Good Morning!
Let’s focus our day by spending some time with Jesus before it begins.
If you’re new to the Daily Focus, read this first, & use as much or little as you’d like.
GET FOCUSED | Start by simply thanking God for who He is & what He’s done.
+ Practice gratitude while singing/playing some worship music from Paradox on Spotify.
+ Spend a few moments meditating on today’s Old Testament Scripture: 2 Chronicles 8:1-9:12
+ From your reading, finish the sentence “God, you are ___.”
Take time to thank & worship God for the ways you’ve seen Him be/do that in your life.
MORNING PRAYER FOCUS | Prayer involves both talking and listening to God.
+ Pray the Lord’s Prayer, or slow down to pray it using this Lord’s Prayer guide.
+ Use “Lectio Divina” to listen to God in this morning’s Psalm: Psalm 19:1-6
Reading 1 = Focus. What is one word or phrase that Holy Spirit puts on your heart?
Reading 2 = Feelings. Focus on that word or phrase while you read. What do you feel? What specific situation in your life today relates? Reflect and talk with God about it.
Reading 3 = Invitation. What is God’s personal invitation to you from the Scripture?
Take time to journal anything you feel the Lord might be saying to you.
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE FOCUS | Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth.
Today’s New Testament reading is from Acts 10:34-43
Highlight verses that capture your attention, and ask three simple questions as you read…
Observe. Pay attention to what the text says. Ask who, what, when, where, & why.
Interpret. What’s the main point or meaning? What does it teach about God? Yourself?
Apply. Apply this truth to your own life. What can you put into practice today?
A THOUGHT FROM TODAY’S READING…
The year was 1992 and I was a senior in high school. I was working at a bicycle shop, my first job. Some guy came by with a small cardboard box full of cassette tapes with 2 songs on them. He told me it was a free promotional tape from a new band and I should check it out. The cover was a black and white picture of a monk on fire. I was a metal head in those days and I will never forget popping the tape into my car’s cassette deck and being blown away by these songs. I remember being anxious to tell my friends about this new band I had “discovered”. The one guy in our group whose musical opinions carried more weight for whatever reason didn’t like it, and so for months my buddys had no interest and I was left to hold a candle for this band all alone. Of course, a year later Rage Against the Machine was a huge radio success and rising star and my friends all loved them.
What in the world does this have to do with today’s reading?
I guess I just want to identify (in some weird way) with the disciples in the early years after Jesus’ death. Here they are trying to share the gospel, aka the good news of God’s grace through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. They KNOW that this news they “discovered” is GOOD and TRUE and LIFE-CHANGING…yet some people won’t listen. Peter and the other apostles must have been so frustrated when some people wouldn’t respond to the gospel, and especially frustrated at those whose opinions carried more weight when they were telling other people not to listen.
I love this line from today’s reading: 'in every nation the person who fears him (God) and does what is right is acceptable to him.' The gospel of hope in Christ Jesus was not just for the disciples who personally followed Jesus, and it wasn’t just for the Jewish people. It was for EVERYONE. Yes, God had a plan to introduce himself personally to the world through Jesus, born into the Jewish culture. But his end game is for all the world to know of him through the tireless, at times frustrated work of the early apostles.
Sometimes people have to hear a song a few times before they can appreciate it. Likewise (but on a way more important level)sometimes people have to experience Jesus a few times before they feel the rhythm of his love. Like the dude with the cardboard box, it is our job to introduce others to a sampling of Jesus’s love and encourage them to listen. - Mike Nank
EVENING PRAYER FOCUS | Re-Focus on Jesus by returning to prayer each evening.
Replay = Replay your day. What made you happy, joyful, anxious, or burdened?
Rejoice = Give thanks to God for the small and the significant things from the day.
Repent = Ask God for forgiveness where you need. Receive His forgiveness afresh.
Refocus = Ask to see God’s presence more clearly & walk w/ Him more closely tomorrow.
+ Practice hearing from God by asking questions like, “Father, what do you want me to know about you?” or “Father, what do you want to say about your love for me?” Simply be still and listen, or journal anything that comes to mind. Learn more about hearing from God using the Tending Your Heart guide.
SHARE THE FOCUS |
+ Pray a Ripple Prayer or use Nations Prayer to pray for the nations & those serving them.
+ Text someone an encouragement, or share a thought/question with us in the Forum.
+ Invite someone to read the Focus with you. Text “FOCUS” to (586) 200-6277.
+ Who can you share what you’re learning with today personally?
That’s all for today.
Stay focused on Jesus, and make it a great one!
