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 35
+ 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 31:1-5
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 26:28-27:8
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…
There are some parts of the Bible that we read that really fill us with hope and excitement for following Jesus and partnering with him to advance His kingdom. Today’s passages are not those. They are reminders that we face setbacks, tragedy, loss, difficulty, and the unexpected. It can be so hard to understand why we experience these things when we are trying to follow Jesus and do what He has for us to do. We see in our Psalm today a model response for when we inevitably go through these types of things. Instead of turning away from God, we have an invitation to “take refuge” in Him. To pour out our heart to Him and tell Him how we are feeling (even if we are angry!) We can choose whether we will go our own way or trust Him and abandon the outcome to Him. Sometimes, many of us have thought that the Bible is saying that we are supposed to deny our feelings, our disappointment, our anger and pretend like we are okay. Or sometimes we go in the opposite direction and embrace our feelings as everything, and turn away from Jesus. Instead, we are invited to admit our feelings, take them to Jesus, and feel them with Him. When we do that, we actually get to experience Him as a refuge, a comfort, a safe place. It may be hard to imagine, but Jesus actually grieves with us. This is beautifully depicted in an episode of The Chosen that I watched with my family recently. (If you haven’t watched it- download the free app and start!) It’s based on John 11. Jesus and His followers went to Bethany because they received word that their friend Lazarus had died. When He arrived, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. His sisters, Mary & Martha were experiencing much grief, and when He saw their pain, He wept with them (He also felt his own grief, as Lazarus was His friend.) If you know the rest of the story (spoiler ahead) you know that Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. This story is such a beautiful example of Jesus meeting us in sadness- even though He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, He still stopped and grieved with Mary & Martha. He didn’t tell them to ignore or move past their pain. He felt it with them. He offers that to each of us. Maybe there is an obvious place of grief, loss or pain in your life that you sense Jesus is inviting you to bring to Him. If not, ask Him! Maybe there’s something you experienced in the past that He wants you to allow Him in so that He can comfort you and be your refuge. - Gwyn Kubiak

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!