thoughts by Phil Ware Archives - Daily Thoughts about God

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Published July 26, 2024

Reason Together

“Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

Thoughts on today’s verse

Nothing stains quite like sin. It not only leaves a stain in our heart but a residue in our minds. But God’s grace is shown in that he doesn’t just forgive our sins, he doesn’t just forget our sins, he banishes them. They are gone. The stain is removed, the guilt is taken away. We are clean by his grace.

Prayer:

O the joy your grace gives me! I can never thank you or praise you enough for rerouting my life so that it will end, and begin again, in you. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

by Phil Ware
used by permission

from http://www.heartlight.org/ and is used by permission.
You can also follow Phil’s daily devotionals on http://www.verseoftheday.com. International work with http://www.verseoftheday.com/ – (in 7 languages)

Thoughts by Men thoughts by Phil Ware

Constant Awareness

Published July 21, 2024

Constant Awareness

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Thoughts on today’s verse

Where does your heart live?

That’s what these verses are all about. Is there a constant awareness in your life that God is present? Is he the unseen but always present companion in all your ups and downs? Or is God here when it is convenient and gone when things are busy? Joy comes from knowing we are never alone. Prayer is the ongoing conversation we have, Spirit to Spirit, with God. Thanksgiving is the great reminder that we have been blessed no matter what the circumstances may suggest.

Prayer:

Precious and Righteous Father, thank you for being there. Give me a deeper appreciation and a always more profound awareness of your presence today. May my life reflect the joy you have given me by saving me by grace. And may my heart always find its home in you. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

by Phil Ware
used be permission

For God Loved the World

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Thought

Did you know the Bible doesn’t just say, “God loves you.” Now don’t let me confuse you. Scripture does tell us many times that God loves us. However, don’t miss the important truth here. Each time Scripture tell us that God loves us, it also demonstrates that love as well. God’s love is more than emotion and intention. God’s love is demonstrated. God loved us so much he didn’t just say, “I love you.” God showed his by sending and sacrificing his Son to give us his incomparable love! We never have to doubt that God means what he says. He has backed up his promises of love with his actions.

Prayer

Loving and Almighty God, thank you for loving me. Thank you for both saying it and showing it. Please know, dear Father, I love you, too! Accept my words and actions today as a testimony to my love. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

By Phil Ware
used with permission

Whom Have I but You?

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:25-26

Thoughts on Today’s Verse

What can truly fulfill and sustain us? Maybe the best way to answer that question is by asking another: What can we keep when our bodies are placed silently in their graves at death? Only our relationship with God and his people last beyond the grave. If he is what lasts, then how can we displace him for anything that doesn’t?

Prayer:

Mighty Yahweh, Strength of Israel, Keeper of the Covenant and Fulfillment Maker of every prophecy–you are my hope, my strength, and my future. I live this day in wide-open amazement that the Keeper of the Universe knows my name, hears my voice, and cares for me. Thank you for being my past, my present, and my future, the Great I Am. Through my Savior, I pray. Amen.

by Phil Ware
Used by Permission

Seek the Lord

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6

Thoughts

In truth, God is always close to those who genuinely seek after him. The real problem is that we drift away from him, lose interest, and leave his presence. So let’s seek him and receive his grace and his help while we recognize that he alone is the one who truly saves.

Prayer:

Father, I seek you with all my heart. While I seek to know about you through your Word, I long to know you and be known by you as a tender father knows his child and as a child feels complete trust toward his tender father. Be not only my God, but be real to me in ways that transcend explanation. Help me sense your nearness and to know your presence. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.’

by Phil Ware
used by permission

You can also follow Phil’s daily devotionals on
http://www.verseoftheday.com

Grace

“I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given to me — the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24

Thought

How important is grace?

Paul said that God’s grace and telling others about that grace were more important than his own life! In fact, sharing God’s grace with others no matter the cost was Paul’s life!

Prayer

Almighty God, Holy Father, thank you for your lavish grace demonstrated and fully expressed in sending Jesus to die for me. As your child, and in thanks to your sacrificial gift, I pledge to you my life, my love, and my all. Through Jesus. Amen.

By Phil Ware
Used by Permission

Phil’s devotionals can also be found on http://www.verseoftheday.com

Trust in the Lord

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” — Proverbs 3:5-6

Thought

What do you use for your life’s compass? No matter how insightful, wise, experienced, or knowledgeable we may be, only God can guide our steps properly. God asks us to trust him and his wisdom even when we can’t immediately see the rationale behind it. He wants us to recognize his presence, guidance, and grace in all we do. As we trust and as we acknowledge his presence, we suddenly realize that our paths are a lot straighter and our destinations are a lot a closer.

Prayer

Abba Father, please give me courage to not lean on my own understanding. I know my thinking can be flawed and what I intend for good can blow up in my face. Please bless me with wisdom and insight as I seek to live for you in today’s confusing and immoral world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

By Phil Ware
Used by Permission

Phil’s daily devotionals on http://www.verseoftheday.com

The Goal

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14

Thought

The way to walk a tightrope is to keep ones sight on the goal, never looking down to the ground nor over our shoulder at what is behind. The way to walk with Jesus is to keep our eye on the goal, his victory waiting for us when he returns, not on the ground (our failures) and not what is behind (our accomplishments). The goal of the Christian walk is to keep walking toward Jesus until we walk with him in heaven.

Prayer

Lord, I look forward to the day when you call me by name and walk hand in hand with me. Until that day, help me fix my eyes on what you want me to be and not what I’ve done. By your grace and in the holy name of Jesus I ask it. Amen.

By Phil Ware
used by permission
from http://www.heartlight.org

God Is Faithful

“‘The word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. ‘ Psalm 33:4-5

Thought

God is faithful. We can trust his promises to be kept and his purposes to be good. How do we know? The sunrise each morning is a reminder that the Father of heaven and earth is at work keeping his universe in working order. If it is true in nature, it is true in the spiritual realm as well. Greet each sunrise as a reminder of God’s faithfulness.

Prayer

O Magnificent and Majestic Creator, I greet today as your gift and a reminder of your faithfulness. Each day the sun rises I anticipate the day you honor your promise to send your Son back to bring us home to you. Give me a keen sense today of your faithful presence. I pray this through him in whom all your promises find their fulfillment. Amen.

By Phil Ware
Used by Permission
You can also follow Phil’s daily devotionals on http://www.verseoftheday.com

Kind and Compassionate

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

Thought

Be kind and compassionate — two qualities that seem to be in short supply. Maybe it’s because we hold up the wrong heroes. Unfortunately these two qualities are often seen as signs of weakness rather than strength. To forgive as God forgave us requires great courage and great strength. So let’s be strong!

Prayer

Holy God, there is no way I can adequately thank you for sacrificing so much to forgive me. So this day, I pledge to be more like you: to share more of your kindness and grace with those who have wronged me. Today, I ask you to help me release my bitterness toward _____________ and I ask you to bless this person with your kindness and grace. By the power of Jesus’ example I ask this. Amen.

By Phil Ware
Used by Permission
from http://www.verseoftheday.com

This is Love

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

Thought

Love is demonstrated, not just said. Love goes ahead sharing itself instead of waiting until things are easy or safe. Love redeems when all hope seems lost. Love is not only what God is, but it is also what he does and what he gives.

Prayer

Thank you, dear Heavenly Father, for loving me so extravagantly. Please help me to see the opportunities to love others whom you place in my path every day. Use me to demonstrate your love to someone today and each day that follows. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

By Phil Ware
used with permission.

You can also follow Phil’s daily devotionals on http://www.verseoftheday.com

God’s Hands

“By God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. “ Romans 15:32

Thought

Our lives, our futures, and our plans are in God’s hands. This inescapable reality is the basis of our existence. It is also the foundation of our joy and refreshment when we are with each other. Think about it a second: our meetings with each other, and our ministry to each other, are not chance happenings. They are acts of God’s grace that gives us a chance to share in God’s blessing and joy.

Prayer

Holy Father, thank you for your direct involvement in my life. Thank you for the leading of your Spirit, the guidance of your Word, and the wisdom of older Christians. These have all deepened the meaning of my life and empowered my service to your Kingdom. Please give me a more profound sense of grace and joy when I am able to be with Christians wherever that may be. I know these precious members of your family are not chance acquaintances I make along the way, but are the reminders of your desire to bless me and refresh your children with your presence. In Jesus’ name I thank you. Amen.

By Phil Ware
used by permission
from http://www.heartlight.org

Splendor of His Holiness

“Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.” Psalm 96:9

Thought

Don’t you really appreciate the phrase “the splendor of his holiness” and long to behold that splendor? It conjures up reminders of Isaiah’s encounter with God in Isaiah 6 or John’s vision of Jesus in Revelation 1. God’s essence — known in the Old Testament as his glory and his holiness — can be described only as splendorous! Our only fitting response is to join the angels of Isaiah 6 and the twenty-four elders around the throne in Revelation and worship God and cry, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory.”

Prayer

You are holy, majestic God, more than my mind can grasp or my imagination can dream. I worship and praise you for your glory, might, grace, and mercy. I hunger for the day when I can see your splendor face to face and join the angels of heaven and the twenty-four elders in never ending worship and praise. Through Jesus I offer this praise and my life. Amen.

By Phil Ware
used with permission

You can also follow Phil’s daily devotionals on http://www.verseoftheday.com

I Trust in You

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. “ Ephesians 1:18

Thoughts

Heaven is something we see with our heart. When we are discouraged, doubtful, and depressed, we need to have the eyes of our hearts “enlightened.” The dawn needs to rise in our darkness, and then we will see the dawn of hope and the riches of our inheritance. But when things look bad, the only way to remember these things is to sing them, pray them, and read God’s promises of them.

O God, you are my Hope. I trust in you and your promises. But I admit that at times, like even right now, I struggle with the confidence that you will act in response to my prayers and do what I’ve trusted you with my life to do. Please fill me with your Spirit, comfort my doubts, and kindle my passion so that I may serve you with boldness and share your grace with others. Through my Lord Jesus I pray. Amen.

by Phil Ware
used with permission.

You can also follow Phil’s daily devotionals on http://www.verseoftheday.com

Hearts and Minds

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24

Thoughts on today’s verse

God knows us. We can’t pretend we are something we are not with him. This should liberate us to a remarkable degree of intimacy, but most of us run from such a close relationship with God. If our desire, however, is to become more like him, the only way to be transformed is by inviting him and looking at our heart, our motivations, and our desires.

Prayer:

O God, I know you are the one who “searches hearts and minds” yet because of the grace you demonstrated in Jesus, I am confident that you love me. My heart is sorry for the sin I have committed, but I am really trying to serve you in honor and purity. Please fill me with your Spirit to enable me to become more like Christ. In the name of your holy Son I pray. Amen.

by Phil Ware
Used with permission.

You can also follow Phil’s daily devotionals on http://www.verseoftheday.com

Category: <span>thoughts by Phil Ware</span>

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Where does your heart live?

FURTHER READING

FURTHER READING

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:25-26

FURTHER READING

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6

FURTHER READING

“I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given to me — the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24

How important is grace?

FURTHER READING

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” — Proverbs 3:5-6

Further Reading

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14

FURTHER READING

FURTHER READING

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

FURTHER READING

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

FURTHER READING

“By God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. “ Romans 15:32

FURTHER READING

“Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.” Psalm 96:9

FURTHER READING

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. “ Ephesians 1:18

FURTHER READING

FURTHER READING