Hearing God’s Voice from His Word
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Take a moment and turn your attention to God. Tell God that you desire to trust and obey Him. Ask God to speak to you from His word.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 96:7-13 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
bring an offering and enter his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;
let the whole earth tremble before him.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.
He judges the peoples fairly.”
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and all that fills it resound.
12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy
13 before the Lord, for he is coming—
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with his faithfulness.
Read the Entire Psalm
The Lord Reigns – It is good to proclaim this out loud. The Lord Reigns. He is sovereign over every event in the universe. He permits and He prevents. He acts. He rules over every part of your existence. When you sleep – He reigns. When you are sick – He reigns. He is never not reigning. Praise the Lord who reigns. Tell yourself that the Lord reigns.
Scripture Reading & Reflection
The disciples’ sorrow was turned to joy when they saw the risen Lord. That joy was infused with sorrow as they lived out their lives being persecuted, and for the most part killed, for their faith. At their deaths their sorrow again became joy in the eternal presence of the Lord. We live now in this joy infused sorrow. The Lord has come, and we have an eternal hope that cannot be taken from us. The Lord will return, so as we wait, we groan in sorrow waiting for all things to be made right. Our sorrow has already turned to joy, but our joy is not yet fully free of sorrow.
John 16:16-22
16 “In a little while, you will no longer see me; again in a little while, you will see me.” 17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this he’s telling us: ‘In a little while, you will not see me; again a little while, you will see me,’ and, ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They said, “What is this he is saying, ‘In a little while’? We don’t know what he’s talking about.” 19 Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, and so he said to them, “Are you asking one another about what I said, ‘In a little while, you will not see me; again in a little while, you will see me’? 20 Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. 22 So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Express thanks to God.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to you.
- Confess your sin to Him and receive forgiveness.
(1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.”) - Bring your personal requests to God.
(Psalm 62:8 “Pour out your heart before God”) - Pray for someone in your small group.
- Join with others from River and pray for those in your life who do not know Christ. Pray for them by name. Ask God to bring them to saving faith in him.