Tag Archives: Presidential Prayer Team

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Presidential Prayer Team G.C. – Spring to Life

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Any day now, gardeners everywhere will develop a fever – spring fever, that is. It’s that special time when gardening gloves whisper your name and the grass winks as you walk by. Many have an overwhelming desire to dig, plant, water, and nurture what lies dormant and grey into thriving life, beauty and aroma.

They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. Isaiah 61:3

In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is likened to a divine gardener. At times, the seeds of faith may be lying quietly in your heart enduring the winter of a seemingly insurmountable disappointment or challenge. Yet when you respond to the voice encouraging you to pray, read Scripture or worship in song, you suddenly sense resurrection and find the hope of new life in your heart.

That same Spirit is moving across America today…seeking people of faith who are willing to let the divine gardener cultivate the soil of their devotion. Will you faithfully plant the seeds of hope for the next generation of citizens? The prayers you offer for them today will be the blessings they see tomorrow. Intercede, too, for the nation’s leaders – that they would experience a revived desire to know God and the life He brings.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 92:8-15

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Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. – Bountiful Harvest

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In 2012, the United States experienced its worst drought in 25 years. The lack of snowfall did more than disappoint schoolchildren; it discouraged farmers as well. The shortage of melted water into the soil had a catastrophic effect on crops. Without life-giving water, many crops failed to produce, therefore driving up the cost of food for consumers.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season. Psalm 1:3

Water is essential for producing a harvest. The Bible tells you, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord…he is like a tree planted by water…and is not anxious in the year of drought.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8) The author of today’s verse understood this concept. Those who drink the “living water” offered from the Lord never fail to bear fruit in season.

While America may be experiencing a spiritual drought, there is water to be found. When you trust in God, you plant yourself by a stream of vibrant water and will produce wonderful things in your life. Through prayer, ask God to help you stay rooted in Him. Then pray for the president and vice president to be grounded in Christ, and intercede for America to have a bountiful harvest as they and other leaders trust in God.

Recommended Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10

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Presidential Prayer Team; H.R. – Spiritual CPR

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Matthew was 17 years old when he collapsed during a high school football game. Fortunately, his parents, who were on the sidelines and knew cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), saved his life. CPR is an emergency procedure that involves manually compressing the chest, which pumps blood through the heart, and breathing into a person’s mouth or nose to push air into the lungs. CPR is estimated to have saved more than two million lives since it was developed in 1960.

And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Ezekiel 37:14

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you can perform spiritual CPR. Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 5:11: “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up.” In a world filled with so much negativity, choose to breathe words of life into others with whom you interact each day. Speak encouragement, love and hope. Share God’s Word. Offer to pray when there is a need.

When you perform spiritual CPR, you allow God’s Spirit within you to rescue people who may feel lifeless inside or are facing what seems like a dead situation. Also pray that other Christians would infuse hope in this nation by speaking words of life at every opportunity.

Recommended Reading: Ephesians 4:25-32

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Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Niggling

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Today in America, it’s hard to imagine anyone (Christian or not) who is totally unaware that when someone speaks about God, they’re referring to the living, powerful creator. In the book of Acts, when Paul visited Greece, most people there worshipped idols. He explained that the God he served wasn’t made by man – rather, man, the heavens and the earth was created by Him. Paul pointed out an altar they’d made with the inscription “To the unknown god.” “What therefore you worship as unknown,” Paul told them, “this I proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:23)

They should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Acts 17:27

There must have been a niggling in their spirits, a desire to worship the true God instead of inanimate objects. Paul assured them that God is near everyone (Acts 17:27). And you have Christ’s promise, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

Take advantage of this precious promise to ask, seek and knock for yourself, the nation, and all those who have that niggling in their spirits – knowing there’s something more to life, and that it may be available from their creator God.

Recommended Reading: Matthew 7:7-12

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Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – The Foil for Fear

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What does it mean to seek God? A wonderful example may be found in the life of E.M. Bounds, well known as a tireless prayer warrior and author of many books on intercession.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

A biographer wrote that Bounds “did not merely pray well that he might write well about prayer. He prayed because the needs of the world were upon him. He prayed, for long years, upon subjects which the easygoing Christian rarely gives a thought, and for objects which men of less thought and faith are always ready to call impossible. As breathing is a physical reality to us, so prayer was a reality for Bounds. He took the command, ‘Pray without ceasing’ almost as literally as animate nature takes the law of the reflex nervous system, which controls our breathing.”

Would that describe your prayer life…or are you an “easygoing” Christian living in fear or apathy? Ask God to help you be more faithful and more fervent in your prayers. It will make a difference for you, and for America, if you can end this day by saying that in everything, truly, you sought the Lord.

Recommended Reading: II Timothy 1:3-10

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Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Team Player

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Jesus had just healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. People were amazed and wondered if Jesus was the Messiah. But the Pharisees refuted the possibility. They didn’t want to believe it and claimed that the miracle was done only by the help of Satan.

No city or house divided against itself will stand. Matthew 12:25

But think of this scenario. You are on a basketball team. You’ve got the ball and your team is headed to your end of the court to make a basket. Just when you are ready to take the ball and slam it into the basket, another team player turns and makes the shot in the opposing team’s basket. A team divided will not succeed in a win.

Had Jesus been doing work for Satan, He would have been playing against the “team.” So envious were the Pharisees that they would not apply the Messianic prophecies to the mighty works of Jesus. The Spirit of God enabled Christ, but they refused to believe.

Don’t live in unbelief, dear one. Jesus can work miracles today if you only ask. Intercede for the leaders of this nation that their hearts be miraculously transformed to do right. Pray, too, for members of Congress to learn how to play on the same team and not be divided.

Recommended Reading: Luke 11:17-23

 

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Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – See and Sound

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You’ve seen their photos – American Special Ops, equipped with the latest technology, weapons, communications, and helmet-mounted image intensifiers. Since World War II, no well-equipped soldier is without the latest generation of night vision goggles.

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent.

Isaiah 62:6

God didn’t provide you with natural thermal imaging, but He did bless you with eyes to see and ears to hear for understanding spiritual things. He expects you to be alert to dangers and evil around you and to warn others. In Isaiah’s day, the watchmen on the wall were essential to the survival of the cities. If all a watchman did was view or hear the approaching enemy without sounding the trumpet, it might edify him, but others would be lost.

Today, as then, people of God must assume the watchman’s role. Take a stand, see what’s coming, and sound the warning. The rising tide of sin in America opposing biblical standards threatens to carry the nation away, just as a tsunami swept away parts of Japan two years ago.

When the watchman is on duty, the city has hope. Sharpen your awareness and pray that others will join you in getting hope’s message out across America.

Recommended Reading: Matthew 13:10-17

 

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Presidential Prayer Team; A.W. – Head in the Clouds

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“There’s a sheep!” and “I see an elephant!” are shouts heard from some kids on a summer afternoon as they reclined in the grass, looked up at the sky and made a game of naming the clouds. What was fun as a child, though, is serious business for scientists. The major cloud types meteorologists use today, such as the poofy storm clouds called “cumulus,” are named to identify and help forecast coming weather.

The Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Matthew 24:30

Today’s scripture tells of another new type of cloud that’ll be seen someday – the “clouds of heaven” that will carry Christ when He returns. They’re described in Daniel 7:13, Mark 13:26 and Luke 21:27…and on these clouds Christ will appear and use His resurrection power to raise the dead in Christ and those living to meet Him in the air.

Will you be able to identify these clouds when they appear? Pray today you will “be ready” (Matthew 24:44) when Jesus returns. Do all you can to make sure others you love are ready, too. Intercede also on this Easter Sunday for the country’s leaders to believe in and call on God’s resurrection power to bring new life to their lives and help them address the piercing needs of the nation.

Recommended Reading: I Thessalonians 4:16-5:11

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Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – No Comparison

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Coming back from the dead makes for a compelling story. Recent bestsellers provide riveting reports of people who were clinically dead but saw Jesus – or heaven or something like it – and then were brought back to life under unusual or miraculous circumstances. Many believe in these accounts wholeheartedly. Others are skeptical. And some think they are complete nonsense.

Born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I Peter 1:3

Whatever your view on these stories, no account can compare to the resurrection of Christ. Not only was Jesus dead in His tomb for three days, Scripture also tells you He also carried with Him into death the sin of all mankind. Christ was crushed by the weight of every evil deed, from the littlest white lie to the greatest mass murder – committed throughout history. And yet the Spirit of God reached into the tomb and brought Him back from the dead. Think of the kind of supernatural power it would take to do that…and then think about the marvelous fact that you received that same power when you were born again.

Today, pray for America’s leaders to know the power of His resurrection, and ask God to make you a worthy illustration to others of His living hope through your own life.

Recommended Reading: Colossians 1:21-29

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Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Gone with the Wind

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People puzzled over why artists Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude would put up a 400 meter-long orange curtain across Rifle Gap near Rifle, Colorado. The project, done in the early 1970s, took two years in the planning and implementation and cost $700,000. With the first attempt, rocks and wind immediately tore the curtain to shreds. The second try lasted 28 hours. Of his work Christo said, “I think it takes much greater courage to create things to be gone than to create things that will remain.” Though Christo, Jeanne-Claude and the people of Rifle were satisfied with their success, many people thought their artwork useless.

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. I Corinthians 15:21

This Good Friday, you’re not in the position of the disciples when they wondered if their belief in Jesus had come to nothing – like Christo’s curtain disintegrating in the wind. Paul reminded the early Christians that putting their faith in Jesus was not in vain. It was God’s plan all along for Jesus to die, resurrect and offer believers eternal life.

This Easter season, remember your faith in Christ is not futile…and pray that the Gospel will be clearly preached in America and many will turn to Him.

Recommended Reading: John 6:35-51

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Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Business with God

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On his first visit to Asia, things did not go well for Hudson Taylor, the English missionary who would found the China Inland Mission. Even though he brought modern medicine to the Chinese, he was received poorly and called a “white devil” by many of the people he sought to reach with the Gospel.

That I may know him and the power of his resurrection…becoming like him. Philippians 3:10

On his second visit to China, Taylor took a different tact. He and his fellow missionaries donned Chinese clothing and endeavored to embrace the oriental culture, so far as it was not inconsistent with God’s Word. He also realized – when no one else did – that Chinese women played a bigger role in influencing young people morally, so Taylor recruited female missionaries. Both of these then-unthinkable strategies were widely criticized in England, but Taylor was undeterred. “My great business in life is to please God,” he said.

Becoming like Jesus doesn’t mean methods never change. They often will, and must, for you to be effective in declaring His message with others. As you pray for America today, ask God for wisdom in how to best share His resurrection power with those around you. And remember that your business is not to please others, but God.

Recommended Reading: Galatians 1:6-17

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Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Get a Grip!

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Animals are sometimes ensnared in traps. People occasionally feel entangled in a relationship. But you can be bound by sin…or not!

We shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:5

At a time when his culture was deeply corrupt, Paul uses the sixth chapter of Romans to instruct the believers who felt they could sin as they wanted because grace abounded more. Paul is quick to tell them that was not so. They were no longer constrained by sin and therefore shouldn’t relish it or love it any longer.

Because believing means you die to your sins, you have “newness of life,” you are “united with him in a resurrection like his,” and are “alive to God through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:4-11) The power of His resurrection won over death and sin. And now you have that power as well.

Don’t let sin get a grip on you! Believe and you can experience a resurrection now in how you live, holding control over sin and being blessed with a better life. Stay in communion with God to be nourished and strengthened. Then pray for this nation – that its people will know the resurrection power of the one true God, Jesus Christ.

Recommended Reading: Philippians 3:8-11, 17-21

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Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – Maundy Thursday

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The oldest and most important Christian commemorative service was initiated by Jesus when He instructed His disciples on the practice of the bread and the cup just hours before He was arrested. His closest friends didn’t know what was coming, but the Lord did…and He told them of the symbols by which to remember His impending death.

There will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. Acts 24:15

The name of the Thursday of Holy Week – Maundy – is derived from the Latin word mandatum meaning “mandate” or “command.” The instruction Jesus gave His disciples that evening was to love one another. He, of course, knew the greatest love, laying down one’s life for a friend, was His commission from the Father, one He was about to fulfill.

It would be a hopeless tale were it to stop there, but it doesn’t. The enormous power God’s love raised Him, and by His resurrection, you have hope! The justified shall be resurrected to His glory. But those who have denied Christ will be raised to face Him in judgment.

Share Jesus’ love today, in your life and in your prayers, as you gratefully acknowledge the hope you have. Pray that God will bathe America’s leaders in His irresistible love.

Recommended Reading: Luke 22:10-22

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Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – The Passover Lamb

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The last of the plagues the Lord brought on Egypt before evacuating the Israelites was the death of the firstborn son. In order for the Jews to escape, they had to put a lamb’s blood over the door posts so the angel of death would pass over them. Thereafter, according to the Lord’s instructions, the Jews have celebrated Passover.

Declared to be the Son of God in power…by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ. Romans 1:4

It was no accident that Christ’s crucifixion happened during Passover. Jesus was the Passover lamb (I Corinthians 5:7) shedding His blood so God’s wrath passes over those who trust in Him. John the Baptist introduced Jesus by saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

This Easter, thank the Father for the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and His promise to believers of eternal life. Aim to glorify Him in all you think, say and do – and when others ask about the hope you have, be ready with an answer (I Peter 3:15). Pray for your leaders in Washington, that many will turn to Christ and that God will continue to pour out His mercy and grace on this nation.

Recommended Reading: Exodus 12:21-30

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Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Hope with Authority

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Where would you be without hope? There would be no purpose for living, no word of comfort in time of death. That is why Jesus’ words in today’s verse have so much meaning. “I am the resurrection and the life.” They’re words spoken by the giver of truth; words to be believed!

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. John 11:25

They’re also words given with authority and power, exemplified three times by His raising the dead to life – the young man from Nain, Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus (Luke 7:11-15, Luke 8:49-56, John 11:1-44). More convincing still was His own resurrection, the historical proof of which cannot be overturned. This is the truth upon which His church has been founded. Because you believe, though you will die, yet you shall live…because He lives!

On this Palm Sunday as you enter Holy Week, remember the gravity of your sin and the intense suffering of your Lord. Remember also that Jesus’ resurrection gives you hope for your life.

Intercede now for those who know not this joy and purpose for living – leaders of this nation, neighbors and friends. Then give thanks for the life you have in Him.

Recommended Reading: Romans 15:4-13

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Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – Truth Invasion Needed

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Teenagers can be curious creatures: funny, perplexing and sometimes scary. A new phenomenon has taken hold with young people – supernatural romances between the living and the no-longer-dead…or “zombies.” A television hoax was recently aired in Montana cautioning residents to watch for empty graves and the undead walking about, calling it a zombie apocalypse. The entire matter must be seen as the devil’s game and a call to prayer for truth to invade young minds.

It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial. Acts 23:6

What truth is that? There will indeed be a resurrection, some believe very soon, when graves of Christians will be emptied as they are powerfully and instantly changed and taken in an instant to be with the Lord. But dead bodies won’t be walking the streets, and they certainly won’t be romancing impressionable young women.

Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead was the first of its kind, but it will not be the last! Victory over the sting of death has been made. You will be freed from sin’s corrupting influence. Rejoice in that truth…and as you intercede for America’s youth and young adults, remember as well that the power shown in the first resurrection is a power those in Washington desperately need to experience.

Recommended Reading: I Thessalonians 4:13-18

 

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Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Firsthand Change

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Each year, millions of lawsuits are filed in the United States by people seeking compensation for personal loss, emotional distress, defamation of character, and a myriad of other circumstances where the negligence or intentional wrongdoing of others caused harm. In an effort to win these cases, both parties often use experts with industry knowledge or eyewitnesses to testify on their behalf.

One of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection. Acts 1:22

The Bible tells of Jesus’ appearances to others after His death, burial and resurrection. Those people became eyewitnesses to the fact that the same Jesus that was brutally killed by Roman soldiers was indeed alive again. Because Christ overcame the rule of death and destruction, His followers have access to the most powerful force in the universe – resurrection power, the authority to redeem all things to the glory of God.

As in the court of law, there is no more persuasive testimony than an eyewitness with firsthand knowledge. If you would like to change America today, start with proclaiming your redemption story. Bring hope to those you know by being a witness to God’s power in restoring health and life to what was once destroyed by sin.

Recommended Reading: Acts 8:26-40

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Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. – Breath of Life

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A 95-year-old Chinese woman surprised her community by climbing from her coffin nearly a week after her supposed death. Neighbors assumed she was deceased because she wasn’t breathing and they couldn’t wake her. But Chinese tradition places the departed in an unsealed coffin in their homes so family and friends can pay respects. After six days, an unsuspecting neighbor was shocked to find an empty coffin and a very much alive Li Xuifeng cooking in the kitchen. Doctors later said she was never really dead, but in a coma-like state.

And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God? Matthew 22:31

While Xuifeng didn’t experience a true resurrection, there is one who can raise the dead…and lift you from your seemingly lifeless times as well. “And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.” (I Corinthians 6:14) God raised Lazarus. He raised Jesus, and He can certainly raise you. God can breathe life into a shattered marriage, a broken body, ruined finances and even a fragmented nation.

Ask the Lord to breathe life into the areas of your life in need of resurrection. Then pray and ask Him to again lift up this “one nation under God.”

Recommended Reading: Romans 8:9-17  Click to Read or Listen

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Presidential Prayer Team; H.R. – Custom Designed

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Billions of years ago, all the energy and matter of the universe were crammed together into a big ball. Then there was an explosion that caused the creation of the planets, stars and galaxies. It is known as the Big Bang theory – and people believe it’s true. However, it seems to take great faith to believe an explosion, which always causes only chaos and destruction, created perfect order and intricate design in the universe.

I know your works. Revelation 3:8

As a Christian, you can be reassured that the great, loving mind of God designed not only the planets and stars…but also your mind and body. God knows how you were formed, even to the detail of every hair on your head! Just as He knew the hearts of every person in the churches spoken to in Revelation, Jesus knows every thought, frustration, joy, strength and weakness. Psalm 103:14 says, “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”

As your creator, God custom designed you for a unique purpose. Spend time reading the Bible and talking to Him every day. As you learn more about His attributes, you will learn more about yourself. Pray also that Americans and the nation’s leaders acknowledge God’s character as they make personal and professional decisions.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 37:23-34

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Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Timeless Love

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After a prolonged process of tucking his two three-year-olds in bed, Steven Curtis Chapman felt impatient to get back to songwriting. As he shut the door, the Lord reminded him how quickly his oldest daughter Emily grew up. Steven felt bad for rushing his daughters, and knew this was an important message for parents. Steven wrote “Cinderella,” containing the words “the clock will strike midnight and she’ll be gone,” not knowing two years later his adopted daughter Maria Sue would be killed in an accident involving his 17-year-old-son, Will, as the driver. The first thing Steven said to him after the accident was, “Will Franklin, your father loves you.”

I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I John 2:14

Steven Curtis Chapman can relate to the pain the Heavenly Father experienced when He gave His Son on the cross, simultaneously loving the one who was killed and the one who was responsible. In today’s verse, John appeals to fathers to love others…knowing the Father’s timeless and passionate love.

As you daily relate to family, friends and acquaintances, remember God’s desire is to express His love through you. Ask the Lord to use you. Then pray the people of this nation and their leaders will know and live in the Father’s love.

Recommended Reading: John 3:16-21  Click to Read or Listen