PrayerBits for Saturday

PrayerBits

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

Saturday

Scripture lesson: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Gods of darkness and the God of light

Time to reflect: There are a lot of things in our culture that obscure and confuse and mislead us. These things are very convincing and persuasive. But when we look at things in the light of Scripture and what we know about Christ, we gain clarity of though.

Moving through the day: Think of something in our society that you find confusing and try to think what God feels about it.

Scripture:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

PrayerBits for Friday

PrayerBits

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

Friday

Scripture lesson: Psalm 50:1-6 God the Judge

Time to reflect: Before we dismiss this as just “Old Testament God of Law” remember Matthew 25, the Sheep and to Goats story. Throughout the Bible God is portrayed as the Judge of all. But throughout the Bible God is portrayed as a loving God who is more interested in saving than condemning. But God is still the Judge of all.

Moving Throughout the day: Pray a prayer of confession.

 Scripture:

The Mighty One, God, the LORD,
       speaks and summons the earth
       from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.

 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
       God shines forth.

 Our God comes and will not be silent;
       a fire devours before him,
       and around him a tempest rages.

  He summons the heavens above,
       and the earth, that he may judge his people:

  "Gather to me my consecrated ones,
       who made a covenant with me by sacrifice."

  And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
       for God himself is judge.
       Selah

PrayerBits for Thursday

PrayerBits

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

Thursday

Scripture lesson:2 Kings 2:1-12 Elijah and Elisha

Time to reflect: One of the Bible's wilder stories. In its wildness, let us not lose sight of some of the dynamics, including Elisha's love for his teacher and how much he didn't want to let go of him, didn't even want to talk about his death. Such devotion. But Elijah needed to go and he went, and Elisha was distraught.

Moving through the day: Most of us can relate to Elisha's feelings of losing one who is dear to us. Say a prayer of thanksgiving for these people.

Scripture:

When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel."
      But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.

  The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"
      "Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it."

  Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho."
      And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.

 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"
      "Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it."

  Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan."
      And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on.

  Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

  When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"
      "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.

  "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not."

  As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.

PrayerBits for Wednesday

PrayerBits

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

Wednesday

Scripture lesson: Isaiah 1:11-17 Ritual or service?

Time to reflect: This passage was extremely shocking at the time, but it doesn't really have impact on us since we don't do animal sacrifice. However, to modernize it a bit it would be like God rejecting Communion and Baptism and formal, by-the-book worship. We would be shocked and offended. But God rejected and rejects worship that is a formality and doesn't change our lives. Before we come into worship we need to “cease to do evil and learn to do good: to seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

Moving through the day:Pray about the relationship between your daily life and worship.

 Scripture:

"The multitude of your sacrifices—
       what are they to me?" says the LORD.
       "I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
       of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
       I have no pleasure
       in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

 When you come to appear before me,
       who has asked this of you,
       this trampling of my courts?

  Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
       Your incense is detestable to me.
       New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
       I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

  Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
       my soul hates.
       They have become a burden to me;
       I am weary of bearing them.

  When you spread out your hands in prayer,
       I will hide my eyes from you;
       even if you offer many prayers,
       I will not listen.
       Your hands are full of blood;

  wash and make yourselves clean.
       Take your evil deeds
       out of my sight!
       Stop doing wrong,

 learn to do right!
       Seek justice,
       encourage the oppressed.
       Defend the cause of the fatherless,
       plead the case of the widow.

PrayerBits for Tuesday

PrayerBits

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

Tuesday

Scripture lesson: Ezekiel 18:20-23 God prefers repentance

Time to reflect: Does God WANT to destroy the wicked? Not at all. It grieves God. If the wicked turn away from their wickedness, the slate is wiped clean and they start over.

Moving through the day: WWorking with teenagers, as I do, has taught me the importance of allowing them to start over. They may make mistakes or go through a tough period, but they will not always be that way – if I will let them “reboot,” “”take it from the top,” start over. Are there people in your life that need to be given a chance to start over?

The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.

  "But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. 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?

PrayerBits for Thursday

PrayerBits

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

Thursday

Scripture lesson: 2 Kings 5:1-14 Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord

Time to reflect: This is an amusing story of the king of the most powerful country visiting the hut of a person in a subservient country, and having to be humble enough to accept being treated like just any old person.

Moving through the day: How often do we expect special treatment because of our “status?” How easy is it for us to be humbled?

Scripture:

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

  Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

  Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy."

  As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!"

 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."

  But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.

  Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

PrayerBits for Wednesday

PrayerBits

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

Wednesday

Scripture lesson: Lamentations 3:24-33 Hope

Time to reflect: Lamentations is a series of Psalms written during the Babylonian captivity, after the destruction of Jerusalem. The situation of the Psalmist(s) was the worst possible. But in the midst of the misery, the writer of Lamentations 3 could still sing with confidence these verses!

Moving through the day: When you are down and out and thoroughly discouraged can you feel the way of the writer of these verses? Save these verses for one of these times of misery and pray them.

 Scripture:

I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
       therefore I will wait for him."

  The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
       to the one who seeks him;

  it is good to wait quietly
       for the salvation of the LORD.

  It is good for a man to bear the yoke
       while he is young.

  Let him sit alone in silence,
       for the LORD has laid it on him.

  Let him bury his face in the dust—
       there may yet be hope.

  Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
       and let him be filled with disgrace.

  For men are not cast off
       by the Lord forever.

  Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
       so great is his unfailing love.

  For he does not willingly bring affliction
       or grief to the children of men.