January Focus on Prayer

Wanting to keep the momentum of daily meet-ups with the family, I have been searching for devotions to focus our hearts on Him in January. When I saw Melle's "31 Day Scripture Writing Challenge," I knew I had found the right plan for us. 

Beginning on Friday, January 1st, we will follow Melle's plan to learn what the Bible says about Prayer. Though I will not require my family to write each scripture (the teens most likely wouldn't go for that...and my intent is to promote discussion, placing the Word on their hearts, and having them ponder it throughout their day), I plan to create word art to correspond with each verse. 

Want to join in? Follow this link to Melle's Blog, Southern Melle , and download your FREE PDF copy of the verses she has thoughtfully researched for this challenge.  Well, dirt. Looks as though Melle has shut down her blog. 

See you back here on Friday! 

Where will you place your focus

in the New Year?

Advent and Christmas - Day 25

Jesus - Immanuel

Isaiah 7:14

KJV -  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

NLT - All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin[a] will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

A personal note: 

I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as our family has.

As you gather today, rejoice, friends.

He is here!

Immanuel - God is with us.

Advent - Day 24

Jesus - Savior

Luke 2:11

KJV - For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

NLT - The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

From David Guzik's commentary via BlueLetterBible:  

The angels... announce the birth of a Savior, which is exactly what mankind needs. 

We don't need another advisor, a reformer, or a committee, but a Savior.

Who is your Savior?

Advent - Day 23

Jesus - Son of God

Luke 1:35

KJV -  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

NLT - The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

A personal note: 

Jesus was not called 'a' Son of God, but 'the' Son of God. For me, it is a distinguishable difference. We are all children of God, adopted into His family upon salvation. Jesus, however, is THE Son of God, Who was born into this world to save us in spite of ourselves. 

What does Jesus, Son of God, mean to you?

Advent - Day 22

Jesus - Messiah

Daniel 9:25

KJV - Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

NLT - Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven[a] will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One[b]—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses,[c] despite the perilous times.

Footnotes:

1. 9:25a Hebrew Seven sevens plus sixty-two sevens.
2. 9:25b Or an anointed one; similarly in 9:26. Hebrew reads a messiah.
3. 9:25c Or and a moat, or and trenches.

From Blueletterbible.org

מָשַׁח

The primitive root of Messiah is mashach:  to anoint with oil, such as a shield, by doing which, the leather becomes more tenacious (persisting in existence, not easily dispelled) and becomes impervious to weapons.

Your Messiah, the Anointed One, is your shield.

Advent - Day 21

Jesus - Bread of Life

John 6:48

KJV - I am that bread of life.

NLT - Yes, I am the bread of life!

From Roberterso's Word Pictures of the New Testament commentary via StudyLight.org:  

I am the bread of life (εγω ειμι ο αρτος της ζωης — egō eimi ho artos tēs zōēs). 

Jesus repeats the astounding words of John 6:35 after fuller explanation. 

The believer in Christ has eternal life because he gives himself to him.

A personal note: 

I've always considered bread to be a comfort food. Growing up, a platter of bread was served at every meal. It was simply a part of our everyday lives. I wonder if serving that bread was meant to symbolize Him. Today, we rarely have bread at our table. (Carbs are bad, don't you know?!) Have we forgotten we need to continually remind ourselves of His presence? 

I think I'll put it back on the table tonight; and when the family asks why it is there, I will tell them it is for nourishing their soul. 

Feed your Spirit with the Bread of Life today.

Advent - Day 20

Jesus - Cornerstone

Isaiah 28:16

KJV - Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

NLT - Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,[a]
    a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
    Whoever believes need never be shaken.[b]

1. 28:16a Hebrew in Zion.
2. 28:16b Greek version reads Look! I am placing a stone in the foundation of Jerusalem [literally Zion], / a precious cornerstone for its foundation, chosen for great honor. / Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.Compare Rom 9:33; 1 Pet 2:6.

Jameison, Fausset, & Brown Commentary on verse 16 via BlueLetterBible.org:

 Literally, "Behold Me as Him who has laid"; namely, in My divine counsel (Rev 13:8 ); none save I could lay it ( Isa 63:5 ).

  stone--Jesus Christ; Hezekiah [MAURER], or the temple [EWALD], do not realize the full significancy of the language; but only in type point to Him, in whom the prophecy receives its exhaustive accomplishment; whether Isaiah understood its fulness or not (1Pe 1:11, 12 ), the Holy Ghost plainly contemplated its fulfilment in Christ alone; so inIsa 32:1; compare Gen 49:24 Psa 118:22 Mat 21:42 Rom 10:11 Eph 2:20.

  tried--both by the devil ( Luk 4:1-13 ) and by men ( Luk 20:1-38 ), and even by God (Mat 27:46 ); a stone of tested solidity to bear the vast superstructure of man's redemption. The tested righteousness of Christ gives its peculiar merit to His vicarious sacrifice. The connection with the context is; though a "scourge" shall visit Judea ( Isa 28:15 ), yet God's gracious purpose as to the elect remnant, and His kingdom of which "Zion" shall be the center, shall not fail, because its rests on Messiah ( Mat 7:24, 25 2Ti 2:19 ).

  precious--literally "of preciousness," so in the Greek, ( 1Pe 2:7 ). He is preciousness.

  corner-stone-- ( 1Ki 5:17 7:9 Job 38:6 ); the stone laid at the corner where two walls meet and connecting them; often costly.

  make haste--flee in hasty alarm; but the Septuagint has "be ashamed"; so Rom 9:33, and 1Pe 2:6, "be confounded," substantially the same idea; he who rests on Him shall not have the shame of disappointment, nor flee in sudden panic (see Isa 30:15 32:17 ).

What does Jesus, our Cornerstone, mean to you?

Advent - Day 19

Jesus - Mediator

1 Timothy 2:5

KJV - For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

NLT - For,

There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.

From Matthew Henry's commentary via BibleGateway.com:

 One reason why all men are to be prayed for is because there is one God, and that God bears a good will to all mankind. There is one God (1 Tim. 2:5), and one only, there is no other, there can be no other, for there can be but one infinite. This one God will have all men to be saved; he desires not the death and destruction of any (Ezek. 33:11), but the welfare and salvation of all. Not that he has decreed the salvation of all, for then all men would be saved; but he has a good will to the salvation of all, and none perish but by their own fault, Matt. 23:37. He will have all to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth, to be saved in the way that he has appointed and not otherwise. It concerns us to get the knowledge of the truth, because that is the way to be saved; Christ is the way and the truth, and so he is the life.

Do you view Jesus as Mediator for you?

Advent - Day 18

Jesus - The Gate

John 10:7

KJV - Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

NLT - so He explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.

From IVP New Testament Commentary Series via BibleGateway

In this second statement Jesus says, I am the gate for the sheep(v. 7)...So when Jesus says he is the gate for the sheep (v. 7) he is still using the image of a shepherd, 

but applying it directly to himself. 

From this picture of a shepherd sleeping in the entrance we would expect Jesus' role to be the protector of the sheep. Jesus does indeed protect his own (cf. 6:39; 17:12), but the image is developed here in a surprising way. 

The sheep are to enter through Jesus (v. 9), 

something not true of the shepherd sleeping in the entrance of a summer shelter! 

So the image is not that of a door as a barrier for protection, but of a door as a passageway.

What does Jesus, The Gate, mean to you?