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2019 Daily Devotional 1.18.19

By January 18, 2019Daily Devotional

Week 2 Day 5

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I. Prayer to enter the Lord’s presence 

Be still for a moment. “Lord I give the day that is past to you.  It is yours.  I give the day that is to come to you, help me to see where you are working and to join you there.  Speak to me during these moments.  I commit them and myself to you.” 

II. Prayer of Confession: 

Lord you are faithful to forgive me and cleanse me of my sin when I confess it to you.  I confess my sin(s) of ______________.  Thank you for forgiveness. (1 John 1:9) 

III. Prayer of Thanksgiving: Choose to be thankful, speak out loud of what God has done. 

Thank you Father for _________________.  Fill my heart and my mouth with gratitude throughout this day. 

IV. Scripture Reflection 

Read:  

2 Tim. 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 

2 Peter 1:20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.  21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 

Reflect: 

Day 5.  “Training in righteousness” means that we are trying to close the gap on becoming like Jesus.  We want to become more and more like him in character and action and attitude.  This is truly training not merely trying.  To try is to either succeed or fail.  To train is to continually stay in the process over the entire course of our lives.  How are you training to trust?  What specific actions need to be added to your life in order to train better? 

Day 4. “Correct” is a word that means to get back on track.  So, God’s word corrects our actions and attitudes.  Like a set of braces sets our teeth straight, or a cast sets a broken bone straight, God’s word sets our lives straight.  His correction is not to be feared or avoided but to be loved as the gift that it is.  Consider what it means to walk on a perpetually broken leg or one that healed in a crooked state.  Now consider the gift of a corrective cast and the ability to walk and run freely.  

Day 3. “Rebuking” is a word that as expected means to correct a wrong course.  Though we do not enjoy being “rebuked” imagine that if you were traveling towards a cliff and someone shouted out to you “danger ahead!”  You would certainly be grateful for the “rebuke” and would “enjoy” not falling off the cliff.  How is God’s word or a principle from it “rebuking” you today?  Is there a pattern of life, or an attitude that is really a “cliff” you are heading for?   

Day 2.  “Teaching” is a word used for general instruction.  Scripture is useful (vital) for our lives so that we would understand what is good and bad, true and false, and ultimately valuable for our lives.  There are many voices in the world presuming to know these very things and this can be confusing.  Think about some of the things that confuse you and then think about how what you know of Scripture is often “upside” down from what the world around you believes to be true. 

Day 1. “God-breathed” is a single word in the Greek (the original language of the New Testament).  It means Scripture originated from the mind of God.  God used people to write Scripture and they were not passive in the process but he both oversaw human history and the writing of Scripture.  Think for a few moments about this over 1000-year process.  It is not hard for God to pull this off, but it is a great gift to us that he did. 

Respond:  

Day 5.  Spend time now and throughout the day reading and thinking about this month’s memory verse (listed below).  A large part of training to trust is getting God’s word deep into our minds.  This training takes effort on our part but you will deeply enjoy the impact of this training on your life. 

Day 4.  If you are unsure about what the “corrective” way ahead is for you, call a friend today and get some input.  If you know what the corrective path is then commit right now to take it.  Then ask God for the wisdom and courage to follow through.  

Day 3. Respond to God’s rebuke right now.  Repent (change your mind about your course of action or attitude), then Reverse Course (commit to God to live in line with what is true in action and attitude). 

Day 2. What will it mean for you to live “right-side up” today.  How will you trust God’s word in your life?  Forgive someone who offended you?  Love someone who annoys you?  Be kind even if you don’t feel like it?  How will you “do what is true”? 

Day 1. Since scripture is “God-breathed” what could be more valuable to think about, understand and apply?  “The” key principle we see in Scripture is simply to trust God.  How can you apply this truth to what concerns you today? 

V. Prayer for others: 

Pray specifically for the concerns of your life and the lives of others.   

VI. Prayer of commitment:  

Lord God I commit to love you with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength and with all my mind and to Love my neighbor as myself.  Empower me today to love you and others with everything that I am.”  (Luke 10:27) 

This Month’s Scripture Memory:  

Psa. 1:1   Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.  4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.  5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.  6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. 

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