Good Morning! and Happy New Year’s Eve!!!
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: N/A
+ 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 150:3-6
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 John 11:17-27, John 20:1-18 , 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, 35-44 & 50-57
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…
Whether or not you call it a “resolution”, most of us will go into this new year resolved to do a better job caring for our bodies. We will intend to eat better and/or less food. We will intend to get more exercise. And some of us will actually do it…for a while. Why? Because we know that if we care for our bodies better they will look better, operate better, and last longer. True. But here is what we also know: our bodies will eventually fail us. No matter how much less Mountain Dew we drink or how many pushups we do, these mortal shells are finite and perishable. They will fail. Happy New Year!
But…
We know something else as well. We know that we are more than a collection of cells with some electricity flowing through them. We are not JUST biological machines. Paul said: “If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” We are told by Jesus, Paul, and many others through scripture that we are spiritual beings. The death of our bodies is not the end of us. Jesus said to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” This is the hope that we have in Jesus. This is the good news. That while we were spiritually dead in our sin, Jesus made a way for us to be spiritually acceptable to God, such that when our bodies fail our spirit can live on. Paul said we will acquire new bodies, incorruptible and immortal.
I will work a little harder this coming year at having better physical health. It only makes sense for us to reside in healthier bodies while we are in them. But I will not worry about it or obsess over it. I know that God has an incorruptible, immortal home for my soul eventually and he is with us through the aches and pains until that day comes. - 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!
