Morning Devotion
January 17, 2025
Today's Bible Verse
Ephesians 2:12
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. <br><br>
Today's Bible Study
In this verse, even though Paul is referring to the Gentiles, we see a picture of ourselves before we knew the Lord. We were aliens from the Kingdom of God and strangers to His promises. We had no hope beyond that which we found in ourselves, and there wasn't much hope there!
Think about your life before you came to know Jesus. What were you like? What sins did you frequently fall into? You were living without the hope that Jesus offers each of us, but today you live a different story. Think about the ways that knowing Jesus has changed your life. He offers us so much—confidence in Him, not being afraid, peace in all moments, and assurance of eternity with Him.
In our natural, fallen state, we could never have had a relationship with the Lord. Our unholiness made it impossible for us to approach the Lord, but we could never make ourselves holy or cleanse ourselves of our own sins. Jesus' death was the perfect sacrifice that paid for our sin in full. By living a life that no one else could, He made it possible for us to live the lives that He had for us.
Think about your life before you came to know Jesus. What were you like? What sins did you frequently fall into? You were living without the hope that Jesus offers each of us, but today you live a different story. Think about the ways that knowing Jesus has changed your life. He offers us so much—confidence in Him, not being afraid, peace in all moments, and assurance of eternity with Him.
In our natural, fallen state, we could never have had a relationship with the Lord. Our unholiness made it impossible for us to approach the Lord, but we could never make ourselves holy or cleanse ourselves of our own sins. Jesus' death was the perfect sacrifice that paid for our sin in full. By living a life that no one else could, He made it possible for us to live the lives that He had for us.
Jesus' death was costly. We know from Luke that He sweat blood and asked God to take the cup away from Him. In the end, though, Jesus went to the cross willingly. He was abandoned and alone—even God the Father forsook Him—and subject to one of the most painful types of execution ever invented.
But Jesus did it because He loved us. He did it because He did not want us to be hopeless strangers because He wanted us to be surrounded by His love and mercy. Today, the best response to Jesus' death is not mourning, but rather, rejoicing in His resurrection three days later and the transformation that He has brought into our lives.
But Jesus did it because He loved us. He did it because He did not want us to be hopeless strangers because He wanted us to be surrounded by His love and mercy. Today, the best response to Jesus' death is not mourning, but rather, rejoicing in His resurrection three days later and the transformation that He has brought into our lives.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for transforming my life through the Gospel. Thank you for reaching down into the depth of my being and making me see your love for me. Thank you for not letting me remain an alien, but instead making me into someone who gets to walk in sweet fellowship with you. In Jesus' name, amen.
If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.
-C.S. Lewis
God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars.
-Elbert Hubbard
The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.
-C.S. Lewis
If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.
-Dorothy Parker
Yesterday's Devotional
January 16, 2025
Yesterday's Bible Verse
Proverbs 23:26
My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. <br><br>
Yesterday's Bible Study
In this verse in Proverbs, we are told to give the Lord our hearts and to observe His ways. The Lord wants us to do this not so that He feels good, but rather, that we may experience fullness in Him. He knows that our best lives happen when we totally surrender to Him. This begins with giving our hearts to Him as we watch His ways.
What does it mean to give our hearts to the Lord? I think, on a basic level, it means that we love the Lord above all things and above all people. When we make the decision to love the Lord more than anything, we make knowing Him the primary purpose of our lives.
What does it mean to give our hearts to the Lord? I think, on a basic level, it means that we love the Lord above all things and above all people. When we make the decision to love the Lord more than anything, we make knowing Him the primary purpose of our lives.
When we spend time getting to know the Lord, He begins to fill us with an even greater love for Him. The more we know the Lord, the more we understand His love for us—and want to know Him more! One of the best measures of spiritual maturity is the depth of our understanding of the Lord's love, because our understanding is correlated with the amount of time that we spend with the Lord.
We should also observe the Lord's ways. We can learn about His ways through the Bible as well as how He answers prayers in our own lives. When we couple these two and keep our hearts tender to seeing the Lord work in a variety of ways, we will see and experience God's faithfulness, justice, and kindness. As we grow more and more like Him, we will see these characteristics reflected in our own lives.
We should also observe the Lord's ways. We can learn about His ways through the Bible as well as how He answers prayers in our own lives. When we couple these two and keep our hearts tender to seeing the Lord work in a variety of ways, we will see and experience God's faithfulness, justice, and kindness. As we grow more and more like Him, we will see these characteristics reflected in our own lives.
Yesterday's Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for being so kind to me and loving me so deeply. I give you my heart, Jesus, knowing that you are so loving and good. Open up my eyes so that I can learn about you and see your ways. I love you, Jesus. In your name, amen.