April 2022 week 4

Verse of the Day for Monday,

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. — Romans 10:9-10

Thoughts on Today’s Verse

Imagine Jesus being proud of you! He said if we confess him before others here on earth, he will speak up for us in heaven. Confessing Jesus as our Lord is simply acknowledging the truth. But for believers, it is more than that, since at the close of time every knee will bow and every tongue confess his name. For us, confessing Jesus is anticipating his triumph in which we will share.

My Prayer

Mighty God, your Son is my Lord. I love him and praise him for his redeeming sacrifice. I thank him for his conquest of the grave. I marvel at his sacrificial and triumphant grace. Jesus is Lord. I know it sounds sweet in your ears so I say it again, Jesus is my Lord. Thank you for being so great that you would be so sacrificial. In the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus the Carpenter, I offer this thanks. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Tuesday,

Christ has indeed been raised, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. — 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Thoughts on Today’s Verse

Being eternal is nothing new. Being like Jesus completely, eternally, will be new. But when the moment of glory hung in the balance as Jesus was revived from his death sleep, we too were given the assurance that death no longer claims us. The only death that really matters is our death to sin in baptism with Jesus. If we have shared in that death, we will most certainly share in his resurrection (see Romans 6:1-14).

My Prayer

Almighty, Most Powerful God. Because of your grace and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, I know I will see you face to face. Help me now, however, to live that resurrected life being more like Jesus today than any day ever before. In the name of my risen Lord I pray. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Wednesday,

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. — 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Thoughts on Today’s Verse

Victory! Ultimate Victory!! If you don’t have the answer for life’s biggest test, death, then you have no victory. The Super Bowl and World Series are played every year. The champion is a victor for only one year. But a Christian is a champion forever because in Jesus, a Christian has victory over death.

My Prayer

Thank you God for giving me victory in Jesus Christ. In my daily struggles with sin, please make his will triumphantly present in me now, just as it will be when he raises me from death and brings me home to you. Through my Triumphant King I ask it. Amen

Verse of the Day for Thursday,

Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” — John 10:28-30

Thoughts on Today’s Verse

“He’s got the whole world in his hand.” Yes, the song may be true, but in a much more special way, God holds his children of faith in his hand. As long as their lives are entrusted to him and his grace, no one or nothing can steal them away.

My Prayer

O Lord, thank you for your steadfast and secure love. Thank you for the assurance that my future rests in your hands. Thank you for holding me in your protective grace. May I live today with confidence and joy knowing that no matter where I find myself, you are there to uphold and sustain me. For this grace, I thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Friday,

Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. — Romans 1:20

Thoughts on Today’s Verse

The touch of the Masters hand is all around us. We see it in the order, beauty, and dazzling variety of creation. The great expanse of space, with its billions of stars, along with the incredible world of the microscopic are all testimony to an Orderer of great creativity. God has left his fingerprints all over his world so we can know that he has been here and will not abandon the work of his hands.

My Prayer

O God, thank you for your creation. Thank you for its beauty and variety. Thank you for the changing seasons and the beauty of Spring. But most of all, thank you for choosing to show yourself to us, your creatures. In Jesus’ name. Amen.