Good Morning!
Let’s focus our day by spending some time with Jesus before it begins.
Play or sing some worship music you love, or use a playlist from Paradox on Spotify.
If you’re new to the Daily Focus, read this first.
WEEKLY 40 FOR 40 FOCUS | Antioch International Prayer & Fast (Genesis 12:1-3)
Over the 40 Days of Lent, add 40 minutes of prayer to your week - either 1x/week or 7 minutes/day.
This week, The Antioch movement of churches around the world are joining up for an international prayer and fast from February 26-28. During this prayer & fast, we will be asking God to bless us to be a blessing to people of all nations. (Genesis 12:1-3). Here are two lists you can use for how we’ll be praying together:
Have questions about fasting?
See this resource: Encounter God Through Fasting
Want to pray for our international church planting teams year-round?
Go to Nationsprayer.org
DAILY PRAYER FOCUS | Use the PRAY acronym each morning.
P = Pause. As you start your time of prayer, begin by pausing and being still before the Lord.
R = Read. Read the Scripture Focus slowly and focus on words/phrases the Holy Spirit highlights as you read.
A = Ask. Ask God to come and speak to you. Open up your heart to Him as your heavenly Father.
Y = Yield. We want to yield our lives to the words we have prayed and commit to follow Jesus’s way.
Begin your prayer with “Father, I remember your faithfulness to…” and respond with, “Give me faith to…”
SCRIPTURE FOCUS | Today’s reading is from Deuteronomy 9:13-29
Highlight verses that capture your attention, and ask three simple questions as you read…
S = Say. What is the main point? What does it teach about God (Jesus) & yourself?
O = Obey. What can you apply (practice) from this passage today?
S = Share. Who can you share what you’re learning with today?
A THOUGHT FROM TODAY’S READING…
In today’s focus scriptures, we read that the Israelites had provoked God to righteous anger. The Israelites were referred to as a stiff-necked people, meaning that they were rebellious, full of pride and stubborn. They had quickly shifted away from what the Lord had commanded. God promised that he would go before them and help them conquer their enemies by being a consuming fire. Instead of believing in God, they constructed an idol in the shape of a calf. God told Moses he was going to destroy them and blot their names out of heaven. Moses began to intercede in prayer on behalf of the Israelites. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, pleading with God. Deuteronomy 9:19 (NIV) “I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me."
As we reflect on this text, I want to expound on two points. The first point being God’s righteous anger toward unbelief, rebellion, pride and stubbornness. Unbelief causes a trickle down effect and can lead to many sins. If the Israelites had held fast to their faith in God, they wouldn’t have resorted to constructing an idol. If they had simply remembered the strong right arm of God brought them out of Egypt, they would have not turned in pride towards the idol they built. The second point was the intercessory prayer of Moses, which God listened to and relented. This prayer by Moses should serve as a beacon of hope to all of God’s children. The prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective. Like the old adage says “prayer changes things and prayer changes people." - Colleen Payton
REMEMBERING PRACTICE | (Optional) Practice remembering with a Daily Examen each evening.
The Examen prayer was made popular by Ignatius of Loyola (1491 – 1556). It has helped Christians for centuries to re-center themselves on Jesus as they come to the end of long days. We are using a variation creat-ed by Pete Greig from his book, How to Pray, to help us remember Jesus at the close of our days.
Replay = Replay your day. What made you happy or joyful? What made you 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.
Reboot = Commit to walk with Jesus tomorrow. Ask for grace to see His presence more clearly.
*For help or an audio prayer version, use the Lectio 365 app.
SHARE THE FOCUS | 1-5 Minutes
1. Text someone a prayer/encouragement, or share a thought/question with us in the Forum.
2. Invite someone to read the Focus with you. Text “FOCUS” to (586) 200-6277.
That’s all for today.
Stay focused on Jesus, and make it a great one!
