Daily Prayer for March 20
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Revelation 12:10-11, NIV Lord our God, in praise and thanksgiving we look toward your kingdom and the reign of Jesus Christ in your kingdom. We rejoice that you make him Lord not only in heaven but also on earth, where he will gain the victory in all mankind. Men will become good and will love one another, and they will find peace when everything is done according to your will. For the time must come when, on earth as in heaven, your will is done everywhere and in everything. Be with us with your Spirit so that we may stand firm as your children until the moment comes for us to exult: Up out of all grief and trouble! Up from evil and death! Up to you, our Father in heaven! Praise to your name today while we are still groaning. Glory to your kingdom. Glory to Jesus Christ our Savior, whom you have given us. Amen. Recent articles on Plough A Dust Rag for Easter Eggs Clare Huchet Bishop Paris, under Nazi occupation: Little Zezette is sick and malnourished. Her friends want to help her get well again, but how? Louise has an idea. Read now PloughCast 79: According to the Scriptures – Resurrection in the Old Testament Alastair Roberts and Susannah Black Roberts Alastair Roberts revisits the resurrection stories of the Old Testament. Read now Dandelions: An Apology Clare Coffey Why sweat lawn care when you could have a meadow, green and gold, by working a little less? Read now Why All Christians Should Give Lent a Chance Benjamin Crosby Feasting and fasting help us habituate our affections, help us to feel the truths of the gospel. Read now Saint Patrick’s Windows into Grief Lanta Davis On a tiny island in a lake in Ireland, Harry Clarke’s stations of the cross in stained glass comforted me as I grieved my mother. Read now
Today’s Verse – Acts 3:19-20
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who he has appointed for you — even Jesus. —Acts 3:19-20 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… When did you last catch yourself straying from a passionate walk with the LORD? Refreshing times come when we change our hearts and lives to turn our hearts toward Jesus and live for God in our daily lives! This is real repentance. When we repent and live for him, Jesus promised to reveal himself to us and make his home in us (John 14:15-21, 23-24). When we turn our hearts and lives around in repentance to live for him, we enjoy forgiveness and immediate refreshment now as we look forward to going home to be with him and enjoy our ultimate refreshment with him forever. My Prayer… Abba Father, I am consciously turning my life over to you today. I renounce the sin in my life and yearn to live for you. I ask for your forgiveness for any sin that I have committed. I trust you will refresh my spirit through a deeper awareness of Jesus’ lordship and presence in my life today. I pray this, trusting in your promised refreshment and presence. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
As a Child!
Note from Jesus Dear Precious One, When you read the verses below, I want you to notice My interactions with My disciples regarding a rich public official who turned away from following Me. I challenged My disciples to think through his rejection of My call and focus their attention on those who are worthy of their emulation: Don’t you realize — the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like children? You can depend on this: if you don’t receive the Kingdom as a child would, you won’t enter it at all. Religion gets far off track when the focus becomes a question of who is most important, most religious, and most deserving of the Father’s love. I came to you as God. The rich public official in the story below missed this truth. He called Me “good” and only God is truly good. So I challenged him to listen to Me as God. I told him that he needed to drop his religious game of trying to earn the Father’s love. He needed to quit trying to outdo all the others around him in his religious practices. He needed to look deep into his own heart and see that there was an idol he held as more important than obeying the voice of the Father. However, he dismissed what I said. He refused to give up his idol — his great wealth — for two reasons: He didn’t think of Me as God. He dismissed what I said as just more religious teaching. He didn’t accept what I said as the very commands of God. He was rich and his idol — his real god — was his money. Unfortunately, he thought he could earn the Father’s favor just like he had earned his money. Sadly, he walked away from Me and from the joy of My kingdom because he couldn’t give up what was false. Just before the description of this rich public official’s visit with Me, you meet children who are the model for the kind of heart that receives My kingdom. Just after this official, you meet My disciples. In childlike amazement, they wonder how anyone can be saved if someone who has lived a good life, like this rich public official, couldn’t find his way into My kingdom. I reminded them that they were thinking in human terms. And in human terms, it is impossible. But We — Father, Son, and Spirit — make the impossible possible. All that My disciples had to do was look at themselves and what they had given up. You see, nothing is impossible for the heart totally yielded to Me. You cannot give up more for Me than you will receive many times over in the age to come (Matthew 19:29). However — and this is a huge “however” — you have to be willing to follow Me as a child. So come, dear precious one, and follow Me! Verses to Live During My time on earth, children were not an important part of society. They were trained, loved, nurtured, and apprenticed at home. They were not important in adult society. For Me to hold them up as a good example of a disciple was shocking. To elevate children above a rich, devoted-to-the-law public official was shocking. Sometimes, My precious one, shocking is good. Listen with your heart. Invite the Holy Spirit to attach these words to your soul. I AM the good teacher. I AM God among you. I AM the One teaching the eternal truth. You either renounce all of your idols and follow Me as a child, or you walk away from Me with a sad heart. If you leave, you forfeit your hope of enjoying My kingdom. Some people brought infants to Jesus, hoping He would touch them to bless them. The disciples rebuked them for doing this. However, Jesus reacted strongly to their rebuke. Jesus: Let the little children come to Me. Never hinder them! Don’t you realize — the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like children? You can depend on this: if you don’t receive the Kingdom as a child would, you won’t enter it at all. Public Official: Good Teacher, what do I need to do to inherit the life of the age to come? Jesus: Why did you just call Me good? No one is good but God — only God. You know what the Hebrew Scriptures command: “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother.” Public Official: I’ve already been doing these things — since I came of age. Jesus: One thing you still lack — one thing; sell all your possessions and distribute the proceeds to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. Then you can come and follow Me. The man heard these words and sadness came over his face, for his wealth was considerable. Jesus: What a hard thing it is for those with much wealth to enter the kingdom of God! In fact, it would be easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than it would be for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God! Listeners: Then who can be liberated? Jesus: Remember, what is humanly impossible is possible with God. Peter: We have left our homes and followed You. Jesus: I’m telling you the truth: there is nobody who leaves his house or wife or siblings or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive more than he has given up — much more — in this age and in the age to come. He will receive eternal life. (Luke 18:15-30) Response in Prayer Father in heaven, I thank You for Jesus being among us in His earthly ministry as Immanuel — God with us. I confess that I sometimes try to win Your approval by compiling a list of things I
19 Mar 2024
Let us also not take the amazing love of God for granted. He is so merciful and gracious that we can sometimes forget how fortunate we are to be where we are. May we always hunger and thirst to grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him. Isaiah 25:1-12.
Daily Prayer for March 19
In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ Romans 9:26, NIV Lord our God, we thank you that you have called us your children, a people who may serve you even in suffering and temptation. Grant that the grace of Jesus Christ may be in us so that we can be victorious over everything that life puts in our way and can withstand the distress that surrounds so many people. O Lord our God, our only refuge, to you alone can we appeal for evil to end and for the victory of Jesus Christ to break through. In that hour we shall rejoice and be glad as your people. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Dandelions: An Apology Clare Coffey Why sweat lawn care when you could have a meadow, green and gold, by working a little less? Read now Why All Christians Should Give Lent a Chance Benjamin Crosby Feasting and fasting help us habituate our affections, help us to feel the truths of the gospel. Read now Saint Patrick’s Windows into Grief Lanta Davis On a tiny island in a lake in Ireland, Harry Clarke’s stations of the cross in stained glass comforted me as I grieved my mother. Read now Living in Limbo Joseph Sorrentino Migrants from around the world, setting their hopes on legal entry into the United States, congregate in Mexico. Read now Rachoff Karl Josef Friedrich In this story, a young man takes to the road to follow his master, Jesus. Read now
Today’s Verse – 2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all [contemplate and] reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. —2 Corinthians 3:18 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… “Transformed … with ever-increasing glory.” In other words, it’s an ongoing process. The beauty of this truth is that with the continual help of the Holy Spirit, we’re going to arrive at our goal — the Spirit is transforming us to become more and more like Jesus! The message is that we must not give up on our journey. We must keep looking to Jesus and reflecting his character, his compassion, his love, and his holiness, while we trust that the Holy Spirit is doing God’s work in us, making us more and more like Jesus each day. My Prayer… Father, please forgive me for the times when I’ve let my faith grow complacent, and I’ve lost my focus on Jesus. Please bless me as I try to be more intentional in my plans, especially my spiritual maturity. Please make me more like Jesus each day. I offer myself to you that I might become more JESUShaped. In his name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Questions Out of Focus
Note from Jesus Dear Believer, Have you noticed how people sometimes ask the wrong questions? Those questions reveal their assumptions about reality and their place in it. Religious people are not immune to asking the wrong questions. The two parables that I told in the verses below challenge you to think about the assumptions that lie behind your questions. In the first parable, the implied question of My people is this: “Will God hear my prayers and answer my repeated pleas to bring justice and deliverance for us, His people?” My response is the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. In story form, My answer is clear. An unjust judge can be swayed by a powerless widow who will not give up asking him for help. Surely you know that your loving Father in heaven will hear you. He will lovingly hear your earnest and repeated prayers and answer according to His gracious purposes for you. That answer will not be haphazard; it will come at the best possible time for your wellbeing and for the wellbeing of the fallen universe in bondage to decay. However, I want to remind you of an even more important question: “[W]hen the Son of Man comes, will He find anyone who still has faith?” That Son of Man is Me! You must live for Me with urgency anticipating My coming at any moment. You need to be full of anticipation regardless of how it seems your prayers are heard. The Father hears and cares about your hurt. He cares about the delay you feel in His response to your prayers. So please, be patient and faithful, knowing that I AM near. In the second parable, the self-righteous man’s implied question is this: “How can I display to others that I am a person of righteousness and honor when I go to pray in the Temple?” My answer is this: The Father doesn’t want you to try to make yourself look honorable and righteous to others when you worship Him or try to honor Him. Instead, the Father wants you to focus on a question of deeper significance about His love for you: “O Father, how can You be so gracious as to forgive me and to be merciful to me, a sinner?” Going home having been made righteous by the Father is much more important than appearing righteous. Your questions, even when they are legitimate, often have their focus on you and your circumstances. Shouldn’t your questions focus on the Father’s faithfulness, mercy, and grace? Shouldn’t your questions focus on how blessed you are because the Father has chosen you to share in His grace? Shouldn’t your perspective include the needs of the lost around you? Shouldn’t your questions show amazement at the Father’s great love for you even when you were a rebellious sinner and so prone to abandoning your faith? Verses to Live Please remember two things as you read the following verses: First, at the heart of sin, is an “I” problem. People focus too much on themselves! Even when times are hard and persecution becomes increasingly dangerous, don’t give up and don’t lose heart. Be like the persistent widow in My parable. The Father is listening and will answer you! Second, God’s faithfulness, mercy, love, and grace are reliable. You can trust in them because you trust in Him! He [Jesus] told them a parable, urging them to keep praying and never grow discouraged. The parable went like this: Jesus: There was a judge living in a certain city. He showed no respect for God or humanity. In that same city there was a widow. Again and again she kept coming to him seeking justice: “Clear my name from my adversary’s false accusations!” He paid no attention to her request for a while, but then he said to himself, “I don’t care about what God thinks of me, much less what any mere human thinks. But this widow is driving me crazy. She’s never going to quit coming to see me unless I hear her case and provide her legal protection.” Did you catch what this self-assured judge said? If he can be moved to act justly, won’t God bring justice for His chosen people when they cry to Him day and night? Will He be slow to bring them justice? Mark My words: God will intervene fast with vindication. But here’s the question: when the Son of Man comes, will He find anyone who still has faith? He told another parable — this one addressed to people who were confident in their self-righteousness and looked down on other people with disgust. Jesus: Imagine two men walking up a road, going to the temple to pray. One of them is a Pharisee and the other is a despised tax collector. Once inside the temple, the Pharisee stands up and prays this prayer in honor of himself: “God, how I thank You that I am not on the same level as other people — crooks, cheaters, the sexually immoral — like this tax collector over here. Just look at me! I fast not once but twice a week, and I faithfully pay my tithes on every penny of income.” Over in the corner, the tax collector begins to pray, but he won’t even lift his eyes to heaven. He pounds on his chest in sorrow and says, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Now imagine these two men walking back down the road to their homes. Listen, it’s the tax collector who walks home clean before God, and not the Pharisee, because whoever lifts himself up will be put down and whoever takes a humble place will be lifted up. (Luke 18:1-14) Response in Prayer Almighty God, I confess that I sometimes place myself at the center of my spiritual universe and do not consider the long-term implications of my influence. Forgive me for my impertinence in prayer and the selfishness sometimes found in my
18 Mar 2024
Would a change of attitude or behaviour bring about a change in some of the circumstances we are facing? Is there something we could do? For Judah and Israel, infidelity towards God and their spouses grieved God and caused Him to withdraw His favour upon them. Malachi 2:11-14.
Daily Prayer for March 18
…being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:11–14, NIV Dear Father in heaven, we thank you. We want to be ready to thank you at all times. We look forward with joy to your kingdom and await the redemption that will free us to the very depth of our being, to the praise and thanks and honor of your name. Be with the many people who come hungering and thirsting to you. Bring deliverance to those whose hearts are true, and let them know that the power of your kingdom is truly present here on earth in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Dandelions: An Apology Clare Coffey Why sweat lawn care when you could have a meadow, green and gold, by working a little less? Read now Why All Christians Should Give Lent a Chance Benjamin Crosby Feasting and fasting help us habituate our affections, help us to feel the truths of the gospel. Read now Saint Patrick’s Windows into Grief Lanta Davis On a tiny island in a lake in Ireland, Harry Clarke’s stations of the cross in stained glass comforted me as I grieved my mother. Read now Living in Limbo Joseph Sorrentino Migrants from around the world, setting their hopes on legal entry into the United States, congregate in Mexico. Read now Rachoff Karl Josef Friedrich In this story, a young man takes to the road to follow his master, Jesus. Read now
Today’s Verse – Philippians 3:17
Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. —Philippians 3:17 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Some critics of preaching and preachers say, “I would rather see a sermon any day than hear one.” I’m not distressed because people want to “see a sermon.” The life of those preaching should be consistent with what they preach. Some don’t “practice what they preach,” and their hypocrisy discredits the message of Christ in the ears of our critics. A leader’s primary tool of influence is a life of faithfulness, character, and compassion. Whether the leader serves in politics, business, church, or family, godly influence is necessary! All who seek to influence others toward JESUShaped living MUST practice what we preach. Why? Because most folks need to both hear and see the message before it becomes a part of their daily lifestyle. My Prayer… LORD God Almighty, please forgive me, equip me, and make me fit for your service. Please help me, dear Father, as I try to live a life worth imitating as I seek to lead others to Jesus and JESUShaped living. I ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and strength because I cannot lead with faithfulness, character, and compassion without the Spirit’s power and grace transforming my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.