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: Nehemiah 10:28-11:36
+ 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 37:16-22
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 Romans 6:5-16
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…
If you were given $1,000 no strings attached, what would you do with it? If you were given a week off work or away from your regular daily responsibilities, what would you do? Maybe you just thought about giving part of the money or time to helping others. Maybe you thought about asking God what he would have you do with the surplus. Great!

Now, what about the money and time you already have? Was this not also given to you by God? So why is it harder to give God a say with your “regular resources”, or share those with others?

In today’s OT reading, we find Nehemiah and the other Israelites in Jerusalem. The wall is complete, but they are far from safe and reestablished in their home. It would have been easy for them to say that they needed to focus ALL their resources (supplies and people) on the rebuilding of their community: homes, crops, infrastructure, etc. So, what do they do? They take a tenth of their people and commit their first fruits to establishing God’s house and their system of remaining right with God. As Nehemiah says (10:39): “We will not neglect the house of our God.”

Why would they do that? Wouldn’t God want them to use the resources he gave them to take care of themselves and only give back to him once they were in a better position? That is what the wisdom of this world and scarcity mindset would say. But God’s economy is different. His is built on infinite abundance. Psalm 37:16-17 says “Better the little that the righteous have then the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.” This means that when God is involved, a little bit will go a far longer way.

But let’s be honest…even if we acknowledge all this as truth, it is STILL hard to offer our time and treasure in service to God. We tend to embrace the scarcity mindset. My strong suggestion for us is to give God a try. Take a step. He challenges us to “test him” and see. Watch how his abundance can backfill what we offer and fill us with renewed energy/purpose/strength. 

We read in Romans today that we have been brought from death to life through Jesus’ sacrifice. We are called to offer our bodies (resources) to the Lord as instruments of righteousness. Let’s do it!

God is good and can be trusted!!! - 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!