Category: Today’s Word

Pray continually. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

---

Prayer is an ongoing awareness of the presence of God, connecting you to the throne of the Triune God (Hebrews 4:16; Revelation 8:3-5). It is far more than asking for what we need or want; it is living in conscious fellowship with our Father.

When we truly know that the One who created the universe out of nothing also cares deeply for us, prayer becomes as natural as breathing. We do not pray because we must, but because we cannot imagine life apart from Him. Enjoying our Father becomes our greatest joy and deepest satisfaction.

God speaks to us when we pray while holding firmly to His covenant. Samuel is a powerful example of this truth. From a young age, Samuel lived in the presence of God. As he lay down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was, the Word of the Lord came to him (1 Samuel 3:1–14). Samuel learned early that prayer was not a one-way conversation. It was a life of listening, responding, and walking closely with God.

As Samuel continued in prayer and obedience, Scripture testifies that God let none of his words fall to the ground (1 Samuel 3:19). This reveals why prayer was central to Samuel’s life and ministry. He understood that to stop praying would be to turn away from God’s will for the people entrusted to him (1 Samuel 12:23). Prayer was not optional—it was essential.

David also lived with a constant awareness of God’s presence. This awareness sustained him through both the finest moments and the darkest valleys of his life. His confession, “The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1), was not poetic sentiment but lived reality. Whether resting in green pastures or walking through the valley of the shadow of death, David found that being with God was all he needed. Because of this intimate fellowship, God called David “a man after His own heart” (Acts 13:22).

God is not demanding that we accomplish something for Him. He desires that we remain with Him—anywhere and at all times. He is the source of life, wisdom, and strength, and apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:7). Prayer keeps us connected to that source.

God never stops working, and He invites His people into that ongoing work through prayer. He calls us to be watchmen who never grow silent, day or night, continually calling on the Lord until His purposes are fulfilled (Isaiah 62:6–7). Our persistence in prayer is not meant to persuade a reluctant God, but to align our hearts with His unchanging will.

Prayer is also essential in spiritual warfare. We are not fighting with human strength or worldly strategies. The weapons we use are spiritual and carry divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). Prayer is the means by which that divine power is released.

This spiritual battle continues until our Lord returns. Therefore, clothed with the full armor of God, we are called to pray continually in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests (Ephesians 6:18). Prayer keeps us alert, grounded, and strong in the midst of conflict.

Let your prayer always be filled with the joy of salvation. Do not allow circumstances to steal the joy of Christ within you. Learn to enjoy the One who answers prayer more than the answers themselves. His presence is the true reward.

Never stop praying. The throne of your Father is always open. Live confidently in your identity as His child and exercise the authority He has given you through prayer. What is bound and loosed in alignment with His will carries eternal significance (Matthew 16:19).

Stop worrying about your life and start praying. Your heavenly Father created the earth, formed it, and established it. When you call on Him, He promises to answer and to reveal great and hidden things you do not yet know (Jeremiah 33:3).

---

Prayer. Father, I desire to live in continual awareness of Your presence. Teach me to pray without ceasing and to enjoy fellowship with You in every moment of my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Philippians 4:6-7. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

---

How is it possible not to be anxious about anything? It begins with recognizing a foundational truth: every situation of your life is under God’s absolute sovereignty. He is the One to whom belong greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty, and everything in heaven and on earth is in His hands (1 Chronicles 29:10–14).

Thus, nothing in your life is random, overlooked, or outside His control. He knows you completely—your thoughts, your words, your actions, and even what you cannot yet understand about yourself (Psalm 139:1–10). God the Father faithfully carries out His covenant through His Word in every circumstance of your life.

God the Son, Jesus Christ, has already dealt with the fundamental cause of all problems. Through His death and resurrection, He destroyed the power of sin, Satan, and hell. At the cross, He endured suffering beyond measure so that you would not grow weary or lose heart in the struggles of life (Hebrews 12:3). The fears that once ruled humanity were broken at Calvary. Because Christ has finished His work, the kingdom of Satan no longer has the authority to dominate those who belong to Him.

God, the Holy Spirit, now lives within you. He is guiding and empowering you to live as a witness of Christ wherever you are. In moments of weakness, when you do not even know how to pray, the Spirit Himself intercedes for you with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26). The work of the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—may be beyond full human explanation, but it is undeniably real and at work in your life right now.

Believing and confirming the reality of the Triune God in your life is the true beginning of prayer. When you believe that Jesus is the Christ and receive Him as Lord, God grants you the extraordinary privilege of approaching His throne. Jesus declared that He has given His people the keys of the kingdom of heaven, with authority to bind and loose according to God’s will (Matthew 16:19). Prayer is not a powerless religious ritual; when offered in the name of Jesus, it connects your heart, mind, brain, and body to the throne of the Triune God. This privilege belongs only to the children of God.

Before you pray, remember the mystery of Immanuel—God with us. Through Christ, you have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who guarantees your inheritance and confirms your heavenly identity (Ephesians 1:13–14). You are not praying from a position of fear or uncertainty, but from a heavenly background where God’s power and presence already surround you.

You must also trust that when you pray, your Father delights to give you the greatest gift of all—the fullness of the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). He does not withhold what is good. The God who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all will surely, along with Christ, graciously give us all things according to His will (Romans 8:32).

Because Jesus, your True Priest, lives in you, you can approach the throne of grace with confidence, not hesitation. There you will receive mercy and find grace exactly when you need it (Hebrews 4:16). Prayer is not merely about receiving answers; it is about encountering God Himself. In His presence, you discover the deepest joy—being with your Father. When you ask in Jesus’ name, God acts so that the Son may be glorified (John 14:13).

As you continue to experience God’s presence through prayer, you will grow strong in His grace. You will begin to see His plans unfolding in you and through you, even in situations that once caused fear. In every circumstance, you can bring your requests to God with confidence and peace.

Learn to live a life of prayer. Scripture calls us to pray continually, making prayer the rhythm of daily life rather than an occasional activity (1 Thessalonians 5:17). While setting aside specific times for prayer is valuable, as seen in the life of Daniel and the Early Church, prayer should also be as natural as breathing—constant and life-giving (Daniel 6:10; Acts 3:1). Praying together with other believers also releases great spiritual power and unity (Matthew 18:19–20).

When you pray, begin with praise by acknowledging who God is—the Lord to whom belong all greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor, the Ruler over all things (1 Chronicles 29:11–12). Come honestly before Him, confessing your sins without hiding or excuses, and experience the cleansing and freedom made possible by the sacrifice of Christ (Psalm 32:5). Hold firmly to what your True Priest accomplished on the cross, where the power of sin was broken once and for all.

Give thanks to God in all circumstances, trusting that His plans are perfect even when they are not yet clear (Ephesians 5:20). Do not forget to lift others in prayer, because intercessory prayer is powerful and effective and brings healing to both the one who prays and the one who is prayed for (James 5:16).

God is not demanding extraordinary religious performance from you. He simply calls you to trust Him. Remain in His Word, allow His promises to shape your prayers, and let His truth guide your life (John 15:7). Know and use the authority of the name of Jesus when you pray, ask in faith, and believe that you have received what you asked for according to God’s will (John 14:14; Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:24).

---

Prayer. Father, I thank You for the privilege of prayer and the peace You promise through it. Teach me to trust You fully and to live a life of continual prayer, anchored in Your Word and guided by Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Philippians 1:6. Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

---

Unbelievers walk toward eternal destruction because they do not know Jesus as Savior. Many believers, however, wander through life because they do not know Jesus as the Christ. And even children of God fail in life because they do not understand or experience what God has already given them through Christ—true life and power.

When believers do not experience the reality of the One who “began a good work” in them, their faith easily slips into religion, legalism, or upright living. And when they do not trust the One who “will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus,” they begin to worry, fear, and pray like those who do not know God at all. Their prayers become filled with anxiety rather than faith, and their lives lose direction and confidence.

As a result, many grieve and quench the Holy Spirit without realizing it. They do what the Spirit does not desire and neglect what the Spirit longs to do through them. They fail to recognize His guidance, His prompting, and His power. This is why so many believers end up living no differently from unbelievers—chasing the same concerns, asking for the same things, and measuring life by the same standards. It is a tragic but common spiritual reality.

When answers to prayer seem delayed, we often become restless and confused. Yet God is never late. He is faithfully working according to His perfect plan and timing. The God who began the good work is also the God who will complete it. Our anxiety grows not because God has stopped working, but because we have stopped trusting His process.

When circumstances do not improve as quickly as we expect, our hearts can begin to waver. Like Abraham, who struggled when God’s promise seemed delayed for many years, we can begin to doubt—even though God has never broken a promise. The delay is never denial; it is preparation.

Many believers also live with weak assurance or no assurance at all. Instead of grounding their confidence in God’s Word, they seek assurance in their emotions, circumstances, performance, or approval from others. Some even look to the world for reassurance. But assurance drawn from anything other than God Himself inevitably leads to insecurity, confusion, and fear.

Without a firm assurance of God’s perfect love, believers become vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. Fear creeps in, guilt resurfaces, and shame begins to dominate the heart. When love is not fully trusted, fear takes over, and spiritual authority weakens.

But now that you are saved by grace, you do not have to wander anymore. You can declare with confidence every day that you are a child of God and that eternal life is already yours. This is not wishful thinking—it is God’s testimony concerning His Son (1 John 5:11-13).

When you pray, do not doubt. Pray with confidence, knowing that God hears and answers prayer offered in the name of Jesus. When unexpected trials and temptations arise, do not be shaken. Remember that your True King has already overcome the world and now lives in you. What you face will not destroy you—it will refine you.

When the enemy tries to trap you with guilt and shame, stand firm in the truth. Your True Priest gave His life as a ransom, crushed the curse of sin, and broke the power of death once for all. Because of Him, you are no longer under condemnation or the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Freedom is your present reality, not a future hope.

And when loneliness, uncertainty, or fear tries to overwhelm you, cling to the promise of your True Prophet, who declared that He is with you always—to the very end of the age. You are never abandoned, never forgotten, and never beyond His care.

The blessing of salvation—the good work God began through Christ—must become the foundation of everything you think, say, and do. And the certainty of the good work God will complete must become the direction of your life. When you know both the beginning and the end, you can live the present with peace and confidence.

---

Prayer. Father, I thank You that You are the God who began the good work in my life and the God who will surely complete it. I trust Your timing, Your wisdom, and Your plan. Teach me to live with confidence, assurance, and patience as I wait for You in prayer. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Acts 1:1-11. In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ² until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³ After 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. ⁴ On 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. ⁵ For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But 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.”

⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰ They 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.”

---

The resurrected Lord Jesus Christ has called us to reach the unreached. Even today, countless nations and people groups live without access to the gospel, trapped under the power of the devil and unable to escape disasters, calamities, and spiritual darkness (Acts 10:38). This reality grieves the heart of our Father. His desire has always been clear—that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:3-4) .

What makes this even more painful is not merely the vast number of unreached peoples, but the weakening of the church itself. Churches are declining, faith is growing shallow, and many believers feel powerless. God’s people lack concern for the unreached and the spiritual power to reach them. This, too, breaks God’s heart.

Yet the resurrected Jesus spoke clearly and decisively: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This is not a suggestion but a divine mandate flowing from His victory over death. So what has happened to us? Why do we struggle to live as Christ’s witnesses?

First, for many believers, Christ is not yet complete, sufficient, and absolute. When Christ is reduced to one part of life rather than the answer to all of life, we remain vulnerable to the power of sin, Satan, and hell. Without experiencing Christ as our True King, True Priest, and True Prophet, we cannot live in victory.

Second, our primary concern often drifts away from what concerns God the most. Like the disciples who asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6), we focus on personal benefit, security, and comfort. When our prayers revolve around ourselves rather than God’s kingdom, we, though citizens of heaven, become enslaved by the world.

Third, many of us draw strength from sources other than God. Without a life led by the Holy Spirit, we are easily overpowered by “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). As long as our strength comes from the world, it is impossible to reach the ends of the earth with the gospel.

This is why Jesus spent forty days with His disciples after His resurrection, speaking about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). He was restoring their perspective, reminding them of their true background—not Rome, not Israel, but the kingdom of God. This is the realm where the power of the Triune God is fully at work, “the same power with which he will bring everything under his control” (Philippians 3:21).

Because we belong to this kingdom, God promises that Satan will soon be crushed under our feet (Romans 16:20). Throughout history, men and women of faith overcame the world not by strength or numbers, but by holding firmly to this heavenly reality (Hebrews 11:38).

Therefore, we must stop clinging to what is temporary—our problems, weaknesses, failures, and circumstances—and instead hold fast to what is eternal: “the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). When the kingdom of God rules every area of our lives, our eyes are opened to see what God has already given us through His Spirit.

When this happens, our values change. Like Paul, we begin to regard what once seemed valuable as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord (Philippians 3:7–8). From the moment Paul met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he lived fully as a citizen of the kingdom of God, exercising spiritual authority and gospel power wherever he went.

Taking the gospel to the unreached and reviving the church in these last days is not an optional task; it is the mission God has entrusted to us. God delights in sending His people because there is no greater joy than saving lives through the gospel.

We may feel weak, inadequate, or unqualified, but God never intended us to rely on ourselves. He promised to clothe us with power from on high (Acts 1:8). He has already prepared His absolute disciples—men and women with unwavering faith in Christ, willing to stake their lives for the gospel, just as the believers of the Early Church did.

Through these disciples, God establishes absolute systems—gospel-centered lives, churches, and movements—through which His kingdom advances. God is moving toward His absolute goal: proclaiming the gospel to all nations, every tribe, every language. And astonishingly, He desires to include us in this plan.

Are you still living in guilt and shame? Meet Jesus at Calvary, who loved you and gave Himself for you. Are you enslaved by the ways of the world? Meet the risen Christ at Mount Olive, who gave many convincing proofs that He is alive (Acts 1:3). Are you living aimlessly and without power? Meet Jesus in the upper room, where the Holy Spirit descended with transforming power (Acts 2:1–4).

You are a child of the King. The resurrected Jesus Christ is reigning now, watching over you, leading you, and sending you to the ends of the earth as His witness. And just as He promised, when the gospel is proclaimed to the whole world, He will return in glory (Acts 1:11).

---

Prayer. Father, I thank You for Your complete covenant—Christ, Your kingdom, and the Holy Spirit. Open my eyes to my true identity and heavenly background. Restore my heart to what concerns You the most. Clothe me with power from above and send me to the ends of the earth as a witness of the risen Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

John 21:15-18. When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

---

The resurrected Lord Jesus Christ came to Peter not with condemnation, but with restoration. Peter was still tangled in guilt and shame after denying Jesus three times, and Jesus knew this. That is why He asked Peter the same question three times: “Do you love me?” This was not a test of Peter’s ability or resolve. It was a loving invitation to return to grace, to remember who he truly was, and to be restored as a child of God despite his weakness. Jesus wanted Peter to know that His love had never changed, even when Peter had failed.

After restoring Peter’s heart, Jesus entrusted him with a solemn and weighty mission: “Feed my sheep.” This calling was not accidental. Jesus was revealing what matters most to Him in a broken world. He was entrusting Peter with people—souls for whom He had shed His blood. Feeding His sheep means caring for lives with the Word, protecting them from deception, healing them with the truth of the gospel, and guiding them back to God.

The world today faces a profound spiritual crisis. People wander without understanding the fundamental cause of their suffering. Since the Fall, when humanity turned away from God, the whole world has been living under the influence of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the devil, trapped in fear, confusion, and suffering (Genesis 3:1–7; Ephesians 2:2–3). Jesus Himself said that the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). This destructive work has intensified, especially against families, young people, and even the church.

Tragically, much of the church has lost clarity about the gospel. The message that Jesus is the Christ has been diluted, distorted, or replaced. As Scripture describes, the precious children of God are treated like common clay, their value forgotten (Lamentations 4:1–2). They are spiritually starving, asking for bread but receiving none (Lamentations 4:4). Instead of the true gospel, many are fed a different gospel, which is no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6–7). False teachings confuse God’s people, and as a result, spiritual sickness spreads, and calamities increase, just as Scripture warned.

Yet God’s answer has not changed. When the authentic gospel is restored and proclaimed with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction, light breaks through the darkness (1 Thessalonians 1:5). Healing begins. Lives are restored. The world desperately needs the grace of God that heals hearts, minds, families, and nations.

Jesus’ question to Peter is the same question He asks us today: “Do you love me?” He is not asking about our strength or perfection. He is calling us to remain in His love and grace. And with that love comes responsibility. Along with the gospel, we are entrusted with His sheep—brothers and sisters for whom Christ died. We are called to feed them with the Word of Christ, to heal them with truth, and to strengthen them through prayer and care.

This calling requires a shepherd’s heart. We are not to exercise authority harshly or insist on our rights, but to care gently, like a nursing mother caring for her children, sharing not only the gospel but also our lives (1 Thessalonians 2:7–8). Through this love, others come to experience that the gospel is life, power, healing, and joy. They are nurtured until they stand firmly on the promises of God.

This responsibility also extends to future generations. We must continue to instill God’s covenant of the offspring of the woman in their hearts (Genesis 3:15), build the ark of salvation in Christ for them (Genesis 6:18), and apply the blood of the Lamb that delivers from bondage (Exodus 3:18). We must help them live daily in the joy of Immanuel, God with us (Isaiah 7:14), and firmly confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16).

As the Word of God is taught diligently and impressed upon their hearts, souls, minds, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:4–9), its healing power will transform their lives. God promises that through this, they will become a mighty people who shine the light of the gospel to the nations (Isaiah 60:22).

---

Prayer. Father, I thank You for restoring me through Your grace, just as You restored Peter. Thank You for breaking the power of generational curses through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Because of the incomparable riches of Your grace, I have hope and a future. Help me love You deeply and faithfully feed Your sheep. Use my life to pass on the complete covenant of Christ to this generation and the next. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Luke 24:25-35. He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

³³ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴ and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” ³⁵ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

---

The resurrected Lord Jesus Christ sends us with a clear purpose. He commands us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:16–20) and to go into all the world to proclaim the message of healing (Mark 16:15–20). At the same time, He sends us to seek out and restore believers who are wandering in discouragement, just as He did on the road to Emmaus. The risen Christ not only pursues the lost; He also tenderly restores the weary and disheartened among His own.

Tragically, many believers live under the weight of discouragement. They attend church faithfully, yet their hearts remain heavy and uncertain. Instead of living by the power of the gospel, they cling to religion. Instead of enjoying grace, they labor under legalism. As a result, their faith becomes routine rather than life-giving, and their walk with God becomes duty rather than joy (Galatians 5:1).

This is why realizing the gospel is far more urgent than merely attending church. Simply believing in Jesus as a historical figure is not enough. One must believe that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Without this confession, faith easily turns into moral effort, and Christian life becomes exhausting rather than freeing.

Jesus is the Christ in His fullness. As the True King, He destroyed the work of the devil (1 John 3:8). As the True Priest, He broke the curse of sin once for all by offering Himself (Mark 10:45). As the True Prophet, He opened a new and living way back to God (John 14:6). When a person believes and receives Jesus as the Christ, everything changes at the root. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in that person’s heart, and this marks the end of despair and the beginning of true life.

If the Holy Spirit lives in you, nothing can ultimately destroy you, because you are God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). He will never abandon you (John 14:16). He leads your life, teaches you all things, and fills your heart with peace that the world cannot give (John 14:26–27). He guides you into all truth (John 16:13), empowers you from above (Acts 1:8), and works powerfully through your prayers (John 14:14).

You have also been given spiritual authority. Jesus has granted you authority to overcome all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). You belong to heaven, and your citizenship is there (Philippians 3:20). God even sends His angelic hosts to serve those who inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14). This is the unseen reality surrounding every believer who walks by faith

Discouragement often sets in when this reality is not experienced. Either the Spirit is not truly known, or His guidance is resisted. The greatest obstacle to the Holy Spirit’s leading is not circumstances, but human stubbornness—clinging to one’s own thoughts, fears, and reasoning. Only a life yielded to the Spirit can overcome unbelief.

Many remain trapped in despair because they feel powerless against sin. Yet through Christ, God has permanently changed your identity and destiny. You are no longer a child of the devil. You have been adopted into God’s family. The Spirit Himself testifies within you that you are a child of God. You are no longer a slave to sin but have become a servant of righteousness.

When discouragement arises from your own weaknesses, remember that God has already changed your position. Sin no longer defines you. Grace does. The past no longer rules you. Christ does. Fix your eyes on Jesus, who endured the cross for you, so that you will not grow weary or lose heart.

Just as He did with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the risen Christ walks with us every day, even when we fail to recognize Him. In moments of confusion and disappointment, He draws near. Through the Word, He gently corrects our thinking, opens the Scriptures, and reignites our hearts with truth. What once felt hopeless begins to burn with life again.

When the disciples realized that the risen Lord had been walking with them all along, despair turned into bold testimony. They rose immediately and proclaimed that Jesus was alive. Encounter with the living Christ always leads to renewed purpose and restored joy.

If you are discouraged today, meet Jesus in the Word. Return to Calvary and the empty tomb. He is risen, and He is with you. If you see others weighed down by discouragement, open the Scriptures and help them see why the Christ had to suffer and rise again. Build them up with the Word, strengthen them with the promise of victory, and remind them that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under our feet.

---

Prayer. Father, I thank You for freeing me from despair and discouragement through the risen Christ. Help me fix my eyes on Him so that I will not grow weary or lose heart. Use my life to encourage those who are discouraged and lead them to the living hope found in Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Mark 16:14-20. Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

¹⁵ He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. ²⁰ Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

---

When Jesus Himself becomes the gospel to you, there is no need to search for another kind of “good news.” If His death and resurrection are the ultimate good news in your life, then the kingdom of God has already come upon you. The gospel is no longer interesting ideas you have heard; it becomes the very life you live. Where Christ reigns, nothing else is lacking.

In the kingdom of God, there is no darkness. As a citizen of His kingdom, you are given complete freedom from the power of sin, Satan, and hell. What once ruled you no longer has authority over you. In God’s kingdom, there is forgiveness instead of condemnation, joy instead of despair, and peace that transcends circumstances. This is the reality Jesus secured through His cross and resurrection.

God brings healing to every part of your life through His living Word. His Word penetrates your spirit, heart, mind, and body, restoring what has been broken and renewing what has grown weary (Hebrews 4:12). As His kingdom takes root in you, your desires begin to change. You no longer live driven by fear, but with a growing hunger for His kingdom and His righteousness. This is the evidence that God’s reign has truly come upon you.

The resurrected Christ then gives us the reason for living: to save this generation by the power of the gospel. He did not rise from the dead so that we could live small, self-centered lives. He rose again to send us. His command is clear and urgent—to go into all the world and proclaim the pure, untainted gospel to every nation.

Jesus promised that as we go in His name, the authority of the kingdom of God would be revealed. Demons that have ruled minds, cultures, and generations will be driven out. God will enable us to communicate the gospel across languages, cultures, and boundaries that once seemed impossible. The power of the Holy Spirit will go before us, opening doors that no human effort could open.

God has also given us spiritual authority to overcome the forces of darkness. He promises His protection and deliverance as we walk in obedience to His calling. When we move forward for the sake of the gospel, God Himself takes responsibility for our lives. He brings healing to those suffering from all kinds of sicknesses and restores those crushed by the weight of sin and despair.

If we respond to God’s calling as the disciples did, the Lord will work with us through the Holy Spirit to complete the task He has entrusted to us—the task of testifying to the good news of His grace (Acts 20:24). This mission has not changed. God is still fulfilling His Word today, just as He did then.

Therefore, let us throw away unbelief. Let us honestly confess our doubts and our fear, and ask the Lord to help us believe. The reason we can move forward with confidence is simple: Jesus is alive. The tomb is empty. The kingdom has come.

Jesus is inviting you to follow Him with urgency. This invitation is not to comfort, but to life that impacts eternity. When you obey His call, your life will become a channel through which God touches the world, just as He did through His first disciples.

Nothing is more urgent than leading someone in your life to Christ. Nothing is more important than praying for workers to be sent into God’s harvest field. And nothing is more fulfilling than participating in the Great Commission in your generation.

You have been given the authority of Jesus’ name—the name above every name. You now communicate with God as a beloved child. God’s protection through His angel armies surrounds you, and His power works through you. Through your obedience, God desires to bring healing and restoration to a world broken by sin, controlled by the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the devil (Ephesians 2:2).

And above all, Christ Himself is with you—working with you and confirming His Word by His power. This is the promise of the risen Lord, and it still stands today.

---

Prayer. Lord Jesus, I thank You for inviting me into the life You designed for me. I believe You are alive and reigning. Here I am—send me. Use my life to proclaim Your gospel to the nations. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Matthew 28:16-20. Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

---

For us, every day is Easter—the greatest day in history—because it is the day when Jesus Christ destroyed the work of the devil by dying on the cross and rising again from the dead. According to the Scriptures, He truly died, was buried, and rose again, and through His resurrection, He gave us an unshakable hope that reaches beyond death itself. Easter is not merely an event we remember once a year; it is the living reality that defines our everyday life in Christ.

By His resurrection, Jesus set us free from the power of death and obtained eternal redemption for all who believe in His name. As Scripture declares, He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, securing our salvation forever (Hebrews 9:12). If you are in Christ, you are a new creation. Your old identity under sin, fear, and condemnation has passed away, and a completely new life has begun (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death, and you now live under grace, not bondage (Romans 8:2).

Because of the resurrection, we have confidence to approach the throne of God at any time and in any place (Hebrews 4:12). The resurrected Christ is seated at the right hand of God with all authority in heaven and on earth, and yet He lives within us through the Holy Spirit. This same Lord made a promise that stands at the center of our faith and mission: He is with us always, to the very end of the age. This promise is not symbolic—it is real, present, and powerful.

With this assurance, Jesus gave His final command: to make disciples of all nations. God has called us to proclaim the gospel to a world that has fallen under the power of Satan. His command begins with going—going into our families, communities, workplaces, campuses, and nations. God has hidden His chosen disciples everywhere, and He leads us to discover them. Through the power of His Word, He desires to transform their lives, restore their identity, and raise them up so that only Christ remains as their true life and purpose.

God’s desire is not merely to gather believers, but to raise disciples who are willing to lay down their lives for the gospel—people who consider their lives worth nothing compared to finishing the race and completing the task the Lord Jesus has given them, which is to testify to the good news of God’s grace (Acts 20:24). This is the heart of resurrection faith: a life that no longer belongs to itself, but to Christ alone.

Jesus also commanded us to baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Through this, God gathers those who publicly identify with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is not ritual alone, but a declaration of new life, new allegiance, and new citizenship in the kingdom of God. Wherever life movement, Word movement, and disciple movement take place, God draws people to Christ and establishes His kingdom powerfully.

Furthermore, Jesus commanded us to teach them to obey everything He has commanded. This is the work of spiritual reproduction—strengthening people in grace and entrusting the gospel to reliable individuals who will, in turn, teach others (2 Timothy 2:2). This was the method Jesus demonstrated with His disciples, and it remains the principle by which the gospel continues to spread. Day after day, in every place, we are called to keep teaching and proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 5:42).

Jesus sealed this mission with an absolute guarantee: He Himself will be with us. When the early disciples went out and preached everywhere, the Lord worked with them and confirmed His Word through His power (Mark 16:19-20). The same risen Christ continues to work with us today, confirming the gospel through the work of His kingdom.

The world desperately needs Christ. The risen Lord commands us—His witnesses—to go to all nations without fear, because all authority belongs to Him. From this resurrection faith, we are called to fight three battles each day.

First, we fight against ourselves by surrendering our plans, worries, and ambitions to God and seeking His will above our own. Second, we fight against Satan, who constantly seeks to deceive, accuse, and destroy, but whom we overcome only through the authority of Jesus’ name and the power of the gospel. Finally, we fight against the world by refusing to live according to its values and instead walking by the Holy Spirit, who teaches us the truth and fills us with the power of God’s kingdom.

Wherever the Holy Spirit is at work, the kingdom of God is present. He empowers us to live as witnesses of the resurrection in every situation. Therefore, let us enter into the power of Christ’s resurrection today. Let us live every day as Easter—celebrating victory over sin, Satan, and death, and carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth.

---

Prayer. Lord Jesus, You are the resurrection and the life. Help me experience the power of Your resurrection in every circumstance. I desire to live a single-minded life for You, a wholehearted life for the gospel, and to walk in faith as Your witness. Let me enjoy the blessing of Your presence throughout the day. In Your powerful name, Amen.

Galatians 6:14-15. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ¹⁵ Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 

---

Today’s Word reminds us that what the world desperately needs is not improvement but healing—deep, fundamental healing that only God can give. Humanity needs healing from living under the power of the devil, as Scripture says that Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38).

We need healing for broken hearts and weary minds, the kind of rest Jesus promised to those who are burdened and exhausted (Matthew 11:28-30). We need healing from diseases that ravage both body and soul, and even healing from empty religion that leaves people more vulnerable than before, swept clean yet uninhabited by truth and life (Matthew 12:43-45).

True healing comes only from God, who sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer in our place so that we might be restored. On the cross, Christ bore the full weight of sin, curses, and separation from God, breaking the power of sin, Satan, and hell forever. Healing begins when we realize how deeply God loves us—that He placed all our iniquity, guilt, and wounds upon His Son. It continues when we believe that our sins of the past, present, and future have already been dealt with completely through the blood of Christ.

When Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” He declared that nothing more was required for salvation, healing, or restoration. The work was complete. Paul understood this truth so clearly that he made a radical confession about his life: he refused to boast in anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through that cross, the world lost its grip on him, and he was freed from the world’s standards and the bondage of religion. To those who were perishing, the cross seemed foolish, weak, and unnecessary, but to those being saved, it was and still is the very power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). Because of this, Paul resolved to know nothing else as the foundation of his life except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).

The cross forces us to ask an honest question: Is the cross of Jesus Christ truly sufficient, complete, and absolute for us? If it is, then we must stop relying on the flesh—on religion, legalism, self-effort, moral pride, or human achievement. These things may appear impressive, but they have no power to overcome sin, Satan, or death. We must also stop boasting in our wisdom, our strength, or our riches, because none of these can heal the deepest wounds of the human soul.

Instead, we are called to boast in God’s redemptive plan revealed throughout Scripture: in the promise of the offspring of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15), in the ark that saved life from judgment (Genesis 6:14), in the blood of the Passover lamb that delivered God’s people from bondage (Exoduso 3:18), in Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14)—God with us—and ultimately in Jesus the Christ (Matthew 16:16), the fulfillment of every promise. When we boast in Christ alone, we stand on what God has done, not on what we can do.

Do not be discouraged by your weaknesses or failures. Scripture is clear that what truly counts is not outward appearance or performance but the new creation (1 Corinthians 6:15). In Christ, you are no longer defined by your past; the old has passed away and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). God’s desire is to bring healing and restoration into your life, to forgive you, renew you, and display His peace and abundance through you so that others may see the gospel.

God does not stop with healing you; He intends to use your life as a channel of healing for others—your family, your church, your community, your nation, and even the world. As you boast only in the cross, God will work through you to bring freedom to those still suffering under the devil’s power and to lead them into the life and peace found in Christ.

---

Prayer. Lord, thank You for healing my life through Jesus Christ, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I choose to boast only in the cross, where my sins were forgiven, and my life was restored. Use my life to carry the message of the cross to those who are broken, wounded, and oppressed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.