One Minute Memory Verse: – Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Last week’s memory verse:

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

One Minute Bible

John 3:1-21

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”  Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”  Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?  Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

One Minute Prayer

Father, search my heart daily.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 51:10-13

Create in me a clean heart, O God;

and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence;

and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;

and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 4:23

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

One Minute Devotion

Dr. Christiaan Barnard, the doctor who performed the first heart transplant was threatened by with charges of murder. As you likely know, the new heart must come from a living person; it must be beating when removed from the donor body.

The donor, of course, was brain dead; prosecutors never carried out their threats. The sad fact is that to transplant a heart, the donor must die, and the recipient, must also undergo a type of death. He or she is put on life support while the old heart is stopped and removed, and the new heart is put in.

There can be no rebirth – no new heart – without death. To be born anew in the image of Christ, we must be willing to die. Christ was willing. He laid down His life that we may receive His heart. Change my heart O God…

One Minute Memory Verse: – Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Last week’s memory verse:

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

One Minute Bible

2 Samuel 24:15-25 ESV

So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men.  And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.  Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”

And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

So David went up at Gad’s word, as the Lord commanded.  And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground.  And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be averted from the people.”

Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.  All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.”  But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.”

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.  And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.

One Minute Prayer

Father, give us a heart at peace with you.

One Minute Praise

– Psalm 40:5-8

Many, Lord my God,

are the wonders you have done,

the things you planned for us.

None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—

but my ears you have opened—

burnt offerings and sin offering you did not require.

Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—

it is written about me in the scroll.

I desire to do your will, my God;

your law is within my heart.”

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 14:29-30 NIV

Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

One Minute Devotion

Here is a great story I heard once: I took a friend home when his truck broke down. He had had an awful day. Not only was his truck broken down, but he had broken an expensive power tool, and he had broken his toe. He was full of anxiety.

On the way into the house, he paused under an oak, reached out and touched the tips of a low-hanging branch.

“That’s my Trouble Tree,” he said when I asked. “I don’t take troubles home with me. I leave them at the cross, My Trouble Tree is a symbol of the cross of Christ. Funny thing is, when I go out the next morning, those troubles are not near as big as they were the night before.”

One Minute Memory Verse: – Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Last week’s memory verse:

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

One Minute Bible

Acts 12:1-16 CEB

About that time King Herod began to harass some who belonged to the church. He had James, John’s brother, killed with a sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter as well. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. He put Peter in prison, handing him over to four squads of soldiers, sixteen in all, who guarded him. He planned to charge him publicly after the Passover. While Peter was held in prison, the church offered earnest prayer to God for him.

The night before Herod was going to bring Peter’s case forward, Peter was asleep between two soldiers and bound with two chains, with soldiers guarding the prison entrance. Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared and a light shone in the prison cell. After nudging Peter on his side to awaken him, the angel raised him up and said, “Quick! Get up!” The chains fell from his wrists. The angel continued, “Get dressed. Put on your sandals.” Peter did as he was told. The angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.”

Following the angel, Peter left the prison. However, he didn’t realize the angel had actually done all this. He thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself. After leaving the prison, they proceeded the length of one street, when abruptly the angel was gone.

At that, Peter came to his senses and remarked, “Now I’m certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod and from everything the Jewish people expected.” Realizing this, he made his way to Mary’s house. (Mary was John’s mother; he was also known as Mark.) Many believers had gathered there and were praying. When Peter knocked at the outer gate, a female servant named Rhoda went to answer. She was so overcome with joy when she recognized Peter’s voice that she didn’t open the gate. Instead, she ran back in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.

“You’ve lost your mind!” they responded. She stuck by her story with such determination that they began to say, “It must be his guardian angel.” Meanwhile, Peter remained outside, knocking at the gate. They finally opened the gate and saw him there, and they were astounded.

One Minute Prayer

Father, we pray that you give us the focus and singular purpose to say that all we want in life is to dwell in your house.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask from the Lord,

this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

and to seek him in his temple.

One Minute Wisdom

Isaiah 40:30-31

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

One Minute Devotion

Mac had served most of a 35-year sentence for drug charges in federal prison. He suffered diabetes and kidney failure. He would die alone in prison unless the warden granted compassionate parole. Although he was dying, Mac wheeled his chair to chapel and sang Victory in Jesus at every opportunity. Volunteers from a half dozen different prison Bible study groups prayed for Mac to be released so he could die surrounded by family. Their prayers were answered when Mac was discharged to a halfway house two weeks before he died. O Victory in Jesus, my Savior forever… He sought me and bought me…