Every Day Faith - March 2019
As mentioned at the start of the year, in 2019 we are emphasizing our resolve to fulfil our mission given by Jesus to be a disciple and to make disciples. As a reinforcement of the “I Will” statements that were shared, we invite you to check out “The Loop” for the latest video that helps to explain and lead viewers towards these goals. We also encourage you to visit everydayfaith.ca to track with the “I Will” emphasis and how we’re praying. While we have not printed prayer cards for distribution this year, you are welcome to use the meditations, prayer points and scripture content in your context however it serves you best. You can view all of the prayer points here.
MARCH 2019
I will live according to God’s Word.
Jesus promised that anyone who truly wants to do God’s will would find out if His teaching was from God or merely His own (John 7:17). He also promised that He would reveal Himself to anyone who accepted His teaching and put it into practice (John 14:21). Intellectual agreement that Jesus is God’s Son, that He died on a cross, and that He forgives sins, are the first simple but powerful steps to living a life of faith. But that mental agreement must translate into a heart-felt understanding of those truths, an honest confession of sin, and a desire to live a changed life. This desire is fulfilled only with a strong commitment to learning and honouring God’s Word in daily life, since God’s thoughts and ways are different than ours, and what He requires does not come naturally to us (Isaiah 55:8-9). Steady obedience is impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit. He comes to meet us at the point of our desire to obey, to help us to be true Christ-followers, living in consistent submission. We may still not be perfect, but our lives will reflect a genuine desire to please God. We are constantly sowing and reaping with our thoughts, words and actions. As we sow to please God’s Spirit, we reap eternal life. If we sow to please ourselves, we reap destruction. May the Holy Spirit help us to have a love for His Word, to obey it and to reap life.
Ask and it will be granted…
- That we will have an overwhelming desire for God’s righteousness.
- That God will reveal Himself through His Word to us, and to all who are searching for Him.
- That Jesus will help us, as His followers, to keep depending on Him as we battle against sin.
- That we will be strengthened and encouraged as we learn, honour and live by God’s Word.
For reflection:
- How well do you know God’s Word?
- Does reading the entire Bible feel like an intimidating goal? Why or why not?
- If you could start by focusing on one book of the Bible, which one would it be? Why?
John 7:17 (NLT)
“Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.”
John 14:21 (NLT)
“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
Romans 7:15-25 (NLT)
“I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
“I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”
Galatians 6:7-9 (NLT)
“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NLT)
“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.”
To sign up for weekly, general PAOC prayer updates, click here.
