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2mornings with jesus 2021Saturday, January 2See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)Years ago, I saw a pastoral counselor for some painful, persistentissues. One day, she—a passionate Christian—announced excitedly,“Jesus gave me this verse for you,” and recited the verse above. I washungry for a new life but paralyzed by my past and unable to see thenew possibilities unfolding before me. I promptly wrote down theverse to remind me that God is the Author of new things!I’ve made many New Year’s resolutions. Along with the familiar“lose a few pounds” or “stick to a budget,” I’ve had many ambitious,worthy goals. I gleefully attained some big and small goals, thoughmore often my goals were shelved shamefully by March or sooner.I recently heard the expression, “Whatever we create in our ownstrength, we sustain in our own strength.” It struck a chord. I’velabored very hard for some goals, fighting against a strong current,and wondering if God was present in my struggles.The Bible is full of ordinary people with God-given goals farbeyond their human capacity, achievable only by God Himself:Nehemiah rebuilding the wall, Joshua and Gideon fighting formidable foes, and the apostles sharing the Gospel worldwide.Now, as I seek Jesus’s peaceful, gentle way, I look for the newthing He is already doing and aim to align myself with Him, thetrue Stream in the desert, and then behold with wonder what Hedoes. Jesus makes all things new and His resolutions never fail.—Isabella YosuicoFaith Step: This New Year, resolve to draw near to Jesus and the newness Heoffers. Behold what He does!GPBK950-Mornings with Jesus.indd 225/06/20 7:18 AM

mornings with jesus 20213Sunday, January 3But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come tome, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a littlechild will never enter it.” Luke 18:16–17 (NIV)I love games and puzzles, so this morning I decided to completea crossword. I hadn’t done one in years. I poured some coffee andsettled at the kitchen table to fill in the empty squares. Hmm . . . afour-letter word meaning “endnotes.” I’d come back to that one. Aten-letter word describing “dinner-bell sequence.” I couldn’t evenguess. At my house, I just say, “It’s ready,” and step aside. For anhour I deciphered definitions, even going through the alphabet letter by letter until I found the correct words. By the time all thesquares were filled, the coffee pot was empty.Sometimes my life seems like a puzzle, packed with senseless bitsand pieces that don’t appear to fit together. Solutions can shift fromsimple to complicated in an instant, leaving me confused and frustrated as I think, Why has Jesus allowed this to happen to me?But I don’t need to understand the “why” behind His choices—that’s not what He’s teaching me. Instead, I’m here to learn trust,with a capital T. My daily, childlike dependence on Jesus pleasesHim. When things go well, I can offer thanks, and when they don’t,I’ll cling to Him in faith. I know He’ll guide me until I finish thispuzzle called Life.But for now, what’s a five-letter word for peace? Jesus. —Heidi GaulFaith Step: Find a word puzzle. As you work on the confusing parts, rememberthat when life confounds you, you can trust Jesus to guide you through. He’s gotyou!GPBK950-Mornings with Jesus.indd 325/06/20 7:18 AM

4mornings with jesus 2021Monday, January 4He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you,if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say tothis mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 (NIV)After a stressful year, my husband and I planned for some timeto regroup, pray, and seek Jesus for where to serve next. I envisionedseveral peaceful months of settling back into a routine. The verynext week a family member was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.As many people before us have discovered, this is a journey thatis painful and is paved with appointments, research, and decisions.Most of all, my heart breaks as I see my loved one slipping away.Her confusion and frustration make me ache. I answer her samequestion a dozen times in a row, then hang up the phone and cry.It’s been physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausting.Today I was pondering the overwhelming obstacles that thisdiagnosis presents. Then I remembered that Jesus encourages usto pray for mountains to be moved. The mountain of phone calls,paperwork, and doctor appointments. A mountain of grief andsadness. For some of us, it is a mountain of illness, financial strain,broken relationships, loneliness, addiction, or a lack of direction.Whatever needs we have, Jesus can provide answers. When weremember how much bigger He is than those mountains, theybegin to shrink before our eyes.There are a thousand things that are hard about these mountains. But Jesus is the Lord of millions of blessings. He will outnumber the problems with His overwhelming grace and mercy.—Sharon HinckFaith Step: If you’re facing a mountain, imagine it shrinking before our Savior.GPBK950-Mornings with Jesus.indd 425/06/20 7:18 AM

mornings with jesus 20215Tuesday, January 5This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)My friend Carole has experienced significant losses. She andher husband went bankrupt. Then one of her daughters was killedby a drunk driver. A hurricane destroyed her home, and later cancerclaimed her husband and son-in-law within a year.Carole acknowledges these events and the pain they’ve causedher, but she refuses to cling to that pain. She realizes that doing sowould only steep her in discouragement, and that’s no way to live.Carole is one of the most upbeat women I know. Her love forJesus radiates from her face, and her words reflect the depth of herrelationship with Him. She truly knows what it means to practiceliving in His presence.When I visited her recently, Carole told me that her mother hadalways been an upbeat person too. “I learned it from her,” Carolesaid. “Every morning when she woke up, she’d say, ‘Good morning,Lord. What wonderful things do You have planned for us today?’That invited His presence and set the tone for her entire day. Nomatter what happened, she knew that He was sovereign.”Since my conversation with Carole, I’ve sought to practice thesame ritual. I find that it sets my mind and heart in a place of eageranticipation. No matter what the day holds, Jesus holds me. I willrejoice and be glad in His presence, His power, and His promises.What’s the first thought that enters your mind when you wakeup? If it’s anxiety about the day, then retrain your thoughts tofocus on Jesus through the simple prayer in today’s Scripture verse.—Grace FoxFaith Step: Memorize Psalm 118:24. Thank Jesus for the gift of today.GPBK950-Mornings with Jesus.indd 525/06/20 7:18 AM

6mornings with jesus 2021Wednesday, January 6Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him,for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 (NIV)I often say that I’m about as transparent as plastic food wrap, andit’s true—much to the dismay of my husband, who is reserved. Butlately it seems that I’ve developed a tendency to hold back duringprayer time. The heaviest burdens on my heart seem to be ones thatI sometimes skirt around, lightly touch on, or even ignore. Theseare requests I’ve been praying about for years with no visible answeryet, or situations that seem so messy I just don’t know where tostart. I’m afraid my attitude reveals a cynicism and lack of faith.I’m always touched by 1 Samuel 1 where Hannah was so caughtup in her prayer about her childlessness that the priest accused herof being drunk. Hannah explained that she wasn’t inebriated butwas pouring out her heart to the Lord. In the New Testament, wesee people pour out their hearts to Jesus about their blindness orinfirmity or on behalf of their suffering child.The Bible makes it clear that Jesus knows us better than we knowourselves. He knows our inner thoughts and motivations and whatwe will do and say. He also knows our need to unburden our heartsbefore Him. His Word encourages us to confess our sins, confideour deepest longings, and share what is troubling our minds. Jesuswants us to open up to Him, not because He needs to know what’sgoing on but because we need the reminder that He is with usthrough it all. —Dianne Neal MatthewsFaith Step: Examine your prayer life to see if there’s a problem troubling yourspirit that you’ve been reluctant to discuss with Jesus. Demonstrate your trust inHim by pouring out your heart.GPBK950-Mornings with Jesus.indd 625/06/20 7:18 AM

mornings with jesus 20217Thursday, January 7Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 (NIV)Ladies from my Bible study introduced me to picking a themeword for the year. The subject came up several weeks into the year,but when I heard it, I knew right away what my word was. BeforeI could open my mouth, a wise and older mentor who knows me,said the word: rest. Yes! I knew the word was for me.Jesus had been hammering that theme for a long time, but I justcouldn’t hear Him. Or maybe I heard Him, but I was working torest. As in, I was reading everything I could about rest. I was making sure to rest. I was chastising myself when I failed to rest—andgrowing weary of trying so hard. Because that’s what I do. But that’snot what this verse has in mind.Was it a coincidence that the theme word appeared just as I waspressed into rest by exhaustion? I was so tired I’d thrown up myhands in defeat and said emphatically, “I can’t, Lord!”Now, I’m enjoying a lot of genuine rest. Later in this passage,Jesus describes His rest: easy, light, gentle, humble. I’d add peaceful.It’s not lazy rest but an internal sense of peaceful ease—going withthe flow, so to speak.I am sleeping in more, but I’m just really a lot more restful in mymind and actions. The results are amazing. Some of the things I’dbeen mentally and physically toiling over are falling into place andunfolding with ease. I could really get used to resting in You, Jesus. Is thiswhat you meant all along about giving us rest? —Isabella YosuicoFaith Step: Pick a problem you’ve been working on and apply this verse bystopping whatever you’re doing. Let Jesus have it while you rest.GPBK950-Mornings with Jesus.indd 725/06/20 7:18 AM

8mornings with jesus 2021Friday, January 8Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing lovesurrounds the one who trusts in him. Psalm 32:10 (NIV)I have a thing for quilts. I love their cottony softness against myskin. My mom’s avid quilting birthed this love in me. She has madeeach of her grandchildren a quilt of their own, from twenty-eightyear-old Alyson to three-year-old Lily. My youngest son, Addison,received his quilt this last year. He sat down with my mom earlier in the year, leafing through pattern books, and landed on asimple geometric design. He gave her a range of muted colors towork with, and three months later, the quilt was tucked around thefoot of his bed. She made my sixteen-year-old son Will a quilt withbright beach colors—aqua, navy, and coral—reflecting his exuberant personality. Our cat, Toby, often snuggles among its folds.When I asked my eldest son, eighteen-year-old Jack, if he wantedto take his quilt to college, he said, “No, Mom. I don’t want to takeany chances of it getting ruined.” Those quilts are precious, tactilesymbols of my mom’s painstaking care. My boys sleep sheltered inthe knowledge that they are as unique and precious as the quiltsthat enfold them. Nestled beneath their colorful weight, my boysknow they are deeply loved.Jesus’s compassion for us is even more precious than my boys’quilts. He weaves a tapestry of joy and hope around us as we aresheltered in His care. In the depths of our spirits, we can knowthat Jesus sees us as we are: unique, beautiful, and precious in Hissight. He loves us completely. In His all-encompassing love, we findsafety, peace, and rest. —Susanna Foth AughtmonFaith Step: Do you believe that Jesus’s love surrounds you completely? Taketime to meditate on Psalm 32:10. Ask Jesus to reveal His great love for you.GPBK950-Mornings with Jesus.indd 825/06/20 7:18 AM

mornings with jesus 20219Saturday, January 9The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you didfor one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,you did for me.” Matthew 25:40 (NIV)The words “Mailed from a Correctional Institution” were stampedboldly across the letter that read, “Dear Pat, Kitchenettes, Church,and Pastor.” The writer, a man I’ll call Trevor, had enjoyed aGuideposts article I’d written about women who call themselves theKitchenettes at Calder Baptist Church who prepare lunches for ourLenten noonday services.In three pages of meticulously handwritten words, Trevor told meabout himself—his family, the jobs he’d held, the courses he wastaking in prison, and his love for Jesus. References to Scripture weregenerously sprinkled throughout, including my favorite, Jeremiah29:11, which Trevor was holding onto because he believes God stillhas a plan for his life. He spoke of regret for his mistakes, loneliness,and a desire to receive mail from fellow believers outside the walls.My heart went out to Trevor, but I hesitated about writing him.He was a stranger. I had no idea what crime he’d committed. Wouldhe ask me for money? I heard Jesus whisper softly, The least of these,Pat. Rereading Trevor’s letter, I wondered how many of us reside inour own prisons of loneliness and regret? Trevor’s last line cinchedmy decision: “Please, please, please, don’t forget or judge me.” Hesigned it, “Love in Christ, Trevor.”Corresponding with Trevor would be an act of love, not onlytoward Trevor but to Jesus. I’m planning to correspond with Trevorand recruit others to do so too. —Pat Butler DysonFaith Step: Write a letter to someone in prison and show Jesus’s love.GPBK950-Mornings with Jesus.indd 925/06/20 7:18 AM

10mornings with jesus 2021Sunday, January 10For the joy set before him he endured the cross . . . Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)It was a typical Sunday morning at our church—except for onething: two spaces down sat a man I hadn’t seen in a long time. It’s notthat he hadn’t wanted to worship with our church family, but he’dbeen incarcerated for seven years. This was his first Sunday of freedom.I saw everything that morning through his eyes. The smiles and hugsand tears that greeted him, grateful of his return. The new prayers forhim as he moved from serving Jesus behind bars to serving “at large.”The way every lyric of the worship songs and every Scripture passageseemed divinely orchestrated to remind us of freedom in Christ andthe power of the Holy Spirit to help us live day to day.The joy on his face reflected what must have felt like finally drawing a deep breath after so long in the “grave” of his circumstances,and I couldn’t help but consider the inexpressible joy of the momentwhen Jesus drew His first breath after His resurrection.Suffocated by the weight of our sins, Jesus conquered death tobreathe and worship anew. What was the reason for the joy onHis face? Us. He’d successfully purchased our freedom and future.Within a short time, He’d return to the right hand of His Father.But before then, He had another assignment—showing Himself toHis followers, even those who let doubts creep in.He knew we earth dwellers would find our joy in His verypresence. The plan worked. He gave up His life for ours and thenbreathed again. Imagine how loudly He sang on His first Sunday offreedom! —Cynthia RuchtiFaith Step: What’s your favorite “freedom” worship song? Sing it from yourheart, as if you’ve been liberated just moments ago. That’s the kind of joy worthmaintaining every day.GPBK950-Mornings with Jesus.indd 1025/06/20 7:18 AM

mornings with jesus 202111Monday, January 11You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts fromafar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiarwith all my ways. Psalm 139:2–3 (NIV)Our only daughter, Marie, decided four years was long enoughto work in retail. She enrolled in a program that helps women findnew jobs. In her initial interview, she told the director, “I’d be happyto sit in a cubicle all day and enter data.” Marie finds satisfaction ina job well done, even with little interaction with others.I could never thrive in such a setting. I’d be standing by my cubicle wall fifteen times a day, chatting with my coworkers. If I gotoo long without talking to people, I become depressed. Give me ahectic store over a quiet cubicle any day.When Jesus planned our personalities, He wired each of us uniquely.He made us all different, special, and precious. It must delight Himthat no one—even identical twins—thinks and acts exactly alike.Jesus relates personally to each of us. He rebuked His disciplePeter for His lack of faith, gently taught Martha, whose brotherLazarus had died, and forgave and corrected the woman caughtin adultery. Every encounter was as unique as the individual towhom Jesus talked.When I have a problem that seems unfixable, it comforts me toknow my Lord has a custom-made solution. He never gives Hischildren cookie-cutter answers. We each hold an exclusive placein His heart, and He loves us as individuals. We can be confidentthat when we pray, He will respond in the way we most need.—Jeanette LevellieFaith Step: Ask Jesus to show you three unique qualities you possess and thenthank Him for loving you just as you are.GPBK950-Mornings with Jesus.indd 1125/06/20 7:18 AM

12mornings with jesus 2021Tuesday, January 12Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even thoughyou do not see him now, you believe in him and are filledwith an inexpressible and glorious joy. 1 Peter 1:8 (NIV)We’re watching our youngest son and his wife prepare for thearrival of their first child, our sixth grandchild. It’s been eleven yearssince we’ve had a newborn in the family. Most days, I manage myexuberance fairly well. Somedays I can’t. Like today. I found an infographic that listed more than a dozen ways to affirm and build confidence in your child without inadvertently building cockiness. Oneclick, and the information was sent to my son and daughter-in-law.As of this writing, I haven’t seen their little girl yet, except in agrainy sonogram image. At this moment, my son and his wife arecounting down the days until their baby’s due to appear. But thatdoesn’t stop me from staying just shy of giddy over the idea of holding that little one to my heart and whisper-singing “Jesus LovesMe” into her tiny little ears. The sight of newborn-sized sleepersmakes me swoon, and when I pass the baby section in the store, Ihave to resist the urge to pop open the baby lotion and draw a deepwhiff. I love you, little girl. And I haven’t even seen you yet.The joy is inexpressible. So, I have no trouble understanding theverse (1 Peter 1:8) saying that even though we haven’t seen Jesusface to face yet, we feel inexpressible joy at the thought of Him, Hisnearness, the “movement” of His Spirit within, the certainty ofHis love, and the promise that we’ll see Him face to face one day.Even as an expectant Grammie, I can say there’s no joy like Jesus.—Cynthia RuchtiFaith Step: Write a love letter to the Jesus whom you have yet to see. Expressyour current joy and your anticipation for what’s ahead.GP

P.S. We love hearing from you! Let us know what Mornings with Jesus 2021 means to you by emailing BookEditors@guideposts.org or writing to Guideposts Books & Inspirational Media, 100 Reserve Road, Suite E200, Danbury 06810-5212.