MORNING DEVOTION- "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee..." (Psalm 63:1)
Scripture Reading: Acts 13:1-3, 15-52
In our reading yesterday, we began with the church being persecuted and Peter being "thrown" in prison by King Herod, but by the time we finished Peter had been set free from prison and Herod was dethroned and dead. The key to this extraordinary change in their circumstances was a praying church! (reference Acts 12:5). From this point the book of Acts now turns to Paul and his missionary journeys; as he and those with him carry the gospel message throughout the known world. His first mission trip was the result of a passionate prayer and worship session: "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them" (Acts:13:2). Later, Paul and Barnabas would appoint elders in each of the churches they visited in the same manner, with prayer and fasting (reference Acts 14:23).
Paul's every step had been purposed by God from the moment God intercepted his path and called him out of a life of selfishness into a life of righteousness that comes through faith in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit would continue to lead him in his primary purpose of no longer persecuting Christians, but proclaiming Christ. Paul no longer depended upon strategic planning sessions and letters of authorization to accomplish the work he was called to do; he was totally dependent upon the work of the Holy Spirit; He had made Paul a living letter of His love and righteousness, enabling him to proclaim the message of eternal life to the world. "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts...He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:2-3, 6).
In each city Paul would preach the good news of Jesus Christ beginning in the synagogues. In his first message he shared how God worked through His people Israel throughout the generations, and fulfilled His covenant promise to Abraham by raising up the promised Messiah. "We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus" (Acts 13:32-33). God had worked through the Jews and was now bringing His message to the Gentiles, calling all to repentance. "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:38-39). The message was brought by the Holy Spirit through God's chosen vessels, but it would be the responsibility of all who hear the truth to respond, repent and be saved. This would be the message carried throughout the Roman world and forward throughout the generations to come, so that every son and daughter of Abraham, whether physical or spiritual descendants (reference Romans 4:16-17; Galatians 3:7), would have an opportunity to hear and receive God's gift of forgiveness and salvation.
Heavenly Father,
We praise You that You are a God of Your Word.
You are not a man, that You should lie,
nor a son of man, that You should change Your mind.
Do You speak and then not act?
Do You promise and not fulfill?
(Numbers 23:19)
We are eternally grateful that You are a God
who keeps His promises and have faithfully
carried Your message of salvation
down through the generations so that we
would hear the truth, and have an opportunity to be saved.
Let our lives now be an open letter to our
generation of the wondrous love of the Father.
And may the future generations be as blessed
as ours has been because we have been faithful
to share Your love, obey Your Word,
and proclaim Your gospel message.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Paul's sermon to the people expressed the wonderful Father love of God to His chosen people. God delivered them out of bondage and carried them through the wilderness, providing for them miracles and daily bread. He was patient and long-suffering, and settled them in the promised land. He gave them judges, prophets, and a king that they demanded, and then one after His own heart and choosing. God was faithful, while His people where unfaithful and faithless; and He raised them up a Savior - the promised Messiah through whom "all the families of the earth should be blessed" (Acts 3:25). This message of God's fatherly love to His people has not changed since the creation of the world. Let us pray this morning for those who will hear the message of God's redemption of the world in this generation that they will not "despise" it and "perish", but rather wonder at this great work of God and be saved. Let us pray especially for our children as we train them in the way they should go, that when they are old they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Let us praise God for the blessings bestowed upon us by His great love which He has poured out upon us through His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15b).
As the gospel message has been carried forth throughout the book of Acts, we have read of instances where entire households were saved. When Peter was brought to the household of Cornelius the centurion, "the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message" (Acts 10:44); when Paul met Lydia in Philippia, "The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message...and the members of her household were baptized" (v.16:14b,15a); and when Paul and Silas were imprisoned, the Lord sent an earthquake to set them free and they witnessed to the jailer, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household" (v.31); and the jailer and his whole family came to believe in God (v.34). These men and women recognized the importance of bringing the good news of Jesus Christ into their homes. Our greatest mission field that we have been given is our family, and we have a responsibility to share the love of God with them first.
Jesus Christ was sent into the world to express the Father's love to His creation. God first expressed His love by creating humans in the ultimate form - His own image - the very image of love (reference Genesis 1:27: 1 John 4:16). In the Garden of Eden we were in perfect unity with God; created in love and living in the presence of His love - experiencing the fullness of life as it was intended to be. However, when sin entered the world, that love relationship became flawed, because we were no longer living in the sufficiency of God's love, we were selfishly seeking our own. But God, being love, determined to restore that perfect union sent the ultimate form of His love - this time in His own Son; the fullest expression of His love possible (reference Romans 5:8). "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16)
The message that was carried by the apostles, Paul, and all future disciples is the message of the Father's love for His children. God sacrificed His Son so that we could become His sons and daughters (reference John 1:12-13). He desires for us to be a family with Him for all eternity. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1). The enemy, however, has been working relentlessly, since the fall of man in the garden, to destroy the very idea of the "fathers" love; causing God's children to question His love (reference Genesis 3:1). Satan's deceptions have been successfully tearing apart the family unit and destroying the role of the father in the family for generations. One need only look at the divorce rate, the number of single parent homes, fathers who have abandoned their family's, the advances in the homosexual agenda, the abortion rate, the demeaning and disrespectful portrayal of the father's role in television and on film, to see the damage that has been done. The church has not been unaffected; we have a responsibility as those who know the depth and breadth of the Father's love to wake up and become more vigilant in our prayers, and take a stand against this wave of deception that is tearing apart the very fabric of our nation by pulling the very thread that has held us together - the family. "Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street" (Lamentations 2:19).
Heavenly Father,
We praise You that nothing shall
separate us from the love of Christ.
Help us to repair this breach that has
torn families apart and wounded so
many children. We pray and ask You
to fulfill Your Word: "
to turn the hearts of the fathers
to their children, and the hearts of the children
to their fathers (Malachi 4:6).
Use Your church to pour out the Father's love
upon this generation that they may know what true love is.
Stir Christian men to rise
up early and take their positions
as watchmen on the walls of their homes in prayer
and in the diligent study of Your Word, so they
can become strong spiritual leaders in their homes.
Lead them to bless their children and "not exasperate [them];
instead, bring them up in the training and instruction
of the Lord."
(Ephesians 6:4)
To love their wives as Christ loved the Church;
and to love their children with the
love of the heavenly Father,
Help godly parents to "not hide from their children [Your teachings];
to tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
His power, and the wonders He has done." (Psalm 78:4).
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Life is the greatest expression of God's love. Even after the fall of mankind God purposed for man and woman to continue to produce life as a sign of His grace. Even in judgment, He didn't remove His love, or His desire for man to experience love, just because He removed them from the garden. The love of man is flawed, but God in His love sent His Son as the fullest expression of perfect love to take our sin to the cross so we could be perfected by His love. It is a great tragedy that man has believed the lies of the enemy and has rejected God's love in its' highest form by murdering millions of babies through abortion. Throughout the Scriptures, the Lord would reveal to His people the name of the child to be born to give them their identity and to show the personhood of a child, long before the child was even thought of in their parents minds (Genesis 17:19, Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:13; 31). Before the foundation of the world the Lord has planned and purposed every human life. Every second a child is denied the ability to be born into the world because of abortion, the Father experiences the rejection of His love by His creation. Praise God every one of those children are accepted into His arms. This afternoon, let us pray fervently and stand vigilantly against the relentless efforts of those who advocate the abortion agenda. May we offer praise to God that the blinders are beginning to come off the eyes of the American people to see the cruel reality and tragic results from our past silence and acceptance of this culture of death. "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction...This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the LORD is your life..." (Deuteronomy 30:15, 19-20).
EVENING MEDITATION -"...and on His law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:2)
Prayer Focus: Family
One of our primary responsibilities we have as Christians is to raise up the next generation of godly men and women who will carry the torch and bear the light of Christ for generations to come. Each of us is accountable for how we impacted and influenced our generation for the good of mankind and the glory of God. It is God's design that the father take their position as strong spiritual leaders in their homes, becoming the very example of the Heavenly Father to their earthly families; standing guard as spiritual watchmen over their household; loving their wives as Christ loves the church (reference Ephesians 5:25; Colossians 3:19); and raising their children to walk in the ways of the Lord (reference Proverbs 22:6). "He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge" (Proverbs 14:26). In Jewish families households are made up of family members to the third and fourth generation (even today, in Israel you can see the generations as each new level is added to the original home). It is Jewish tradition to recite the "Shema" everyday. This speaks of the importance of making sure the next generation hears and knows of the love and commands of God: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the Lord is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
This evening, as we lift up our family before the Lord, take time to pray for each family member by name: Praying, and praising God, for your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, and other extended family members that may live under your roof, and for those who live far away, or who you are separated from. Pray especially that God's love would be present in your home and in the hearts of all who dwell there, and that you will be able to build a strong legacy of the Father's love within the hearts of your children as you pray for them, and as you verbally speak the Word of God into their lives, and exemplify the love of the Father with your words and actions (reference Isaiah 54:13) (Remember that "more is caught than taught"; but that doesn't excuse us from taking the time to teach and train our children in righteousness by having family Bible study and prayer time with them on a regular basis). "The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him" (Proverbs 20:7). Pray about the example you are setting for your children - your priorities, your attitudes and emotions, and your love for others; ask the Lord to protect you as you prioritize your own personal Bible study and prayer time. Pray for other children you know by name and/or might know their needs. Pray for families who are facing and dealing with the challenges and difficulties of divorce. Pray for reconciliation in broken marriages and for peace, healing and restoration in these wounded homes. Pray for those you know who are struggling with their marriages, asking the Lord for a spirit of humility, repentance, and forgiveness in the hearts of the people involved. Pray for the men in our churches to rise up to become strong spiritual leaders in their homes, that they will begin to rise early to pray for their families and to speak words of blessing over their children. Pray for women to respect and love their husbands, and for children to honor and obey their parents. Pray for the love of our Heavenly Father to captivate the hearts of our children that we would see a renewed love for Christ in this generation.
Practical things you can do as you commit to praying for your family: Consider looking up the meaning of each of your children's names and write out a prayer that they would live up to the name they have been given; or write a prayer with Scriptural promises you want to claim for them now and for their future (reference Jeremiah 29:11-13). Set up a weekly family Bible study time; set aside time each day to pray with your children - around the breakfast or dinner table, at bedtime - give them an opportunity to share their prayer requests, and to help establish a discipline of prayer in their own lives by praying together. Pray for and support the ministries and organizations who diligently fight on the frontline of the cultural battlefield to preserve and protect our faith, family, and freedoms: Family Research Council, American Family Association, Focus on the Family, The Family Foundation (this is Virginia's family policy council;commit to supporting and praying for your state family policy council), Alliance Defending Freedom, American Center for Law and Justice, Family Watch International, Americans United for Life, Susan B. Anthony List, 40 Days for Life, and other pro-life advocacy groups; and countless other ministries who need our prayers and financial support to continue the fight. Subscribe to their mailing and prayer lists and become aware of all that is going on at the local, state, and national level to break down the family, silence truth, and advance the abortion and homosexual agenda. Pray for Crisis Pregnancy Centers, counseling centers, and other ministries that help those affected by abortion. Pray for ministries that offer marriage retreats and counseling to restore and build strong marriages: Family Life, Rejoice Ministries, Focus on the Family. Pray for our children and our youth; our schools and colleges; and their friends, peers, pressures, and media that distract and pull our children away from what is holy, noble, righteous and good (reference Philippians 4:8-9). Pray for ministries that reach youth in our churches, schools, and on college campuses. Pray for the lost innocence of children around the globe - the brutal effects of pornography and human trafficking. Pray for husbands, wives, children, and families around the world to "grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that [they] may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:18-19).
Heavenly Father,
We pray that You would restore and strengthen
the families in our generation.
Captivate the
hearts of our children with Your great love.
Draw them to You and keep them close to Your heart.
May we, as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, coaches, teachers, and friends
have lips seasoned with You grace as we
speak Your truth tenderly into their lives each day.
