My thoughts (Mark Shoup):

I like this passage because on the surface, it’s a well known Bible story that anyone who lived through Sunday school knows. But there is more going on here than meets the eye.

When Jesus hears that his good friend Lazarus is sick, he stays where he is for two additional days before heading off to Judea to be with him. As they started out for Judea, he even tells his disciples that Lazarus has died, making it clear that when they get there and are informed that Lazarus has been “in the tomb” for 4 days, it should be no surprise to Jesus. However, when confronted by Mary weeping with her grief, Jesus does something completely unexpected. He breaks down and cries! Knowing full well that he is about to raise Lazarus from the dead for the glory of God, he is still overcome with human emotion. Such a strange reaction!

Or is it?

It makes no sense to me that Jesus would be crying out of grief, knowing that in just moments Lazarus would be among the living once again. So he must have been crying out of empathy for Mary, Martha and the other mourners! Think about that. Our savior feels so bad when we are upset that he himself was moved to tears, even though he was about to make everything right! It is no wonder that verse 35, “Jesus wept,” is the shortest verse in the Bible. It carries so much implication that it could neither be combined with the verse before nor the one after it.

Now remember a time when someone close to you died. It is not uncommon to be angry at God when he takes a loved one home. Anger is a natural part of the grieving process that many of us go through. Now imagine that, while it is beyond us to know why that loved one was called home, Jesus knows we are hurting and our sorrow makes him cry.

Our Lord is just that compassionate!

Thought for the day: God calls us to be Jesus here on earth. Who do we know that is hurting and needs our compassion?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Christen Peters):

I have spent days trying to pick just part of this chapter as one of my “favorite” scriptures. I can’t seem, though, to find a way to take even one of these verses without the others.

When asked about the greatest of the commandments, Jesus responded:

37 He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

38 This is the greatest and first commandment.

39 And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22)

When I read Romans 14, I see practical examples of “love your neighbor as yourself”. So often we get caught up in details. Church is on Sunday… not Saturday, not Wednesday, and certainly not on the fifth Tuesday of the month. Communion should be reserved for high holidays… or every time we worship… or only shared in by our holy leaders. All food is okay for consumption… or only kosher food… or only food organically-grown by good Christian women using donkeys (in honor of the Virgin Mary) to plow the land. We should only socialize with fine, upstanding, well-dressed Christians who look, think, talk, and act just like we do. Or should we? Why all of the limits? Why do we feel compelled to make everyone do everything just like we do?

I think Romans 14 compels us to drop our prejudices. Romans 14 insists that we look at how we would want someone else to respect our ways and beliefs and rituals, then demands that we extend the same courtesy we would like to be given. Romans 14 makes it clear that judging our fellow beings is not our job. On the contrary, our only job is to keep clear the path that our fellow beings must follow in their lives. Romans 14 insists that we look at what is really important — love your neighbor as yourself, give as you would like to receive, view as you would like to be viewed, and requires that we do so.

Thought for the day: My ways are what work for me, but God made us all uniquely wonderful. Help me to extend to my fellow humans all of the acceptance, patience, and love I would like to receive from them.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Tommy Chittenden):

Relationship is based on a mutual covenant — an agreement between two hearts to exchange life.

I was in need of God, so God stepped in with life — exchanging mine for God’s own. My God was “in need” of a broken vessel to fill up to overflowing, and by grace, God allowed me to be such a vessel. God gave me life, and now I am honored to give it back.

Because my mind had been bombarded with so many lies concerning my identity for so many years, the enemy of God often reminds me of all that I was, and tries to convince me that, inherently, nothing has changed. Of course, nothing could be farther from the truth! From time to time, I stumble in my thoughts: “Maybe I am kidding myself. Maybe I am nothing, maybe I am less than a man.” But the beauty of a relationship from God’s perspective, I believe, is that it is based on the truth of a mutual covenant. I do not plan to fall, but if I do, God will still love me — and God will be there to set my feet back on the path.

When running a race, runners do not go back to the starting line if they fall. They get right back up, set their eye on the goal, and run toward it as if their lives depend on it. This is a simple picture of repentance. I realize my dependence on the Lord. I fall. I see my need for a Savior. I turn and run to God. That kind of relationship — that kind of love — fills me with gratitude as I realize that, except for that grace and love, I would surely be defeated.

When failure comes or the enemy assails, we have a choice to make. Will we allow that failure to define who we are, or will we lay claim to who Jesus has defined us to be? We have been given the joy of walking in relationship with the God of the universe! That truth alone ought to cause us to praise God each and every day. How can we not?

Thought for the day: As you prepare for sleep tonight, ask God to remind you of all the reasons you have to offer up praise — then praise God as you lie down. See if you don’t wake up with peace on your mind!

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (David Zier):

This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible because it gives me a sense of peace.

Sometimes (and maybe more often than I’d like to admit) I can be very negative, and not have a very positive attitude about things — whether it is about myself, others, or a situation. Sometimes I think I’m not good enough. I question why God blesses me when others are more deserving, or I talk negatively about others and come across as if I think I am the most righteous and perfect person. When I do these things, I don’t feel good about myself, and it brings me down even more. When I fill myself up with these things, the peace of God seems to be even farther away.

I love the message of today’s passage, because I know when I fill my heart, mind, and spirit with praises to God, and as I live my life as a prayer and praise to God, the peace of God consumes me. When I replace the negative with praise, when I lift up those around me for the blessings and gifts God has given them, and I accept that God has created me for a purpose, I can replace the worry and negative attitudes in my life with a peace of God that surrounds me and fills me.

From verses 6 and 7: The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Thought for the day: Are you allowing yourself to live in the peace of God?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Jeff Miner):

In the churches I grew up in, we were encouraged to pick a “life verse.” The goal was to find a verse that spoke deeply to us, that we hoped would define our lives, and then “live into” that verse. Asking someone “What’s your life verse?” was as common in fundamentalist circles back then as it was in other circles to ask, “What’s your sign?”

I chose First John 5:4 as my life verse. In the old King James Version I used as a teenager, the verse reads: “Whatever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” That verse has always appealed to me because, intuitively, it has always seemed to me that faith is something that ought to work.

When conducting experiments in a laboratory, scientists will test a hypothesis. If they get a positive result, they keep repeating the same procedure to see if they can consistently achieve the same positive result. If so, they know they’re on to something.

Faith should be the same way. Faith should consistently change our lives for the better. I’m not saying that faith should be a way of gaining everything I want. Rather, faith should be something that helps me live well in (i.e., “overcome”) every circumstance. If faith doesn’t do that — if it doesn’t work — I need to keep searching for something that does.

The faith found in the Scriptures works — powerfully. It raised Jesus from the dead, it healed the lame, it lifts broken hearts, it gives profound insight for living. By God’s grace, I want to embrace that faith, make it my own, and live a triumphant life no matter what circumstances come my way. In short, by God’s grace, I want to “overcome the world.”

How about you? Don’t sell yourself short. Embrace your faith and put it to work in your life. If we’re open to it, there is no circumstance that God cannot enable us to triumph over.

Thought for the day: What’s your life verse? As you study the Bible, be on the lookout for a key verse that you hope to “live into.”

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. Use the item above as a starting point, or consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Steve Adams):

OK, we can relax now! No need to rush! I believe God wants you to take some time to savor the rich meaning of each of these phrases. Enjoy their truth like you enjoy a morning cup of coffee, a sunrise, a flower, or the peaceful ambience of the first open window of spring . . .

I love you, O Lord, my strength. What a wonderful way to begin! Whatever strength we have, God has lovingly given it to us. I invite you to think back on a time when God have you the strength to make it through a time that otherwise would have overwhelmed you.

The Lord is my rock . . . God is unmovable, always there, stronger than any human, any army, any terrorist, any earthquake, any evil.

my fortress . . . Sometimes life is like a battle. The battle can be in our minds, our bodies, our families, our workplaces, or even a literal war. But God is our safe haven.

my deliverer . . . God changes things. Whether it’s in this life or the next, evil situations will change into good.

my God . . . my everything! My creator, leader, Lord, the one I praise and worship.

in whom I take refuge . . . when I learn to take refuge in God, instead of anything less, then I am safe. I can totally trust.

my shield . . . like a bulletproof vest that protects our heart!

the horn of my salvation . . . when was the last time you had to deliver a difficult message? God is like a horn that announces salvation. God can help us deliver important messages.

my stronghold . . . in the “battle of life,” the enemy can take away many things, but can never steal God’s love from us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? In the end, nothing! In all things we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us (Romans 8).

Sometimes the fear, the addiction, the sickness, the pain, the emptiness, the regret is “too mighty for me.” And, like the first step of Alcoholics Anonymous teaches — I am powerless against it. But, when I humbly tap into God’s power, I am led through the pain and into the peaceful harbor of God’s love!

Thought for the day: Just think, God’s deliverance for you is inevitable, either in this life or the next!

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.