Fresh Spirit of Prayer and Fasting

[S] Acts 14:23,27 --
23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 27 When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

[O] There is something beautiful about this scene where the apostles are in the beginning stages of establishing the churches with the new opened door (in their mind) to the Gentiles.  Their sincere desire to rely on God through fasting prayer and gathering the churches to report how God is breaking new grounds.  Exciting!

[A] In my observation and involvement in God's ministry, I can honestly say that the key foundation of bringing ministry co-workers together to carry out God's great plan is by prayer -- and furthermore, fasting and prayer.  I am humbly bowing down before God in repentance for lacking such a fervent prayer life to lay the foundation of the ministries I am part of.

[P] Dear God, would you forgive my calloused heart in doing Your ministry and replace it with the heart of flesh that pumps living and fresh blood in my life ultimately to minister to others?  I ask this in Jesus' precious name.  Amen.

Offering Up My Life

[S] Leviticus 3:5 --
Then Aaron's sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire; it is an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 

[O] I can't help but to think about BBQing at home when I read this because even though I BBQ at home to ultimately eat the meat, the aroma of BBQ is always very pleasant.  Such is the picture I see of the priests offering up the smoke of the burnt offerings.  The meat they burnt was not to be eaten but to be offered up to God as the soothing aroma.

[A] How is my life being burnt up as soothing aroma to my God?  In order to do that I must surrender what I am to be offered up to God and if I were to apply "burning" up to my life, it is about releasing what I am made of through the fire of this world.

[P] Dear God, as I go through the trials and challenges of this world, may my life be offered up to You as sweet aroma.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Power of Praying Church

[S] Acts 12:5 --
So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.

[O] I see the power of a praying church right here because as they fervently prayed, Peter was taken out of the prison miraculously.  God takes joy when the church clings on to Him desperately like this.

[A] Not that we need to add more programs at what is already a busy schedule, integrating this type of praying community is a must in order to experience God's miraculous power and a church leadership must intentionally integrate place, time, and method fit for their congregation to come together in prayer.

[P] Dear Father, wherever I go, may I be a catalyst to promote such a fervently praying community to move God-sized tasks.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Jump of Faith

[S] Acts 11:20-21 --
20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 

[O] These minority group of people who were scattered due to persecution took an extra step of faith of preaching the Lord Jesus by speaking to the Greeks also.  I also noticed that they preached Lord Jesus and not just the message of Lord Jesus.  One of the potential reasons for these boldness may come from the person who literally carried the cross for Jesus up to Calvary -- Simon from Cyrene.  I wondered what had happened to him after such an impacting experience and my mind is just playing out to see if he was one of the leaders of this group.

[A] Am I willing to carry the cross for Jesus when I had no reason to do that? Am I willing to carry my own cross as Jesus did for me?  Am I constantly willing to take my faith to a new level and not be held back by my comfort of status quo?  Then I will not experience the hand of the Lord working in my life.

[P] Dear Jesus, may I carry Your cross and then realize that carrying Your cross isn't just a chore but a time of entering into Your deep and strong presence such that I may take another new step of faith to preach about You.  May Your hand be with me at all times, especially during this time of seeking Your guidance from where I stand now.  I look up to You as I ask in Your name.  Amen.

God's Bias Toward Fear of Him

[S] Acts 10:34-35 --

34 Opening his mouth, Peter said:
"I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.

[O] God's only bias is toward those who fear Him.  However for all those who fear Him, He treats them all the same -- as His own children.

[A] Is my day beginning and ending while my heart fears the Lord?  How can I live my day when I am not doing this because that only means I am doing things all on my own without reliance on God.  So, I must begin my day with the prayer of surrendering my life in fear of Him.

[P] Dear Father, I fear Your presence in my life and I want to order my life by placing You at the core and that I would obey Your words.  May You, just like how you created this world out of chaos through Your word, create order in my own life to glorify You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Chain Reaction of Intimacy with God

[S] Exodus 33:11 --
Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

[O] Just imagining how it would feel to be considered as God's friend who would meet me face to face to talk with me.  Awesome!  But it does not stop there because as noted in this passage, Joshua whom Moses was mentoring observed and desired to be just like Moses also.  Moses' intimacy with God was extended to those he was raising up as a leader.

[A] Chain reaction is what comes to my mind as I meditate on this verse:  God > Moses > Joshua > followers.  I find that I can be in any of the followers of God in this chain but the critical part is that wherever I am I need to link the two other ends together as a bridge which requires a concerted effort on my part.  In other words, this just won't happen organically but needs some methodical framework around it.  So, I must always view my position as a bridge from pursuing the above as well as grooming someone who is following me.

[P] Dear Father, I would like to be like Moses where he is like a friend to God who enjoyed such an intimate relationship and also raising up the next leader like Joshua.  Please allow me the wisdom and a clear plan of actions to be an effective bridge of raising up powerful leaders for Your Kingdom.  Amen.

God's Deeper Plan Beyond the Surface Circumstances

[S] Acts 8:4 --
Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.

[O] Unfortunate persecution taking place dispersed believers but God had a deeper meaning than the situation on the surface -- He wanted to scatter the believers for His word to be preached out covering wider scope.

[A] Whenever I run into unfortunate situation I should take a moment and bring the situation to the Lord to discern God's deeper meaning for His greater purpose rather than simply judging based on my own perspective.

[P] Dear Father, as You dispersed the believers so Your word will reach the wider areas, please include me in Your greater plan so my life will reach wider areas with Your word and good news.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.