Tag: bible verses

Posted in Encouragements, Journal, memories, memory keeping, Miscellaneous, organization

Weekly Verses…

Posted on by JosephinesDesigns.com

Monday
I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
For Christians, God’s temple is one of two related things: either the Christian’s body (1 Cor. 6:19-20) or the group of people who make up his Church (1 Cor. 3:16). Because of the flaws of the people in our churches, many are hypercritical of them. But God’s Church is precious to him and should be to us. Anyone who destroys his church through division will be utterly destroyed. God’s faithfulness to his people is seen in his preservation of the Church through all the ravages and persecutions of history. But God is still the center of the Church and he alone is to be exalted and the Church is still to be governed by his word and not just their own will.
MY PRAYER…
Holy and matchless God, I praise you for your steadfast love and faithfulness revealed in the preseveration of your Church through all of history. I promise to cherish your Church and do all I can to help it grow and mature to be more like Jesus, but I recognize that you and you alone are to be exalted above all other things and that my church must never be more important than your will revealed in your word. Give me the courage to be true to you even if my church may not be. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Tuesday
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Of all the names for God in the Bible, this is my favorite: Him who is able to do immeasurably more. Our God is the same God who parted the Red Sea and fed 5,000 on a green hillside with only a couple of sardine sandwiches. He longs to do more than we ask and imagine, but most of us haven’t really given him much of a challenge. Dream big dreams for God. Then hang on!
MY PRAYER…
Almighty and awesome God, do in our day what you did in past days. Give us faith to believe and then amaze us at the smallness of our faith. Give us vision to see your plan and do greater things. We ask this, not for ourselves or our experience, but for your glory and the salvation of our world. In Jesus name. Amen.
Wednesday
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
God made the world in 6 days. Now he sustains it with his powerful word. But in each of us, he is still at work and will continue to work to his glory (seePhilippians 2:12-13) until Christ comes to take us home!
MY PRAYER…
Thank you Father, for being at work in my life. I confess that at times you seem distant, but looking back over the crucial moments where things were held in the balance, I can see your fingerprints and your grace leading me to where I am today. Please make your presence more powerfully known in my life as I seek your will and live to your glory. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Thursday
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
In the immense expanse of our universe, with its billions upon billions of stars, where our own tiny blue planet is only a small speck of sand on an inestimable seashore, God knows us each personally. Such knowledge it too wonderful to be true, and yet it is. God has shown us his love in Jesus to remind us that he not only knows us, but he cares for us.
MY PRAYER…
O Great God of the heavens, thank you for caring for me even though I am such a small part of your great work in the universe. Your love is beyond my comprehension, and yet it thrills me to know that in your grace one day I will see you face-to-face. Through Jesus I praise you. Amen.
Friday
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Like Esau, we get so diverted by the mundane things of life, the growling of our bellies, we forget the longer-range view of things. God’s word, his written word the Bible, his demonstrated Word in Jesus, and his proclaimed word in the Gospel, are what can sustain us eternally.
MY PRAYER…
True and Faithful God, through your Holy Spirit create in me a hunger for your word that is much more demanding of life than my hunger for food. I confess that at times I have been distracted by the mundane things of life and have not sought your word and have not nourished my soul. Please forgive me as I pledge myself to be more attentive to your leading and your truth through your word. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Saturday
God exalted him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
When Jesus is exalted, when his name is praised and his glory confessed, rather than being insulted or blasphemed, God is honored. Praise be the glorious name of Jesus and the grace of our God!
MY PRAYER…
Precious Savior, Jesus Christ my Lord, your name is wonderful! Your sacrifice for my sin was so loving and generous. I am so thankful that our Father raised you from the dead and that through you I will be able to be with God and worship you all of eternity! You are glorious, Jesus my Lord!
Sunday
(Jesus said) “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Love is not just a feeling, but it is action. For us as believers, the action that most shows our love for Jesus is for us to be obedient to his words and his example.
MY PRAYER…
Father, thank you for showing your love in Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for showing us how to love our Father by being obedient to his will and word. Today I pledge to conciously try to live in obedience to your will. Please receive my actions, words, and thoughts today as an offering of praise to you. In Jesus name. Amen.
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Weekly Verses…

Posted on by JosephinesDesigns.com

Monday
Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds — his name is the Lord — and rejoice before him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
I can’t help but think of what James, Jesus’ brothers said: “Pure religion, undefiled before God the Father is this: keep oneself undefiled and care for orphans and widows in their distress.” Jesus showed clearly this was the Father’s heart in his ministry. Now it is up to us to continue it!
MY PRAYER…
Father, may my life, my compassion, and my ministry reflect your heart for those who need care and protection and love. Give me eyes to see this need more clearly and a heart to responded more certainly so that your love may be demonstrated through me. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Tuesday
Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Mothers have such an inside road with children that it is interesting that God commands fathers to be about the work of spiritual nurture. I don’t believe he means to exclude mothers. No, I think he assumes they’ll do their part. But the father’s influence and intentional training is so essential.
MY PRAYER…
Abba Father, may my children come to find you in me. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Wednesday
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
For husbands, there is sacrificial love in our purpose and purpose in our sacrifice. We give up ourselves to love our wives. But Jesus is the example here, and he gave up everything. His purpose? Simply to make us holy. Our motives are to be equally as sacrificial and pure in surrendering our rights to bless and love our wives.
MY PRAYER…
Holy God, help our families to be full of love and may it begin with me, today. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Thursday
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his very soul?
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
We chase after so many different things. Only one thing is needed. Having a fist full of dollars, a great estate, and lots of prestige doesn’t mean a whole lot if you’ve gone to your ultimate address without the Lord. Even worse, is to find that in the middle of your busy-ness, you awake to find yourself in the barren land where Christ does not dwell and life is not found.
MY PRAYER…
Father, help me to keep my priorities right and my life holy and my heart open to your will rather than being blinded with my own self-seeking. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Friday
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
How good it is to be as close to God as his shadow and share in the comfort of his shelter. He is not far if our hearts choose to draw near him.
MY PRAYER…
O great Almighty God, tender Shepherd and Abba Father, make known to me your nearness. I long to live in your presence and reflect your holiness and grace. By Jesus’ blood I draw near to you in full assurance of your love and grace. Amen.
Saturday
The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Our lives are not lived alone. The Lord is with us personally. He holds each of futures and our safety in his hands. We live to serve him and go to be with him when we die. The Lord will keep us from all harm!
MY PRAYER…
Mighty Protector, Rock of my salvation. Thank you that my future is secure with you. Make this assurance the convicting power in my life to turn over my future and my life to you. Through Jesus I ask this. Amen.
Sunday
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and will not be faint.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
It is easy for us to live victoriously for the Lord when we soar on eagles wings. It can be exciting when we run and don’t grow weary in the work of the Lord, buoyed by his power and presence. But it often takes heroes to keep walking and not faint when trying times come. Keep on walking, brother and sister. The Lord is there when you most fear he has forgotten you!
MY PRAYER…
Majestic God, whose voice holds together our universe, give those who can barely walk under the stress and assault the strength to continue. I specifically want to pray for those I know personally who are facing trying times. Please, dear LORD, give them strength and meet their most pressings needs. Through the intercession of Jesus I ask it. Amen.
Devotional credit: Oneplace.com

 

Posted in Encouragements, Journal, Journals, Junk Journals, memories, memory keeping, Miscellaneous, organization

Weekly Verses…

Posted on by JosephinesDesigns.com

Monday
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not  self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
1 Corinthians 13:4-5
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Love does not focus on me, but on others.  Each of these qualities of love is based upon an affectionate, compassionate, and forgiving attitude that regards others of value and not just self.  No wonder the old saying goes “The middle of sIn is a big I!”
MY PRAYER…
Holy God and Sacrificial Father, teach me to notice others and value them just as you do. I know you loved me when I was not lovable, and redeemed me when I was not worthy.  Help me to take my eyes off myself and see others as you see them. Through Jesus I pray.  Amen.
Tuesday
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:6-7
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Always love – pretty tall order and pretty tough stuff. Only God is “always.”  But then Christians are fueled to a
always love through the Holy Spirit!  Check out the promised source of “always” love in Romans 5:5.
MY PRAYER…
Sweet and Glorious God on High, I humble myself before you, recognizing your boundless power to love, the incredible need for love in the lives of those around me, and my limited ability to love.  Please pour your Holy Spirit into my heart and fill me with the power to love as you do, always.  In Jesus’ sweet name I pray.  Amen.
Wednesday
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Did you know the Bible doesn’t just say, “God loves you?” Now don’t let me confuse you, it does say God loves us many times, but each time it does, it shows us that love as well. God loved us so much time he didn’t just say I love you with a valentine, he showed he loved us by sending his Son!
MY PRAYER…
Loving and almighty God, thank you for loving me.  Thank you for both saying it and showing it.  Please know, dear Father, I love you, too! Accept my words and actions today as a testimony to my love.  Through Jesus I pray.  Amen.
Thursday
A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you , so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
John 13:34-35
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
How do you recognize Jesus’ followers?  How do you find Christians?  Jesus said they love each other just as he loved the disciples. In the immediate context, this means he is willing to give sacrificially and extravagantly by dying for them on the cross, and he is also willing to love selflessly and practically by washing their feet. His ministry reveals he also will do almost anything in between extravagant and practical. Imagine if we all read the Gospels, and committed to love each other in the same way Jesus showed his love to his disciples!
MY PRAYER…
Father of Compassion and God of all grace, I thank you for teaching me to love through the example of Jesus.  May my words and actions reflect some resemblance of his love toward your people today.  Through Christ, my Great Example, I pray.  Amen.
Friday
This is love:  not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:10
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
He loved us first!  He offered his Son to save us regardless of our decision to believe or ignore his grace.  We are given the ability to accept or reject the death of his Son as the sacrifice for our sins.  The only condition, as 1 John 2:1-2 emphasizes, is that we realize that he died for everyone else in the world, too!
MY PRAYER…
Precious King, God Almighty, why you should love me and send Jesus to die for me I will never fully understand.  Thank you for your love. Thank you for your sacrifice for my sins. Thank you, Jesus, for coming to save me.  I pray in your name and by your intercession.  Amen.
Saturday
This is the message you heard from the beginning:  We should love one another.
1 John 3:11
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
The original message – love one another.  The enduring message – love one another.  The most convicting message – love one another.  The most difficult message – love one another. I’m reminded of the little verse:  To dwell above with saints we love, O that will be glory. But to dwell below with saints we know, now that’s another story.  But it’s the story we’re called to write!
MY PRAYER…
Loving Father, I commit to you that I will intentionally show my love for your children this week in what I do and say. I do this, trusting your grace to empower me to do more than I would do on my own.  Through Jesus my Savior I pray.  Amen.
Sunday
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 8:35-37
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Conquerors! We win!!  When you open up the final book of the Bible, Revelation, that is the message – Christians win because Jesus is the one true conqueror.  No matter how the battle is going for you right now, remember that in the end, we win!
MY PRAYER…
El Shaddai, God Almighty, thank you for securing the ultimate victory for me by raising Jesus from the dead.  I know he is coming with victory on the day you have determined, but I pray that I may live victoriously for you until that day. Through Jesus my conquering King I pray.  Amen.
Devotional Credit: Oneplace.com
Posted in Encouragements, Journal, Journals, memories, memory keeping, Miscellaneous

Weekly Verses…

Posted on by JosephinesDesigns.com
Monday
Do not be deceived:   God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.  The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
Galatians 6:7-8, New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Isn’t it incredible how huge trees grow out of tiny seeds! This principle runs throughout all of life.  We can never completely get away from the seeds we sow.  So let’s not fool ourselves while we’re trying to do a “snow job” on God.  Let’s make sure the seeds we sow are the ones we want sprouting up!
MY PRAYER…
O Eternal God, who lived before time began and who will be the Great I AM when time is no more, bless the seeds my life sows so they may bear fruit and bless those I love.  Through Jesus, the grain of wheat who died and was buried so that life may flower forth.  Amen.
Tuesday
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Matthew 7:7-8
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Ask!  So often we’re afraid to ask for help because we have to admit we don’t have the answers.  Seek!  Effort and interest and perseverance are necessary and that’s sometimes hard. Knock! But God wants us to use the A.S.K. principle and bring our hearts before him. So let’s not whine, complain, desire, and want.  Let’s A.S.K. our Father and seek his glory.
MY PRAYER…
Waiting Father, I am sorry that so often you hear only my whines, complaints, and concerns.  You have been so generous with your love.  Help me to keep my heart set on you and your will today as I ask you to minister to the things on my heart. Through Jesus I pray.  Amen.
Wednesday
If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
James 1:5
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Wisdom is that illusive quality we respect in others and find so difficult to develop in ourselves.  Yet God promises it to those who really ask.  But remember the secret of ASKing –asking, seeking, and knocking.       Or better yet, check out Proverbs 2.  Wisdom is ours only if we seek it above all other possessions and value it above all other diversions.  God longs to impart it, but there is something about wisdom that demands we  value it before we can receive it.
MY PRAYER…
Gracious giver of all good gifts, please bless me with wisdom today.  Let me reflect your will and live for your glory in all my decisions.  Let your Kingdom guide my heart as I make my choices and have your Spirit lead me in your ways.  I confess, Father, that I cannot guide my own steps without your help.  So grant me wisdom this day.  I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Thursday
If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.  But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Galatians 6:1
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
In a day when intervening in someone’s life is no longer politically and socially correct, these verses ring out like a gunshot on a still night.  Sin is still real and is just as deadly as ever.  Yet because we fear being branded judgmental, we let many who are trapped by sin go to their spiritual death.  The call is for nonjudgmental intervention — we recognize the gravity of the sin and the need of the sinner, without feeling arrogant in our righteousness.       “There but for the grace of God go I.”
MY PRAYER…
Father, forgive my sins as I forgive those who have sinned against me.  But Father, also help my heart to be gripped by the gravity of sin’s effects and to be stirred into action by those whom it has trapped.  Through Jesus, who came to rescue me from my sin, I pray.  Amen
Friday
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable –if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
Philippians 4:8New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Our actions follow our thoughts like a heat-seeking missile follows the exhaust of a jet fighter’s engine.      So in a day when so much around us trains us to find the negative in life, we must aggressively think and pursue the character, the qualities, and the things of God’s goodness.
MY PRAYER…
Holy and Magnificent God, thank you for being better than anything my world can offer me.  Thank you for calling me to a higher standard than the world accepts.  Thank you for giving me the promise of a better future than any human can imagine. Thank you for giving me a high calling. In Jesus’ holy name I pray. Amen.
Saturday
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
–-James 4:10
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Humble yourselves.  That sounds obscene.  At least to the culture of self-promotion and “get ahead at all cost” and “don’t look back, the competition is gaining on you” it sounds obscene.  Humility is a forgotten virtue.  Often confused with weakness or timidity, humility is about knowing our proper place in the world without flaunting it.  Only God can exalt in a permanent way, so the key is to know our place before him and let him put us in the place he chooses to honor him.
MY PRAYER…
Abba Father, Most Holy God, thank you for allowing me into your presence. When I think of all that you have done, the incredible universe you have made and hold together by your word, I am amazed you invite me into your presence and care about my words.  Thank you for knowing me and having a plan for my life to please you. Help me this day to glorify you in what I do.  Through Jesus I pray.  Amen.
Sunday
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:12-13
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE..
How often do you forget that we are in a spiritual war?  Our enemy is deceptively cunning – take away the immediacy of a threat and the danger appears gone.  But he’s there, always. But rather than try to guess his plans and counter all of his moves, Paul reminds us to simply take up the tools God has given us and stand up to the evil one.
MY PRAYER…
Lord of Hosts, my Great Deliverer, protect me from the evil one by your great power.  Give me a sense of urgency as I face Satan and his schemes on a daily basis, but also give me confidence that Jesus has already defeated my foe.  Help me to stand against this foe and show myself faithful to you. Through Jesus my Lord and Savior I pray.  Amen.
Devotional credit: Oneplace.com
Posted in Encouragements, Journal, memories, Miscellaneous, organization

Weekly Verses…

Posted on by JosephinesDesigns.com

Monday

[The shepherds] hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby [Jesus], who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed…  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. 
—Luke 2:16-20
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
The shepherds reaction to baby Jesus is exactly what our reaction will be when we see the returning Jesus:  we will glorify and praise God for all the things we see and hear and will find that they are just as God has promised them to us. Since God kept his word in the first coming of Jesus, we can be assured that he will do it with the Second Coming of Jesus!
MY PRAYER…
Faithful and all powerful Lord, thank you for being trustworthy and true.  Help me to be faithful to you in what I   do and say and think during this stressful yet marvelous time. May I never lose faith in the coming of Jesusand may my faith in him ever shape my life to be more pleasing to you.  Amen.
Tuesday
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
—Isaiah 9:6
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
While Jesus is God’s Son and Mary’s son, he is also our Son. He is the child given to the world so you and I can become God’s child.  What greater gift can we have than Jesus, and through Jesus, God as our Father.
MY PRAYER…
On a day so glorious, when the world pauses and acknowledges your gift of Jesus, all I can think to say is simply “Thank you!”  Amen.
Wednesday
Simeon took him [Jesus] in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
—Luke 2:28-32
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
God’s gift to Simeon was truly precious and touching.  He is the embodiment of every nation, race, and culture that is seeking God’s salvation.  God’s salvation, as Luke loves to remind us again and again, is for all people!
MY PRAYER…
Lord God of all nations, not only do I pray for peace on earth, but I pray that the knowledge of Jesus may be spread to every nation this coming year.   Please make me sensitive to those around me who need your grace and give me courage and the right words to say.  Please stir me to be generous to those who are spreading your Gospel throughout the world.  Please bind the work of Satan that keeps nations in darkness and away from grace.   Make your Kingdom triumph through the growth of your word throughout the world.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.
Thursday
Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
—Psalms 103:1-3
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Praise must not come just from our lips.  Praise must emanate from deep within our soul, recognizing all the great blessings God has given us.  While God is worthy of praise because he his holy and majestic and mighty, we have even greater reasons to praise him.   He has bee so very gracious to us!
MY PRAYER…
Holy and loving Father, I praise you for your gift of creation.  I praise you for your love in granting us free will to accept or reject you.  I praise you for choosing Abraham to be the beginning of faith and a people through whom Jesus would come.  I praise you for sending Jesus.   I praise you for providing the sacrifice for my sins.  I praise you for raising him from the dead and triumphing over sin and death.  I praise you for those who shared the Gospel of your grace with me.  I praise You for what you are doing through me and for me.  I praise You for what you are about to do and yet remains enshrouded in mystery to me.  I praise because you are Almighty God who has chosen to be my Abba Father.  Through Jesus Christ my Lord, I praise you. Amen.
Friday
[Jesus said,] “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” 
—Matthew 11:28
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
At the end of the year, it sure is nice to be invited to rest in Jesus.   So before we begin a new year, let’s pause and place our hopes, our future, our dreams, and especially our burdens down at his feet and let him give us rest.
MY PRAYER…
Teach me, O God, to learn to rest in your grace and providence more and to worry less.  I want to surrender my burdens to Jesus and let him teach me his way and how to find his rest.  Sometimes I am so tired and weary I don’t think I can continue, so please, dear Father, let me find rest in Jesus.   Through whom I offer this prayer.  Amen.
Saturday
[Jesus said,] “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in me.   In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.   I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
—John 14:1-3
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
He’s coming back!  As much as the world likes to remember Jesus’ first coming during the Christmas season, we need to remind people that his Second Coming will be even greater.  We want to be prepared –lives dedicated to his glory and hearts full of expectation at his coming.
MY PRAYER…
Loving God, I know Jesus will come again.  May I be found faithful and expectant when he returns.  Thank you for sending him the first time to live in my world and take away my sin. Thank you even more for his next coming to take me to live in your world and share in your victory over sin.   Through Jesus I pray.  Amen.
Sunday
[Jesus said,] “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!   I have overcome the world.
—John 16:33
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
This world is a place of struggle.  Yes, we can live above the struggle for awhile or can find a way to simply ignore or re-label the struggle for a time.  But in the end, the struggle will find us.  But in the midst of struggle, we can remind ourselves that our victory is secure.  Jesus has won!  We will share in his great triumph.  In case you didn’t know, the final outcome is already determined and Christians win big through
Jesus.
MY PRAYER…
Thank you, God, for giving me the victory through Jesus Christ my Lord.  I greet the future with anticipation because I know that each day brings me closer to you and the glorious future you have planned for all of your children.  Until then I pray that I may never lose sight of that victory and I yearn for the day of its arrival! Through Jesus, the triumphant Rider on the white horse, I pray.  Amen.
Devotional credit: Oneplace.com