Today's Verse - John 12:26

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

—John 12:26

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

We can't out-serve, out-love, or out-give Jesus. He longs to bless us. He longs to pour out heaven's riches and grace upon us. Even more incredibly, he longs to honor us as his friends and younger brothers and sisters in God's family. When our lives are over, God the Father, LORD of the entire universe, will honor all who have served his Son and blessed others in Jesus' name! Jesus promised that the Father would bring us home to Himself, who will honor us! Unbelievable? No! It's just another example of God's incredible grace given to us in Jesus. And Jesus promised us:

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

My Prayer...

Loving Father and Holy God, please help me follow the will of Jesus, obey his teachings, and serve others as he did when he was on earth. Father, I know I cannot earn your grace, but I want to follow Jesus. I want to serve others in his name. I want to help them find your grace in Jesus, too. So, I pray this in his name to honor you. Amen.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

Today's Verse - Hebrews 12:25

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

—Hebrews 12:25

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

As with all the daily verses this year, we are syncing with the date, so finding a 12:25 reference related to Jesus' birth was difficult. But I believe that Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection confront us with a choice on what to do with the wonder, joy, and glory God has lavished on us in Jesus. When God made Herod face the choice of what to do with Jesus, the evil and corrupt king met Jesus with violent rejection, jealous hatred, and murderous intent. Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zachariah, Anna, Simeon, the shepherds, the angels, and the magi joyfully accepted God's invitation to grace in Jesus. We can, too! With the gift of Jesus comes a tremendous opportunity and responsibility: we must choose to listen, obey, follow, and honor Christ — both the Christ child and Christ, who is our Savior and LORD! Since God demanded that his people obey his lesser messengers — prophets, priests, and kings in the days before Jesus — imagine how much more is our responsibility. God emptied heaven of his Son's glory to send him to earth as one of us so that the Light of Life could shine on us and bring us salvation. What a glorious gift, a divine present!

My Prayer...

Thank you, dear Father, for sending your Son and my Savior, Jesus. Please, dear LORD, I do not want to ever take the gift of Jesus for granted. Please, Holy Spirit, empower me and give me wisdom so I can faithfully know, obey, and honor Jesus with my life as you transform me with increasing glory to become more and more like him. I thank you and ask for your continuing grace, Father, in the precious name of Jesus, the Christ child and my LORD! Amen.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

Today's Verse - John 12:24

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

—John 12:24

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Jesus announced this truth while recognizing that God had called him to lay down his life so his followers could join him in glory. Sacrifice is never easy, but despite his disciples' lack of courage, wrong-headedness, and faith failures during his last hours, Jesus truly believed that his sacrifice would bring out the best in them. He was confident that his example of sacrifice would lead them to share his grace and glory through sacrificing themselves to bless others. Jesus wants his example to do the same in us! As we honor Jesus' sacrifice today, we realize that we prove he was correct about his powerful impact on his disciples and others who came after them. Jesus offered himself as a seed put into the ground and died, but his death produced many seeds that continue to extend his grace and open their hearts to eternal hope!

My Prayer...

Thank you, LORD Jesus, for all you did to ransom me from sin and death. Thank you for leaving heaven and living here among us. Thank you for being compassionate and full of holy character as you offered your time and love to all kinds of people. Thank you for loving your own even though they abandoned you. Thank you for enduring the cross and conquering death for me. I look forward to seeing you when you return with glory in the company of the angels as we all get to see the many seeds that came from you. To you be all honor, glory, power, love, and praise forever. Amen.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.