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.

GET FOCUSED | Worship can be as simple as thanking God for who He is & what He does. (Psalm 100:4)
Spend a few moments in silence, meditating on scripture, or writing/saying 3-5 things you’re thankful for.
Play or sing some worship music you love, or use a playlist from Paradox on Spotify.

MORNING PRAYER FOCUS | Prayer is a conversation that involves both talking and listening to God.
Use the PRAY acronym to guide your prayer this 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.

SCRIPTURE FOCUS | Today’s reading is from2 Timothy 3:14-17 & 2 Timothy 4:1-4
Pray a simple prayer before reading, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth. (John 14:26)
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…
If someone tells us a truth we don’t want to hear about ourselves, or shares about something horrible happening in the world, or reminds us to follow a rule/law that we think is silly…what do we do? We often find ways to discredit what they are saying. “They are exaggerating.” “They don’t know what they are talking about.” “That is just their view/opinion.” “That rule does not apply to this circumstance.” Etc. Why do we do this? Because we are human! We have a sin nature that we were born with that leads us to favor truths and rules that align with how WE want things to be, usually to maximize our physical/worldly desires. Paul warned Timothy about this in today’s reading: “'For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.” I think Paul nailed it. We have seen throughout human history teachers ignore parts of Scripture and/or twist it to meet an agenda that they have. Scary. It feels to me like when the serpent (Satan) was talking to Eve in the garden and said: “Did God really say ‘you can’t eat from any tree in the garden?’.” When we ask ourselves “is this REALLY the truth?” when it is clearly spelled out, we pay a dangerous game.
So how do we confront this tendency?
We read the Bible. Like actually, really read it. We come to know for ourselves what it says. Moreover, we ask God to reveal to us directly through his Holy Spirit what his Word is saying. Paul said: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” We can be completely equipped to live a life righteous before God when we know what Scripture says. If you are reading this, you have taken a great step toward knowing the Bible by engaging with the daily Focus. Maybe God is calling you deeper, and you want to augment this with additional study? The YouVersion app has TONS of Bible reading plans that can guide you through increased reading at various paces. Maybe you commit to reading one chapter a day. Maybe you listen to the Bible in your car instead of the radio during your commute. Maybe you join a Lifegroup here at Paradox that is going deeper into scripture study. Whatever it looks like, I encourage you to take a step toward learning God’s Word. -Mike Nank

EVENING PRAYER FOCUS | Re-Focus on Jesus by praying a Daily Examen each evening.
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.
Refocus = 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. 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!