2 Corinthians 10:4 | The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

What would happen if you decided right now that you were going to do everything in your power to make today count for something? What if you decided that when you prayed, it wasn’t just going to be another prayer, but it was going to be a prayer that makes a difference? Prayer is your privilege. Prayer is where you get the chance to reach heaven from down here on earth. So, when you take the opportunity to come before God, make sure you come boldly and make it a prayer of power.

Use your power as a moment to pull down spiritual strongholds and powers and principalities that are set against you. Use it to bind what is coming against you and loose the power of God within you. Use it to shape the destinies of your children. Use it to conquer sickness in your body. Use it to defeat the giants that are standing against you. Use it to move heaven and earth. But whatever you do, when you open your mouth to pray, make it count!

Today’s Prayer:

Heavenly Father, You have given me Your Word and the power to pray and pull down strongholds in the mighty Name of Jesus. I come before You boldly and ask You to loose the power of heaven in me today. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. We would like to thank the author(s) for providing this plan and they retain all rights.

Matthew 7:7-8 | “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

What is it that you want God to do for you, for your family, for your finances, in your physical body today? Whatever it is, no matter how impossible others declare it to be, regardless of whether or not you think it can be done, ask Him to do exactly what you’re looking for. In Jesus’ name, ask that whatever mountain needs to be moved will be moved. Ask that whatever door needs to be opened will be opened. Ask that whatever crooked way that needs to be straight will be made straight.

Read Jesus’ words in today’s Scripture out loud and believe His promise. Every hinderance can be broken, and every chain of bondage can be destroyed by Him who sets us free. Those who are without hope can be filled with hope by the God of all hope. Families that are broken can be restored by our great Redeemer. Weak bodies can be strengthened, and diseases healed by His healing touch. New business opportunities can be opened and favor rest upon you. You can be blessed in your going out and in your coming from this day forward. So, ask Him now and receive!

Today’s Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for Your amazing promise that if we ask You, we will receive. I ask You in faith believing and receive it, not because I am worthy, but because You shed Your blood and redeemed me. In Your name, Amen!

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. We would like to thank the author(s) for providing this plan and they retain all rights.

1 John 4:19 | We love because he first loved us.

We should be astonished at the goodness of God, stunned that He should bother to call us by name, our mouths wide open at His love, bewildered that, at this very moment, we are standing on holy ground. ― Brennan Manning

First Corinthians 13:4–7 tells us:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Love is the foundation that God has called us to construct our lives upon. After all, if we follow Jesus, perfect love already is the foundation of our lives. But we aren’t just called to love our Lord Jesus Christ. Second and “equally important,” says Jesus, is to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31).

I know what some of you are thinking: “But you haven’t met my neighbors, they’re crazy!” Or “But sometimes I just have a bad day. What then?” Although loving others might be hard to do sometimes, we need to remember that Jesus’ statement to love isn’t a request; it’s a command.

Ask yourself how you can be a representation of God’s love today. When God desired to show us His love, He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16). What an incredible act of service, selflessness, and sacrifice—all done to show a real and tangible representation of the invisible God. (It was actually the ultimate act. In John 15:13, Jesus tells us, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”)

Love without sacrifice isn’t really love in the first place; it’s kindness. The greatest example of true sacrificial love can be found in the blood of Jesus Christ. That’s not just “kindness” or “being nice.” Jesus’ sacrificial love was and is the most important act of all time. Nothing else compares. His love spares us from a life separated from God, and it opens us up to eternal life spent resting in His perfection. Be an example of love, and let those around you know how much you really care.

Challenge:

Be honest with yourself in answering these questions: Are you loving others the way Jesus loves you? What steps can you take to be a visible, tangible, and reflective image of God’s love this year?

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. We would like to thank the author(s) for providing this plan and they retain all rights.

John 1:14-17 | The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

To secure one’s freedom, the Christian must experience God’s light, which is God’s truth. — Watchman Nee

Our world has this crazy notion that once we seek God, everything will be hassle-free. Now don’t get me wrong, having Jesus in our lives makes a world of a difference. But don’t be surprised if you hit obstacles the second you start to truly seek after God’s heart.

There are two things I know about Satan:

1. He doesn’t want me to be in a relationship with God.
2. He will do everything he can to distract me from the truth.

Looking back at my past, I realize how many times I let Satan get in the way of my relationship with God. The sad part is, I always allowed it to happen when things were beginning to look bright. (This is one reason why understanding our last word, “identity,” is so important!)

Satan will do everything he can to distract us from the truth because the truth of God is Satan’s weakness. The truth of God is found in His Word (the Bible). And if we aren’t willing to build upon that truth, then we aren’t willing to accept the love and hope He has to offer. Our lives should be so saturated with the love of God that we constantly yearn to read more, pray more, and praise more.

The truth of God is that all things must pass [away] except the things that are of Him. In other words, God is the truth, and anything that is not of God will not be left standing in the end. Truth is not defined by our own subjective standards; it is determined objectively by the source of truth Himself.

Ultimately, Jesus is not a concept or an idea; He is an eternal and unchanging truth. We might be free to reject a number of traditions, customs, and beliefs. However, we cannot make facts go away by ignoring their irrefutable truth. Whether we choose to believe, the fact remains that Jesus is Lord over all—believers and unbelievers alike.

Satan will try to distract you the second God’s truth starts to attract you. Stand strong. Be courageous. Have faith. He is our foundation. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

Challenge:

Journal about what God’s truth means to you. Then, share with one person this week how God’s truth has changed your life.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. We would like to thank the author(s) for providing this plan and they retain all rights.

Psalms 16:11| You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God. — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Have you ever looked at the face of someone who just scored a winning touchdown, won first place at a competition, or just won the grand prize on a game show? Well if you have, you’ve noticed they look pretty happy. But I want you to realize that not one of those things has anything to do with joy.

Why?

Because joy isn’t a product of something you have your hand in. Joy is not affected by what we can do in our own strength. And joy is not something this world can truly offer us in the first place.

Most of us in today’s world have mistaken happiness for joy. But if we unveil the truth behind what joy in Christ is, it is something eternal and unshakable.

What would happen if the man who scored the winning touchdown didn’t get both feet on the field before the catch? What would happen if you took away the first place medal? And what would happen if the game show contestant had lost instead of won? Would those people be robbed of their joy? Nope, because true joy cannot be taken away or affected by circumstances that surround us.

Joy is eternal. Joy cannot be shaken. Joy cannot be earned.

I only know of one thing that’s eternal, unshakable, and unearned: life in Christ. No matter how much we achieve, accumulate, build, and create, all of those things eventually turn to dust. Jesus is the one thing that remains.

There’s a famous poem called “Ozymandias” by the English Romantic Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley; it highlights the futility of looking for satisfaction in things of the world. In the poem, a traveler comes across two giant stone legs in the desert. Next to the legs is the shattered head of the statue and a pedestal with the ironic inscription, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:/Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” This once great king’s statue is now nothing more than a few crumbled shards. And his kingdom—likely once lush and green—is now a desert. Nothing remains.

Jesus is the one and only constant, the one and only source of true joy and fulfillment we can count on. Imagine a world built on joy and not the satisfaction of temporal happiness. Imagine if people found joy in simply living and weren’t desperately searching for happiness by trying to make a living.

Challenge:

Spend time thinking or journaling about the difference between happiness and joy and whether true joy can be found outside of Jesus. What changes do you need to make in your life this year to prioritize true, lasting joy?

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. We would like to thank the author(s) for providing this plan and they retain all rights.