The LORD God is the Creator of the ends of the earth. He has established laws in nature which govern all the processes of life–planting, growth, cultivation and harvest. These principles give us insight on how to conduct our lives, families, churches, and societies (to continue reading this essay, click on image above).
Water the Seed: The Word of God, Isaiah 55.6-11
The Word of God operates with divine intentionality and entire effectiveness in our lives, accomplishing his purposes despite our limited abilities and understanding. Just as the natural cycle of rain and snow precipitation sustains life, so God’s Word works his purposes with spiritual power to accomplish his ends in all things. We must approach Scripture with awe, wisdom, and humility, expecting it to work in ways that transcends our immediate comprehension, and brings God’s intentions to eventual fruition.
Our Focus Today
Seeking the Lord.
God urges immediate action to seek and call upon God while he is near, Isaiah 55.6.
Invocation
Heavenly Father, my Lord and God, I acknowledge your nearness and accessibility to me in my life and in this moment. Grant me the wisdom to recognize the urgency of seeking you while you may be found. Awaken my heart to respond to your divine invitation, to do it immediately and with sincerity. Amen.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father,
And to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, amen.
Chronological Scripture Readings for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the entire Bible in one year in chronological order.
Monday: Deut. 4-5
Psalms and Proverb for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the Psalms and Proverbs each month.
Monday: Psalm 10, 40, 70, 100, 130 and Proverbs 10
Seeking the Lord.
God urges immediate action to seek and call upon God while he is near, Isaiah 55.6.
Reflection
Access to the Lord has a timing and temporal component that demands prompt response. We must seek him while he may be found, which suggests both an urgency and that opportunities to know him may not always be available. We should recognize moments of spiritual awakening as divine invitations that demand an immediate response. God opens the door at the right moment for us to pursue a true relationship with him, at the right time, and in the right way.
Engaging God’s Word Today
In what areas of your life have you sensed God’s nearness but hesitated to respond? What steps can you take today to actively seek his presence and pardon, for those situations that you need his help?
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, The Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God,
Begotten of the Father before all ages,
God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God,
Begotten not created, of the same essence as the Father,
through Whom all things were made.
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became human.
Who for us too, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried.
The third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver,
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Who together with the Father and Son is worshiped and glorified.
Who spoke by the prophets.
We believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sin,
and we look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the age to come. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Benediction
May we go forth with an acute awareness of your presence, Lord Jesus, in our daily journeys. Guide our steps by the understanding that each moment you offer us an opportunity to seek you, find you, and receive your pardon. Help us to go in peace, knowing that you are near to all who call upon you in truth. Amen.
Scripture Memory for this season
Colossians 2.6-7 (ESV):
6 “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Scripture Engagement
As disciples of Jesus, the Churches of Christ the King strongly seek to engage the Scriptures to discover the centrality of Christ and his Kingdom in the prophetic and apostolic writings. You will find a rich treasure of resources on engaging Scripture at the Center for Scripture Engagement of Taylor University.
Book Reading and Reflection
“It is not difficult to see that in this fearful and painful period of our history we who minister in parishes, schools, universities, hospitals, and prisons are having a difficult time fulfilling our task of making the light of Christ shine into the darkness. Many of us have adapted ourselves too well to the general mood of lethargy. Others among us have become tired, exhausted, disappointed, bitter, resentful, or simply bored. Still others have remained active and involved—but have ended up living more in their own name than in the Name of Jesus Christ. This is not so strange. The pressures in the ministry are enormous, the demands are increasing, and the satisfactions diminishing. How can we expect to remain full of creative vitality, of zeal for the Word of God, of desire to serve, and of motivation to inspire our often numbed congregations? Where are we supposed to find nurture and strength? How can we alleviate our own spiritual hunger and thirst? . . .
“But where shall we turn? To Jacques Ellul, William Stringfellow, Thomas Merton, Teilhard de Chardin? They all have much to say, but I am interested in a more primitive source of inspiration, which by its directness, simplicity and concreteness, can lead us without any byways to the core of our struggle. This source is the Apophthegmata Patrum, the Sayings of the Desert Fathers. The Desert Fathers, who lived in the Egyptian desert during the fourth and fifth centuries, can offer us a very important perspective on our life as ministers living at the end of the twentieth century. The Desert Fathers—and there were Mothers, too—were Christians who searched for a new form of martyrdom. Once the persecutions had ceased, it was no longer possible to witness for Christ by following him as a blood witness. Yet the end of the persecutions did not mean that the world had accepted the ideals of Christ and altered its ways; the world continued to prefer the darkness to the light (John 3.19). But if the world was no longer the enemy of the Christian, then the Christian had to become the enemy of the dark world. The flight to the desert was the way to escape a tempting conformity to the world. Anthony, Agathon, Macarius, Poemen, Theodora, Sarah, and Syncletica became spiritual leaders in the desert. Here they became a new kind of martyr: witnesses against the destructive powers of evil, witnesses for the saving power of Jesus Christ.”
~ Nouwen, Henri J. M., The Way of the Heart: Connecting with God through Prayer, Wisdom and Silence. Ballantine Books (A Penguin Random House Company, New York City, NY: 2003, p. 2-4.
Seedling Focus for the Season: Rooted and Built Up in Christ
Description: Spiritual growth is about upward development and deepening our roots in Christ, Col. 2.6-7.
On Eagles Wings Prayer Focus: A Long Time Comin‘
Watering the Seed: The Word of God, Isa. 55.10-11.
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