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 | Diligent Teaching (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
Over the 40 Days of Lent, add 40 minutes of prayer to your week - either 1x/week or 7 minutes/day.
Pray for our generation. Pray that we would be a generation that loves God, holds His commands in our heart, & teaches the next generation to follow Him. Is there a step of obedience God is inviting me to take?

Note: This past weekend at Paradox, we created reminders of the choices we’re making to remember God’s faithfulness and respond in faith. If you missed it, watch the message and learn how we’re responding.

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 28
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…
The choice that God laid out for his people, Israel, could not be more clear. Follow his commands and have God’s complete protection and generous provision, such that you will be the envy of the world. Or…ignore his commands and you are totally on your own, now the easy target of the ravenous world around you and horrible things will happen. Looking back, we saw both of these play out at different times for Israel. Periods of legendary prosperity when they followed the Lord, and horrific devastation when they forgot his commands.
Have you experienced a similar pattern? Have you had times when you are intentionally following God’s commands and you have experienced his protection and provision? Maybe in those seasons you felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, filling you with peace, joy, and love that overflowed to those around you.
Have you experienced the opposite? Times when everything seemed like a battle that you couldn’t win, and you were overrun by feelings of fear, sadness, and worry? Maybe you are in such a season right now. Ask yourself: am I intentionally following God’s commands? Am I loving Him with all me heart, and loving my neighbor as myself? Or am I worshipping false gods, focused on myself, and/or engaging in destructive behavior that he has forbade for our own good.
Bottom line…we, like Israel, have a clear choice. Follow God’s commands and experience his boundless blessings. Or, ignore his commands and feel the curse that is going through this difficult life alone.
As we continue as a church through these 40 days of intentional and additional prayer, maybe take some time today to ask the Lord to show you what commands you have struggled to follow. Then ask him to give you the strength to make a change.
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” -Jesus
If you would like someone from Paradox’s prayer team to reach out to you and help you pray through anything, just email your request to: prayer@paradoxchurch.com.
- Mike Nank

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!