PrayerBits for Friday

PrayerBits

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

Friday

Scripture Lesson: Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19 Israel's response

Time to reflect: Actually, if I was picking the Bible verses used in PrayerBits, I would have swapped this reading with yesterday's. Here the Psalmist is appealing to God and asking “why?” Isaiah give the answer. The Psalmist would not have been happy with the answer.

Moving through the day: Think about times when you know that God has an answer to you that you don't like.

Scripture:

Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,
       you who lead Joseph like a flock;
       you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
       Awaken your might;
       come and save us.

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;
       you drove out the nations and planted it.

 9 You cleared the ground for it,
       and it took root and filled the land.

 10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
       the mighty cedars with its branches.

 11 It sent out its boughs to the Sea, [a]
       its shoots as far as the River. [b]

 12 Why have you broken down its walls
       so that all who pass by pick its grapes?

 13 Boars from the forest ravage it
       and the creatures of the field feed on it.

 14 Return to us, O God Almighty!
       Look down from heaven and see!
       Watch over this vine,

 15 the root your right hand has planted,
       the son [c] you have raised up for yourself.

 16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
       at your rebuke your people perish.

 17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
       the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

 18 Then we will not turn away from you;
       revive us, and we will call on your name.

 19 Restore us, O LORD God Almighty;
       make your face shine upon us,
       that we may be saved.

PrayerBits for Thursday

PrayerBits

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

Thursday

Scripture lesson: Jeremiah 1:4-10 No excuses!

Time to Reflect: A recurring theme in Scripture is that if God has chosen someone for a task the can and should carry it out, without excuses. God will take care of their limitations. In fact, those who recognize their limitations are more likely to rely on God and thereby do better than they would have if they relied strictly on their own abilities.

Moving Through the Day: Meditate on times when you need to be relying on God rather than yourself.

Think of one thing you can do to help those in dire straits today. And not just giving someone money. Something that takes sacrifice on your part.

Scripture:

The Call of Jeremiah

 4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew [a] you,
       before you were born I set you apart;
       I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

 6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."

 7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

 9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

PrayerBits for Wednesday

PrayerBits

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

Scripture Lesson:Psalm 112 “Lend freely”

Time to reflect: “Scattered through this Psalm are indications of how a righteous person handles wealth and power.

Moving through the Day: Isolate the characteristics of a good person and think about how much applies to you.

Scripture:

 1[a] Praise the LORD. [b]
       Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
       who finds great delight in his commands.

 2 His children will be mighty in the land;
       the generation of the upright will be blessed.

 3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
       and his righteousness endures forever.

 4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
       for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. [c]

 5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,
       who conducts his affairs with justice.

 6 Surely he will never be shaken;
       a righteous man will be remembered forever.

 7 He will have no fear of bad news;
       his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

 8 His heart is secure, he will have no fear;
       in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.

 9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor,
       his righteousness endures forever;
       his horn [d] will be lifted high in honor.

 10 The wicked man will see and be vexed,
       he will gnash his teeth and waste away;
       the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

PrayerBits for Tuesday

PrayerBits

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

Tuesday

Scripture lesson: Isaiah 58:9b-14 What we need to do

Time to reflect: Keep in mind that this is addressed to a community not an individual. However, it works quite well on an individual basis also.

Moving through the day: Meditate on how well your nation, your church and you live up to God's wishes.

Scripture:

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
       you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
       "If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
       with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
       and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
       then your light will rise in the darkness,
       and your night will become like the noonday.

 11 The LORD will guide you always;
       he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
       and will strengthen your frame.
       You will be like a well-watered garden,
       like a spring whose waters never fail.

 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
       and will raise up the age-old foundations;
       you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
       Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

 13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
       and from doing as you please on my holy day,
       if you call the Sabbath a delight
       and the LORD's holy day honorable,
       and if you honor it by not going your own way
       and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

 14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
       and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
       and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
       The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

PrayerBits for Monday

PrayerBits

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

Monday

Scripture lesson: Matthew 10:39-42 One's focus

Time to reflect: True life is an other directed life. If one's focus is on oneself, is not a Godly life. Even the seemingly religious, if their attention is on their own salvation and their own spirituality are missing the mark.

Moving Through the Day:

What “cup of cold water” can you give to whom today?

Scripture:

39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

 40"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

PrayerBits for Monday

PrayerBits

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

Monday

Scripture lesson: Matthew 10:39-42 One's focus

Time to reflect: True life is an other directed life. If one's focus is on oneself, is not a Godly life. Even the seemingly religious, if their attention is on their own salvation and their own spirituality are missing the mark.

Moving Through the Day:

What “cup of cold water” can you give to whom today?

Scripture:

39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

 40"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

PrayerBits for Sunday

PrayerBits

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

Sunday: Luke 12:49-56 Divisions

Time to Reflect: Unfortunately verse 53 has been mistranslated over the centuries and modern translations have perpetuated the error. The phrase “divided... against” translates a word that means “separate” or “select.” Only in this passage is it translated as oppositional. The true meaning of the verse, still not a happy verse, is “a father will be selected and not a son, a son and not a father,...” No Romanticism or Universal Salvation here. There is selection.

Moving through the day: Pray for the Salvation of all your family and friends.

Scripture:

Not Peace but Division

 49"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! 51Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

Interpreting the Times

 54He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. 55And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. 56Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?