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2019 Daily Devo 7.22.19

By July 22, 2019Daily Devotional

Week 29 Day 1

Download Week 29 Devotional

I. Prayer to enter the Lord’s presence:

Be still for a moment. “Lord, I give the day that is now 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:

Matthew 22 15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” 22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

Reflect:

Jesus’s statement “Give to Caesar, what is Caesar’s” is clear: It affirms the general principle of submission to political authority. But Jesus doesn’t stop with Caesar; He takes it a step further and says, “Give to God what is God’s.” So, what is it that we owe God? Let’s go back to the idea of the image. Who’s image stamped on the coin? Caesar’s. Whatever Caesar’s likeness was on, was to be given back to him. So where does God have his likeness? What is his image stamped on? It’s on you and me! His image is stamped all over us! 

Being made in the image of God means we can reflect His character in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness, and faithfulness. 

Respond:

Ask God to show you ways you’ve fallen short in reflecting his character. Confess those shortcomings to him and ask him to give you victory in those areas. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to cultivate good in the world around you. 

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:

Philippians 4:4-8
Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.

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