Includes...
Here is today's communion meditation.
Lately verses about God's courts seem to be standing out to me.
Psalm 100:4 says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."
And Psalm 96:8 says, "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.
Notice the connection in these verses... We are to bring an offering and praise into his courts.
In today's communion we are asking God to each us about his courts and what this means for us. And we are asking him to help us enter his courts the way he desires.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
Keep going for walks with God.
I am praying for you.
Daniel
Here is today's communion meditation.
Our message for 2023 is, "God Saved the Best Until Now," which comes from the story when Jesus turned water into wine.
John 2:7-9 says, " Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.."
We have rivers of living water in us, and they are stored in the deep, but we can draw them out. Something I feel like God is showing me is that when these rivers of living water flow through us there is a turning of water into wine that happens when the water is drawn out.
God turns it into something beautiful, graceful, and joyful.
In today's communion we are asking God to help us...
Here is today's communion meditation.
In Mark 11:24 AMPC Jesus said, "For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it]."
In today's communion we are asking God to reveal to us any areas where we are praying but are not trusting and confident in him, so that we can turn it around.
And it's a time of gratitude that because of the sacrifice of Jesus, God eagerly desires to help us.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
One of the ways to practice trusting and being confident is in our workouts. We can trust and be confident that God is with us, helping us. My cue to remember this is the moment my hands touch the handles or weights for an exercise. As soon as I make contact, it's my cue to remember God is with me.
Daniel
Here is today's communion meditation.
In Matthew 13 is the parable of the sower. And in the parable one of the outcomes of a seed being sown is that the thorns choke it out.
Jesus said, " The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful."
Thorns can pop up in our life when we worry or when we put our trust in money rather than in God. Let's take a little time to examine ourselves and see what we are worrying about, so that we can cast those cares over onto God, because he cares for us.
In today's communion we are asking God to reveal to us any areas where worry or thoughts about money are choking out what he wants to do.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
One of the stressors for many people is nutrition and fitness. The world has made these areas very complicated, but it's supposed to be simple.
Daniel
Here is today's communion meditation.
Ezekiel 31:13 says, "“But as for you, say to the Israelites, ‘You shall most certainly observe My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the Lord who sanctifies you and sets you apart [for Myself]."
The Sabbath rest is meant to be a sign that it is God who is really doing the work in our lives. We have a Sabbath rest in Christ and God wants us resting in Him, so that he can show us without a doubt, that it is him doing the work.
Today's communion is a time to examine how well we have been resting, and we are asking God to help us rest the way he says is best.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
Our physical bodies need a balance of work and rest. How has your rest been? A great way to both be active and recreate yourself is to do recreational activities you enjoy.
Daniel
Here is today's communion meditation.
Yesterday we talked about Psalm 32:10 which says, "Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him."
And we talked about developing the practice of breathing in and imaging God's unfailing love surrounding you, then exhale and imagine his love flowing through you out into the world. This is a very simple but powerful exercise to do throughout the day.
While doing this I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."
In today's communion we are asking God to be compelled by Christ's love to be a blessing.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
You can also implement the breathing exercise into your workouts.
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Here is the Message for September.
Our message for 2023 is, " God Saved the Best Until Now," and our message for September is "Doing What's Best in God's Eyes."
To do what's best in God's eyes means seeing things from God's perspective. Every decision we make has unintended side effects, whether good or bad. And when we do what's best in God's eyes it helps us make decisions that create a ripple effect for good.
Proverbs 21:3 says, "The Lord is more pleased when we do what’s right and just than when we offer him sacrifices."
And in the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:42 Jesus told Martha, "only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her."
When we choose what's best it also has a lasting impact.
Our monthly filter for September is... Doing What's Best in God's Eyes
I am praying for you.
Daniel
Here is today's communion meditation.
Psalm 32:10 Says, "Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him."
The Hebrew word for "unfailing love," is "hesed," which is God's covenant commitment to lovingkindness.
Today I have an exercise for us to start practicing. Inhale deeply, and imaging God's unfailing love surrounding you, then exhale and imagine his love flowing through you into the world. This is a very simple but powerful exercise to do throughout the day.
In today's communion we are asking God to reveal to us any ways in which we are not trusting in his unfailing love. And we are asking him to help us consistently remember that his unfailing love surrounds us.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
You can also implement the breathing exercise into your workouts.
Daniel
Here is today's communion meditation.
Recently we've been talking about deep waters. Proverbs says that the purpose in our heart is like deep waters, and our words are like deep waters. And Psalms says that God put the deep into storehouses.
While meditating on these verses I was reminded of Psalm 42:7-8 which says, " Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have rolled over me. 8 The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day, and at night His song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life.…"
In today's communion we are asking God to teach us what deep calls to deep means and to apply what we learn consistently.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
Test out keeping your body relaxed in your next workout and see how it actually makes your workout better.
Daniel
Here is today's communion meditation.
The other day I was reminded of how important it is to stay relaxed while working out. We often think that straining and trying really hard makes us better... but it's not usually true. There was once a college track coach who would have his sprinters race each other at the beginning of the year and record their times. Then he would have them run a cool down sprint, with a focus on staying relaxed, and all of them would beat their original times. Then he would have them run again, with a focus on being even more relaxed, and they would all beat their times again.
Being relaxed makes us more efficient and more powerful... It's counterintuitive.
In John 14:10 Jesus said, "Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me."
The same Father that lived in him, lives in us. And he wants to work through...
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