Daily Devotion

January 10 // Carl Jackson

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus is telling his disciples to make disciples of all nations. What is a disciple? A disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ. Today Jesus is telling us through the Holy Spirit to make disciples of all nations, all races, all rich people, all poor people. The key word is ALL. Jesus does not want anyone to perish but have eternal life with Him and to have life more abundantly. Once a person has accepted Jesus Christ in their life, they become a disciple of Jesus and are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus wants us to teach all people to observe all that He commanded us to do. The two commands that come to my mind are “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If we could live out these two commandments, this world would be better, our nation would be better, our community would be better. We would not be having all this protesting, looting, and unjust killings. Everyone who is reading this devotion is my neighbor regardless of how rich you are, or how poor you are, no matter your political viewpoint, or your ethnic background. Jesus wants us to love one another and if you love me, you won’t hurt me. Paul said the greatest gift is love.

The good news is that Jesus lives and He lives in you and me. And if Jesus is with us and in us and for us, who can be against us. 

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your presence in our lives. We ask that you make us more like you. We pray that you would heal our world and our nation. Father God, we need you more now than ever before. Please let Your Holy Spirit, Your Love, Your Peace fall fresh on us. Father God, we pray for our nation and our leaders. We pray for the sick among us and we pray for all those who grieve. Father God, we thank You and praise Your Holy Name! We ask all these things in the mighty name of Jesus, the Christ.

Amen.

Our perspective changes everything. God has a different perspective of our circumstances than we do. With God there is always more going on in the Spirit realm than meets the natural eye.  We need  a perspective shift in our prayer lives because once our perspective shifts we notice the incredible things that are happening.  We must remove barriers, declare God’s truth and ask the Lord to open our eyes. 

“Then Elisha prayed, ‘O LORD open his eyes and let him see?’ The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.”

2 KINGS 6:17(NLT)

Discussion Questions 

You can look at a problem from the bottom, from halfway up, or from the top (God’s 

perspective). How can prayer help you shift your perspective? 

Share a time when God delivered to you in the supernatural what seemed 

impossible in the natural. 

Are fear, doubt, or anxiety keeping you from seeing things from God’s perspective? 

Discuss some ways to overcome these barriers, such as speaking truth from the Bible over yourself. 

Talk about a situation that you did not see from God’s perspective until he opened 

your eyes to let you see the problem or the person the way He sees them. 

Prayer Focus 

Think about those areas that loom large like a mountain blocking your path. Ask God to give you His perspective about that situation and to open your eyes to His truth for you. 

Next Steps 

This week, begin to involve God in your daily life. Whether it is a conversation with a family member or a workplace activity, give God a place in everything you do so that you may become more aware of His presence and His voice. 

Sometimes it seems like God is on a completely different timeline than we are. When it feels like our prayers aren’t being answered according to our timeline, there is a great hope ahead of us because God is always doing something greater on an even bigger timeline. The power is in God’s growing of the seed, not in the sower. If we all pray in unity today, unimaginable things will happen in the future. 

“It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.” 

1  CORINTHIANS  3:7 

Discussion Questions 

Have you ever thought God was on a different time table than you? How did His supernatural power and timing create an even better outcome than you were praying for? 

We are living in a  time of renewal, in thanks to the seeds that were sown by the previous faithful generation. In what ways do you see the fruits of those prayers today? 

Has there been a time during which you prayed faithfully for someone did not know Jesus? Describe how God moved in that situation. 

The power of prayer is in the seed that is planted, not in the sower. We can’t make things happen, but God can. Discuss a time when you had to pray about a situation and then step aside to let God handle it. 

Prayer Focus 

We can easily put God in a box with the expectations of how we think He should do things. Repent of any expectations you may have limited Him to, and express your trust in God and His timeline. 

Next Steps 

Read Paul’s prayers in Ephesians 1:17-19 and 3:17-20 and begin to pray these prayers over yourself this week. Ask the Lord to also help identify ways to increase your faith and knowledge of who He is and incorporate at least one of these ways into your daily routine.

When praying, it is not so much about what you say in your prayer but the directing of your heart. The Lord weighs the heart—and there are three attitudes of the heart that God responds to in particular; desperation, repentance, and humility. We will not always get the answer we seek at the moment we seek it, but often when we reflect back we see where God has answered our prayers.

“…God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 

JAMES 4:6

Discussion Questions 

Have you ever needed to pray about something but just didn’t know how? How did you overcome this obstacle? 

God knows our thoughts, but praying out loud is still important. How can verbalizing requests when praying help you? 

What are some ways you can make yourself comfortable enough to pray out loud? For example, playing worship music loudly, etc. 

God cares most about our prayer attitude. Think about a time when you came to Him with an attitude of desperation, repentance, or humility. How did God 

respond? 

Prayer Focus 

Ask God to cultivate a heart of humility in you. Ask God to search your heart and show you if there is any hard heart in you.  Repent and confess your need for Him. 

Next Steps 

Determine the best place to worship and pray in your home, and set aside time to pray there every day. During that time, focus on developing a closer relationship with God and committing your day to Him.

 

Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Let’s celebrate the Lord together! In Christ alone is where we find our strength, hope, and joy. Yes, the Christian life is one full of denying yourself, picking up your cross and following Jesus (Matt 16:24), but it’s also a life that is full of celebration in knowing what Christ has done for us. That’s why it’s called the GOOD News! There’s a reason to rejoice in it. Though taking the narrow path may be difficult, God has promised us His strength as we endure this life and wait in eager expectation for eternity with Him. Continue reading “Living Sent – Day 21” →

 

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. 

This extremely powerful verse has a promise AND a call to action. In this verse, the tense that is being used is extremely important. “His divine power HAS been given.” This means that we have been filled with the Holy Spirit and have the power to act on His behalf to bring lost souls back to Him. God then acts through us and sends us where we are needed. This verse also confirms that we have all the tools we need to work on behalf of Him. How often do you feel conflicted about having tough conversations with people about religion? Have Faith! God has given you all the tools that you will need. Trust in Him. He will never leave you nor forsake you. This passage is all about confirmation. Live in that confirmation of Him who has claimed you and you will never fail. Continue reading “Living Sent – Day 20” →

 

Psalm 38:9 O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you.

As living sent, we long for God, for others to know Christ, and for ourselves to grow deeper in Him. Continue reading “Living Sent – Day 19” →

 

Jeremiah 30:19-20 Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who celebrate. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small. Their children shall be as they were of old, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all who oppress them.

It was prophesied that this passage of scripture would be the Israelite’s response to God’s promise of restoration over them. The promise was that God would have compassion on His people and restore all that had been lost to them while they lived in captivity. How much more should we rejoice in what Jesus has done for us! His death and resurrection mean a life restored for those who put their trust in Him. Continue reading “Living Sent – Day 18” →

 

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Many of us have heard the phrase at some point… if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. The Bible has its own version. There is much power in our words, whether we intend them or not. In today’s age of technology our words travel much farther than before with less context than before. It is more important than ever to watch our words. Continue reading “Living Sent – Day 17” →

 

1 John 4:9 In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His own son into the world, so that we might live through Him.

Imagine this… You’re standing in a beautiful, verdant garden flourishing with life. Lush green foliage surrounds you, and you can practically see the plants growing before your eyes. A soft sprinkle of rain begins, gently misting the surface of the earth with small droplets of life-giving water. Who makes all of this life possible? Continue reading “Living Sent – Day 16” →