Devotional
We live in a culture that often says: “Your truth is your truth.” “Everyone has their own way.” “As long as you’re sincere, it doesn’t matter what you believe.” But Christianity makes an exclusive claim. Jesus said: “I am the way.” Not a way. The way.
That statement forces us to make a decision. If Jesus is merely a religious teacher, then His claim can be dismissed. But if Jesus is who He claimed to be… If He really is the Son of God… If He really died for our sins… If He really rose from the grave… If He really is Lord… Then Jesus cannot simply be one option among many. He has to be the way. And this isn’t because God doesn’t love people. Quite the opposite. God loved us so much that He provided the way we desperately needed.
John 3:16 begins with: “For God so loved…” God loved. God gave. God initiated. God made the way. The exclusivity of Jesus is actually connected to the incredible grace of Jesus. God did not leave humanity without hope. He sent His Son, because it was the only way to offer us salvation. Jesus stepped out of glory, entered our broken world, and lived among us. He took our sin to the cross. He died and rose again. And now He calls us to Himself.
So the question isn’t simply: “Do I believe Jesus is the only way?” The deeper question is: “Have I personally surrendered my life to the One who is the way?” You can inherit a Bible without having faith. You can inherit church attendance without having a relationship with Christ. You can inherit Christian vocabulary without knowing Christ. But you cannot inherit salvation. There must come a moment when you personally trust Jesus.
Maybe you’ve been around Christianity your entire life. Maybe you’ve heard John 14:6 hundreds of times. But today, don’t allow familiarity to replace faith. Jesus is not simply asking you to believe information about Him. He is calling you to Himself. He is the way.

Read the Context
Acts 4 NIV
The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is
“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’[a]
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
“‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.[b]’[c]
27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

Footnotes

1. Acts 4:11 Psalm 118:22
2. Acts 4:26 That is, Messiah or Christ
3. Acts 4:26 Psalm 2:1,2

 
Make it Personal

• Do I personally know Jesus, or do I simply know about Jesus?
• Am I trusting Christ alone for my salvation?
• Have I surrendered my life to Him?
• Is there anything I am placing above Jesus?
• If someone asked me, “Why do you believe Jesus is the only way?” what would I say?

 
Practical Application

• Make a personal declaration: “I believe Jesus is the way because He alone reconciles me to the Father.”
• Take some time to consider, or write down, what you might answer if someone asked you why you believe that Jesus is the only way.
• Ask God for the opportunity this weekend to share with someone why you believe Jesus is the only way to heaven.

Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
For generations, the veil in the temple represented separation. Behind that veil was the Most Holy Place. It communicated something profound: Sinful humanity cannot simply walk into the presence of a holy God. There was separation. There was a barrier. There was a problem humanity could not solve.
Then Jesus died. And the veil was torn. Notice something important: It was torn from top to bottom. God was showing humanity that something had changed, and he was the one who changed it. The sacrifice had been made. The price had been paid. The barrier had been dealt with. The way was open.
Jesus didn’t die merely to give us a better life. He died to reconcile sinners to God. Hebrews 10:12 tells us that Christ offered one sacrifice for sins forever. Think about that. One sacrifice. Not another sacrifice next year. Not another payment. Not another attempt to earn forgiveness. Jesus finished the work. This is why the cross is not a symbol of defeat. The cross is where our debt was paid. The innocent One took the place of the guilty. The righteous One stood in the place of the unrighteous. The Savior gave Himself for sinners. And because Jesus paid it all, we don’t have to spend our lives trying to pay a debt that He has already paid.
 
Read the Context
Matthew 27 NIV
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”[a]
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus[b] Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.
38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[c] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[d]
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph,[f] and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Footnotes

1. Matthew 27:10 See Zech. 11:12,13; Jer. 19:1-13; 32:6-9.
2. Matthew 27:16 Many manuscripts do not have Jesus; also in verse 17.
3. Matthew 27:46 Some manuscripts Eloi, Eloi
4. Matthew 27:46 Psalm 22:1
5. Matthew 27:53 Or tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they
6. Matthew 27:56 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph

 
Make it Personal

• Do I truly believe Jesus’ sacrifice was enough?
• Am I still trying to earn God’s acceptance?
• Is there guilt from my past that I need to surrender to Christ?
• What does the torn veil teach me about God’s desire for relationship with me?

 
Practical Application

• Each time you pray today, start by thanking Jesus for the price he paid just to allow you into his presence to converse with him.
• Memorize Ephesians 2:8-9.
• Make a personal declaration: “I believe Jesus is the way because He conquered death through His resurrection.”

Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
Thomas wanted directions. “Lord, we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?” Thomas was looking for a path. Jesus gave him a Person. Jesus didn’t say: “I will show you the way.” He said: “I am the way.” That changes everything.
Jesus isn’t simply one option among many. He isn’t simply one spiritual teacher among many. He isn’t merely a good example. He claimed to be the way to the Father.
Why? Because Jesus accomplished what nobody else could accomplish. We could not reach God, so God came to us. We could not remove our sin, so Jesus carried our sin. We could not pay our debt, so Jesus paid it. We could not make ourselves righteous, so Christ offers us His righteousness. Jesus didn’t merely come to tell us how to get back to God. He came to make a way back to God.
This is why Christianity is not ultimately about rules, rituals, or religion. It is about a relationship with a Person. Jesus Christ. The One who said: “I am the way.”
Today, don’t simply ask, “Do I believe there is a way to God?” Ask a more personal question: “Am I trusting Jesus as the way to God?”
 
Read the Context
John 14 NIV
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 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. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.

Footnotes

1. John 14:1 Or Believe in God
2. John 14:7 Some manuscripts If you really knew me, you would know
3. John 14:17 Some early manuscripts and is

 
Make it Personal

• What does Jesus being “the way” mean to me personally?
• Am I tempted to place my confidence in anything besides Christ?
• Do I see Jesus as merely a teacher, or as Lord and Savior?
• What would change in my life if I truly lived as though Jesus were the only way?

 
Practical Application

• Take time to thank Jesus for being the way that you could never have made yourself. Imagine him going throughout your day with you today as “the only Way” to God, to heaven, and to victory.
• Make a personal declaration: “I believe Jesus is the way because He took my place on the cross.”
• As you enter various situations today, try to make a habit of asking yourself, “How can my life demonstrate that I believe Jesus’ words?”

Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
There is something humbling about the word all.
The Bible doesn’t say some have sinned. It doesn’t say bad people have sinned. It doesn’t say people who don’t go to church have sinned. It says: “All have sinned.”
That includes me. That includes you.
Sin is not merely making mistakes. Sin is rebellion against a holy God. And one of our greatest problems is that we often compare ourselves to other people. We say: “I’m not perfect, but I’m better than them.” “I’ve made mistakes, but I’ve never done what they did.” “I’m a good person.”
But Christianity doesn’t ask whether we’re better than someone else. The question is whether we are righteous before a holy God. And when we honestly look at ourselves through the standard of God’s holiness, we realize something: We cannot save ourselves. Our goodness cannot erase our guilt. Our church attendance cannot erase our sin. Our generosity cannot erase our rebellion. Our morality cannot make us righteous. We don’t need someone to simply make us better. We need a Savior.
This is why the gospel is such good news. Christianity doesn’t begin with: “Try harder.” It begins with: “You can’t save yourself.” And once we understand that, we begin to understand why Jesus came.
 
Read the Context
Romans 3 NIV
What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.
3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:
“So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.”[a]
5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” 8 Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!
9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11  there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”[b]
13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”[c]
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[d]
14  “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[e]
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16  ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[f]
18  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[g]
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Footnotes

1. Romans 3:4 Psalm 51:4
2. Romans 3:12 Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20
3. Romans 3:13 Psalm 5:9
4. Romans 3:13 Psalm 140:3
5. Romans 3:14 Psalm 10:7 (see Septuagint)
6. Romans 3:17 Isaiah 59:7,8
7. Romans 3:18 Psalm 36:1
8. Romans 3:22 Or through the faithfulness of
9. Romans 3:25 The Greek for sacrifice of atonement refers to the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant (see Lev. 16:15,16).

 
Make it Personal

• Am I trusting in Jesus, or am I trusting in my own actions, efforts, or goodness? Do I feel like I have to earn what Jesus did for me, or “help” him save me?
• Do I compare myself to others to make myself feel righteous?
• Have I truly acknowledged my need for a Savior?
• What areas of my life am I trying to fix without surrendering them to Christ?

 
Practical Application

• When facing spiritual decisions this week, take a moment to acknowledge that you have no righteousness apart from God, and to thank him for empowering you to make the right choice and for applying his righteousness to you just because of your faith in Jesus.
• Start each day this week asking God to show you any sin and honestly confessing it to him.
• Make a personal declaration: “I believe Jesus is the way because I am a sinner in need of a Savior.”

 
Talk to God 

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
Before we ever began looking for God, God was already reaching for us. That is one of the most beautiful truths in Scripture. We often think salvation begins with us. We think we somehow found God, figured things out, became interested in spiritual things, or decided one day that we needed Jesus.
But Jesus tells us something different. He says that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws them. That means the desire to know God is not something we manufacture on our own. God is the One who initiates. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see Jesus. He convicts us concerning our sin. He shows us our need for a Savior. He points us toward Christ. And we need to remember that the Holy Spirit is not simply an emotion we experience during worship. He is not merely a feeling we have during a powerful sermon. He is not an atmosphere in a church service. The Holy Spirit is God. And one of the works of God the Holy Spirit is to draw people toward Jesus.
Perhaps today you feel conviction about something in your life. Or, perhaps you’ve begun asking questions about God. Or maybe you feel a desire to know Christ more deeply.
Don’t ignore that.
What you may think is simply an emotion could be God graciously drawing your heart toward Himself.
The question is not simply, “Have I heard about Jesus?” The question is: “Am I responding to Jesus?”
God has made the first move. Now we must respond.
 
Read the Context
John 6 NIV
Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles,[b] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[c]”
32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’[d] Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)

Footnotes

1. John 6:7 Greek take two hundred denarii
2. John 6:19 Or about 5 or 6 kilometers
3. John 6:31 Exodus 16:4; Neh. 9:15; Psalm 78:24,25
4. John 6:45 Isaiah 54:13
5. John 6:63 Or are Spirit; or are spirit

 
Make it Personal

• What first drew me toward Jesus?
• Can I remember a time when I sensed God calling me?
• Am I currently resisting something God is showing me?
• Have I responded to Christ personally, or have I simply grown up around Christianity?

 
Practical Application

• Thank Jesus for pursuing you before you ever pursued him.
• Make the personal declaration: “I believe Jesus is the way because I could not come to God on my own.”
• Start a conversation with Jesus, asking to recognize his voice and inviting him to talk to you.

 
Talk to God 

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
Paul describes the fruit that grows in the life of a believer who walks in step with the Spirit—qualities that reflect the character of Jesus and mark a life genuinely shaped by the Spirit's presence.

The greatest evidence that the Holy Spirit has been at work in your life is not an emotional moment; it is a changed life. Tears during worship can be genuine, but they are not the measure of transformation. The measure is fruit. Is there more love where there was once bitterness? More patience where there was once anger? More peace where there was once striving? The Spirit does not come to give you spiritual highs. He comes to make you more like Jesus. That work is slower, quieter, and deeper than any single moment in a service. But it is the work that lasts.
 
Read the Context
Galatians 5 NIV
1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh (a); rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (b) 15If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever (c) you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Footnotes:
a 13 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24; and in 6:8.
b 14 Lev. 19:18
c 17 Or you do not do what
 
Make it Personal

• Looking at the fruit described in Galatians 5, which quality is most visibly growing in your life right now?
• Which one reveals the area where you most need to yield to the Spirit's work?

 
Practical Application
Choose one fruit of the Spirit to focus on for the next seven days. Each morning, ask the Holy Spirit to produce that quality in you through the ordinary moments of the day. At the end of each day, reflect honestly on where you cooperated with His work and where you resisted it.
 
Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
In this verse, Jesus promises His followers that the coming of the Holy Spirit will bring supernatural power, and He immediately connects that power to a specific mission -- bearing witness to Him across the earth.

The power of the Holy Spirit was never intended to be an end in itself. It was given for a purpose. Jesus connected the promise of power directly to the call to be witnesses. The Spirit does not fill us so that we can have remarkable spiritual experiences and keep them to ourselves. He fills us so that we can participate in the mission of God. The church was never meant to be a place where people come to feel something. It was meant to be a people sent to do something—and the Holy Spirit is the one who makes that possible.
 
Read the Context
Acts 1 NIV
1In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with (a) water, but in a few days you will be baptized with (b) the Holy Spirit.”
6Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
12Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk (c) from the city. 13When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16and said, “Brothers and sisters, (d) the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
18(With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:
“ ‘May his place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in it,’ (e)
and,
“ ‘May another take his place of leadership.’ (f)
21Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
23So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
Footnotes:
a 5 Or in
b 5 Or in
c 12 That is, about 5/8 mile or about 1 kilometer
d 16 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 6:3; 11:29; 12:17; 16:40; 18:18, 27; 21:7, 17; 28:14, 15.
e 20 Psalm 69:25
f 20 Psalm 109:8
 
Make it Personal

• Are you experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit primarily as a personal comfort or as a fuel for mission?
• How might the Spirit be calling you to take what you have received and bring it into the lives of people around you?

 
Practical Application
Think of one person in your life who does not yet know Jesus. Pray specifically for that person each day over the next week, asking the Holy Spirit to open a door of opportunity and give you both the courage and the words to be a witness to that person.
 
Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
Paul reminds believers that their bodies are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, who lives within them as a result of what God has done, not what they have earned.

The temple in the Old Testament was the place where God's presence dwelled among His people. It was sacred, set apart, and approached with reverence. But under the new covenant, something breathtaking has occurred. God no longer dwells in a building made by human hands. He dwells in His people. You are the temple. The Holy Spirit has taken up residence within you. This is not a metaphor for inspiration. This is the living God making His home in you. That truth should change how you see yourself, how you make decisions, and how you move through the world.
 
Read the Context
1 Corinthians 6 NIV
1If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? 2Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!
7The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. 9Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men (a) 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
12“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” (b) 17But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. (c)
18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Footnotes:
a 9 The words men who have sex with men translate two Greek words that refer to the passive and active participants in homosexual acts.
b 16 Gen. 2:24
c 17 Or in the Spirit
 
Make it Personal

• Does the reality that the Holy Spirit lives within you shape how you treat your body, your mind, and your daily choices?
• Where is there a gap between that truth and how you are actually living?

 
Practical Application
Identify one habit or pattern in your daily life that does not reflect the reality that you are the dwelling place of God. Bring it honestly before the Spirit today and ask for the grace to align that area with who He says you are.
 
Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
In this passage, Paul describes how the Spirit intercedes for believers with a depth that surpasses human language, acting as a mediator who knows both the heart of God and the weakness of humanity.

One of the most common misunderstandings in the church is treating the Holy Spirit as a force to be accessed rather than a Person to be known. We reduce Him to a feeling during worship or an energy in a room. But Scripture presents the Spirit as One who thinks, speaks, intercedes, and grieves. He is not a tool you pick up when you need spiritual help. He is God, present with you, knowing your weakness before you can even form the words to describe it. To grow spiritually, you must move from using the Spirit to knowing Him.
 
Read the Context
Romans 8 NIV
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you (a) free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, (b) God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. (c) And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life (d) because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of (e) his Spirit who lives in you.
12Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. (f) And by him we cry, “Abba, (g) Father.” 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that (h) the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who (i) have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” (j)
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, (k) neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes:
a 2 The Greek is singular; some manuscripts me
b 3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 4-13.
c 3 Or flesh, for sin
d 10 Or you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive
e 11 Some manuscripts bodies through
f 15 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture; also in verse 23.
g 15 Aramaic for father
h 21 Or subjected it in hope. 21For
i 28 Or that all things work together for good to those who love God, who; or that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who
j 36 Psalm 44:22
k 38 Or nor heavenly rulers
 
Make it Personal

• Have you been relating to the Holy Spirit as a Person or as a resource?
• What would it look like to treat that relationship with the same intentionality you give to other meaningful relationships in your life?

 
Practical Application
Write down three characteristics of the Holy Spirit as a Person—not things He does for you, but qualities of who He is. Let those truths shape how you speak to Him and about Him this week.
 
Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
Jesus told His disciples that His departure was not abandonment but preparation. He was making way for One who would be closer than a physical presence beside them—One who would dwell within them. The disciples could not yet see the gift wrapped inside the grief. Many believers today carry the same sorrow, feeling as though God is distant or silent. But the promise of the Holy Spirit is the promise of nearness. God did not save you and leave you to navigate life alone. He sent His Spirit to walk with you through every uncertain moment. You are not alone.
 
Read the Context
John 16 NIV
1“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
16Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
17At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
25“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31“Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
33“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.”
 
Make it Personal
Where in your life have you been trying to carry something that the Holy Spirit was meant to help you carry?
 
Practical Application
Spend five minutes in silence today, acknowledging the presence of the Holy Spirit before you begin your daily responsibilities. Begin the day not with a to-do list, but with an awareness that God is already with you.

Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
Paul does not soften his argument. If Jesus did not rise, he says, then everything—the preaching, the faith, the hope—is empty. Christianity does not survive the removal of the resurrection. It collapses entirely. But Paul writes these words not as a warning of defeat but as a foundation of confidence. Because Christ did rise, death has been answered. Because the tomb was empty, the grave does not have the final word over your life. The resurrection is not the conclusion of the Easter story—it is the validation of every claim Jesus ever made. He said He was the Son of God. He said He would rise. And then He did. That changes not just history. It changes everything about how you live today.
 
Read the Context
1 Corinthians 15 NIV
1Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance (a): that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, (b) and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he “has put everything under his feet.” (c) Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
29Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.” (d)
33Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” (e) 34Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
35But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being” (f) ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we (g) bear the image of the heavenly man.
50I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (h)
55“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?” (i)
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Footnotes:
a 3 Or you at the first
b 5 That is, Peter
c 27 Psalm 8:6
d 32 Isaiah 22:13
e 33 From the Greek poet Menander
f 45 Gen. 2:7
g 49 Some early manuscripts so let us
h 54 Isaiah 25:8
i 55 Hosea 13:14
 
Make it Personal
If the resurrection is true—and the evidence points powerfully toward that conclusion—what is one area of your life that should look different because of it?

Practical Application 
Begin each morning this week by stating aloud: "Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and that changes everything about today." Let that truth be the foundation from which you move into every hour.
 
Talk to God 

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

If you have questions or would like to talk to a pastor about Jesus, click here to fill out a Connect card.

Devotional
Peter once warmed himself by a fire and denied three times that he even knew Jesus. That same Peter, weeks later, stood before the very authorities who had handed Jesus over to be crucified and declared without hesitation that God had raised Him from the dead. Something happened. The disciples did not gradually work up their courage over years of reflection. They were transformed suddenly and permanently. They preached in the city where the crucifixion had just occurred. They faced prison, beatings, and death—and they did not recant. People do not willingly die for something they know to be a lie. Their transformed lives remain one of the most powerful arguments that they truly saw what they claimed to see.
 
Read the Context
Acts 4
1The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
5The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 7They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11Jesus is
“ ‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’ (a)
12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
13When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16“What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
23On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
“ ‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one. (b) ’ (c)
27Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
Footnotes:
a 11 Psalm 118:22
b 26 That is, Messiah or Christ
c 26 Psalm 2:1, 2
 
Make it Personal
Where in your own life has an encounter with the risen Jesus produced a transformation that you cannot explain apart from His presence?

Practical Application
Identify one area of your life where fear has kept you silent about your faith. Ask God today for the same boldness that filled the disciples after the resurrection.
 
Talk to God 

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

If you have questions or would like to talk to a pastor about Jesus, click here to fill out a Connect card.

Devotional
Paul does something remarkable in this passage. He does not simply assert that Jesus rose from the dead; he names witnesses and essentially invites investigation. More than five hundred people saw the risen Jesus at one time, and Paul notes that most of them were still alive when he wrote these words. This letter was circulating while eyewitnesses could be found and questioned. This is not the language of mythology or legend. This is the language of a man confident in verifiable testimony. Faith in the resurrection is not a leap into the dark. It is a step toward the light of evidence that has never been successfully extinguished.
 
Read the Context
1 Corinthians 15 NIV
1Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance (a) : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, (b) and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he “has put everything under his feet.” (c) Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
29Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.” (d)
33Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” (e) 34Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
35But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being” (f) ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we (g) bear the image of the heavenly man.
50I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (h)
55“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?” (i)
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Footnotes:
a 3 Or you at the first
b 5 That is, Peter
c 27 Psalm 8:6
d 32 Isaiah 22:13
e 33 From the Greek poet Menander
f 45 Gen. 2:7
g 49 Some early manuscripts so let us
h 54 Isaiah 25:8
i 55 Hosea 13:14
 
Make it Personal
How does knowing that the resurrection was proclaimed publicly, among living eyewitnesses, strengthen or challenge your own faith?

Practical Application
Share one piece of evidence for the resurrection with someone today—not to argue, but simply to open a conversation about why you believe what you believe.
 
Talk to God 

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

If you have questions or would like to talk to a pastor about Jesus, click here to fill out a Connect card.

Devotional
The empty tomb is not a minor detail—it is a historical problem that every person must answer. Matthew records that even the enemies of Jesus acknowledged the tomb was empty. Their response was not to produce a body but to pay soldiers to spread a story. That story, when examined honestly, collapses under its own weight. Sleeping soldiers who somehow knew exactly who had come. An entire Roman guard that violated military law simultaneously, yet weren’t punished. The empty tomb stands. It stood in Jerusalem while thousands were being told Jesus had risen. No one could walk down the street and point to a body. The silence of the opposition is one of the loudest arguments for the resurrection.
 
Read the Context
Matthew 28 NIV
1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
11While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
 
Make it Personal
Have you ever honestly wrestled with the evidence for the resurrection, or have you accepted or rejected it without examination?

Practical Application
Write down one honest question you have, or one question you couldn’t answer, about the resurrection. Commit to pursuing a thoughtful answer this week through Scripture, reading, or conversation with a trusted believer.
 
Talk to God 

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

If you have questions or would like to talk to a pastor about Jesus, click here to fill out a Connect card.

Devotional
Before there can be a resurrection, there must be a real death. John records with careful detail the final moments of Jesus on the cross—the confirmation of death by soldiers who were trained in execution methods and who had every professional reason to be certain; the spear; and the blood and water. This was not theater. This was history. The same God who created life entered into death fully. Reflect today on the weight of that reality. Jesus did not merely appear to suffer. He suffered completely, bearing the entire punishment that we should have had. In this great trade-off of his life for your soul, the value of his sacrifice proves the worth of the prize—you. His death was the door through which your redemption walked. Do not rush past the cross on your way to the empty tomb.
 
Read the Context
John 19 NIV
1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
4Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
11Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
13When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
15But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
16Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. 20Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”
22Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,
“They divided my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.” (a)
So this is what the soldiers did.
25Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, (b) here is your son,” 27and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
28Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” (c) 37and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.” (d)
38Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. (e) 40Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Footnotes:
a 24 Psalm 22:18
b 26 The Greek for Woman does not denote any disrespect.
c 36 Exodus 12:46; Num. 9:12; Psalm 34:20
d 37 Zech. 12:10
e 39 Or about 34 kilograms
 
Make it Personal
What does it mean to you personally that Jesus truly died—not symbolically, but physically and completely—in your place?

Practical Application
Spend five minutes today in quiet acknowledgment of the cross before you move to any celebration of the resurrection. Let the cost settle before the joy rises.

Talk to God 

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

If you have questions or would like to talk to a pastor about Jesus, click here to fill out a Connect card.

Devotional
“Grace and Truth, Fully Revealed”
Jesus told His disciples that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father. This is one of the most remarkable statements ever made. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. He welcomed sinners without excusing sin. He touched the untouchable. He defended the vulnerable. He wept with those who mourned. He forgave those who were killing Him. And He never once compromised truth to make anyone comfortable. He was simultaneously full of grace and full of truth. That combination is what makes Jesus unlike anyone who has ever lived. He does not simply point us toward God. He is God, made visible, drawing us home.
 
Read the Context
Colossians 1 NIV
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters (a) in Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father. (b)
3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, (c) who is a faithful minister of Christ on our (d) behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, (e) 10so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you (f) to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
21Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of (g) your evil behavior. 22But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
24Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
Footnotes:
a 2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 4:15.
b 2 Some manuscripts Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
c 7 Or slave
d 7 Some manuscripts your
e 9 Or all spiritual wisdom and understanding
f 12 Some manuscripts us
g 21 Or minds, as shown by
 
Make it Personal 
Which aspect of Jesus' character do you most need to encounter more deeply right now: His grace, or His truth?

Practical Application
Choose one attribute of Jesus that stood out to you this week and intentionally reflect it toward one person in your life today.
 
Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
"The Promises Fulfilled"
Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the prophets were writing about Him. The suffering servant described in Isaiah 53 was rejected, despised, wounded, and crushed. Every detail points forward to a cross on a hill outside Jerusalem. Jesus did not engineer these fulfillments. He could not control where He was born, who would betray Him, or how He would be executed. Yet the details of His life align precisely with what the Old Testament promised. This is not coincidence. It is the fingerprint of a sovereign God who planned redemption before the foundation of the world and carried it out through His Son with perfect faithfulness.
 
Read the Context
Isaiah 53 NIV
1Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8By oppression (a) and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished. (b)
9He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes (c) his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life (d) and be satisfied (e) ;
by his knowledge (f) my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, (g)
and he will divide the spoils with the strong, (h)
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Footnotes:
a 8 Or From arrest
b 8 Or generation considered
that he was cut off from the land of the living,
that he was punished for the transgression of my people?
c 10 Hebrew though you make
d 11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
e 11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11He will see the fruit of his suffering
and will be satisfied
f 11 Or by knowledge of him
g 12 Or many
h 12 Or numerous
 
Make it Personal
How does the fulfillment of prophecy strengthen your confidence that God is in control of history and of your life?

Practical Application
Read through Isaiah 53 slowly and prayerfully, pausing at each description to consider what Jesus endured on your behalf.
 
Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
“The Word Made Flesh”
One of the most staggering truths in all of Scripture is that God did not remain distant. He entered into human experience. Jesus became tired. He became hungry. He wept. He suffered. He knows what it is to carry the weight of being human. John explains that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Hebrews reminds us that because Jesus was fully human, He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He is not a high priest who looks down from a distance with indifference. He is the one who walked through the same darkness we face and came out the other side victorious. The Son of God became the Son of Man so that sons and daughters of men could become children of God.
 
 
Read the Context
Hebrews 4 NIV
1Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. (a) 3Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
“So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” (b)
And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” (c) 5And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”
6Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.” (d)
8For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, e just as God did from his. 11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
12For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, (f) Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Footnotes:
a 2 Some manuscripts because those who heard did not combine it with faith
b 3 Psalm 95:11; also in verse 5
c 4 Gen. 2:2
d 7 Psalm 95:7,8
e 10 Or labor
f 14 Greek has gone through the heavens
 
Make it Personal
In what area of your life do you most need to remember that Jesus understands what you are going through?

Practical Application
Bring one specific struggle to God in prayer today, trusting that Jesus is moved by what you are carrying.
 
Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional 
“The Evidence Demands a Response”
John tells us that the signs Jesus performed were recorded with a specific purpose: so that we might believe. Faith is not a leap into the dark. It is a step toward the light of overwhelming evidence. The historical record surrounding Jesus is stronger than the record supporting many of the most celebrated figures of the ancient world. Non-Christian historians, religious traditions outside Christianity, and the sheer volume of manuscript evidence all point to a man who was undeniably real. The evidence does not ask you to abandon your intellect. It invites your intellect to follow the truth wherever it leads.

Read the Context
John 20
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
11Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”
18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24Now Thomas (also known as Didymus (a) ), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe (b) that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Footnotes:
a 24 Thomas (Aramaic) and Didymus (Greek) both mean twin.
b 31 Or may continue to believe
 
Make it Personal 

• Are there intellectual barriers keeping you from fully trusting the person of Jesus, and have you honestly examined the evidence?
• What can you do this week to begin addressing the barriers you still face?

Practical Application
Spend time this week reading one credible resource on the historical evidence for Jesus. Approach it not to argue but to genuinely investigate.
 
Talk to God

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional “The Question That Changes Everything”
Jesus did not ask His disciples what they had heard about Him from others. He asked what they personally believed. That distinction matters. Faith is not inherited from a crowd. It is confessed from the heart. Peter's answer was not the result of religious education or human reasoning. Jesus made clear that the Father in heaven had revealed it to him. The most important question you will ever face is not about your career, your finances, or your future. It is the question Jesus still asks today: Who do you say that I am? Your answer to that question shapes everything else.
 
Read the Context
Matthew 16
1The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
2He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. (a) 4A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
5When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”
8Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, (b) and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades (c) will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be (d) bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be (e) loosed in heaven.” 20Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save their life (f) will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
28“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Footnotes:
a 3 Some early manuscripts do not have When evening comes . . . of the times.
b 18 The Greek word for Peter means rock.
c 18 That is, the realm of the dead
d 19 Or will have been
e 19 Or will have been
f 25 The Greek word means either life or soul; also in verse 26.
 
Make it Personal
Have you moved beyond what others say about Jesus to a personal, settled conviction of your own?

Practical Application
Write down in your own words who Jesus is to you personally. Not what your church says. Not what your family believes. What do you believe, and why?
 
Talk to God 

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
Faith is not the absence of thinking — it is the direction of trust. Everyone places their faith somewhere. The person who believes the universe created itself from nothing is exercising faith just as much as the person who believes God spoke it into existence. The question is not whether you will believe something, but whether what you believe is worthy of that trust. Hebrews 11:1-3 describes faith as confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see, and it specifically anchors that faith in the understanding that the universe was formed at God's command. Romans 1:16-17 reminds us that the righteousness of God is revealed through faith. Proverbs 3:5-6 calls us to trust in God with all our heart rather than leaning on our own understanding. When you look at the order of the universe, the complexity of life, the value of human beings, and the deep human longing for meaning — the evidence points consistently in one direction. There is a God. He created everything. He created you. And He is worthy of your faith.

Make it Personal

• Where have you been trusting your own understanding more than God?
• What would it look like to shift that trust?

Read the Context
Romans 1
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life a was a descendant of David, 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power b by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from c faith for his name’s sake. 6And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
11I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, d that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, e just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” f
18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For 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 people are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Footnotes:
a 3 Or who according to the flesh
b 4 Or was declared with power to be the Son of God
c 5 Or that is
d 13 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 7:1, 4; 8:12, 29; 10:1; 11:25; 12:1; 15:14, 30; 16:14, 17.
e 17 Or is from faith to faith
f 17 Hab. 2:4

Talk to God:

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Application Ideas:

• Close this five-day plan by writing a simple, honest statement of what you believe about God based on what you have read and reflected on this week. Keep it in a place where you can return to it when doubt arises.
• If you’re not sure what you believe, make a simple list of the ideas you hold as truth. Then make a list of your questions. Use these lists as a springboard for your prayers and study in the next week, or talk with a trusted Christian friend or pastor to get their perspective.

Devotional
If the universe came from nothing and life is a biological accident, then human beings are simply complex arrangements of chemicals — and concepts like purpose, value, and meaning are illusions we invented to comfort ourselves. But the Bible presents a radically different picture. Psalm 139:13-16 describes God as intimately involved in forming each person, knowing them before they were known to themselves. Ephesians 2:10 declares that we are God's workmanship — a word that carries the idea of a work of art, a masterpiece — created in Christ Jesus for good works prepared in advance. Jeremiah 29:11 affirms that God holds plans for a future and a hope for those He has made. You are not here by accident. You are not a biological footnote. You are a deliberate creation, made by a God who thought about you before you existed, who designed you with intention, and who placed you in this moment in history for reasons that extend beyond what you can currently see.

Make it Personal

• Do you genuinely believe that your life has purpose, or does that feel more like a comforting idea than a settled conviction? What shapes that belief?

Read the Context
Psalm 139
1You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17How precious to me are your thoughts, a God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
19If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Footnotes:
a 17 Or How amazing are your thoughts concerning me

Talk to God:

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Application Idea:

• Identify one area of your life where you have been living as though your existence does not matter. Bring that area before God today and ask Him to replace purposelessness with the confidence of being His workmanship.

Devotional
Science can describe the mechanics of life, but it cannot answer the most fundamental question: where did the first life come from? Genesis 2:7 gives us a striking image — God forming man from dust and breathing life directly into him. Life did not generate itself. It was given. Acts 17:24-28 echoes this, declaring that God gives all people life and breath and everything else, and that in Him we live and move and have our being. Psalm 36:9 calls God the fountain of life. These passages do not present life as a biological accident that stumbled into consciousness. They present life as a gift, intentionally bestowed by a God who is Himself the source of all living things. This changes everything about how we understand our own existence. If life came from God, then life belongs to God. And if life belongs to God, then it carries a weight and dignity that no purely materialistic worldview can account for.

Make it Personal

• How does understanding life as a gift from God change the way you approach ordinary moments in your day?

Read the Context
Genesis 2
1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
5Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth a and no plant had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6but streams b came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7Then the LORD God formed a man c from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin d and onyx are also there.) 13The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. e 14The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
18The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam f no suitable helper was found. 21So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs g and then closed up the place with flesh. 22Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib h he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
________________________________________
Footnotes:
a 5 Or land; also in verse 6
b 6 Or mist
c 7 The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse 20).
d 12 Or good; pearls
e 13 Possibly southeast Mesopotamia
f 20 Or the man
g 21 Or took part of the man’s side
h 22 Or part

Talk to God:

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Application Idea:

• Before your next meal today, pause and acknowledge that the very breath you are drawing is a gift from the God who formed you. Let gratitude replace assumption.

Devotional
Psalm 19:1-4 declares that the heavens are constantly communicating — not in spoken words, but in the unmistakable language of order and beauty. Romans 1:20 builds on this by stating that God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen through what He has made, leaving no one without a witness. The Earth is positioned at precisely the right distance from the sun to sustain life. The moon stabilizes our planet's tilt. The physical laws governing the universe operate with breathtaking consistency. None of this happened by accident. Order on this scale does not emerge from chaos — it reflects intelligence, intention, and care. Job 38:4-7 captures God asking where Job was when the foundations of the earth were laid, a question not meant to humiliate but to invite awe. The universe is not a random explosion that accidentally produced beauty. It is a declaration written by a God who designs with purpose and sustains with precision.

Make it Personal

• In what areas of your life do you tend to credit chance rather than God's design?

Read the Context
Job 38
1Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2“Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels a shouted for joy?
8“Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
12“Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
16“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
19“What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
22“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
26to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
27to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
28Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?
31“Can you bind the chains b of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
32Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons c
or lead out the Bear d with its cubs?
33Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God’s e dominion over the earth?
34“Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36Who gives the ibis wisdom f
or gives the rooster understanding? g
37Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
39“Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
Footnotes:
a 7 Hebrew the sons of God
b 31 Septuagint; Hebrew beauty
c 32 Or the morning star in its season
d 32 Or out Leo
e 33 Or their
f 36 That is, wisdom about the flooding of the Nile
g 36 That is, understanding of when to crow; the meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.

Application Idea:

• Write down three specific things about the natural world that strike you as too ordered to be accidental. Use that list as a starting point for prayer today.

Talk to God: 

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Devotional
Before time existed, before a single atom formed, before darkness gave way to light — God was. The opening words of Scripture do not argue for God's existence; they declare it with quiet confidence. Genesis 1:1 establishes that the universe had a beginning, and that beginning had a cause. Hebrews 3:4 reminds us that just as every house requires a builder, everything that exists points back to a Designer. John 1:1-3 takes this further, revealing that the agent of all creation was the Word — God Himself, personal and purposeful. Nothing in our observable world creates itself. A painting demands a painter. A book demands an author. The cosmos demands a Creator. When you feel small beneath a night sky full of stars, let that smallness draw you toward wonder rather than despair. You are not staring into an accident. You are looking at the handiwork of a God who existed before any of it began.

Make it Personal

• What evidence in your daily life points you most clearly toward the existence of a Creator?
• What parts of Scripture’s creation account do I most struggle with, and why?

Read the Context
Genesis 1
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, a and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Footnotes:
a 26 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text the earth
 
Talk to God: 

• What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
• What do I want to thank God for?
• Do I have any unconfessed sin?
• What do I need God’s help with?
• What questions do I have?
• Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?

Application Ideas:

• Spend five minutes outside today simply observing the natural world. Let what I see prompt a moment of quiet acknowledgment that God was here before all of it.
• Choose one question I have about creation. Research some thoughts from a creation science source that helps broaden my perspective.