to God, totally acceptable, indeed made holy by the work of the Holy Spirit. So in Jesus, the Anointed One, I have reason to celebrate the things I do for God. I don't want to be presumptuous, so I will restrict myself to what the Anointed has accomplished through my words and actions, which has culminated in the obedience of the nations. My words and actions have been rooted in Spirit-empowered signs and miracles. The upshot is this: I have been able to preach the good news of the Anointed One in city after city from Jerusalem all the way around the Mediterranean to Illyricum. I have dreamed of preaching the gospel in places where no one has ever heard of the Anointed so that I do not build on a foundation laid by anyone else. But as the Scriptures say,
They will see Him even though they've never been told about Him; 
they will understand even though they never heard of Him.
Because of many issues, I have not been able to visit you in the city of Rome. But my time to serve those here is coming to an end, there's no room left for me in this region, and I have longed to come to you for many years. So I plan to visit you on my journey to Spain. I am hoping that I will not only see you face-to-face, but that you will assist me in the journey west after I have enjoyed our time together 
(Romans 15:14-24)
Response in Prayer

O Father, help me know in my heart what You have called me to do to live for Jesus. I ask that the Spirit help me know what this calling is. I ask, O Holy Spirit, that You will also fill my heart with a burning flame of passion like Paul demonstrated in today's verses. I want to be fully responsive, dear Father, to Your calling and mission in my life. I ask for this grace in Jesus' name. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"Giving Grace" — A Year with Jesus for 09/17/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved, 

Part of the challenge of being a multi-cultural fellowship is that people who are different from you are... different! Their background experiences are different. Their cultures are different. Their customs are different. Their foods are different. Their manners and matters of courtesy are different. Their language can be different. Some things that you may have been trained from the crib to reject as crude or unsavory may be common practice and treasured by another culture. So in a multi-cultural congregation, learn to appreciate your differences as long as I AM Lord, the Father is exalted, and the Holy Spirit lives in you. 

In addition, remember this "two-sided" principle:
In light of this, we must resolve never to judge others and never to place an obstacle or impediment in their paths that could cause them to trip and fall.
It is your responsibility not to judge your fellow brother or sister on cultural issues. This duty is true even if they are offensive to your sense of what is proper. On the other hand, just because you are free to practice something in your culture because you have an understanding of grace, that doesn't mean you should use that freedom. You do not want to cause a brother or sister to stumble so that you can celebrate your freedom (1 Corinthians 8:9; Galatians 5:13-14). In other words, on cultural issues, go out of your way to make sure there are no unnecessary barriers and no stumbling blocks to interfere with your fellowship with others. 

Why is this two-sided principle so important? It is important because you will stand before the Father in judgment. Either He will use the grace with which you have treated, accepted, and lived for others to judge you, or He will use the harsh and condemning standard you have used on others. I don't think I have to tell you which one of those you will need! 

But even more than just trying to avoid the Father's harsh judgment because you have judged others harshly, I want you to follow My example of grace. I want you to follow My example of giving grace regarding cultural differences. I also want you to follow My example of giving grace in all interactions with others. Treat people in your day in the way I treated them in my day. (Luke 7:1-50; John 8:1-11; John 4:1-26; Philippians 2:5-11; Romans 5:6-11). Recognize how I welcomed all sorts of different people. Remind yourself of who you were before I welcomed you. And finally, remember what Paul taught in the verses below about not judging others and not causing others to sin. The theme of today's verses will continue into tomorrow when you will read these words:
So accept one another in the same way the Anointed has accepted you so that God will get the praise He is due. 
(Romans 15:7)
That's the point!
Verses to Live

Your goal in multi-cultural settings must not be to prove yourself right. You are called to welcome others as I have welcomed you. In My family, the overriding issue is whether or not you treat your Christian brothers and sisters who are different from you in the same way that I treated people. Will you welcome them, differences and all, into My fellowship as I did? 

Paul was emphatic about this point:
[I]f God has accepted them, you have no reason to reject them. How could you think for a moment that you have the right to judge another person's servant?
That, My dear disciple, is very clear! So carefully read what Paul has to say about all this and I know you will be blessed and challenged. 
It's high time that you welcome all people weak in the faith without debating and disputing their opinions. 

Here's the issue: One person believes that nothing's off the menu; he'll eat any food put before him. But there's another believer — we'll call him the weaker — who eats only vegetables because the meat is tainted through contact with an idol. If you are an eater of all things, do not be condescending to your vegetarian brother or sister. In turn, those who abstain from certain foods on religious principles should not judge your brothers and sisters who eat meat — if God has accepted them, you have no reason to reject them. How could you think for a moment that you have the right to judge another person's servant? Each servant answers to his own Master, and he will either stand or fall in His presence. The good news is that he will stand because the Master is able to make it so. 

There may be a believer who regards one day as more sacred than any other, while another views every day as sacred as the next. In these matters, all must reach their own conclusions and satisfy their own minds. If someone observes a day as holy, he observes it in honor of the Lord. If another eats a particular diet, he eats in honor of the Lord since he begins by giving thanks! If yet another abstains from that same food, he abstains out of respect for the Lord and begins his meal by thanking God too. The truth is that none of us live for ourselves, and none die for ourselves. For if we live, we live for the Lord. If we die, we die for the Lord. So in both life and death, we belong to the Lord. The Anointed One, the Liberating King, died and returned to life to make this a reality: through His death and resurrection, He became Lord of the living and the dead. 

So how is it that you continue to judge your brother? How is it possible for you to look down on a sister? We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written,
"As I live, so I promise," says the Lord, "every knee will bow down to Me. 
Every tongue will confess to God."
So every one of us, regardless of our eating habits, should expect to give an account for our own lives to God. 

In light of this, we must resolve never to judge others and never to place an obstacle or impediment in their paths that could cause them to trip and fall. Personally I have been completely convinced that in Jesus, our Lord, no object in and of itself is unclean; but if my fellow believers are convinced that something is unclean, then it is unclean to them. If the food you eat harms your brother, then you have failed to love him. Do not let what you eat tear down your brother; after all, the Anointed laid down His life for him. Do not allow people to slander something you find to be good because the kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking. When God reigns, the order of the day is redeeming justice, true peace, and joy made possible by the Holy Spirit. You see, those who serve the Anointed in this way will be welcomed into the whole acceptance of God and valued by all men. Join us, and pursue a life that creates peace and builds up our brothers and sisters. 

Do not sacrifice God's work for the sake of certain foods. It is true that all things are clean, but it's wrong to eat if you know that eating something will cause offense. It is right for you to abstain from certain meats and wine (or anything else for that matter) if it prevents your brother from falling in his faith. Hold on to what you believe about these issues, but keep them between you and God. A happy man does not judge himself by the lifestyle he endorses. But a man who decides for himself what to eat is condemned because he is not living by his faith. Any action not consistent with faith is sin. 
(Romans 14:1-23)
Response in Prayer

O gracious and holy Father, thank You for welcoming me into Your family. Thank You for the gift of Jesus. Thank You for the grace You offered to me through Jesus. Thank You for the brothers and sisters in Christ who accepted me into their fellowship and made me part of their spiritual family. Please use me to do the same for those seeking to find a place in Your family and my fellowship. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"The Hope for Unity in Me" — A Year with Jesus for 09/18/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

Paul is coming to the end of his letter to the Christians in Rome. Today's verses are filled with closing thoughts, blessings, prayers, and advice. These messages are practical, yet rich with emotion. We will look at the messages in the last part of his letter today and the next three days. 

Today's verses give you another glimpse into Paul's heart. You discover what My apostle yearned to see happen in the important and influential capital city of the Roman Empire. He wanted Jews and Gentiles to join their hearts together in unity so that they "will share one voice" as they "glorify the one True God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, our Liberating King." 

Paul made clear that this was not just a dream in his old servant's heart, but it is also a promised reality for the Father's new covenant people. This unity was spoken by the prophets long before Paul wrote to the believers in Rome. Notice that Paul included a series of quotations. These quotations all come from the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. These are the three divisions of the Jewish Bible as they were known in Paul's day. Paul's prayer for unity between Jewish and non-Jewish Christians in Rome is based on the promises of all Jewish Scripture. 

The last part of Paul's life was focused on bringing the family of believers from all over the world together into one unified people. Paul longed for My people to live up to the promise of his words written to the Galatian believers:
For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you. 
(Galatians 3:26-29 NLT)
Verses to Live

One of the most famous blessings of the apostle Paul closes today's verses. As you read these verses, notice how the blessing at the end is a fitting culmination to his letter. Paul's words in today's passage join with the things he wrote earlier in his letter. These words of blessing should become imprinted on your heart. You should share them with others. Be blessed today by Paul's dream. Be motivated by his assurance that this dream of a unified people will happen. Please know that this is not just Paul's dream, but the dream I want to be in your heart as well (John 10:14-16; John 17:20-23; Revelation 7:9-12).
So now what? We who are strong are not just to satisfy our own desires. We are called to carry the weaknesses of those who are not strong. Each of us must strive to please our neighbors, pursuing their welfare so they will become strong. The Anointed One Himself is our model for this kind of living, for He did not live to please Himself. And as the Scriptures declared, "When they insult You, they insult me." You see, everything written in the days of old was recorded to give us instructions for living. We find encouragement through the Scriptures and a call to perseverance that will produce hopeful living. I pray that our God, who calls you and gives you perseverance and encouragement, will join all of you together to share one mind according to Jesus the Anointed. In this unity, you will share one voice as you glorify the one True God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, our Liberating King. 

So accept one another in the same way the Anointed has accepted you so that God will get the praise He is due. For, as I am fond of saying, the Anointed One has become a servant of the Jews in order to demonstrate God's truth. Effectively this confirms the promises He made to our ancestors and causes the non-Jewish nations to glorify God for His mercy. As the Scriptures say,
For this I will praise You among the nations 
and sing praises to Your name.
Again the Scriptures say,
Nations, celebrate with His covenant people.
And again,
Praise the Lord, all nations. 
Raise your voices, all people; let your praises flow to God.
Again Isaiah says,
Then, the root of Jesse will emerge — 
He rises to rule all the peoples of the world 
who come to Him for guidance and direction. 
In Him they place their hope.
I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit. 
(Romans 15:1-13)
Response in Prayer

Father, our world is so torn apart by national, racial, ethnic, and religious hatred. Please heal our world by calling all peoples to Yourself through Jesus. We commit to share the message of Jesus to all peoples. We recognize that we need the power of the Holy Spirit to live out Paul's dream in our day. Father, I know that this unity among your children is Your heart's desire. I pray that You will grant these things to happen in our day through Your sovereign power. Please use me, please use the people of my generation, to heal the deep fractures in our wounded and dying world. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.

"Know What Time It Is!" — A Year with Jesus for 09/16/2015

Note from Jesus

Dear Follower, 

Wake up. It's nearly dawn. Put on your clothes. It's time for living in the daylight. 

Paul chose powerful images for today's passage from his letter to the Roman Christians. It's as if someone is trying to rouse a sleeping friend who can't quite "come awake" at the beginning of the day. But it's time to wake up, get up, and get dressed because the new day is starting. 

Paul's message was written about My return and the sense of urgency needed by the Christians in Rome. This verse captures Paul's sentiment well:
The darkness of night is dissolving as dawn's light draws near, so walk out on your old dark life and put on the armor of light.
Also notice this glorious promise in another truth Paul wrote for those early Christians:
[F]or salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed.
Here's the point: if you are truly My disciple, you must live like it. Walk your talk. Practice what you preach. Reach for what you pray. Remember that life is fragile and transient. Expect that I could return at any moment. 

My return will be joyous for those who are Mine and already living in eager expectation of My return. For those who are not, this passage is a wake-up call, the alarm clock sounding, and the powerful reminder that I AM coming. You want to be ready when I arrive. Live as sacrifices offered to God. Live as people whose hearts and minds have been remade by your conversion. Live as people whose hearts are captured by the amazing grace of the Father. Stay away from "dark living" and do not fuel your "sinful imagination" with thoughts of depraved rebellion. Wrap yourselves in Me!
Verses to Live

In the section in his Roman letter on practical Christian living, Paul used various metaphors. He began this last section of his letter urging the Roman Christians and you to live as sacrifices and to be transformed (Romans 12:1-2). He then talked about you Christians being My body. In today's verses, he used the familiar images of darkness representing evil while light represents things that are good and holy. The call is to wake up and live in the light.
And now consider this. You know well the times you are living in. It is time for you to wake up and see what is right before your eyes: for salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The darkness of night is dissolving as dawn's light draws near, so walk out on your old dark life and put on the armor of light. May we all act as good and respectable people, living today the same way as we will in the day of His coming. Do not fall into patterns of dark living: wild partying, drunkenness, sexual depravity, decadent gratification, quarreling, and jealousy. Instead, wrap yourselves in the Lord Jesus, God’s Anointed, and do not fuel your sinful imagination by indulging your self-seeking desire for the pleasures of the flesh. 
(Romans 13:11-14)
Response in Prayer

Almighty God, forgive me for piddling around with my life of faith and procrastinating about living with holy devotion. I commit to living with urgency and anticipation of Jesus' return and pray for Your forgiveness for the times when I have not done so. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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This daily devotional is written to help us all reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives and to help us realize we are not alone as we seek to live for Him. — Learn More
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Thanks to our invaluable editors:
Dr. Edward Holley - Executive Editor
Ray Butts - General Editor
Heartlight is proud to support Compassion International.
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE? It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to: ayearwithjesus-subscribe@maillists.heartlight.org
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 1998-2015, Heartlight, Inc. 'A Year with Jesus' is part of the Heartlight Network.
© 1998-2015, Heartlight Inc.