Please click this link for the video version:
Bible in one year by Nicky Gumbel:
Nicky Gumbel's Bible in one year today:
Silence
1. Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence
2. Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace and feel His presence. Exhale your worries.
Praise and Thanksgiving
1. Think through your day, all the times that made you smile
2. Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people
3. Sing a song to praise God (you are welcome to use "Father, I adore you" which I have been singing every morning for the past 20 years or your own choice to praise God)
Father, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.
Jesus, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.
Spirit, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.
Confession and Repentance (Subjective Shifting Devotion Method https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html
1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to shine on you that you are able to discover your sins and be willing to repent:
“Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God and having Jesus as my Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
"Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sins to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gifts to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."
“Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God and having Jesus as my Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
2. Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:
"Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sins to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gifts to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."
3. John Stott's daily prayer of Christlikeness (Christopher J.H. Wright, Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017, 13)
(Please click this link to see how God used John Stott to change my life:https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/
"Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more.
Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.
Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."
The link to today's Time with Abba passages: http://api.pastoralcareschool.org/twa/
Time with Abba passages: (Psalm 84:1-4, Ezra 3:1-4:24; 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4; Proverbs 20:24-25)
Today's key passages:
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Psalm 84:1-4
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel. 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:
“He is good;
his love toward Israel endures forever.”
And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.
Ezra 3:10-13
Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passages we have just read. Offer this time to Jesus as you listen to him.
My Listening The topic I received today is: Almighty God, help us to cherish the opportunity to have in-person worship in our church!
Today's Psalm uses four different names to describe God temple, our church: 1. Your Dwelling Place: The place where God lives 2. Your Courts: God's home with courtyard 3. Your Altar: The place where we make our offerings to God and where God delights in our offerings 4. Your House: God's house and the house God gives us as our spiritual home
Today's Ezra passage describes the moving and powerful scene of the worship of Israelites when they laid the foundation of the temple of Jerusalem after they returned from exile!
Actually, believing it or not, we are in a similar situation of those Israelites who were in captive by Babylon. We are being captive by DOVID-19 for three years and even most churches resume in-person worship, but lots of people choose not to go back to church but use ZOOM or YouTube!
Can we worship online all the time? We should know by now when we read today's Psalm and Ezra. No! We really can't!
If we can, then people do not need to pay a lot to a live concert or watch NBA, NHL! If we can, then people do not need to go to church to worship and can choose online which church they like this week and then choose a better one next week!
Please try all your best to cry out to God that we can go back to our church to worship Him. And, pray for God to give you a yearning heart to go back to your temple to worship Him like what the Psalmist says.
Almighty God, help us to cherish the opportunity to have in-person worship in our church!
Dear Lord Jesus, Help us to be able to go back to our church to worship you. And, Lord give us a yearning heart longing to be back to your temple to worship You. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.
How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
they are ever praising you.
Psalm 84:1-4
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel. 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:
“He is good;
his love toward Israel endures forever.”
And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.
Ezra 3:10-13
Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passages we have just read. Offer this time to Jesus as you listen to him.
My Listening
The topic I received today is: Almighty God, help us to cherish the opportunity to have in-person worship in our church!
Today's Psalm uses four different names to describe God temple, our church:
1. Your Dwelling Place: The place where God lives
2. Your Courts: God's home with courtyard
3. Your Altar: The place where we make our offerings to God and where God delights in our offerings
4. Your House: God's house and the house God gives us as our spiritual home
Today's Ezra passage describes the moving and powerful scene of the worship of Israelites when they laid the foundation of the temple of Jerusalem after they returned from exile!
Actually, believing it or not, we are in a similar situation of those Israelites who were in captive by Babylon. We are being captive by DOVID-19 for three years and even most churches resume in-person worship, but lots of people choose not to go back to church but use ZOOM or YouTube!
Can we worship online all the time? We should know by now when we read today's Psalm and Ezra.
No! We really can't!
If we can, then people do not need to pay a lot to a live concert or watch NBA, NHL! If we can, then people do not need to go to church to worship and can choose online which church they like this week and then choose a better one next week!
Please try all your best to cry out to God that we can go back to our church to worship Him. And, pray for God to give you a yearning heart to go back to your temple to worship Him like what the Psalmist says.
Almighty God, help us to cherish the opportunity to have in-person worship in our church!
Dear Lord Jesus,
Help us to be able to go back to our church to worship you. And, Lord give us a yearning heart longing to be back to your temple to worship You. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.
Reflect on these questions: 1. What inspiration have you received from today's catch? 2. What is your next step?
Reflect on these questions:
1. What inspiration have you received from today's catch?
2. What is your next step?
Family Corner:
Find an opportunity to share with your family the importance of today's message.
To know, learn and practice the method of Time with Abba, please click this link: https://www.pastoralcareschool.org
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