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: Job 3,4
+ 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 42
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 11:19-32
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…
You’d be hard pressed to find a more depressing trifecta of scripture passages than today’s readings. We have Job deeply, and very dramatically, cursing the day he was born. The Psalm writer is feeling abandoned and forgotten by God, in a place where “My tears have been my food day and night.” In the NT reading, Paul is dealing with the reality that some are cut off from God because of their disobedience.Yikes! Isn’t a life lived with God supposed to be all sunshine and rainbows? We all know the answer is a resounding “no”. It is unshakably true that in this life, trouble comes. It can even feel so bad that we begin to question God’s character…or very existence.
Why would God allow this?
The answer is found at the end of our NT reading today: “For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.” This means that God allows us to make mistakes, to feel the weight of our choices and the darkness in this world. Also, he allows this so that we can also feel the weight of his mercy and his love. Like the good parent he is, God allows us to experience some bad so that we can recognize and be drawn to good.
Hopefully you never experience Job level trials in your life, but you will experience pain and sadness. As Pastor Dave mentioned yesterday, worshiping God through those times can be very powerful. It can also be comforting to remember the times that you felt his presence/power/deliverance in the past and cling to the hope we have in Christ Jesus. Not a flimsy, “maybe this will happen” kind of hope, but a rock solid hope built on the infallible promises of God. - Mike Nank
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!
