Good Morning!
Let’s focus our day by spending some time with Jesus before it begins.
Pick a song from one of our Spotify Playlists & let it play in the background.
FOCUS. Breathe in & out slowly. Pray, Jesus, you gave yourself for me. I give myself to you.
THANK. Write down or say out loud 3-5 things you’re thankful for from the last 24 hours.
WORSHIP. Read 1 Peter 4:13. Focus on one truth about who God is & thank Him for it.
PRAY. Pray the Lord’s Prayer, a Ripple Prayer, or find more at paradoxchurch.com/pray.
READ. Today’s reading is from Mark 10
ASK. After reading, ask the following SOS Questions & journal your thoughts.
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?
THINK. A Thought from Gwyn Kubiak
Whew... There are so many different areas of life that are covered in our reading today. As I sat and read it with Jesus, I felt like He showed me how every part of it has to do with our hearts. In Mark 10:5, Jesus responds to the religious leaders' question about whether divorce was lawful by addressing the condition of their hearts. He wants those who are married to maintain a soft heart toward their spouse. When I think about all of my relationships, if I keep a soft heart towards the other person, the relationship thrives - marriage included! Then, when people are bringing children to him, and his disciples are trying to turn them away - Jesus actually tells them that the Kingdom belongs to these little ones, and that we should imitate them in how we receive Him! When I think about how children receive things - it's with a soft, open, available heart! Later, the rich young ruler can't give up his possessions to have treasure in heaven. His pride and hardness of heart stopped him from receiving what Jesus had for him. We also see Jesus with a soft heart in the way he came to earth to serve, not to be served. Finally, the blind man demonstrates his soft heart toward God by crying out to Jesus. We see Jesus responding by having mercy on the man and healing him! All throughout Mark 10, Jesus is inviting us to recognize both the places in our hearts that are soft, as well as the hard, rough places. It's in those places that we need to cry out (as the blind man did) "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" As you go throughout your day, I encourage you to check in with Jesus when you notice your pride, or hardness of heart coming out. Instead of hiding in shame and running away from Him, let's let it cause us to run to him- just like little children would.
TALK. That was our take - what’s yours? Share thoughts & ask questions in the forum.
SHARE. Stay focused with a friend! Invite them to text “FOCUS” to (586) 200-6277.

Stay focused on Jesus today, and make it a great one!