Daily Dose For April 11

Memory Verse  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4 ESV

Deuteronomy 4:44-5:33 Psalms 101

Christ's triumph was in His humiliation.  And perhaps our triumph will also be revealed through what others see as humiliation.  Margret Bottoms

Put your hand, 

Thomas

On the crawling head

Of a child 

Orphaned 

By Aids

Place your finger,

Thomas

On the list of those

Who has disappeared 

in Syria

Stroke the cheek,

Thomas, 

Of the little girl

Sold in prostitution 

In Thailand

Touch, Thomas,

The gaping wounds 

Of my world.

Feel, Thomas,

The primal wound

Of my people.

Reach out your hands,

Thomas,

And place them at the side of the poor.

Grasp my hands, Thomas,

And believe. Amen

Daily Dose For April 10

Memory Verse  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4 ESV

Deuteronomy 4:1-43 Psalms 100

Real satisfaction comes not in understanding God's motives, but in understanding His character, in trusting in His promises, and in leaning on Him and resting in Him as the Sovereign who knows what He is doing and does all things well.  Joni Eareckson Tada Is God really in control? P. 9

I'm praying that not only will God get us through this, but that through this, God's glory is seen like never before.  

I'm praying that weary hearts find peace in the King.  And that the lost are found.

I'm praying that this whole pandemic is actually what will bring people to the feet of Jesus.

I'm praying that people will experience a love that they didn't know existed through the one who created them.  The Unraveling by Kelli Bachara

How to Pray

How to Pray

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the         

kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Here, Jesus gives us specific direction on how to pray. How amazing is that? 

This is the exact format for prayer that Jesus tells his disciples to use. 

Our Father which art in heaven,  hallowed be thy name.  1. Start prayer with 

praise and worship. The prayer proclaims that God is our Father. The King 

James Bible uses the word “hallowed”.  And the word means to honor God as 

holy. Or special because He is sinless and all-powerful. The first step to any 

prayer is to give God glory and honor and praise, for who He is, and thanks 

for what He has done.   

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 2. I call this 

the perfect prayer, because it is always answered.  When we ask for his will to 

be done, the answer is always yes.  I John 5:14,15 states; "And this is the 

confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according 

to his will he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we 

ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.  

How do we pray according to or in alignment with God's will?  God desire are 

found in the pages of our Bible. So, turn the words of God’s Word into 

requests.  Make the prayers found in God’s Word your own. Pray God’s 

promises back to him. By using the Scripture as the basis for your prayer life, 

you’ll be sure to pray in an approach that honors God and then you can know 

that His answer will be yes!

Give us this day our daily bread. 3.  Ask for your needs-not wants.  Jesus' 

example show's us God our heavenly Father yearns for his children to 

depend on Him for their physical needs.  But Jesus also quoted; "It is written, 

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out 

of the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4 KJV  This verse show us we need daily 

bread in the sense that we need God to daily walk with God and allow Him to 

guide us. So, pray for both His physical and spiritual provision in your life 

and the lives of those you love. Pray for the things that you need and thank 

Him for all that, He has already blessed you with.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 4. Confess your sins 

and ask God for help in forgiving others.  What would God say to you, if he 

read our social media posts?  The way we talk about others and post on social 

media should show you how badly we need the help of the Holy Spirit to 

always give forgiveness to others and we need God's forgiveness.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  5. Pray for safety, 

protection and freedom from sin.  Paul put it this  way; Don’t worry about 

anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and 

thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, 

which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your 

hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7 

NLT  Paul also in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 gives us a lofty goal. "Never stop 

praying."

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  

6.  End with a reminder of who is your King.  A reminder of who you live for.  

A reminder it's not about you, but Him!

Amen.  7.  "Amen" is a Hebrew word that means "truly" or "so be it." When 

we say this at the end of a prayer, we are agreeing with the prayer. We're 

asking God to please let our prayers be one with Your will and therefore 

may it be as we have prayed! 

Daily Dose For April 9

Memory Verse  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4 ESV

Deuteronomy 2-3 Psalms 99

God is the shaper of your heart. God does not display his work in abstract terms. He prefers the concrete, and this means that at the end of your life one of three things will happen to your heart: it will grow hard, it will be broken, or it will be tender. Nobody escapes.  Ravi Zachariah

Father, I desire to seek after you wholeheartedly and to make my home in Your heart as You have made Your home in mine. May I live in Your presence all the days of my life, listening to Your voice, obeying Your words and spending myself in the cause of Your kingdom! (Harvestprayerministry)

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ ! Roman’s 6:1-23

Roman’s 6:1-23

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

Hook  Roman's six is a very familiar passage for most in this study.  The challenge for us as followers of Jesus and students of his word is to hear Roman's 6 afresh.

Book    INTRODUCTION

1. In Romans, Paul addresses the problem of sin...

 Romans 3:23

Law

Faith

   b. Romans 5:1-2

   c. Romans 5:20-21

2. Paul then anticipates a wrong conclusion some may have…

   a.  Romans 6:1

   a. Romans 6:2

3. Today, many Christians may live in reference to sin as

   a. Living as though

   b. Perhaps reasoning, "

4. Yet a careful study of the sixth chapter reveals why such a thought is absurd...
 
 a. Paul provides four reasons why we should not continue in sin

   b. When understood, they will prompt us to say

1. NO! WE DIED TO SIN! Verse 2

   A. WE WERE CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST IN BAPTISM (3-4)
      1. Baptism is a burial into the death of Christ

      2. Baptism is where we were crucified with Christ - Romans 6:6 Galatians 2:20

   2. WE CAN NOW WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE (4-5)

      1. Just as Christ rose from the grave, so we rise from baptism to walk in newness of life

      2. We are now a new creation in Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:17

   3. WE ARE NO LONGER SLAVES OF SIN (6-7)

      1. The very purpose of dying to sin in baptism, to be free from sin!
 
   4. WE CAN NOW LIVE WITH CHRIST (8-10)

      1. Christ now lives with God in newness of life

      2. Because we died with Christ, so can we! - So is it Biblical to say I am a sinner saved by grace?  Ephesians 2:4-6


II. NO! WE ARE ALIVE TO GOD! (11)

   A. SIN DOES NOT HAVE TO REIGN IN US (12)
      1. We who were dead in sin can now choose not to let it rule us!

      2. We are no longer in debt  Romans 8:12-13

   B. OUR BODIES CAN NOW BE INSTRUMENTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (13)

Why does Paul use our bodies as instruments?

What instrument?

      1. We can present ourselves to God...
         a. As alive from the dead

         b. As instruments of righteousness to Him

      2. We can now glorify Him even with our
bodies - 1Corinthians 6:19-20

   C. GOD'S GRACE FREES US FROM SIN'S DOMINION (14)

      1. Sin no longer needs to be our master

      2. In Christ, we have been set free! - Romans 8:1-2


III. NO! WE ARE TO BE SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS! (19)

   A. WE ARE SLAVES TO WHATEVER WE OBEY (15-16)
      1. Grace is no excuse to _____

      2. We are either slaves of sin, or slaves of ___________

      3. If we continue in sin, we once again become slaves of sin!- John 8:34

      4. For Christians to continue in sin makes things worse -
2 Peter 2:20-22

   B. WE BECAME SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (17-18)
      1. We were slaves of _________

      2. But when we obeyed from the heart God's commands, we were_______________________

         a. Not just sin's condemnation - Romans 8:1-2

         b. But also sin's dominion -  Romans 8:12-13

      3. We were set free from sin so we could become __________

   C. WE ARE TO SERVE RIGHTEOUSNESS LIKE WE ONCE SERVED SIN (19)

      1. We previously offered our bodies as slaves of sin

      2. So now offer our bodies as slaves of righteousness for the purpose of  1Peter 1:14-16


IV. NO! THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH! (23)

   A. THE FRUIT OF SLAVERY TO SIN IS DEATH (20-21)
      1. The end of those enslaved to sin is "death"

      2. Such "death" is separation from God

         a. Living in sin separates us from God now - Isaiah 59:1-2

         b. Dying in sin will separate us from for eternity - Revelation 21:8

   B. THE GRACE OF GOD OFFERS ETERNAL LIFE (22-23)

      1. By His grace, we have been set free from sin, via baptism! Titus 3:4-7

      2. By His grace, we can now be slaves to God, through continued obedience! - Romans 6:15-19

      3. By His grace, we can bear the fruit of holiness, which in turn leads to eternal life! - Romans 6:22

Look: Shall we continue in sin?

   a. If we understand what Paul has written in this chapter...
 
 b. ...then we will cry out with him:  "Certainly not!" (NKJV) - Romans 6:2,15

2. Paul's strong response has been variously translated...

   -- May we develop the same response to taking sin lightly!

Took: Have you been set free from sin...?  

Daily Dose For April 8

Memory Verse  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4 ESV

Deuteronomy 1 Psalms 98

God is teaching us that church is not a place where things happen, but a people with a mission. 

Father God,  we come to you today asking for Your favor, God.  

Lord, we thank You for all that You have done for us, and all that you continue to do for us.  How blessed are we to have You as our protector and provider.  We see that people are being let go left and right, we see that the elderly are being attacked by this plague, we see it all Lord, but we have faith in You.  We have faith in Your vision, and we aren't afraid Lord, for You, told us to cast all our worries unto You.  You told us to not worry about tomorrow, and the spirit of fear is not of You, but a tactic of the enemy.  We stand in agreement with you that everything will work itself out, Lord because we have You going before each and every one of us.  We root ourselves in Psalms 91Lord during this time, let no plague come near our homes.  We pray for those out on the front lines, risking their health to care for others.  We pray for educators and students, that in this time of trouble, they would seek You, the God of perfect peace.  We pray for the elderly and those that have a compromised immune system.  We ask that You be with them Lord. Father God, we thank You in advance for what You are about to do for this nation.  In Jesus' name.  (https://www.facebook.com/spiritfood)

Daily Dose For April 7

Memory Verse  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4 ESV

Catch up day. Psalms 97

Jesus Christ is not my security against the storms of life, but He is the perfect security in the storms. He has never promised me an easy passage, only a safe landing. L.B. Cowman Streams in Desert March 31st.

Lord, our efforts at faithfulness are fraught with failure more often than we care to admit. Thank you that your love for us is never wasted. Keep us rooted in your word, eating at your table, and praying by your Spirit, so that we may remember when we fail that we are part of your family not because we deserve to be but because you want us. Amen. REM

Daily Dose For May 6

Memory Verse Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” Ruth 1:16,17 NLT

Joshua 11-12 Psalms 126

There is a crack, a crack in everything: that’s how the light gets in.

Lord, we thank you for our brokenness because it makes us depend on you. Yet you are continually remaking us into a new creation. Keep us from false humilities and help us to reflect back to one another what it means to be created in your image. Amen. (commonprayer.net)

Daily Dose For April 6

Memory Verse  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4 ESV

Catch up day. Psalms 96

“Some -people think it is difficult to be a Christian and to laugh, but I think it’s the other way around. God writes a lot of comedy, it’s just that he has so many bad actors.” Garrison Keillor

You who led Israel through the waters, plant us by streams of living water. Root us in your love and grow us up to bear the fruit of your Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Amen (commonprayer.net)

Daily Dose For April 5

Memory Verse  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4 ESV

Numbers 36 Psalms 95

The church has been planted as a paradise in this world.  Irenaeus of Lyon

Lord God, we give you thanks that no building can house you fully and no place of worship can contain your majesty. Teach us by our deeds of peace and justice and joyful celebration to erect altars in the world, so that when some other soul comes across them, they will see that you are indeed present everywhere. Amen. (commonprayer.net)