Anthony Diaz 4/12/25 Anthony Diaz 4/12/25

God’s Love For Sinners

He knows the secrets of every heart. Psalm 44:21 nlt

Sin presents itself in the mind, manifests itself in word and deed, and is hidden in the hearts of everyone. It will overtake the man and woman who refuse to believe it and will conquer them. The Bible says that the whole world is a prisoner of sin. Sin has crippled human nature, but God has provided the cure. There is no sin that the blood of Jesus Christ cannot cleanse. And that’s good news indeed for a culture that still doesn’t know what to do with sin. All the distress, bitterness, heartache, shame, and tragedy can be summed up in the three- letter word sin . Its meaning— to fall short of God’s standard and to do contrary to God’s law— has an impact on every soul. The world’s system claims that the notion of sin is old- fashioned. People “in” the world prove that claim erroneous. A national newspaper quoted a sociologist who admitted, “Secular people still believe there’s sin, judgment, and punishment.” Sin is definitely “in” and it is “in” every single heart that beats. The truth is that everyone is born in sin. While some may not think of themselves as sinners, God does. He hears every word we utter; He knows the hidden things. But He loves sinners more than we love sin. There is no greater love than what Jesus offers every person ever born.
Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-09 14:54:39.

Anthony Diaz 4/11/25 Anthony Diaz 4/11/25

Healthy Roots

Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Ephesians 3:17 nlt

Some neighbors planted a young plum tree thinking it would shade a corner of their home. Instead, it was struck with blights and would lean until its branches touched the ground in any strong wind. No matter how they staked it, it would not stand tall against the elements. When examined, the tree had never taken root because it had been planted close to a downspout. The roots never stretched beyond its infant root ball to find water. Contrast this with another sapling planted in a different environment but on the same property. The sapling was able to reach up for sun and out for water and its roots had room to grow— it was not bound by its environment. After our roots of faith are planted in the fertile ground of truth, we should grow in understanding God’s Word with the help of His Spirit, and through prayer and fellowship with other believers. Only with a deep root system can we endure the storms of life. This prepares us for things ahead. If believers stay entrenched in things that pull them down or are motivated to please others, it will stunt their growth and render them ineffective. We mustn’t plant ourselves in an environment that causes us to fall. We must grow in the things of God and apply His truth to everything we do.
Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-09 14:52:35.

Anthony Diaz 4/10/25 Anthony Diaz 4/10/25

Empowered

I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness. Psalm 17:15.

All those who know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior will see Him in all His splendor and glory. In His Sermon on the Mount, He said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). What a promise this is. But we do not have to wait to know His power. He gives it to us while we live: a supernatural power to overcome temptations, to smile through tears, to experience joy despite life’s burdens. His Spirit raises us up from the mundane, the monotonous, and the hopelessness that we encounter on Earth. He brings us out of spiritual lifelessness and transforms us day by day. Imagine plugging in to such power as this— the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. He calls us to follow Him and to serve Him, and He does not do that without enabling us. When we work in our own power, we struggle. With Christ, though, all things are possible, and He enables us to do His will. What a reversal there would be in our culture’s deteriorating morals. What a lessening of tensions we would see in individuals, groups, and even nations! What a new purpose and power we would experience if we caught the wonder of the biblical truth that Jesus is alive!
Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-09 14:50:00.

Anthony Diaz 4/9/25 Anthony Diaz 4/9/25

Be Filled With The Truth

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 nlt T he Bible says, “The entirety of [God’s] word is truth” (Psalm 119:160). God calls on mankind to believe His Word, by faith. Face- to- face, Pontius Pilate confronted Jesus, asking, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). Truth is timeless. Truth does not differ from one age to another, from one person to another, from one geographical location to another. Even if truth is unpopular, that does not mean that it should not be proclaimed. Humans are emotional beings, but emotions can deceive us. When truth is mixed with error there is always compromise. We need to counter our emotions with the pure truth of God’s Word. If our minds and hearts are not filled with God’s truth, something else will take its place: cynicism, occultism, false religions and philosophies, drugs— the list is endless. It is far better to know God’s truth than to be ignorant of it. While Pilate declared that he found no fault in Jesus, neither is there indication that he ever accepted the truth that Jesus proclaimed. Don’t make the same mistake.
Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-09 03:51:11.

Anthony Diaz 4/8/25 Anthony Diaz 4/8/25

The Problem With Sin

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23.

When we look at our own goodness, we tend to get sidetracked by the fact that mankind is weighed down by its own sin. When one does something good for another, that person can take advantage of that goodness because of his or her own sin. It doesn’t change the fact that something good was done; it simply highlights the fact that man’s heart by nature is evil. For humans, there is a mystery about sin. But God has revealed answers through the Bible and through Jesus. We must always start “at the beginning.” Man rebelled against God after God given man a perfect environment. Man said, “I don’t need You, God. I can build world without You.” Rebellion against God is sin. When mankind took that position, suffering entered the world. Remember, Satan is the author of sin. Sin is the reason we have afflictions, including death. This is why Jesus came. To give us new life. For those who belong to the Lord, we have the privilege of demonstrating more than human love. “Love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great” (Luke 6:35). This is a difficult message, but not if we pray first and ask the Lord to guide us in all that we do, that His name may be known. had my
Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-09 03:47:21.

Anthony Diaz 4/7/25 Anthony Diaz 4/7/25

Loneliness

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 A few years ago a beautiful young Hollywood star ended her life. She left behind a note with a brief message— she was unbearably lonely. One of the most sought- after box- office draws felt alone. Then there is the story of Queen Victoria of England. After the death of her husband, she said, “There is no one left to call me Victoria.” Even a queen knew what it meant to be lonely. Then there is the poor person living in a dingy apartment who never receives a phone call or letter or a word of encouragement. There are children isolated in orphanages. The loneliness of solitude affects individuals and whole societies. The world can be a harsh and sometimes cruel environment, especially when focus on ourselves. No one can understand loneliness like Jesus Christ. He “despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). But Jesus did not only come to identify with mankind’s griefs, He came to destroy the grief of sin, the grief of disappointment, and the grief of loneliness. Because Jesus willingly bore the pain and paid the price to redeem our sinful natures, we can have full fellowship with Him forever. Reach out to others who may have never known acceptance, and great blessing will come. we was
Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-01 04:19:08.

Anthony Diaz 4/6/25 Anthony Diaz 4/6/25

Beware Of Greed

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house . . . nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” Exodus 20:17

Greed is an intense and selfish desire for something, often something belonging to another. The Bible speaks of greed as covetousness, as in the Ten Commandments. Greed seeks more than its own in life. It cheats, robs, and slanders to achieve its desires. The Bible teaches that we are born with the sin of covetousness (Jeremiah 6:13). Charles Kingsley, a historian, once said, “If you wish to be miserable, think about yourself: about what you want, what you like, what respect people ought to pay you— and then to you, nothing will be pure. You will spoil everything you touch. You will make misery for yourself out of everything good. You will be as wretched as you choose.” Greed is rated with other sins like wickedness and maliciousness in Romans 1:29. Greed is idolatry and not to be confused with riches, if riches have been earned honestly. But if riches choke out spiritual life, then it is sin. Many people have been blessed by the story of Zacchaeus and challenged to turn from a life of greed to a life of giving— and God’s blessing falls on them when they live according to the attributes of Christ. Everything that we see about us that we count as our possessions only comprises a loan from God.

Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-01 04:14:41.

Anthony Diaz 4/5/25 Anthony Diaz 4/5/25

An Honest Day’s Work

If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:10

I t is a great blessing to be able- bodied to work an honest day’s job. Laziness is the destroyer of opportunity. It kills the spirit— and many times the body itself. The Bible refers to laziness as “slothful” (Proverbs 18:9). Such a person is like driftwood floating downward with the current. The easy way is the popular way, the broad way, and the way of the crowd. Many a person has lost their life in an automobile accident, not because they were bad drivers but because they were drivers who had fallen asleep. Likewise, many people are fighting losing battles spiritually because they are drowsy. The Bible says, “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Ephesians 5:14). Jesus spoke a parable about ten virgins. Their sin was not immorality, lying, or cheating— it was pure laziness. They simply neglected to provide themselves with oil for their lamps as they waited for the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1– 12). They were judged for laziness and unfaithfulness. Laziness should be judged and faithfulness rewarded. Laziness is not only attributed to not working, but it can be applied to the neglect of obeying Christ. Many of us would rather catch an extra wink of sleep than to get up and begin the morning reading God’s Word to gain strength for the day. Do not refuse what God desires you to have— His way!

Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-01 04:02:47.

Anthony Diaz 4/4/25 Anthony Diaz 4/4/25

Slow To Anger

Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. James 1:19.

Every human being is capable of demonstrating anger. Think of a tiny baby who exhibits fits of temper before they can even talk. A toddler can fly into a fit of anger and upset the entire household. Husbands and wives react out of anger before giving any thought to the issue that triggers such a response. Anger breeds remorse in the heart, discord in the home, bitterness in the community, and confusion in the state. Homes are often destroyed by the swirling tornadoes of heated domestic anger. Business relations are often shattered by fits of violent temper when reason gives way to venomous wrath. Friendships are often broken by the keen knife of indignation. Anger is condemned by the sacred Scriptures. It murders, assaults, and attacks, causing physical and mental harm. Jesus said, “Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matthew 5:22). Righteous anger is directed at sinful behavior. The Bible teaches us how to handle anger without doing harm. When anger leads to murder, gossip, etc., it is sinful indeed. We must not let anger control us, no matter what others do to cause it. We only become guilty of the same sin that afflicts them, and it solves nothing. Don’t let the acids of bitterness eat away inside. Look to Christ’s example in all things.

Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-01 04:00:55.

Anthony Diaz 4/3/25 Anthony Diaz 4/3/25

No Bargaining

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” Luke 13:24

Jesus spoke of two roads. Every person will have to choose which way they will go. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13– 14). This word narrow is offensive to many. We live in an age of tolerance, except tolerance for what Jesus commands in Scripture. Society today tells us to “believe anything you want to believe.” Let’s apply that principle and see how it works out. Suppose the astronauts blast off in a rocket and get on the wrong path and in the wrong orbit. Would Houston controllers respond, “Oh, that’s all right; there are a number of pathways to lead them to their destination.” No. The world would never see them again. They must follow precise laws; all nature is governed by them. People have no authority to lower the standards that have been put in place by the God of the universe and the Savior of men’s souls. There is no bargaining with Him. We cannot work our way to Heaven. We cannot buy our way to Heaven. Heaven is the realm of God, and He desires all people to come to Him.

Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-01 03:58:06..

Anthony Diaz 4/2/25 Anthony Diaz 4/2/25

What Kind Of People Should We Be

If our earthly house [body] . . . is destroyed, we have a building from God . . . eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1

One of the Bible’s greatest truths is that we were not meant to live only for the here and now. From the beginning, we were meant for Heaven. The Bible doesn’t tell us everything we’d like to know about Heaven, but the Bible does tell us everything we need to know about Heaven while we are here on Earth. We should believe what the Bible says about Heaven and take comfort from its promise that we can spend eternity with Jesus Christ in His heavenly dwelling. This assurance comes from the Lord Himself because He grants eternal life to all those who will humble themselves in repentance and receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. The apostle Peter asked the question in his letters to the Christians of the day: What kind of people should we be now as we prepare for Heaven? The answer is found in Scripture that tells us we should live in “holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God” (2 Peter 3:11– 12). If you are ever going to live for Christ, it should be now. Don’t let this life keep you from eternal life with Jesus forever. “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters [God’s] Presence” (Hebrews 6:19).

Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-01 03:51:07.

Anthony Diaz 4/1/25 Anthony Diaz 4/1/25

First Base

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 7:21 Y ears ago in the seventh game of the World Series, the score was tied in the last inning with two outs. The batter came to the plate and hit a home run out park. The crowd went wild. For baseball fans, it is about the most exciting that can happen. But when the hero crossed home plate to score, the umpire yelled, “Out!” The crowd was stunned. The umpire explained that the batter had not touched first base. That is the way with many people. They are Christians outwardly; they go to church and talk about being baptized, but they have missed the most important thing: They have not been born again. They haven’t touched first base. Nicodemus was one such man who came to Jesus. Though he was deeply religious, he was not satisfied. He had missed first base— salvation— and then Jesus told Him what it means to be “born again.” There are many who teach that being baptized, going to church, and doing good works will get us to Heaven, but it simply is not true. We are all born physically, but to get to Heaven, one must be born spiritually. This is the gift of God that only He can give; and He freely gives it when we repent of our sin and come to Him with a humble heart by faith.

Anthony Diaz 3/31/25 Anthony Diaz 3/31/25

A Remembrance Of The Future

A Remembrance of the Future “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” —Mark 16:6

What if you believe the resurrection is true? You believe that Jesus has died to save you—to redirect your eternal trajectory irrevocably toward God. You believe that God has accepted you, for Jesus’ sake, through an act of supreme grace. You are part of the kingdom of God. What then? Does the resurrection mean anything for your life now? Oh my, yes. [. . .] Only in the gospel of Jesus Christ do people find such enormous hope to live. Only the resurrection promises us not just new minds and hearts, but also new bodies. They are going to be more indissoluble, more perfect, more beautiful. They will be able to be and do and bear the burden of what bodies are supposed to do in a way in which our present bodies cannot. If you can’t dance and you long to dance, in the resurrection you’ll dance perfectly. If you’re lonely, in the resurrection you will have perfect love. If you’re empty, in the resurrection you will be fully satisfied. Ordinary life is what’s going to be redeemed. There is nothing better than ordinary life, except that it’s always going away and always falling apart. Ordinary life is food and work and chairs by the fire and hugs and dancing and mountains—this world. God loves it so much that he gave his only Son so we—and the rest of this ordinary world—could be redeemed and made perfect. And that’s what is in store for us.

Keller, Timothy. Go Forward in Love : A Year of Daily Readings from Timothy Keller, Zondervan, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=31518558.
Created from liberty on 2025-03-28 22:29:13.

Anthony Diaz 3/30/25 Anthony Diaz 3/30/25

The Shadow Is Only a Small And Passing Thing

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. —1 Peter 3:18

The only time I ever faced death personally was when I had thyroid cancer. From the beginning the doctors told me it was treatable. Still, when I was going under anesthesia for the surgery, I wondered what would happen. You may be curious about what passage from the Bible came to my mind. True confession: What I thought of was a passage from The Lord of the Rings. It comes near the end of the third book, when evil and darkness seem overwhelming. Here is what Tolkien tells us about the thoughts of Sam, one of the heroes: Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach. His song in the Tower had been defiance rather than hope; for then he was thinking of himself. Now, for a moment, his own fate . . . ceased to trouble him. . . . [P]utting away all fear, he cast himself into a deep, untroubled sleep.13 I remember thinking at that moment: It’s really true. Because of Jesus’ death evil is a passing thing—a shadow. There is light and high beauty forever beyond its reach because evil fell into the heart of Jesus. The only darkness that could have destroyed us forever fell into his heart. It didn’t matter what happened in my surgery—it was going to be all right. And it is going to be all right.

Anthony Diaz 3/29/25 Anthony Diaz 3/29/25

The Curtain Torn In Two

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” —Mark 15:37–39

Remember that the curtain in the temple was not a flimsy little veil; it was heavy and thick, almost as substantial as a wall. The curtain separated the holy of holies, where God’s shekinah glory dwelled, from the rest of the temple—it separated the people from the presence of God. And remember that only the holiest man, the high priest, from the holiest nation, the Jews, could enter the holy of holies—and only on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, and he had to bring a blood sacrifice, an atonement for sins. The curtain said loudly and clearly that it is impossible for anyone sinful—anyone in spiritual darkness—to come into God’s presence. At the moment Jesus Christ died, this massive curtain was ripped open. The tear was from top to bottom, just to make clear who did it. This was God’s way of saying, “This is the sacrifice that ends all sacrifices, the way is now open to approach me.” Now that Jesus has died, anybody who believes in him can see God, connect to God. The barrier is gone for good. Our trajectory has been permanently redirected toward God. And that’s only possible because Jesus has just paid the price for our sin. Anybody who believes can go in now.

Anthony Diaz 3/28/25 Anthony Diaz 3/28/25

The Lamb Of God

The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter. . . . He poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. —Isaiah 53:6–7, 12

Jesus’ last meal with his disciples departed from the script in another way too. When Jesus stood up to bless the food, he held up bread. All Passover meals had bread. He blessed the wine—all Passover meals had wine. But not one of the Gospels mentions a main course. There is no mention of lamb at this Passover meal. Passover was not a vegetarian meal, of course. What kind of Passover would be celebrated without lamb? There was no lamb on the table because the Lamb of God was at the table. Jesus was the main course. That’s the reason that when John the Baptist saw Jesus for the first time, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). [. . .] In Mark, when Jesus says, “This is my body. . . . This is my blood . . . poured out,” he means: I’m the One that Isaiah and John spoke about. I am the Lamb of God to which all the other lambs pointed, the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. On the cross Jesus got what we deserved: The sin, guilt, and brokenness of the world fell upon him. He loved us so much he took divine justice on himself so that we could be passed over, forever. It bears repeating: All love, all real, life-changing love, is substitutionary sacrifice.
Keller, Timothy. Go Forward in Love : A Year of Daily Readings from Timothy Keller, Zondervan, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=31518558.
Created from liberty on 2025-03-27 16:40:15.

Anthony Diaz 3/27/25 Anthony Diaz 3/27/25

The Feast

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.” —Mark 14:22–25

Imagine the astonishment of the disciples when, blessing the elements and explaining their symbolism, Jesus departs from the script that has been reenacted by generation after generation. He shows them the bread and says, “This is my body.” What does that mean? Jesus is saying, “This is the bread of my affliction, the bread of my suffering, because I’m going to lead the ultimate exodus and bring you the ultimate deliverance from bondage.” [. . .] Jesus’ words mean that as a result of his substitutionary sacrifice there is now a new covenant between God and us. And the basis of this relationship is Jesus’ own blood: “my blood of the covenant.” When he announces that he will not eat or drink until he meets us in the kingdom of God, Jesus is promising that he is unconditionally committed to us: “I am going to bring you into the Father’s arms. I’m going to bring you to the feast of the King.” Jesus often compares God’s kingdom to sitting at a big feast. In Matthew 8, verse 11, Jesus says, “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast . . . in the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus promises that we will be at this kingdom feast with him.
Keller, Timothy. Go Forward in Love : A Year of Daily Readings from Timothy Keller, Zondervan, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=31518558.
Created from liberty on 2025-03-27 16:30:24.

Anthony Diaz 3/24/25 Anthony Diaz 3/24/25

Jesus And The Vulnerable

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”

Matthew 11:4-5

Here is the same care for the vulnerable that characterizes the heart of God. While clearly Jesus was preaching the good news to all, he showed throughout his ministry the particular interest in the poor and the downtrodden that God has always had.

Jesus, in his incarnation, “moved in” with the poor. He lived with, ate with, and associated with the socially ostracized (Matt. 9:13). He raised the son of the poor widow (Luke 7:11–16) and showed the greatest respect to the immoral woman who was a social outcast (Luke 7:36.). Indeed, Jesus spoke with women in public, something that a man with any standing in society would not have done, but Jesus resisted the sexism of his day (John 4:27).1 Jesus also refused to go along with the racism of his culture, making a hated Samaritan the hero of one of his most famous parables (Luke 10:26ff.) and touching off a riot when he claimed that God loved Gentiles like the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian as much as Jews (Luke 4:25–27). Jesus…

Anthony Diaz 3/23/25 Anthony Diaz 3/23/25

We Begin The Quest

Genesis 1:1-3; Matthew 28:20; John 1:1-5

Life can never be abundant unless it has abundant resources. It is obvious that no organism can expend more in energy than it takes in from without. Just what does “the without” consist of: physical nature and human society only? Or is there a third dimension in addition to “the within” and “the around”? Is there an “Above”? Many have decided that there is no “Above.” At least, there is none they can contact; so they have short-circuited life to “the within” and “the around.” But, to their dismay, they find that “the within” and “the around,” instead of offering resources to abundant living, offer resistances to it. “The within” is clashing, and “the without” is contradictory. The resources are in reverse, pulling the other way.

Someone has said, “If we haven’t that within us which is above us, we will soon yield to that which is around us.” We become circumstance-conditioned and circumstance-fed, and grow weak and anemic on the fare. And if we turn within for our resources, we find the well is dry. Harvard professor William Ernest Hocking, speaking as a philosopher, says: “Man comes up to a certain point and then finds he hasn’t resources in himself to complete himself, so he remains incomplete and frustrated.”*

There ensues what an able and earnest man described as “a sense of cosmic loneliness. I am not sure,” he continued, “whether my doings have anything cosmic back of them, whether I am working with anything significant, or just working meaninglessly, alone with no one to back my work or care.”An atheist has been described as “a man who has no invisible means of support.”

“A sense of cosmic loneliness”—that is the frigid thought that lays its cold hand on our hopes and our endeavors. Can it be lifted and the sense of a warm, living, cosmic Presence—who is with us and for us—take its place? If so, then that would hit the spot: the central spot. For if the central spot is empty and meaningless, then all of life turns empty and meaningless with it. But if that central spot is full and meaningful, then all of life turns meaningful with it

MLA 9th Edition (Modern Language Assoc.)

E. Stanley Jones. Abundant Living : 364 Daily Devotions. Abingdon Press, 2014.

APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Assoc.)

E. Stanley Jones. (2014). Abundant Living : 364 Daily Devotions. Abingdon Press.

Anthony Diaz 3/22/25 Anthony Diaz 3/22/25

Supernatural Life

“For the natural realm can only give birth to things that are natural, but the spiritual realm gives birth to supernatural life!”

John 3:6

You are more than what you see. Though you live and interact within the natural realm, your spirit is alive and active at all times within the unseen realm around you. You’re a triune being—spirit, soul, and body; created to experience the fullness of life in the spirit. As you seek to remain aware of His presence, the movement of the Spirit will become a compass that guides your life.

Reach past the veil of this world and grasp the hands of the One who created you. His touch will strengthen you, enabling you to live each day with courage, hope, and healing. To live a supernatural life means embracing the power of His Spirit, allowing it to affect the way you see every situation, because you see it from heaven’s perspective. By faith, you pull the promises and reality of God’s kingdom into every aspect of your life.