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 12:1-43
+ 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 37:23-26
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 6:17-7:6
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…
These passages were difficult to blend together at first, but after prayer and memories of past teachings coming to mind, I began to see a tapestry of understanding. The idea of being a slave to righteousness is challenging for me to think about, let alone explain. I remember in ancient times, there were, unfortunately, many instances of slavery in the form we are most familiar with and saddened or even enraged about now. But there was also a common form of slavery related to unpaid debt. A person unable to pay off a debt could become the lender’s slave to avoid jail time and then work off the debt owed. This didn’t guarantee an amiable owner, but it did prevent imprisonment while family members worked to pay off the debt. You see, our actions and choices lead us to become slaves of sin or righteousness. These choices, made one at a time in one direction or the other, lead to us being empowered by the cruel master of sin and darkness or bonded to the love and freedom that comes with obedience to the one true God and Messiah, Jesus Christ. This thought sat with me for a while this morning as I moved around the house doing morning chores and driving about. I rarely remember thinking about the consequences of my sin at the moment. I’m too selfishly trying to decide to obey or give into sin, not remembering the effects of my choices on those I live life with or recalling that one step after the other in the wrong direction can lead to sinful slavery. I have been freed from much as I have followed Jesus, and I want to remember that slavery doesn’t have an age limit. It can occur to anyone with repeated steps in the wrong direction, no matter how “innocent” the choice seems. So, how do we keep ourselves pure and holy in this life fraught with sinful choices? That brought me back to our reading in Nehemiah. That passage of the long list of names was a celebration of the completion of the wall of Israel, destroyed by an enemy. This fantastic feat took just over 50 days of side-by-side workmanship and determination. Take a moment to read how long and wide the wall was. Completing this task was hard labor spurred on by Nehemiah and the other workers alongside each other. They were shoulder-to-shoulder getting this done. We are Christians side-by-side, arm-in-arm, holding each other up physically and sometimes in prayer and encouragement, ensuring we stay on the path of obedience and fellowship. One day when we get to heaven, we will read the book created by God while we were formed in our mother’s womb and read the accounting of our days just like we read in Nehemiah as those priests were listed. God is a god of detail and order. He is a proud Papa (Daddy), and He will list those things we accomplished in our lives of servitude to righteousness. Now, don’t think about the many sins that have also been committed. When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cast them into the sea of forgetfulness, removing them from us as far as the East is from the West.
The verse to be encouraged by is the one in Psalm 37:23-25. Oh, how our Lord and Savior loves each of us! He upholds His hand to catch us should we fall and never forsake the righteous. - Renee Richter
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!
