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.

MORNING 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.

SCRIPTURE FOCUS | Today’s reading is from Deuteronomy 31:14-30
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…
They say when the going gets tough, the tough get going. But what about when the going gets easy? It feels counter-intuitive, but there are times when it can almost be tougher to keep going than it is to get going. And the “easy” times can actually be the “tough” ones. Today’s question isn’t what you start doing when things are tough - but what you keep doing when they get easy, or comfortable. As the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, the struggles of wilderness life were on the verge of being forgotten. They would no longer rely on God for daily provisions like quail and manna; food would be abundant. This newfound abundance posed a risk of self-reliance and idolatry, leading to dire consequences. It's natural to turn to God during hardships, but it's crucial to maintain dependence on Him in times of ease. When life seems manageable, there's a tendency to rely on our own strength rather than God's. To stay focused on Jesus, we must actively engage in practices like daily reading of Scripture to fill our minds with truth, expressing gratitude, dependance and reliance on Jesus through prayer, and finding ways to serve others - which keeps life in perspective and prevents us from idolizing blessings instead of God Himself. Yesterday, we remembered Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. On that day, following Jesus was easy. Comfortable. Good. Just days later around a comfortable table, Peter confidently denied Jesus’ prediction that he would deny him. And yet, when things got hard, that’s exactly what he would do. Three times. As we enter into this “Holy Week,” you may feel a sense of ease or “coasting,” especially if you’ve given something up for Lent. I’d encourage you to press in even more this week. Keep going. Stay focused on Jesus in it. - Dave Kubiak

EVENING PRAYER FOCUS | Pray the 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 created by Pete Greig from his book, How to Pray, to help us re-focus on 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!