Week 50 Day 1
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:
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)
Reflect:
At the core of Christmas is the reality that, in Christ, God’s rule and reign have come to earth; His Kingdom has been established. His Kingdom can be experienced. His will and His rule can be honored. But the mystery of the Kingdom is that God’s power is present here among us in fullness, but not in completeness. The Kingdom of God grows up in the midst of the present, evil age, which is under the rule of Satan.
Scholar G.E. Ladd describes it this way, “[Jesus’] mission, as well as His Messiahship, was a ‘mystery’; it was not to bring the evil Age to its end and inaugurate The Age to Come. It was rather to bring the powers of the future Age to men in the midst of the present evil Age; and this mission involved His death…Although the old Age goes on, the Kingdom of God has invaded the realm of Satan to deliver men from his rule. This was the mystery, the new disclosure of the divine purpose in the mission of our Lord.”
Living in the “already, not yet” Kingdom of God is a paradox. This morning, contemplate that the Kingdom of God has already come in Christ. The Kingdom of God has “invaded the realm of Satan to deliver men from his rule.” As one who enters the Kingdom through the blood of Christ, you can experience God’s rule and reign in every sphere of your life today. You can experience grace, power, redemption, healing and victory over Satan, your flesh, and the world. The arm of God is not too short.
Respond:
Thank the Father for His sovereign plan to bring His rule and His reign to earth in Christ. Thank Jesus for His sacrifice to establish the Kingdom. Thank the Holy Spirit for making the Kingdom come to life in us. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the humility to bow before the King in service today. And then ask the King to make His power and goodness known to you and through 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:
Isaiah 53:4-6
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid him the iniquity of us all.