STAY IN HIS WORD
Daphne Powell
Today's Scripture: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14, ESV
Theme: Jesus is the Word Who became flesh; He is Immanuel, “God with us.”
FREE WILL
God, do I need you? Every day we wake up and we get a new day. A new day to do things right: to pray, worship, testify, donate, and read the Word. But at the end of every day, we lay our heads down at night feeling that we didn’t do enough, that we strayed from His calling in us. He gave us free will to love Him and follow Him. He is with us even when we flounder. He gives us free will to be with Him every day. The question is, do we? If not, why not? We must stay in the Word to build on the relationship He wants to have with us.
EVERY STEP
God, are You here? So many people are saddened by the world’s events. We turn on the news and it is bad news on top of bad news. Many non-believers say, “Why would God let this happen?” and many believers wonder, “Why did God let this happen to me?” But the answer is that this is the world, not heaven. We must be assured that God is with us. With every storm and in every trial, He is with us. Our cries out to Him are heard and He comforts us in His arms. Yet we must have faith. We must stay in the Word to teach and prepare us for the rewards He has promised, not in this world but in our new Heaven and Earth.
ARE YOU LISTENING?
God, are you listening? So many people say they pray but also say they don’t hear from Him. They prayed for a specific outcome, but their prayer wasn’t answered. We can be sure that God is with us. His will is done. He is our Father. He extends His grace and mercy to us daily, and just because we do not see the result we wanted does not mean that He hasn’t listened. Prayer is the way for us to have an intimate conversation with God. He wants to hear our hearts, and when we pray, He answers. What we must understand is that prayers are answered in His time and of His will. Our faith carries us through and gives us strength.
Make It Personal: I was talking with a friend who is a non-believer and I asked, “Why don’t you believe?” He said that he once asked God for something, and he didn’t get an answer. I asked him, “How did you know He didn’t answer. Is it because you didn’t get what you asked for?” God is with us. His love and grace surround us. But let’s be clear: His will be done. So, when you think He wasn’t listening, He was. When you think your prayers weren’t answered, they were. Stay in His Word. God really is here with you.
Pray: Dear Lord, help us to stay in Your Word, to keep faith that You have a perfect will for us, and to find joy even amid storms. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen
Read: Hebrews 4:16, Matthew 6:34, Hebrews 11:1, 3, Revelations 21:1-8
Weekly Memory Verse: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,” Luke 4:18, ESV