Birhen.com

In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. — Ephesians 1:7 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Forgiveness! What a sweet and precious gift. What we were powerless to fix or pay for, God did for us in Jesus. He gave us the gift of forgiveness. With him, each day is a fresh start and a rebirth of the springtime of our souls. But my, such a terrible cost he paid to give it to us! Jesus paid for what we could not afford so we could find "the riches of God's grace" in Jesus. Praise God! My Prayer... Thank you, Father, for your anguish and cost to forgive my sins by the blood of your Son. I refuse to take the cost of my sin lightly. I commit to live for your glory in appreciation for your grace. In the name of him who sacrificed all for my salvation and gave me the gift of "the riches of God's grace," I pray. Amen. The Thoughts and Prayer on Today's Verse are written by Phil Ware. Y...

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. — Hebrews 12:2 Thoughts on Today's Verse... "He drives where he looks, he drives where he looks!" That statement by Nan, a wife disgruntled by her husband's driving, absolutely spoke the truth. Vail invariably would turn the steering wheel in the direction he was looking, terrifying all of us who rode with him as he looked around. This principle is also true of each of us and our lives: "We live where we look!" What our hearts seek and what our minds focus on steer us toward our goal, like a heat-seeking missile following its target's exhaust. That's why we must "fix our eyes on Jesus." We focus upon Jesus to both know him and become like him ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 ). Our lives will follow where we look. So let's fix our gaze and focus our hearts o...

Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!" — Matthew 20:17-19 Thoughts on Today's Verse... One thing the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) make clear: Jesus' death on the cross was no accident - it was no tragedy outside the will of God. Jesus knew the challenge that awaited him in Jerusalem, and he walked into his horrific challenge to deliver us from the same fate he suffered. His trust in the Father's "third day solution" opened the doorway for God to secure victory for Jesus and all of us who build our futures through our faith in him ( Colossians 2:12-15 , 3:1-4 ). The question for us is straightforward: Will we face our challe...

The fool says in his heart there is no God. — Psalm 14:1 Thoughts on Today's Verse... At one time or another, most of us raised an angry fist to fate and cursed the darkness. Each of these actions is equally ineffective. To deny the existence of God is something else altogether. To rob heaven of God is to rob ourselves of grace, hope, and future. How foolish to forget that behind a Creation of wonder, order, variety, beauty, power, and pattern is the Grand Creator. He is far greater than his handiwork, and we dare not ignore, deny, or dismiss him, for then we become our own gods, left to only worship ourselves and the beauty created for us. How small our world becomes when we do deny there is God ( 1 Corinthians 1:18-32 ). My Prayer... O LORD God Almighty, Creator and Sustainer, we thank you for not only being there always as the great "I AM," ( Exodus 3:13-15 ; Hebrews 13:5-6 ) but being with each of us this very day. Please use us, your children, to awaken our skeptical...

He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. — Isaiah 53:5-6 Thoughts on Today's Verse... As we did yesterday, today we look at one of Isaiah's four Servant Songs ( Isaiah 42:1-9 , 49:1-7 , 50:4-9 , 52:13-53:12 ) that speak of the coming of God's servant Messiah, whom we know as Jesus, our LORD and Savior. I don't know how Jesus could stand up under the weight of his divine assignment as Messiah and Suffering Servant, but he did for you and me. This servant song ( Isaiah 52:13-53:12 ) emphasizes what Jesus endured and carried, along with the weight of his cross. He carried my sin, your sin, our sin with him to the cross. He allowed the weight of our sins to be placed upon him so that we would not have to bear the consequences of the...

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and he carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. — Isaiah 53:3-4 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus was everything, created everything, and gave up everything to become nothing for you and me ( Philippians 2:5-8 ). Most of the people on earth he came to save didn't recognize him or accept him when he was here. Many in the crowds just assumed he deserved what he got, crucifixion. Most did not repent. But there was something about Jesus' self-sacrificing story, self-emptying story that grabs our hearts and calls us, God's lost children, home. On our journey home, we not only find him to be our Savior, but also the servant promised by God through Isaiah the prophet ( Isaiah 42:1-9 , 49:1-7 , 50:4-9 , 52:13-53:12 ), God's Son...