PrayerBits for Sunday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Sunday

Scripture lesson: Matthew 21:23-32 Two issues

Time to reflect: These two issues really don't go together, but one is about “Who do we think Jesus is?” Do WE believe Jesus has ultimate authority? The second deals with the problem of intent. Is it ok to have good intentions or say the right things or to actually do what needs to be done.

Moving through the day: Pray about both of these things: Accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior with our whole being; and being prepared to do, even if we don't like and argue back, the right thing.

Scripture:

"The Authority of Jesus Questioned

 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"

 Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?"

   They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'From men'—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet."

 So they answered Jesus, "We don't know."
      Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

 "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'

 " 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

 "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

 "Which of the two did what his father wanted?"
      "The first," they answered.

   Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

PrayerBits for Saturday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Saturday

Scripture lesson: Philippians 2:1-13 “...look not to your own interests...”

Time to reflect: I know, this is against human nature. But we can go against human nature if we try hard enough. And Paul (and Jesus and much of the Old and New Testament) is clear enough that this is what is expected of us.

Moving through the day: Pray for the ability to set other's interests ahead of your own.

 

Scripture:

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
 Who, being in very nature God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
 but made himself nothing,
      taking the very nature of a servant,
      being made in human likeness.
 And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      and became obedient to death—
         even death on a cross!
 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
      and gave him the name that is above every name,
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.

Shining as Stars

 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

PrayerBits for Thursday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Thursday

Scripture lesson: Exodus 17:1-7 Griping about God

Time to reflect: Why would God bother with such cranky and unappreciative people? But God did, in this case providing water from a rock. It is important to note that the place became knows as “Test” (Massah) and “Quarrel” (Meribah).

 

Moving through the day: When have we been cranky and unappreciative toward God? Print the word “Meribah” on a rock and put it on your desk to remind you to be more appreciative of God's blesssings.

 

Scripture:

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink."
      Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?"

 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"

 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."

 The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

PrayerBits for Wednesday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Wednesday

Scripture lesson: Psalm 25:1-5 “Lead me”

Time to reflect: We often ask for God's guidance, but how often do we stop, recognize that guidance and then accept and follow it? Sometimes God's guidance isn't what we want...

Moving through the day: Pray to God for guidance on something in particular, then think through what you think God wants you to do.

 

Scripture:

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

in you I trust, O my God.
       Do not let me be put to shame,
       nor let my enemies triumph over me.

No one whose hope is in you
       will ever be put to shame,
       but they will be put to shame
       who are treacherous without excuse.

Show me your ways, O LORD,
       teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and teach me,
       for you are God my Savior,
       and my hope is in you all day long.

PrayerBits for Tuesday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Tuesday

Scripture lesson: Ezekiel 18:23-32 Past versus present

Time to reflect: This is a hard teaching. First of all it is important to remember that this is addressed to a nation and should be applied to nations rather than individuals. But the message is: no matter what a people did or didn't do in the past, what that people do now is what God will judge them on. We cannot rely on what has gone on before to buy benevolence when we are doing wrong.

Moving through the day: Do we ever think that anything bad our country might do is counterbalanced by the good we have done in the past? Pray for the country and that we, as a nation, will always strive to do good.

 

 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

"But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.

 "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die. But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. Because he considers all the offenses he has committed and turns away from them, he will surely live; he will not die. Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Are my ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

  "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

PrayerBits for Monday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Monday

Scripture lesson: Luke 7:31-35 God can't win

Time to reflect: People are really good at making excuses for not following God and doing what is right. In this paragraph Jesus points out that John was rejected for being so serious while he, Jesus, was being rejected for not being so serious. You can't win...

Moving Through The Day: What excuses do you give for not applying the teachings of the Bible to your life?

"To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
   " 'We played the flute for you,
      and you did not dance;
   we sang a dirge,
      and you did not cry.' For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by all her children."

 

 

PrayerBits for Sunday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Sunday

Scripture lesson: Matthew 20:1-16 The problem of latecomers

Time to reflect: Do people who partied their entire lives then repent on their deathbed get the same salvation as those who were good their whole lives? First, issues of salvation and fairness are apples and oranges – there is no relationship. Fairness is an earthly measure. Second, salvation is salvation. There are no gradations (sort of saved? partially saved?) Finally, as in verse 15, God can do what God wants, that is God's prerogative as God. Who of us are in a position to second guess God?

Moving through the day: Pray about the fact that those of us who come to God early have the joy and satisfaction of serving God all that time. Latecomers are deprived of this opportunity.

Scripture:

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

 "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went.

   "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

 " 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
      "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'

 "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'

 "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

 "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."