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For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age... — Titus 2:11-12 Thoughts on Today's Verse... In a world that has chosen to have no absolutes and that seems to have abandoned any moral standards, salvation by the costly grace of the Father beckons us to change our lifestyles in response to his grace, regardless of society's values ( 1 John 3:1-3 ). All who receive grace and refuse to pursue righteousness demonstrate their ignorance or hardness of heart. In our day, in our time, to be saved must mean that we pursue righteousness - not so that we may earn our salvation, but so that God's saving grace will not be fruitless in us ( 1 Timothy 6:11 ; 2 Timothy 2:2 ). You see, to have Jesus as our Savior also means to have him as our LORD and we tune our lives to his will, his character, and his example. My Pray...

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. — Psalms 90:12 Thoughts on Today's Verse... So often we can look up and time has passed us by. The things we promised ourselves we'd accomplish and the deeds we told others we'd do, well, they get left undone or forgotten. Before we know it, days have become weeks, weeks have become months, and months have become years. We find ourselves unable to do what we once assumed we could do whenever we wanted. So, let's ask the LORD to use the Holy Spirit to help us see and seize the opportunities he places in our path, and let's embrace them with a sense of urgency that today is a day of salvation ( 2 Corinthians 6:2 ). Video Commentary... ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer... Father, I confess that too often I leave undone what needs to be done, forget the commitments I have made, and lose track of people I intended to bless. Please help me see your plans for each day and live in a wa...

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! — 2 Corinthians 5:17 Thoughts on Today's Verse... We all like "do-overs" - you know, second chances that allow us to do things over, only better. God does much better than that for us through his gift of Jesus! He allows us to become new again. Being the "God of new things" ( Isaiah 43:19 ), he can make us new, fresh! Beyond forgiveness, beyond cleansing, the LORD makes us holy and wholly new through Jesus. Let's use the opportunity of a New Year as our emotional springboard to live a fresh, new, and vibrant life for God. After all, the old year is gone, and the New Year has come! Let's live it for Jesus! My Prayer... O LORD, thank you for a New Year and a fresh start. Please give me wisdom and strength to serve you with integrity and faithfulness in this coming year. I pray that your work be done in my life as I offer myself, my plans, and my future to you. I pray this thr...

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." — John 3:3 Thoughts on Today's Verse... "Fast away the old year passes..." But we can be new and fresh and clean in Jesus ( 2 Corinthians 4:17 ). Kingdom people are those who have been born fresh and new through the power of the Spirit and the grace of God ( John 3:3-7 ; Titus 3:3-7 ; John 1:11 ). So as we close out the old year, remember its good things and bad, achievements and failures, successes and disappointments, let's approach the New Year as Kingdom people. God's mercies are new every morning, and our lives can be made new every day by the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Because we are the Father's born-again children, each sunrise offers us the opportunity to greet life as a gift. The Father's grace can rekindle our hope as the Holy Spirit makes us new, trusting in Jesus our LORD. Our God is the God of new things, and we will celebra...

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God... — John 1:12 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Isn't it incredible that we are called children of God!? But that is precisely who we are ( 1 John 3:1-3 ): God's children! Our Father created the universe with its billions and billions of stars and planets. Our Father paints a new sunset every evening and chases away the darkness every single morning. Our Father not only loves us; he also claims us as his own and will bring us to his eternal home. Why? Because we heard God's message to us in Jesus. Because we received God's grace offered to us in his Son. Because we trust that God's grace is received and made real to us through our faith in Jesus. Incredible! Glorious! Grace! Adoption! My Prayer... Abba Father, thank you for claiming me as one of your children because of your grace and through my faith in Christ Jesus. I praise and thank you in his name. Amen. ...

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. — John 1:11 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus came to his own things - the world he had created and the land God had promised his people - and his very own people didn't receive him. Sometimes we are misled by OUR desires and OUR dreams for what Jesus will do for us that we miss what God wants for us and from us. Let's not let the following be true in our lives. "Jesus came to me, but I wasn't ready to receive him. I had other things I wanted to do and other things I wanted to experience before I fully surrendered my heart to him." Each time we put off surrendering our will to Jesus, each time we push him away as LORD, we allow our hearts to harden, and it becomes easier and easier to push him away. Now, while our hearts are still attentive to his grace, let's renew our commitment to him, wholly and afresh, offering Jesus our hearts and lives to be used for his glory and grace. Let's ...