Monday, March 5 Theme for the week: Disciples Don’t Worry about Tomorrow, But...
Do not worry… Jesus (in His Sermon on the Mount)
Our IMMERSION devotions are right in the middle of Jesus’ teachings about worry. Worry is a like nutrient-sucking weed in the soil of the Christian’s life. It robs the Christian of energy that could otherwise go toward the growth of God's Word in our faith and practice of loving others – God and neighbor. There is a prayer from Ransomed Heart Ministries titled Becoming Good Soil that shares this line: I confess that I need to live more deeply in a habitat that allows my soul to thrive. It later follows up with a prayerful decision that is being used as our prayer for the week:
Prayer for the Week
I give you the habitat of my life and I ask that you would bring it into alignment with the habitat that's right for my soul: Unforced rhythms of grace, learning to live freely and lightly, putting down everything that is heavy laden, everything that is ill-fitting, that doesn't fit me. Help me to be comfortable in my own skin. Help me to like me as you like me. Restore my soul. Integrate the whole man. God I give you permission. I pray that you would cultivate the habits that are necessary so that I can be available to receive that which I can't arrange for. What do I need to abstain from? And what do I need to engage in? Teach me; I'm your student. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Psalm of Meditation for the Week:
Psalms 51:1-2
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
Read: the verses twice.
Mark: the words or phrases that catch your attention.
Meditate: talk (better yet write) with God about those words. Ask him to impress things upon your heart and mind; expect a response from the Lord.
Tuesday, March 6 God’s Mission Seen in Matthew 6:33-34
Matthew 6:33-34
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
A person may choose to debate with God as to what “thriving” looks or feels like, but there is little question that God has a desire to see us thrive. Jesus speaks of wanting to give us life abundantly (John 10); God knows what we need; He has even told us not to worry about what others chase after because He will make sure that they are given to us. He calls for our focus to be seeking His kingdom and His righteousness—the rest, which we humans are often inclined to focus on, is promised to follow as we put Him first.
Prayer Prompt
For a meditative moment, listen to the Casting Crowns song Thrive. Here are a few of the lyrics:
We know we were made for so much more Than ordinary lives It’s time for us to more than just survive We were made to thrive Into Your word we’re digging deep To know our Father’s heart
Scripture Meditation for the Day:
Psalm 51:1
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Teaching or Command of God:
Hebrews 10:17-18
The Holy Spirit adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
The Promise:
Ephesians 1:7-8a
In [Christ Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.
Wednesday, March 7 Your Identity in Christ
In Christ all things that I need will be given to me as I seek God and his righteousness first.
I suppose at some point a question should be asked: Do you believe that if you seek (first) God and His righteousness, that he will provide all that you need to thrive? Do you believe that he will provide you with an abundant life as promised? If so, then how do we put ourselves in a position to experience this? Rather than simply stop here and turn to whatever you were going to do next, take some time to ponder with the Lord what it would take for your soul – for you – to thrive spiritually and then by extension to thrive out of that physically, emotionally, psychologically and relationally.
Prayer
Father God, I want to thrive. I am not sure that You and I have the same version of thriving in mind. But I desire to align my idea of thriving with Yours that I might find what You intend for my soul and by extension every other part of me that I might experience in abundance of life under Your grace and mercy and Holy Spirit’s leadership.
In Jesus’ name I pray this, Amen.
Scripture Meditation for the Day:
Psalm 51:1
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Teaching or Command of God:
Matthew 26:27-28
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”.
The Promise:
1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Thursday, March 8 Re-Center Around God
1 Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
To thrive in one’s faith walk and life, consider these agricultural descriptions: To be rooted and suited and fruited.
Rooted in Christ and His Word (see Psalm 1)
Suited as soil for productive growth (see Matthew 13)
Fruited as a result of a connection to Jesus (see John 15)
Sometimes (maybe all the time) the pathway to thriving is humility before God, trusting that He will lift you up in His time, in His way, with His mighty hand. The best way to handle any worry it to give it to Him in prayer and keep giving it to Him.
Review
Am I rooted? Am I suitable soil? Am I bearing fruit?
Repent (if necessary)
Do I need to repent? Do my roots need to run deeper? Are the best energies of my “soil” being used in connection with God’s Word lost to other areas? Is my connection to Jesus evident in the fruits of the Spirit (See Galatians 5:22-23) Are they glaringly absent?
Return (as necessary)
Pray for deep roots in the Spirit, good soil for the Father to work with, and healthy fruit stemming from your abiding in Jesus.
Scripture Meditation for the Day:
Psalm 51:2
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Teaching or Command of God:
Ephesians 5:25b-26
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word…
The Promise:
Hebrews 9:14
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Friday, March 9 Discipleship Point from Matthew 6:33-34
Matthew 6:33-34
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
As a follow-up of last week's discipleship point of becoming good soil, it's good to ask what it will take to put ourselves in a position for our souls to thrive, to allow God to put our souls in position to thrive.
What follows is not an answer to create that environment, but a question to cause you to consider what it will take to provide such an environment. It is taken from Ransomed Heart Ministries prayer entitled Becoming Good Soil, particularly the line, “I confess that I need to live more deeply in a habitat that allows my soul to thrive.” Ask yourself: Have I built a habitat in my world that allows or even induces my soul to thrive? What could I do differently to help my soul further flourish and prosper?
Discipleship Prayer:
Father God, I want to flourish as Your child; I am willing to humble myself under Your mighty hand and let You shape my world, my “soil” in order to better accommodate the presence of Your word in my life. Bring it on; bring it in; let it grow; let me grow in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Scripture Meditation for the Day:
Psalm 51:2
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Teaching or Command of God:
Titus 3:4-5
When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit…
The Promise:
Ezekiel 36:25-26
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
Saturday, March 10 Jesus Calms the Storm
Matthew 8:23-27
Jesus Calms the Storm
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Anne Murray referenced the above bible story in her now-aged song, Put Your Hand in the Hand.
Few of us have actually been on a boat with waves crashing over it, and might have to employ our imagination to connect with this story literally.
But metaphorically most can likely envision a time when we felt wave after wave of troubling issues crashing over us with no seeming end in sight. Even with this type of “storm” it is helpful to have the sense that you can “put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea.”
The disciples were already following Jesus when the storm hit – and had already put their lives in Jesus’ hands – a good call to be sure.
But just because you're following Jesus doesn't mean you won't end up in storms – nor that those storm-swept waves won’t continue to crash over you.
We don’t automatically have strong faith merely because we follow Jesus. Faith practiced is faith growing.
Pray for a growing faith!
Sunday, March 11 Call to Worship God, to Gather Together
Psalms 9:1-2
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, Most High.
Many Spirit-filled authors have exhausted the thesaurus in order to describe God with the glory he deserves. His perfect holiness, by definition, assures us that our words can't contain him. Isn't it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate?
~ Francis Chan
Prayer Prompt
Father God, help us to have the kind of strength and faith that knows how to put our lives in your hands, or as the Anne Murray song says to put our “hand in the hand of” our Lord Jesus. While it would be nice to have a world with no crashing waves, that might be a bit unrealistic.
Please help us to not worry about the storms, but to know that you will help us get through them when they come. That way we can focus on today and not spend too much time focusing on what we can't control in the future… in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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