Cedar Springs Mission Devotionals and Prayer Guide
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Cedar Springs Mission Devotionals and Prayer Guide January - December 2015 THURSDAY, JANUARY 1 Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. Opening Prayer: Almighty God, who came to us long ago in the birth of Jesus Christ, be born in us anew today by the power of your Holy Spirit. We offer our lives as home to you and ask for grace and strength to live as your faithful, joyful children always. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants) Scripture Reading for the Day: Psalm 131:1-3 Reading for Reflection: I think I might adopt Psalm 131 as my prayer for the New Year because it reminds me of what is really important and what God seems to desire as far as my outlook and my attitude are concerned. All of which is the polar opposite of everything the culture and the world encourage me to pursue. In a culture that says, “Make a name for yourself, achieve, perform, jockey for position, be ambitious, accomplish much!” this perspective can seem odd, if not diametrically opposed. Can you imagine someone asking about your goals for the New Year, or about what your New Year’s resolutions are, and telling them, “Well, I’m trying to keep my heart from being too high or proud. I’m trying not to get too full of myself. And I’m going to try not to be lifted up in my own eyes, or the eyes of those around me. I’m actually kind of hoping that I become smaller, less significant, and less visible. I want to stay out of the limelight and be about the things that no one ever really sees. I want to make sure that I don’t occupy myself- my heart, mind, and soul- with things that are simply too great and marvelous for me. I’m actually kind of hoping that my soul will be stilled, calmed and quieted, like a weaned child with its mother - totally content just to be, totally dependent on God and His great care and affection. I really just want to be held by Him and loved by Him. I don’t want to put my hope in what I do or what I achieve or what I accomplish. I don’t want to put my confidence in my own gifts, abilities, and efforts. I want to put my hope totally in the Lord, both now and forevermore.” What kind of response do you think that line of thinking would get? But that is what I long for, and more importantly what I think God longs for in me. Just to be His. Not to be heroic, or epic, or wonderful, or legendary. Not to be popular, or admired, or successful, or productive. But to be simply His, and to be loved, and to be obedient, and let everything else take care of itself. Happy New Year. Reflection and Listening: silent and written Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself Carlos and Sandy Rios are planting Rivers of Grace Bible Church in the San Andres area of Guadalajara, Mexico. The church is growing and many new families have begun attending. Pray today for their discipleship times with family groups to be fruitful and that the families may apply what they learn to grow in Jesus. The focus of Global Golf (formerly WPGF) is to serve women at all levels of competitive golf - professional tour players, college athletes, coaches and club pros - and introduce them to Jesus Christ through long-term relationships built around golf. Evangelism, discipleship and pastoral care are Global Golf’s primary purposes. Pray for director Cris Stevens. Closing Prayer: God, I’m not trying to rule the roost, I don’t want to be king of the mountain. I haven’t meddled where I have no business or fantasized grandiose plans. I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content. Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always! (Psalm 131, The Message) Notes 2 FRIDAY, JANUARY 2 Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. Opening Prayer: Almighty God, who came to us long ago in the birth of Jesus Christ, be born in us anew today by the power of your Holy Spirit. We offer our lives as home to you and ask for grace and strength to live as your faithful, joyful children always. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants) Scripture Reading for the Day: Hebrews 1:1-4 Reading for Reflection: Our spiritual life depends on his perpetual coming to us, far more than on our going to him. Every time a channel is made for him he comes; every time our hearts are open to him he enters, bringing a fresh gift of his very life, and on that life we depend. We should think of the whole power and splendor of God as always pressing in upon our small souls. (Advent with Evelyn Underhill) Reflection and Listening: silent and written Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself M. is living in an area in Southeast Asia where the Tai Lue, an unreached people group, live. She is trusting that God will open doors for the gospel and empower local brothers and sisters to make disciples among them. Pray today for M. who recently became engaged to be married to a local man. Global Media Outreach is an Internet ministry that seeks to stay on the cutting edge of emerging technologies with the intent to give everyone on earth multiple opportunities to know and follow Jesus Christ. Pray today for each person that will encounter this ministry via their website that they will choose to follow Christ. Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. Thank you for sustaining all things by your powerful word. And thank you for providing purification for our sins and sitting at the right hand of the Majesty of heaven; that we might join you for all eternity. Amen. Notes 3 SATURDAY, JANUARY 3 Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. Opening Prayer: Almighty God, who came to us long ago in the birth of Jesus Christ, be born in us anew today by the power of your Holy Spirit. We offer our lives as home to you and ask for grace and strength to live as your faithful, joyful children always. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants) Scripture Reading for the Day: Titus 2:11-14 Reading for Reflection: “Guide our feet into the paths of peace, that having done Your will this day, we may, when night comes, rejoice and give You thanks…” We begin the work that is before us this day, asking for the grace to do it well and to the glory of God. We dress children and get them to school, we find our places and undertake the tasks for which we have been dreamed into being. We do the work that is before us, the gift of study or play, the tasks and assignments, the places to go and the people to see. We begin to sense that our work can be changed from job and task into service and act of kindness, from struggle for gain into the offering of gift, from slow death into life-giving co-creation. The work itself can become something more as we come to see ourselves as co-laborers rather than pawns, as hands and feet of God rather than merely the shoulders and backs of the marketplace. We keep our eyes open for the One Who Comes among us in our daily rounds. (Living Prayer by Robert Benson) Reflection and Listening: silent and written Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself Mostafa and Mona Sharkawy’s main area of work is the U.K., serving among Arab Muslims. Their goals are to see Arabic churches arise from Muslim background believers, to see new generations of leaders from Muslim believers, and to teach and prepare them for future ministry. Pray today for their work inside the Immigration Removal Centre and that more people will come and join the weekly meetings. Global SEEDS (Global Source for Education and Economic Development Strategies) builds empowering relationships with Muslim refugees in the Knoxville community, helping them integrate into local culture by teaching English as a second language, offering adult literacy and job training, as well as assisting them in developing important life skills. Closing Prayer: Lord God, in this holy season of song, prayer, and laughter, may we praise you for the amazing wonders you have sent us. For shining stars, angel’s songs, and the newborn’s cry in a lowly manger, we thank you. We praise you for the Word made flesh. May we behold his glory and bask in his radiance. Be with us as we continue to celebrate this Christmas season. Amen. Notes 4 Theme for the Week: The Way SUNDAY, JANUARY 4 Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. Opening Prayer: May those without hope take heart in you, O Christ.