Re-Center Around God
Acts 4:13
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Pondering Point
Each week, we carve out space to do a review of life with the Lord. Thursday falls kind of midway between trips to our Father's house on weekends to worship with your brothers and sisters. It serves as a great time to look at one’s day or week and re-center oneself around the Lord and His will.
This wrinkle of IMMERSION consists of three parts: Review your day or week, repent if necessary, and return to God as necessary.
This week, we use the backdrop of Peter and John in Acts 4:13: Unschooled, ordinary men who had been with Jesus. Prayer prompts are built into the day’s review.
Review
Ask yourself thoughtfully and ask Father God prayerfully: How is my time with God changing me? If not at all, then why? Can others tell that I’ve been with Jesus? How so?
Repent if Necessary
Do you think that you have an accurate assessment of yourself? Do you want candid answers? Ask a spouse, friend, or pastor to offer their insights? It would add to your opportunities to both praise God for the good and repent for the not-so-good.
Return (as necessary)
Ask God what He desires to change in you. See what He lays on your heart. Make a plan to spend time with Jesus, praying specifically for Him shape you like He did Peter and John. Return again and again.
Prayer for the Day
Thank You God for setting us apart and making us Your own. May all forms of enslavement that do not honor You be broken. May healthy “enslavement” to You as our Master find acceptance in our lives. Amen.
Micro-Meditation
Psalm 100:1-5
- Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
- Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs. - Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. - Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name. - For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Teaching or Command of God
Revelations 22:13-14
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
The Promise
John 10:9
[Jesus said] I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
Pondering Point
Tune into a part of you that is thankful and then visualize yourself entering a set of gates into the Lord’s presence – maybe in a court. Linger there with God.