HEARTLIGHT — A Year with Jesus

Your Broken World" — A Year with Jesus for 11/19/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

The beloved elder John wrote to My disciples because he deeply loved them and wanted them to find true life in me. His words to begin 3 John beautifully reveal this part of his heart:
I, the elder, to Gaius, who is much loved by all and loved in truth by me. 

My beloved friend, I pray that everything is going well for you and that your body is as healthy as your soul is prosperous. I was thrilled when the brothers and sisters came and told me stories of your faithfulness as you continue to walk in the truth. The greatest joy in my life is hearing how my children are walking in the truth. 
(3 John 1:1-4)
John's letters are short, powerful, full of practical truth and emotional connection. He knew his time was short. He knew the power of the "diabolical one" and the allure of the corrupted world were pervasive. Like Paul and Peter before him, he left words for My precious disciples urging them to stay the right path. He wanted them to demonstrate their love for Me in the way they lived — following My example of obedient love for the Father, compassion for those around Me, and moral purity in My dealings with all people. 

One special exhortation he offers in 1 John has been a powerful statement of truth for My disciples throughout the ages. It serves as a necessary warning about the dangers of falling in love with the broken and sinful world in which they find themselves — the world in which you find yourself right now. Today you finish up your readings in 1, 2, and 3 John. Tomorrow you will begin to read from the apocalypse revealed to John, your book of Revelation. I want you to hear this simple, but powerful message from John as the conclusion of his messages from his letters and an important reminder going into the book of Revelation. The world around you is broken. There is beauty in the created universe, but everything that humanity has touched has also been altered by sin's grip on your world through the power of death. Don't be deceived by the world's allure! Remember all that it offers you is temporary — a broken and temporary substitute for the eternal life I have shared with you. 

John reminds you to not be surprised when the world doesn't love you when you live for me:
Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us — He calls us children of God! It's true; we are His beloved children. And in the same way the world didn't recognize Him, the world does not recognize us either. 
(1 John 3:1) 

Brothers and sisters, don't be shocked if the corrupt world despises you. 
(1 John 3:13)
Even more, John doesn't want you to get caught up in loving the world and being led away from Me. His words are true. His words are your warning. Don't trade away the life I came to bring you for the temporary, fleeting, and corrupted enticements of the world!
Verses to Live

Take a few minutes and look up all the times the word "world" is used in John's writings — the Gospel of John; 1, 2, and 3 John; and Revelation — and you will see how this is a major theme for him in all of his writings. Not loving the world was one of John's primary concerns. The following verses for you today help you understand why. Contemplate them. Heed them. Realize that I came to bring life to you. The underlined sentences at the end of today's verses point out the contrast between the fleeting, temporary nature of the allures of your world and the eternal life that comes from doing God's will. All that the world can offer you is a cheap, fleeting, and shallow substitute for life.
Don't fall in love with this corrupt world or worship the things it can offer. Those who love its corrupt ways don't have the Father's love living within them. All the things the world can offer to you — the allure of pleasure, the passion to have things, and the pompous sense of superiority — do not come from the Father. These are the rotten fruits of this world. This corrupt world is already wasting away, as are its selfish desires. But the person really doing God's will — that person will never cease to be. 
(1 John 2:15-17)
Response in Prayer

Give me strength, dear Father, to resist the allure of the world. I know in my heart that it is a poor and deadly substitute for the life You have given me in Jesus. Sometimes, dear Father, the ridicule of those who don't believe and the enticements of this world do distract me and lead me away from a whole-hearted dedication to you. Please forgive me. Sometimes my losses in this world have captured all of my energy in grief, anger, and confusion. Please strengthen and reclaim me. I know my world is broken, but it is the world I know. So please help me be strong as I keep my eyes on Jesus and seek His life and not the world's shallow substitutes. It is in His name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

Confidence" — A Year with Jesus for 11/18/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

John was a masterful writer. He used a simple vocabulary to share nuances of truth and depth of theological insight that still astound scholars. His messages intrigue the most educated, speak to the heart of the weary, and give a clear message of truth to even the most simple. So when John says something very clearly and forcefully, you can't miss the message. The verses today from 1 John emphasize how you can be confident of your salvation in Me, that eternal life has begun now, and that the Spirit of God in you is greater than the spirit at work in the world. John wanted his doubting readers to be confident in their salvation. 

I did not come to create religious doubt. I came to find and save lost people (Luke 19:10). I came because We — God as Father, Son and Spirit — love the lost people of the world and want them saved (John 3:16-17). So I don't want My disciples worried about whether they are inside of grace's grasp or outside of it. I don't want you worried about your eternal destiny.

John didn't want you to doubt either. As he wrote 1 John, he had to deal with two opposite ends of a problem. Some of My disciples he addressed were precious, good, sweet, kind people who believed in Me, but weren't sure they knew enough or had done enough to merit My salvation. They knew they had stumbled some and slipped into some sin, so that made them feel worse and doubt even more. 

However, there were others who were religiously arrogant. They talked about knowing me at a deep spiritual level so they didn't have to be worried about the sinful things they did at a fleshly level — they were saying they were good, even though they persistently indulged in sin. They insinuated that if the first group had enough special knowledge, they wouldn't be hung up on sin and could be confident in their salvation. 

John had the unenviable task of writing one simple letter to address both needs at the same time because both groups existed in the same churches. The Spirit did a masterful job of breathing truth through John and into the words that you read. Over the last several days, you've read groupings of John's writing that addressed believing in Me, doing good and godly things, loving your brothers and sisters in Christ, and pursuing a relationship with Me instead of sinking into some kind of religious system. These teachings allowed both groups of these believers to assess where they stood in their relationship with the Father. The doubters could see that they were in fellowship with the Father and the arrogant could see they needed to correct some things in their lives if they were to be in fellowship with the Father. 

The focus today for you, however, is confidence in being in relationship with the Father. I want you to be confident in your eternal life. Today is for you... for your encouragement... for your confidence... because you are your Father's child!
Verses to Live

As we near the end of your readings in 1 John, I want you to focus on the verses that talk about the confidence you can and should have as My disciple. You believe in Me — that I am the Father's Son, God come in human flesh. You are living a life full of goodness and obedience and not living a life that "persists" in sin. You love your brothers and sisters. You long to do more than know about Us and participate in religious exercises: you want to know Us — to enter into relationship with the Father as His child; to experience Me not only as Savior, but also as your older Brother and example; and to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit as your anointing from the Father Who teaches you and guides you into all truth about Me. These verses are for you.
We want to tell you about the One who was from the beginning. We have seen Him with our own eyes, heard Him with our own ears, and touched Him with our own hands. This One is the manifestation of the life-giving Voice, and He showed us real life, eternal life. We have seen it all, and we can't keep what we witnessed quiet —we have to share it with you. We are inviting you to experience eternal life through the One who was with the Father and came down to us. What we saw and heard we pass on to you so that you, too, will be connected with us intimately and become family. Our family is united by our connection with the Father and His Son Jesus, the Anointed One; and we write all this because retelling this story fulfills our joy. 
(1 John 1:1-4) 

If we walk step by step in the light, where the Father is, then we are ultimately connected to each other through the sacrifice of Jesus His Son. His blood purifies us from all our sins. If we go around bragging, "We have no sin," then we are fooling ourselves and are strangers to the truth. But if we own up to our sins, God shows that He is faithful and just by forgiving us of our sins and purifying us from the pollution of all the bad things we have done. 
(1 John 1:7-9) 

I am writing to you, my children, because your sins have been forgiven by the authority of His name. 

I am writing to you, fathers and mothers, because you have known Him as the Creator, as the One who started everything. 

I am writing to you, young people, because He has given you the power to conquer the evil one. 

I have written to you, my children, because you have known the Father. 

I have written to you, fathers and mothers, because you have known Him, the Creator. 

I have written to you, young people, because the voice of God remains and is heard among you. Remember that you have conquered the evil one. 
(1 John 2:12-14) 

I also am writing to warn you about some who are attempting to deceive you. You have an anointing. You received it from Him, and His anointing remains on you. You do not need any other teacher. But as His anointing instructs you in all the essentials (all the truth uncontaminated by darkness and lies), it teaches you this: "Remain connected to Him." 

So now, my little children, live in Him, so that whenever He is revealed, we will have confidence and not have to hang our heads in shame before Him when He comes. If you know that He is just and faithful, then you also know that everyone who lives faithfully and acts justly has been born into a new life through Him. 
(1 John 2:26-29) 

There is a sure way for us to know that we belong to the truth. Even though our inner thoughts may condemn us with storms of guilt and constant reminders of our failures, we can know in our hearts that in His presence God Himself is greater than any accusation. He knows all things. My loved ones, if our hearts cannot condemn us, then we can stand with confidence before God. Whatever we may ask, we receive it from Him because we follow His commands and take the path that pleases Him. His command is clear: believe in the name of His Son, Jesus the Anointed, and love one another as He commanded. The one who follows His teaching and walks this path lives in an intimate relationship with God. How do we know that He lives in us? By the gift of His Spirit. 
(1 John 3:19-24) 

My children, you have come from God and have conquered these spirits because the One who lives within you is greater than the one in this world. 
(1 John 4:4) 

Everything that has been fathered by God overcomes the corrupt world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. 
(1 John 5:4) 

I am writing all of this to you who have entrusted your lives to the Son of God—so you will realize eternal life already is yours. We live in the bold confidence that God hears our voices when we ask for things that fit His plan. And if we have no doubt that He hears our voices, we can be assured that He moves in response to our call. 
(1 John 5:13-15)
Response in Prayer

O Father, thank You for Your generous and overwhelming grace that not only has saved me, but also has enabled me to have confidence that I am Your child and will enjoy Your salvation for all of this earthly life and also the life that is to come. Thank You for the Holy Spirit Who is Your presence within me to guide me, intercede for me, help me know truth from error, and transform me to be like Jesus. Thank You for the Son who paid the penalty for my sin, Who showed me how to live and treat people, and Who is not only my Savior, but also my older brother because of Your grace and His sacrifice. Thank You for my confidence in You! Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!
© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

The Truth about Sin" — A Year with Jesus for 11/17/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved, 

As God's child, you need to know that some truth is very basic, very simple, and that the evil one — the "diabolical one" as John calls him — wants to confuse you by making things complicated or by lying to you about what's important. You can tell those who are My disciples, God's adopted children, My younger siblings by faith, because they live good moral lives full of good deeds. Those who don't live this kind of life are not My disciples and are not God's children. 

You will not live life perfectly. None of the Father's children, except for Me, ever have or ever will. You will slip into an occasional sin. However, My disciples do not, as John describes it, live "a life of habitual sin." My disciples, the Father's children, don't "persist in sin": sin is not their way of life and certainly not their desired way to live. 

My disciples long to live as I did, dedicated to the Father and reflecting the Father's character and compassion. When they do stumble and sin, they confess it instead of trying to hide it. My sacrifice on the cross cleanses them of their sin (1 John 1:5-10). While I don't want you to sin even one sin because of its traps, damage, and consequences, I will forgive and cleanse you of these occasional sins. It's the "habitual" nature of sin and the willingness to "persist" in that sin that ultimately reveals the disloyalty to the Father in a person's heart. 

If you are struggling alone with your sin, please remember John's call for you to confess your sins (1 John 1:7-9). That doesn't just mean that you confess them to Me or the Father, but you also get the help of another couple of brothers or sisters in the Father's family to walk along side you and help strengthen you (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). Confess your sins to these spiritual partners, these confidants in the faith, who can walk beside you, encourage you, challenge you to live the life you want to live in Me, and help you overcome the power of sin's allure that seeks to destroy you (James 1:13-15). 

No one should want the "moral anarchy" of sin and the damage it brings. As James said:
So own up to your sins to one another and pray for one another. In the end, you may be healed. Your prayers are powerful when they are rooted in a righteous life. 
(James 5:16).
Sin will not be your lifestyle, because you are God's child — the Father's spiritual DNA is alive in you through the Holy Spirit. You have been adopted into My family of grace. So let the true Spirit-transformed you shine through in your daily life!
Verses to Live

John's words are simple and clear. Don't let anyone switch the price tags on you when it comes to morality. While none of you is perfect, the fruit of a good person's life ultimately shows through in good deeds and obedient and godly living. John makes that very clear in the following verses from his short letter of 1 John.
You are my little children, so I am writing these things to help you avoid sin. If, however, any believer does sin, we have a high-powered defense lawyer — Jesus the Anointed, the righteous — arguing on our behalf before the Father. It was through His sacrificial death that our sins were atoned. But He did not stop there — He died for the sins of the whole world. 

We know we have joined Him in an intimate relationship because we live out His commands. If someone claims, "I am in an intimate relationship with Him," but this big talker doesn't live out His commands, then this individual is a liar and a stranger to the truth. But if someone responds to and obeys His word, then God's love has truly taken root and filled him. This is how we know we are in an intimate relationship with Him: anyone who says, "I live in intimacy with Him," should walk the path Jesus walked. 
(1 John 2:1-6). 

So now, my little children, live in Him, so that whenever He is revealed, we will have confidence and not have to hang our heads in shame before Him when He comes. If you know that He is just and faithful, then you also know that everyone who lives faithfully and acts justly has been born into a new life through Him. 

Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us — He calls us children of God! It's true; we are His beloved children. And in the same way the world didn't recognize Him, the world does not recognize us either. 

My loved ones, we have been adopted into God's family; and we are officially His children now. The full picture of our destiny is not yet clear, but we know this much: when Jesus appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. All those who focus their hopes on Him and His coming seek to purify themselves just as He is pure. 

Everyone who lives a life of habitual sin is living in moral anarchy. That's what sin is. You realize that He came to eradicate sins, that there is not the slightest bit of sin in Him. The ones who live in an intimate relationship with Him do not persist in sin, but anyone who persists in sin has not seen and does not know the real Jesus. 

Children, don't let anyone pull one over on you. The one doing the right thing is just imitating Jesus, the Righteous One. 

The one persisting in sin belongs to the diabolical one, who has been all about sin from the beginning. That is why the Son of God came into our world: to destroy the plague of destruction inflicted on the world by the diabolical one. 

Everyone who has been born into God's family avoids sin as a lifestyle because the genes of God's children come from God Himself. Therefore, a child of God can't live a life of persistent sin. So it is not hard to figure out who are the children of God and who are the children of the diabolical one: those who lack right standing and those who don't show love for one another do not belong to God. 
(1 John 2:28-29; 1 John 3:1-10)
Response in Prayer

Father in heaven, I want my life to display the character and compassion of Jesus. As Your child, I want My life to be full of the goodness, obedience, kindness, and moral character that my older brother Jesus displayed when He walked this earth. To be adopted into Your family, to be called Your child, to have Jesus as my brother as well as my Lord and Savior is such an incredible blessing. So may my life display my thanks for Your grace so richly poured out on me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Love Each Other!" — A Year with Jesus for 11/15/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved, 

You are the Father's child! 

You are precious! 

You were adopted into Our — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit's — family; you are blood-bought and blood-redeemed. 

Despite your lack of perfection, you are a precious child in the Father's family. 

So is every other person who is a Christian! 

The point of these words is simple. We love you. We love all your brothers and sisters in your spiritual family. We expect you to love, accept, help, receive, and value them as much as you hope We will love, accept, help, receive, and value you. 

Love one another!
Verses to Live

John was known for his teaching about love — the Father's love for a lost world (John 3:16-17) and My love for My disciples as well as My expectation that My disciples will love each other(John 15:12-17). What follows is a collection of verses from 1 John on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Read these words. Yet more than reading them, let them linger in your heart and commit to live them in your life. Love one another — and not just in words, but from the heart demonstrate love for each other! People will recognize that you are My disciples because of the way you demonstrate My love toward each other(John 13:34-35). Not only that, but your love is a way to reveal God to your world (1 John 4:12).
My loved ones, in one sense, I am not writing a new command for you. I am only reminding you of the old command. It's a word you already know, a word that has existed from the beginning. However, in another sense, I am writing a new command for you. The new command is the truth that He lived; and now you are living it, too, because the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining among you. 

Anyone who says, "I live in the light," but hates his brother or sister is still living in the shadows. Anyone who loves his brother or sister lives in the light and will not trip because his conscience is clear. But anyone who hates his brother is in the darkness, stumbling around with no idea where he is going, blinded by the darkness. 
(1 John 2:7-11) 

Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us — He calls us children of God. 
(1 John 3:1) 

The central truth — the one you have heard since the beginning of your faith — is that we must love one another. Please do not act like Cain, who was of the evil one. He brutally murdered his own brother. Why would he do something so despicable? Because his life was devoted to evil and selfishness, and his brother chose to do what is right. 

Brothers and sisters, don't be shocked if the corrupt world despises you. We know that we have crossed over from death to real life because we are devoted to true love for our brothers and sisters. Anyone who does not love lives among corpses. 

Everyone who hates other members of God's family is a murderer. Does a murderer possess the beautiful life that never ends? No. We know what true love looks like because of Jesus. He gave His life for us, and He calls us to give our lives for our brothers and sisters. 

If a person owns the kinds of things we need to make it in the world but refuses to share with those in need, is it even possible that God's love lives in him? My little children, don't just talk about love as an idea or a theory. Make it your true way of life, and live in the pattern of gracious love. 
(1 John 3:11-18) 

His command is clear: believe in the name of His Son, Jesus the Anointed, and love one another as He commanded. The one who follows His teaching and walks this path lives in an intimate relationship with God. How do we know that He lives in us? By the gift of His Spirit. 
(1 John 3:23-24) 

My loved ones, let us devote ourselves to loving one another. Love comes straight from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and truly knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

Because of this, the love of God is a reality among us: God sent His only Son into the world so that we could find true life through Him. This is the embodiment of true love: not that we have loved God first, but that He loved us and sent His unique Son on a special mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins. So, my loved ones, if God loved us so sacrificially, surely we should love one another. No one has ever seen God with human eyes; but if we love one another, God truly lives in us. Consequently God's love has accomplished its mission among us. 
(1 John 4:7-12) 

We have experienced and we have entrusted our lives to the love of God in us. 

God is love. Anyone who lives faithfully in love also lives faithfully in God, and God lives in him. This love is fulfilled with us, so that on the day of judgment we have confidence based on our identification with Jesus in this world. Love will never invoke fear. Perfect love expels fear, particularly the fear of punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been completed through love. 

We love because He has first loved us. If someone claims, "I love God," but hates his brother or sister, then he is a liar. Anyone who does not love a brother or sister, whom he has seen, cannot possibly love God, whom he has never seen. He gave us a clear command, that all who love God must also love their brothers and sisters. 
(1 John 4:16-21)
Response in Prayer

Father, I know that Jesus taught that all people would recognize that we are His disciples because of our love for each other. Help me as I commit to love my brothers and sisters fully and completely as I am loved by You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.
"The Foundation" — A Year with Jesus for 11/16/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

The foundation for everything you hold dear as a Christian and as My disciple is this one fundamental truth: I came as God, in human flesh, Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of the only true and living God. Peter confessed something very similar to this at a key turning point in My ministry and in his life (Matthew 16:16). Over the centuries, many have tried to make Me less than God come in human flesh, but for Me to be the Son of the Father meant no less than this. When I identified Myself as the Father's Son, My Jewish opponents wanted to kill Me for "making himself [Myself] equal with God" (John 5:16-18). To come as the Son of God meant — and still means — I was God in human flesh from conception through the cross to the resurrection and the ascension! 

While human speculation has always wanted to know who the big, evil antiChrist is, John reminded My disciples that they needed to be more concerned about those who were antiChrists — the many over the years who had tried to separate My identity from the Father, to make Me less than God in human flesh, and to make me a created being. These false doctrines and notions undermine the power of the My cross (1 Corinthians 1:17-18; Colossians 2:15; Philippians 2:5-11), discount the incredible grace of My incarnation (John 1:1-18), and dispute what it means for Me to be the true, living, and complete Word and Message of God (Hebrews 1:1-3). I was with the Father at creation and not only did I make all things, but I continue to hold them together by My will and power (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-19). 

I sent you the anointing, the Holy Spirit, to be with you and to guide you into all truth so that you would not be led astray by these antiChrists (John 16:12-15). So you don't need to fear these false teachers; just test the spirit of these teachers to see if they bring the truth about Me (1 John 4:1-6). If they do not, don't associate with them. While those who do good works in My name are not your enemy, those who do not hold to My true identity undermine Who I AM and what I did to bring you salvation. 

If you hold to My true identity, if you believe in Me as Peter did, you can rest assured of this one certainty: you can also be sure of your salvation!
Verses to Live

What follows is a collection of John's strong words about the antiChrists who seek to undermine My identity. They existed in the early days of My church and they exist in your day. Please know this: you must heed John's words of warning, but not in fear. Trust in the Holy Spirit Whom I poured out on you when you were born into the Father's family(John 16:5-11; Titus 3:3-7). The Spirit is your anointing, your assurance that you have the truth and that you belong to the Father. So believe in Me and trust what I say to you: your anointing will guide you into all truth and will confirm what John says about Me!
My children, this is the final hour. You have heard that the antiChrist, the greatest enemy to His kingdom, is coming, but in fact, many antiChrists are already here. This development tells us how late it really is. A group has left us, but they were not part of our family. If they were truly our brothers and sisters, they would have remained for the duration with us. When they left, they made it ever so obvious that they were not part of us. 

You have been given an anointing, a special touch from the Holy One. You know the truth. I am not writing to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it. You know that no lie belongs to the truth. The liar is the one who says, "Jesus is not really the Anointed One." This is the antiChrist, the one denying both the Father and the Son. Anyone who denies the Son does not know the Father. The one affirming the Son enjoys an intimate relationship with the Father as well. 

Let the good news, the story you have heard from the beginning of your journey, live in and take hold of you. If that happens and you focus on the good news, then you will always remain in a relationship with the Son and the Father. This is what He promised us: eternal life. 

I also am writing to warn you about some who are attempting to deceive you. You have an anointing. You received it from Him, and His anointing remains on you. You do not need any other teacher. But as His anointing instructs you in all the essentials (all the truth uncontaminated by darkness and lies), it teaches you this: "Remain connected to Him." 
(1 John 2:18-27) 

There is a sure way for us to know that we belong to the truth. Even though our inner thoughts may condemn us with storms of guilt and constant reminders of our failures, we can know in our hearts that in His presence God Himself is greater than any accusation. He knows all things. My loved ones, if our hearts cannot condemn us, then we can stand with confidence before God. Whatever we may ask, we receive it from Him because we follow His commands and take the path that pleases Him. His command is clear: believe in the name of His Son, Jesus the Anointed, and love one another as He commanded. The one who follows His teaching and walks this path lives in an intimate relationship with God. How do we know that He lives in us? By the gift of His Spirit. 
(1 John 3:19-24) 

Any person who drifts away and fails to live in the teachings of the Anointed One, our Liberating King, does not have God. But the person who lives in this teaching will have both the Father and the Son. If any person comes to you with a teaching that does not align with the true message of Jesus, do not welcome that person into your house or greet him as you would a true brother. Anyone who welcomes this person has become a partner in advancing his wicked agenda. 
(2 John 1:9-11) 

My loved ones, I warn you: do not trust every spirit. Instead, examine them carefully to determine if they come from God, because the corrupt world is filled with the voices of many false prophets. Here is how you know God's Spirit: if a spirit affirms the truth that Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, has come in human flesh, then that spirit is from God. If a spirit does not affirm the true nature of Jesus the Anointed, then that spirit does not come from God and is, in fact, the spirit of the antiChrist. You have heard about its coming; in fact it is already active in the world. My children, you have come from God and have conquered these spirits because the One who lives within you is greater than the one in this world. But they are of this world, and they articulate the views of the corrupt world, which the world understands. We come from God, and those who know God hear us. Whoever is not from God will not listen to us. This is the way we discern the difference between the spirit of truth and the spirit of deception. 
(1 John 4:1-6) 

How can we be sure that He truly lives in us and that we truly live in Him? By one fact: He has given us His Spirit. We have watched what God has done, and we stand ready to provide eyewitness testimonies to the reality that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone unites with our confession that Jesus is God's own Son, then God truly lives in that person and that person lives in God. We have experienced and we have entrusted our lives to the love of God in us. 
(1 John 4:13-16) 

Everyone who trusts Jesus as the long-awaited Anointed One is a child of God, and everyone who loves the Father cannot help but love the child fathered by Him. Then how do we know if we truly love God's children? We love them if we love God and keep His commands. You see, to love God means that we keep His commands, and His commands don't weigh us down. Everything that has been fathered by God overcomes the corrupt world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. 

Who is the person conquering the world? It is the one who truly trusts that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus the Anointed is the One who came by water and blood — not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. 

The Spirit of God testifies to this truth because the Spirit is the truth. So there are three testifying witnesses: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. All three are in total agreement. If we accept the testimonies of people, then we must realize the testimony of God is greater than that of any person. God certified the truth about His own Son. Anyone who trusts the Son of God has this truthful testimony at the core of his being. Anyone who does not trust God calls God a liar because he ignores God's truthful testimony regarding His own Son. And this is the truth: God has given us the gift of eternal life, and this life is in His Son. If you have the Son, you have eternal life. If you do not have the Son of God, you are not acquainted with true life. 

I am writing all of this to you who have entrusted your lives to the Son of God — so you will realize eternal life already is yours. We live in the bold confidence that God hears our voices when we ask for things that fit His plan. And if we have no doubt that He hears our voices, we can be assured that He moves in response to our call. 
(1 John 5:1-15)
Response in Prayer

Father, I don't claim to comprehend all that it means for Jesus to be fully divine and fully human, to be Son of God and Son of a woman, but I do believe it even though I don't fully understand it. I recognize that this is part of Your divine grace — to share our humanity as one of us to redeem us and bring us to Yourself. So thank You for Jesus, My Savior and Lord, and Your Son Who walked among us and was God with us. In Jesus' mighty name I praise and thank You. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Relationship with the Father" — A Year with Jesus for 11/14/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Child of the Glorious and Gracious Father, 

As John neared the end of his physical life, he wrote three short letters to help churches facing all sorts of challenges and then wrote the Apocalypse, which you know as the book of Revelation. Each of these writings deals with real and problematic issues for My disciples near the end of the first century. For the next several days, you will be reading from the short letters of John. Today, your focus will be the first chapter and a little of the second chapter of 1 John. 

First John is a beautiful little tapestry of pastoral concern for My followers. John emphasizes what the Father wants and doesn't want in His relationship with you as His children. The Father doesn't want just a bunch of religious adherents going through religious motions. He wants genuine relationship with you as His children — a relationship that is open and transparent, with everything brought into the light with nothing hidden. When you are open about who you are and what is going on in your life and when you walk in the Father's light (1 John 1:7), My sacrifice purifies you from all sin. 

This relationship in the light of My Father's glory and grace should bring you confidence in your relationship with Us — that you know Us as Father, Son, and Spirit. 

There are three ways that you can assure your heart that you are in this special relationship with us: When there is goodness found in your actions, love demonstrated in your relationships with each other, and faith in Me as the Father's Son, God Who came in human flesh, you can rest assured that your relationship with the Father is secure and life-giving. This is how you walk in the Father's light. 

The five themes emphasized by the words underlined in the previous paragraphs are woven into the tapestry of this short letter again and again. John doesn't have huge blocks of teaching about any one of these in one place. Instead, like a beautiful piece of symphonic music, he weaves these key themes into his music again and again with slight variations and connections. If you read this letter several times, the Spirit helps you pick these themes up as the background music of your lives. 

Here are these five key themes emphasized in 1 John:
Relationship with the Father is a genuine relationship, not a shallow religiosity.
Confidence comes from your relationship with the Father because of My sacrifice, His grace, and the Spirit's assurance in your heart.
Goodness is found in the actions, thoughts, and words of those who are in a genuine relationship with the Father.
Love for each other as brothers and sisters shows that you know the Father's love and are the Father's children.
Faith that I AM the Father's Son, Jesus Who came as God in human flesh.
Listen for these themes. Since 1 John is so short, read it several times over the next several days. Don't try to dissect each short passage, but listen to the letter like you would a great piece of music. Let the interplay of the themes seep into your heart and capture the background track of your life. Each of these five themes will repeat in different connections with each other as a short musical riff and then connect you to the next theme. And like all good music, the interplay of these themes brings a freshness to your life — and in this case, brings you the assurance and joy of eternal life that actually begins right now!
Verses to Live

Today's verses begin with a paragraph about the relationship with the Father and with each other that brings an experience of eternal life and a connection with the Father and Son — a relationship, an experience, and a connection that are intimately real and that connect you with Us as family. This relationship is based upon My mission as God in human flesh Who lived among real people who could see Me, hear Me, and touch Me both before and after My crucifixion and resurrection. It was this mission that the Father sent Me to accomplish and that made your relationship with the Father as His beloved child possible. This means that you don't have to pretend you are perfect. Just bring who you are to the Father — be open and honest and transparent with Him in the light of His glory and grace. When you are, My sacrifice for you purifies you and connects you to others who are saved by grace through their faith in My mission on the cross, in the tomb, and in My resurrection to life. So be filled with hope and joy as you read these words of assurance from My beloved disciple, John.
We want to tell you about the One who was from the beginning. We have seen Him with our own eyes, heard Him with our own ears, and touched Him with our own hands. This One is the manifestation of the life-giving Voice, and He showed us real life, eternal life. We have seen it all, and we can't keep what we witnessed quiet — we have to share it with you. We are inviting you to experience eternal life through the One who was with the Father and came down to us. What we saw and heard we pass on to you so that you, too, will be connected with us intimately and become family. Our family is united by our connection with the Father and His Son Jesus, the Anointed One; and we write all this because retelling this story fulfills our joy. 

What we are telling you now is the very message we heard from Him: God is pure light, undimmed by darkness of any kind. If we say we have an intimate connection with the Father but we continue stumbling around in darkness, then we are lying because we do not live according to truth. If we walk step by step in the light, where the Father is, then we are ultimately connected to each other through the sacrifice of Jesus His Son. His blood purifies us from all our sins. If we go around bragging, "We have no sin," then we are fooling ourselves and are strangers to the truth. But if we own up to our sins, God shows that He is faithful and just by forgiving us of our sins and purifying us from the pollution of all the bad things we have done. If we say, "We have not sinned," then we depict God as a liar and show that we have not let His word find its way into our hearts. 

You are my little children, so I am writing these things to help you avoid sin. If, however, any believer does sin, we have a high-powered defense lawyer [as our advocate and comforter] — Jesus the Anointed, the righteous — arguing on our behalf before the Father. It was through His sacrificial death that our sins were atoned. But He did not stop there — He died for the sins of the whole world. 
(1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-2)
Response in Prayer

Father, I bring to You who I am. I am not trying to hide anything. You know my secrets, good and bad. You know my struggles — those I have won by Your grace and those that have caused me to stumble. You know that my heart longs to live for You and honor You and celebrate Your goodness and grace. So I ask that as I seek to live a life that reflects Your goodness and grace that the Holy Spirit give me confidence in the eternal life I have with You that has already begun and will never end. Thank You for John's beautiful little letter and may its truth fill my heart with the music of Your truth, grace, and joy. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Strong Words of Warning!" — A Year with Jesus for 11/13/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

The verses you will read today contain strong warnings and harsh language for false teachers who were leading My disciples astray and were creating havoc in the fellowship meals ( "love feasts") and gatherings of My disciples. The false teachers were self-absorbed and had perverted grace to justify their sinful lifestyles. 

The first set of verses you read comes from the first part of Jude — these verses are so similar to 2 Peter chapter 2 that only Jude's words are included for today's reading. The second set of verses comes from 2 Peter chapter 3. The third set comes from the end of Jude's short letter. He ends with praise for the Father and reminds My disciples that the Father is the only One Who can save and He will do just that! 

The short little letter called Jude is really more a "tract for troubled times" — an emergency note written with urgency. The second chapter of 2 Peter contains very similar words dealing with a very similar situation:
Depraved souls who stand condemned have made a mockery of the grace given to you, using it as a pretext for a life of sinful excess, lived without any thought of God.
Both Peter and Jude used images from the Old Testament and the punishment the Father brought on rebellious and wanton sinners. These images were written as warnings to My disciples so that they would recognize the gravity of the false teaching and the false teachers who spread it:
...dreamers who have slipped in and defiled your community, rejected those in charge, and insulted the glorious majesty of the heavenly messengers.
Jude had intended to send a much happier letter of encouragement centered on the salvation they shared, but his heart was so troubled by these false teachers, he sent a short message. Peter had a very similar strong teaching that paralleled Jude's message, and he followed his warning about these false teachers with teaching about the judgment coming on those who are godless and make life difficult for My disciples. He described that coming judgment in terms consistent with the fate of the false teachers described in Jude's tract and the second chapter of 2 Peter. 

While I want you to notice the strong language used for those who perverted grace into an excuse for immorality, I also want you to notice that both of these writers ended their messages with encouragement. They were confident that the Father would continue to work in the lives of My disciples and bring them complete salvation. Until that time, Jude reminded My disciples to care for each other. They were to deal with those who had been influenced by the false teachers based on their need and what led them to fall away:
[Y]ou must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. (Jude 1:22-23 NLT)
Jude's last words are especially encouraging and helpful. Carefully notice the third set of verses below. These verses come from the close of Jude's tract and they are beautiful, true, and very practical. Remember, your salvation doesn't ultimately depend upon you, but upon your trusting that the Father is good and can transform you and bring you to Himself as His pure and holy child.
Verses to Live

Please read straight through these verses as one continuous reading. I want you to get the flow of the message. Listen for the strong language that Peter and Jude used to describe these false teachers. Also listen for the encouragement offered at the end of the second and third sets of readings. I AM confident in good things with you and your faith. But I also want you to be aware that there are false teachers who will try to lead you away from Me. So keep your focus on the Father, walk with Me in the Spirit.
Jude, a slave of Jesus the Anointed and a brother of James, to you, the ones whom God our Father loves and has called and whom Jesus, the Anointed One, has kept. Kindness, peace, love — may they never stop blooming in you and from you. 

Friends, I have been trying to write you about our common salvation. But these days my heart is troubled, and I am compelled to write to you and encourage you to continue struggling for the faith that was entrusted to the saints once and for all. Vile men have slithered in among us. Depraved souls who stand condemned have made a mockery of the grace given to us, using it as a pretext for a life of excess, lived without any thought of God. These poor fools have denied Jesus the Anointed, our one Lord and Master. 

You have heard the stories many times, and the Spirit has enlightened you about their meaning, but you still need to be reminded. Remember when the Lord saved our ancestors from the land in Egypt? He breathed life into their earthen lungs and took back the life from those who did not believe. And God has kept the rebellious heavenly messengers bound and chained in utter darkness — shadowy gloom — until the time when His judgment arrives, because they failed to keep their rightful positions and abandoned their appointed realms. Sodom and Gomorrah and all their neighbors were defeated by their own sexual perversions as they pursued the strange and unnatural impulses of the flesh. Let these who went their own way and are experiencing the eternal heat of God's vengeance — a punishment by fire — be a warning to you. 

These stories are examples to help you understand the fate of those dreamers who have slipped in and defiled your community, rejected those in charge, and insulted the glorious majesty of the heavenly messengers. Even their chief, Michael, when disputing with the devil over Moses' body, did not offer his own taunting judgment against him. Michael simply said, "May the Lord's rebuke fall on you." 

The deceivers among you despise what they do not understand; they live without reason like animals, reacting only with primal instincts; and their ways are corrupting them. Woe to these deceivers! They are doomed! They have followed in the footsteps of their father Cain, sold their souls for profit into Balaam's deceit, and suffered the devastation of Korah's rebellion. 

These men are cold stones on the warm hearth of your love feasts as they glut themselves without fear, thinking only of their own benefit. They are waterless clouds, carried away by the wind; autumn's lonely and barren trees, twice dead, uprooted; violent waves of the sea breaking over the bow, foaming with shame; lost and wandering stars destined to live forever in gloomy darkness. 
(Jude 1:1-13) 

This is now, my dear friends, my second letter to you. In both of them, I have tried to inspire you to a sincere and pure way of thinking by reminding you of what you already know. Remember the words spoken earlier by God's holy prophets and the commandment that our Lord and Savior gave to you through your emissaries. Above all, be sure to remember that in the last days mockers will come, following their own desires and taunting you, saying, "So what happened to the promised second coming of Jesus? For everything keeps going just the way it has since our ancestors fell asleep in death; since the beginning of creation, nothing's changed." 

When they make fun of you, it's as if the scoffers are deliberately forgetting that long ago when God spoke the word, the heavens came into existence and the earth formed from water and by water. The waters later flooded and destroyed that world. By that same word, the heavens and earth we see now are being reserved for destruction by fire, preserved until the time comes for the godless on the day of judgment. 

Don't imagine, dear friends, that God's timetable is the same as ours; as the psalm says, for with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. 

Now the Lord is not slow about enacting His promise — slow is how some people want to characterize it — no, He is not slow but patient and merciful to you, not wanting anyone to be destroyed, but wanting everyone to turn away from following his own path and to turn toward God's. 

The day of the Lord will come unexpectedly like a thief in the night; and on that day, the sky will vanish with a roar, the elements will melt with intense heat, and the earth and all the works done on it will be seen as they truly are. Knowing that one day all this will come to pass, think what sort of people you ought to be — how you should be living faithful and godly lives, waiting hopefully for and hastening the coming of God's day when the heavens will vanish in flames and the elements melt away with intense heat. What will happen next, and what we hope for, is what God promised: a new heaven and a new earth where justice reigns. 

So, my friends, while we wait for the day of the Lord, work hard to live in peace, without flaw or blemish; and look at the patience of the Lord as your salvation. 
(2 Peter 3:1-15) 

You, however, should stand firm in the love of God, constructing a life within the holy faith, praying the Spirit's prayer, as you wait eagerly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, which leads to eternal life. 

Keep being kind to those who waver in this faith. Pursue those who are singed by the flames of God's wrath, and bring them safely to Him. Show mercy to others with fear, despising every garment soiled by the weakness of human flesh. 

Now to the One who can keep you upright and plant you firmly in His presence — clean, unmarked, and joyful in the light of His glory — to the one and only God, our Savior, through Jesus the Anointed our Lord, be glory and greatness and might and authority; just as it has been since before He created time, may it continue now and into eternity. Amen 
(Jude 1:20-25)
Response in Prayer

Father, help me discern Your will and recognize false teachers. I don't want to be strident or arrogant in my faith, but neither do I want to tolerate doctrine and teaching that are harmful to Your body. Give me wisdom, dear Father, through Your Holy Spirit within as I seek to discern Your truth, Your teachers, and Your will. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"'After I am gone...'" — A Year with Jesus for 11/12/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Precious Disciple, 

Much as 2 Timothy serves as a farewell message for Paul as he nears the end of his life, 2 Peter plays a similar role for the apostle Peter. He writes this letter to help churches that he influences to be able to resist false teachers and to know how to live productive lives of service and faithfulness after he is gone:
I want to be certain you will be able to call these things to mind anytime you need them even after I am gone.
Your verses today emphasize continued growth — adding this virtue to that virtue and to that virtue another virtue and to another virtue yet one more virtue... Continued growth is necessary so that:
[Y]ou will never be ineffective or unproductive in your relationship with our Lord Jesus.
[Y]ou will never fall along the way; and you can be sure that you will be richly welcomed into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King.
While each of the virtues in the verses below is important, the commitment to continued growth is even more important. The Holy Spirit is at work transforming you to become evermore like Me (2 Corinthians 3:18), producing the character and compassion in you that you know as the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Paul had talked about not having arrived to full maturity, but pressing on to reach it personally (Philippians 3:12-16). Here Peter makes a similar point with My disciples in their own walk toward becoming fully conformed to My "divine nature." 

The goal, as Peter states it, is this:
...to reflect God's true nature through the knowledge of the One who called us by His glory and virtue. Through these things, we have received God's great and valuable promises, so we might escape the corruption of worldly desires and share in the divine nature.
So as long as Peter can "draw breath" he will "keep on stirring you [My disciples] up with these reminders"! 

As you read these verses, I hope you will feel the urgency in Peter's words and recognize the importance of not losing your passion to grow toward Me. The "eternal kingdom" awaits you, so pursue My character and compassion — "the divine nature" — and know with assurance that My glory awaits you!
Verses to Live

The last words of someone before he or she dies are often etched into the memories of their loved ones. Peter is hoping that is exactly what happens with the words of this letter he is sending to My disciples. I have preserved these words for you, so that their message can be etched into your memory and displayed in your lives. Their theme is simple and clear: "grow in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."
Simon Peter, a servant and emissary of Jesus the Anointed One, to those who have received the same precious faith we share through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus the Anointed. I wish you a full measure of grace and peace as you grow in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 

His divine power has given us everything we need to experience life and to reflect God's true nature through the knowledge of the One who called us by His glory and virtue. Through these things, we have received God's great and valuable promises, so we might escape the corruption of worldly desires and share in the divine nature. 

To achieve this, you will need to add virtue to your faith, and then knowledge to your virtue; to knowledge, add discipline; to discipline, add endurance; to endurance, add godliness; to godliness, add affection for others as sisters and brothers; and to affection, at last, add love. For if you possess these traits and multiply them, then you will never be ineffective or unproductive in your relationship with our Lord Jesus the Anointed; but if you don't have these qualities, then you will be nearsighted and blind, forgetting that your past sins have been washed away. Therefore, brothers and sisters, work that much harder to confirm that God has called you and claimed you. If you do this, then you will never fall along the way; and you can be sure that you will be richly welcomed into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King. 

That is why I will keep reminding you of these things, even though I know that you believe them and have made these truths a part of your lives; as long as I draw breath, I know it is right for me to keep on stirring you up with these reminders. I know that soon I must die and lay down this old body that's been my home — our Lord Jesus the Anointed has told me so. But before my exodus from this life, I want to be certain you will be able to call these things to mind anytime you need them even after I am gone. 
(2 Peter 1:1-15)
Response in Prayer

Father, life can wear me down and distract me. I can become bored and chase after things that don't matter much but that fascinate me. So I thank you for Peter's words today that urge me to keep growing and pursuing a life that seeks to share in Your "divine nature" by growing in knowledge and experience of Your presence and nature. I offer myself afresh today, to be molded and conformed to Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

"Trial by Fire" — A Year with Jesus for 11/11/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Friends, 

Years before Peter wrote this short letter to My disciples enduring persecution, he repeatedly faced persecution and opposition from the Sanhedrin (the Jewish Ruling Council in Jerusalem) that had sentenced Me to death. On one of those occasions when the Sanhedrin had threatened Peter and My other apostles, they left rejoicing. Luke describes it this way:
As they left the council, they weren't discouraged at all. In fact, they were filled with joy over being considered worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of His name. And constantly, whether in public, in the temple, or in their homes, they kept teaching and proclaiming Jesus as the Anointed One, the Liberating King. 
(Acts 5:41-42)
Peter now writes believers years later facing the same kind of treatment he endured. He reminds them to not suffer for doing wrong, but follow the example he set years earlier:
[I]f you should suffer for being a Christian, don't think of it as a disgrace... Praise God that you're permitted to carry this name.
In addition to rejoicing, Peter encourages these believers facing their own "trial by fire" to do certain things to help them in their time of persecution.
Stay focused on what is important and pray.
Love each other faithfully.
Share hospitality.
Use their gifts, whether they are speaking or serving gifts, to bless each other.
Don't view their suffering as unusual, but as expected: consider themselves blessed and rejoice in suffering for My name being fully assured that they will share in My coming glory with Me.
Remember the Holy Spirit rests upon and lives within them, so they are not alone even in times of suffering.
Make sure their suffering is for doing what is right and not what is wrong.
Praise God that they wear My name, Christ the Anointed One.
Be humble before the Father knowing that at the right time He will lift them up.
Share their burdens and cares with the Father because He loves them, cares for them, and longs to help shoulder their burdens and care! s.
Be disciplined and on guard because the evil one is roaming like a hungry lion looking to devour people.
Don't fear the devil, but resist him using their strong faith knowing that they are not alone in their suffering.
Remember that the same Father Who will share His eternal presence with them in glory will also restore, support, strengthen, and establish them in their lives now as they await sharing in that glorious presence.
This list is especially important for all those, including you, who are facing suffering, trial, and persecution. Not only is it practical, but it is also encouraging. Peter wanted My disciples facing their own "trial by fire" to have a readily available set of reasons to take heart and remain faithful. Despite the obvious and painful difficulties they faced, he wanted these disciples to remember that victory and glory await them. Near both the beginning and the end of his letter Peter rejoices because My victory over sin, death, and hell has assured that all who truly believe in Me are destined for glory. Near the beginning he says:
Although you haven’t seen Jesus, you still love Him. Although you don’t yet see Him, you do believe in Him and celebrate with a joy that is glorious and beyond words. You are receiving the salvation of your souls as the result of your faith. 
(1 Peter 1:8-9)
His rejoicing near the end of his letter is at the end of the second set of verses below.
Verses to Live

The following two sets of verses come from chapter 4 and chapter 5 in 1 Peter. They are separated by two exhortations related to leadership: First, Peter makes the strong call for elders to serve as shepherds of My flock — not bosses that lord it over those they lead, but as shepherds(1 Peter 5:1-4). Second, he calls for the younger men to be humble and not proud(1 Peter 5:5). Leadership is important when facing persecution and so these words are important along with his guidelines — as listed above — for what to do when faced with persecution. Whether you are facing overt persecution or not, these words from My apostle Peter are worth reading and incorporating into your life. 
We are coming to the end of all things, so be serious and keep your wits about you in order to pray more forcefully. Most of all, love each other steadily and unselfishly, because love makes up for many faults. Show hospitality to each other without complaint. Use whatever gift you've received for the good of one another so that you can show yourselves to be good stewards of God's grace in all its varieties. If you're called upon to talk, speak as though God put the words in your mouth; if you're called upon to serve others, serve as though you had the strength of God behind you. In these ways, God may be glorified in all you do through Jesus the Anointed, to whom belongs glory and power, now and forever. Amen. 

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. 
(1 Peter 4:7-16) 

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 5:6-11)
Response in Prayer

Father, two things tug at my heart today as I read these verses. First, I think of those who are facing incredible persecution for the sake of Your name. Give them strength and faithfulness. Please intervene in our world and bring them relief and rescue. Second, dear Father, give me strength so that my faith can stand in the face of challenge, ridicule, oppression, and persecution. I want to be faithful no matter what happens. Thank You for someone like Peter, who had faced multiple times and multiple forms of persecution. His words mean all the more to me because I know he does not share them lightly. I know he speaks inspired by the Holy Spirit and personally aware of the difficulties. Thank You for such a heritage of faith and such straightforward teaching to help me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Unjust Suffering" — A Year with Jesus for 11/10/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

Life sometimes is not fair. If you have any doubts about that, just remember what you celebrate when you take part in Communion: My body was pierced and abused and My blood was shed because I was condemned based on the lies, jealousy, and politics of evil men. I was sinless, yet crucified as a heinous criminal. So if you face unjust suffering — persecution, harassment, and abuse — because you wear My name, understand that I also faced unfair and unjust treatment. 

If you suffer for doing what is wrong, you are only getting what you deserve. However, if you suffer unjustly and unfairly, people usually eventually notice. People of faith are empowered and emboldened. Unbelievers recognize your holy behavior. Except for the most hardened hearts under hell's influence, your godly behavior in the face of injustice and unfairness appeals to hearts of those looking for truth. Don't be discouraged. Your suffering will not be wasted or forgotten by the Father. 

In the face of ridicule, harassment, and abuse, your righteous character and gracious compassion will win the hearts of those who witness your life. Some will even want to know what your reason for having hope in Me might be. So be ready to give an answer or offer your defense for your faith in Me. But remember, do this "humbly and respectfully" in a way consistent with your way of life as My disciple. Remember not only that your goal is to win your case or your freedom or your rights, but that your goal is also to win the hearts of the unbelievers before whom you give witness.
Verses to Live

These verses selected from 1 Peter chapters 2 and 3 in your Bibles are connected by the theme of righteous and compassionate behavior while facing unjust suffering. The principles Peter shares here show his maturity and mellowing. Peter has been transformed from the arrogant and impetuous apostle who seemed to always overstate everything into the loving shepherd who had faced tough times and wanted to equip those he led for their tough times. Whether you face persecution, ostracism, injustice, unfairness, or passive-aggressive hostility from those around you, these words need to grab your heart and mold your behavior so that you can be an effective witness for Me. 
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. 
(1 Peter 2:13-17) 

If you are a slave, submit yourself to the master who has authority over you, whether he is kind and gentle or harsh as he deals with you. For grace is clearly at work when a person accepts undeserved pain and suffering and does so because he is mindful of God. For what credit is there in enduring punishment you deserve? But if you do what is right and yet are punished and endure it patiently, God will be pleased with you. For you were called to this kind of life, as Isaiah said,
He did no wrong deed, 
and no evil word came from His mouth.
The Anointed One suffered for us and left us His example so that we could follow in His steps. When He was verbally abused, He didn't return the abuse; when He suffered, He didn't make threats to cause suffering in return; instead, He trusted that all would be put right by the One who is just when He judges. 
(1 Peter 2:18-23) 

Finally, all of you, be like-minded and show sympathy, love, compassion, and humility to and for each other — not paying back evil with evil or insult with insult, but repaying the bad with a blessing. It was this you were called to do, so that you might inherit a blessing. 
(1 Peter 3:8-9) 

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. The Anointed One suffered for sins once for all time — the righteous suffering for the unrighteous — so that He might bring us to God. 
(1 Peter 3:13-18)
Response in Prayer

Holy and gracious Father, give me strength to be gracious and faithful in the face of injustice, unfairness, ostracism, and intolerance. I need Your help to faithfully demonstrate Your righteous character and Your gracious compassion. So I ask to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit as I offer myself to You as Your willing servant and witness. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!
© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

Be Holy!" — A Year with Jesus for 11/09/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Holy One, 

You are a "saint" — the term means "holy one." That is what you are because of your redemption purchased with My blood. I have made you a "priest" and part of "a royal order of priests who offer up spiritual sacrifices." Like "living stones" you are being assembled into the holy dwelling place for Us — Father, Son, and Spirit. To be a "saint" — a holy one — means that you have dedicated — set apart — your life to live for the Father's purpose in your world. 

I know a common saying in your world is, "I'm no saint!" However, if you have been reborn into My family, if you are truly My disciple, then you are not only a child of the Father, you are also a "saint" — a person living for God's purposes and seeking to reflect God's righteous character and gracious compassion in your life. You are part of My holy people who are a "royal order of priests, a holy nation ... so that you may proclaim the wondrous acts of the One who called you out of inky darkness into shimmering light." Don't downplay what I have made of you. Don't shortchange the role I have asked you to play in a world of darkness and decay. 

Peter's point in the verses below to these early believers was clear. He makes this point several ways: Be holy! 

"Be holy in all you do" because of Who your Father is: He is holy, so you must reflect that holiness in all that you do. 

Be holy because you know the "price was paid to redeem you" from your old life that led to destruction. Your redemption price was paid by My "precious blood" as I offered Myself as the "perfect and unblemished sacrificial lamb." 

Be holy because you have been reborn through the living and enduring and eternally true "word of God." 

Be holy because "you have tasted and found the Lord to be good." 

Be holy because you are part of "a holy order of priests who offer up spiritual sacrifices" and you are being "assembled into a spiritual" temple where We live. 

Be holy because you are "chosen" and "royal" and "holy" — as Peter says it, you are "God's own"! 

Be holy because "you don't belong in this world. You are resident aliens living in exile" among people who don't understand you or appreciate you. However, as they get to know you, as they see your honorable behavior, as they witness your holy life, as you live obediently to My will, you will be light to their darkness and salt to their decay (Matthew 5:13-16) and your influence upon the world around you will matter. 

Be holy. Live up to who you are. Be who the Father has made you based on your faith and rebirth into Our family. Even if you suffer for your faith, be holy in the face of suffering knowing that your example and sacrifice will influence others to know Me and be ready for My return.
Verses to Live

The following collection of verses comes from 1 Peter chapters 1 and 2. These verses are written to folks facing trials and persecutions. Peter knows their suffering — suffering for doing what is right — is unfair. His first answer, that I shared in My note yesterday, was to focus upon praise. They needed to rejoice in their living hope they had in Me. Today verses are Peter's reminder to them of their new and exalted identity as My people, purchased by My sacrifice, and called to a clear purpose — "so that you may proclaim the wondrous acts of the One who called you out of inky darkness into shimmering light." Tomorrow's verses will emphasize that if they are going to suffer, make sure they suffer for doing what is right and not for doing what is wrong.
So get yourselves ready, prepare your minds to act, control yourselves, and look forward in hope as you focus on the grace that comes when Jesus the Anointed returns and is completely revealed to you. Be like obedient children as you put aside the desires you used to pursue when you didn't know better. Since the One who called you is holy, be holy in all you do. For the Scripture says, "You are to be holy, for I am holy." If you call on the Father who judges everyone without partiality according to their actions, then you should live in reverence and awe while you live out the days of your exile. 

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, 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. Through Him, you've been brought to trust in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him for the very reason that your faith and hope are in Him. 

Now that you have taken care to purify your souls through your submission to the truth, you can experience real love for each other. So love each other deeply from a pure heart. You have been reborn — not from seed that eventually dies but from seed that is eternal — through the word of God that lives and endures forever 
(1 Peter 1:13-23) 

So get rid of hatefulness and deception, of insincerity and jealousy and slander. Be like newborn babies, crying out for spiritual milk that will help you grow into salvation if you have tasted and found the Lord to be good. 

Come to Him — the living stone — who was rejected by people but accepted by God as chosen and precious. Like living stones, let yourselves be assembled into a spiritual house, a holy order of priests who offer up spiritual sacrifices that will be acceptable to God through Jesus the Anointed. 
(1 Peter 2:1-5) 

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. 
(1 Peter 2:9-12)
Response in Prayer

O Father, forgive me for not valuing who I am and not living up to what You have made me and declared me to be. Too often I get caught up in the every day messes of my world and forget that You have put me where I am to be a witness to Your grace, mercy, and redemption. I need strength to be bold and wisdom to know how to use that boldness so that I can proclaim Your wondrous grace that has delivered me from my darkness into Your "shimmering light" of salvation and purpose. I ask for this strength and courage in Jesus' name. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Worship in Your Daily World" — A Year with Jesus for 11/07/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

While it is important to be involved in Christian assembly and gather together with believers for encouragement, exhortation and worship (Hebrews 10:19-25), please know worship is much bigger than a few hours of the week spent with other believers. We — Father, Son, and Spirit — want worship to be your whole life, not just a little sliver of your time given on one or two days of the week. Just as you have been commanded to love us with all your mind and with all your heart and with all your strength, your worship should involve your head, your heart, and your hands; everything you do should be done as worship to Us. Paul said it well when he wrote to the Romans:
Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship. 
(Romans 12:1)
As My writer of Hebrews comes to the end of his "word of exhortation" (Hebrews 13:22), he calls on his readers — and I'm calling on you — to worship in your daily world with head, heart, and hands. 

Unfortunately the chapter divisions that were put in your Bibles to help can sometimes lead you to miss the Holy Spirit's message. Because chapter 12 ends with the call to worship with "awe and reverence," some mistakenly think this is talking about being reverent when you gather for Christian assembly. Now, of course, all worship needs to be approached with "awe and reverence." However, because of the chapter division between chapter 12 and chapter 13 in your Bibles, you may miss the main point being made by the writer of Hebrews. He is stressing that this "awe and reverence" needs to a part of your worship in the daily world. In fact, he tells how to worship in "awe and reverence" in the first 14 verses of chapter 13 and then returns to the place he began at the end of chapter 12: "the praise of lips that confess His [My] name without ceasing" and doing "what is good" and sharing "what we [you] have" — these are the "sacrifices" that please Us! 

So what is this worship in your daily world that means so much to Me, the Father, and the Holy Spirit? 

Here's the list from this section of Hebrews:
Let your love continue toward each other.
Extend hospitality, including to strangers.
Don't forget to care for those in prison for their faith.
Value marriage and keep your marriage sexually pure.
Stay away from greed and the love of money by being content with what you have knowing that We will never forsake you.
Follow your leaders and live the kind of life they have lived.
Stay away from novel and strange teachings and worship, valuing the sacrifice I made for you and realizing the preciousness of the communion you share with Me.
Join Me and My work, even if it means being pushed outside the acceptance of the crowd and even if it involves suffering for My cause knowing you have a better future with Me.
This, My dear disciple, is true worship. Yes, I love it when you praise the Father and confess My name in word and song. However, don't forget to do good to all people and share what you have and who you are and what you believe with others. This, My dear disciple, is real worship and these are things that you can do each day to worship with "awe and reverence"!
Verses to Live

A common way writers in My day and in the days of the early church signaled that material went together was to use a little technique called inclusio. Basically what that means is that they put verbal brackets or bookends around their teaching. These bookends talked about the same thing in different words to show that the spoken or written words between them go together. That is what My writer of Hebrews used to give you this section on worship in your daily world. He began with an emphasis on worship(Hebrews 12:28-29) and ended with this same theme(Hebrews 13:15-16). In between these two bookends, he shared what this worship looked like in their daily world as disciples. I want you to focus on two things as you read that material between the bookends:
Notice how this list from 2,000 years ago is still relevant, needed, and true in your day.
What other things could you add to this list about how to worship the Father in your daily world?
Therefore, let us all be thankful that we are a part of an unshakable Kingdom and offer to God worship that pleases Him and reflects the awe and reverence we have toward Him, for He is like a fierce fire that consumes everything. 

Let love continue among you. Don't forget to extend your hospitality to all — even to strangers — for as you know, some have unknowingly shown kindness to heavenly messengers in this way. Remember those imprisoned for their beliefs as if you were their cellmate; and care for any who suffer harsh treatment, as you are all one body. 

Hold marriage in high esteem, all of you, and keep the marriage bed pure because God will judge those who commit sexual sins. 

Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have because He has said, "I will never leave you; I will always be by your side." Because of this promise, we may boldly say,
The Lord is my help — 
I won't be afraid of anything. 
How can anyone harm me?
Listen to your leaders, who have spoken God's word to you. Notice the fruits of their lives and mirror their faith. 

Jesus the Anointed One is always the same: yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried away by diverse and strange ways of believing or worshiping. It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about what you can eat (which do no good even for those who observe them). We approach an altar from which those who stand before the altar in the tent have no right to eat. In the past, the bodies of those animals whose blood was carried into the sanctuary by the high priest to take away sin were all burned outside the camp. (In the same way, Jesus suffered and bled outside the city walls of Jerusalem to sanctify the people.) 

Let's then go out to Him and resolve to bear the insult and abuse that He endured. For as long as we are here, we do not live in any permanent city, but are looking for the city that is to come. 

Through Jesus, then, let us keep offering to God our own sacrifice, the praise of lips that confess His name without ceasing. Let's not neglect what is good and share what we have, for these sacrifices also please God. 
(Hebrews 12:28-29; Hebrews 13:1-16)
Response in Prayer

O Father, please help me tear down the wall in my mind that I use to separate my life into the secular and the sacred. Help me, dear Father, to live with all of life as sacred and recognizing that all of my thoughts, emotions, and actions are part of my worship of You. I want to worship You with all of my mind and with all of my heart and with all of my strength. So please, dear Father, may my thoughts be worship, may my heart be full of your grace and praise, and may the work of my hands and the path of my feet bring You honor, glory, and praise in my daily life. I ask this in the name of Jesus, Who lived a life of worship and praise in His daily world to bring Your grace to all He taught, loved, and touched. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Encouragement Counts" — A Year with Jesus for 11/06/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Precious One, 

Encouragement matters! You were not created to do life alone. 

We — Father, Son, and Spirit — made Adam to need Eve, and Eve to need Adam. We called Abraham to be the father of a nation, not a solo person of faith. That nation was Israel, and we formed Israel to be the redeeming influence on the world — not a race to retreat from the world, but to lead the world to faith in Us. Israel didn't fulfill that mission, but then I came as God in the flesh, Jesus of Nazareth. Yet I did not live My life or conduct My ministry alone — I had many disciples, 12 of whom I called close to Me and called apostles. I even had 3 very close disciples — Peter, James, and John — with whom I shared some very important moments. The point is, My precious one, I did not do life alone even as the Son of God! 

After My death and resurrection, I poured out the Holy Spirit on My disciples at Pentecost. Peter preached a message that called on people to turn to Me in repentance, to be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and to be added to My new people of faith. Immediately this group of followers began to meet publicly in big groups and in homes as small groups. The point is that they knew they needed to do life together as My spiritual family. Throughout your New Testament, you will see My church referred to as a family (e.g., Galatians 6:10; 1 Peter 4:17) or as My bodily presence on earth (e.g., Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30). These two images are more than symbolic: they speak to the truth of your need for each other and your connectedness with each other. 

After the writer of Hebrews finished his detailed explanation of the New Covenant that I brought to you, he returned to his main purpose in writing his "word of exhortation": he encouraged My disciples not to forsake getting together — they needed each other and they needed to encourage each other. Then he gave a series of examples of ordinary people with great faith — My people, your spiritual ancestors. He used these great stories of faith to be the motivation for his target audience to be faithful. In fact, he emphasized that the faith of these great heroes of faith didn't accomplish its full objective if My disciples didn't live out their faith in their day:
These, though commended by God for their great faith, did not receive what was promised. That promise has awaited us, who receive the better thing that God has provided in these last days, so that with us, our forebears might finally see the promise completed. 
(Hebrews 11:39-40)
If yesterday's detailed explanation of the better covenant — built on My better and once-forever sacrifice that made Me a better high priest — spoke to the heads of the recipients of the Hebrews letter, then today's examples and exhortations appealed to their hearts. Just after these examples and exhortations, the writer included these words:
So since we stand surrounded by all those who have gone before, an enormous cloud of witnesses, let us drop every extra weight, every sin that clings to us and slackens our pace, and let us run with endurance the long race set before us. 

Now stay focused on Jesus, who designed and perfected our faith. He endured the cross and ignored the shame of that death because He focused on the joy that was set before Him; and now He is seated beside God on the throne, a place of honor. 

Consider the life of the One who endured such personal attacks and hostility from sinners so that you will not grow weary or lose heart. 
(Hebrews 12:1-3)
Verses to Live

As you read today's verses, first hear the importance of getting together with other believers to encourage each other to live My life before your watching world. Then, I want you to be blessed and inspired by the great examples of faith in Hebrews 11. Remember, these are not "Bible characters" who are somehow different from you. These are simply everyday folks, normal characters, who lived by faith to honor the Father. They are in the Bible because of that faith, not because they were somehow better than anyone else. You, too, can be in the Father's faith hall of fame if you will stay connected with My other followers and you encourage each other to live faithfully for Me! 
Since we have a great High Priest who presides over the house of God, let us draw near with true hearts full of faith, with hearts rinsed clean of any evil conscience, and with bodies cleansed with pure water. Let us hold strong to the confession of our hope, never wavering, since the One who promised it to us is faithful. Let us consider how to inspire each other to greater love and to righteous deeds, not forgetting to gather as a community, as some have forgotten, but encouraging each other, especially as the day of His return approaches. 
(Hebrews 10:21-25) 

My friends, we are not those who give up hope and so are lost; but we are of the company who live by faith and so are saved. 

Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you've never seen. It was by faith that our forebears were approved. Through faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God; everything we now see was fashioned from that which is invisible. 

By faith Abel presented to God a sacrifice more acceptable than his brother Cain's. By faith Abel learned he was righteous, as God Himself testified by approving his offering. And by faith he still speaks, although his voice was silenced by death. 

By faith Enoch was carried up into heaven so that he did not see death; no one could find him because God had taken him. Before he was taken up, it was said of him that he had pleased God. Without faith no one can please God because the one coming to God must believe He exists, and He rewards those who come seeking. 

By faith Noah respected God's warning regarding the flood — the likes of which no one had ever seen — and built an ark that saved his family. In this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith. 

By faith Abraham heard God's call to travel to a place he would one day receive as an inheritance; and he obeyed, not knowing where God's call would take him. By faith he journeyed to the land of the promise as a foreigner; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, his fellow heirs to the promise because Abraham looked ahead to a city with foundations, a city laid out and built by God. 

By faith Abraham's wife Sarah became fertile long after menopause because she believed God would be faithful to His promise. So from this man, who was almost at death's door, God brought forth descendants, as many as the stars in the sky and as impossible to count as the sands of the shore. 

All these I have mentioned died in faith without receiving the full promises, although they saw the fulfillment as though from a distance. These people accepted and confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on this earth because people who speak like this make it plain that they are still seeking a homeland. If this was only a bit of nostalgia for a time and place they left behind, then certainly they might have turned around and returned. But such saints as these look forward to a far better place, a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God because He has prepared a heavenly city for them. 

By faith Abraham, when he endured God's testing, offered his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice. The one who had received God's promise was willing to offer his only son; God had told him, "It is through Isaac that your descendants will bear your name," and he concluded that God was capable of raising him from the dead, which, figuratively, is indeed what happened. 

By faith Isaac spoke blessings upon his sons, Jacob and Esau, concerning things yet to come. 

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed the sons of his son Joseph, bowing in worship as he leaned upon his staff. 

By faith Joseph, at his life's end, predicted that the children of Israel would make an exodus from Egypt; and he gave instructions that his bones be buried in the land they would someday reach. 

By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born because they saw that he was handsome; and they did not fear Pharaoh's directive that all male Hebrew children were to be slain. 

By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be identified solely as the son of Pharaoh's daughter and chose instead to share the sufferings of the people of God, not just living in sin and ease for a time. He considered the abuse that he and the people of God had suffered in anticipation of the Anointed One more valuable than all the riches of Egypt because he looked ahead to the coming reward. 

By faith Moses left Egypt, unafraid of Pharaoh's wrath and moving forward as though he could see the invisible God. Through faith, he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of blood on the doorposts among the Hebrews so that the destroyer of the firstborn would pass over their homes without harming them. By faith the people crossed through the Red Sea as if they were walking on dry land, although the pursuing Egyptian soldiers were drowned when they tried to follow. 

By faith the walls of Jericho toppled after the people had circled them for seven days. By faith the prostitute Rahab welcomed the Hebrew spies into her home so that she did not perish with the unbelievers. 

I could speak more of faith; I could talk until time itself ran out. If I continued, I could speak of the examples of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, of David and Samuel and all the prophets. I could give accounts of people alive with faith who conquered kingdoms, brought justice, obtained promises, and closed the mouths of hungry lions. I could tell you how people of faith doused raging fires, escaped the edge of the sword, made the weak strong, and — stoking great valor among the champions of God — sent opposing armies into panicked flight. 

I could speak of faith bringing women their loved ones back from death and how the faithful accepted torture instead of earthly deliverance because they believed they would obtain a better life in the resurrection. Others suffered mockery and whippings; they were placed in chains and in prisons. The faithful were stoned, sawn in two, killed by the sword, clothed only in sheepskins and goatskins; they were penniless, afflicted, and tormented. The world was not worthy of these saints. They wandered across deserts, crossed mountains, and lived in the caves, cracks, and crevasses of the earth. 
(Hebrews 10:39; Hebrews 11:1-38)
Response in Prayer

Almighty Father, thank You for not leaving me alone! I thank You for the Holy Spirit Who lives inside me to comfort, strengthen, and lead me. Thank You for Jesus Who lives to make intercession for me before Your throne of grace. Thank You for giving me a spiritual family that I can call my own family. Thank You for giving me all these great examples of faith. My prayer, dear Father, is that I can live a life of faithfulness to Your honor and glory. I don't do this to earn my way into Your family — I thank You for already accepting me and adopting me into your family. I do this to demonstrate to You how blessed I am to be Your adopted child and to demonstrate Your righteous character and gracious compassion before the world. May I be found faithful, O LORD. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc

"Don't Let It Slip Away" — A Year with Jesus for 11/04/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

Vibrant faith is precious. Yet time, troubles, trials, and temptations can act like the devil's acids to eat away at your faith until the passion of vibrant faith is eroded. Before long, vibrant faith can become neglected faith and then ignored faith. One day you look up and your faith has slipped away from you. My writer of Hebrews first gently warned his readers about this problem with these words — I have emphasized the slipping away of faith in bold:
That is why we ought to pay even closer attention to the voice that has been speaking so that we will never drift away from it. For if the words of instruction and inspiration brought by heaven's messengers were valid, and if we live in a universe where sin and disobedience receive their just rewards, then how will we escape destruction if we ignore this great salvation. 
(Hebrews 2:1-3)
Later he followed this original warning to "pay even closer attention" with a second warning to "pay close attention":
Brothers and sisters, pay close attention so you won't develop an evil and unbelieving heart that causes you to abandon the living God. Encourage each other every day — for as long as we can still say "today" — so none of you let the deceitfulness of sin harden your hearts. For we have become partners with the Anointed One — if we can just hold on to our confidence until the end. 
(Hebrews 3:12-14)
his second warning is a little stronger and speaks of the process of developing "an evil and unbelieving heart that causes you to abandon the living God". Notice the progression that can lead to total erosion of faith:
The deceitfulness of sin.
Hardening of the heart.
Developing an evil and unbelieving heart.
Abandoning the living God.
Importantly, in these first two warnings, the writer of Hebrews reminds you that there are faith agents that can help neutralize the devil's efforts to erode your faith. The four following faith agents are themes that run through the whole "word of exhortation" (Hebrews 13:22) you call the book of Hebrews:
Pay close attention to your faith, the promises of God, the great work I did in saving you, and the great salvation you have received.
Involve yourself in a family of believers where you can encourage each other daily.
Remember you are partners with Me in the great work of redemption and in the coming glory.
Intentionally hold on to your confidence in Me, in your faith in Me, in the promises you have in Me, and in your victory assured by My victory over sin, death, and hell.
Verses to Live

In the following verses, My writer of Hebrews shares two more warnings — strong, shocking warnings that are the culmination of the two previous warnings. They talk about the results of what happens when people actually reach the point when they "abandon the living God"! Yet as harsh as these warnings are, I want you to notice that in both of these warnings, the writer of Hebrews emphasizes his confidence that the disciples who hear his message will not come to such a bitter and destructive disaster with their faith — I have emphasized these in bold in the verses below. My writer of Hebrews gave the warnings to wake up My disciples from their lethargy, and he was confident that these warnings would work and that My disciples would respond. I am confident that the warnings will have the same effect on you, dear disciple, and that you will not let Satan's acids eat away the vibrancy of your faith. Instead, the warnings will stir your heart and call you to fully trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit to rekindle the vibrancy and passion of your faith and your promise of "such a great salvation"!
I have a lot more to say about this [blessing of having Jesus as your great High Priest], but it may be hard for you to follow since you've become dull in your understanding. By this time, you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet I feel like you want me to reteach you the most basic things that God wants you to know. It's almost like you're a baby again, coddled at your mother's breast, nursing, not ready for solid food. No one who lives on milk alone can know the ins and outs of what it means to be righteous and pursue justice; that's because he is only a baby. But solid food is for those who have come of age, for those who have learned through practice to distinguish good from evil. 

So let's push on toward a more perfect understanding and move beyond just the basic teachings of the Anointed One. There's no reason to rehash the fundamentals: repenting from what you loved in your old dead lives, believing in God as our Creator and Redeemer, teaching about baptism, setting aside those called to service through the ritual laying on of hands, the coming resurrection of those who have died, and God's final judgment of all people for all time. No, we will move on toward perfection, if God wills it. 

It is impossible to restore the changed heart of the one who has fallen from faith — who has already been enlightened, has tasted the gift of new life from God, has shared in the power of the Holy Spirit, and has known the goodness of God's revelation and the powers of the coming age. If such a person falls away, it's as though that one were crucifying the Son of God all over again and holding Him up to ridicule. You see, God blesses the ground that drinks of the rain and then produces a bountiful crop for those who cultivate it. But land that produces nothing but thorns and brambles? That land is worthless and in danger of being cursed, burned to the bare earth. 

But listen, my friends — we don't mean to discourage you completely with such talk. We are convinced that you are made for better things, the things of salvation, because God is not unjust or unfair. He won't overlook the work you have done or the love you have carried to each other in His name while doing His work, as you are still doing. We want you all to continue working until the end so that you'll realize the certainty that comes with hope and not grow lazy. We want you to walk in the footsteps of the faithful who came before you, from whom you can learn to be steadfast in pursuing the promises of God. 
(Hebrews 5:11-14; Hebrews 6:1-12) 

Now if we willfully persist in sin after receiving such knowledge of the truth, then there is no sacrifice left for those sins — only the fearful prospect of judgment and a fierce fire that will consume God's adversaries. Remember that those who depart from the law of Moses are put to death without mercy based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much more severe the punishment will be for those who have turned their backs on the Son of God, trampled on the blood of the covenant by which He made them holy, and outraged the Spirit of grace with their contempt. For we know the God who said, "Vengeance belongs to Me — I will repay," also said, "The Eternal One will judge His people." It is truly a frightening thing to be on the wrong side of the living God. 

Instead, think 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. Remember this, and do not abandon your confidence, which will lead to rich rewards. Simply endure, for when you have done as God requires of you, you will receive the promise. 
(Hebrews 10:26-36)
Response in Prayer

Relight the fire of vibrant faith in my heart, O Father, for I want to live a passionate life of service for You in confident trust in my future with You. Rekindle my passion through Your Holy Spirit as I focus my attention on Jesus, the perfecter of my faith and the One in Whom I have placed my confidence and hope. I pray this in His name, Jesus the Anointed One, my Savior and Lord. Amen. 
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"New Covenant People" — A Year with Jesus for 11/05/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Child of the Father, 

Today you are going to read excerpts from Hebrews chapters 7-10. The teaching in these chapters is challenging, especially for those not taught in the ways of Israel from the Torah — the five books of "law" that begin the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. I want to help you catch the gist of what these important chapters in Hebrews teach and why this teaching was so important to these early Jewish Christians. 

Because some of My Jewish disciples were growing a bit discouraged by their new life as Christians — a life that had included hardship and persecution — and because some of the original vibrancy of their Christian faith was slipping away from them, these Jewish disciples were being lured back into their old religious ways of life. This life was built on the Old Covenant — the Torah and all the laws included in the covenant God made with Israel through Moses with all of its sacrifices, special places, and special people. 

The writer of Hebrews writes this section of his "word of exhortation" to encourage My Jewish disciples not to go back to their Old Covenant practices and not to surrender their faith in Me as their all sufficient and once-and-good-forever sacrifice, their true Savior, their one mediator of a new and better covenant, and their High Priest in the presence of the Father forever. Basically this material is explained in detail over these chapters and includes several important lines of thought:
I AM the special High Priest not descended from Levi like other priests, but a priest like Melchizedek — one of special origin, chosen by the Father. I AM the new High Priest — compassionate, blameless, and pure — and My priesthood lasts forever. I AM the "perfected Son a High Priest for all time" (Hebrews 7:1-28).
As this eternal High Priest, I AM "the guarantee of a new and better covenant" (Hebrews 7:22) and "the Mediator of a better covenant established on better promises" (Hebrews 8:6).
If the first covenant had been perfect, there would not have been a need for My new and eternal covenant, but in fact since the times of Jeremiah, that covenant was fading away in its efficacy (Hebrews 7:11; Hebrews 7:18-20; Hebrews 8:7-13).
The first covenant was built on shadows and symbols — "simply a shadow of the good things to come" — the things you find in heaven with the Father, but I brought the substance of those symbols and fulfilled their meaning in every way (Hebrews 9:1-28; Hebrews 10:1-18).
Verses to Live

As you read this collection of verses from the book of Hebrews, please notice the emphasis on My sacrifice which brings you the better High Priest (Me) and better promises. My sacrifice was once-for-all, meaning it is good forever and no other sacrifice for sins is needed. I have brought you a new and eternal covenant and I live to make intercession for you with the Father. You can know with assurance that your sins are forgiven and that you can always come to Me with your troubles, trials, and temptations and receive help from the One high priest who can sympathize, comfort, intercede, and deliver you! These are important truths for you to know whether your background is in Judaism or not.
If a perfect method of reconciling with God — a perfect priesthood — had been found in the sons of Levi (a priesthood that communicated God's law to the people), then why would the Scriptures speak of another priest... Doesn't it seem obvious? Jesus... is someone who has become a priest, not because of some requirement about human lineage, but because of the power of a life without end. Remember, the psalmist says,
You are a priest forever — 
in the honored order of Melchizedek.
Because the earlier commandment was weak and did not reconcile us to God effectively, it was set aside — after all, the law could not make anyone or anything perfect. God has now introduced a new and better hope, through which we may draw near to Him... 
(Hebrews 7:11-19) 

So we can see that Jesus has become the guarantee of a new and better covenant. .. He is able to save those who approach God through Him for all time because He will forever live to be their advocate in the presence of God. 

It is only fitting that we should have a High Priest who is devoted to God, blameless, pure, compassionate toward but separate from sinners, and exalted by God to the highest place of honor. Unlike other high priests, He does not first need to make atonement every day for His own sins, and only then for His people's, because He already made atonement, reconciling us with God once and forever when He offered Himself as a sacrifice. The law made imperfect men high priests; but after that law was given, God swore an oath that made His perfected Son a high priest for all time. 
(Hebrews 7:22-28) 

But now Jesus has taken on a new and improved priestly ministry; and in that respect, He has been made the Mediator of a better covenant established on better promises. Remember, if the first covenant had been able to reconcile everyone to God, there would be no reason for a second covenant. 
(Hebrews 8:6-7) 

With the words "a new covenant," God made the first covenant old, and what is old and no longer effective will soon fade away completely. 
(Hebrews 8:13) 

When the Anointed One [Jesus Christ] arrived as High Priest of the good things that are to come, He entered through a greater and more perfect sanctuary that was not part of the earthly creation or made by human hands. He entered once for all time into the most holy place — entering, not with the blood of goats or calves or some other prescribed animal, but offering His own blood and thus obtaining redemption for us for all time. 
(Hebrews 9:11-12) 

This is why Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant: through His death, He delivered us from the sins that we had built up under the first covenant, and His death has made it possible for all who are called to receive God's promised inheritance. 
(Hebrews 9:15) 

Just as mortals are appointed to die once and then to experience a judgment, so the Anointed One, our Liberating King, was offered once in death to bear the sins of many and will appear a second time, not to deal again with sin, but to rescue those who eagerly await His return. 
(Hebrews 9:27-28) 

By God's will, we are made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus the Anointed once and for all time. 
(Hebrews 10:10) 

When there is forgiveness such as this, there is no longer any need to make an offering for sin. 
(Hebrews 10:18)
Response in Prayer

O God I praise You. I praise You Father for Your boundless grace and Your plan to redeem me from my sin. I think You Jesus, the Son, Who took on flesh and blood, yet was sinless and gave Yourself as the perfect sacrifice for my sin and now are alive to make intercession for me and to provide grace to help in my times of need. I thank You, Holy Spirit, for being the power and presence of the Almighty Who lives in me, to guide and lead me in the ways I should go and help me understand the Scriptures and the will of the Father. I praise You O God for Your awesome power, Your glory beyond description, Your holiness and perfection, and Your boundless grace that has made me Your own. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

I Came to Help You!" — A Year with Jesus for 11/03/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved Sibling, 

Yes, I know some of you who read this have trouble thinking of Me as your older brother, yet by grace that is Who I AM to you. I taught My disciples to pray to "Our Father..." (Matthew 6:9). As My beloved writer of Hebrews emphasized in the verses you will read today, My disciples are also My "brothers and sisters." You have been born into My family (John 3:5-8). This is one of the reasons why I "took on flesh and blood" and lived among you, as one of you. 

My concern was not for My glory or for any other being in heaven or on earth. My concern was for you — for My brothers and sisters. I came to honor the Father and to "destroy the one who held power over death" and to free you from fear. I came to share your world so that you can be assured that by coming to the Father, through Me, you will always "find mercy and grace to help when [you] need it most"! 

I AM your great High Priest. I offered myself as the once-for-all-time atoning sacrifice for your sin and thereby brought "reconciliation" between you and the Father. I AM your great High Priest: the one now "approaching God on behalf" of you — the one acquainted with your "suffering" and the one who also offered up "prayers and pleas, groans and tears" to the Father. As your great High Priest, I can promise you four things:
You don't have to fear death; I have conquered death and the devil who uses it to wound and maim and destroy.
Your sin is forgiven and you stand before God as righteous and holy.
Because I have lived in mortal flesh and been tempted and faced trials like you face, you can be sure that I can help you when you are tested.
Because of all of this, whether you are facing trials and temptations, or even when you have succumbed to sin, you can come with confidence to the "throne of grace"; you can be confident that you will "find mercy and grace to help when [you] need it most."
Verses to Live

Today there are four sets of verses coming from your book of Hebrews. These readings come from chapters 2, 5, and 4. I have put them in this order so you can have a deeper appreciation of what it means for Me to be your "merciful and faithful high priest"! Read them in this order several times and then jot down all I did and endured to understand what mortality was like — not just as God the Son who is omniscient, but as Jesus, God in human flesh. Now go back and read through again and jot down what all that means for you as you approach the Father seeking grace.
It only makes sense that God, by whom and for whom everything exists, would choose to bring many of us to His side by using suffering to perfect Jesus, the founder of our faith, the pioneer of our salvation. As I will show you, it's important that the One who brings us to God and those who are brought to God become one, since we are all from one Father. This is why Jesus was not ashamed to call us His family [His brothers and sisters], saying, in the words of the psalmist,
I will speak Your Name to My brothers and sisters 

when I praise You in the midst of the community.
And in the words of Isaiah,
I will wait for the Eternal One.
And again,
Look, here I am with the children God has given Me.
Since we, the children, are all creatures of flesh and blood, Jesus took on flesh and blood, so that by dying He could destroy the one who held power over death — the devil — and destroy the fear of death that has always held people captive. 

So notice — His concern here is not for the welfare of the heavenly messengers, but for the children of Abraham. He had to become as human as His sisters and brothers so that when the time came, He could become a merciful and faithful high priest of God, called to reconcile a sinful people. Since He has also been tested by suffering, He can help us when we are tested. 
(Hebrews 2:10-18) 

The job of every high priest is reconciliation: approaching God on behalf of others and offering Him gifts and sacrifices to repair the damage caused by our sins against God and each other. The high priest should have compassion for those who are ignorant of the faith and those who fall out of the faith because he also has wrestled with human weakness, and so the priest must offer sacrifices both for his sins and for those of the people. 
(Hebrews 5:1-3) 

When Jesus was on the earth, a man of flesh and blood, He offered up prayers and pleas, groans and tears to the One who could save Him from death. He was heard because He approached God with reverence. Although He was a Son, Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered. And once He was perfected through that suffering He became the way of eternal salvation for all those who hear and follow Him, for God appointed Him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. 
(Hebrews 5:7-10) 

Since we have a great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God who has passed through the heavens from death into new life with God, let us hold tightly to our faith. For Jesus is not some high priest who has no sympathy for our weaknesses and flaws. He has already been tested in every way that we are tested; but He emerged victorious, without failing God. So let us step boldly to the throne of grace, where we can find mercy and grace to help when we need it most. 
(Hebrews 4:14-16)
Response in Prayer

O Father God, I cannot fully understand the complexities and deep truths about Your identity as Father, Son, and Spirit. However, I can understand this: You are the God Who loves me enough to be my God Who is near... Who understands... Who has not only created my mortal flesh, but Who has promised to be there to be merciful and gracious when I cry out in my struggles. So I come to You now and lay my burdens, my fears, and my brokenness at the feet of Jesus and I pour out my soul's cry to You. In Jesus' name I thank You and pray to You. Amen
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Better!" — A Year with Jesus for 11/02/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Child of the Father, 

Today you begin a short journey through the wonderful "word of exhortation" (Hebrews 13:22) you call the book of Hebrews. This special document is a collection of short exhortations built upon the comparison of the Old Covenant images that find their fulfillment in the New Covenant brought by My sacrifice on the cross, by My resurrection, and through My pouring out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and subsequently to you also. 

One of the themes that runs through this "word of exhortation" is captured by the word, "better"! I brought the world a better covenant, built on better promises, provided by a better and once-for-all sacrifice, so that I could become a better high priest for My people and ensure a better Sabbath rest for the people of God. 

Today's verses come from the first two chapters of this "word of exhortation" and have one clear message: I AM better than the angels or "heavenly messengers" and therefore bring a better, complete, fulfilled, and incarnated message from the Father. 

Since I came as the Father's Son and was God's very presence among you, I am superior to the angels who brought the first covenant and who were part of many messengers involved in the Old Covenant. As the Son, I came and brought the Father's greatest and final message. No messenger compares to Me as God's Son. My chosen vessel who wrote Hebrews adds a powerful exhortation onto this truth of My superiority as a messenger and the superiority of My message: you must "pay closer attention" to My message than any message you have previously received or you will "drift away" from this message and ignore the "great salvation" offered you first through Me, and then through My emissaries. To ignore this message would invite your own "destruction"!
Verses to Live

Hebrews is not only a "word of exhortation," but it is also a message of urgency — a spiritual alarm clock sent to warn those who heard its message to awaken from their spiritual slumber and shake off their spiritual lethargy because of the better things they have received from Me. I hope you will hear the same alarm and awaken to the better things that I have planned for you at the cost of My own sacrifice.
Long ago, at different times and in various ways, God's voice came to our ancestors through the Hebrew prophets. But in these last days, it has come to us through His Son, the One who has been given dominion over all things and through whom all worlds were made. 

This is the One who — imprinted with God's image, shimmering with His glory — sustains all that exists through the power of His word. He was seated at the right hand of God once He Himself had made the offering that purified us from all our sins. This Son of God is elevated as far above the heavenly messengers [angels] as His holy name is elevated above theirs. 

For no heavenly messengers have ever heard God address them with these words of the psalms:
You are My Son. 

Today I have become Your Father.
Or heard Him promise,
I will be to You a Father, 

and You will be My Son.
Now, when the Son, the firstborn of God, was brought into the world, God said,
Let all My heavenly messengers worship Him.
(Hebrews 1:1-6) 

And God continues,
In the beginning, You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth 

and set the skies above us with Your own hands. 

But while they will someday pass away, 

You remain forever; 

when they wear out like old clothes, 

You will roll them up 

and change them into something new. 

But You will never change; 

Your years will never come to an end.
Did God ever say to any of the heavenly messengers,
Sit here, at My right hand, in the seat of honor; 

and I'll put all Your enemies under Your feet?
No, of course not. The heavenly messengers are only spirits and servants, sent out to minister to those who will certainly inherit salvation. 

That is why we ought to pay even closer attention to the voice that has been speaking so that we will never drift away from it. For if the words of instruction and inspiration brought by heaven's messengers were valid, and if we live in a universe where sin and disobedience receive their just rewards, then how will we escape destruction if we ignore this great salvation? We heard it first from our Lord Jesus, then from those who passed on His teaching. God also testifies to this truth by signs and wonders and miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit lighting on those He chooses. 
(Hebrews 1:10-14; Hebrews 2:1-4)
Response in Prayer

O Father, I recognize that Jesus is Your greatest messenger who brings Your greatest message. I commit to hear that message and respond with urgency and passion. Open my eyes to Your truth in this interesting and challenging "word of exhortation." I ask for the Holy Spirit's help in understanding and applying this important message to my life as I live to honor You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

Be Inspired!" — A Year with Jesus for 10/31/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Faithful Follower, 

You need to be inspired if you are going to face the challenges of living in these last days. As Paul warned Timothy, there are a lot of people who are mean, uncaring, unrighteous, and spiritual counterfeits. Stay away from these kinds of people. They will seek to involve you and entrap you in their sin. 

The way to resist their influence is learning to recognize what is good, right, and holy. So stay close to godly people who live for Me and display righteous character in their lives and show gracious compassion to those in need. Read about the martyrs and heroes of the faith who were faithful even in the face of death. Look at the things they invested their time and efforts in doing. It is essential to spend time in the holy Scriptures. These inspired writings are given to you so you can understand the Father's will and live the life the Father intended for you. These holy Scriptures are God-breathed — inspired by the Father and breathed into the hearts of those who wrote them. They are inspired, but practical and useful. So spend time in them always asking the Holy Spirit to help you hear My voice in those Scriptures calling out to you so that you can recognize what you are to know, what you are to feel, and what you are to do based on what these Scriptures say. Rather than complicating and confining your life, these Scriptures inspire you to holy living, courageous action, and victorious commitment. 

So be inspired!
Verses to Live

Paul didn't pull any punches with Timothy when he talked about how hard it was to live in the last days. Timothy knew Paul was imprisoned and awaiting death. He had known that this would likely happen since Paul had been stoned and left for dead by people who hated him the first time Timothy knew Paul(Acts 14:8-20). To remain loyal and to be strong, Paul knew Timothy needed to be inspired. I want you to be inspired by Paul's words today, too.
And know this: in the last days, times will be hard. You see, the world will be filled with narcissistic, money-grubbing, pretentious, arrogant, and abusive people. They will rebel against their parents and will be ungrateful, unholy, uncaring, coldhearted, accusing, without restraint, savage, and haters of anything good. Expect them to be treacherous, reckless, swollen with self-importance, and given to loving pleasure more than they love God. Even though they may look or act like godly people, they're not. They deny His power. I tell you: Stay away from the likes of these. They're snakes slithering into the houses of vulnerable women, women gaudy with sin, to seduce them. These reptiles can capture them because these women are weak and easily swayed by their desires. They seem always to be learning, but they never seem to gain the full measure of the truth. And, just as Jannes and Jambres rose up against Moses, these ungodly people defy the truth. Their minds are corrupt, and their faith is absolutely worthless. But they won't get too far because their stupidity will be noticed by everyone, just as it was with Jannes and Jambres. 

You have been a good student. You have closely observed how I have lived. You've followed my instructions, my habits, my purpose, my faith, my patience. You've watched how I love and have seen how I endure. You have been with me through persecutions and sufferings — remember what they did to me in Antioch? in Iconium and Lystra? I endured all of it, and the Lord rescued me from it all! Anyone wishing to live a godly life in Jesus the Anointed will be hunted down and persecuted. But as for the wicked and the imposters, they will keep leading and following each other further and further away from the truth. So surely you ought to stick to what you know is certain. All you have learned comes from people you know and trust because since childhood you have known the holy Scriptures, which enable you to be wise and lead to salvation through faith in Jesus the Anointed. All of Scripture is God-breathed; in its inspired voice, we hear useful teaching, rebuke, correction, instruction, and training for a life that is right so that God's people may be up to the task ahead and have all they need to accomplish every good work. 
(2 Timothy 3:1-17)
Response in Prayer

O Father, forgive me for not spending enough time in your Scriptures. I thank You for the inspiring stories of courage by men and women of faith that I find in Your Scriptures. I thank You for the words of warning and the examples of those who do not heed those words. I thank You for the practical teaching in many of the Scriptures. Father, I thank You that as I read these words of inspiration, the same Spirit who inspired the Scriptures is at work in me to apply them to my life, to open my eyes to your deeper truths, and to conform me to be more like You each day. I ask for Your inspiration to be at work on me and in me to conform me to Your will. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Be Faithful!" — A Year with Jesus for 11/01/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Friend, 

I want you to feel the urgency in Paul's words to Timothy today. They come from the last of Paul's writings to Timothy. These words pled with Timothy to join Paul in two things:
Be faithful to the call he had received to proclaim My message with truth and passion.
Join Paul in his last days so that these days could make a kingdom difference — have an impact on the lost world and strengthen new churches to live for Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
Paul was realistic but not pessimistic about the future awaiting him. He was fully confident in My coming with power and glory. This faith in Me helped him to remain loyal to Me, to be strong in his faith, to be inspired by the Scriptures, and to be faithful even to death. He was urging Timothy to be faithful, too. 

As Paul often did at the end of his letters, he mentioned people who were both faithful and unfaithful to Me and to him. This is just another way for Paul to appeal to Timothy's heart and challenge him to do the following:
"Accomplish the good work of an evangelist, and complete the ministry to which you have been called."
"[L]ove and long for His [My] appearing."
"Come to me [Paul] as soon as you can."
"Bring Mark with you because he is useful in this work and will help look after me."
"[P]ick up the cloak I [Paul] left with Carpus in Troas, and bring the scrolls — especially the parchments."
"[W]atch your back because he [Alexander the metal worker] has gone overboard to oppose our message."
"Give my regards to Prisca, Aquila, and everyone over at Onesiphorus's house."
At first glance, these appear to be a scattered set of requests thrown in at the end of a letter. Yet if you will look closer, you will see Paul's focus on being faithful in every area of life, to all the people in Timothy's life, to the ministry to which he had been called, and to the people to whom I had called him. 

Most of all, Paul finished with a reminder of how I was faithful to him even when everyone else abandoned him:
He stood by me, strengthened me, and backed the truth I proclaimed with power...
Paul's example of faithfulness was supposed to challenge Timothy to be faithful in every area of his life and ministry. I want it to be a challenge to you to be faithful as well!
Verses to Live

Are you a faithful person? Do you live up to your word? Do you stand by your friends? Are you committed to faithfully living out your commitments to Me? I hope Paul's words to Timothy challenge you to be faithful in every area of your life and ministry. Be faithful!
And now I bring you this charge before God and Jesus the Anointed, the one destined to judge the living and the dead, at His glorious appearance and His kingdom: go out and preach the word! Go whether it's an opportune time or not! Reprove, warn, and encourage; but do so with all the patience and instruction needed to fulfill your calling because a time will come when some will no longer tolerate sound teaching. Instead, they will live by their own desires; they'll scratch their itching ears by surrounding themselves with teachers who approve of their lifestyles and tell them what they want to hear. They will turn away from the real truth you have to offer because they prefer the sound of fables and myths. But you must stay focused and be alert at all times. Tolerate suffering. Accomplish the good work of an evangelist, and complete the ministry to which you have been called. 

For I am already being poured out, and the last drops of this drink offering are all that remain; it's almost time for me to leave. I have fought the good fight, I have stayed on course and finished the race, and through it all, I have kept believing. I look forward to what's in store for me: a crown of righteousness that the Lord — the always right and just judge — will give me that day (but it is not only for me, but for all those who love and long for His appearing). 

Come to me, Timothy, as soon as you can. You see, Demas has fallen for this world, abandoned me, and headed off to Thessalonica. Crescens took off for Galatia. Titus has gone to Dalmatia. Luke is the only one left. Bring Mark with you because he is useful in this work and will help look after me. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. On your way here, pick up the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas, and bring the scrolls — especially the parchments. 

Keep your eye out for Alexander the coppersmith! He came against me with all sorts of evil — may the Lord pay him back accordingly — so watch your back because he has gone overboard to oppose our message. 

When it was time for my first defense, no one showed up to support me. Everyone abandoned me (may it not be held against them) except the Lord. He stood by me, strengthened me, and backed the truth I proclaimed with power so it may be heard by all the non-Jews. He rescued me, pried open the lion's jaw, and snatched me from its teeth. And I know the Lord will continue to rescue me from every trip, trap, snare, and pitfall of evil and carry me safely to His heavenly kingdom. May He be glorified throughout eternity. Amen. 

Give my regards to Prisca, Aquila, and everyone over at Onesiphorus's house. Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus in Miletus because he was sick. Try your best to come before winter blows in. Eubulus says hello and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters. May the Lord be with your spirit, and may His grace be with you. Amen. 
(2 Timothy 4:1-22)
Response in Prayer

O glorious Father, may the words of my mouth, the thoughts in my mind, my involvement with others, and the actions in my life all show an unquenchable desire to live faithfully for You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

Be Strong!" — A Year with Jesus for 10/30/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

Like Paul is urging Timothy in today's verses to be strong, I want to urge you to be strong! 

With Paul's impending martyrdom, he was passing the torch of leadership, mission, and equipping of new leaders to Timothy. To do all that Timothy needed to do, he had to choose to be strong and "empowered by the grace that is in" Me! He needed to soldier on through possible suffering. He needed to be strong and to endure to complete his race and to work hard until he was able to enjoy the harvest of all of his work. He needed to be strong in the simple and clear message of My good news. He needed to be strong and not let the threat of prison, or even death, steal away the truth that nothing can stop My message and the cause for which he lived. He needed to be strong in confronting those who dissipated the strength of My people with their "bickering over words" and "meritless arguments" and "ungodly babbling". Timothy needed to be strong in completing his mission and not being ashamed of My message. He needed to be strong morally and pursue the right things by avoiding immorality and evil in all its forms. 

My dear disciple, being strong is not just about your own will power. However, being strong does mean you have chosen to be strong before your strength is tested. It is about a commitment to stay on track with things that matter and not feel like you have to show yourself strong in things that don't matter. So I want you to be strong in the Scriptures. I want you to rely on the Spirit to strengthen you as you make the right choices and do the right things — even when you are not sure you are strong enough to do those things on your own. Choose to be strong and you will find a holy reservoir of strength within you that you didn't know you had! As Paul said to the Thessalonians:
[T]he Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance. 
(2 Thessalonians 3:3-5 NIV)
Verses to Live

As you read these verses, not only see how Paul encouraged Timothy to be strong, but write down what the Holy Spirit is saying to you about being strong!
But as for you, my child, be empowered by the grace that is in Jesus, the Anointed One. Whatever you heard me teach before an audience of witnesses, I want you to pass along to trustworthy people who have the ability to teach others too. As a good soldier of Jesus the Anointed, be ready to suffer with me. Remember that soldiers on active duty don't get wrapped up in civilian matters because they want to satisfy those who recruited them. Look at it another way: if someone competes as an athlete, he won't win the race and be crowned with the wreath if he breaks the rules. And the farmer who exhausts himself in the field should be the first to taste his harvest. Think about what I am telling you, and let the Lord give you clarity on all of it. 

Remember Jesus the Anointed, raised from the dead, descended from David's royal line. This is the crux of my good news! This is why I suffer and why I am bound and chained like a lawbreaker. But God's word is not in chains! That's why I endure everything for the sake of God's chosen: so that they might experience salvation with lasting, eternal glory through Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King. Here's a statement you can trust:
If we died with Him, 
    we will live with Him. 

If we remain with Him, 
    we will reign alongside Him. 

If we deny Him, 
    we will be denied by Him. 

If we are unfaithful, 
    He remains faithful, 

For He is not able to deny Himself.
Remind others about these things that I'm telling you. Warn them before God to stop their useless bickering over words. After all, splitting hairs does no good; it only ruins those forced to listen to their meritless arguments. Timothy, do everything you can to present yourself to God as a man who is fully genuine, a worker unashamed of your mission, a guide capable of leading others along the correct path defined by the word of truth. Stay away from ungodly babbling because it will only lead deeper into a godless lifestyle. Once these empty voices start to speak, Timothy, they infect and spread; and soon the body is consumed with its cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus fell victim to it, and they walked away from the truth by claiming that the day of resurrection has already arrived. They are clearly disrupting the faith of some who are not well grounded. Regardless of what they do or say, God's foundation is strong and firmly in place, etched with this seal: "The Lord knows the ones who belong to Him," and, "Everyone who invokes the name of the Lord ought to stop doing what they know to be wrong." 

Look, in the mansions of the rich and powerful you will find everything from silver and gold serving bowls to wooden containers and clay jars; some are used for special occasions — where honor is important — others are used for more mundane tasks. So tell them, if they will clean up their lives and purify themselves from dishonorable teachings that lead people astray, then they can become honorable vessels, consecrated and useful to the Master, made ready for every good work He has in store. 

Timothy, run away from youthful desires. Instead, direct your passion to chasing after righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, along with those who call upon the Lord with pure hearts. Excuse yourself from any conversations that turn into foolish and uninformed debates because you know they only provoke fights. As the Lord's slave, you shouldn't exhaust yourself in bickering; instead, be gentle — no matter who you are dealing with — ready and able to teach, tolerant without resentment, gently instructing those who stand up against you. Besides, the time may come when God grants them a change of heart so that they can arrive at the full knowledge of truth. And if they come to their senses, they can escape the devil's snare and walk freed from his captivity and evil bidding. 
(2 Timothy 2:1-26)
Response in Prayer

Almighty and righteous Father, I need Your strength to be the person You want me to be. I commit to choose the right things and to do the right things and to honor You. Yet I also know there will be times when I am tempted by sin or feel outnumbered by those who do not love You or feel overwhelmed by the circumstances against me. I commit to do the right thing in those situations, but I am trusting that as I do You will strengthen me with Your might through Your Spirit in my inner being. Thank You for the stores of Your might and power released into the lives of everyday people that I find in the Bible. I want to be one of those mighty and courageous people who honor You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Be Loyal" — A Year with Jesus for 10/29/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved, 

Over the next four days, I want to share with you one key thought from each of the four chapters in your book of 2 Timothy. Today's key thought is this: be loyal! 

This short letter from Paul is an urgent message to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy. Paul knew his time before being martyred for his faith was short (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Some of Paul's cherished converts and even some his apprentices had turned back from him and from their faith in Me. This broke Paul's heart and, over the next several days, you will hear this brokenness in some of the words he wrote to Timothy. These circumstances also created a sense of urgency to share some important words of encouragement and challenge to Timothy. Paul knew that the leadership of taking My good news to the world and the leadership of the world-wide movement of My disciples was now going to rest in the hands of a new generation of people like Timothy. 

So in these opening verses of his letter, Paul reminded Timothy to be loyal. He challenged Timothy to be loyal to the gospel of grace which gave people "the promise of life" in Me. He was to be loyal to the calling and anointing to ministry that he had received. Timothy was to show himself loyal to the upbringing and training he had received from his mother and grandmother. He was to remain loyal to Paul and to the message Paul proclaimed. He was to be loyal like Onesiphorus, who found Paul in prison and came to him and refreshed his spirit. 

Loyalty is an important virtue. When loyalty is violated, broken, or abandoned, disloyalty deeply wounds all the people involved — remember that My closest disciples forsook me and fled when I was arrested and crucified and that Judas betrayed Me and Peter denied he knew Me. 

Abandoning your loyalty to your call to minister to others short circuits My desire to use you to channel My grace to others. 

Disloyalty in marriage creates separation between lovers and sows the seeds of destruction into the relationship. 

Being disloyal in your relationships also breaks something inside of you: you hurt because in your soul you know that you have done something wrong. However, if you simply ignore your conscience and the Spirit within you calling to you to own your disloyalty, confess it, and turn from it, if you refuse to seek forgiveness and reconciliation for your disloyalty, then that brokenness can become crippling to you and your relationships. Disloyalty to your faith does much the same thing. Worst of all, your abandoning loyalty to your faith impacts all those around you — or around anyone who is disloyal — and also the person wounded by the disloyalty. 

So I want you to feel the emotion of the old apostle Paul as he writes to his now "not so young" apprentice minister, Timothy. Paul is imprisoned and awaiting death. He is almost completely alone. Many have abandoned him. Others have abandoned the faith he shared with him. Just as he pleads for Timothy to be loyal to all those things that had been entrusted to him, I want you to hear My call to you to be loyal... be loyal to Me, to My grace, to My work, to My call in your life, to My leaders, to My disciples, and to My message. 

Be loyal! It won't be easy. It might be costly. It could even be dangerous. But be loyal! Being loyal opens the door for My work in you to make you more than you are now, to make you better than you are now, and to make you more fully whole as a human being and as a child of your Father in heaven. 

Be loyal!
Verses to Live

As you read Paul's challenge to Timothy to be loyal in every area of his life and ministry, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the areas where you need to be more loyal. In addition, ask yourself if there is a person to whom you have been disloyal and with whom you need to reconcile(Matthew 5:23-24).
Paul, an emissary of Jesus the Anointed commissioned by God's will according to the promise of life found only in Jesus the Anointed, to you, my dear child Timothy. 

May grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus the Anointed be yours. 

Timothy, you are constantly in my prayers. Day and night I remember you before God and give thanks to Him whom I serve with a clean conscience, as did my ancestors. I really want to see you, especially when I remember how you cried the last time we were together. Yes, I know it would make me joyful to see you again. What strikes me most is how natural and sincere your faith is. I am convinced that the same faith that dwelt in your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice, abides in you as well. This is why I write to remind you to stir up the gift of God that was conveyed to you when I laid my hands upon you. You see, God did not give us a cowardly spirit but a powerful, loving, and disciplined spirit. 

So don't be embarrassed to testify about our Lord or for me, His prisoner. Join us in suffering for the good news by the strength and power of God. God has already saved us and called us to this holy calling — not because of any good works we may have done, but because of His own intention and because eons and eons ago (before time itself existed), He gave us this grace in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King. And now, the time has come! That grace was revealed when our Savior, Jesus the Anointed, appeared; and through His resurrection He has wiped out death and brought to light life and immortality by way of this good news. I was appointed a preacher, emissary, and teacher of this message. This is exactly why I am suffering. But I am not ashamed because I know Him and I have put my trust in Him. And I am fully certain that He has the ability to protect what I have placed in His care until that day. 

Remember the words that you heard from me. Retain them as the model for healthy and sound teaching in the faith and love that are available in Jesus the Anointed. As for the precious thing entrusted to you, protect it with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. 

You may know by now that all those in Asia have turned their backs on me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. But Onesiphorus was not ashamed of my chains. So when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me and found me. May the Lord show mercy to his house because he has often stopped by to refresh my weary soul. And may the Lord shower him with divine mercy on the last day. You are well aware of all he did to serve me in Ephesus. 
(2 Timothy 1:1-18)
Response in Prayer

Father, I confess that there are times when I think about Judas' betrayal of my Lord Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and I am dumbfounded how he could do such a thing. Then, dear Father, the Holy Spirit convicts me with this thought: "Judas betrayed his Lord for 30 pieces of silver. How many times have you done it for nothing?" So forgive me. I want to show steadfast loyalty to You, Father, and to the message of Your grace in Jesus. I want to be loyal to Your call in my life. I want to be loyal to my brothers and sisters in Your family. So I ask for strength from the Holy Spirit as I commit myself to being loyal. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"How to Handle Money" — A Year with Jesus for 10/28/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Child of the Father in Heaven, 

In My earthly ministry, I taught My disciples the following important truth:
Some people store up treasures in their homes here on earth. This is a shortsighted practice — don't undertake it. Moths and rust will eat up any treasure you may store here. Thieves may break into your homes and steal your precious trinkets. Instead, put up your treasures in heaven where moths do not attack, where rust does not corrode, and where thieves are barred at the door. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 
(Matthew 6:19-21)
Paul wrote to his ministry apprentice Timothy about these very issues. Paul wrote the words you read in your verses today with a two-fold message: Timothy, teach these things, but also make sure you live them! Money and wealth can be a blessing if used appropriately, but the desire for money and wealth for their own sakes often leads people to destruction. 

Paul reminded Timothy there are three kinds of people:
Those who are rich with earthly riches.
Those who want to get rich with earthly riches.
Those who are truly rich because they have found contentment in what they have.
Paul was part of this last group. He could confidently say:
I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances. 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 4:11-13)
Paul instructed Timothy to follow his example and learn to be content and find that godliness has great gain whether it results in worldly riches or not. In fact, many of My people are far wealthier with worldly riches than they realize, but some have gotten caught up in greed and covetousness. Greed and covetousness nearly always get people, even My people, into serious problems with financial debt. If you struggle with those things, go spend some time in the book of Proverbs and get some very good financial advice about avoiding those things and about better ways to manage your money. 

As My disciple, always remember to be generous and willing to share what you have with others. You are a child of heaven's grace because of the generosity of the Father (2 Corinthians 8:9)! You are most like your Father in heaven when you are generous with your time, your attention, your money, your home, your possessions — with everything that you have. You have been blessed with these things so that you can pass on your blessings to others. Your Father in heaven wants you to be a conduit of blessing. Paul taught the Corinthians this principle and you will find it a powerful addition to Paul's words to Timothy:
Giving grows out of the heart — otherwise, you've reluctantly grumbled "yes" because you felt you had to or because you couldn't say "no," but this isn't the way God wants it. For we know that "God loves a cheerful giver." God is ready to overwhelm you with more blessings than you could ever imagine so that you'll always be taken care of in every way and you'll have more than enough to share. Remember what is written about the One who trusts in the Lord:
He scattered abroad; He gave freely to the poor; 

His righteousness endures throughout the ages.
The same One who has put seed into the hands of the sower and brought bread to fill our stomachs will provide and multiply the resources you invest and produce an abundant harvest from your righteous actions. You will be made rich in everything so that your generosity will spill over in every direction. Through us your generosity is at work inspiring praise and thanksgiving to God. 
(2 Corinthians 9:7-11)
Learn to be content and use the blessings of your resources to be a blessing to others. This is the essence of what it means to be a child of the Father!
Verses to Live

Some people have a tendency to think of spiritual blessings and material blessings as being separate. For My devoted disciple, no such separation exists. Whatever material things you have are intended to be part of your spiritual life. If you tend to think of spiritual and material things as being separate, carefully note the last two sentences below — the underlined ones — where Paul clearly pointed out that there is an eternal implication associated with how you use what you have.
[G]odliness, along with contentment, does put us ahead but not in the ways some imagine. You see we came into this world with nothing, and nothing is going with us on the way out! So as long as we are clothed and fed, we should be happy. But those who chase riches are constantly falling into temptation and snares. They are regularly caught by their own stupid and harmful desires, dragged down and pulled under into ruin and destruction. For the love of money — and what it can buy — is the root of all sorts of evil. Some already have wandered away from the true faith because they craved what it had to offer; but when reaching for the prize, they found their hands and hearts pierced with many sorrows. Timothy, don't let this happen to you — run away from these things! You are a man of God. Your quest is for justice, godliness, faithfulness, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 
(1 Timothy 6:6-11) 

Here's what you say to those wealthy in regard to this age: "Don't become high and mighty or place all your hope on a gamble for riches; instead, fix your hope on God, the One who richly provides everything for our enjoyment." Tell them to use their wealth for good things; be rich in good works! If they are willing to give generously and share everything, then they will send ahead a great treasure for themselves and build their futures on a solid foundation. As a result, they will surely take hold of eternal life. 
(1 Timothy 6:17-19)
Response in Prayer

O gracious and generous Father, You have blessed me so graciously with so many blessings. I want to be a generous person so that the things that I think of as material blessings will be used as part of my spiritual worship to You. I ask for the Holy Spirit to continue His work on my heart and conform me to be like Jesus. I want to be generous and gracious like Jesus, dear Father, so I ask this by the authority and power of His name. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.
"How to Handle Money" — A Year with Jesus for 10/28/2014

"More than Moral Instructions" — A Year with Jesus for 10/27/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Friend, 

Today's verses again come from Paul's instructions to Timothy and Titus. At first glance, they appear to be nothing more than a list of moral instructions. However, if you dig a little deeper, you will notice some very important principles that lie behind these instructions. Here are a few of those important principles that I hope you will take seriously in your own life. They are essential if you are going to be salt and light to those around you — something we have been discussing the last few days and something I taught in My Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13-16).
Don't limit your influence or you ministry because of your age; let the character of your life give you the platform from which to serve.
No matter your age, you can keep growing and influencing people because they see you are committed to growing and to being pure.
Have your life illustrate what your words are trying to teach.
Focus on the core truth of the good news and on living a life of good deeds.
Recognize that your authority to call people to holy living is the holy quality of your own life and words.
Have good, respectful, and appropriate relationships with people of all ages and genders.
Don't play favorites, especially when it comes to appointing and recognizing leaders in My church.
Verses to Live

You might be tempted after reading the verses below to say that you don't need to pay attention to these things if you are not a leader in your church. However, if you will go back and look at them again — and the list of principles above — the Holy Spirit will help you recognize how important these principles are to your influence on the lives of those around you. Remember, your circle of influence is not an accident. I have placed you in that circle of influence for you to make an impact for Me on the lives of those people. 
Don't let anyone belittle you because you are young. Instead, show the faithful, young and old, an example of how to live: set the standard for how to talk, act, love, and be faithful and pure. Until I [Paul] get there, make sure to devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching. Don't neglect the gift that was given to you through the prophecy spoken when the company of the elders laid their hands on you. Cultivate all these practices; live by them so that all will see how you are advancing and growing. Take care of yourself, concentrate on your teaching, and stick with these things. If you do, then you will be effective in bringing salvation to yourself and all who hear you. 
(1 Timothy 4:12-16) 

As to you, Titus: talk to them [those who are not living holy lives]; give them a good, healthy diet of solid teaching so they will know the right way to live. Here's what I want you to teach the older men: enjoy everything in moderation, respect yourselves and others, be sensible, and dedicate yourselves to living an unbroken faith demonstrated by your love and perseverance. And here's what I want you to teach the older women: Be respectful. Steer clear of gossip or drinking too much so that you can teach what is good to young women. Be a positive example, showing them what it is to love their husbands and children, and teaching them to control themselves in every way and to be pure. Train them to manage the household, to be kind, and to be submissive to their husbands, all of which honor the word of God. Encourage the young men in the same way: in every situation, they should learn to control themselves. Titus, you have to set a good example for everyone. Go out of your way to do what is right, speak the truth with the weight and authority that come from an honest and pure life. No one can argue with that. Then your enemies will cower in shame because they have nothing bad to say against us. 
(Titus 2:1-8) 

Elders who are leading well should be admired and valued. Double up on the honor shown them; care for them well — especially those constantly and consistently teaching the word and preaching. For the Scripture agrees, "Don't muzzle the ox while it is treading out your grain," and, "The worker deserves his wages." Listen, when or if a charge comes against an elder, don't even acknowledge the accusation unless there are two or more witnesses. Bring any believers who persist in sinning before the community and publicly scold them so that all the rest will know to fear sin and its consequences. I challenge you — in front of God, Jesus His Anointed, and His select heavenly messengers — to keep these instructions. And don't do anything out of favoritism. Don't be too quick to lay hands upon anyone or share in the sins of others — stay clean. 
(1 Timothy 5:17-22)
Response in Prayer

O Father, thank You for the people You have placed in my life. I confess that I don't always notice all of them — I look past some, I ignore others, and I simply haven't seen some others as significant or relevant to my life. Please, dear Father, through the work of the Holy Spirit within me help me see others with the eyes of Jesus. I want to influence for good all those whom You place in my circle of influence. I want to be Your salt and Your light brought to the relationships where You have placed me, called me to impact, and empowered me to serve. In Jesus' name I ask for this grace. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Focus on What is Core" — A Year with Jesus for 10/26/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved, 

Over the two thousand or so years since I walked the streets and paths of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea, Satan has consistently used a tried and proven method to sabotage the work of My church: he gets people arguing about religious things that are not really that important. If Satan can distract you with useless, foolish, and selfish arguments, the evil one knows that you will ignore the core truths of the Christian faith. Paul's letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, as well as the letters of 2 Peter and Jude, speak directly to these problems. In today's verses from 1 Timothy and Titus, Paul addressed similar issues with Timothy who was in Ephesus and Titus who was in Crete. 

Paul spoke in lofty words about "God's family" to remind these men and those to whom they ministered that the church is precious. The church is not "some thing" or "some idea," but the church is a precious, blood-bought family of people who have the purpose of being My blessing and bringing My redemption to their lost world. Yet to do the work of redemption, the people of My family have to remain focused on the core truths of the gospel. If they don't focus on what is core, they will quickly devolve into personality clashes and arguments over inconsequential semi-religious issues and be trapped by immorality in all of its forms. 

In today's verses, you see Paul as he addressed the issues that were distracting My beloved disciples in Crete (where Titus ministered) and in Ephesus (where Timothy served). He pointed these disciples away from the distracting issues of false teaching, "worldly fables," and "sensual cravings and pleasures." Paul encouraged Timothy and Titus to point My beloved disciples in Crete and Ephesus in the direction of the core gospel and the life-change that true faith puts in place of the world's foolish and destructive counterfeit approaches to life. Notice that some of the core teachings involve the following subjects:
My identity as the Christ, Son of God, and Savior
God's promises about Me and My fulfillment of My mission on earth
The validation of My resurrection and return to glory
The proclamation of the gospel all over the world
The importance of godliness in all things
My return to completely redeem and save you
The Father's great grace, mercy, and loving kindness toward you when you were living in sin
Your rebirth through faith and the power of the Holy Spirit
The significance of baptism
The importance of living a humble and holy life full of good deeds
Verses to Live

The point for you in the verses below, beloved disciple, is this: focus on the core things. So many people want to distract you from these to the delight of the evil one. You can always find a way to argue about religious ideas, but stick to what is core and refuse to get distracted by what is not essential, by what is false teaching, or by the lure of immorality. I called you to be salt in a world of decay and light in a world of darkness(Matthew 5:13-16). Paul urged Timothy and Titus to teach the people to whom they ministered to be the same!
I [Paul] am writing all this to you, hoping I can come to you before too long; but in case I am delayed, you will know how one ought to behave as a member of God's family — the assembly of the living God, the pillar and foundation that support the truth — and I think you will agree that the mystery of godliness is great:
He was revealed in the flesh, 
    proven right in the Spirit; 

He was seen by the heavenly messengers, 
    preached to outsider nations. 

He was believed in the world, 
    taken up to the heavens in glory.
(1 Timothy 3:14-16) 

But even so, the Spirit very clearly tells us that in the last times some will abandon the true faith because of their devotion to spirits sent to deceive and sabotage, and mistakenly they will end up following the doctrine of demons. They will be carried away through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences have been branded with a red-hot iron, saying, "Don't marry. Don't eat such-and-such foods." But God created all these to be received with gratitude by people who hold fast to the faith and really comprehend the truth. For everything God made is good. That means nothing should be rejected as long as it's received with a grateful heart, for by God's word and prayer, it is made holy. 

Place these truths before the brothers and sisters. If you do, you will be a good servant of Jesus the Anointed, raised and fed on words of true belief, trained in the good instruction you have so clearly followed. Reject worldly fables. Refuse old wives' tales. Instead, train yourself toward godliness. Although training your body has certain payoffs, godliness benefits all things — holding promise for life here and now and promise for the life that is coming. This statement is worthy of trust and our full acceptance. This is what we work so hard for! This is why we are constantly struggling: because we have an assured hope fixed upon a living God who is the Savior of all humankind — especially all of us who believe. 
(1 Timothy 4:1-10) 

Be ready to do what is good and honorable. Don't tear down another person with your words. Instead, keep the peace, and be considerate. Be truly humble toward everyone because there was a time when we, too, were foolish, rebellious, and deceived — we were slaves to sensual cravings and pleasures; and we spent our lives being spiteful, envious, hated by many, and hating one another. But then something happened: God our Savior and His overpowering love and kindness for humankind entered our world; He came to save us. It's not that we earned it by doing good works or righteous deeds; He came because He is merciful. He brought us out of our old ways of living to a new beginning through the washing of regeneration; and He made us completely new through the Holy Spirit, who was poured out in abundance through Jesus the Anointed, our Savior. All of this happened so that through His grace we would be accepted into God's covenant family and appointed to be His heirs, full of the hope that comes from knowing you have eternal life. This is a faithful statement of what we believe. 
(Titus 3:1-8)
Response in Prayer

O Father, forgive me when I become distracted by the latest religious fad, by the newest debate about hard-to-understand things in the Scriptures, or by the lure of immorality. There are times when each of these has tugged at my heart, distracted my mind, and muddied the clarity of my devotion. I believe that Jesus died for my sins. I believe that He was buried in a grave suffering the sting of mortality. I also believe that He rose from the dead victorious over sin, death, and hell for the lost people He came to save. Because of this, dear Father, I believe that my faith in Jesus and my participation with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection through baptism have given me the assurance of life forever with You. I believe that the Holy Spirit has given me a new birth into a new way of life because of Your grace. Thank You for Your mercy. Empower me, please dear Father, as I commit to live a life of good deeds to honor and thank You for all You have done for me and to be salt and light in a world of decay and darkness. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Head-to-Toe in the Full Armor of God" — A Year with Jesus for 10/24/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Faithful Follower, 

Some of your churches are really good at drawing a big audience. Unfortunately, not many large or small churches appear to be raising up much of an army even though it's a war out there. I've got the marks on My body to prove it. Hell has a way of insidiously seeping into politics, government, religion, and personal relationships. When it does, well then "it's hell on earth"... literally. Look at the book of Revelation in your Bible and you will see war. War in heaven. War on earth. War with religion. War with government. War with false teaching. War with weakness. War that has casualties and cost. 

That's why I need real followers. I don't need Twitter® followers or Facebook® friends. I'm looking for genuine disciple followers. I'm looking for friends who won't run out on you even when hell breaks loose against you. That's why I've never been very excited just to get a big audience. If you don't believe me, go ask those 5,000-plus folks I fed with 5 loaves and 2 fish and who wanted a sardine-sandwich Messiah (John 6:1-29). When I wouldn't be their kind of Messiah, these "followers" flaked out on Me (John 6:41-71). My audience dropped to way below 5,000 pretty quickly! 

Paul got it. He knew it was war. He had smelled the breath of hell's fury in the form of religious haters and government lackeys. He had lost to people he loved to hell's fury — people into whom he had poured his heart, his hopes, and his time. He also knew faithful friends who were so committed to My cause and his mission that they voluntarily shared his imprisonments and shipwrecks. Paul knew the difference between an audience and an army! His army was willing to pay the price to prepare for the battle, to stand alongside him in the battle, and to give their lives with him in battle if it was required. 

Why? Why would they pay such a high price? Why would they take such risks to share Paul's worst moments? Simple. They were called to be part of the army. They never considered settling for being Paul's Twitter® followers or Facebook® friends — they enlisted in the army to fight a war. 

Read Paul's words in the verses below. He wrote them to the brothers and sisters in Ephesus along with other believers throughout Asia Minor. He was preparing them for spiritual warfare. More specifically, he was telling them to prepare themselves for the warfare that had already begun. 

They lived in the place where religions collided in the Roman Empire. Wealth and power came with many of those religions. Superstition and black magic went with others. Dark clouds were gathering on the horizon and would flower into the Emperor cult in Asia Minor — a pseudo-religion that thrived in the same cities that received Paul's words about spiritual warfare. This force would propel the persecution of My followers and would lead to the Revelation that John received and recorded. Paul wasn't looking for just an audience; he was trying to awaken an army. 

Today, as you read Paul's words, please know that the Holy Spirit is working to use these same words of Paul to awaken an army in your day. I don't want just more audience; I'm looking for a committed army. I don't need more Twitter® followers; I need more disciples. I don't need Facebook® friends; I'm looking for real friends. I am looking for friends who do what I ask them to do even if they don't get all I am about in the world right now (John 15:9-15)! 

It's a war out there. Follow Me. But don't come unprepared. Pick up the weapons and the armor that win the war and be ready — because it's a war out there.
Verses to Live

Paul's words about those who see you as their enemies are powerfully descriptive and one hundred percent true. You don't need to be afraid though; you just need to be prepared for the battle. Your ultimate victory is assured.
Finally, brothers and sisters, draw your strength and might from God. Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes. We're not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places. 

And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground. Yes, stand — truth banded around your waist, righteousness as your chest plate, and feet protected in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace. Don't forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one. Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

Pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God's people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed. And please pray for me. Pray that truth will be with me before I even open my mouth. Ask the Spirit to guide me while I boldly defend the mystery that is the good news — for which I am an ambassador in chains — so pray that I can bravely pronounce the truth, as I should do. 
(Ephesians 6:10-20)
Response in Prayer

Father, forgive me for not praying with the urgency with which I would have prayed if I had fully recognized the spiritual warfare in my city, at my doorstep, and over the throne of my heart. Please bless all who lovingly and courageously share Your truth in dangerous places. Give them supernatural strength to stand. Deliver them from harm's way. And for us who complain about life in churchland because things aren't going quite the way we would like, forgive us... awaken us... move us from just being in the audience to being part of Your army on a mission. I ask for my own courage and strength in Jesus' name. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

Helping Churches on the Brink" — A Year with Jesus for 10/25/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved, 

On Paul's last visit in the book of Acts with the Ephesian elders, he warned them:
Here are my instructions: diligently guard yourselves, and diligently guard the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has given you oversight. Shepherd the church of God, this precious church which He made His own through the blood of His own Son. I know that after I've gone, dangerous wolves will sneak in among you, savaging the flock. Some of you here today will begin twisting the truth, enticing disciples to go your way, to follow you. You must be on guard, and you must remember my way of life among you. For three years, I have kept on, persistently warning everyone, day and night, with tears. So now I put you in God’s hands. I entrust you to the message of God’s grace, a message that has the power to build you up and to give you rich heritage among all who are set apart for God’s holy purposes. 
(Acts 20:28-32)
In many ways, the issues Paul addressed with the Ephesian elders in these verses are the same ones in his letters of 1 Timothy and Titus — two letters to men Paul mentored from their youth to be missionaries, church-planters, and ministers. Jude and Peter also had to address those kinds of issues among their churches unequivocally and with urgency and strong language. Each of these faithful servants had to boldly confront difficult issues because many of My churches were on the brink of destruction as they faced a variety of difficult issues. 

As churches began to grow and age, problems arose. Some of those problems had to do with persecutions. Some had to do with people who refused to get along with each other. Some had to do with false teachers who spread gangrenous teaching that undermined the gospel. How could Paul guard new churches from these kinds of problems? Where could he turn to provide direction to these churches through their storms? He appointed elders and mentored ministers to appoint elders and to deal with these issues. They warned of coming heresies. They spoke directly about the lure of immorality that could infect and disable their churches and could harm their witness to a lost world. 

Paul appointed elders in the towns where he planted churches (Acts 14:23). These elders were sometimes called overseers (bishops) (Acts 20:28 NIV). Their job was to shepherd or pastor My people (1 Peter 5:1-4) just as I AM shepherd for My flock of sheep (John 10:1-18). These elders were to protect the flock of God from false teachers, to correct them away from their false living, to encourage them in their walk with Me, and to lead by example. 

At the end of Paul's life, he had to face several imprisonments while trying to make sure his new churches were stable and protected by wise spiritual leaders. In 1 Timothy and Titus, Paul gave character qualities for all sorts of both male and female leaders. He warned against fussing and fighting over meaningless arguments. He shared standards of behavior for young ministers as they dealt with different age groups. Paul entrusted this work with churches in Crete to Titus and churches in Ephesus to Timothy. These men were to carry on Paul's work, appoint faithful leaders in churches, and be men of courage and character as they led. Paul saw their faithful ministry as the key for the church's future. His instructions make up what are commonly called the Pastoral Epistles of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. You will find similar kinds of teaching and concerns in the short letter of Jude and the letter of 2 Peter as they directly addressed all of these same issues.
Verses to Live

Today's verses come from 1 Timothy, Titus, Jude, and 2 Peter. Leadership for the future, guidance for the present, confrontation of false teachers in the moment, and a constant and clear focus on the core gospel and My ultimate return give strength to churches on the brink. Too often these words are forgotten and ignored today, so I hope you will spend some time letting Paul, Jude, and Peter awaken you to the urgency of living faithfully both in the present and into the future.
Paul, an emissary of Jesus the Anointed commissioned by order of God our Savior and Jesus the Anointed, our living and certain hope, to you, Timothy, my true son in the faith. May the grace, mercy, and peace that come only from God the Father and our Lord Jesus the Anointed mark your life. As I said that day I left for Macedonia, stay in Ephesus and instruct the unruly people in the church, once and for all, to stop teaching a different doctrine. Tell them to turn away from fables and endless genealogies. These activities just cause more arguments and confusion. Instead, they should concern themselves with welcoming in and bringing about the reign of God, which is all about faith. 
(1 Timothy 1:1-4) 

Here's another statement you may trust: if anyone is seeking a position as overseer in the church, he desires an honorable and important work. Here are the qualifications to look for in an overseer: a spotless reputation, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, sensible, respectable, welcoming to strangers (allowing them into his home), and gifted to teach. Disqualify any drunk or violent man. Look for a gentle man; no belligerent fellow can follow this calling. And he should be free from money lust. He should exert good control over his own household, and his children should obey and honor him. (If someone can't manage his own household, then how can he take care of God's family?) He mustn't be someone recently converted; otherwise, he may become arrogant and fall into the devil's condemnation. He should also be respected for his character and known as an honorable person by people outside of the church so as to avoid the trips, traps, and pitfalls of the devil. 

The same standards apply to deacons: they should be dignified. Double-talking hypocrites, heavy drinkers, and those greedy for ill-gotten gain should not be considered. They should be people who hold tight to the great mystery of faith with a clear conscience. Put these deacon-candidates to the test first; and if they come through without stumbling, then send them out to serve. 

Again the same applies to women in key positions; they should also be dignified, not backstabbing gossips but self-controlled and faithful to the core. 

Now deacons should live faithfully as the husband of one wife and be in control of their households, including their children. Those deacons who serve well will achieve a good standing for themselves in the community and have great confidence to walk in the faith that is in Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King. 
(1 Timothy 3:1-13) 

Paul, servant of God and emissary of Jesus, the Anointed One, on behalf of the faith that is accepted by God's chosen people and the knowledge of the undeniable truth that leads to godliness. 

We rest in this hope we've been given — the hope that we will live forever with our God — the hope that He proclaimed ages and ages ago (even before time began). And our God is no liar; He is not even capable of uttering lies. So we can be sure that it is in His exact right time that He released His word into the world — through the preaching that God our Savior has commanded into my care. 

To you, Titus, my dear son birthed through our shared faith: may grace and peace rest upon you from God the Father and Jesus the Anointed, our Savior. 

I left you on Crete so you could sort out the chaos and the unfinished business and appoint elders over communities in each and every city according to my earlier orders. Here's what you should look for in an elder: he should be above suspicion; if he is married, he should be the husband of one wife, raise children who believe, and be a person who can't be accused of rough and raucous living. It is necessary that any overseer you appoint be blameless, as he is entrusted with God's mission. Look for someone who isn't pompous or quick to anger, who is not a drunkard, violent, or chasing after seedy gain or worldly fame. Find a person who lovingly opens his home to others; who honors goodness; who is thoughtful, fair, devout, self-controlled; and who clings to the faithful word that was taught because he must be able, not only to encourage people with sound teaching, but also to challenge those who are against it. 
Titus 1:1-9 

Jude, a slave of Jesus the Anointed and a brother of James, to you, the ones whom God our Father loves and has called and whom Jesus, the Anointed One, has kept. Kindness, peace, love — may they never stop blooming in you and from you. Friends, I have been trying to write you about our common salvation. But these days my heart is troubled, and I am compelled to write to you and encourage you to continue struggling for the faith that was entrusted to the saints once and for all. Vile men have slithered in among us. Depraved souls who stand condemned have made a mockery of the grace given to us, using it as a pretext for a life of excess, lived without any thought of God. These poor fools have denied Jesus the Anointed, our one Lord and Master. 
(Jude 1:1-4) 

Just as false prophets rose up in the past among God's people, false teachers will rise up in the future among you. They will slip in with their destructive opinions, denying the very Master who bought their freedom and dooming themselves to destruction swiftly, but not before they attract others by their unbridled and immoral behavior. Because of them and their ways, others will criticize and condemn the path of truth we walk as seedy and disreputable. These false teachers will follow their greed and exploit you with their fabrications, but be assured that their judgment was pronounced long ago and their destruction does not sleep. 
(2 Peter 2:1-3)
Response in Prayer

O Father, we need strong and faithful leaders in our churches today. I pray for those who preach Your word, who serve as shepherds, and who lead us to serve You. Please help us pursue godliness and avoid foolish and divisive arguments. Strengthen us to overcome temptation and deliver Your people, and especially Your leaders, from the evil one. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Displaying Your Father's Character & Compassion" — A Year with Jesus for 10/22/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Precious Disciple, 

Paul beautifully described the Father's grace in the first part of his letter to the Ephesians. He emphasized that the Father's grace saved you from sin, death, and the evil one:
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. 
(Ephesians 2:1-2)
But Paul went on to say that the Father didn't just save you FROM this dead existence in bondage; he also saved you FOR a life of goodness and blessing:
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 2:10)
In the second half of Paul's letter to these Ephesian Christians — and to their brothers and sisters in Christ living in other parts of Asia Minor — Paul described the character and compassion of the Father that must characterize their lives, and yours. Paul emphasized the old way of life of bondage should no longer characterize them — notice the underlined phrases in the verses below. They should take on the new way of life, a life that clearly reflects the nature of the Father who re-created them for this new life — especially note the phrases in bold in the verses below. One sentence from Paul sums up this emphasis well:
[A]lthough you were once the personification of darkness, you are now light in the Lord.
The motivation for this new way of living comes from what the Father did to re-create you, the price I paid to redeem you, and the power the Spirit supplies to energize this new life. You are a child of the Father, a child of light; so step out of the darkness and live in ways that reflect the light — character and compassion of your Father. Go back and read Matthew's collection of My teachings on the mountain — called Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7. Notice how the things I said there are emphasized by Paul in a slightly different way. 

Your motivation for this new way of living is not a matter of obeying a set of rules or laws but of honoring your Father for what He has done for you and remembering the price I paid to redeem you. As Paul said to the Ephesians, "So imitate God. Follow Him like adored children, and live in love as the Anointed One loved you — so much that He gave Himself as a fragrant sacrifice, pleasing God." Let the world see your family resemblance to the Father!
Verses to Live

At first glance, you can view the following consecutive passages from Ephesians as a Christian set of laws. However, Paul's emphasis on old life versus new life and on imitating the Father should remind you that this is about your relationship to God as Father, to Me as your older brother, and to the Spirit as the indwelling presence of Our family nature. This nature should "Spirit-naturally" come to life in you and produce this kind of fruit in your life(Galatians 5:16-23 shares a similar understanding). Let your family resemblance shine through you in all you do!
Therefore, as a witness of the Lord, I insist on this: that you no longer walk in the outsiders' ways — with minds devoted to worthless pursuits. They are blind to true understanding. They are strangers and aliens to the kind of life God has for them because they live in ignorance and immorality and because their hearts are cold, hard stones. And now, since they've lost all natural feelings, they have given themselves over to sensual, greedy, and reckless living. They stop at nothing to satisfy their impure appetites. 

But this is not the path of the Anointed One, which you have learned. If you have heard Jesus and have been taught by Him according to the truth that is in Him, then you know to take off your former way of life, your crumpled old self — that dark blot of a soul corrupted by deceitful desire and lust — to take a fresh breath and to let God renew your attitude and spirit. Then you are ready to put on your new self, modeled after the very likeness of God: truthful, righteous, and holy. 

So put away your lies and speak the truth to one another because we are all part of one another. When you are angry, don't let it carry you into sin. Don't let the sun set with anger in your heart or give the devil room to work. If you have been stealing, stop. Thieves must go to work like everyone else and work honestly with their hands so that they can share with anyone who has a need. Don't let even one rotten word seep out of your mouths. Instead, offer only fresh words that build others up when they need it most. That way your good words will communicate grace to those who hear them. It's time to stop bringing grief to God's Holy Spirit; you have been sealed with the Spirit, marked as His own for the day of rescue. Banish bitterness, rage and anger, shouting and slander, and any and all malicious thoughts — these are poison. Instead, be kind and compassionate. Graciously forgive one another just as God has forgiven you through the Anointed, our Liberating King 
(Ephesians 4:17-32) 

So imitate God. Follow Him like adored children, and live in love as the Anointed One loved you — so much that He gave Himself as a fragrant sacrifice, pleasing God. 

Listen, don't let any kind of immorality be breathed among you. Any demoralizing behaviors (perverse sexual acts, uncleanliness, greediness, and the like) are inappropriate topics of conversation for those set apart as God's people. Don't swear or spurt nonsense. Don't make harsh jokes or clown around. Make proper use of your words, and offer them thankfully in praise. This is what we know for certain: no one who engages in loose sex, impure actions, and greed — which is just a form of idolatry — has any inheritance in the kingdom of God and His Anointed. 

Don't be fooled by people whose sentences are compounded with useless words, empty words — they just show they are empty souls. For, in His wrath, God will judge all the children of disobedience for these kinds of sins. So don't be persuaded into their ignorance; and don't cast your lot with them because, although you were once the personification of darkness, you are now light in the Lord. So act like children of the light. For the fruit of the light is all that is good, right, and true. Make it your aim to learn what pleases our Lord. Don't get involved with the fruitless works of darkness; instead, expose them to the light of God. You see, it's a disgrace to speak of their secrets (so don't even talk about what they do when no one is looking). When the light shines, it exposes even the dark and shadowy things and turns them into pure reflections of light. This is why they sing,
Awake, you sleeper! Rise from your grave, And the Anointed One will shine on you.
(Ephesians 5:1-14)
Response in Prayer

Father God, thank You for redeeming me and saving me from a fruitless life of sin and death while being enslaved to the forces that are seeking to destroy all that is good in the world. I pray that I remember Your great love, Jesus' great sacrifice, and the Spirit's great power so that Your righteous character and gracious compassion will shine through in my life and lead people to glorify You, my dear Father in heaven, my beloved Jesus, and the Holy Spirit Who is my guarantee of glory. This I pray through the intercession of the Holy Spirit and in the name of my Savior, Jesus. Amen. 
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Your Daily Worship" — A Year with Jesus for 10/23/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved, 

In yesterday's note, I urged you to display your Father's righteous character and gracious compassion. Today, I apply that principle more fully to your daily personal life. Follow My example in living out the Father's character and compassion in your daily work and other activities and in your relationships with friends and family. 

I submitted Myself to your needs and to the needs of the lost world to redeem you (Philippians 2:5-11). Similarly, I want you to live a life of submission to redeem those in the world around you. Much of what Paul wrote to the Ephesians in today's verses centers on seeing your daily life, especially your daily life with those closest to you, as part of your worship. Paul wanted the Ephesians to know — and I want you to know — that proper living in a Christian household and in Christian relationships ultimately comes back to Me: Who I AM, what I have commanded, and the manner in which I did what I did — see the highlights about this in bold in the verses below. 

Many documents on virtue and proper living that were written by the apostle Paul's contemporaries concluded with what were called "household tables" or "household rules." The standard important household in Paul's day consisted of husband and wife, parents and children, and often slaves (including household servants) and masters. 

Paul used this familiar form and filled it full of new meaning. He used this format to focus on Me as the motivating center, key example, and moral authority for the behaviors he commanded. My disciples were to follow My example, were to be moved by My sacrifice to do the right thing, and were to honor Me by obeying My will. This focus elevated Paul's words from admonitions to live the cultural norm to living a life of submission and worship empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

In addition, Paul added another principle to his household rules: reciprocity. The flow of submission went both ways in Paul's teaching — wives to husbands and husbands to wives; children to parents and parents to children; and slaves to masters and masters to slaves. Those in the stronger position (man, parent, master) where given specific instructions to live out their form of submission in challenging ways, just as I lived them as the Son of God (Philippians 2:5-11). This reciprocity was basically unheard of in Paul's culture. Culturally and legally in these three relationships the man, parent, and master had all the authority. The "lower" person — the wife, the child, or the slave — had all the requirements to submit, obey, and serve. Not so with Paul. 

The point of all of this, My beloved disciple, is that you must learn to live for others and serve them before you benefit yourself. Follow My example of submission to the Father's will. Be willing to do this even at great cost. When you learn to live this way depending upon the Holy Spirit for power, seeking to follow My example and obey My will, and offering what you do as your worship to the Father, then you begin to redeem the very structures in which you live them.
Verses to Live

What Paul wrote to the Ephesians in the verses below was said in the language of worship: "submit humbly to one another out of respect [holy fear or reverence] for the Anointed" [Christ Jesus]. Early in this section, Paul gave the command "let God fill you with the Holy Spirit." Then Paul listed five ways the Holy Spirit is energized in the life of My disciple as that disciple lives a life of worship:
"speak to each other... in the soulful words of pious songs."
"sing."
"make music with your hearts attuned to God."
"give thanks to God the Father."
"submit humbly to one another."
In this way, Paul moved the way My disciples were to relate in their families from a set of rules into making their home life and interpersonal relationships part of their worship. In other words, Paul gave much more to the Ephesians than a standard set of household rules. He called on My disciples (1) to follow My example in these daily relationships, (2) to live by the power of the Holy Spirit in these household relationships, and (3) to recognize that the way they lived in their household relationships was an important aspect of their worship. I hope you recognize these same truths as well! 
So be careful how you live; be mindful of your steps. Don't run around like idiots as the rest of the world does. Instead, walk as the wise! Make the most of every living and breathing moment because these are evil times. So understand and be confident in God's will, and don't live thoughtlessly. Don't drink wine excessively. The drunken path is a reckless path. It leads nowhere. Instead, let God fill you with the Holy Spirit. When you are filled with the Spirit, you are empowered to speak to each other in the soulful words of pious songs, hymns, and spiritual songs; to sing and make music with your hearts attuned to God; and to give thanks to God the Father every day through the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed for all He has done. 

And the Spirit makes it possible to submit humbly to one another out of respect for the Anointed. Wives, it should be no different with your husbands. Submit to them as you do to the Lord, for God has given husbands a sacred duty to lead as the Anointed leads the church and serves as the head. (The church is His body; He is her Savior.) So wives should submit to their husbands, respectfully, in all things, just as the church yields to the Anointed One. Husbands, you must love your wives so deeply, purely, and sacrificially that we can understand it only when we compare it to the love the Anointed One has for His bride, the church. We know He gave Himself up completely to make her His own, washing her clean of all her impurity with water and the powerful presence of His word. He has given Himself so that He can present the church as His radiant bride, unstained, unwrinkled, and unblemished — completely free from all impurity — holy and innocent before Him. So husbands should care for their wives as if their lives depended on it, the same way they care for their own bodies. As you love her, you ultimately are loving part of yourself (remember, you are one flesh). No one really hates his own body; he takes care to feed and love it, just as the Anointed takes care of His church, because we are living members of His body. "And this is the reason a man leaves his father and his mother and is united with his wife; the two come together as one flesh." There is a great mystery reflected in this Scripture, and I say that it has to do with the marriage of the Anointed One and the church. Nevertheless, each husband is to love and protect his own wife as if she were his very heart, and each wife is to respect her own husband. 
(Ephesians 5:15-33) 

Now to you, children, obey your parents in the Lord because this is right in God's eyes. This is the first commandment onto which He added a promise: "Honor your father and your mother, and if you do, you will live long and well in this land." 

And, fathers, do not drive your children mad, but nurture them in the discipline and teaching that come from the Lord. 

Slaves, respect and fear your earthly masters. Obey and serve them with the same sincerity of heart. Don't put on a show just because they are looking (as if you were a people pleaser); but as a slave of the Anointed, do the will of God from your heart. Serve them in good faith as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because all good deeds are gifted back from the Lord, and they are yours whether you are a slave or not. 

Masters, hear this: act in kind to your slaves. Stop terrorizing and threatening them. Don't forget that you have a Master in heaven who does not take sides or pick favorites. 
(Ephesians 6:1-9) 
Response in Prayer

O Father, thank You for considering my everyday activities with those who are part of my daily world as part of my worship. I confess that there are some in my weekly routine that are harder to treat as I know Jesus would treat them. I am trusting in the Holy Spirit to fill me and empower me as I serve all those around me and as I seek to display to them the grace of Jesus. Please be glorified in my life in both big and small ways as I offer all that I am and all that I do as worship to You! In Jesus' name I ask that You receive the daily praise of my life. Amen.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"Essential Unity" — A Year with Jesus for 10/21/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Member of My Body, 

In several of Paul's letters, he emphasized that My church was not just a body, but My bodily presence in the world (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-30). When I lived on earth in a physical body, I brought the touch and truth of the Father to a broken and confused world. Now as My body, you are called to do the same thing. 

You are a member of My body. The concept of being a member of an organization called a church is foreign to the New Testament and to My own teaching. When My apostles used the term "member" they were talking about a member of a body — a vital body part of an organism. How you treat others in My family, what you believe, and how you use your gifts to significantly impact My church. How you live these dynamics either helps or hinders the church to live and serve as My bodily presence in the world. 

When Paul wrote the verses below, he used the emotional leverage of his imprisonment to remind My disciples in Ephesus and Asia Minor of the importance and urgency of:
living with a definite character that reflected My character,
agreeing on key doctrinal truths centered in Our — Father, Son, and Spirit's — nature, and
using their spiritual gifts to help My body to impact the world with My character and compassion.
As they did these three things, My body on earth would reflect and continue My ministry. These things would help them resist false teaching and would restore My presence to the world through their lives as My church. These things happened, however, only when each member — each "body part" — did its work, based on faith and a shared doctrinal core and lived with gracious compassion for each other.
Verses to Live

Paul wrote Ephesians to give My disciples a glorious view of the Father's intention for the church. In today's verses, Paul emphasized that essential unity among My disciples must have three dimensions: unity of gracious character (paragraph 1 below), unity in faith essentials (paragraph 2), and unity as My bodily presence through using their gifts to bless My church as well as the lost world (paragraph 3). Unfortunately, the evil one can give My life, My message, and My church a bad name when My followers emphasize only one or two of these to the exclusion of the others. Please know that all three are important if you are to restore My presence to the world through My church! 
As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you: Live a life that is worthy of the calling He has graciously extended to you. Be humble. Be gentle. Be patient. Tolerate one another in an atmosphere thick with love. Make every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit has already created, with peace binding you together. 

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were all called to pursue one hope. There is one Lord Jesus, one living faith, one... washing through baptism, and one God — the Father over all who is above all, through all, and in all. 

This God has given to each of us grace in full measure according to the Anointed's gift as the Scripture says,
When He ascended to the heights, 
He put captivity in chains; 
And in His triumph, He gave gifts to the people.
(Well, when it says "He ascended," then that must mean that He had descended earlier to the lower levels, that is, to the earth. The One who descended is the same One who rose from the dead to ascend far above all the heavens so that He could fill all things.) It was the risen One who handed down to us such gifted leaders — some emissaries, some prophets, some evangelists, as well as some pastor-teachers — so that God's people would be thoroughly equipped to minister and build up the body of the Anointed One. These ministries will continue until we are unified in faith and filled with the knowledge of the Son of God, until we stand mature in His teachings and fully formed in the likeness of the Anointed, our Liberating King. Then we will no longer be like children, tossed around here and there upon ocean waves, picked up by every gust of religious teaching spoken by liars or swindlers or deceivers. Instead, by truth spoken in love, we are to grow in every way into Him — the Anointed One, the head. He joins and holds together the whole body with its ligaments providing the support needed so each part works to its proper design to form a healthy, growing, and mature body that builds itself up in love. 
(Ephesians 4:1-16)
Response in Prayer

Father, forgive us. We have been short-sighted children. Sometimes we grow weak on truth and end up compromising Your will. Sometimes, dear Father, we've gotten so hung up on our own version of doctrine that we've forgotten to treat each other with gracious compassion. Other times, Father, we've forgotten to use our gifts and gotten caught up in going to church or being a member of a religious group rather than realizing that we are parts of Jesus' bodily presence, Your re-incarnation of Jesus to the world through the church. So please forgive us — and please forgive me in particular — for our short-sightedness, contentious spirit, and lack of involvement in Jesus' body, the church. While I cannot speak for everyone, O God, I do pledge my heart, my life, and my all to live out Your call to gracious compassion toward my brothers and sisters in Christ, to centering My faith in Your work and Your identity as Father, Lord Jesus the Son and Anointed One, and the Holy Spirit. I also pledge to focus my attention doctrinally on the truths that center on Your identity — the church as Jesus' body, hope in Jesus' return, faith in Jesus as Lord, and my baptism into Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. I also pledge, dear Father, to use the gifts You have given to me to bless Jesus' church and help it minister as Jesus' presence in my world. I ask for this forgiveness and I make this pledge in Jesus' name. Amen. 
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.

"I AM Enough" — A Year with Jesus for 10/19/2014

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). Yet he was content with facing this suffering if the early churches remained committed to Me and to the pure message that they had heard from him, the other apostles, and other faithful witnesses. Nevertheless, Paul's suffering was made more trying by those who kept stirring up discontent and doubt because of their false teaching. 

Epaphras, who was from Colossae himself (Colossians 4:12), had originally taken My message to the Colossians (Colossians 1:7). Paul had never even visited there (Colossians 2:1). Yet people's respect for him as a great leader, teacher, disciple maker, and apostle gave him significant influence in the lives of many churches and Christians. The Colossian Christians were part of this group that deeply respected Paul. He wrote the letter of 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 — "the elemental spirits of the cosmos" — and special ascetic practices of denying the body through 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) — although some English versions of the New Testament may translate the words differently. 

Paul's repeated answer throughout the letter could be defined this way: Me plus anything is less than Me! He centered his life, his mission, and his message in this truth he declared 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 was adamant that the truth of the gospel centered on My death, burial, and resurrection. He insisted that the Colossians needed to not only hang onto the original teaching they received, but that they needed to root themselves in these 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 their participation with My death in baptism and their faith in the power of God demonstrated by My resurrection, the Colossians 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. 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 Colossians reminded the Colossians 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 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 and even in the present, no powers or spirits can have you 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 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. 
(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 and not 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.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc

"Power and Praise" — A Year with Jesus for 10/20/2014

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple, 

One of the most awesome gifts you have as the Father's child is the gift of your intercessory prayer for others. Even though the apostle Paul was in prison and couldn't be with his beloved brothers and sisters in Ephesus, he could still release My power into their lives through prayer and the Holy Spirit. So as Paul was praising the Father, he seamlessly moved from praise into a prayer for the power of the Holy Spirit — the very power that tore Me from the clutches of death and raised Me from the dead — to be released into the Ephesians' lives. 

Rather than spending a lot of time talking to you about what Paul said in the verses below, I want you to read these two prayers from the letter to the Ephesians. As you read them, I hope you will 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 not only naturally done as he prayed led by the Holy Spirit, but it also carried great power that was released into the lives of the Ephesians for whom he prayed.
Paul let the Ephesians know not only that he prayed for them but also what he prayed for them. 
Intercessory prayer is often most powerful when the details you are praying to happen in people's lives are shared with those for whom you are praying — it helps them know not only that you are praying, but also what you are praying. In other words, don't just tell folks you are praying for them, but tell them what you are praying!
Paul prayed for the Ephesians to know and experience the Spirit's power at work within them. 
The same Holy Spirit Who intercedes for My disciples when they pray is the Holy Spirit who releases the Father's power into the lives of those for whom they pray.

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 to My disciples scattered all over the world. As you read these words of prayer, intercession, and power, I want you to let the Holy Spirit help you remember some brothers and sisters for whom you need to share these prayers along with a word of encouragement and remembrance. The first prayer comes from the first part of the letter. The other prayer comes at the middle of the letter as Paul shifts from talking about the truths of the gospel into the ways the disciples must live out those truths. Your power as a disciple to live with My character and compassion comes from not only knowing the truth, but from also having the power to live it. You can release that 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

Almighty God — Whom I know as my gracious Father — and the Lord Jesus and the powerful Holy Spirit, I praise You. I praise You for Your greatness, power, and sovereignty. I praise You for the plan to redeem the mess we have made as we have rebelled against Your righteousness and graciousness. I praise You for entering our world and planting redemption in the fractured world 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.
Share on Facebook | Discuss this Verse
The Thoughts and Prayers for 'A Year with Jesus' are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@heartlight.org.
Heartlight is proud to promote Compassion International. See children who were sponsored today!

© 1998-2014, Heartlight Inc.